
Brian Ross, left, interviewed Judy Woodruff at the Salisbury Forum Saturday, Sept. 27.
Patrick L. Sullivan
Brian Ross, left, interviewed Judy Woodruff at the Salisbury Forum Saturday, Sept. 27.
SALISBURY — Judy Woodruff, former anchor and managing editor of the PBS Newshour, said that her fellow journalists do tend to “live in a bubble” and need to get out into the country more, but pushed back on suggestions that national journalists are biased.
Woodruff appeared at the 20th anniversary Salisbury Forum at Salisbury School Saturday, Sept. 27. She was interviewed by Brian Ross, a veteran of television news with ABC News and NBC News (and a member of The Lakeville Journal board).
Ross noted that he and Woodruff broke into national TV news about the same time and invited Woodruff to share some of the story of her career path.
Woodruff said she was working in local TV news in Georgia and got to know Jimmy Carter when he ran for governor.
So when Carter started running for the Democratic nomination for President for the 1976 election, she had what she thought was an inside track
She told her bosses that Carter was worth their attention and was proved correct when he came in second in the New Hampshire primary.
But being the third-string political reporter, she “got knocked off” the campaign but kept hanging around, developing contacts within the Carter team and playing in the softball games between the campaign staff and the press.
It was during one of those games — “I was playing second base” — that she met her husband, Al Hunt.
Between her Carter contacts and consistent pushing on her part she finally landed a job as White House correspondent.
She said it took a while to find her feet. “I had to play catch-up.”
She said the Carter team came to Washington “believing they had the keys to the kingdom.”
Having received minimal help from the Democratic establishment during the campaign, they thought they didn’t need the party’s help in governing.
“It was called the ‘Georgia Mafia.’ Carter relied heavily on his original team.”
Woodruff gave Carter credit for the Camp David agreement between Israel and Egypt, a pact that has lasted to the present day.
Ross asked about left-of-center “groupthink” within the press corps.
“It’s very competitive,” Woodruff said. “You want to get it right, get it better and you’d love to get it first.”
She said she thinks news organizations pay too much attention to the White House “and not enough on the agencies.”
“We have given the White House the ability to set the agenda.”
As to the groupthink, she said “It’s a hothouse environment, no question. I call it a ‘bubble’. We don’t get out in the country enough and talk to people.
“I do think there is a kind of groupthink that sets in,” she continued. “But if everybody else is reporting a story and we don’t…”
Ross asked about the recent defunding of public television and radio, and President Trump’s remarks about “left-wing lunatics.”
“Lumping us in with ‘left-wing lunatics’ is absolutely not true,” said Woodruff.
She said the PBS Newshour is “straight down the middle journalism. It’s in our DNA.”
She said the loss of funding is a problem, and public broadcasting is reacting.
“We are not calling it quits. We are here to serve the American people.”
Ross asked about young journalists who are more familiar with new media such as Tik Tok and podcasts, which are heavy on opinion.
Woodruff said “there’s nothing wrong with having strong feelings but we always need straight factual reporting.”
So when she is asked about what she thinks about a particular issue, Woodruff said her reply is “That’s for others to say. I’m a reporter.”
Weatogue Stables has an opening: for a full time team member. Experienced and reliable please! Must be available weekends. Housing a possibility for the right candidate. Contact Bobbi at 860-307-8531.
Hector Pacay Service: House Remodeling, Landscaping, Lawn mowing, Garden mulch, Painting, Gutters, Pruning, Stump Grinding, Chipping, Tree work, Brush removal, Fence, Patio, Carpenter/decks, Masonry. Spring and Fall Cleanup. Commercial & Residential. Fully insured. 845-636-3212.
SNOW PLOWING: Be Ready! Local. Sharon/Millerton/Lakeville area. Call 518-567-8277.
PUBLISHER’S NOTICE: Equal Housing Opportunity. All real estate advertised in this newspaper is subject to the Federal Fair Housing Act of 1966 revised March 12, 1989 which makes it illegal to advertise any preference, limitation, or discrimination based on race, color religion, sex, handicap or familial status or national origin or intention to make any such preference, limitation or discrimination. All residential property advertised in the State of Connecticut General Statutes 46a-64c which prohibit the making, printing or publishing or causing to be made, printed or published any notice, statement or advertisement with respect to the sale or rental of a dwelling that indicates any preference, limitation or discrimination based on race, creed, color, national origin, ancestry, sex, marital status, age, lawful source of income, familial status, physical or mental disability or an intention to make any such preference, limitation or discrimination.
Abstract artist Vincent Inconiglio’s love and enthusiasm for color and form are evident all around him at his Falls Village studio, where he has worked for 25 years. He is surrounded by paintings large and small, woodcuts, photographs, collages and arrays of found objects.
The objects Inconiglio has found while out walking — in Falls Village, near his studio on Gansevoort Street in New York City, and in other places throughout the world — hold special importance to him. Appreciation of them, he says, comes from “seeing while exploring. I am always finding things.” His particular delight is finding objects that look like faces, many of which will be featured in the ArtWall show at the Hunt Library.
The found objects inspire him, are his “friends,” and serve as muses for his work. He has had some in his collection for more than 50 years. “I’ve always thought of them as parts of me.”
As he shows these objects and tells how he found them, his enthusiasm is contagious. It suggests a new way of looking at the world, even at the most mundane bits of debris.
The sheer volume of paintings and collages displayed in his Falls Village studio attests to his interest in form, color, and composition.
Inconiglio will bring his sense of play and love of discovery to his show, “Face Time,” opening at the Hunt Library in Falls Village on Oct. 25, with a reception from 5 to 7 p.m. It features faces in collages, photos, and found objects. The works will be on display until Nov. 21.
Inconiglio explained a little about his process. “If I am stuck,” he said, “I’ll cut something and put it down. One thing leads to another and forces me to focus.” Next month, in a workshop with children, he will share techniques like this that have guided him in his work.
The children, students at Lee H. Kellogg School in Falls Village, will create their own face collages. Inconiglio enjoys the spontaneity children bring to their creations and is eager to work with them.
On Nov. 13, Inconiglio will give an artist’s talk at 5:30 p.m. at Hunt Library.
He looks forward to feedback about “Face Time,” commenting, “I’d rather get bad feedback than no feedback.”
For more information, visit: huntlibrary.org/art-wall/.
The entrance to Kim and Chris Choe’s newest grocery store venture, Market 360, in New Haven, Conn. The store opened several weeks ago and Kim Choe said the new business has required her and her husband’s attention while it finds its footing and builds up a staff.
MILLERTON — Millerton residents eager for a new food market will have to wait a little longer.
During a recent visit to her newly opened New Haven grocery store, Market 360, co-owner Kim Choe offered The News an update — or rather, a lack of one — on the highly-anticipated Millerton market she owns with her husband, Chris.
“We have a lot of work to do inside the building,” Choe said, explaining that the couple is still assessing the scope of renovations. “We can’t provide an updated timeline yet.” Among the needed improvements, she noted, is a new roof.
The exterior of the shopping plaza is also in disrepair, with overgrown weeds and stacks of glass refrigerators sitting in the parking lot. The appearance has raised questions about the Choes’ recently estimated timeframe of an October opening.
Choe said that she and her husband have had their hands full with their newly-opened New Haven store. Market 360, located in a busy commercial space on Chapel Street just past the Yale campus, held its grand opening on June 4 and was attended by New Haven Mayor Justin Elicker.
That store, Choe said, is still finding its footing and building its team. Despite being in its early stages, Market 360 is fully operational, with shelves well-stocked with international and American food and the aroma of curry and spices drifting through the aisles from the cafe.
No strangers to the grocery business, the couple has owned and operated the nearby Sharon Farm Market for 15 years. They purchased four adjoining parcels in the former Millerton Square Plazaat 122 Route 44 — totaling 10.2 acres — and earlier this spring the Town of North East Planning Board approved their site plan for the “Town Gourmet Market.”
When asked if the Millerton project was still a sure thing, Choe was effusive. “Of course,” she said. “It’s our building. It’s our home.”