Steve Hartman

1. Steve Hartman "Everybody has a story" By: Amanda Pellegrin

2. How do we define the personality traits of a Hero ? (Steve Hartman) • Steve Hartman is trying to spread stories of peoples lives from around the world through his career and ideas. This would essentially unify us as people, making us understand and respect people from around the world. He believes that everyone has something to share, and that everyone deserves a chance to share it. Based off the things he has accomplished, he is trying to open peoples eyes to new ideas and cultures, and spread wise messages.

3. How is society affected by their heroes? • In older times, the behavior of society has been modeled by its story tellers and myth makers. Heroic warriors were used to inspire young men to become soldiers. (Kanegis). If the world was like this today, everyone would be open minded when introduced to new people, and respect that not everyone has an easy life. • Kanegis, Arthur. "New Heroes for a New Age | Center for Media Literacy." Center for Media Literacy. N.p., n.d. Web. 25 Jan. 2012. <http://www.medialit.org/reading-room/new-heroes-new-age>. .

4. How does Steve Hartman reflect his/her particular culture and society? • Steve Hartman is a big part of society because he is on television on a news channel that is very popular. When people turn on the news to see what's happening in the world, they see Steve Hartman. He is a modern american citizen like the rest of our soceity.

5. How does society recognize or reward Steve Hartman? • Before, heroes were recognized by being in children's books, history books, and remembered with memorials. Today a major reward for being a hero is Fame. Steve Hartman is known for his television segment, and people recognize his name. I think a reward for him is just to be able to do the show that he thought of and created.

6. How did David Johnson get the idea for “Everyone has a story”? • The region of Idaho and Washington that Mr. Johnson covers for the newspaper, is not an area where a journalist can work from press releases. Homes, towns and major breaking news stories are all far apart. Every week for the past 14 years, Mr. Johnson, has written a front page column for The Lewiston (Idaho) Morning Tribune featuring a person chosen randomly from telephone books in the newspaper's circulation area, in central Idaho and eastern Washington.Mr. Johnson got his idea when he began reporting in Idaho, driving 30,000 miles a year. He figured everyone in the towns he drove through had their own story. He raised the phone book idea at The Daily Idahonian, but his editor did not feel the same about the idea.

7. How did David Johnson get the idea for “Everyone has a story”?Continued • Then in 1984, while working for The Tribune, he met Charles Kuralt, the CBS News reporter famous for his ''On the Road'' dispatches. ''He started talking about how he got into doing stories about people who make big balls of string,'' Mr. Johnson said. ''He'd be flying across the U.S. for a news event, and he'd look at the lights below and say, 'You know, we're flying over the best stories.' I told him about the phone book idea, and he said, 'That's one of the best ideas I ever heard.' One of my editors overheard that, and three weeks later I was doing the column.'‘ • Steve Hartman saw David Johnsons reports and decided to do a version of Johnsons idea on TV. Now, the “Everybody Has a Story” segment is on CBS’s The Early Show and are being imitated on local newscasts and in newspapers across the country. • KELLEY, TINA. "'Everyone Has a Story,' As One Reporter Proves - New York Times." The New York Times - Breaking News, World News & Multimedia. N.p., n.d. Web. 30 Jan. 2012. • <http://www.nytimes.com/1998/03/29/us/everyone-has-a-story-as-one-reporter-proves.html>.

8. What steps did he need to take to be known as a hero? Steve Hartman has been a CBS News correspondent since 1998. He’s served as a part-time correspondent for the previous two years. His career began as the Daily Bruin sports editor at UCLA, where he won awards for his coverage of the 1980 Final Four. After graduating, he joined KABC-AM as an assistant producer. He then moved on to the Los Angeles Raiders, where he served as media relations/publications director. Hartman also was a feature reporter for WABC-TV New York (1991-94) and KSTP TV Minneapolis (1987 91). He began his career in broadcast journalism at WTOL TV Toledo, Ohio, as a news intern and general assignment reporter. Over the course of his career, Steve has covered numerous national sporting events, including 13 Final Fours, 15 Super Bowls, and many Major League All-Star games. He also has been nominated for "Best Radio Analyst" by the Southern California Sports Broadcasters Association for his work as color commentator for UCLA football. "Steve Hartman - ktla.com." Los Angeles News and Video for Southern California - KTLA.COM - KTLA 5 - ktla.com. N.p., n.d. Web. 2 Feb. 2012. <http://www.ktla.com/about/station/bios/ktla-news-bio-hartman,0,1195004.story>.

9. What steps did he need to take to be known as a hero?Continued • “I remember when I started this project. A lot of people, at the time, thought it was kind of a feather-brained idea. And to be perfectly honest, a little part of me thought it was, too. Throw a dart at a map, go there, pick people out of the phone book and interview them, regardless of whom they are, or what they have to say.Along with cameraman Les Rose, I am finding stories in places only a dart would ever even think to go. 99 trips. This is very close to ridiculous - 99 trusting souls. This is going to sound a little strange, and about 1,000 not-so-trusting ones” (Hartman) • The project started in 1998 and ran through 2004 when Steve reluctantly gave up the project to serve as a commentator on 60 Minutes II. When all was said and done, Steve had profiled nearly 100 people from Maine to Miami -- from the Oregon coast to the Arizona desert. His youngest subject was a 5-year-old boy from Tennessee who liked to float balloons to his grandmain heaven. His oldest was an 87-year-old woman from Louisiana who still does her son's laundry.The idea for "Everybody Has a Story" came from a newspaper reporter named David Johnson. Johnson works for the Lewiston, Idaho Morning Tribune. For more than 2 decades he has been picking people out of his local phone book and putting their stories on the front page. After interviewing David in '94, Hartman tried the idea himself. "I was doing it more or less as a joke," Hartman said years later. "I never dreamed you could actually find good stories like that. Turns out I couldn't have been more wrong. Like David, I now believe the white pages are chock full of amazing, untold stories." • chanceylap. "Everybody Has A Story, Flashbacks - CBS News." Breaking News Headlines: Business, Entertainment & World News – • CBS News. N.p., n.d. Web. 3 Feb. 2012. <http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2010/

10. What does Steve believe the “point” of this segment is? • “As Americans we live in relative isolation. But what if crossing oceans was as easy as crossing streets? What if we had a chance to know the people of the world as neighbors - as individuals? Or to put it in my vernacular, what if we had a chance to know everybody's story - how would theirs compare to ours?” (Hartman). • Steve also says that almost every person he visits has a wise message to share from their own experiences like, "An obstacle is a steppingstone to success," says Alan Gunsbury of Brainerd, Minn. "If you're looking for happiness, I think it finds you," says Jessica Pfohl of Evansville, Ind. "Life is long, but then again, it's short," says Michael Mulkey of central Alaska. • Viewed collectively, the reports represent a vivid first-person mosaic of real-life America. From small towns such as McMullen County, Texas, where the phone book consists of one page and the population totals 851, to big cities like Miami, Fla., "Everybody Has A Story" has taken Hartman to off-the-beaten-path places where network television simply doesn't go. • "Memorable American Stories - CBS News." Breaking News Headlines: Business, Entertainment & World News - CBS News. N.p., n.d. Web. 2 Feb. 2012. <http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2003/

11. How has Steves segment changed the way he thinks? • “Working on this project has forever changed how I look at people," he says. "It's impossible now to walk past anyone and not realize that every single person is unique and has something worthy to say. I've met so many people from so many different walks of life during this project, and I've been able to see first-hand how wonderfully complicated we really are (Hartman). • Steve also says he now understands different kinds of people now, and why we do some of the things we do. • "100th Edition: Everybody Has A Story - CBS News." Breaking News Headlines: Business, Entertainment & World News - CBS News. N.p., n.d. Web. 3 Feb. 2012. <http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2003

12. How long has it taken Steve to accomplish what he has in his career? • Steve Hartman has been a CBS News correspondent since 1998. He’s served as a part-time correspondent for the previous two years. His career began as the Daily Bruin sports editor at UCLA, where he won awards for his coverage of the 1980 Final Four. After graduating, he joined KABC-AM as an assistant producer. He then moved on to the Los Angeles Raiders, where he served as media relations/publications director. Hartman also was a feature reporter for WABC-TV New York (1991-94) and KSTP TV Minneapolis (1987 91). He began his career in broadcast journalism at WTOL TV Toledo, Ohio, as a news intern and general assignment reporter. Over the course of his career, Steve has covered numerous national sporting events, including 13 Final Fours, 15 Super Bowls, and many Major League All-Star games. He also has been nominated for "Best Radio Analyst" by the Southern California Sports Broadcasters Association for his work as color commentator for UCLA football. “I remember when I started this project. A lot of people, at the time, thought it was kind of a feather-brained idea. And to be perfectly honest, a little part of me thought it was, too. Throw a dart at a map, go there, pick people out of the phone book and interview them, regardless of whom they are, or what they have to say. Along with cameraman Les Rose, I am finding stories in places only a dart would ever even think to go. 99 trips. This is very close to ridiculous - 99 trusting souls. This is going to sound a little strange, and about 1,000 not-so-trusting ones” (Hartman). The project started in 1998 and ran through 2004 when Steve reluctantly gave up the project to serve as a commentator on 60 Minutes II. After interviewing David Johnson in '94, Hartman tried the idea for himself. "I was doing it more or less as a joke," Hartman said years later. "I never dreamed you could actually find good stories like that. Turns out I couldn't have been more wrong. Like David, I now believe the white pages are chock full of amazing, untold stories" (CBS News).