Learn more about WBBJ News by visiting wbbjtv.com.
The Pocket Change Podcast is presented by Leaders Credit Union. To learn more about Leaders, visit leaderscu.com.
Shea:
Hey, this is Shea!
Carrie:
And this is Carrie.
Shea:
Welcome to the Pocket Change Podcast,
Carrie:
Where you'll learn better ways to spend, save, and invest and take control of your financial journey.
Shea:
We have breaking news this hour. We have a guest who has a front row seat to storytelling in our region. We're going to learn more about it.
Carrie:
Will we be chasing alligators or tornadoes? Stay tuned! Up next: weather!
We're excited to welcome our guest, Stan Sanders, director of WBBJ news. Welcome to Pocket Change, Stan!
Stan Sanders:
Thank you! It’s a pleasure to be here.
Carrie:
Yeah! So, let's start with your journey. How did you first get started with news and broadcasting?
Stan Sanders:
Well, I would like to say that this is what I was going to do from the time I was a kid, but it wasn't. I grew up outside of Chicago, so I listened to a lot of DJs. You know, I had the aspirations as a young kid to be a DJ because when I was little, our house was literally a block from an AM station. And I got a chance to work there. Really, I don't know about working. They use me as kind of a cleanup man. So, I had all these 45s because every time the radio station changed formats, they would throw the records out, which today you'd be like, you don’t do that! So, I got attached to it and I listened to DJs and it sounded like fun. And I went to community college in communications, and I was going to be a DJ. And then I met a real DJ. When I went to the University of Illinois to finish my degree. And he goes, “I've moved eight times in the last so many years.” And I'm like, no. And they had just restarted their broadcast journalism program. So, I went in there and I said, well, this, this is interesting because now I can be a storyteller. Now I can inform people. I can't be funny, but I can still have an impact in the community. And the rest they say is history.
Shea:
So did you go straight into news after graduation or what was your early career? What did that look like?
Stan Sanders:
Wow. Yeah. You know when people talk about bad economies I graduated in 1982. And the unemployment rate in my hometown was 14.4%. But before I graduated, CNN was just about to start, and they were going to broadcast programs and interviewing people. And I got to the finalists. And then they told me the salary was going to be a whopping $8,500 a year. And even in 1982, $8,500 a year, you're not going to have anything but mac and cheese. And I was about to get married, so I said no. So, Frito Lay was also trying to hire people right out of college to be salespeople and they paid a lot more. They offered $22,000. So, I took that job and I worked it for a year. But the passion wasn't there. You know, when it just didn't feel right. So I quit, and then I had two part time jobs. Tried to find something. I ended up with a part time job at the local TV station as a photographer. And I said, “Well, this is pretty fun. I get to get paid to cover things.” Except when it was raining or snowing. And I was checking and there was a job offer in Charleston, South Carolina. This is winter in Illinois. I looked at pictures of Charleston, South Carolina - and we didn't have the internet back then, folks, I'm sorry.
But I went to the library and said, “Man, this is cool. It's right on the ocean. Love the beach.” And I sent a tape down thinking, “Aww, come on, I've been doing this job for, you know, a year. They’re not gonna hire me.” And a news director called me and tried to hire me over the phone.
Carrie:
Oh, wow.
Stan Sanders:
And I said, “I'd love to come, but I can't just do it over the phone.” And so, he bought me a ticket. I flew out of O'Hare airport. It was 32 degrees and sleeting, and they made us walk to the plane because they didn't have enough gates. So I'm getting pounded by sleet. I land in Charleston, South Carolina, and they didn't have gates either. I stepped off the plane. It was 82 degrees and sunny.
Carrie:
Oh, wow.
Stan Sanders:
I called my then wife. I said, “I don't care what they offer. We are moving to Charleston, South Carolina.” And that helped me just elevate my career.
Carrie:
So how did you end up in West Tennessee?
Shea:
A little different than South Carolina.
Carrie:
Yeah.
Stan Sanders:
Yeah. But you know, it's, as we said before, I love the South. You know, there is something about the South that makes me feel at home. And it's kind of strange that a kid from Chicago area is at home in the South. But again, my family's all from the South. My mom's parents, my dad's parents, they're all from northeast Arkansas. I spent all my summers in northeast Arkansas. So, it is home.
Carrie:
Right.
Stan Sanders:
And the people in the South I can relate to. I like the fact that we're not always in a hurry, and we're polite and we have manners. So, getting a chance to be closer to my relatives, I've seen cousins and aunts and uncles that I haven't seen in years on a regular basis. It's kind of nice, especially as, you know, you get old. I'm, you know, I'm starting to age, I'm told.
Shea:
So, we're glad you've made it to Jackson, to this community. How long you been with WDBJ?
Stan Sanders:
Almost ten years.
Shea:
Okay.
Stan Sanders:
I'm surprised.
Carrie:
Wow.
Shea:
Made it to a big milestone.
Stan Sanders:
Yeah, but, you know, time is one of those things that gets away from you. I think if you like what you do time goes fast. If you don't like what you do, time goes forever. I had to stop and think when you guys asked me that I'm going to hit ten years in October, but I don't feel like I've been in Jackson for ten years.
Shea:
Yeah.
Carrie:
So what's your current role like at the station? And what would a typical day be like for you?
Stan Sanders:
Boy, I wish I could tell you what a typical day is. But one of the things that's nice about the news business there's no such thing as a typical day. Yeah. And I think that keeps it not from being boring because you don't do this repetitive thing. Yeah. You go, you cover stories with stories or different, you know, today one of our reporters is doing something on heat, and the other one's up in Dyer County doing an animal shelter that has too many animals. But they'll do something totally different tomorrow. So my day depends on what the day is. I come in early and we have a plan, but it's just a plan. Because it can change tomorrow. So every day is different. The only thing that's consistent is I've got a budget, I've got schedules, I've got equipment, but everything else is whatever falls, you know, from the sky or whatever, you know, people plan around us.
Shea:
Right. So on slower days, you know, how do you go about finding news?
Stan Sanders:
Slower days can be hard, but they can also be easy because there's some times when you have these stories that are important, something can get in the way. If we have a barricade, a big fire, or God help us, like we had in April storm after storm after storm, you can't do some of those. Slower days lets you do stuff that you have to put on hold during the busy days. You know, you can do stuff about charities. You can do stuff about people that are interested in helping the community. It's one of the reasons that I'm a big proponent of Community Champion that we do with Leaders.
Shea:
Yeah.
Stan Sanders:
I mean, think about all the people in your town, in your area, that are doing something and they're not doing it for recognition. They're just doing it because it feels right to them and they know they can help. And those are the kind of stories that you can do when the skies aren't falling.
Shea:
Yeah. And they're making a big difference.
Stan Sanders:
They are. This community is full of people that have made a huge difference. And it's a shame that not everybody can be recognized. But I hope we're getting there. Certainly we are.
Shea:
Yeah, over the years we've had so many that have. Whether it's through the Community Champion or other programs that have been able to be recognized through y'all's involvement. So we appreciate it too.
Carrie:
So I know a lot of times in the news there's a lot of negative to report. But how do you focus on the positive?
Stan Sanders:
Well the positive is something you don't really think about it as a positive. You just think of this is a good story. At the end of the day a good story should permeate through everything. Whether it's good or bad or in the middle a good story is a good story. Positive news is what somebody thinks is positive. What I think is positive may not be what you think is positive. So I look at it, is it a good story? And is it an impactful story? For example, I sometimes think a good story is when we hold politicians accountable. I'm a big proponent of if you spend taxpayers’ dollars, you should be held accountable to how you spend them because it's not your money. And I can relate to that because I spend money that isn't mine in my budget. And there's somebody in Charlotte, in our corporate headquarters, that likes to know that I'm spending it wisely. And that's, to me, that's a good story. If we said to somebody, the mayor, city council, why are you spending that money? And is it the money that the taxpayers want? Are you doing what's right for them? And that to me is a good story. As well, I think, today with, Nayana doing Dyer County needs help to get animals relocated, to me, that's a great story. Because those animals, if they can't relocate them, will be put down. And nobody wants to do that.
Shea:
So it could be negative, but it's going to have a positive impact because the story you're telling. So that's important. So news has changed a lot. You know through traditional media now digital. How's that been affecting your job?
Stan Sanders:
It's made me older, Shea. Thanks. But I think that's, that's what the world is. You know, we were just talking the other day about the fact that you could go home and have a conversation with somebody because there was nothing else for them to do. I went to dinner with some other folks and I'm sitting there, you know, trying to have a conversation. And I looked across the table and there's four of us, three of them are on their cell phone and I'm like, I have to do that all day long. I'm it's dinner. Give me the creme brulee. So if that's our world, though, people are involved, engrossed in something, at a high level. So we have to be. I mean, news is no longer just doing the morning, midday, noon and 10:00. It's the 24 hour cycle, and you have to be on all of these platforms. You know, we're over the air, we're on the web, we're on Facebook. We just added our YouTube channel. We just added, we're going to have Roku here in the next three weeks. So it's a 24 hour cycle, not a regular, “Oh, I don't have to worry until the 5:00 newscast.” You got to you got to crank it out on a 24 hour basis.
Shea:
And people can, you know, like you said, get it across a lot of different digital mediums and even live streaming. Like you said, we've implemented, especially when we had bad storms earlier in the spring and, you know, the weather team was able to just jump on there and give people an update. And here's the storm, here's where it's going, what it's doing. So that's really hopefully giving more access to people to know and see the news.
Stan Sanders:
Well I think it does. But I also think it helps people because it's hard when you do, especially storm coverage because if the storm coverage isn't in your area or not about to impact your area, you’re like, “Well, I want to watch this show. I still want to engage in this.” Streaming allows you to target people that are interested. So if it's in far smaller county, is that worth, you know, covering up this show? I don't know, it depends. If there's a storm, a tornado is on the ground we don't care where it is. If it touches the ground, we're 24/7 on all of our platforms. Yeah, but if it's just a storm that's just rolling through like we had the other night, streaming is the way to handle it. Yeah, but there's such danger with what's happened in this cycle because we have so many wannabe meteorologists, we have so many wannabe news sites, and I can't tell you the struggle. And it is a struggle - I don't think I'm over using that - we have every day. We're trying to give people the right information, not something they got on Facebook.
Carrie:
Yeah, sure.
Stan Sanders:
And it's scary to think that somebody will see something on a weather wannabe’s Facebook page or somebody who thinks they're a journalist. And it's not true. Yeah, but if you have one post - it only takes one post. It's like setting a forest on fire. It will blow up faster than you can control it. And then people get mad at us because we're not reporting. And then we have to explain to them we're not reporting it because it's not true. We have to be accurate.
Shea:
Find the reputable source.
Stan Sanders:
So you know that's changed a lot. And I hope people, as this matures, as will understand, don't believe everything you read.
Carrie:
And then that takes up your time. Also having to explain why you're not reporting it too.
Stan Sanders:
I can't tell you how many times people have called me an idiot over the phone. “Well, what are you, stupid? I saw that on Facebook!” I'm like, okay, I know, but here's what really happened. And you walk them through it. Because I think we have to also educate people that Facebook is a social media page.
Carrie:
It's not a news source.
Stan Sanders:
It's not a news source. It is something I can have a Facebook page. I have a thought about putting in a Facebook page for my dog. He seems to be popular when we go out, but that doesn't mean that just because it's on Facebook that you should take it. And I want people as well to digest wherever they're getting their news source and say, “Okay, that makes sense to me. It doesn't make sense to me.” And if you put your thought into it, you're going to find out if it's true or false.
Carrie:
That's right. Yes. So, shifting gears just a little bit here, to something more happy. So I know you've seen a lot, but what is one of the most memorable and powerful stories that you've covered?
Stan Sanders:
Well, powerful, I would say the most powerful story. And it was not a happy story. I was working in Charleston, South Carolina when the shuttle blew up. And it was it was a rough few days for all of us because I was in a classroom where one of the shuttle crew used to teach. So I was in the classroom with students who knew him as a former professor when it blew up. So that was a rough day.
Carrie:
I'm sure.
Stan Sanders:
And it was just, words can’t describe that. And then we went, we obviously went to the funeral. And being at that funeral, words can't describe it. And it was it was powerful. But as a photographer, I was getting aggravated because if I was trying to listen, I was mad at the media because all I hear was camera shutters. And I'm thinking, these people, this is this is important. You don't want to hear your camera shutter. Just let them let them, you know, not enjoying it, but -
Shea:
Be in the moment.
Stan Sanders:
Be in the moment. But I've had some real fun. And I told you guys this before. I mean, you know, I've been chased by alligators.
Shea:
We want to hear the alligator.
Stan Sanders:
Yeah. You know, I'm not the brightest person at times. And I will admit to that. But again, when I was a photographer and as my mentor said, “Oh, you had honest work once.” We had a, good old boy, and he was one of the best guys I've ever worked with. He was he was salt of the earth, smarter than anybody. And he was passionate about wildlife. And he said we had to go do an alligator nest. And I'm fascinated by wildlife, I really am. And if you've ever seen an alligator close up, you're like, “Oh yeah, it's fascinating. Just stay over there.”
Shea:
Yeah.
Stan Sanders:
So he took us out to the nest and I didn't know alligators made a nest.
You know, you learn things. I didn't know that. So I'm like, “Oh cool. Let's go.” So we get in these canoes and at the time I was a lot healthier and I carried about 50 pounds of equipment with me everywhere we went. So we land on this tiny little island, he takes us back, and there's a pile of brush. That's the nest. And he says, “Okay, I'm going to show you these eggs. But one thing you need to be aware of, if you hear rustling, tell me, because, you know, the momma alligator is not going to be happy if she finds out we're messing with the nest.” I said, “What do you mean, the mama alligator?” I said, “Where is she now?” “Well, she's probably out feeding, don't worry.” So he reaches in and I get this great shot. He pulls out an egg, you know, and they have to be kept at a certain temperature. The it takes. And he shows it to me. And I said, “I hear rustling.” He puts the egg down. And nothing fazes him. And he puts the egg down and says, “Run.”
Carrie:
Oh my gosh.
Stan Sanders:
And so we ran. And as we're running to the canoe, there's the mama alligator. And we get to the canoe and back out and she's right there on the shore. And she opens, I don't know if you ever seen an alligator when they get mad. They hiss at you. And I go, “Next time, tell us ahead of time.” But it was a great story and it was a great to tell, you know, on the air. And then I actually got to be famous once. I've made I made network news twice. In Charleston, South Carolina, we covered the when the turtles hatch. And they come out en mass. It's amazing.
Shea:
Yeah.
Stan Sanders:
You feel it's a National Geographic moment. And this was in the middle of the night. They all hatched out and I got to stay there and the sun came up just as they were finishing. So you get this great. And I gave it to CBS news and they ran it on the CBS morning show. Which was my claim to fame, and I got $150 for it, which was better. But then, you know, I covered three hurricanes and two tropical storms.
Carrie:
Oh, wow.
Stan Sanders:
And we covered Hurricane Gloria, and we were tied to a pavilion in, North Carolina on the beach. And the gusts were 120 miles an hour. And if you watch the CBS news, I have a tape of it. They take a shot. I'm as a photographer. Then it's a live shot, and I'm on a pier, and you see these waves crashing over the pier, and I'm live, and, it's like, “Wow, and I got paid for that.
Carrie:
Yeah.
Stan Sanders:
So, yeah, I mean, all these things that you will always have. So when I'm in the retirement center and other people are telling these great stories, I've got better ones.
Carrie:
You've got some great stories to share for sure.
Shea:
So what's your favorite part of the job? What keeps you coming in every day?
Stan Sanders:
I think the favorite part is that I hope we make a difference. Somewhere, somehow, something helps somebody today. Either help them stay. Say help them be informed. Help them laugh. You know a lot of times we'll do polls and we do polls sometimes just to see if people will laugh about them. Like right now we have a favorite ice cream poll. It's not a breaking news story. But people enjoy that. So I hope what drives us every day is can we make your life better? Are we coming in and helping you? And if you can do that, then it's all worth it.
Shea:
So what is your favorite ice cream?
Carrie:
Yeah?
Stan Sanders:
You know, right now, I tell you, it's not an ice cream. But if you haven't had that peach shake from chick fil A, you are not really living.
Shea:
It's the best thing that comes around each summer.
Stan Sanders:
It says summer.
Carrie:
That's true. Especially in Tennessee with the peaches. Okay, so you not only help the community with your news reports, but you also serve on the board of the Leaders Education Foundation. So what inspired you to get involved and what do you see as its biggest impact?
Stan Sanders:
Well, I mean that's easy. It was Leigh Anne. Leaders itself is part of the reason. I mean, there are institutions within this area that make a difference. I don't care where you live. You can live in Jackson, Tennessee. You can live in Tallahassee, Florida. Chicago. It doesn't matter. Education is key to every community. People will not move to your area if the education system is not good. It's that vital to families. It's vital to the industry. If you can't have children that are being educated and graduate and join the workforce. The fact that this started it at a time when it was most needed, is a win-win. I tried to get on when I first started, but I didn't hit the cut, so they must have changed the rules along the way. I'm just kidding. No, they had some really fine people, and I was proud, when one of those retire that I was chosen and the things that the they do is just amazing. You know, hundreds of thousands of dollars have been given to teachers, to students, to staff, to organizations. All that to me is not just a small impact. When you help a student, you help a teacher, it's going to keep going. It's not today, it's tomorrow, the next day, and the next day. And that's the kind of stuff that makes a community stronger. Stronger education is to me, is vital. Ask my daughters.
Shea:
Well I also want to thank WBBJ because they are our media sponsor for the Education Foundation's inaugural fundraiser, EmpowerEd, coming up soon. So we appreciate the promotion and involvement there.
Stan Sanders:
Thanks. I mean, I don't think people realize how committed this station is. We give away to to charity organizations over $2 million worth of advertising a year. $2 million. And we don't do that so we can brag about it. Nobody knows that we give that much away until now. Sorry, Mark. Mark's my boss. But we do it because, again, we're part of the community. And if you look at an FCC license for a television station, it says in the first paragraph your mission is to serve the public. And WBBJ takes that seriously. We're just, you know, and you know, Leaders and WBBJ also have the Community Champion. So I think we've found a way that both these entities recognize what's important. But more important than just that, we want to make sure people see it.
Carrie:
That’s right.
Stan Sanders:
And appreciate and understand it's happening right here in Jackson, Tennessee.
Carrie:
Yeah. That's right.
Shea:
Showing that the difference is being made. So since this is a financial podcast, we want to ask what's some of the best financial advice we've ever been given?
Stan Sanders:
Well, not to follow my dad. My dad has taught me a bad vice, and I want to share this with people. So you don't get this. My one vice is that my father, when I was a kid, bought a new car every three years. And then whoever had the oldest car got the new car, and vice versa. He wasn't greedy - my mom would hit him in the back of the head, I think. (I never seen it, but I've heard it.) But, you know, he would like to spend money, and. But my mother taught us financial security. She said not to spend money unless it was necessary. She didn't throw away money. And that was important to know, because, you know, when you start out, today, I think the youth are spending more money than they're making because they're used to getting money. But when you're financially sound, then you have all the flexibility in your life that you need, whether it's buying a house, car, going on vacation, and not being locked into to just one job. If you're financially secure, you have a range of opportunities to do things you want to do. But if you're not, it's not going to help.
Shea:
Yeah. That's true. That's what financial well-being is, having those choices to do what you want to do in life.
Stan Sanders:
It scares me when I hear that people don't have money in the bank. And my father, the one thing he did tell me, he said, “Son, I don't care what you do for a living, but you need to have at least three months’ salary in the bank at all times. Yeah, at least three months, he said. I'd prefer you have six, but at least three months, therefore whatever happens, you're going to be covered.” And that was important because when I graduated from college, again, the unemployment rate in my hometown was 14.4%, and there were families all over the area that were being foreclosed on because they had spent everything they made and never put anything in the bank.
Shea:
Yeah.
Carrie:
Right. So since this is the Pocket Change Podcast, if you were to find some extra change in your pocket, what would you spend it on?
Stan Sanders:
Today, it would be a Dr. Pepper.
Carrie:
Okay. I thought you were going to say the peach shake.
Shea:
Yeah.
Stan Sanders
No, I had one over the weekend.
Carrie
Yeah. Okay.
Stan Sanders
You got to pace yourself.
Shea:
It’s not as special if you have it every day, right?
Stan Sanders:
It's like I used to get a roll of lifesavers for those that are old, you know, because young people like what's life saver? But when you used to get a roll of lifesavers.
Carrie:
Yeah, I know what you mean.
Stan Sanders:
One was a favorite. But if -
Carrie:
What was your favorite?
Stan Sanders:
The coconut one.
Carrie:
Oh I like the red one.
Stan Sanders:
And then the pineapple. You know I felt tropical. But then when you, if you have it every day it's not the same thing. So, I only have one peach shake because you know, you gotta pace yourself.
Carrie:
Gotta make it special.
Stan Sanders:
But I'll have 2 or 3 Dr. Peppers a day because it's ten, two, or four.
Carrie:
We've got some in the fridge. I'll be happy to give you one on your way out, and you don't have to use your change on it. How about that?
Stan Sanders:
If I had one of these piggy banks, I might put it in the piggy bank.
Shea:
There you go. We can get you one of those, too.
Carrie:
Oh, Stan, it was so great to have you with us today.
Stan Sanders:
Thank you, it’s been my pleasure.