Q&A; with Pat Harvey : Rising to the Challenge

Pat Harvey, a native of Detroit, is one of the few African Americans over the years to become a regular, weeknight news anchor on local television here.

Harvey, 40, joined KCAL-TV Channel 9 in 1989 and currently is sole anchor of the 9-10 portion of the station’s nightly three-hour prime-time newscast, which is making adjustments since Jerry Dunphy recently left and returned to KCBS-TV Channel 2. She signed a new five-year contract early last month.

She began her TV career in Saginaw, Mich., then moved on to CNN Headline News, CNN and two superstations, WTBS in Atlanta and WGN in Chicago, before being hired by KCAL. Besides anchoring, she has a Feb. 24 KCAL special, “L.A. Profiles,” that is a vehicle for possible syndication.

A divorced mother, Harvey lives in Playa del Rey with her 8-year-old daughter and a housekeeper. On a recent evening, she discussed her job and views over coffee at Lucy’s El Adobe restaurant, across the street from the station on Melrose Avenue.

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Question: Los Angeles is not known for having regular weekday news anchors who are black. It’s rare. What are your feelings about that?

Answer: I didn’t know that until I moved here from Chicago. Yes, I’ve been made aware of my position by various organizations or community leaders. Sure, I guess I’ve thought about it. I look at my responsibility as a journalist first. I didn’t take Black Journalism 101. But in terms of who I am, I can’t hide it. I don’t understand why I am one of only a few.

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Q: Does it bother you that there aren’t more?

A: It does bother me when I hear a discussion about minority journalists. If you do your job and do it well, that should be the main consideration. I would think there would be more (minority anchors) on during the week. I don’t necessarily see why a person who’s of a different hue should be relegated to a certain day or time period. People are going to respond to who they like.

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Q: The bio I read says you’ve dedicated your career to the advancement of the African American community and social issues that affect it. That’s a strong statement.

A: It’s real. I didn’t sit down one day and say I’m going to dedicate my career to this. It just happened that way. I do a lot of community service because I’m asked to. I see a lot of black children, and they want to know how to get involved in broadcast journalism. They want to do what I do. So I have to answer them, and I have to be as honest as I can.

I understand how powerful television is, and if there’s a lack of understanding because we’re not showing a story more in depth, why don’t we do it?

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Q: Your bio also says you’re fed up with “glorified reports” of gang violence.

A: Yeah, television, movies. (In Chicago, people would say), “You want to move out to L.A.? Oh my gosh, there’s so many gangs. You’re going to get hurt.” It permeated the whole fiber of what this city represents.

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Q: It’s an ongoing story, but do you make your feelings known at the station about such continuing images?

A: Oh yeah. I will talk about presentation. I’m not trying to change the news. But if we just show another gang killing, what have we done here? Let’s take it to the next step--talk to the community people, see if they’re mobilizing. See what their needs and concerns are. You would think that everyone that lives within a few-mile radius is in a gang. There’s a bigger picture.

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Q: What’s the difference between Chicago TV news and Los Angeles TV news?

A: Politics. They don’t have Hollywood, so in Chicago they have drama in City Hall. People are very, very involved politically--I don’t care what side of the tracks you come from, I don’t care where you live. They are concerned about contracts, who’s going to pick up their garbage, services, education. So the difference was that City Hall was covered with a fine-tooth comb, as were the other political offices, county government, even statewide. Political coverage had a life of its own.

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Q: A lot of people here are upset about the direction of local TV news, the emphasis on violence and sensationalism. What do you think about that?

A: We’re not making up those kinds of stories, but at the same time, if I’m just showing it to show it, I don’t think that serves the public. And that’s what we are--we’re serving the public. So just to present it without any context or information the viewer can use, we would all feel that we’re all going to hell in a handbasket and we can’t go out of the house.

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Q: Are you happy with the state of local news here?

A: I think some of the stations have listened. People are going to call and write and tell you, “OK, I’ve had it.” But at the same time, you have people who are going to watch.

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Q: If some stations are paying attention, there must be some reason or justified criticism.

A: Or “Give us something better. Give us more context. Give us something else.” It’s blurred now in television--the tabloid, sensational programs versus legitimate news organizations. I think it’s dangerous. Sometimes people don’t discern the difference. How could they when they see the same stories being covered and the way they’re broadcast, or the teasers, the titillation? I don’t like that. How do you make the O.J. Simpson case any bigger than what it is? They’ve done it.

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Q: It’s not like Channel 9 is the great hope of TV news.

A: Oh no.

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Q: It has also crossed the line.

A: Uh huh. I’ll get calls and mail from people saying, “You shouldn’t have had that person on.” I may not necessarily agree, but sometimes I do say to myself, “Yeah, yeah, I wish I hadn’t talked to him either.”

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Q: As a working mother, how do you handle your hours, because they are not what the average working mother may have?

A: No, not at all. My daughter has to be at school by 9. I get up and take her. On Mondays, I stay an hour and help out at the classroom. I stuff envelopes. I sort out the class papers alphabetically. It’s sort of a volunteer thing for parents. And my daughter’s just crazy about me being in the classroom because I’m not at home to tuck her in bed at night. I can at least be as visible as I can in the mornings.

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Q: Have you had network offers?

A: Yes, before I moved out here from Chicago--from (ABC’s) “PrimeTime Live,” as a correspondent. And from ABC when they started an overnight broadcast (“World News Now”), but it didn’t excite me. There was also a discussion with NBC--but it was the weekend “Today” thing. I don’t have any desire to go to a network to do a weekend show.