Interview with Mike Stoker (D)
03/14/2009 via telephone, recorded by telephone in Provo, Utah.
Interviewer/Transcriber: Jeremy Stoker (J)
J: Hey, how are you?
D: Good, busy, but good.
J: Well let’s get on with this. This is Jeremy Stoker interviewing Mike Stoker, via telephone.
J: What year were you born?
D: 1952
J: What is your first memory of media in any form?
D: First memory of media…probably Saturday morning cartoons on TV.
J: What technological advancements do you remember from your childhood?
D: hmm…let me think, color TV…transistor radios,
J: Is that all?
D: what else…power steering in cars.
J: What about your teenage years?
D: Cassette players, eight track tapes
J: okay…did you use these much?
D: yeah a little bit…
J: How did you research topics when you were in High School?
D: Went to the library and read in the encyclopedias
J: Did you have access to newspaper archives when you were in high school?
D: yes
J: Did you access them much?
D: No I did not.
J: What news stories do you remember from your childhood?
D: President Kennedy assassination.
J: Anything else?
D: What else…can’t think of anything else…oh the Russian spacecraft.
J: Sputnik?
D: yes
J: What news story do you remember most from your teenage years?
D: Vietnam, the draft, Communism taking over the world, cold wars, Berlin Wall.
J: the wall was built in your teenage years?
D: yes, and the Berlin Airlift.
J: College years?
D: College years…hmmm…early seventies…Gas embargo, OPEC and just after I remember Watergate.
J Okay…how did you access your news at this time?
D: Newspaper and Radio.
J: Did that change since when you were a kid?
D: Not really.
J: What type of media were you most interested in?
D: Newspapers probably.
J: Did you read the newspaper often?
D: I read the newspaper everyday
J: Which newspapers?
D: Post Register, Rigby Star, Wall Street Journal.
J: When do you remember watching TV regularly?
D: Never really did as a kid, we used to watch Saturday baseball and football on Sundays…we always went out and played sports on Sundays.
J: Did you have a TV in college?
D: No
J: When did you first own a TV?
D: After I got married.
J: How big was the TV?
D: 19 inch
J: What is the main change in TV reporting you have noticed since your early twenties until now?
D: More female anchors, more technology as far as pictures and video.
J: Has the manner in which the reporters present the messages changed a lot?
D: not really…they do a lot more multi person media…I mean they have on-site reporters and camera people and they dispatch them all over the globe…it seemed like it was all in-house before.
J: What were some major events you remember occurring that kept you “glued” to TV or newspaper?
D: Kennedy assassination for sure, Green Bay Packer football
J: What about in the seventies?
D: Vietnam
J: What media classes (if any) did you take in college?
D: I did not take any.
J: How have technological advancements changed the way you perceive media?
D: It’s more interesting due to more videos, the news is more instant with the internet.
J: Do you trust news reporting more now or less?
D: Now
J: Do you remember any news scandals?
D: Watergate, I remember the one about the Hearst newspaper family kidnapping Petty Hearst…she was the daughter of the man who owned a bunch of Newpapers.
J: Do you think that news reporting is more accurate/unbiased now than twenty years ago?
D: No
J: What is the difference?
D: I think there are more people who have an agenda now…or maybe I am just more aware of it
J: Twenty years ago, what was your main source of news?
D: Newspaper
J: Did you think that would ever change?
D: Yeah the internet now is…
J: But did you have any reason to think then, that newspaper would become somewhat extinct?
D: Always a possibility
J: What is your main source of news currently?
D: Internet and public radio
J: How much do you read newspapers now?
D: Rarely, maybe once a month
J: What internet sites do you go to for news reporting?
D: The drudge report, ESPN, CNN, Fox News.
J: Do you go to any newspaper websites?
D: I go to the post register on occasion.
J: Do you listen to news reporting in your vehicle?
D: Yes, Public radio…BYU got an eighth seed against Texas A&M… it’s a good bracket but they play number one if they win…Connecticut.
J: Do you think anything will make the internet extinct for accessing news?
D: I don’t know…always probable…they could have some instant news source via cell phones or brain implanted chips.
J: That might be cool.
D: Yeah.
D: Utah got a five seed…they could go play two games before they hit the number one seed.
J: What website are you on?
D: NCAA.com
J: Have you ever heard of Twitter?
D: nope
J: Thanks for your time.
D: Roger that…and San Diego State didn’t make it into the bracket.
J: nice.
