Rick Thames is the former executive editor of the Charlotte Observer and charlotteobserver.com. He shares a very funny failure story about Barbara Bush (and her body parts) and reveals how he feels about the future of journalism. The Observer received numerous national journalism awards during Thames’ tenure, including 

two Robert F. Kennedy awards for public service. He continues to work with local media and is also president of the North Carolina Open Government Coalition. Thames is also a visiting journalism professor at Queens University and a member of the board of trustees of the North Carolina Humanities Council.

Topic & Key Ideas

• How he feels about the future of journalism  
• Why “media literacy” is one of the greatest needs of contemporary society
• Why journalists aim to present the “functional truth”
• Why we both recommend Politifact.org as a reliable news source
• The relationship between “entrepreneurial journalism” and “design thinking”
• Why he embraces having an editorial deadline as a “competition with myself”
• Why his favorite (journalism) failure story involves Barbara Bush’s body parts
• Why he thinks resilience is a skill we should all aim for
• How an anonymous tip about “accidents” at Fort Bragg make him realize he wanted to be a journalist

Quote: ““Failure is an opportunity to learn… It seems like such a cliche, but failure is nothing to be afraid of! It’s something you actually build from.”

Join the Conversation: 

Twitter: @rthames

Twitter: @funfailpodcast

Hear it on Apple Podcasts & leave us a review: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/rick-thames-former-editor-of-the-charlotte-observer/id1463913747?i=1000447442327