Do you ever watch the 5 o’clock news on CBS? If you have, you have probably seen Jonathan Elias, the anchor of the show. Elias, a long-time reporter, an anchor, and a Wayland High School dad, came to talk to students during Winter Week about his job as a journalist.
As a student, Elias was a history major and had no idea what he wanted to do as a career. He initially wanted to fly jets in the Air Force but says he “grew a little too tall to fit into F16s and F15s”. That was when Elias switched his profession to journalism. Because he liked writing, he thought it would be a logical choice.
“I was always inquisitive, and I stood up to bullies. Those three things, when you add them together, make a perfect journalist. If you like to write, you’re naturally inquisitive, and you like to stand up against things you think are wrong, then journalism is it,” said Elias.
As a journalist, Elias enjoys the power that comes along with the job. “When they see [journalists] roll up with a pad and pen, they know that what they say to us will end up in front of hundreds of thousands if not millions of people,” he said.
Elias explained how, as a journalist, he is asked to cover tough and emotional stories like the Oklahoma City bombing of the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building in 1995. He described the daycare center on the first floor and its impact him and his colleague. “We both had to sit down on a curb, and we were breathing heavy…I can’t believe what we are seeing here,” he said.
Elias shared a quote from Bob Seger: “One victim lives a tragedy, one victim stops to stare, and another one walks by pretending not to care.”
Elias has also done happier stories, including a family reunion he was asked to cover in Clanton County. “There were 500 cars, no less, parked in the lot,” Elias said. It turned out to be a 75th year wedding anniversary where everyone in the room was related. “It was one of the best stories we have ever done. It was so much fun because they were the nicest people.”
Elias summed up his experience saying, “You’ll see great stories and you’ll see horrible stories.”
