Steve Fidel

News Vice President, Ksl.com, Salt Lake City, Utah

First job in news:

I was a photo stringer and courts reporter for the Associated Press while I was an undergraduate in the journalism program at BYU. My fascination with news started with the newspaper route I had in the fifth grade.

What are some of the most important lessons you have learned while working in news?

Fairness and balance never run on autopilot. Transparency works both ways. There is opposition to all good things. People have more depth than they give themselves credit for. Winning, as a journalist, means overcoming the desire for revenge.

When you reflect on your career to date, what brings you the greatest sense of accomplishment?

I put my most rewarding accomplishments in three categories:

Writing stories that have had measurable impacts, being a mentor to journalism students and working in a news organization that is solidly profitable so I can evangelize the idea that journalism is not dying.

What are your predictions for where news publishing/news media is heading?

I am concerned that the discrediting of legitimate news media by public officials and their pundits is destructive to both news consumers and current and potential journalists. Legitimate journalism will continue to be threatened by the many echo chambers that trap people in one point of view. When major news outlets fall into the trap of catering to one audience segment, they lose their objectivity and tarnish the credibility of journalism as a whole. AI is the newcomer in all of that; let’s use it well.