Interview with Maggie Kilgore Reader Views welcomes Maggie Kilgore, journalist, teacher and author of the memoir, “Remember to Laugh: Writing My Way Around the World.” Maggie is being interviewed by Juanita Watson, Assistant Editor of Reader Views. Juanita: Thanks for talking with us today, Maggie. Your new memoir, "Remember to Laugh: Writing My Way Around the World," was released this year (June 2006), and we are excited to get a chance to hear your thoughts. First off, would you tell readers what your memoir is about, and the time frame it takes place?
The book takes place from the late 1950s when I graduated from Syracuse University up to the present time. It also includes my early life and three chapters on Vietnam. Juanita: What inspired you to write your memoir? Maggie: Over the years, people have heard my stories---and I apparently didn't bore them-- because they have said "Oh, you meet such interesting people in journalism. You should write a book. So I have. Juanita: I understand that you came from a newspaper family. Would you tell us more about your early influences in the business, and how you started your journalism career? Maggie: Yes, I am a member of the Dix newspaper family in Ohio --- newspapers, radio and television---one of the few family-owned media conglomerates left in America. I decided early that I wanted to be part of journalism and the family encouraged me. I wanted to be an airline flight attendant, too, but at five-foot-nine I was too tall. I worked summers for my cousin at the Wooster, Ohio Daily Record in college, a job which made me think that I knew everything there was to know about being a reporter and writer when I returned to college. I was wrong, of course, but I did know as much as many of my college professors who had no practical experience in the business. The way to succeed in journalism is to get out there and do it. Juanita: Looking back, what was it about the profession that you enjoyed the most? Maggie: Meeting and talking to people---and the travel. I started my career after college with the wire service United Press International in Columbus, Ohio. I was the first woman they had hired in the bureau and there was a lot of joking that I would hang lace curtains at the office window. I wouldn't waste the lace. Working conditions there were not glamorous, but we had fun and learned a lot. I later worked for the Los Angeles Times. Juanita: You were a Washington reporter in the turbulent 60s. What type of reporting were you involved in during this historical time? What do you remember most of the atmosphere in Washington? Maggie: I was transferred to Washington from New Jersey by UPI in January, 1963, the year that President John F. Kennedy was fatally wounded in Dallas by Lee Harvey Oswald. His death was followed by his brother, Robert F. Kennedy and also Dr. Martin Luther King. I was assigned to cover Congress and it was a sad period to be there. The atmosphere was uncertain and there was a constant feeling of "who's next?" to die. Juanita: Maggie, you entered the business when it was still a very male-dominated business and make a point of addressing this in your memoir. What are your thoughts on the challenges and/or perks this afforded you at the time? Maggie: The best thing about entering journalism as a woman in the late 50s were the friendships I made which have lasted over the years, men and women. There has always been a place for women in journalism back to Nelly Bly and Ida Tarbell, but women really weren't taken seriously in the profession until World War II when they filled the space left by men who went off to war. I came along in the second wave of women who were willing to work hard, long hours for very little pay. I always say it was equal work for equal pay--- the women were paid as poorly as the men under the wire service guild contract. Yes, I encountered discrimination along the way, but many men helped me to succeed, too. Juanita:: How did you end up as a foreign journalist in Vietnam? What was your feeling of being in the heart of this controversial war? Juanita: What type of teaching have you done over the years, and where did you travel to teach? Maggie: I have taught basic journalism and business writing courses over the years with an emphasis on economic and business journalism, how the stock market works and similar subjects. In the 80s and 90s, I taught basic business writing to inner city college students in Los Angeles which was a rewarding experience because if the students have reached college level, they are trying very hard to better themselves. Many work, have families and go to classes, a grueling schedule, but it pays off for them. I received a Knight Foundation International Fellowship in 2000 to return to Southeast Asia to teach young journalists in emerging democracies how to learn their craft. That was followed by a State Department request to teach in Ethiopia and Albania under the State Department’s Office of International Information Programs. I also flew to Johannesburg, South Africa one month after 9/11 to speak to a journalism conference of African nations at the State Department’s request. Juanita: A main theme of our memoir has its roots in the experiences you've had through the places that you have traveled. How do you think your exposure to so many different places has shaped who you are? Maggie: I hope that the travel and experiences I’ve been fortunate to have enjoyed, has made me a more tolerant person with an understanding viewpoint of 'the other guy.' People are the same all over the world---they want to live their lives in peace without being told what to do. Is that too much to ask? Juanita: Which place in the world holds the fondest memories throughout your journalism career, why? Maggie: That’s easy. Asia and Washington, D. C. That’s where lifelong friends were made, where my best romances with men occurred, and where I learned the most about how to be a journalist and to develop as an adult. Juanita: Would you talk to us about your book title, "Remember to Laugh." What is the significance of humor that you are trying to bring to the forefront? Maggie: The title of my book came from my publisher---Palari Publishing in Richmond, Va. They read the stories from my teaching experiences in Bangladesh, Albania, Ethiopia and Malaysia---and of course, Vietnam---and the living conditions were often difficult. But I tried to maintain a sense of humor about it---and to remember to laugh---no matter what. Juanita: Why did you leave full-time reporting? Where did your career path take you from there? Maggie: I left full-time reporting because I had done it for more than 30 years and I wanted more money. A reporter, editor or photographer generally works very hard and it is really a young person's 'gig.' As they say with great athletes, the legs go first...that's the way I felt. So when I had an opportunity to go into middle management with a hotel/casino in Las Vegas, I took the offer. And I liked being part of the inside workings of a company: good journalists are observers of the scene, not participants. Maggie:It's hard to answer that question. I am still working as a writer, editor and teacher. In the new century, I have traveled and taught under a Knight Foundation International Fellowship working in emerging democracies and I also have worked with foreign journalists under a U.S. State Department program. I would go overseas again---selectively and not in a war zone. Juanita: What type of teaching and writing are you doing today? Maggie: I am still freelance writing for corporations and government agencies, mostly business subjects. And writing this book and promoting it has taken a couple of years, with more to come. Juanita: Maggie, your foreword is written by Helen Thomas. Would you tell readers who she is and her significant in your life? Maggie: Helen Thomas, a columnist for Hearst newspapers, and I have been friends for 50 years from the early UPI days. She wrote the foreword to my book and I, in turn, helped her produce her latest book "Watchdogs of Democracy." We have been doing some cross-promotion of the books together, although she lives on the East Coast and I live in the West. Helen's advice to me has always been "you better do it. It will look good in your obituary." Right. Juanita: Maggie, what is the underlying message that you are trying to convey to readers through your book? Maggie: To enjoy life, have adventures, try to create opportunities for yourself and others, and don't be afraid to take a chance (within reason). If you are going into journalism, be prepared to work long and hard. Journalism is a way of life, but a rewarding one. I recommend it. And remember to laugh. Juanita: Where can readers find out more about you? Maggie: The website: www.maggiekilgore.com or www.palaribooks.com. Juanita: Maggie, it has been great talking with you today. You’ve written a fantastic memoir and we encourage readers to check out “Remember to Laugh: Writing My Way Around the World.” Do you have any last thoughts for your readers? Maggie: I hope you enjoy reading the book as much as I enjoyed writing it.... |
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Maggie: Remember to Laugh: Writing My Way Around the World is a collection of amusing and informative---I hope---stories about my life as a reporter and teacher working here--- and in Washington---and covering the Vietnam War---and teaching in the Third World. 
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