When it comes to top-notch investigative reporting that not only uncovers fact instead of hype and fiction, but also brings about lasting results that can be seen and measured, a true professional is required. An investigative reporter who is willing to risk not only his time but his reputation, maybe even his life.
In the field of investigative reporting, Chicago is home to many of the field's finest. At the top of this list is Chuck Goudie. Goudie has devoted a significant portion of his life in the pursuit of criminals, scam and con artists, as well as corrupt politicians and government officials. Goudie heads up the ABC 7 "I Team," and is responsible for putting untold numbers of criminals and their counterparts behind bars, as well as shutting down their often covert operations. The work at hand is often dangerous, unpleasant and demanding, but Goudie unravels the intricate pieces of the puzzle with diligence and determination. The work of Goudie, amply assisted by his producer Ann Pistone, includes Chicago's infamous "License For Bribe" scandal.
Goudie joined ABC 7 as a news reporter in April 1980. The Detroit native is a graduate of Michigan State University with a degree in telecommunications. He came to WLS on the heels of a successful tenure at WSOC-TV, the ABC affiliate in Charlotte, NC.
The engaging and good-natured Goudie credits his entry into the media business with an unexpected guest spot as a magician on two children's shows early in his career. The appearance led to a regular role for the young go-getter on several weekly children's shows on WXYZ-TV in his hometown of Detroit.
The winner of three Peter Lisagor Awards, Goudie was named "Best Television Reporter in Illinois" by the Associated Press. In September 1990, Goudie was the only local TV reporter allowed into Saudi Arabia to report on the Persian Gulf War. Moreover, Goudie was the first Chicago reporter on the air when the war broke out in January 1991.
In May 1992, Goudie received a Midwest "Father of the Year" award by The Father of the Year Council. In 1998 Goudie was given the "Best Investigative Reporting Award" in recognition of his report on how police officials misspent funds seized from criminals. This eye-opening expose also won him the 1998 Herman Kogan Award for criminal justice reporting from The Chicago Bar Association. The year 2000 saw Goudie honored yet again for his revelations of serious security lapses at Chicago's O'Hare Airport.
As if his schedule weren't busy enough, Goudie also writes a weekly column for The Daily Herald. He has also written current news events and media ethics columns for several Catholic newspapers.
Goudie lives in the western suburbs of Chicago with his wife Teri and their five children. Teri is a former ABC news producer and corporate crisis counselor. She is now an international media trainer.
DG: You're from Detroit?
CG: Yes, I'm from suburban Detroit. ( Chuck smiles at me ) Nobody says they're from Detroit that I know of. ( We both laugh ) It's funny, everybody says they're from Chicago, even if you live out in Sugar Grove. But it doesn't matter how close you lived to Detroit, you're always from somewhere else. Although the suburbs of Detroit are a real gem, there are many more lakes than around here, big spacious homes and lots. A lot of water, it's beautiful. I enjoyed growing up there.
DG: There are so many awards you've won. I hardly know which to ask about.
CG: ( Laughing ) David, this is an awards business, you know that!
DG: Well, a story of yours that really caught my attention was the one that you and the "I Team" did regarding security lapses at O'Hare. What was the public response?
CG: Yeah, it was one of those stories where we started with like, a small bite of the story. And after the first couple of pieces aired, we got so many calls from people who had other tales to tell about their experiences at O'Hare. We also got a lot of calls from the inside. Not only police and security people who work at the airport, but also from airline employees who are behind the scenes every day. They became great sources for us, over a period of about two or three years. We still get calls from some of these people.
DG: Oh, really?
CG: They will let us know whatever's going on and it's obviously very helpful. But it's a story that really does touch virtually everybody because one way or another you're either going to fly through O'Hare or you're going to pick somebody up there. And they say things are better out there at the airports across the country, and maybe they are. I'm sure some of the security problems that we found have been fixed, but it's almost an unfixable system. It'll never be totally secure. [ These remarks were made by Goudie when I met with him over a month before the terrorist attacks on the US of 9/11/01, so it's easy to see that his evaluation of the airport security situation was on target. ]
DG: And you won an Associated Press "Continuing News Coverage" Award for that story. I really thought that it might cop an Emmy, Chuck.
CG: Well, David, you know we have a problem at this station with the Emmys. For years, we ( ABC 7 ) have not been active participants in the Emmy awards. It's only recently that we kind of have been able to go back into the Emmys on an individual basis. But for a long time; many years, as a company, ABC did not participate.
DG: Why was that?
CG: There was some "bad blood," and some feelings that the judging was not really adequate. But we're back into it now; some of us have started reentering.
DG: When you first started working at ABC 7, what stories did you cover?
CG: A little bit of everything. I was hired as a general assignment reporter. It was an interesting time in Chicago because after being No. 1 for a lot of years, Channel 7 was No. 3 on a good day. This was in 1980. And some of the older people who were here had been let go; considering the older reporters they had gotten rid of a lot of people. So they were trying to hire "new blood." And I was young, I worked cheap at that point, as did several of my colleagues who were brought in then. I am almost certain that I'm the only one who remains from that gush of "new blood." There were some not very memorable people who lasted only a few weeks, and then there were some people who were here for several years in the early '80s who were adequate; they were better than that, and ended up moving on and are working around the country now. I would cover just about anything. I covered fires; I'd do features, I'd do the lead story of the night, or I might cover ChicagoFest, which is where I spent most of my first month in Chicago.
DG: Do you ever talk to John Drury about your mutual interest in magic? I thought John was the Magic Meister.
CG: Yes, right! ( Goudie smiles ) But because of the pace we keep here we don't talk to each other about much of anything in this place. We really don't see each other except when I show up on the set to front a story or if we're passing each other on the street so. I know John is into magic, but we've never talked about it.
DG: What are your feelings about your competition in this world of investigative reporting? Pam Zekman, Renee Ferguson, Dave Savini. I happen to think they're all pretty qualified reporters.
CG: Well, absolutely, they are all great. Any investigative reporter will tell you they are only as good as their producer. I think Pam ( and the rest ) would say that about her ( their ) producer ( s ) and I would certainly say that about my producer, Ann Pistone.
DG: In your opinion, why is the ABC "I Team" one of the highest rated investigative teams in this city?
CG: Well, first of all we come on to the scene with more viewers than any other station. We can claim we are the highest-rated investigative team in Chicago strictly by the numbers. But when you go beyond that, and obviously people who are concerned about the content of things go beyond that, we try to take a different view of projects we take on. We really cover a wide range of stories. We don't just do consumer stories. We don't just do political corruption although we do those stories occasionally. We don't just do police stories. One story we may have on the air may involve the pet cremation industry. The next story may be a story about public officials being chauffeured around in limousines. And then we may tackle an unsolved murder. ... And we attempt to cover as many bases as we can in an average year or six months. We also have a great interest in Sports-related stories. We broke the Northwestern gambling story. That crossed a lot of lines. We worked a number of years ago on the Michael Jordan gambling story.
Note to the Reader: Although the first part of this interview took place before the terrorist attacks of 9/11, we had the opportunity to talk to Goudie after he returned from several important assignments for ABC 7 News in the war-torn Middle East and Germany. Here is a sampling of our post-terrorist attack interview:
DG: To what regions did you recently travel to cover America's response to the terrorists' attack on America of 9/11/01? How long were you abroad doing exclusive reports for ABC 7 News?
CG: ABC cameraman Steve Erwin, with whom I reported the Gulf War, and I returned to the Middle East in early October to cover Operation Enduring Freedom. We first spent a few days in Washington, D.C., to report on the initial anthrax cases and also to undergo "High Altitude Flight Training" from the military at Andrews Air Force Base.
We needed that certification to fly on any U.S. military aircraft in the Afghanistan region.
From there we went to London for a day's training on surviving chemical and biological warfare. ABC now requires that of its correspondents and crews who are going to the war region.
We then spent a week in Germany at a pair of U.S. air bases ... reporting on Chicago troops involved in the war effort. We flew a 12-hour, overnight mission to the Black Sea with a refueling unit that was servicing U.S. aircraft over Afghanistan.
Then we went to the headquarters of the Navy's Fifth Fleet in Bahrain. From there we flew to an aircraft carrier in the Arabian Sea and spent four days reporting on Afghanistan bombing operations through the eyes of Chicago sailors and aviators.
We were gone about three weeks and filed two dozen reports for ABC 7 and for ABC network radio.
DG: Were you ever in fear for your life while reporting on Operation Enduring Freedom? Can you describe one of the most frightening experiences you had while in Germany or the Middle East?
CG: I never felt that I was in imminent danger. The refueling mission is always somewhat unnerving, when you figure that a C-17 cargo plane is within a few feet of the tail of the plane in which you're riding ... connected by a jet fuel line ... both planes moving at 550 miles per hour.
While returning from the aircraft carrier, our military transport was forced to land for fuel and repairs in one of the United Arab Emirates. It was an unscheduled stop. There were fairly unfriendly, local military guards with machine guns to greet us. One guard told me that I probably didn't want to stand where I was because I could be a target for the terrorist-snipers on the hill outside the airport fence.
We were held for a few hours in a locked room. There were Kevlar ( bulletproof ) curtains on the windows. But we made it back OK.
DG: Is there any doubt in your mind that the U.S. campaign in Afghanistan is a necessary Step One to winning the war against terrorism in the world?
CG: At this time, based on what seems apparent, until some contradictory information, I take our government's word at face value.
DG: Of all the servicemen you met during this trip abroad, who ( person or group ) inspired you the most and why?
CG: A young African-American man from Chicago's Roseland community. He's the son of a Chicago fireman. He was a foundering musician when his father encouraged him to get a public service job. He applied to what he thought was an ad to be a fireman. It was actually a military recruiter and now he's hooked. But he had a great attitude, summed up when he happily told me: "family members and friends before me had to do their jobs. Now it's my turn to step up to the plate."
DG: What is the most important thing you learned from this trip?
CG: The military is not a faceless bureaucracy. The military is comprised of people with faces, feelings, family and friends back home ... and wherever you go, in whatever military operation, Chicagoans are on the front lines.
