The new breed of broadcast journalists in Chicago are faced with new challenges that go with the territory of being part of a fiercely competitive industry coupled with the endless choices that viewers have in a global society where state-of-the-art technology has changed the face of news reporting forever.
So what causes viewers to tune in to television network stations, certain network stations in fact, instead of getting their news off the Internet, reading it in one of the local dailies, or listening to it on one of numerous all-news radio stations? At ABC 7 News, the talents of young, aggressive General Assignment Reporters like John Garcia are clearly indicative of what attracts and maintains an audience, especially in the long run. Garcia is a street reporter of note who has made significant contributions to the overall success of ABC 7’s highly rated newscasts.
Intensely private, rather soft spoken and reflective in person, Garcia’s calm repose carries into his spot reporting, and seems to typify his approach to his craft. The steady and deliberate approach underscores Garcia’s powerhouse of journalistic talent, whether he is reporting on emotionally charged stories like the Branch Davidian raid in Waco, Texas (Garcia was one of the first reporters on the scene) or the visit of Pope John Paul II to Mexico City which Garcia delivered in a thoughtful and dignified manner in 1999.
A graduate of Drake University in Des Moines, Garcia came to ABC 7 in May 1994 on the heels of a successful tenure with KSAT-TV, the ABC affiliate in San Antonio, where he co-anchored the morning and noon newscasts since 1993.
Prior to San Antonio, Garcia served as a General Assignment Reporter from 1991 to 1993 at KXAS-TV in Dallas, and at KOAT-TV in Albuquerque, from 1998-’91. Awarded the “Young Alumni Achievement Award” in 1999 by his alma mater, Garcia is an avid runner who has competed in numerous marathons, including The Chicago Custom Classic.
DAVID GUARINO: John, there seems to have been a very large and vocal Latino constituency that voted for George Bush in last year’s highly contested presidential election.
JG: I don’t understand it myself, David. I don’t think Bush stands for, nor are his policies of great benefit to, the Hispanic community. I mean his policies do not seem to be in favor of Hispanics or any minority communities.
Certainly not the gay/lesbian community. I don’t understand, I think that Bush is sympathetic to Hispanics and certainly in Texas he’s got a great relationship with Latinos there. And a lot of Latinos throughout the country are close to people in Texas. That’s all I can figure out. There are some Latinos in Bush’s family; he seems to have a good relationship with them. But beyond that it’s a mystery to me. Hispanics are traditionally obviously Democrats. But at the same time, the larger the population grows, the more diverse it grows as well. We talk about how large the Hispanic population is getting; I don’t think there’s ever been a single-minded focus. Especially now there’s a lot of splinters, and it’s hard to characterize Hispanics as a group in total. The larger the group, the more diversities they have and the more likely some are perhaps to share George Bush’s views too, you know? We usually think of Republicans as being more affluent, maybe that’s true and maybe not. But certainly maybe there are some Latinos who are more affluent and maybe look forward to Bush’s tax plan and that it will help them or something. And I certainly don’t think that Al Gore did as much as he ought to have done to court the Hispanic vote. And I think that perhaps his disassociation with Bill Clinton and Bill Clinton’s morality problems while in office probably didn’t float well with a lot of traditional Hispanic; more traditional values anyway.
DG: Could you share with us something of interest that very few people know about you?
JG: I’m a fairly private person. A lot of people think that people in this profession like to be “out there” and like a lot of attention. That’s not why I’m in this business. And I don’t necessarily think that, I think that there ought to be things that you save for yourself and those close to you that aren’t a big part of your public persona. It’s kind of a difficult thing, because in television you have to promote yourself certainly. The more awareness people have of who you are, the more value you have to your station. At the same time, a reporter is one who tells stories about other people; it shouldn’t be about yourself. I’m not terribly comfortable with anchoring for that reason. Anchors are more about really being out there, the on-TV part of it, that whole thing. I can do that, but it’s not really who I am.
DG: The recent rash of violence in the nation’s schools. You know, we had Columbine then Santana. The shooting at the Catholic girls’ school back east. Do you think we’ve identified the real problem within the children pulling the triggers, or would you say that we’re a nation in denial regarding the latent anger of verbally and physically abused students?
JG: I think it has everything to do with the accessibility of handguns and people not valuing life as well as they should. I mean if these kids didn’t have access to these weapons it wouldn’t happen. It used to be that kids would get mad and act out in far less violent ways. Today they yell at their teacher; there’s just a whole loss of respect and value for life. Combine that with the easy accessibility of weapons and you have a recipe for a horrible situation. I mean the kid that shot the gun at Santana High School, it was supposedly part of a suicide plot. And he was upset over being disciplined for tardiness, or something like that. I mean, he was a 15-year-old. You don’t go and shoot 15 people or whatever because you’re being disciplined.
DG: I also heard that this boy was called “fag” and “queer” and taunted.
JG: I hadn’t heard that. Well, I covered a story the day after Santana High School with people in a town in Arizona who had a situation there where a kid came in and took a class hostage. And they fortunately managed to diffuse the situation before he ever fired his gun. And it was through talking to him and saying, “Look, you know you’ve got yourself in a jam here, don’t make it any worse.” And they talked some sense into this kid. It’s just a shame. It’s not my area of expertise. It seems to me that if, I don’t think kids today are any more disillusioned or unhappy than kids were 30 years ago. They just have access to weapons, they don’t value life. And maybe they see that in the media, I don’t know.
DG: I agree that children or teenagers should certainly not have access to guns, but I also feel that there is a deeper problem. There’s also the question of why something isn’t being done to help children who are victims of constant bullying and abuse. Why isn’t there some kind of outreach or help offered to students who hate to go to school because of repeated taunting and/or physical abuse?
JG: I think kids need to understand that they have other options. Maybe there are times that they don’t, I don’t know. My brother had all kinds of difficulties and problems growing up, and he struggled for a very long time but he got through it. He had a lot of problems with different things. He was a never part of the mainstream crowd, anyway. He was trying to find himself and trying to find his identity and thank God he did, because he’s become tremendously successful; he’s doing very well and I’ve got a very good relationship with him now that we didn’t have growing up. I mean he was eventually able to see the light. I don’t know the answer. I don’t know why it’s more difficult for others but I think it’s important, probably for people who did have difficulty, to hear from someone who went through the same thing. You get through this time and you can make a good life for yourself. There’s no excuse for what these kids are doing, but at the same time they’re just kids who don’t even know what they’ve gotten themselves into. It’s just hard to blame them, it’s hard to come down on them and force them to spend the rest of their lives in prison or whatever.
DG: Tell us about your trip to Mexico with Cardinal George. Do you have any impressions of him and the trip in general that you could share with us?
JG: I have a lot of respect for the Cardinal. I think he’s a very good man. I think he’s very good for the church here. He’s very compassionate, but compassionate within the framework of the (Roman Catholic) Church. I don’t get the same feeling from meeting Cardinal George that I felt when I met Joseph Cardinal Bernardin. In that case I felt enveloped in peace just shaking his hand. It’s more of a feeling of respect that I think I have for Cardinal George. I never met anyone like Cardinal Bernardin. At the same time I think Cardinal George is a different type of person; a very good man who’s making a lot of important efforts. I understand he’s being criticized a little bit or that the (Roman Catholic) Church is being criticized for their efforts, and I don’t know the particulars here. I heard there were a lot of things going on when I was in Mexico I didn’t see evidence of in terms of some dissatisfaction with the way Latinos were being treated in the Church. Every time I talked to the Cardinal about it, it seems like he’s very sincerely tried to be more inclusive with the Church and to really reach out to all people. He understands that there is a large Hispanic population in the (Catholic) Church here, and in going to Mexico he was trying to bridge that gap. To unite the Church there and here is important and part of his effort. It makes a lot of sense and he understands that and he went there and spoke Spanish and used his language ability to relate to them. He wasn’t gracing them with his presence, he was going there to truly try to learn and share.
DG: It has often been alleged that the Hispanic culture on the whole is rather intolerant of gays and lesbians. Do you agree with that assessment and, if so, what are the root causes of that sentiment, in your opinion?
JG: There’s certainly a macho Hispanic culture. There are real defined gender roles in traditional Hispanic households and Hispanic men in general are probably more macho than some other cultures. Certainly Italian culture is similar, I would say, just from what stereotypes we see. I don’t know, I’ve not seen a lot of evidence of prejudice either way. I don’t have the answer to that, because it’s not part of who I am or my exposure.
DG: In your opinion, John, should gays and lesbians be allowed to openly serve in the military or is “Don’t ask, don’t tell” the best we can hope for?
JG: I’ve never served in the military; I’m sure there’s a culture there that’s probably one that I couldn’t understand, but certainly. I think that society’s come a long way in the last decade, and I think at the time that Clinton started the “don’t ask don’t tell” it was the best compromise he thought he could reach. But I think that it could go a lot further now. I’m not comfortable in the sense that I don’t see where my opinions are that important about things that I really don’t know that much about. I realize that Windy City Times is a paper that caters to a specific audience but I don’t see myself as an advocate. I have a responsibility as a role model as a Latino on television, but at the same time I’m a journalist who reports on many things. My opinions aren’t as important as the people I’m interviewing.
DG: I think that people are always interested in the views of high-profile journalists such as yourself.
JG: I think that I’m just open-minded and that I am learning. That’s one of the neat things about this job, that you learn a lot of different perspectives and if you’re open to those perspectives there is much to be gleaned. A lot of it’s a game. I mean when I was in Texas there was some big Klan rally going on. One of the reporters, who was a former network correspondent, is African American. It was a game just watching it (the interviews of the Klan) ; the interviewee treated him (the African American) just the same as he treated any of the other journalists there. Because he knew that he was going to use that venue to get his views out.
DG: Do you consider yourself a relentless reporter who will do most anything to scoop the competition?
JG: I’m very competitive. But within ethical boundaries. I’m not going to be unethical just to get a story, my principles are more important to me than winning. I’ve been in Chicago seven years and I hope to be here a lot longer. Your reputation is based on longevity in demonstrating your value. Chicago viewers are pretty discriminating. In the short term they’re going to remember a whole lot more if you cross an ethical boundary while trying to get a story than they are if you’ve got some element of a story before others did.
E-mail: DavdRonald@aol.com