What Was Lost When Journalism Forgot Ordinary People
Remembering Charles Kuralt
If you are old enough to remember television from the 1980s, you may recall a man named Charles Kuralt. He was a journalist and author who took to the backroads of America to find unusual people and tell their story.
Kuralt would travel in his RV with On The Road emblazoned on the side. He would highlight towns most of us never heard of and show their quirky traditions and how they started.
The Stories No One Else Wanted To Tell
Like the small town in Wisconsin and their annual Fourth of July celebration in which every local resident would participate. Or another where they would cut blocks of ice in mid-winter from the river and store it for the ice cream festival in the summer.
He also profiled individuals. His show aired a segment on a poor town in South Carolina where a local would provide and repair bicycles for the town’s children, and teach them to make the repairs as well.
Another was the teacher who taught at a local school for 53 years. He was a mentor and a hero to most of the town.
Charles Kuralt didn’t shy away from the goofy claims to fame though. One profile was a man who was able to hold more eggs in his hand than anyone else. Another story was about an ‘out of the box’ thinker who converted his old car to burn corn cobs for fuel. He was before his time in his search for alternative and cheap energy.
What is so unique about these stories is the otherwise obscurity of the subjects. No one outside of their town ever heard of them. In the eyes of the world, they were nobody. But Kuralt showcased their value and their idiosyncratic contribution to society.
Regular People Matter
This brand of journalism directed the viewers’ attention away from the national stories, wars, celebrities and scandals. It brought into focus your neighbor, the regular person and small, mostly unnoticed contributions to American life. The content was so refreshing because it was real and not staged. It was Reality TV before its day.
Kuralt highlighted the simple beauty of America by telling stories of the common people most would pass on the street without a second glance.
What is remarkable about this memory is the contrast to today’s media content. It is largely spin to steer the narrative toward their side of the aisle. Modern media rarely gives information to inform, but often to shade the story to their opinions. The bias promotes the Us versus Them mentality. So much information available is divisive. There may be a human interest story at the end of a newscast but only as an honorable mention.
The Great Value Of Common Americans
Charles Kuralt presented a common culture, relatable to everyone. He never mentioned if the subject was a Democrat or Republican, rich or poor, liberal or conservative. It didn’t matter. They were a piece of the American landscape, with an idea, a story to tell and a compelling thought process. Kuralt didn’t draw the lines that separate the people into groups, grievances and causes to advocate for. They were just people in small-town America, albeit interesting ones.
This content served the public in such a better way than what’s offered today. The segments fostered a sense of community that’s become extremely rare. There should be unity between the citizens of a nation. It reminds us there are others experiencing similar ups and downs in life. We are one large community.
God must love the common man. He made so many of them. -Abraham Lincoln
Unfortunately, some are insistent on showing the world through their lens at all costs, regardless of accuracy.
The uniqueness of Kuralt’s human-interest journalism wasn’t only the lack of an agenda and spin, it was the focus and appreciation of common people.
I don’t dislike celebrities. But I can’t relate to the attention seeking and self-aggrandizement.
Kuralt’s work emphasized the great value of the ordinary. Regular citizens contain a wealth of merit and contribution to society.
Non-celebrities matter too. You, (yes, YOU in the back) have something to say and a perspective to share. The marketplace of ideas has room for your pop up tent and table. Come on in.
Kuralt's Legacy Lives On In Independent Media
It is now left to the independent media to take up Kuralt’s mantle. The bloggers, podcasters and YouTubers naturally fill the void the mainstream media abandoned. This is the exciting part of the digital age we’re in. It gives a platform to anyone desiring one.
There is much talk about diversity, both favorable and against. But whatever you may think of it, this is diversity at its height. With the content of Charles Kuralt, it’s not about skin color, ethnicity or any other superficial metric, it’s more about creativity, intelligence and unusual beliefs or ideas to display a person’s unique contributions.
It’s a diversity that benefits all of us as opposed to highlighting one particular background. We need to see more of this today.
Sadly, we lost this national treasure on July 4, 1997. It seems fitting that Charles Kuralt passed away on Independence Day. He broke from the pack of conformists to think independently and celebrate others who did the same. We miss you Charles, but there are many of us carrying your legacy forward every day in small ways. I’d like to think you played a small role in The Cultural Skeptic coming into existence.
