Out on nothing: Q&A with journalist Byron Pitts

By RUSSELL LACOUR World Staff Writer
Published: 11/18/2009

Byron Pitts is an award-winning journalist with CBS News and a contributing correspondent for “60 Minutes.” He is also the author of an autobiography about how he overcame life’s obstacles through faith and family.  Pitts is the keynote speaker at Saturday’s Tulsa Association of Black Journalists fundraiser.

Tulsa World: You have a book called “Step Out on Nothing: How Faith and Family Helped Me Conquer Life’s Challenges.” Why did you title the book “Step Out on Nothing”?

Byron Pitts: The title comes from a sermon I heard at my church in New Jersey, the Baptist church I go to. And the minister was encouraging the congregation that in those difficult moments in life, when your Rolodex and your resume and your money in your bank, all those things aren’t enough, that you should step out on your faith, step out on nothing.

Into that place where your faith is so deep, your belief is so strong, that anything is possible. And I thought yeah, that title speaks to the arc of my life.

What made you become a journalist?

As journalists, you know we spend a lot of time covering struggle — the struggle for power, the war in Iraq (and) Afghanistan, the struggle for survival, the tsunami in Indonesia, Hurricane Katrina in New Orleans.

Because of my issues with literacy and speech, I understand struggle. I didn’t learn to read until I was 12, stuttered until I was 20. Words like “slow” and “stupid” followed me around in school. I know what it’s like
to have people underestimate you and to doubt you. I know the shame associated with illiteracy.

And in the book I want to let people know that there’s joy on the other side of struggle. That strength only comes from struggle. So, struggle’s a good thing, if you can learn to manage it and remain optimistic through it and get the right kinds of people in your life to help you get past it.

What about parents who have kids who might have some of these issues, who worry about their child being labeled something? Because even mentally retarded or functionally illiterate, they both have different connotations. What do you say to them in terms of dealing with it?

First off, be encouraged. Know that there is help available. There are organizations like the National Center for Family Literacy, an advocacy group that provides resources to groups all across the country that work with children in particular who have reading issues.

Literacy is a national issue for our nation, for the United States. It’s estimated that there are 40 million adults in the United States who are functionally illiterate. That’s about one in seven adults in the wealthiest country, the most powerful country on earth, who cannot read. If it were a state it would be like combining the states of Ohio and New York. That’s a problem.

Fortunately, there are educators and agencies committed to getting people help. So if people, parents, want help for their children, there’s help available.

Anybody who knows anything about journalism knows that the two things that a journalist has to know – how to read and to speak – were at the base of your issues growing up. How did that affect you as an adult, once you were able to realize that you could do something?

For me, words are like oxygen. They help me breathe. Because of my early struggles with literacy and with speech, words I didn’t have easy access to words. One of the reasons I’m a journalist is that I know what it’s like to feel voiceless. And my job as a journalist oftentimes is to give voice to the voiceless.

Words changed my life. Learning to read changed my life. Learning to speak clearly improved the quality of my life. Those are all wonderful gifts that came to me relatively late in life. So for me in many ways, every day is Christmas because I get to read and speak.

Journalists pride themselves on just what you’ve mentioned, but right now journalism is under fire. People have counted newspapers down and out, say that television is losing revenue, and that online will take over. Where do you see journalism and your future in it?

I am an optimist by choice. I was raised to be optimistic, so I remain optimistic about all things. I think journalism is vital to our democracy. Just as having a strong military, a vibrant government, free enterprise, access to public education while all those things help make us the United States of America, something also vital is having a free press.

So it seems to me as long as there is a United States of America there will be a need and a place for a free press. Whether it’s in newspapers, magazines, radio, television, the Internet or something none of us has seen yet, there will always be a need for people who can write, who can report, who have the courage to go places, difficult places, to tell important truths.

I’m optimistic about the future of our profession and my future in it. Certainly these are difficult times. We’ve all had colleagues and friends who’ve lost their jobs, who’ve been downsized. I’m of a generation that still is a bit uncomfortable with some of the technology that’s now available, that young people can manipulate and use so easily.

But with all that, I’m still optimistic that there still is a place for people who know how to write, who know how to tell a story, (and) who know how to talk to people.

About TABJ
Byron Pitts comes to Tulsa on Saturday as the keynote speaker for the Tulsa Association of Black Journalists’ Oklahoma Salute to Excellence awards in Journalism at Tulsa Community College’s new Center for Creativity, 910 S. Boston Ave.

The event is a fundraiser for the association, which offers development programs for youths who aspire toward journalism including scholarships, an Urban Journalism Workshop and community education forums.

Sponsorships are still available. Information on tickets to the event can be found at tabjevents@gmail.com or at tabjevents on Facebook.

Russell LaCour 581-8327
russell.lacour@tulsaworld.com

Read more from this Tulsa World article at http://www2.tulsaworld.com/scene/article.aspx?subjectid=67&articleid=20091118_67_D8_IsayIw440847