Q&A interview

An interview with Jim Howard

A journalist should be fair and accurate, not objective

Jim Howard

By JENNIFER HALPERIN

He's not in the public eye, but Jim Howard has a name and voice that are known to many people around Illinois. As Statehouse bureau chief for WSSU/WIPA public radio (covering Springfield and western Illinois), his reports on Illinois politics and government are carried over the state's public radio network and broadcast on stations from Chicago to Carbondale. Howard's pace at work becomes increasingly frenetic as the election season heats up. He and his colleagues must keep their eyes on several races at once and try to discern what to share with their audiences.

Q: When you sit through press conferences, or sift through piles of press releases, what criteria do you use in deciding what to cover?

A: When it comes to elections, generally I'm looking for something that plows new ground — something we haven't covered before or one of our stations hasn't covered before. And I'm looking for something that carries the story of a candidate or a campaign to give the public a glimpse of what they would be doing as governor, or in the elected office they're seeking. It should convey their philosophy of governing.

And it depends on the news day. If it's a big, busy news day, the weight of whatever is being touted in a press release is going to have to be bigger and heavier than it is on a slow day.

That's just one of the sins of the business, I guess. But on any day, I have to get a feeling there is something new, something important enough that I'm going to ask my listeners to take a few seconds out of their day to listen to.

Q: Do you think the statewide campaigns have been exciting so far?

A; No. But then again, I'm not going to base my news on entertainment value, and I suspect that weighing things on a criteria of excitement is sort of an entertainment consideration. I can't imagine the race for comptroller or treasurer being sexy from an excitement standpoint. It's not going to make Entertainment Tonight. But we're going to cover it. So I'm not looking for exciting. I'm looking for philosophy, ideas, that kind of stuff.

Q: Is it difficult to remain objective on issues and candidates?

A: I'm not objective. I flat-out reject the notion that a journalist is objective. A professional journalist, in my opinion, should be fair, accurate and balanced. I go to the polls and I vote. I vote for individuals based on how I know them, how I believe they would govern, in part on philosophy. I would not consider myself to be objective at all. I would consider myself in the end to be fair, balanced and accurate, and I would defy anyone to try to suggest that there's a bias coming through my story. I try very hard to make sure that no matter what my thoughts are on a story, those points that should be reflected are there.

I don't vote in primaries — for two reasons. One, I don't want to give anyone an easy chance to identify me as having a bias when they otherwise couldn't, because I try hard to keep my stories balanced. The other reason is that I've never voted a straight ticket, I can't imagine voting a straight ticket, and I'm of the mind that primaries are for individuals who closely identify themselves with one party or the other.

Q: Is reporting for public radio different from reporting for commercial outlets?

A: Not from the standard of newsworthiness or the standard of fairness, but possibly from the ability to go a little deeper into a story, the ability to run a little longer piece. Maybe the ability to use slightly more sophisticated, more parochial language when it comes to budget stories, because I'm not writing for just anyone — I am writing for someone who's decided to listen to what we've got on public radio. That's not meant to sound snobby, but it is acknowledging that people have actively found us and they're tuning in, and it's not just headline stuff between commercials and sports scores.

Q: Have you had to worry about a connection between what you report on and funding sources?

A: I think a constant concern for anyone in public broadcasting is the appearance of impropriety between those who are our funders and the subject that we cover. And I think in most part we do a very good job of making sure the separation is maintained. I don't worry about the fact that I'm going to go beat up somebody on the Appropriations Committee in a story if they deserve it and the fact that public broadcasting gets some money from the state legislature. That doesn't cross my mind.

Q: What's the best thing about your job?

A: Probably the variety of experiences and the access to people who are hands-on in policy-making in the state. I like being able to pick up a telephone in the course of a day and call anywhere from the governor's office to a U.S. senator's office to a state agency director's office or anyone on the street, and have them (1) recognize what we're doing for good journalism, and (2) also recognize that maybe in public radio we can do a little more than maybe some others can.

Q: And the worst?

A: The hours and the pay. Now that I have two young children, I have to weigh the fun of reporting versus the excitement of being a dad.

Q: What's your mission as a reporter?

A: I'm a public educator, and I consider myself to be a very important link between policy-makers and the people that policy is made for — the public. I have the ability to knock on someone's door and reasonably expect that they will answer my questions. I don't think too many people in the general public have that ability. And it's not a responsibility that I take lightly.