When asked what she fears most Kathleen Choal struggles to find a discernible answer. Nothing really. Then it hits: her, still-not-a-teenager, daughter.
This from a former Arizona police officer and journalist who ran a Tucson newsroom the day Gabby Giffords was shot nearby. Simply put, she believes that life is too short to live with fear, there are exceptions of course.
The 18-year news veteran and KSBY general manager recently took a commercial break to converse about warm sandy beaches, the draw of policing and what it’s like to run a newsroom when a national event happens in your backyard.
Where would you rather be right now?
On a very warm, sandy beach, with a cold beer and NO cellphone or internet connection!!!
What is your greatest fear?
I don’t really have too many fears. Life is too short to live with fears. But what keeps me up at night is my daughter – are we (my husband and I) raising a smart, funny, amazing daughter? I think I am but I still have the teenage years to survive. So I guess my greatest fear is keeping her safe, healthy and happy which will then allow her to choose her path and her contribution to the world. I might have a little bit of fear when I think of her at about age 15. Gulp. If she is anything like I was at 15, I will definitely have my hands full! It makes my mom just giggle now to watch me prepare to go through what she lived through at that time with me all those years ago.
Which words or phrases do you most overuse?
Seriously? I am not being a smart aleck. That is the word I overuse! I can’t help it. It is a great word and can convey so much so quickly. Seriously!
What is your most marked characteristic?
Can I give a news response to this one? No comment. Ha! I can’t figure out how to answer this question so I will give the safe answer of no comment. I will leave the answer of this question to my family, friends and co-workers who would probably all have a different opinion of my personal qualities.
You left TV news early in your career for a stint as a police officer before returning to news. What drew you to law enforcement, (other than the possibility of improved working hours of course)?
Well, it wasn’t the hours or the pay that is for sure. Both careers have many similarities – I would like to think both are important in the community. The draw of police work for me was really having the ability to make an immediate difference in someone’s life. Whether it was searching for a lost child (who actually fell asleep in the closet), making an arrest or recovering stolen property, I felt like I was making a difference. In both careers, you can see humanity at its worst, but you can also see humanity at its best. The best days make the worst days all worth it.
You were a station manager in Tucson in 2011 when six people were killed and 14 were wounded, including Congresswoman Gabby Giffords, during an attack near there. What was it like in the hometown newsroom during a national event?
In a word – terrible. It ranks right up there with some of the worst days of my life. You try to retain objectivity when running a newsroom but it is very difficult especially during tragedies like that one. In a breaking news event, you just try to make the best decisions you can one at a time with what you know right that minute. Journalists work exceptionally hard and do the best they can every day, our newsroom on that day put all of our skills to the test both emotionally and physically. There’s no guidebook as every breaking news situation is different each terrible in their own way.