Imagine turning in a feature story every day for 50 years. By my math, that’s 12,500 stories. That’s a lifetime for Frank Mathie. And remember, feature stories don’t just land on your desk like breaking news. The assignment editor doesn’t assign them. You don’t hear about them on the police scanner. That must have been […]
Imagine turning in a feature story every day for 50 years. By my math, that’s 12,500 stories. That’s a lifetime for Frank Mathie.
And remember, feature stories don’t just land on your desk like breaking news.
The assignment editor doesn’t assign them. You don’t hear about them on the police scanner.
That must have been nerve wracking for Mathie at times.
“Sometimes it was easy, sometimes it was very difficult.”
NOTE: Each night last week, WLS aired one of Frank Mathie’s favorite stories. Here’s Monday’s story and the rest of the stories will be shared throughout.
Mathie is retiring from WLS, the ABC-owned affiliate in Chicago.
“I started at Channel 7 April 3, 1967, and I’m retiring April 3, 2017, so 50 years. It’s pretty rare.”
Rare indeed.
And what’s even more extraordinary, Mathie has been a feature reporter the entire time.
“My assignment was basically to come up with a feature Monday through Friday,” said Mathie.
Last week, he went into the archives to find five stories from the past that were his favorites, and WLS aired one each day.
Mathie defines a feature story as ”interesting people doing interesting things.”
“Just be a guy who does something really neat. Or it could be a new exhibit at a museum or a great new animal that was born in one of the zoos.”
The most important ingredient to be a good feature reporter is curiosity, according to Mathie, but that’s not all you need.
“You have to have a sense of humor, but you also have to have a heart because a lot of the stories are emotional stories. You also have to be able to put the story together, you have got to write.”
Few TV stations have a dedicated feature reporter these days, which Mathie sees as a missed opportunity.
“Good features are good for ratings. My stories have been very popular for about 50 years and the viewers like my stories. So that means if they like your stories they come to your station. My stories are like a safety island in the middle of a torrent.”
Thanks Frank, for being a treasure on that island in the middle of Chicago.
Here’s the story that aired last night on WLS, sending Frank Mathie off into retirement.
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