It’s not often you get to meet your childhood heroes — especially ones that have inspired your chosen career.
Picture this: It’s 2010. Young City Editor Iván is scouring the internet for “What Would You Do” episodes during the early days of YouTube — everything is incredibly pixelated, buffering even at 240p — but still nearly crying after every watch.
There’s no doubt in my mind that “WWYD?” had a profound impact on my decision to go into journalism. The televised hidden camera show tackling ethical dilemmas shed light on the human experience in a way that I had never seen.
But looking back, I would have never guessed that the man behind this groundbreaking ABC series was actually a San Antonian. Once I found out that John would be speaking at my (and his) alma mater, St. Mary’s University, I knew I had to stop by to ask him a few short questions. This is that conversation.
Can you tell me about a fond memory you have of your time at St. Mary’s University?
I used to have a band. I had a rock ‘n’ roll band. It was called Free Nation, and we started here. I was the singer. I wasn’t that great.
(I asked if all the bandmates were students from St. Mary’s.)
No, no just guys from other places, but I always wanted to have a band. And we got to play here in the quad [...] We played a few jam sessions, and then we played at quinceañeras and weddings.
We liked rock music. We liked Chicago brass music with horns. It was just a lot of fun. And of course, being in Lambda Chi Alpha. I was in the in the fraternity. That really opened up a lot of friendships.
What advice do you have for your younger self?
Not to get so caught up in negativity, you know? And not listen to people who were the naysayers who said, you’re not good enough or it isn’t your time to go and become a television reporter.
Or even a radio reporter — I heard a lot of that because I had a heavy Mexican accent.
I was told repeatedly that I wasn’t ever going to make it. I still believed in myself, but I wish I had done a better job of that. Just fought back. And sort of ignore the naysayers.
You just got to shut the negativity out. I didn’t do enough of that. I even thought about dropping out when I was a sophomore because I was so depressed and thinking that maybe I wouldn’t be able to have my dream come true.
That would be it. Be more positive, even more positive than I was.
Was there a local restaurant, business, or place that you used to frequent when you were a child?
Yeah! Mi Terra. You know it’s still there, of course. Mi Tierra and the [Market] Square. My parents used to take us there on Friday nights.
There was a Chinese fish place next door. We would go there because they had fish. We were Catholic, and you couldn’t eat meat on Fridays. But we would often go to Mi Tierra, and now I’m on the mural. Yeah, isn’t that wild?
(We spoke about the Cortez Family.)
They’re beautiful. It’s a great kind of family. And that was my favorite. It still is.
What is something that every San Antonian should know about?
There’s so many wonderful neighborhoods, and it’s grown so much since I left here. But I just loved Guadalupe Street, the Guadalupe Theater, and even the downtown area.
The Pearl district, you know, it’s just so... Every time I can do that, I go down there and just walk around the old brewery.
I understand the Lone Star Brewery is also going to be developed. When I was a kid, we would go there in high school to — not have a beer because we couldn’t drink — but they would give us free soft drinks.
And Brackenridge Park. We hung out there every Sunday. When I finally was old enough to get a car, I would drive my jalopy of a car around Brackenridge Park trying to pick up girls.
Is there anything you would like to say to young journalists in the area that look up to you? Myself included.
Just keep the curiosity going. Read as much as you can get your hands on, as diverse materials as you can watch.
You know CNN, but also watch Fox to see what they’re doing. And then MSNBC, ABC, and NBC. Just expand your brain when it comes to consuming information.
Because through all that maze, there will be a sense of reality. Today it’s so divided. The media is unlike anything I’ve ever seen before in the sense that it’s so divided. People are taking sides. People are commenting, and there’s editorializing by reporters.
I think if people respect me, it’s because I never did that. I’m sort of the old school reporter who just tried to give you the facts.
Now truth sometimes falls on one side or the other. I don’t think it’s possible to always be totally unbiased because maybe the truth is on the left or on the right sometimes.
But I would just [encourage you to] keep reading as much as you can, explore, and have your sense of adventure.
Keep that open mind and just keep shooting for for new ideas and new stories. I love telling stories. That’s it. I think that would be it: Just keep expanding and growing.
