The following student report was submitted by Ambassador League Agent Joshua E. during the 2007-2008 League.
Interview With a Local Leader #5 - Diana Lewis, News Broadcaster
Diana Lewis is the primary anchorwoman for "WXYZ Channel 7" news in the Metro Detroit area. She has received several prestigious awards, including the Silver Circle Award, the Media Award (Michigan Business and Professional Association), and two Emmy Awards (Governor's Lifetime Achievement Award and Best News Anchor). She has been inducted into the Michigan Broadcasters Association's Hall of Fame, and has acted in several movies and TV shows, including "Rocky," "Rocky 5," "The Twilight Zone," and "Murder, She Wrote."
Q: What factors motivated you to seek your current position?
A: I love people. I have always been a communicator in one way or another. I started speaking in my church at age four, doing James Weldon Johnson's The Creation. I had the wonderful opportunity at about eleven years of age to be invited to a church in Westchester, PA. I spoke at the end of the service, and was called over to meet a very special person, and I sat on the lap of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. He told my mother, "She's destined to be a communicator." I hold that very near and dear to my heart; I think it started from there. On my weekends, I would visit nursing homes, and I always loved going in and spending time with the elderly and writing letters and communicating because there are so many lonely people out there. I began to realize that that was the type of situation that I wanted to be in. So my mother would take me, and after a while, the people began to look forward to my coming - it was like I was a candy striper in the nursing homes! I just really love people. I see good in everyone. I think it's really important because it shapes the way we view complicated situations.
Q: What training do you think is important to prepare for your position?
A: Probably one of my number-one mentors was Frank Reynolds. He was the ABC news anchor many years before Peter Jennings. He often said that the best preparation for broadcasting is to take a liberal arts course in college, rather than specializing in journalism or similar fields; it's better to have a sense of the wider spectrum. You must be well-rounded and objective, and have a sense for people. You have to be a grounded person because you are challenged on a daily basis. I think that you'll last longer in this business if you make an impact as a person. It's also important to realize that every job in the studio is equally important to get the job done. We have had interns that come in here and think that the work is beneath them, when their small tasks could end up being the most important job of the day. Everyone's job is equally important to me. Being an anchor is no more important than being the camera man, the sound technician, the lighting person, etc. - we can't do it without each other.
Q: What are the greatest rewards of your job?
A: My God, there are so many rewards. One of the greatest was having the opportunity to work alongside of my daughter - to be able to sit and anchor a broadcast with your baby in the same profession was the most awesome feeling in the world. I treasure that. You also have the opportunity to meet wonderful people. I was able to spend three days with Jackie Kennedy when she came through Philadelphia back in the day, and I traveled to New York with her.and had a facial with her! I was sitting there with this brilliant, beautiful woman, who was so calm in her demeanor and so at peace with herself. So you meet a lot of celebrities, a lot of doors are opened for you, but you must enter it with a certain frame of mind. I've watched All My Children for all my life, and to have an opportunity to go to Pine Valley and be a reporter on the show was completely amazing - it blew my mind. I also had the opportunity to be mentored by Regis Philbin when I was in California. We had a ball. He would come by me when we worked on the L.A. morning show and say, "Hot news flash! Meet at the boy's bathroom!" We were written up in the Los Angeles Times, "At ABC they have the club; Regis Philbin is the president, Stu Mayhem is the Vice President, and Diana Lewis is the member!" I have so many wonderful memories; if I walked out of here today, I know that there is nothing more that I need. I've been inducted into the Michigan Association Broadcaster's Hall of Fame, I've won Emmy's, and I was the first news reporter to address the Senate chambers. I don't need anything else. So now I'm just floating on joy; I've weathered the storm, and now I'm just riding the wave. It's a wonderful place to be after 40 years in the business. I am happy with how my family is living, and I feel very good about where I am and how God has blessed me. I'm a very happy woman and am well-satisfied. I don't need anything else. I want you to remember me telling you this: it's a rare thing to get to this age and be able to say "I don't need anything." That's a heck of a statement. But I truly mean that; I'm at a wonderful place, and I thank God for it.
Q: What are the greatest challenges of your job?
A: When I do stories of children being abused, of elderly people who have worked to shape our lives who can't retire and live peacefully because burglars are breaking into their houses, it is very difficult. I don't respect reporters who get in the faces of people who have experienced tragedy and say, "Well, how do you feel?" Well what do you mean how does that person feel?! You must have sensitivity for people. It takes a lot to sit out there everyday. I'm not just sitting and reading; I feel it at the heart level.
Q: What role, if any, does your religious faith play in your profession?
A: It starts everyday when I wake up. When I have the privilege and honor of opening my eyes, I thank God for that. So many people go right by that, and wake up saying "Oh my goodness, I'm going to be late!" Well, what do you mean you're going to be late? Did you bother to even say thank-you for opening your eyes? Who do you think you are that you can wake up and think you're supposed to be here? This is a privilege; this is an honor. My religion and spirit comes across in how I view things, and also in my objectivity when I'm interviewing someone. I have been fortunate over the years to get many exclusive interviews; when I first started in this business in Philadelphia, the news director called me in and said, "I don't know how you got this or that particular interview." It's because I took the right feeling in with me, and tried to make people comfortable. You don't go in and act like because you're a reporter that the person should be happy you're willing to be around them; it's not the right approach. I don't even know cockiness. I always try to maintain a sense of humility. Everyday, my spiritual life plays a role in my life because that's who I am - it defines me. I am a woman of God - that's who I am.
Q: Some would say that the media (whether on the radio, in print, or on TV) is biased. What is your take on this? Do you believe it to be a problem, and what do you think is the solution?
A: It depends on the organization. There's no general answer to that, and I can only speak from my own experience and why I've stayed at Channel 7. I feel that we are more fair than other stations. It depends on where you are and who you are; I could name different [negative] things about other news stations.but that would just be boosting Channel 7! But we are very fair, and we do our best to sit at the table and try to be fair in all situations. I think that our approach and delivery at the station sets a high standard. That's why I've stayed here for so long.
Q: For some people, the term "feminist" is loaded with positive or negative connotations. Do you see yourself as a feminist, and if so, what role have your feminist views played in your life and career?
A: I see myself as a progressive woman. Even before I entered this business, I wanted to make changes for women, for them to be respected and highly regarded. I wasn't out there knocking down doors to say, "We must.because we are women!" But the way that I presented myself and taught my girls was simply for women to be highly regarded. It wasn't "me-over-you," just equality. After 40 years of being in this business, and after being inducted into the MBA Hall of Fame, I felt good for being a part of the television evolution of women becoming respected as professionals in this field. (Do you personally have a negative connotation with the word "feminist"?) It really just depends on the situation and who says the word. Some people say it negatively just because you are a person who is respected or makes a difference in what you say, because your words are influential. It really depends on who it comes from and how it is said; you have to weigh everything out before you give an answer. There are situations where you don't have time to think and you have to go with your gut feeling. But whenever you have a minute to think and evaluate, don't rush by and think that you'll come across as more intelligent if you just shoot off an answer. You're more intelligent if you pause and give a better answer.
Q: If you could give one piece of advice to American teenagers, what would it be?
A: I found my spirit early on, and I say as I see your spirit in you: if I could give one piece of advice, it would be to find your spirit and let it soar. That doesn't mean that everything in life is positive or every day you're climbing higher on the ladder. You may stay on step three for a couple of years, but that's OK because you've found your spirit, know in your mind what you want to do, and you know where your heart is. All you have to do is continue to work on that and just let it grow. Feel free, nothing holding you back; find your spirit, know what you want to do, and go for it. The naysayers, the negativity? I don't have time for it. I spend very little time with negative people. If I had listened to all of that many years ago, being a black woman, I wouldn't be sitting here today. "Oh, you can't go into television! What do you think you're going to be doing? You're not going to be able to make it!" I heard all that.I even heard it from members of my family. There's a poem called "Oh yes I can." We speak of Rosa Parks, and of Helen Steiner, and now.of Diana Lewis. If you believe it.Oh yes you can do it!
ADDITIONAL COMMENTS
I would like to note that my interview with Diana Lewis was one of the greatest moments of my Ambassador League experience. I was allowed to observe a live broadcast before the interview, and the entire WXYZ staff was very accommodating and welcoming. Due to minor interruptions and personal discussion irrelevant to the interview, I have cut a small amount of direct transcription from the text to make the reading flow more smoothly. The interview itself was inspiring; I was overwhelmed by Diana's character and depth of personal care for the people around her. Aside from the interview, we had some personal dialogue, and I must say that the interview alone fails to fully capture her love for life and the people she influences. I am proud to not only have met and interviewed her, but to have become her friend.
