Featuring: Bob Inman

         Robert Inman has been a journalist of all degrees, from working in the newspaper business to being a television reporter to writing novels and plays. He became well-known in the North Carolina area when he was an evening news anchor for WBTV in Charlotte, N.C. WBTV is a main source for news and one of the strongest affiliates with CBS for the area around Charlotte. He worked there for 26 years. He retired from WBTV in 1996 and became a full-time novelist, screenwriter, and playwright. He is a member of the Authors Guild, Writers Guild of America, Dramatists Guild, PEN American Center, North Carolina Writers Conference, North Carolina Writers Network, and Alabama Writers Forum. Today, Inman lives with his wife in Charlotte, N.C. and Boone, N.C.

Following is a short interview with Mr. Inman:

Q: Who was your favorite journalist/reporter when you were growing up?

Inman: Chet Huntley and David Brinkley of NBC News.

Q: What else were you interested in doing while growing up?

Inman: Pretty much from the beginning, I knew I wanted to be in journalism.  I had an opportunity early to work in the field (see below) and that reinforced my belief that working with words would be rewarding.

Q: What/Where was your first job in journalism?

Inman: I started working at the weekly newspaper in my hometown in Alabama when I was in the seventh grade.  I worked in the print shop at first, but the editor began to let me try my hand at reporting and writing.  I was hooked.

Q: What brought you to WBTV in North Carolina?

Inman: My first job after college was with a television station in Montgomery, Alabama.  After a brief stint in political public relations, I decided to return to television.  WBTV had a reputation as one of the best local television news operations in the nation.  I applied there and was hired in 1970 to anchor the 11:00pm newscast.  I worked at WBTV until 1996.

Q: Describe the most memorable event you experienced while at WBTV.

Inman: Reporting on evangelist Billy Graham's visit to Berlin in the early 1990's.  The Berlin Wall had just fallen, and Dr. Graham was invited to preach there.  It was an historic moment -- witnessing the beginning of reunification of East and West Germany and Dr. Graham's impact on the situation.

Q: Do you enjoy writing books and plays or reporting on television more?

Inman: I now spend full time as a writer and enjoy that immensely.  After I published my first novel in 1987, I made it my goal to become successful enough that I could leave TV and devote all of my time and energy to writing. 

Q: How did you see the journalism world change during your career? What was the biggest change?

Inman: The major change I witnessed during my years in journalism was the pround increase in the speed of things.  Communication became virtually instant.  We could report from the scene of a story literally as it unfolded.  That brought challenges as well as opportunities -- the need to get things right, to be as fair and accurate and thorough as possible under the great pressure of immediacy.  I think we only partially succeeded. 

Q: If you could define your experience in journalism in one word or phrase, what would it be?

Inman: "It's all about the audience."  I always felt that I worked for those people who watched me every evening, not for the folks who signed my paycheck.  I owed the audience my best.

Q: What advice would you give to someone wanting to be in journalism today?

Inman: First, write.  Writing is both art and craft, and the ability to communicate concisely is the foundation of everything a journalist does.  We learn to write by doing it.  And then, be well-rounded intellectually.  College presents a wonderful opportunity to study in diverse fields -- history, language, psychology, sociology, science, economics -- all of the subject areas a journalist will be reporting on.  It's a big, complex, fast-moving world out there.  Our job as journalists is to help people make sense of it.