As with most OTR audio of celebs, this audio clip goes back to 1984 (courtesy of Strand Media Group).  Fonda talked about how painfully shy his father was. As the clip starts, I asked him if he ever got advice from his father about whether he should pursue an acting career.

Click HERE to listen 

WE CONTINUE OUR FRIDAY INTERVIEW WITH REPORTER BILL GEPHARDT

Bill Gephardt used to report for KCAL, and currently is working for KUTV in Salt Lake City, specializing as a consumer reporter.

(7) OTR -  Tell about your approach to being a consumer reporter.  How would describe your style? Also , if you send a letter or make a call to a company, will they often 'give in' just to avoid bad publicity?

Bill -   " My approach first and foremost is to be polite in investigative/consumer reporting, and always assume that whoever I am talking to (subject or victim) is not telling the truth.  It gets to the bottom of the situation...and it's good newsroom practice, period.
       These stories are just that:  stories.  These issues are not my problem, they are merely stories to share with an audience in which the audience hopefully has an interest.  I receive more than 150 inquiries each day.  More than half of them are legitimate problems people are having with a business...but I only put one story on per day.  The selection of that story is based upon what I perceive is a pubic interest in the subject.  It often includes some insight into what might have been done better to have avoided the problem, or an overlooked way of solving it.  The idea is to allow others to benefit from the troubles of my daily subjects.
     I try to avoid hidden camera stuff.   Various news bosses in Los Angeles and here in Salt Lake City have encouraged me to use such hidden camera stuff because they say the public loves it.  But in order for me to make use of such deception, I must have first exhausted all other potential means of getting the information. 
     I will more often make use of the confrontation interview.   In order to do that, I must first believe that the person I am confronting is up to no good on a regular basis.  I will not confront a letitimate business person who simply does not want to appear on camera.  And the very best kind of confrontation is the "sit-down" confrontation.  That's the one where the subject agrees to do the interview, and sometimes I can develop a spirited back and forth on some subject.  But in all cases, it's important to be polite.  It is my view that if I confronted Jack the Ripper and began being rude, the audience would become uncomfortable with the story.  If, however, I continue to be  polite while the subject begins swearing and yelling, the audience will not become uncomfortable.
     And...in response to the last part of your question:  No...never do I encourage a business to resolve something that should not be resolved.  It's a news story in a newscast.    I'm out to tell stories, not solve problems.  I have 4 people working with me, and we make it very clear to each other that we are going for the story.  After research, we decide whether or not it is a story based on what we have learned.    Usually, the problem that should have been fixed gets fixed after we call.  Very often, we simply make a call doing research, and a business decided to "fix" the problem.  Fix it or not, if it is a tale that ought to be told, we tell it, regardless of the fix.  And, often "victims" are wrong.  Never do we ask a business to fix such things.  On occasion, I'll even opt to do a story on a bad customer.
     Just like in all news...it's the story."

(8)  OTR -You say you're out there to tell stories, not solve problems. But doesn't
KUTV market you as a problem solver? (I figured that was standard for
consumer reporters). Yet, if you only told stories, and didn't solve a lot
problems in the process, they wouldn't keep you in that job, would they?


 Bill -  "Yes.  My franchise is marketed as a problem solving part of the
newscast.  I leave the moniker that if you have a problem you can't solve,
maybe I can.   I would say that 75% of the time, the stories I tell result
in the solving of an individual problem.  But my approach is that others
have the same problem, and here is how I solved it.  Now, you can do it to.
And, off the air, we refer people to others who can solve their problems. 
         However, as often as not, people see what we do as investigative
journalism, and we also market it that way.  So, people call who do not have
a personal problem, but they are aware of shenanigans of politicians or
business people or anyone else.  So, they tip me.  For example, last week, I
did a story about a construction project where they wasted 20-thousand
taxpayer dollars to temporarily pave one block, just so they could rip it up
2 days later after a parade had passed.  The could have re-routed the
parade, or scheduled the construction to take place after the parade.  But
instead, they opted to waste tax dollars.   
    I think my position is an editorial platform for outrage.  That's
why they keep me on the job."

(9) OTR - If you would...tell us about the consumer story you felt best about
doing, and maybe one of complaints that you checked out and realized the citizen
was scamming you.


 Bill - "Best?  I don't know.  There are lots of them.  I like the
investigation I called "Hidden Warranties."  It showed how every car on the
road has defects, and they are covered by warranty...but...nobody will tell
you about them.  They are public record at the DOT library in Washington,
but manufacturers and dealers refused to admit such documents existed.  Now,
a federal law requires their disclosure.  I like all the credit card
investigations we've done, which showed consumers and businesses being
scammed, and being forced to pay because of the planned lack of security on
the part of credit card companies.  That problem is constantly being fixed.
I like all the investigations I've done trying to teach people that
so-called "check cards" or "debit cards" are very dangerous, and should not
be used in lieu of credit cards until there are some changes in the law.
And on and on...I do one each day.
    Consumers trying to scam me happens frequently.  One this week comes
to mind where the consumer called to say the car they sold to their neighbor
was declared stolen, and now the car has been impounded.  The neighbor is
really pissed.  Help!  Help!   It turns out the consumer failed to pay on
the car loan, and tried to get out from under it by "selling" it to their
neighbor.  So, it got repossessed by the rightful leinholder.  The consumer
couldn't believe what we found out, and implied that we violated their
privacy by finding out what we found out.
    But, as I say, it happens frequently.  My mantra is to approach all
stories as if everyone we talk to is a liar, including our mothers.  It's
not cynical.  It's safe, and it's basic reporting."

(10) OTR - What is the burnout factor like for a consumer reporter?  Would you like to jump back into general assignment or some other beat?


 Bill -  "There is a certain burnout factor, I think, for any franchise that
is charged with enterprising and executing a story on a daily basis.  When
you go after a business or a politician for some wrongdoing, it takes a
great deal of energy to not only capture two sides of the story, but also
trying to think of all the other possibilities that might create many other
sides to the story. 
    There is much less pressure, I think, to cover "spot" news (fires,
earthquakes, accidents) or news conferences.  Those things just happen.  They
are generated by someone or some occurrence outside of the newsroom.  A
reporter can receive the assignment, take a look, and report what he/she
sees. 
    On the other hand, there are tremendous personal rewards in doing
investigative/consumer reporting.  Sometimes, you get to make a difference
in someone's life, and it makes it worth it.
    I used to do more general assignment news.  I was a police reporter,
a state government reporter, and an education reporter.  Very often, the
assignment desk generated a story, often out of the newspaper.  Other times,
I would just travel from source to source trying to find out some tidbit I
could make into a story some day.  But, if I failed to generate my own story
in a particular day, the desk would almost always come through and I was
able to do my job for the day.  There was much less pressure.
    I've been doing investigative/consumer reporting now for more than
20 years, so I'm used to the pressures."

Next Friday - Part Three with Bill Gephardt

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Have a good weekend!

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