Nothing ‘fake’ about reporter Steve Hudak
Journalism-bashing is all the rage these days. And it will probably intensify this week when President Donald Trump hands out his “Fake News” awards.
In case you missed it, the president of the United States revealed via Twitter: “I will be announcing THE MOST DISHONEST & CORRUPT MEDIA AWARDS OF THE YEAR on Monday at 5:00 o’clock.”
Forget the football game. I wanna see what MSNBC wins.
This awards shtick will obviously play to Trump’s base — including those who wear the infamous T-shirts that say: “Rope. Tree. Journalist. Some assembly required.”
(Because who doesn’t enjoy a good lynching joke?)
Heck, it will probably play with some media bigwigs, too, as they lap up the attention.
But beyond the Beltway, the media disdain and let’s-kill-allthe-reporters jokes have started affecting some people’s views of media, including local newspapers … which is why I want to introduce you to Steve.
Steve Hudak is a reporter for the Orlando Sentinel who has covered small towns, local wildlife and human-interest stories for more than 30 years.
He’s a 58-year-old father of four and grandfather of two who grew up in a conservative Catholic household and doesn’t give a flip about the back-and-forth of D.C. politics. He’d rather watch Ohio State play football.
What Steve really likes to do, though, is meet the people of Central Florida … and tell their stories. About forgotten veterans and rising water bills. About grieving parents and neighborhoods dealing with wild bears.
Steve attends the planning and zoning meetings that most media ignore.
He lets you know when your garbage-pickup days change.
And when residents of neglected communities have dirty water or crumbling apartments, Steve asks the tough questions of public officials and company execs.
This is the vast majority of what local newspapers do. Steve loves to do it.
And there ain’t a damn thing “fake” about him.
Steve always loved to write. He remembers beaming the day his Catholic school teacher, Sister Olivia, chose his “Tall Tale” — the story of an oversized lumberjack — to read aloud to the class.
As Steve got older, though, he realized writing could have a powerful impact. Watergate taught him that.
He recalls his parents’ reaction to the scandal as they watched it unfold. “They didn’t like that the White House was now a dirty place,” he said. “There had probably been liars and cheaters all along, but this time they were exposed — by newspapers.”
So Steve joined the ranks of professional storytellers in 1982, covering the town of Findlay, Ohio, for the Findlay Courier, where one of his early stories told readers about a council vote to improve the city’s street-sweeping program … which meant buying new brooms.
Steve was fascinated with telling the story of the chief sweeper.
More than three decades later, Steve is still telling those stories — listening to everyday people who have concerns about their bills, their mortgages and the drivers who speed through their neighborhoods.