Covering Jackson Hole, 27 Years Later

Sometimes, when you’re right in the middle of something, it’s hard to get enough perspective to realize that you're right in the middle of something pretty important. That’s especially true in live TV news - an industry that’s based on NOW. Like, right this second! And that second passes, and it moves on to the next thing. But with time and perspective, you realize maybe you were part of a Pretty Big Thing.

Looking at this photo of the broadcast media presence at the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City 's annual Jackson Hole Economic Policy Symposium last weekend brought me way back to 1996 – when my colleagues and I did something that now seems pretty darn big.

That’s the year when Ward Lassoe , my colleague at NBC Professional, a financial news division of NBC News , and I were the first two television journalists allowed on site to cover the elite Jackson Hole meeting, which was pretty guarded from outsiders but had been open to select print media. Just not television.

Our presence had been carefully negotiated by our colleague Rich Stockwell. We had rules. We had requirements. We had restrictions. Along with our local photographer and satellite truck operator, we represented our entire industry. The stakes were high. We had to be on our best behavior, or it was Game Over for the TV People.

• We weren’t allowed inside the meeting. We had to stay outside on the patio. (Note: Jackson Hole is gorgeous. Even without a tent, this cannot be considered a hardship.)
• We couldn’t cover the actual sessions. We could only ask participants about them after the fact.
• We could broadcast live, but we couldn’t chase down interviews ?(IYKYK) on-site. Everything had to be pre-arranged.

And oh yeah, on that last one. We had to get a satellite truck on site and go live in a really challenging geography. Now that you can go live from your phone pretty much anytime, anywhere, that seems like Nothing at All … but 27 years ago, we had to hit a satellite. And those mountains are TALL! Trust me. That was definitely a Big Thing.

Slight detour: Producing live shots was my favorite part of working in news. I loved being outside, and I loved the technical challenge. And also sometimes there were donuts.

Significance is just as much about Who as it is about What, Where, Why, and How, and that was definitely true in Jackson Hole. Chuck Lieberman , always one of my favorite guests when I worked at CNBC , has the distinction of being one of the first, if not THE first, television interviews from the symposium. As always, he was a total pro and a gentleman – the novelty of being first didn’t faze him at all.

After a few live hits and feeding back our taped interviews, we packed up, got on two planes (one, a Delta L-1011, Clayton Brown Jr ), and moved on to whatever next.

The division we worked for was subscription-only, and this all happened well before social media, so this first wasn’t widely known. Although our always-supportive boss Alison Singer sent us a lovely congratulatory email (which I've kept, all these years), we really didn't take the time to self-congratulate - we just put our heads down and went back to work.

I have no idea how many people watched our coverage. Three? 300? We didn’t even make the event's historical timeline. It’s ok. With the benefit of perspective, and seeing how broadcast coverage of the event has grown, I understand now that it was, indeed, Significant. We did our jobs, followed the rules, and now there are media tents! And live coverage of the Fed Chair's address! From INSIDE!

So here’s to the 27th anniversary of live television broadcasting at Jackson Hole. To everyone who was involved, on site, back in New Jersey, or anywhere else - you did this. Thank you. This is my story; others will have theirs. One day maybe Peter Schacknow will sing you his special Jackson Hole song about peaches. (You had to be there.) Or Ward will take you moose hunting (same).

I left journalism a few years later, and I'm not (usually) sorry about that. Most of my work was pretty Insignificant, but I look back on Jackson Hole with immense pride. I did something Significant with the absolute best coworkers you will ever find anywhere. They spoiled me by setting a standard that no other workplace could rival. I'm proud to say that many of them are still close friends.

And that's really why this was so special. That camaraderie is what made this possible: we wanted each other to succeed and because of that, we did. Together, we did a Big Thing.