For many journalists, 9/11 remains more than an important story from their careers. Instead, their memories reflect a moment when television provided Americans with their primary window into an unfolding national tragedy.
"If you just want to do the copy and paste where you're doing the same event every quarter, every month, it's not going to work. So we've created some very unique event opportunities."
Nobody could have gotten this perfect. But Salem came about as close as a company reasonably could. It walked a genuinely difficult line, balancing unfathomable grief against legitimate business obligations.
"I feel humbled and privileged and honored to share the table with my co-hosts, and to hopefully bring to the conversation a dependable, insightful viewpoint that educates, hopefully inspires, and entertains people through the lens of my varied experience."
Whatever the underlying motivation, the message to every other host and producer on the payroll is the same: sharing confidential editorial strategy with outside political figures will get you fired. No matter how close you are to the audience or the administration.
Political advertising was never built as a meritocracy, and campaigns don't always spend where the numbers point them. They spend where the instinct — and the image — feels safest.
"It's bittersweet. What I will do is just be grateful. I'll be grateful for the 26 years with Salem, and the 50 years in the business, and the wonderful people that I've worked with."
For many journalists, 9/11 remains more than an important story from their careers. Instead, their memories reflect a moment when television provided Americans with their primary window into an unfolding national tragedy.