Posted by chicagomedia.org on June 30, 2009 at 15:05:26:
In Reply to: CLTV's Garrard McClendon On John Callaway's Memorial Ceremony posted by chicagomedia.org on June 29, 2009 at 16:16:20:
None better than Callaway
June 30, 2009 | Chicago Tribune
John Callaway was the working definition of a true broadcast journalist -- intelligent, always well-informed, always prepared, always relentlessly digging for the real story behind the story.
Television viewers will best remember John as the incisive, probing, enthusiastic interviewer on "Chicago Tonight." He was a master at the art of the interview, which is so essential to being a complete journalist. He knew that the key was to be a good listener, not just a good questioner. Listening, he always used to say, was the best way to acquire information and knowledge.
Watching John in action was like watching a natural in professional sports. He made it look easy. And there was never a time when viewers did not come away from one of his interviews having learned something new and insightful.
John's subjects covered an amazing spectrum of interest and importance. He was equally at home talking to hardened Chicago ward bosses, political reformers, former presidents, authors and stars of television, movies and the stage. The list goes on.
John was the driving force behind the start and early success of the all-news format in Chicago radio. As the news director at WBBM-AM, he was there in 1968 when the all-news experiment began. Many doubted it would work. But not John. He approached the challenge with unbridled dedication. More important, he was able to visualize how an all-news station should operate. And he brought in the right people to make it work, leaving a legacy that survives to this day.
What many people may not know is that John was a great people person. He always saw the good in an individual where others saw only the flaws. That made him someone special to work for.
And I shall always be grateful for the start he gave to me in Chicago broadcasting.
When I once asked John about his ability to get along with people, he said he always tried to follow the advice Winston Churchill's mother gave to her son when he was a boy: Judge others as you would your favorite family photographs. Look at them in their best light.
As we mourn John's passing, it would be well for all who seek success in journalism to remember the standards he set and to try and meet them. They don't come any better than John Callaway.
-- Bob Crawford, Barrington, retired political editor, WBBM-AM