Jim Shaw: I’m honored to have known Marv Bossart

It was a pleasure to attend the ceremony at Minnesota State University Moorhead honoring the late Marv Bossart. MSUM and the Marcil Center for Innovative Journalism named its television studio after the legendary WDAY-TV news anchor, who also taught for 40 years at the school.

  • Like so many of those in attendance, I have a personal connection to Marv that I will always cherish. Marv and WDAY-TV News Director Norm Schrader brought me to Fargo and WDAY-TV as a reporter. They saw something in me that I didn’t know I had.

When I came to Fargo, I was broke and didn’t know anybody here. Marv and his wonderful family were gracious enough to invite me over for Thanksgiving dinner. It was a delicious meal and a fun get-together. They made me feel special. Unfortunately, that free meal turned out to be very expensive for me. That’s because after the meal, his daughters and I played poker, and they took every dollar I had.

Jim ShawIn the newsroom, Marv reviewed my scripts, and helped build my confidence. He showed me how to make my stories connect to the viewers. Whether it be at WDAY-TV or MSUM, Marv was always preaching about the importance of strong writing. He emphasized that broadcast reporters need to get to the point, make sure to use the appropriate words, write so viewers can understand you, and get your facts straight. Even with the explosion of social media, Marv’s words still hold true today.

With tight deadlines, unreturned phone calls, and stories developing fast and furious, newsrooms can be very stressful. Marv had a way of reducing that tension with his hilarious routines. My favorites included his machine gunner, cowboy, falling off the chairs, and imitation of comedian Jack Benny.

After I had been working at WDAY for about 17 years, Marv pulled me aside and asked me if I would like to teach part time at MSUM. These were the classes that Marv developed. Once again, Marv demonstrated great confidence in me. He took me under his wing, and showed me his tips for teaching these classes. Just like reporting, I loved teaching at MSUM. Every time I was in that classroom, I always thought of Marv.

He had many expressions he voiced in the newsroom when he was producing newscasts. Among his most memorable: “It’s feast or famine in this business,” “We’ve been getting lots of calls about your story,” and “Time to hurry up and wait.”

  • Smart decision by Vice President Joe Biden not to run for president. He had no chance of winning the nomination. Biden has wanted to be president for decades, but his two previous campaigns were disasters, made memorable by inappropriate comments and plagiarizing a speech by a British politician. Hillary Clinton is undoubtedly celebrating, because a Biden candidacy would have hurt her more than Bernie Sanders.

Shaw is former WDAY TV reporter and former KVRR TV news director. He can be heard Fridays, 10 a.m. to 11 a.m., on WDAY AM radio.

Originally published in InForum.