A Special Salute To Broadcaster Bill Baldini
Channel Ten reporter Bill Baldini retires today, ending a 44 year career at the Philadelphia station, one marked by extraordinary endurance and the kind of solid reporting that all stations should envy.
First, a disclaimer. Baldini is a friend. So my remarks are totally biased. He is on of the last of a breed of reporter. And it is hard to believe he’s turning in his reporter’s notebook. But wait a minute! He also tells me that the station has welcomed him to return, at any time, if he feels the need to get back on the street.
No one owned street reporting in the seventies and eighties like Bill Baldini did. Eventually, Walt Hunter emerged as a powerful force, but when it came to gutsy, truthful reporting with a special appeal to the viewers, Baldini had a lock on the franchise. Unlike many reporters who write well, but talk above the fray, Bill always had the unique ability to converse directly with the viewer. He is who he is - not a pretender, but a real Philadelphian who projected that understanding of the city and the region and the people who live in it .
There was never a question of whether Baldini would leave Philadelphia. He survived the terms of 7 mayors, and 18 governors in our tri state area, never flinching at the aura of power, always persisting with the tough questions. He was as comfortable with a celebrity politician as he was with a man or woman on the sometimes tough streets that were covered. No fire was too small, no personal tragedy was ever treated with insensitivity. The world of news was his territory, and he was , more than most reporters I’ve known, ready for any day’s challeges.
Anchors get a lot of attention. But in some cases, they are void of real intuition and knowledge. For those in the glamour business, there was always people like Baldini to keep them on track.
TV News Directors should be looking for people like Bill, people who have not forgotten that is, in the end, it is about the quality of the information they provide.
Personally, Bill Baldini was a delight to work with. By his nature, he was and is a pleasant person with a great sense of ethics and family values.
We will all miss him on the air. Channel Ten will miss him.
A political note: The Chester County House seat recount lasted longer than the Presidential battle in Florida in 2000. The Democrats won. The Democrats control the Pa. House. It is time for the new minority, the Republicans to get over it.
Programming note: If you like gizmos, gadets and the techno-future, catch my Voice of Reason show Sunday at 9:30 on CN 8, the Comcast Network. Newsweek Senior Editor Steven Levy and web games legend Chris Grant will give you a peek at the future where anything is possible, and everything becomes obsolete. It is a special Christmas Eve edition.
It’s hard to believe it, but Bill Baldini has been on the air longer than my parents have been alive! All the time having no sense of slowing down. His hard hitting yet compasionate reporting has yet to be matched by any other reporter. I hope he has a wonderful retirement.