- Hi, I'm Toni Williams, and this is Brooklyn Savvy.
(rhythmic instrumental music)
Hi, I'm Toni Williams, and welcome to Brooklyn Savvy.
We are so pleased to have Lori Stokes on as our guest.
Now, you were the news anchor for the morning
and the afternoon news? - Right.
- WABC? - Yes.
- I think all of our viewers know that. (Lori laughs)
And now you're gonna to be segueing
into Good Day New York with--
- That's right, I never thought, believe me,
after being-- - Yeah, how many years was it?
- At WABC for 17 years. - Oh, my word.
- I was prepared just to sign up for another
X amount of years and sort of go off into the sunset.
- You were in your comfort zone.
- Totally, yes.
- You were in your comfort zone.
- Never did I think at 55 I would shift gears--
- Does she look 55? (panelists laughing)
- And start all over at a brand new place.
- When I used to hear your last name, Stokes,
and it did remind me of someone
when I was growing up, Carl Stokes.
That was the name that came up first
in terms of being the first African-American
mayor of a major city, Cleveland.
- Correct.
- Now, your father was Louis Stokes,
so you came from a very political family.
Talk to us about this book, The Gentleman from Ohio.
- So The Gentleman from Ohio was a lifelong wish
of my dad to be able to pen his autobiography.
My dad died in August of 2015,
and he passed away two weeks after he knew
that it was going to be published.
- Oh, oh.
- So it kind of was real, and I was his caregiver.
- Oh!
- For the last three months of his life.
And he finished the autobiography about three weeks
before he passed, and then Ohio State University Press
called and said they would publish it.
And he, for years, everyone kept saying,
"Lou, you need to write your life story."
But he was always so busy that he just never
buckled down and got around to it.
- Got around to it, right.
- So I'd say the last maybe five years of his life,
he started to say, "Okay, I'm gonna do this."
And I like to consider his life--
- It's beautifully written.
- It's an American, it's a beautiful American story.
He was born into poverty in Cleveland, Ohio,
in February of 1925.
He was the older brother, Carl was his baby brother.
Their mother was a domestic,
but she liked to say that she was in-service.
Their dad died when my dad was three.
His father died of acute peritonitis.
And he worked in a laundromat, he never knew his father.
And so he was raised by his single mother,
his widowed other, who would take several trolley cars
to go to the west side of Cleveland.
- This is one of those stories, though, what it, yes.
- Yes! - Yes, yes.
- And you know, it was the Great Depression.
He talks in there, it was funny, I have three siblings.
I have a brother and two sisters,
and although we were all very close to him
in different relationships, we learned,
each learned so much about him, and he talks about--
- That you didn't know? - That we didn't know!
- I can imagine, that's pretty great.
- Yeah, that we didn't know!
You know, and he talks about how he and Carl
would take a little wagon and take the surplus items
during the Depression, the beans and other food
that you would get, and one would carry a stick
while the other one would pull the wagon
because everybody was hungry.
- I remember reading that, yeah, just a prank.
- You know, in case they had to beat off
someone or whatever.
But they never knew, of course, what their destiny would be,
but their mother used to tell them all the time,
"Get something in your head so you don't have to use
"your hands like I have." - Right.
- She considered her boys just being able
to graduate from high school as being
the pinnacle of what they could do.
She had no idea that they would go off--
- [Toni] They would go to law school, right.
- To college and to law school and become the politicians--
- The gentlemen from Ohio. - That they did, right.
- So in terms of your career and how you were able to move,
talk to us about some of the values that you
were brought up with that attributed to your success.
- Well, my father and my mother both told us
that we could follow whatever career path
we wanted as long as we were happy.
They never tried to steer us in one direction or the other.
And they used to always tell us,
"Be the best that you can be,"
that you have to work 10 times harder,
as an African-American.
- Yes, yes. - And--
- Some people don't believe that we work 10 times harder.
- Well, that's true, too. (panelists laugh)
- Yeah, right, but it's true, but it's true.
- But it is true. - It is true!
Just to own that space, to own your space, you know?
Yes, I agree with you completely.
- Absolutely.
- And the other angle, an African-American woman.
- And you have your challenges with that as well.
- Yes, right.
- You know, depending upon what career path you go.
And I took a roundabout way.
I went to Ohio State, I went there under an independent
study program which meant if you wanted
to go to class you could.
- Oh, I remember independent studies.
- If you didn't want to-- - Those were dangerous.
Those were unstructured.
- It was very dangerous for me.
- You had to be really motivated.
Those were for unstructured, yeah.
- I was too busy with the Kappas.
So anyway, at some point-- - Fun stuff.
- My father said to me, he said,
"I am not goin' waste my money, you better come back here."
- You're not gonna be a sweetheart, right.
- So he brought me back to D.C.
I worked on Capitol Hill for a year and a half,
and then I realized I wanted to go back to school,
so I went to Howard University at that point
and changed my major from English to broadcast journalism,
and then everything just started to roll.
- Now, your father was the founder
of the Congressional Black Caucus, one of the founders?
- He was one of the founders, there were nine members.
- What was that experience like?
Because that, to me, is very, very meaningful.
- Right.
- You know, the conferences that they have very year.
I mean, it's so important.
- Well, when he went in, he was elected in '68,
when he went in in '69, there were nine congressional,
black congressional members at that time,
and that's Shirley Chisholm and Charlie Rangel,
Bill Clay, several others, of course,
and Nixon was the president at that time.
And they felt as if their voices were not being heard,
and the needs of their constituents
were not being addressed.
And so they had asked Nixon for a meeting with him.
When they formed, they realized that by forming
the Congressional Black Caucus that they could
tackle the social needs, the economic needs,
the housing needs, the educational needs of minorities,
and they could basically have a manifesto
of what the different needs were of the people that they
had been sent to the United States Congress to serve.
And so when the asked Nixon for a meeting,
he told them no. - Uh-oh.
- That, you know, you really are not worth my time.
And so what happened was, eventually when Nixon
was giving the State of the Union Address,
the decided to boycott it, and they felt as if you
will not listen to our needs, then we ought not
take the time to go down to the floor
of the House of Representatives and give you the respect
of listening to you address the nation.
And so it just became a matter of then Richard Nixon
understanding how this group of individuals
did have a substance and power,
and the were they messengers of the people.
And so he did address them, have them to the White House,
and they sat down, they talked about the needs
of their constituents, and of course, as time went on,
they became more and more powerful addressing the needs.
- Now, I'm listening to you speak,
and it sounds as though your career in media
is very closely aligned to politics
when it comes to being able to advocate and have a voice.
How do you use your voice?
I mean, you've been in news, so is that,
I mean, how would one use one's voice when it comes to news?
Or can you use your voice that way?
- I think you can.
It depends what role you play at different times.
When I first started, my first job was WCIA
in Champaign/Urbana, and I went there not knowing
really what to expect, and I never got the sexy stories,
the lead stories. - Yeah, right!
- You know, I felt as if, as an African-American woman,
that they kinda wanted to keep me in my spot.
And that's not to say that, my news director was a man
named Dave Shaw, he was a doll, he was fabulous.
But I didn't feel as if I was able to get the stories
on the air that I wanted to, so I decided I wanted
to become a medical reporter, which I knew nothing about.
But what I did know is if I called all the hospitals,
their PR people wanted the public to know
what technology they were doing and medical advancements.
So I just started calling and, you know,
hi, this is Lori Stokes with WCIA,
love to know what you all are doing there.
And that was a great vehicle for me
because it allowed me not only to travel,
and that was when MRIs and PET scans and CAT scans--
- Everything was new. - Were just coming out.
And I had to travel to Chicago and to St. Louis
to do stories, and I ended up breaking a story
on tuberculosis on the University of Illinois,
but it was only because I had already kind of
positioned myself-- - You were ready for it.
- To be a medical reporter.
So in that example, I was not only able to break a story,
but it also elevated me-- - Right.
- To be a little bit more in the spot.
- Elevated, real important. - It is!
- Real important to find that opportunity for visibility.
- Right, exactly. - Right.
- And I had a two-year contract,
but between that and a couple other stories,
I was able to get out and go to Charlotte.
And Charlotte, I would say, for me, was fantastic.
It was the beginning of me becoming a crime reporter.
- Hah, hah, hah!
- And you know, back in those days--
- See, when I look at an anchor, you know,
you just formulate a background of what anchors do.
Right, right. (everybody laughing)
- Well, I take great--
- It seems like you're a narrator of the news,
but there's so much more that got you there, right.
- No, I take great pride in being a reporter
because there's a lot of power in that.
- Absolutely.
- And there's a lot of skill in it.
And I've always felt as an anchor,
a reporter can not say to you that you're just
an anchor if you have been a reporter.
- Right, right, right. - You've gained--
- Your chops, you've got your chops.
- You've gained your chops, and you've also
established yourself in that way.
And it wasn't until when I left Charlotte,
I worked at WBFF in Baltimore, which was a Fox station.
It was a startup, 'cause I grew up in Maryland
watching Fox45, and all they ran were movies all day.
(everybody laughing)
But when Sinclair Broadcasting bought it
and they decided to venture into news,
I was one of their founders.
And I had done a lot of work with the homeless,
just volunteering, but I thought to myself,
what if I could step in their shoes?
And I was still new and fresh enough in Baltimore
where no one knew who I was. - Right.
- And my husband was back in Charlotte,
so decided one day I was going to assume a fictitious name
and become a homeless person.
- Wow, right, right, right, exactly.
- I was wired, I had a knife-proof vest on.
- [Phyllis] Wow.
- I spoke with a former cop about what
my mannerisms should be, and so for three days,
I went undercover as a homeless person.
And I ended up, I felt, that when you ask
about the power of a journalist, being able to influence
or educate-- - Yes, influence, right.
- For me, that was one, that was something that I will be
forever proud of, the work that I did
as a homeless person during that time.
- Didn't you win an award for that?
- Yeah, I think so. - I did.
For that one, I won an Associated Press award.
- Awesome. - Yes.
- What makes, who determines what is news?
I mean, what is the role of, say, the news director
or the producer, meaning, how the story is told.
Once it hits the news, sometimes things can change.
- Well I think-- - I've had people say to me
"You can't believe everything you read
"or everything you see," you know?
- I think they're two separate questions and answers.
I've worked for so many news directors,
and all of 'em are different, and all of 'em
lead their newsrooms in a different way.
You know, I think ultimately the role
of a news director is to have a vision,
to be able to have great managerial skills,
great leadership skills, be a confidante at times,
bring someone off a ledge, you know.
(panelists laughing) - Yeah, right.
- Clearly be able to deal with budgets,
and to have a morale that is in unison
and where you all are on the same page, you know.
And it doesn't mean that your ideology has to be the same
in how you approach each news story
because that's the beauty of a newsroom,
that we all come from a different background,
we bring something different.
But at the end of the day, you want integrity.
- Right. - Right.
- You want truthfulness. - Right.
- You want ownership, you want attribution.
You want to be able to realize
that there are people behind the stories.
You know, one fire is, you can't just say
all fires are alike. - Right.
- They're different people, you know what I mean?
- Everything is different, yes, yes.
- A shooting is different.
- Even with the hurricane's that we've experienced.
- A hurricane.
- Every single one completely different, right.
- You know, we've seen these tragedies.
When I think of 9/11, when I think of even the blackout
that we had 10 years ago. - Right, right.
- With the hurricanes, I lived through Hugo
when I was in Charlotte. - Right.
- We didn't think it was coming that far inland.
You know, you see these stories come out
of these natural disasters where neighbor helping neighbor,
and these are the stories where you look at pieces,
a photo that's found somewhere
or someone who's been disconnected.
We look at Puerto Rico right now where no one
can get in contact with their loved ones.
And so I think that a news director's role
is to make sure that their reporters
find those stories that really matter, you know?
- And source those stories, right?
- Exactly.
- When we talk about sourcing a story, you know,
'cause there's this whole, everybody's talking
about fake news today, you know?
And so when reporters talk about sourcing
and how important that is, as somebody who consumes news,
how does one know what is fake and what is, yeah.
- You wanna believe that what you're hearing is the truth.
- Right, right. - Exactly.
- I-- - But you can't always.
- Well, you know, this concept of fake news,
I don't really know what that is (Toni laughs)
because my entire life, I have always told the truth.
And I pride myself on being a journalist.
And so this concept that has come into our vernacular,
I don't really know what it is.
- And it just started, it just came.
- Because it's not what, it is not who I am.
- You know, it must be so infuriating.
You go out, and you do all this work,
and you make sure that you put all your values in it,
and you present it and have a certain segment
of the population decide that it's fake news.
I think that is an indictment of all journalists
who are working today because it's very flippant.
- Well, I also think there's, it is.
(panelists laughing) - It undermines.
- I like that, flippant news.
- I think there's just been a deterioration
of what is pure news.
You know, I think that anytime you have pop culture
and the Kardashians and the blending
of entertainment and news--
- Reality. - Right.
- It's diluted. - It really is.
- And so you don't always recognize what is.
And when you have so many, you know,
I was one of the founders of MSNBC,
in fact I was the first African-American to speak on MS.
- Well, then, that's a very, very important channel.
- Yeah. - That's fabulous.
- After Jodi Applegate said,
"Good morning, and welcome to MSNBC,
"let's get the latest headlines from Lori Stokes."
- Oh, fabulous! - So I was, yeah.
- [Toni] Excellent.
- So I just think that, you know,
we do a disservice to viewers
by not helping everyone to understand
what a real journalist is.
- Exactly. - Yes.
- And I don't think you can poke holes
in what, you know,
in what we do. - Yeah.
- I don't know too many people, I have to say,
that wake up as journalists in the morning
and say, "Today, I'm going to report fake news."
- Fake news. (panelists laughing)
Lori, could you tell us how, from the time you started,
how has the culture in the newsroom changed?
I mean, how has it evolved or how has it changed
from when you started?
- You know, I think there are those of us
who are holdovers who (laughs)
still try to keep it like it always was.
You know, the dynamics have changed.
We have social media that's become such a--
- [Nomiki] Very fast paced.
- It really is very strong now, you know,
you have to keep up. - Right.
- And the younger generation that's coming up,
you know, it's second nature to them.
- They get all their news on Twitter.
- Yeah, and that's the thing, you know, we don't have--
- Well, it's like a clipping report in its own way.
- Television isn't what it once was.
We don't have the viewership that we once did.
You know, people pick up their smartphone.
- That's so true, that's so true,
- That's how they get their news.
- And everything's also shorter and faster on TV as well.
- Well, our patience is that of a gnat.
- Right. - Yes.
- So you know, it's like, gimme what I need in 20 seconds,
and I'm out the door. - Yeah.
- I had one news director at WABC who used to say
all the time, he was like, "Don't waste my time.
"Viewers don't want you to waste their time."
Which is, when we did that concept of every seven minutes--
- Right. - Right.
- Weather, traffic, you know, all of that.
- Oh, yeah, that, I kinda liked that, though.
'Cause I knew when to tune in. - Right, yeah!
Right, in the morning, that's what you want!
- Should I take that train this morning?
- Exactly!
- I didn't have a problem with that one bit.
- That's right, that's right!
- So what advice would you have for young people
coming into the business, specifically young black women
How do they become Lori Stokes?
- (laughs) Um, gee. - Yeah, right?
You know what, I'm always optimistic about everything.
- [Toni] Thank you, absolutely.
- I mean, I really am, and I have gone through some moments,
believe me, I've gone through some moments.
- Yes.
- But you know, I think it comes down
to believing in yourself. - Absolutely.
- As hard as that is, and it is hard.
It's really hard sometimes.
- But you know, the spiritual, are you a spiritual person?
Do you have a-- - I am, I am.
- Yeah, and I find that's something that, right.
- And that's not to say a religious person,
there's a difference. - Right, absolutely.
That's why I said spiritual. (laughs)
- Yes, yes, yes.
You know, I think that you have to just,
if you just wanna look on the surface of being a journalist,
be curious. - Yes.
- Be a good writer, stand your ground,
be compassionate, be flexible.
- Talk a little bit about that stand-your-ground piece.
What does that look like?
Because I'm thinking that journalists
are always a part of social change.
I think of Ida B. Wells and reporting on lynching.
You know, you have such power as a journalist
to change the way people think
and perceive each other and feel about each other.
Talk about standing your ground.
- Well, it's a power--
- Because that can be such a touch place, for so many people
will falter when it comes to standing ground
or choosing the battles that one stands
their ground on, so to speak.
- Well, I think it's a power you never wanna
take advantage of, and I think that, at least for me,
but I come from a family--
- [Toni] Of stand-your-ground people. (laughs)
- Stand your ground, make a difference, give back, be nice.
- [Toni] Be nice, yes, it's very important.
- Be authentic, you know, my father always told me
and my siblings that no matter what you achieve in life,
don't be a big deal, don't think you're a big deal.
- And you do a great job of that.
- And so I guess, you know,
but I do feel as if, I don't back down.
I have gone up against--
- But you look like such a sweetheart, see? (laughing)
- She's a sweetheart, but she doesn't back down!
- You have such a sweet face, but I know that there's
a toughness that's there, if that's the right word.
A strength, let's say strength.
- A strength. - Strong, driven.
- Because oftentimes people, when you're a strong woman,
they wanna put tough in there.
It doesn't have to be tough, but strong.
- Yeah, no, you know what?
Listen, I was raised with always tell the truth,
and when I, I mean, seriously--
- [Toni] Always, always, yes.
- And so even if it got me in trouble.
- Right. - Right.
- And so I am just very strong about my convictions,
and I just don't allow people to walk over me.
- [Toni] Good for you.
- So you know, I always feel like I have truth on my side,
and as long as I have that, I have the strength
to do anything in the world I want because no one can ever
poke holes into what you're doing,
what you're saying if you are doing right.
- Right. - Right.
- And you know, my father used to say,
"You can't go wrong if you're doing right."
- Absolutely.
- And that's how I live my life.
- And that's also how you, when you're on the screen, Lori,
command how your audience sees you,
as right, as strong, as compassionate.
And I say that as one of your fans.
- Thank you, thank you. (laughs)
- From ABC to now Fox. - Thank you.
- That does come through.
But at the same time, you know, you take it all in,
and you're a human being, and you're very approachable.
- [Toni] I was gonna say approachable.
- You're very approachable. - Yes, yes, so much so.
You know, one thing we didn't talk--
- You represent a lot of great things.
- So much about were the challenges
for African-American females in journalism.
Is there anything unique to us in that sense?
Well, everything's unique to us, hello,
everything's unique to us.
- Well, certainly, you know, when I was in Charlotte,
I had issues to deal with. - Right, right.
And how'd you navigate through that?
- I had a general manager who told me
I should stick with my own kind.
- Oh, okay, yeah, okay, so you've been involved, right,
right, okay. - And then there are those.
- So what I did, my husband is white.
- Oh, yes, right. - So I got married,
and he told me I should stick with my own kind.
But I was a young kid, I was 26 years old.
And in the beginning of my career,
I knew that that wasn't something
that you were supposed to say to another individual.
- Right, right.
- But yeah, you confront things,
but at the same time, this is what fighting is about.
This is what he Civil Rights Movement was about.
This is what life is about, and it doesn't end.
- Right. - Absolutely.
- So what would your father say about the climate right now?
- Well, you know, my father served 30 years in Congress,
and he went through the Republican Revolution
with Newt Gingrich, and he served with eight presidents.
He, you know, saw it all.
When he retired, it was just because after 30 years
at the political machine with, his younger baby brother
had passed away from cancer, and Capitol Hill wasn't
what it once was to him. - Right.
- This climate I'm sure would embarrass him.
- [Toni] Yeah, it's disheartening.
- He used to think--
- [Toni] Because of the work that was done,
you would think that it was done.
- Well, he just liked civility.
- Right. - Yeah, yeah.
- You know, he was known, when the book is called
The Gentleman from Ohio, there's a reason.
Because here was a legislator who got along
with both sides of the aisle, whether it was Carl Albert
who was the Speaker of the House or Jim Wright
or Tip O'Neill, whomever it was--
- All those iconic names, all those iconic names, yeah.
- He was appointed chairmanships because he could work
with both Republicans and Democrats.
When Lou Stokes was on Capitol Hill,
that was his strength of you may not agree
with the other side on something,
but you respected what they brought to the table.
- Well, you know, that's are really great place
for us to have to wrap-- - Darn it!
- But this was fantastic, you're lovely.
- Thank you, you're lovely, ladies!
- I am so happy you joined us. - This was wonderful.
- And that you said yes.
Brooklyn, she's so approachable! (panelists laughing)
- We need to tell 'em now to watch Fox 5.
- Yes, yes, yes. - Good Day New York.
And I have to say, I mean, I've only, I've now been
on their air eight days, but it's a great company.
And again, you know, every little step is a good change.
- Every little step, excellent.
The Gentleman from Ohio. - The Gentleman from Ohio.
(laughs) And it's in paperback now on Amazon.
- Ooh, wonderful!
- Yes. - Awesome.
- Well, thank you so much.
And we will see you next time on Brooklyn Savvy.
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