Kayleigh mcenany thanks for being here. Lets start by talking about you and your background and how you wrote this book. They may know me from cnn we have been on those panels throughout the election and after but i really came from a small town in florida if you eat strawberries it is the strawberry capital it was important to me to write a book to explore my roots how i see this election not through the confines of washington with the rnc spokesperson but a small town girl with the movement i recognize early on to endorse President Trump to be the president after he declared his candidacy. One of my colleagues recognize that movement as well. There are a few people in the book that is surprising but if he and jones was part of the Obama Administration a lot of people were conservatives at one point out of him as a rookie man but what is your experience with him . I always saw the van jones as radical leftwing but a lot of us are partisan it is either the right or the left is easy to sum up the counterpart but when i knew him as a person i was taken aback i remember my first night during the primaries i had gotten criticism as a pundit you get a lot of trolls and angry viewers one said take off my cross because i wasnt deserving to wear that to support President Trump. I did not even know van jones at that time before i came across my panel i heard of voice that said Kayleigh Mcenany i love your cross that is the first words he said to me. I came to know him in those nights we spent together as a person and a friend and a mentor to shatter the idea whether the hillary or trump voter. He is not the only liberal commentator who has been kind and to mentor you you also wrote about the late alan combs. I always joke the liberals on the left helped me even though right wing strong conservative but just an intern on the set of hannity bet alan would keep up with me at my time on cnn but he would put on the tv watch me and always send me messages as he watched me. I didnt know he kept me on at his radio show but he would reach out he would say remember dont fight fire with fire but with water to remind me in a heated moment to stay calm and take a breath to allow them to see your point of view intellectual not through emotions or anger. Host so for your book what is the bride theme of the book . A great question i use the word populist to say why do you use this word . But that sums up what the book is about and honestly i want to profile the people on the left or the right so to me it captured the sentiments to deliver one of the most promising defeat in my lifetime so it was a profile of the American People from poisoned water in flint michigan. I see that as an explainer if you live in the beltway what was happening across america to the people to want people to have change why would they vote for him . You profile a lot of different americans this is a good spleen or for why this happened. You mentioned a previous book in the profile so that is the only piece of work i can point to that describes a moment in history where they make that happen. Although the book hillbillelegy he profile them as voters but i wanted to take a broader look but i sat down at my desk and i try to payer individuals like a mom who lost her son and husband admitted to profile her husband and just in terms of the process seems simultaneously time consuming and draining they went through really hard times so talk about the time and the process. In the world of political punditry you have 1 million things going on at one time. And it is easy to get caught up in the monotony so for me to leave the confines of new york or d. C. To do another interview or another piece of writing when i went to their home if they lost their son and i saw their tears and their 7yearold daughter running around the house and said thank you for writing her dad story but i wrote the story and then it became deeply personal but also uplifting how they overcame their darkest hour. So the clips can live on but when you write something in a book put on a bookshelf that could be passed down to be documented so that is a responsibility writing about people. That is how i saw it. And with the legacies of this chapter for those that lost loved ones. And where these individuals were to do so much to explore the perpetrators. And then to go forward to push the little sign out of the way when a truck was barreling towards them. That is the opening chapter of my book. That is when they crowd through people in france. And then to have amazing acts of her wisdom. So you have one lease officer who was killed so those examples of Law Enforcement to go back to the larger theme of the trend happening leading to the donald trump election . Absolutely. One of the reasons for his election was the man in blue showed up as Police Officers. Absolutely they were a driving force in this election. They always have a very special place in my heart because i see them that dont get the credit they deserve. And it is important to tell their stories. But i talk about with that criminal justice system. And with the black lives matter most Police Officers are good people. And to look at the other side to acknowledge. One that is liberal bias with other stories like the scandal that you mention it without problem. And then definitely this would help you understand what is happening to me people frustrated or angry that you could be insulated from . What has personally touched you . I open up about my story in the book. I will read some of it. Planned those words carefully and is hard to tell your own story. I learned i could have Breast Cancer in my lifetime at 22 years old i talked about i shouldve been worried about boys or a job i was worrying about getting Breast Cancer. I will read a little bit but this dovetails a larger story so tell a story about somebody else who is struggling with navigating obamacare not necessarily a poor person but going through major Health Problems and spending hours trying to get it straightened out and then you tell your story. The unexpected waterfall of tears as i try to comprehend the news. 84 chance to get Breast Cancer in my lifetime. I casually have the genetic mutation test not expecting to hear a positive result just days later now for that torrent of emotions to have a final step in the journey as a double mastectomy. It has to be difficult to talk about this. Do you hope you could help others . It was important to personalize healthcare there are so many competing factors because i want to create an awareness you can find out that you have this gene in a meek no qualms about that but the reason i say that is talk about preexisting conditions what obamacare did do is provide protections that were not there with those of preexisting conditions. It was important to tell my story because i feel you are demonized but republicans does care. Also trump was different because pretty much said we have to keep those preexisting conditions with repeal and replace but we will keep that clause in their. To call one of his opponents to say they were so taken aback just from the republican doctrine. But you are absolutely right. Those who have come to this before like your mom who had a double mistake to me that was popularized or like a strong woman who announced her decision like angelina jolie. My mom never had Breast Cancer but she did have a tumor removed that was before angelina came out i was at home and she said go look at the copy of New York Times i open it up to see she had gone public so to know that Breast Cancer is one of the top killers it was an empowering movement that they felt ostracized so i think her for having the courage to do that. Not everybody profile boded for donald trump voted but this will give insight into the rise of the populist movement and the presidency. But an even more common theme is whether the terrorist attack or the virginia did not give proper treatment it seems like what comforted them to give them meaning to persevere was their faith. I want to be clear i didnt set out to find men and women of faith but it is god not government there may be temporary help and a leader but it is important to profile the community but i stumbled upon men and women it was god that got them through with Amazing Stories how there was divine outreach. Interestingly other themes i notice in the book thought of as mystical or spiritual, one of them is actually a premonition before that happens to a loved one day felt a sense of foreboding. It is interesting the 11yearold boy who lost his life in the terrorist attack was in the bathroom right before it happened his mom did not want him to go in. And when she went to the bathroom she noticed a guard and said i will go with you he said no i will go so he is 11 years old he comes out and said what does isis look like . He asked that for the next hour and a half. He saw somebody in the bathroom with a backpack looking suspicious. Digging through his belongings. They actually sent a picture to his brother from that area whether he was there that day before the attack that is who he saw, we dont know. She isnt sure if that is the attacker but he certainly had a premonition something was coming. He died when an illegal immigrant made it illegal left hand turn so that being said her body collapsed at the very time her son lost his life my body knew but my mind didnt so there is an overwhelming theme they knew that something was coming or approaching. Host talk about the veterans talk about the struggle with the v. A. He became the face of the v. A. Scandal with that broke with investigative reporting across the country for those who could not get access to care. He even testified before congress for the colonoscopy wasnt able to get one with egregious symptoms but his stool and that showed the signs of colon cancer and could not get a colonoscopy. As he approached death he took it upon himself to be a man of faith to share his faith with others which is an incredible way to approach that. And the month before her husband is bedridden he would pray the word lord of this is meant for me to carry let me carry it you set my feet on the path dont you let me stray from the path. Reminiscent from jesus christ that night before the crucifixion. My father be taken from me. Exactly. That is what inspires me to see to describe her husbands final moments to be a person of faith when most are cursing and upset and angry he had a faith so to have that faith to see it and hear about it it doesnt matter who our leader is but this is what got him through. So to be in the bubble and one of the other stories of healthcare the people that you profile is forced to go outside of the system and then it was advised at some point but of course these are the systems they are in. There wasnt a supply of cash we are country people who dont have those resources but some dont have those resources not to say they have those resources but with political commentary it weighs eyeopening. So to imagine your wife or child needing treatment or surgery that would be so infuriating. It is understandable why people were infuriated. And those to imperil our lives to fight overseas and to protect these men and women when they come home. And to have the opportunity to confront president obama while she held her husband from that emotional moment to confront their leaders and she did. So this is the explainer that led to donald trump. And those are those heartwrenching examples. This is why but an immigrant in this country with a good upstanding citizen without being deported. So to put that in the form of a question how do you say what you have done that buttresses the political point . Mike flint ish again to be disenchanted with all government i didnt vote trump or clinton or anyone because i lost faith entirely in our leaders. The most emblematic chapter was my chapter on carrier workers was a dental one a donald trump supporter but to me it was so emblematic that we would talk about on set van jones thanks on both parties and then we found their answer and Bernie Sanders that is a common problem of the forgotten man and woman. That is emblematic of that and then to play cards with one another so i would answer the charge there are examples that the factory chapter gets to the heart of the election. I know people who voted for Bernie Sanders but i dont know a Single Person in the factory that supports Hillary Clinton may be the union bosses but to actually reconcile those workers i know a Single Person. In the primary, exactly. Then of course that leadership endorsed Hillary Clinton and then those factory workers show up to cast the ballot that was as big of a motivating factor as much as it was the trump reporters and rank and file. Thinking about loss of loved ones and one of the stories was kim copeland when her husband sean pushed brodie out of the way, brodies body was picked up by austin and at that time sean didnt know whether his son had lived or died and sean was struggling behind them. He was transferred to the daughter, kims stepdaughter and the whole way there for the next half hour he asked is brodie okay unaware he had saved his sons life, his last words on the world were brodie is dead because kims convinced that in the last moment he saw his son and baby boys said come be with me daddy and she said, i would have done the same. Just to be clear, the son and the father were both injured at the same time. Terrorist attack, somebody rammed the truck into a crowd but they were separate, the father didnt know if the son was okay. The son tide on impact. He died, but the father didnt know at the time. He had been saying is brodie okay but right before he died he actually said, brodie is dead and he was a mile and a half away in a hospital and brodies body was back at the hotel and had no way of knowing that brodie had passed and the only way he knew is he saw son in heaven and gave me chills when she said that, immediate chills because as christian i read about accounts of people who have been in the last moment of passing from life into death and those who have survived and then brought back to life and said i saw my family members, i saw my loved ones at the top of the room i saw the light and loved ones, 90 minutes in heaven, several nonfiction accounts, for me that was one of many stories and every one of my families had similar story of divine outreach. That was written by like a scientist or doctor, i think. Thats right. This isnt just joe blow. Actual medical doctor. I want to ask you about another example, i found this super interesting. So this is the Police Officer who basically died at the hands, i guess, of a drunk, somebody at a bar. He was off duty and this is his daughter who had this experience after . It was his sister, he left behind a daughter who was 4 when she passed. Shes about to turn 8 years old, her name is charlie, her sister kelly said that brother jessica promise today take her shoot first gun, she passed before she had the opportunity. She said she was about to go to police retreat in ohio and she looked out on back porch and she saw the blue and black butterfly, the lor of Police Officers and she took a picture and went on with her day, went to missouri, several states away about to shoot her first gun and somebody said stop and look down at the foot, a blue and black butterfly like the one i had seen back in ohio, she proceeded to shoot the gun and stayed on her foot and then after she shot the gun, it stayed there and flew up to her finger and sat and rested on the finger and had pictures of butterflies in all different locations as if justin was there and found his way to stay with me and that first moment of shooting my first gun and her father saw it in a different state, several states away also at police retreat which i have never seen a blue and black butter florida butterfly, they see it often. Do you dedicate, shes one of the people, i believe, that you dedicate the book to . Yes, rachel joy scott, the first victim in the shooting who said that she believed in god and lost her name and megyn in my community passed in high school and i watched her battle cancer, excuse me, for several years and her mom said the day she passed she was in the bathroom and said a prayer and said, jesus, let me know that my daughter will be okay and as she prayed the prayer a feather floated down from the ceiling and our whole community spent years spending for megyn and the feather, we dont know where it came in the hospital, she found it, and saw it and has it. Just to tell you quickly, kelly who was the girl who saw blue butterfly, you know whats crazy, i hear questions about coins and feathers, did you get my book already, no i havent gotten a copy of your book and all of the men and men who lost loved ones per spoken to via god through feathers and coins, all the odd, i would not call them coin kid expenses, i would call them divine outreach. God instances. God instances, divine outreach. There were a couple of times, shes up on the airplane, comes up and theres the feather sitting on her seat . Yeah that was megyns story about the feather. The wife that we talked about who collapsed collapsed in wafft parking lot in tragic accident, when i told her the story, i cant believe you just said that, she was on the plane and has a pillow that was dominics shirt and they would always hug it and keep it with her, i was feeling upset about losing my son dominic and sitting on top of the pillow was a feather, all of the men and women in separate states, separate places but the Common Thread of loss had outreach in very similar ways which was astonishing to me. I guess before we move on from the faith part which is a big theme of the book, do i want to bring up a theological question that this book raises, one time obviously but i think its always sub taxed and thats the question of whether or not causes sickness or whatever, death, tragedies, you know, theres the bible verse, i have come that you might have life and have abundantly. Some people believe that god could take a bad situation and make it good but hes not the author of bad things, but other people comfort themselves by saying, this is all part of gods plan, we may not understand it but this happened for a reason. Right. Talk, if you would, how about people in the book struggled with that and i would love to know where you come down on it . Its a great theological question and one thats tough to grapple with, each of the men and women are honest and they say they were angry at god at the wake of loss and one would curse god because you can imagine losing a son and you can imagine losing a wife as well. Its a common question that they ask themselves and ken copeland in particular, how she got over anger with god, her pastor said he did not want this to happen to you, that moment was a moment of comfort to her and its a great question, does god allow this to happen or cause something to happen and the conclusion that ive come to is he doesnt want it for your life, he didnt want kim to lose her son and her husband, but, yes, its something that he allowed to happen, its a byproduct of free will, evil is a byproduct of that and so too is good. So he allowed it to happen but it was not his will, its not what he wanted for kims life or robs life but its a byproduct of free choice. We would never have this discussion on a normal cable news political commentary, and so this just happened, is that one of the things that you like about writing a book . Absolutely. I love getting to explore these issues and death, i love putting a heart on a payment, seeing someones emotion sitting across the table from me, spending hours and really open up in some of the big important issues and questions that every human being grapples with and explore in book format and long format like this on cspan has been a really special opportunity. So some of the chapters in the book, some of the stories that you tell, people lose their lives. I think you said there were four examples of that. Yes. But there are other examples of things that are happening out in the heartland that people are getting fed up with or maybe not quite as serious but still very serious, one of the issues is the issues of religious liberty which is, you know, like the first freedom, i think, and there are a lot of americans who feel like theyre losing their ability to talk about their faith and there was one example that kind of, you know, its got a military aspect as well. Why dont you tell us about that one . Yeah, that was interesting because you hear a lot about in the faith communities, faith being under attacked, in school, workplace, i wasnt allow today keep my bible on my desk or in one case i talk about a synagogue that wasnt allow today openly worship in their own home and had lawsuit against them by a neighbor but one of the places you dont think about losing your religious freedom is the military and i talked to attorneys at first liberty that do this for a living and they say if you can map out instances for religious persecution in military is at arch like this and you are increasingly seeing religious freedom under attack in that setting which is surprising, one of them are you sure Master Sergeant officer rodriguez who basically gives a flagfolding speech and given it tons and tons of times and what makes his speech different from the uniform flagfolding speech is he mentions god and has had no issues with him. A congressman wrote him congratulatory letter, i loved your speech, i would love to hear it. At one base in particular he went to give the speech and he was physically removed from the room by a fellow members of the military because he maintains he was about to say the word god in the name of god and its interesting to see, its a sad thing to see because they say its difference between ranking file of our military who by in large are christian men and women and gap between the leadership and those who are being appointed to the top rank who is are the ones taking away those rights. And another issue that maybe is very serious, we mentioned this briefly, but liberal bias on College Campuses and academia and really its not just about bias its also about free speech. Yeah. Stifling, you know, diverse philosophical viewpoints and you very recently graduated from harvard law. Thats right. And youve had some personal experience with this as well that you talk about in the book. Yeah, thats right. I left the small strawberry town and got to go to georgetown in oxford and harvard law which were incredible opportunities for me. I think mainly as conservative because i did encounter a definite liberal bent on the campuses both from professors and from my peers and advantageous to me to engage another side, another argument. Actually you talk about one of your professors at oxford. Thats right. Im sorry to ask you one question and then a second question, it reminds me of the way that van jones and alan coombs were kind to you, experience of meeting a liberal professor that kind of pushed you but i think made you a better arguer, a better commentator. Thats absolutely true. Definitely one of my favorite moments in the book and important moment in my life was going to oxford and basically you have to read your argument or 10page paper out loud, oneonone with a tutor, thats the name for professor there and you have the argument dismantled and the idea to make you stronger and its supposed to be confrontational, aggressive, intensive and my first tutorial lived up to that. I remember grasping my paper and walking into this graveyard turned library, walking up this stairwell and getting to the top and encountering my professor who was a former member of the Palestinian Liberation Organization and israelminded western republican i had my views dismantled not because she was unfair to me because she presented view that is i never considered and i remember walking away with tears in my eyes and going back each time and getting stronger and tougher because of it and that to me in a nutshell is what academia is about. Its having the ebbing changes of different viewpoints. Some liberal students never have to confront opposing view points. Thats right. They dont have a conservative professor dismantling their arguments and forcing them to become better arguers. Exactly. If youre conservative student youre at advantage. Several liberal peers you mentioned at harvard law never had the opportunity to being confronted by conservative professor and i think its led to some of the farleft tactic that is we have seen on america campus like tearing down barlow signs and put up conservative line and liberals couldnt take it. Imagine harvard lawyers having to warn about free speech by liberal administration, it actually led Randal Kennedy to write in the New York Times that sometimes he thinks that my liberal classmates have tactics overtake their message and sometimes they overstate the problems they see on campus. So they are even warned by liberal elders that perhaps their tactics are stifling their message. Yeah, what happens to them, do they when they get out in the real world, they still probably, im sure maybe vote democrat, do they change or is this or do we have to be afraid that theyre just going to be ten years from now a bunch of, you know, 35yearold harvard educated lawyers who like dont believe in free speech or voice opinion . Thats a great question. I think you look back of the days of the Weather Underground and violent tactics by radical leftists and over time they went away and its a rude wakeup call where you cant ask for stance, theres a wave of Ivy League Students asking for exemptions. Right. You actually should have had extension because youre about to go on bill oh oreilly. Right. Eight hours in hotel room taking an examine before going on bill oreilly to talk about this problem. To talk about my pierce asking for exam extensions. I need the grand jury exemption but did not get it before that oreilly appearance. I want to read this, this is about noah, theres one thing noah wants us to know about flint, city full of fighters, wellspring of faith, the lead poison in flynn, transform the hearts of noah and changing minds of those around him, theres always a rainbow just beyond unforeseen waters that flood our lives. So obviously this is, you know, a lot of symbolism, youre saying that the guy named noah, having to do with the story, about water, but how did going through this transform noah . Im so glad you brought this up. First of all, the flint water crisis is so important and it was a sad moment in political history when both parties either ignored what happened in flint, michigan or harped on part as a moment and i was frustrated as republican in that moment for sure. But to meet noah, another example of government failing the community, but this individual and several others rise into the occasion when government failed this community, it was impowering, noah dealt with a lot of hurt in the life, he witnessed mom commit suicide in front of him, he lived in a home without any simblgs, young adolescent years he lived in vacant home, no water, no electricity, but had several stints in jail, standoff with the police, hes very honest about how hes grappled with the sins hes committed with his hands and he says theres this moment where the pastor looked at him and said, noah, you can overcome this and took the water of flint, michigan and washed hands clean, hes a pastor in the community and wants to tell our government, do not give up on flint, michigan, do not give up on broken communities in the country because there are people who are fighters like noah who want to overcome if giving a helping hand and given an opportunity and noah is somebody who is remaking flint, michigan, a city that has been devastated not just poison water but half of the residents fleeing the community. I know most of the people you interviewed face to face, some were via the phone, did you go out there and meet with them . I couldnt, he came through at the last moment, i asked him in early spring interview with me and at the last moment he got back to me and said can i still do this and we quickly got on the phone. He was at one point dealing to possibly going to jail before he he was. Because i think he felt like telling his story was so important that he might even risk violating some sort of probation or i forget the details of it, the story of noah, am i right, he did not vote for trump . He did not. Or hillary . Or hillary. He lost faith on everyone. You dont make the story in the book but it did remind me of donald trump because theres a part where it talks about despite the things that hes done in his life he can still have a purpose now, he could still do good things now and thats something that ive heard pushing conservative voters who are defending donald trump despite checkered past, they said the same thing. Right. Thats an interesting parallel that i didnt think of but a true one and noah is on the phone with me and you can hear when you talk to him about optimism, hope and great positive outlook despite things that have happened to him. He laughed on the phone, he was like i went from prison to preacher and hes laugh to go me at the thought of it, but, you know, we talked about how its not far from a thought and specially if you look at biblical heros like king david who committed adultery and killed the man who he committed adultery with, the husband of the woman and looked at moses and paul. The people with grave sinful past that arent necessarily moral individuals that we would look to in early stages of the life became the great heros in the bible and i definitely see that with noah that no path is too dire to overcome. Someone once said that your message is your message. Yeah. They are going to serve a community in flint, michigan and maybe this background provides you a unique foray into reaching people who need help. Certainly, and noah said that he was basically running a scrap yard, scrapping facility in his backyard where used cars and stolen cars come through, he said he aggregated a ton of money from that and the men in the community said i want to be like that guy because he was rich, he was well off, but noah said, now its incumbent upon me theres a better way and he started Lawn Care Service and cleaning the yards of flint, michigan and showing the guys theres a better way out there and noah is doing it and showing it every day of his life. One of the things ive talked about here and you wrote in the book is a lot of, you know, chattering, talking heads, didnt see the stories developing or didnt fully appreciate these stories and you were kind of in the middle of these things so you very visiting back home, florida where youre from. At certain points you were going around the country. You werent writing this not during the election. You were going back to florida. Every weekend. You would see trump signs. You dont see trump signs in manhattan but you see trump signs. But you do mention after the i guess on election day at cnn, you had a couple of people come up to you and give you some interesting kudos and congratulations. It was so interesting because we talked a lot, jeffrey talked about the hidden trump voter, the one he would see in pennsylvania and i would see in florida not in urban communities but on the back roads of our states and it manifested itself on that night and the green room at cnn when i was sitting there alone at 1 00 a. M. , i had gotten offset after talking about the president becoming president which caught pretty much everyone by surprised and as i sat alone, a guy came in, dont tell anyone but i voted for trump and it was a camera man and followed by a makeup artist, a small example, hidden voter who might not have worn a trump shirt but voted silently and made a difference in the election. And i know that you got married recently. Why dont you tell us since you mentioned him, i think its okay, why dont you tell us about your new husband . Thats right, we got married this november, it was an awesome moment despite waking up sick all day and sick all throughout, first look was me getting an iv and took me to emergency care, despite that hes not the man when i talk about my struggles and having to get this procedure done and removing my breast to have a tissue and have companion, its an awesome thing to have a partner in life. Indeed. What is the future for Kayleigh Mcenany . I know you want to write another book. Ive heard that. The political commentary world. You were terrific at that. Where might this all lead . Well, i hope to write another book and the next book i hope to be entirely apolitical and i want to look at some of the National Tragedies and find the heros that rose the occasion in them and reach out to individuals in las vegas who have Amazing Stories that happened on the his or her risk horrific night but they passed as heros, i want to write another book all about the American People. All right, Kayleigh Mcenany, thank you for taking the time. Thank you, matt. If you like to view other afterwords programs online, simply go to website at booktv. Org. Type afterwards into the search bar and all previous afterwords episodes will be available. You know, the most important part of this new broadcast as i look back on it and as i wrote, is that don hewitt was humiliated and i cant tell you how big that was, 60 minutes was nothing, it was difficult and he convinced a lot of very smart people who were on the show to come to work for 60 minutes. It was new, parts of it that were exciting, he was an exciting figure but the evening news was it. And don hewitt spent the rest of his career and 35 years running 60 minutes trying to prove and proving to those journalists and the boy that is he understood good journalism, that he had been paying attention, that he knew what they stood for and particularly fred who he did not like one bit and fred did not like him which is why he fired him. But don hewitt until his last days always said, i learn more from fred than anybody else in my life and he did and so many of those things are part of, i think, what makes 60 minutes special today because weve changed, weve evolved significantly over the years, almost every decade and its different now and i will get into that a little bit, but the fundamentals havent changed, the things that don learned from fred, the things that fred cared about and the things that he cared about, things we practice today and all different aspects of what we do and i think they are a huge part of why we are still successful. I dont want to talk about the numbers a lot, i care about them, this sunday we were the most watched nonsports show of the week. I mean, that says something. Still people, that many people, 14 and a half million that night were willing to give up an hour and watch 60 minutes, more than any other program on all of television that week except one football game. And some of those things which are simple are directly from fred such as we never underestimate the audience, yet at the same time we know that we know more about a story than they do. We never talk down to the viewer. We always assume they know more and most people do, most broadcasts do. We care so much about how we tell a story, we pour ourselves into it, its intense and its always been intense and always will be intense. I wont forget when i was in a don crawford screening, probably fifth or sixth story and it was all about communist pulling going capitalist. The story was over, the lights came on and don came back to me, where do you want a kick, right between the eyes and it wasnt personal. It was a great learning experience for me because don then proceeded to help me and steve make it a much better story worthy of air and thats how we collaborated. Its a huge part of what we do and here is the most important thing and this is what stands out to me to this day more than anything else. We never, ever do Audience Research to determine what stories to cover ever. Now, that especially in this day and age says a lot because we dont know what the viewer is going to want. The onus is on us to make the story so damn compelling that you just have to watch it