May 1993 - January 1997

I worked as an anchor, reporter and producer for KARN, Little Rock's top-rated news station, which was also the flagship for the Arkansas Radio Network, heard on 65 affiliates across the state. Here I learned how to report news and cover stories in the field. In my final year there I would become Promotions Director, which included me reporting live from somewhere every half-hour in morning drive.

By the time I started with KARN in 1993 it had long established itself as an influential and well-respected station, which at that time was still locally owned by Ted Snider. It was my first news station and proved to be an incredible training ground at a time when Arkansas was under a national media spotlight.

I had just ended a five month internship at the C-SPAN cable network in Washington, which solidified my desire to work in news. Up until then my news experience had been limited to putting together short newscasts for music stations using wire copy and re-writing stories from newspapers. I owe a lot of gratitude to Ron Breeding, who was News Director at the time and said he saw enough potential to give me a part-time position anchoring Saturday afternoons and Sunday mornings on the station and state network. It helped that two of my previous stations, KBBA and KDXY, had been ARN affiliates, so I knew what it was like to be on the other end of the satellite putting the newscasts on the air. At that time I would anchor three newscasts an hour, two on the Arkansas Radio Network and one at the bottom of the hour on KARN. For the most part I was alone in the newsroom, so if any kind of news was developing, I'd have to follow it as best I could over the phone or sometimes got help from ARN affiliates.

MP3 AUDIO: A KARN NEWSCAST from a half-hour later at 9:30 am, March 20, 1994. It was during the show Sunday Digest, hosted by Paul Rice. It included a report by Elton Cannon on a visit to Arkansas by controversial Surgeon General Joycelyn Elders. Length 4:39 (4.26 mb).

I slowly started getting story assignments, learning what it was like to go out and report from the field. Up until that point the closest sort of reporting I had done was to cover speakers at Rotary Club meetings in Jonesboro as part of a class at Arkansas State University. One of the first really big stories I covered for KARN was a death row inmate being executed. Over the next several years I covered every execution in Arkansas, including several multiple executions, in which two or three inmates would be put to death on the same evening. It was while covering these that I started filing regularly for CBS, which KARN was then affiliated with.

MP3 AUDIO: This was my first report to lead a CBS newscast, May 14, 1994. It was on a DOUBLE EXECUTION at Cummins Prison in Varner, Arkansas, the first multiple execution in the U.S. since the death penalty had been re-legalized in 1976. Length 1:00 (939 kb).

MP3 AUDIO: A CBS report on a TRIPLE EXECUTION, January 9, 1997. This was one of the few times a relative of a victim spoke to the press. It would be the last execution I covered in Arkansas before moving to Richmond, Virginia a few days later. Length 0:53 (841 kb).

About a year after starting with KARN, the position of morning producer came open and I was offered the job by then News Director Vern Beachy. I would come in during the week at 4 am to catch CBS feeds, re-write copy, make beat calls to police agencies and, if there was something happening, I would go to the scene and report live on a cell phone.

After work each morning I would go to class at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock, unless there was a story I really wanted to cover. One of my big regrets is never finishing my degree. I felt like I was learning so much more when I was working. As a result, my grades suffered. I did great in most broadcast and English classes, but struggled in those that didn't hold my interest.

MP3 AUDIO: A live report for KARN over my cell phone from a FIRE at Little Rock's historic Central High School in 1994. This would end up winning a second place award from the Arkansas Associated Press for Spot News. Length 1:18 (1.19 mb).

MP3 AUDIO: A 1995 report for KARN about a PROTEST over the conditions of school buses for disabled children, with parents blocking the entrance to a bus lot. This would win a first place award from the Arkansas Associated Press for Best Use of Sound. Length 1:01 (965 kb).

By chance, for a year, I lived about a block away from the home of Dorothy Rodham, the mother of First Lady Hillary Clinton. This was where the Clintons would often stay during their visits to Little Rock. The security presence was a little bit of an inconvenience when they were staying there, but the parking lot of my rather grungy apartment building was where the press pool would assemble at the start of each day. That proved to be very convenient.

I also covered the many investigations, with ardent opponents of the President chasing down every rumor or suggestion of impropriety by him or anyone he ever had anything to do with. Despite the eventual convictions of former business associates for assorted violations, President Clinton would never be ensnared with any kind of criminal wrongdoing in Arkansas. It took his lie about a consensual sexual relationship with While House intern Monica Lewinsky to finally get the smoking gun Republicans had been seeking, leading to his impeachment trial.

My reporting on the investigations started with the 1994 appointment of special prosecutor Robert Fiske to look into the Arkansas land development deal called Whitewater. In the 1970s and '80s, Bill and Hillary Clinton had been partners in the failed venture, along with James and Susan McDougal. However, because of changes in the Independent Counsels law with regards to impartiality, Fiske would soon be replaced with Kenneth Starr.

I was part of the media mob that greeted Starr upon his arrival at the west Little Rock building that housed the independent counsel's office in August 1994. He was cordial enough and didn't stop us from entering the building and chasing him down the hallway to his office. Looking for good sound for a story that CBS was also interested in, I aggressively took a position right behind him as he quickly walked, sticking my mic around the side of Starr, hoping he would say something worthwhile. He didn't, but I still got a few cuts of him saying something to the effect that he couldn't comment about an ongoing investigation.

Soon Starr would bring charges against the President's former business partners, James and Susan McDougal, then Arkansas Governor Jim Guy Tucker and others.

I frequently talked with the three. James McDougal, who had lost his wealth and his marriage, was defiant at an early press conference I attended, daring the independent counsel to bring him to trial. Also, with each development, we at KARN would call him at home, getting dramatically combative comments that always made for great sound bites. Later, after it was reported one day that McDougal was going to be cooperating in the investigation, we didn't get an answer on his phone. So I was sent down to Arkadelphia, a town in southwest Arkansas where he lived in a mobile home parked in front of a friend's home. I didn't have an address, but was told to just ask around. Sure enough at the first gas station I stopped in, they knew exactly we he lived and gave me directions.

McDougal was always an interesting and friendly enough guy. He invited me in, offered me a Coke, sat down with me on the couch and gave me a brief, but great interview. He was still defiant, but apparently concern for his frail health and a possible jail sentence coaxed him to be a little more open with investigators. He still ended up in jail after being found guilty of business misdeeds and would die behind bars in 1998.

Early on his ex-wife Susan McDougal had voluntarily met with Kenneth Starr's investigators. I was among reporters who spoke with her after that first meeting, in which she said it was a good and productive meeting and that she was trying to be as cooperative as possible. But obviously she wasn't telling investigators what they wanted to hear and would eventually be jailed for not giving more specific details. While locked up she was able to listen to a radio and apparently often listened to KARN. She would frequently call whenever she had something to say or when Pat Lynch, the mid-morning talk show host at the time would mention her.

I also frequently spoke one on one with Governor Jim Guy Tucker as the investigation progressed. He would come by the station once to a week to tape his weekly radio address, which was similar to the weekly presidential radio address and would air on Saturday mornings on the Arkansas Radio Network. Tucker was often reluctant to discuss the investigation and would sometimes, especially after I would ask him a hard question, refuse to say anything. He would just shake his head, refusing to utter a word into the microphone.

I felt bad for those being investigated because it seemed to me that even though it was apparent that some had broken the law, if they had never been associated with Bill Clinton, I'd doubt they ever would have been prosecuted. And Arkansans began to resent the scrutiny and attention from the Republican-led investigations. It felt to many like an assault on the state. There were people who hated the President so much that they went to great lengths to try and destroy him by going after everyone who had any kind of connection to him.

The McDougals and Tucker ended up being brought to trial and convicted of fraud charges. They were among 15 people eventually convicted in the investigation. I covered many of the trials and hearings in 1995 and 1996, not for KARN, but for National Public Radio, which I had come in contact with through my work at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock station KUAR. The network needed a stringer reporter to cover the events and I was happy to have the work.

The image to the left is from the front page of the Washington Post from August 20, 1996. Tucker was speaking to reporters outside the federal courthouse after being sentenced to four years of probation. That's my scowling face just over his right shoulder as I worked to angle my mic, the hammer-head one without a mic flag in the center, for the best possible sound. I had the scowling expression because I was wearing headphones and was concentrating on listening to the quality of the sound.

Another story that had political undertones was the arrest and trial of Kevin Elders, the 20-something son of controversial Surgeon General Joycelyn Elders. The appointee of President Clinton had caused a stir through her suggestion that masturbation should be taught in school as part of sex education. In the trial it was learned that Little Rock police, aware that her son abused alcohol and cocaine, began watching him carefully.

In July 1993, the month that Joycelyn Elders was formally nominated as Surgeon General, police paid a friend of Kevin's $155 to get him to pressure the young man into scoring some cocaine. At the trial Kevin testified that he didn't want to do it, but that Calvin Walraven called him repeatedly over several days, saying he was having a hard time finding cocaine and literally pleaded for help in getting some. Kevin eventually sold him one-eighth of an ounce of cocaine.

It would be five months before police issued an arrest warrant, ironically just weeks after Joycelyn Elders suggested that the crime rate would be lowered if soft drugs were legalized. I covered the trial, which lasted only a few days. On the stand, Kevin admitted being a drug user, but insisted the only time he sold was after being pressured by his friend, turned police informant Calvin Walraven. He was found guilty. One week later Walraven shot and killed himself in a Hot Springs motel room.

MP3 AUDIO: A CBS report from July 18, 1994 on the CONVICTION OF KEVIN ELDERS, son of then-Surgeon General Joycelyn Elders, on charges of selling cocaine. His arrest came shortly after her controversial statements about legalizing soft drugs. Length 0:53 (842 kb).

As she left court after the conviction, a distraught Joycelyn Elders refused to say anything to reporters, until asked how she was holding up, to which she responded, "I'm tough as an alligator." A judge sentenced Kevin to 10 years in prison, although he actually ended up serving three months in a boot camp program, where he received treatment for his addiction. Years later Joycelyn Elders pointed out that Little Rock police had been watching her son for three months, and called it a politically motivated sting operation.

Meanwhile, with the conviction of Governor Tucker, he had promised to resign from office. Lieutenant Governor Mike Huckabee was to be sworn in July 15, 1996. I wasn't scheduled to work that day, but had stopped by KARN to pick up my paycheck. As soon as I stepped into the newsroom I was told there was a crisis at the state capitol. With dignitaries and guests there for the inauguration, Tucker had changed his mind at the last minute, saying he would not resign while appealing his conviction. I was sent to the capitol where a bipartisan group of lawmakers was preparing a formal impeachment to remove Governor Tucker from office. I would end up broadcasting much of the events that afternoon live over my cell phone as the state waited to see how this drama would play out.

At one point Huckabee was holding an impromptu press conference outside his office discussing plans for the impeachment. KARN was airing the press conference live by me holding my cell phone in front of Huckabee. At one point I could hear talking on my phone and pulled it back to my head in time to hear news director Vern Beachy saying on the air that Governor Tucker's spokeswoman had called the station and said he would resign effective at 6 pm, about 20 minutes from then.

They then returned to the press conference where Huckabee was continuing to discuss the impeachment. Realizing that I was the first person there to know this information I waited a few seconds for Huckabee to finish one thought, then interrupted him saying that Governor Tucker would be resigning. At this time there was apparently a letter making its way through the crowd that was to give Huckabee that information, but I was able to let the Huckabee know first.

My General Manager Neal Gladner was so impressed that he offered unusual praise of me in a company memo and hosted a party the next night in the newsroom with cake and champagne. I was surprised because it seemed Gladner never thought much of me. But after years of trying to become a full-time employee, he would offer me the position of Promotions Director, which included becoming part of KARN's morning show.

MP3 AUDIO: Mike Huckabee political advisor Rex Nelson discussed the forced resignation of Governor Jim Guy Tucker and my role in breaking the news to Huckabee during a press conference. His comments came on the KARN program Sunday Digest. Length 3:07 (2.86 mb).

MP3 AUDIO: CBS lead story, July 15, 1996, on Arkansas Governor JIM GUY TUCKER being forced to resign rather than be impeached after his conviction on Whitewater-related fraud charges. That pushed Lt. Governor Mike Huckabee to become governor. Length 0:58 (909 kb).

Starting in September 1996, I would find somewhere to be live, reporting hard and soft news stories or getting opinions on hot issues. Starting at 6:50 am I would broadcast live 90-second reports every half hour. I was given incredible freedom in finding interesting things to report on, although it was quite a challenge finding something to talk about everyday and people willing to join me at the crack of dawn.

talked with both sides of a proposed gambling amendment, covered many angles of President Clinton's '96 election watch party, gave several updates as Little Rock's River Market was being developed, provided tips on picking a good Christmas tree, practically anything I could think of. I coordinated KARN's annual holiday drive to collect toys and supplies in front of our building, which were given to the needy. I also continued anchoring newscasts on Sunday morning.

It was a rewarding position, but after more than three years at KARN, I was yearning for something different. Also I was having a hard time getting by on what I felt was a pretty pitiful salary. I had been communicating for more than a year by that time with news station WRVA in Richmond, Virginia. I really liked Richmond, as well as the fact that it was fairly close to Washington and New York, two cities I particularly enjoy visiting. With a good prospect for a job there, I put in my two-weeks notice at KARN, with my final story being a triple execution at Cummins Prison.

I'm incredibly grateful for my time at KARN, which taught me a great deal. It was a very professional operation, where I had to learn to meet its high standards. I'm especially appreciative of the many people who helped me there: News Directors Ron Breeding, Vern Beachy and Chuck Martin, along with Program Directors Tracy Allen, Dale Forbis, Bob Shomper and Greg Foster.

KARN would end up being the last locally owned radio station I would work for, which in later years I really came to appreciate. There's a big difference when a station is owned by a community leader like Ted Snider, who has to stand behind the station and what is essentially his product when he goes to Chamber of Commerce-type events. That is not to say I agreed with every decision he made, but that kind of leadership from the top to have quality, locally oriented programming is drastically different from the mind set that has evolved in today's world of corporate radio. Snider eventually sold KARN to Citadel Broadcasting, which didn't gut the station quite as much as Clear Channel has with its heritage news stations. I'm glad to see that, with the exception of Rush Limbaugh, its broadcast schedule is full of locally hosted programs during the day and that its news staff is full of broadcast veterans.