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AAPRC Weekly: Carole Simpson

The Big 10
On October 19, 2003, when Carole Simpson stepped down as anchor of ABC News' "World News Tonight Sunday," it was the end of an era. For nearly two decades, Simpson had led viewers through the news of the day with intelligence, eloquence and steadfast professionalism. The Emmy Award-winning journalist is still a senior correspondent for ABC News and reports on family and social issues for "World News Tonight With Peter Jennings."

In 1992, the second Presidential debate between Bill Clinton and George Bush, Sr. was held in Richmond, Virginia––the first in history to have a town hall meeting format--and Simpson was chosen as moderator––the first woman and first minority to moderate a presidential debate. Over the past thirty years, it seems Simpson has always been on hand when history was in the making. When there was breaking news about the first Persian Gulf War, the Tiananmen Square massacre, the Clarence Thomas-Anita Hill hearings and other major stories––Simpson was there. In 1990, she was a member of the "Nightline" team in South Africa, and helped anchor ABC's live coverage of Nelson Mandela's release from his 27-year imprisonment.

Simpson joined ABC News in 1982, coming from NBC News where she'd covered the U.S. Congress and hosted a women's public affairs program on Washington's NBC-owned station, WRC-TV. Her broadcasting career began in Chicago at WMAQ-TV, where she was a reporter and weekend anchor. Prior to joining NBC News in 1974, she worked in public television, radio, and worked as a journalism instructor at Northwestern University's Medill School and at Tuskegee Institute in Alabama. She was also director of the information bureau at Tuskegee. Simpson is a graduate of the University of Michigan and did graduate work at the University of Iowa.

In addition to three Emmys, Ms. Simpson is the recipient of countless awards for her work as a journalist and for her advocacy for women, children and education. She has established several college scholarships for women and minorities pursing careers in broadcast journalism: one at the University of Michigan and two for a male and female through the National Association of Black Journalists (NABJ). The Carole Simpson Scholarship is administered by the Radio-Television News Directors Association and Foundation.

What does a typical day look like for you now that you've left the anchor desk at "World News Sunday?"

I anchored the weekend news for ABC for 15 years, the last eight of them commuting to New York where they had moved the broadcast from Washington. Needless to say the weekly travel was becoming a little much. My orthopedic surgeon said that my whole body was off kilter, tilting to the right, from dragging my suitcase back and forth.

Last fall, I signed a new contract with ABC News, which still has me reporting for radio and TV, but most of my time is consumed with my new position as "News Ambassador to the Schools." ABC executives knew how much I enjoyed mentoring young people and how I have supported many students with my scholarships. They suggested I go into the nation’s public schools to find out why today’s celebrity-obsessed teenagers are not watching the news or reading newspapers. And then, to try and persuade them that they need to be informed of what’s going on in their communities, the nation, and the world. It’s a tough assignment.

In February, I launched the program at my old high school in Chicago. I call it "News: The Ultimate Reality Show." I have now traveled to a total of eleven cities, spent a full day talking to classes of students in 18 high schools. I estimate that about 1600 students have been exposed to the message. Maybe 10 percent of the kids "get it" and assure me they will do better. I think quite a few of the rest of them will at least think about it.

I took a long way around to get to your question, but my days during the academic year are spent setting up, traveling to, and speaking to high school students. It is some of the toughest work I’ve done.

In addition to building an extraordinary career in the upper echelons of journalism, you've also been committed to mentoring and to speaking out on important issues such as diversity and the societal factors that impact women and children. Is there any one thing that acts as a motivating force for you?

I have probably answered this in the first question, but I reach out to minority youngsters, because like me, many of them grew up not knowing anything about how the corporate world works. My mother didn’t go past the 9th grade and my father was a mailman. When I started as a journalist in 1965, I was the first and the only either female or minority everywhere I went. My abilities were always underestimated. No one told me how to navigate the troubled allwhite, all-male waters. I was resented and everything I learned I had to bang my head into a wall first. So when other women and minorities were hired at my workplaces, I would reach out to them and warn them of the pitfalls, the political situation in the office, and who were the "good guys" and most importantly, the "bad guys." So what motivates me: "Doing unto others as I would have them do unto me." There were no others to do unto me. So I have taken up that role.

I recently read a piece in which you talked about the difficulties of starting a career in journalism as an African-American and a woman in the early 70s. If you were giving a "state of the newsroom" address today, how would you assess the environment for African-Americans and women?

You ask me this at a very good time. I have been visiting newsrooms in the cities where I have been doing my schools project: Chicago, New York, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Oakland, Raleigh, Durham, Philadelphia, and Washington, DC.

I would say that for all the talk in the news business about "diversity," it is not the reality. I think women and African-Americans have been losing ground. There were higher numbers in 1990. There are more women behind the scenes as General Managers and News Directors, but the majority of new hires appear to be white males. In cities where African-Americans held "on-air" jobs, many are being replaced by Hispanics. The message that Hispanics are now the largest minority group in America, has not been lost on management. You would think they could hire more than one minority, but I’m sure they would argue that with declining revenues from a declining TV audience, there isn’t enough money.

What's your best advice for African-Americans building careers not just in journalism, but in any media field?

African-Americans still have to work twice as hard as everyone else and for only half the credit. I thought that would change over time, but it hasn’t. Our mistakes are always more glaring. I would also say we need to be excellent at what we do. Mediocre won’t cut it. And we have to work hard. People have often told me, "You are so lucky." I don’t think luck had anything to do with it. I worked my, (pardon the expression) butt off, and still do. When you can "build the better mousetrap," when you can attract the most viewers, or save the company money, it is much harder to slam doors in the face of Black employees.

Over the past several years, a number of high profile journalists have been caught in startling deceptions. Do you think these incidents are indicators of a larger problem in the industry?

I don’t know what is going on. I went to journalism school and learned the laws of the press, the obligation to be fair and accurate, to tell both sides, check all the facts. I can only suspect there are reporters today who never had to learn those basic principles. Maybe they were English majors and wrote well. It seems to be easier to plagiarize as a print reporter. In television, we have to have the pictures and the soundbites. It used to be virtually impossible to fake, but with the new computer graphics, who knows? And if I ever see Jayson Blair, who brought down Gerald Boyd at the New York Times, one of the greatest Black journalists I’ve ever known…well, let’s just say, I won’t be kind and it may get physical. It is becoming a major problem in the industry. We are all tarred with the same brush. The public thinks we’re not to be trusted anyhow. If news organizations don’t hire people with strong credentials, and oversee their work, it will further damage the media. When you can go on the Internet and pull up any story from any obscure little paper in the country, unqualified people may be tempted to "borrow" that. But it is abhorrent to me.

Do you think ratings pressures brought on by the rise of cable have had an adverse effect on the quality or integrity of broadcast news outlets?

The growth of cable certainly has had an adverse effect on the quality of our news. We first noticed it during the OJ Simpson trial. "ABC World News Tonight with Peter Jennings" had been number one for years, but we paid scant attention to OJ. It was a crime story. We would broadcast stories when there was news, but NBC began doing stories every night on OJ, because that’s what cable was doing and drawing high ratings. Well, we began a ratings decline and have for the last few years been in second place to "NBC Nightly News." A close second. We used to do news because professionals decided this is what the public needs to know today. But now everybody is giving the public what it wants, and tries to sneak in the substantive news. News, which, used to be a service owed to the public, has now become just another profit center. It’s often too much about ratings and money, and those of us from the "old school" of journalism are dismayed.

With the race for President and military action in Iraq and Afghanistan, obviously 2004 is no ordinary news cycle. If you were a network news director would you cover the big stories––particularly the race for President––any differently?

I try to tell the high school students that 2004 has been the scariest time I can remember in the country. Everybody hates us. Every day there is a new warning about a terrorist attack. We’re bogged down in Iraq, Osama is still on the loose, US troops are dying everyday, Americans are losing jobs from outsourcing, and an important Presidential election coming up. They need to pay attention. Everybody does. But I hear folks say they don’t want to hear about Iraq, it’s too depressing, and the rest of the news is boring. It’s the public. They want to be entertained all the time. I’d like to think I would cover the major stories, but with more context. One hundred soldiers killed in Iraq in one month is important to you because…We’ve got to make it more relevant to the viewer or they will tune out.

As a journalist you've traveled the world and covered some of our era's most significant stories. Is there any one story that stands out for you? Is there any work you're most proud of?

There have been many highlights in my career but two stand out. In 1992, I was the first woman and first minority to moderate a Presidential Debate, and it was the first town hall meeting format. Ninety minutes of live TV seen all over the world was a daunting but heady experience. Many women and minorities pointed out to their children that "there was a Black woman" handling Bush, Clinton and Perot. If that made me a role model, I am proud. The other most unforgettable story was being in South Africa, broadcasting live, the release of Nelson Mandela. It was the day after I had been beaten across the back by a white South African policeman while I was covering a demonstration outside Archbishop TuTu’s cathedral in downtown Johannesburg. The contrast of those two days left me going back and forth between crying and laughing, cursing and cheering. Quite the rollercoaster.

From the past year, is there a story you believed to be really important that didn't get enough coverage?

I don’t believe the media covered the many anti-war demonstrations that have been held around the country since the war began. There’s an unspoken fear of being branded unpatriotic by the Bush Administration. When I was in Oakland recently, there was a huge demonstration. I don’t even think the locals covered it.

Can you identify any one strategy that you believe has been key to your success?

One strategy…hmmm? Well I am grateful I had an intact family and that I had parents who had great expectations for me. My mother would not allow me to bring home a "C". Unacceptable. That made me work harder. The support of my parents, my husband and my two children, has kept me going through the years. Family give you balance in your life. It shows you that the petty problems that make you crazy at work are not that important when you have a parent dying of cancer, a husband getting recognition at work, or your kids turning into all you wanted them to be. I have love and a support system that no job could ever provide. I am blessed. I know it.

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