ON THE CLOCK: Former Newsman Bill Young Will Now Take Our Questions...

By JOSHUA COFFMAN
Special to The Tribune

BROWNSVILLE, Texas - When he was star reporter for Channel 4 in Harlingen back during the Urban Cowboy days, Bill Young liked to go "TeeVee," using catch-phrases such as "Behind me is the Gulf of Mexico..." and "I'm standing in front of City Hall..." Indeed, Young cut a wide reportorial swath across Cameron County back then. Today, he is a better-paid spokesman for the City of Brownsville. 

(1.) As Public Information Officer, what would you say is your biggest challenge?

Getting news outlets interested in items that I know I would have covered while I was in the news racket; all it takes is a little imagination to turn a relatively simple set of facts into an interesting, informative and sometimes amusing piece. I see not much effort to follow up. I always thought this was a news person’s bread-and-butter: keeping a story alive and taking it as far as possible. My editors/producers in print and ENG were big on follow-up.

(2.) What is your assessment of the region's news media?

Was it Mark Twain who remarked about youth “being wasted on the young?” So it is with most of the local crop of news gatherers. To my way of thinking, a lack of experience shows itself perhaps first and foremost in the failure to check up on even the most simple detail. I have heard TV folks say “Corpse” instead of “core” when pronouncing corps. I have read their copy stating that the FAA was going to investigate this crash or that crash, not bothering to find out that it is the NTSB. Sometimes I respond by e-mail, but almost never get a reply.

(3.) Do you believe Brownsville gets a fair shake elsewhere in the RGV? (from politicians, business, perceptions on the part of residents of, say, McAllen and Harlingen)

Brownsville, to my way of thinking, is unique in South Texas. First, Brownsville has a past, a real past. None of the others do with the possible exception of Edinburg stemming from its days when it was where Hidalgo is now. Since Brownsville has a past, it also has a rich history (Brownsville had an opera house and fire department when almost all of the RGV was brush and jacals.) Brownsville, like New Orleans, has a rich culture based on a mixture of cultures, not to mention the first battle of the Mexican War and the last battle of the Civil War. In my humble opinion, the rest of the Valley cannot reconcile itself to the fact that Brownsville is, well, Brownsville. It is a historic gem by anyone’s description. Has it always been that “way?” Yes. It is interesting that the first mayor, Israel B. Bigelow, was thrown out of office because of his shady way of living and because illegal aliens are said to have voted for him in that 1850 election. To the others, Brownsville remains a never-never land and is always good for a shake of the head.

(4.) When RGV residents living away from Brownsville think of the city, they bring up images of corrupt politicians. What would change that imagery?

This perception could be easily changed. All that it would take is one or two-terms of a City Commission free of rancor, pathos, plotting, scheming, personal hatreds and battles that are fought on live TV instead of behind closed doors. Don’t get me wrong, there are some dedicated commissioners now. There are some who refuse to let personalities enter into the discourse. A couple of years of that and the water would clear.

(5.) If not Brownsville, what other RGV city would you like to serve as PIO?

Having worked here for so many years on both the supply side and the demand side of the news, I don’t know if I could work anywhere else as PIO. At this stage of my life it would take a lot to get me to risk it. If I absolutely had to, had to, it would probably be Port Isabel...

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