WKNO TRANSCRIPT
CHRISTOPHER BLANK (Host): Memphis media has its well-known figures: writers, broadcasters, educators. But one of them is truly the Renaissance man of the news. He's all over TV, radio, the web. And now, Otis Sanford has written a book about his storied journalism career. "Newsman: The Road from Route 2 Box 9" officially drops tomorrow. Otis, once again, it's great to have you.
OTIS SANFORD: Thank you, Chris. Good to be here.
BLANK: I want to start with a little anecdote.
SANFORD: Okay.
BLANK: Years ago, I was a reporter at the Commercial Appeal when you were managing editor. And one time I wrote a story from your hometown, Como, Mississippi. Small place, 50 miles south of Memphis.
SANFORD: Right.
BLANK: And it ran on the front page with a big picture that I did not take. It showed a stray dog walking across an abandoned street. It had nothing to do with the story, and you came out holding that paper and you said, "Now see here, this is what the world thinks of my hometown."
SANFORD: (Laughing) I remember that well.
BLANK: What the question is: I think it illustrates one of the themes of your book, which is an appreciation for all the things that need to happen to get a young Black kid from rural Mississippi to where he is now. And I wonder did writing this book and reflecting on the past offer any new revelations about your life?
SANFORD: Let me just say that I remember that story well. As a matter of fact, right after that article ran, I spoke down in Como. I think it was at the Rotary Club and they took me to task for that photograph and the dog and, oh, they let me have it and I did my best to try to defend it and explain it, but it didn't work.
BLANK: Not my fault.
SANFORD: Not your fault. It is not your fault. What this book did for me was to help me re-live and remember with a lot of reverence my growing up. Even though I grew up in a very segregated society, I had such a great family, two loving parents and older sisters and brothers and a support system that really nurtured me and saw that I wanted to do something other than be a farmer. And the town of Como is a sort of my ground zero for how I got the encouragement that I got to pursue a dream.
BLANK: You were at many points in your career either the first or among the first Black people in your job, in your newsroom. And you worked in places like the Jackson Clarion-Ledger and the Commercial Appeal that had a spotty history in terms of race. Did you feel in your career sometimes that you had more to prove as a Black reporter than your white colleagues?
SANFORD: Well, I certainly did when I went to the Clarion-Ledger in Jackson. This would have been 1975 ,right out of college. I graduated from Ole Miss in journalism. I knew what I was going into with the history of this paper. But once I got there and I had a great editor, the staff was very welcoming to me and I got to cover--I was covering entertainment at the time -- and I got to cover some things that were very, not just light-hearted, but exciting.
BLANK: And race does kind of loom large in the background of your story, but also you just have a competitive spirit. And that's very clear that you were highly motivated throughout your entire life. I mean, do you see that as the key to your success?
SANFORD: Oh, I yeah. I'm a very competitive person. I played basketball in high school, but I also understood that in the world of journalism is all about getting the scoop. It's all about beating the competition. Because most cities had two newspapers, Commercial Appeal and the Press Scimitar here in Memphis were owned by the same company, but we competed against each other all the time. So, yes, I was very competitive and I did want to rise up in the organizations and try to be the best journalist I could be no matter where I was.
BLANK: You write a lot in your book about the former Commercial Appeal editor Angus McEachran. I remember him as straight out of central casting. He's surly, no nonsense. He scared everybody and he famously said the paper is not a cheerleader for Memphis. It's here for the news. And he's such an old-school editor. But you really show his progressive ideas when it comes to Black representation in the newsroom. What does he represent to you in the way you look at the media today?
SANFORD: Oh wow. Angus McEachran was my boss. He was my mentor and he became my friend. We were polar opposites, Chris. He was a city guy. I'm a country guy. He's white. I'm Black. We seemingly had nothing in common. But he saw something in me, he saw my determination, and we hit it off and he gave me four jobs in my career.
BLANK: And what I like about this story is that from the very beginning you have been such an advocate for mentorship of other people, of other young journalists. And even after your career at the Commercial Appeal, you went straight to the University of Memphis teaching classes. And you've been teaching throughout your life. Where does that drive come from to educate? And what do you hope to inspire in the next generation of journalists?
SANFORD: My mother, born in 1910, was an English teacher. She was one of the few Black people in Mississippi to go to college back then. And so, she was a teacher. So it all comes from her. I realized early on, Chris, that I did not have the kind of mentors for journalism because there were no African-American journalists around in that time in Mississippi that I could connect with. And so, I made it my mission once I became an editor that I wanted to help mentor young journalists. And I did that at every newspaper that I've worked for. And when I left the Commercial Appeal at the end of 2010, it was a natural progression to go to the University of Memphis and teach college students about how to do this job in the changing landscape of media that we see right now.
BLANK: And it wasn't a retirement job. You are busier than ever. I mean, at least on my Internet, I see you all the time. So how does it feel today to be where you are right now as, you know, the éminence grise of Memphis journalism?
SANFORD: Well, I didn't set out to do it. You know, I was a newspaper guy through and through, pretty much all of my life. I never even thought about doing any television work, and then doing radio. Even though I listen to radio every day as a kid-- I love radio--I never thought about that much about being on radio. If I did, it was going to be a disc jockey spinning records. But I saw an opportunity here, Chris, to reach different audiences. I wanted to have conversations with the community in as many forums as I could to help them understand issues, deal with issues, solve issues, and address issues.
BLANK: I don't want to sound morbid, but your new book will be very useful to the future writer of your obituary.
SANFORD: [Laughs.]
BLANK: And you've written a lot of obituaries, so you get it.
SANFORD: I do. I get it I get it completely.
BLANK: When that reporter is assigned to write about Otis Sanford's impact on Memphis journalism, what would you want to see in the lede?
SANFORD: I want to be remembered, Chris, as someone who cared deeply about journalism, about seeking the truth, about standing up and giving voice to those who don't have a voice. I care deeply about diversity, equity, and inclusion. To me, that is not a political term. That is a societal imperative. We have to be inclusive. This country should be inclusive. And so I want future readers of my obituary to understand just how much I care about those issues. And I want to always seek the truth and report it as accurately as possible.
BLANK: Otis Sanford's new book, his autobiography, is called "Newsman: The Road from Route 2: Box 9." He'll be be signing copies tomorrow, June 16th, at the Hooks Central Library at 5 p.m. You can see him there. I know I'll be there, Otis.
SANFORD: Thank you, Chris. Looking forward to seeing you.
