FINE FELLAS FRIDAYS: A man who weaves stories gracefully. He is a balanced story-teller, and has a graceful heart ! #heslays
Tim : As a former television journalist I liked to say, “I live for facts. I live for the truth.” Well here is the truth about Tim, he is one of the best reporters Central Virginia has to offer. He is professional, and hard-hitting in his pursuit of the truth, balanced, accurate, an industry leader. With all this talent one would understand if Tim had a chip on his shoulder, but I quickly learned competing alongside him, he is one of the most humble people you will ever meet.
I met Tim as a rookie reporter in Lynchburg, Virginia. Tim works for the number one station in the market, and I discovered I’d be covering his beat, Bedford County. My News Director said Bedford County was one of of the largest counties in the Lynchburg/Roanoke television market and for years it was also one of the toughest to win in ratings in large part due to Tim.
Tim grew up in Bedford County, and knew everyone from the Mayor to the hometown business owner like family. To say I was intimidated to compete against Tim is an understatement. I did what anyone with a competitive spirit would do; I went to Bedford County, walked the streets, talked to the people, got their names, got their address, made them cookies, brought them donuts. This is not bribery it’s relationship building, and I knew to beat Tim I had to work harder than I ever had in my career up until that point. This blog is not about me, but this competition slowly started making me a better journalist. I could come into Bedford County, and I’d hear people say, “COMPTON! Good to see you.” ( Lauren Compton is my legal name, and the name I went by on-air in Bedford County). It felt good.
I thought Tim would be snobby about me encroaching on this territory. I can’t tell you how many times Tim and I would show up to the same story and we’d laugh.
“Ah here’s Tim,” I’d say, “I guess better put on my ‘A’ game.” Tim would laugh and throw a joke back. That type of mutual respect and healthy competition made us both better. I know for a fact that whenever Tim saw me or I saw Tim we both know we had to work harder. That is the essence of Proverbs 27:17 “Iron sharpens iron so one person sharpens another.” We were both becoming better reporters because of the other. It was a beautiful thing, and something I think all journalists in competitive markets can learn from. We’re all chasing the same story, we’re all going for the same interviews so why don’t we all show each other respect and love in the process.
Oh, and did I mention Tim is a one-man band? It’s a term people in the television news business use to describe someone who does it all. Tim shoots his own video, edits it, writes his own stories, and then somehow presents compelling stories on-air five days a week. I’ll be honest with you I don’t know if I could do it. I was a one-man band when I worked for MTV’s Choose or Lose and I know how challenging it can be. So major kudos to Tim. I say this often, but I could write a novel about how wonderful Tim is, but then it would be the Tim Saunders blog and not ‘Fine Fellas Friday’. Just know Tim I love and respect you. I’m so grateful that of all the reporters in Central Virginia I was paired against you. I’m a better story-teller because of it.
THANKS FOR SHARPENING ME TIM ALWAYS AND FOREVER
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