Byron Barnett

Some Lesser Known Words About Byron Barnett

• Byron Barnett was active in student politics during his middle school years.

  

• After graduating from college in 1977, he received an internship at KSTP-TV in Minneapolis, offered by Dr. Fang. He was the only intern in the newsroom.

• By the end of that summer, he was preparing news stories for other reporters. Stan Turner, the news director at the time, asked him to stay on as a full-time employee.

• Barnett joined a senior team and had to learn quickly on the job. He worked at KSTP for six years.

  

• After that, he received a job opportunity in Boston when he joined Boston’s 7NEWS in 1983. He initially planned to work there for a short time and then become a foreign correspondent.

• However, due to changes in the media industry and in his personal life, he continued working in Boston. He remained at WHDH-TV in Boston for the rest of his career.

• He gained popularity as the host of WHDH-TV’s public affairs show Urban Update.

  

• In 1984, he covered the riots in Lawrence. In 1985, he reported on the release of American hostages from a hijacked TWA flight in Lebanon.

• In 1986, he covered the Space Shuttle Challenger disaster, which killed school teacher Christa McAuliffe and six astronauts.

• In 1995, he reported on the Oklahoma City bombing and later the death penalty trial of Timothy McVeigh.

• He has covered every U.S. Presidential campaign since Reagan vs Mondale in 1984, including Barack Obama’s and Hillary Clinton’s historic runs.

  

• In a 2018 interview, Byron Barnett advised future journalists to speak the truth with humility, focus on giving correct and informative news.

• He also said journalists should present facts in the proper context to prevent misunderstanding or negative effects. According to him, journalism has serious responsibility and power, so it must be handled carefully.

• Byron Barnett said two professors at the University of Minnesota helped him prepare for real-world journalism.

• One was Dr. George Hage. His classes were three hours long and focused on how to tell everyday stories to the public. Near the end of class, he would ask students to write a story suddenly, which taught Barnett how to write under pressure.

• The other professor was Dr. Fang. He once told the class about his interview with U.S. President Richard Nixon. He had asked a provocative question at the beginning, which made Nixon angry.

• From this, Barnett learned that journalists should first collect all important information and save tough or sensitive questions for the end of the interview.

• He once called an interview with boxing legend Muhammad Ali a highlight of his career. He was also notorious for asking tough questions to NFL coach Bill Belichick.