Page 4
The Blue Banner
April 4, 1996
Local anchorman and UNCA alumni wins
award for coverage of local child murders
Jack Walsh
Staff Writer
While the incessant on-air congeniality of tele
vision co-anchors may seem transparent and
over-done to some, WYFF reporter/anchor and
UNCA graduate Michael Cogdill says that he
has no problem with being a nice guy.
“It is sincere, and I think if it’s not, the viewer
knows,” said Cogdill in a phone interview. “The
viewer is not stupid.”
“The viewer, especially in the ‘90s, is very
insightful, and they can spot a phony when they
see one,” said Cogdill. “That’s the one thing I
have tried not to be. I just try to get up there and
be me.”
Cogdill said, as a journalist, he tries to bring
genuine interest and emotion to his work. “To
me, the best reporters are those who actually
invest themselves in the story, and not only
seem to understand it, but feel it as well,” said
Cogdill. “ I don’t think there’s a loss of objectiv
ity there.”
“The essence of this industry is to communi
cate with a heart,” said Cogdill.
“I think you can work in this business and still
comply with the GoldenRule,” said Cogdill.
He recently received the Radio Television
News Directors Association of the Carolinas
Journalist of the Year award, which he feels is
largely a result of his coverage of the Susan
Smith story in Union, S.C. i
“I think we need to tell stories from a perspec
tive of how they affect people, and that’s what
we tried to do with Susan Smith’s story and with
much success, I think,” said Cogdill.
“This television station has pulled in a lot of
awards for that coverage, and it’s very difficult
to accept those awards when you consider what
happened to those two little boys,” said Cogdill.
“That kind of thing stays with you.”
“I’ll never forget being there when the sheriff
came out and made the announcement that
those two little boys were dead,” said Cogdill.
“Even though many of us had feared it for days,
there’s nothing like hearing it. I know my blood
ran cold that moment, and there was this wave
of shock that went over the crowd who had
gathered there.”
Cogdill said the Smith story, along with the
Jim Bakker trial, were the biggest of his career
thus far. “It was fascinating to see the interna
tional press converge on one little town for so
long,” said Cogdill. “People would actually drive
by just to look at all the media, and quite
frankly, I don’t blame them, because it was
quite a circus at times.”
Cogdill began his career in 1984 at WECT, an
NBC affiliate in Wilmington, N.C. He later
worked with WWAY, the Wilmington ABC
affiliate.
While working at WWAY, Cogdill got to
know John Harris, WYFF’s news director at the
time. Through him, Cogdill was able to secure
a job at the station in Greenville and has been
there for nearly seven years. In addition to
reporting, Cogdill anchors the 5 p.m. news on
weeknights as well as the 5 p.m., 6 p.m., and 11
p.m. weekend news programs.
In 1992, Cogdill won an Emmy for “Man of
the Mountain,” a story on the environmental
efforts of Hugh Morton, whose family com
pany, Cogdill said, owns Grandfather Moun
tain. “It was the first time I was nominated and
when they called out my name, I nearly fell out
of my chair,” said Cogdill. “I never expected to
get one that early on.”
Cogdill said his career in broadcast journalism
is a product of both experience in the field and
a broad base of knowledge. “Professional expe
rience is professional experience, and you have
to have it, but I think before you have it, you
need a good education,” said Cogdill.
Cogdill attended the University of Georgia for
a quarter but found it too large. “It was too
much like a big city and too little like a school
for me,” said Cogdill. “I didn’t go to school to
socialize as much as I went to school to get an
education.”
A Weaverville native, Cogdill returned home
and began commuting to UNCA. He said the
liberal arts background he gained is invaluable
to his career. “What you get at UNCA is ^ good,
solid, well-rounded education that no television
station can afford,” said Cogdill. “Every day
that I work in this business, I find uses for it.”
“Liberal arts tend to teach one how to commu
nicate,” said Cogdill. “If you can’t communi
cate, you can’t work in this business.”
At UNCA, Cogdill gathered hands-on experi
ence while producing a five-part series for WTLOS
on the history of the Grove Park Inn, as his
senior project. “I just kind of gravitated towards
television,” said Cogdill.
Two weeks after receiving his degree in mass
communication, Cogdill went to work for
WECT. He did not attend graduate school.
“For those who want to go into television, I’m
not sure graduate school is the best idea,” said
Cogdill. “I’m not saying graduate school is a bad
idea, but I think if you do graduate school, you
need to mix it with some kind of professional
experience as much as possible.”
Cogdill does not deny network news hopes for
the future. “I think anyone who denies having
network aspirations is not telling you the full
truth,” said Cogdill. “If the network comes
calling, often, you go, but I think you always
have to be selective, especially when you’re
happy in a situation.”
“This is my home, and this is where I would
like to stay for a long time,” said Cogdill. “A lot
of people have regretted being hyper-ambitious
in this industry, and I don’t want to be one of
them.”
David Brinkley is one network journalist who
has had a great influence upon Cogdill. “David
Brinkley and I started in the same town,” said
Cogdill. “The first story he covered in
Wilmington was when they put lines down on
Main Street.”
Cogdill said that he also admires network
journalists such as Keith Morrison and Peter
Jennings. He said these men have a talent for
letting pictures and the people who are involved
tell the story while keeping themselves removed.
“These are the people I try to follow, and I hope
I’ve had some success doing it,” said Cogdill.
■i
4
Musician Tori Amos's new album "Boys For Pele" combines a strong backup band with Amos's signature voice and lyrics. Amos
will perform in the Thomas Wolfe Auditorium on April 21.
Singer crafts powerfully heartfelt album
Troy Martin
Staff Writer
Few artists who have a “signature sound” ever escape the confines of their style, but singer/
songwriter Tori Amos strives to redefine herself on her new release entitled “Boys For Pele.”
“Pele” doesn’t refer to the soccer player, but rather a Hawaiian goddess of volcanoes, an apt title
as Amos presents her most musically explosive work to date. While piano still dominates most of
the selections on her new album, Amos has also emphasized both organ and harpsichord on “Boys
for Pele.”
The harpsichord provides for a more powerful sound than is typical of Amos on such tracks as
“Blood Roses” and “Talula;” but perhaps the most efficient use of the harpsichord is on the song
“Professional Widow,” which also features a bassy, rumbling backup band.
Amos is at her strongest when she includes a band in her performances, and tends to take more
vocal risks when backed up with other instruments. Besides the standard guitar-bass-drums
backing, Amos has added horns to such tracks as “Mr. Zebra” and “Muhammad My Friend,” and
a gospel choir to accompany her vocals on the otherwise restrained “Way Down.”
Amos has retained her greatest strength, her songwriting ability. Very few contemporary artists
have the level of quirkiness to their lyrics than Amos. In the musical landscape of America today,
there seems to be a shortage of people who can write heartfelt, emotional lyrics without seeming
to be whining brats.
Short of Nick Cave or Tom Waits, very few people could convincingly get away with lines such
as “Hello Mr. Zebra, ran into some confusion with a Mrs. Crocodile, furry mussels marching on,
she thinks she’s Kaiser Wilhelm.”
Perhaps the most clever of Amos’ lyrics is included in “In the Springtime of His Voodoo,” when
she playfully sings “Standin’ on a corner in Winslow Arizona, and I’m quite sure I’m in the wrong
song, 2 girls 65 got a piece tied up the back seat, ‘honey we’re recovering Christmas.’”
“Muhammad My Friend” is perhaps lyrically the strongest track on “Boys for Pele.”
“Muhammad” questions both Christian values and sexual roles in one poignant sweep when Amos
states “Its time to tell the world, we both know it was a girl back in Bethlehem, and on that fateful
day, when she was crucified, she wore Shiseido Red and we drank tea by her side.”
The only complaint I have with “Boys For Pele” is that it’s not vocally adventurous enough.
While Amos has made strides in changing her musical style, her vocal style, for the most part has
remained static.since her 1991 “Little Earthquakes” album.
Her vocals have become predictable for those who are familiar with her other work. Her voice
hits high notes in the same places in almost every song, and her low, pausing vocals are just as
predictable.
I
African tribal art exhibit on display in Ramsey Library lobby
Cathy Elniff
Editor-in-Chief
UNCA students have the once-in-a-
lifetime opportunity to view a collec
tion of African art that is over 40 years
old. The collection was established by
Fode Doumbouya in Giunea in the
late 50s, and is now owned by his son
and daughter-in-law, Mohamed and
Diane Doumbouya.
The exhibit, sponsored by the
Ramsey Library Display Committee,
along with the African-American Stu
dent Association, the Office of Hous
ing and Residence Life, and the Art
Front, is on display in the lobby of the
Ramsey Library.
“It’s fabulous!” Merianne Epstein,
director of public information said.
The 22 pieces in the exhibit are from
the larger collection the Doumbouyas
own in Chattanooga, Tenn.
Diane Doumbouya said the collec
tion is unusual because “it has real
immaculate pieces, one of a kind, the
government doesn’t allow that any
more.” Import and export laws only
apply to artifacts found after the laws
are put in place, and most of these
pieces are old enough to be free of
those laws.
While it is a collection, the pieces
can be sold, said Mrs. Doumbouya.
The money from the sales goes back
to the place where the piece originally
came from.
Many of the pieces have been ap
praised at $40,000 or above. The
funeral bowl, for example, was ap
praised at $100,000. The Nimba
dance head mask is worth $125,000.
The Nimba is a large mask that rests
on the shoulders and is supposed to
have a raffia grass “skirt” hanging down
to completely cover the person under
neath, said Mohamed. Most of the
artifacts are made of wood, but the
type of wood is not detailed, unless to
say they are not ebony or’mahogany.
Diane said most African art won’t be
labeled any more specifically than
“wood,” unless it is ivory or bronze or
gold. Hardwoods usually are labeled
as such, because that makes a differ
ence in how it ages and weathers.
Collectors are not allowed to export
new ivory, but the ivory pieces in the
Doumbouyas collection have been in
the United States since the early 60s.
One of their ivory pieces, burnished
to a deep golden color, has been ap
praised at $40, 000.
In the exhibit, several of the pieces
have nails and tacks embedded in
them, “for decoration,” said
Mohamed. “To us, these are art, but
to them,” said Diane, “They aren’t.
They are ritually used.”
They are used to maintain law, to
heal sickness and to defend the vil
lage, said Mohamed. All of the pieces
in this exhibit have been used in cer
emonial purposes.
Diane said that many of them have
crusts on the wood from that use
because “when they worship them,
they might spit on them, or put palm
oil on them.”
“The medicine man might sacrifice
an egg on them,” said Mohamed.
There is an example of the mud
cloth and the loom used to weave it on
the wall in the library, as well as ex
amples of the objects used in divining
ceremonies. After finishing weaving
and dyeing the mud cloth for the year,
there is a big ceremony celebrating it.
Mud cloth’s distinctive pattern is
made by marking the cloth with sticks
and stones and then doing something
similar to bleaching it to leach out the
color, resulting in pale spots covering
the cloth, said Diane.
There is also a chair for a chieftain
on display. The statuettes that sup
port the chair show his power and
wisdom, as ;well the wisdom of his
sons and wives.
Mohamed said that in one museum
where they had sold a piece, the care
takers shined it with black shoe polish
before they displayed it, so that it
would look better.
Because all of these pieces have been
involved in ritual ceremonial use, they
should “just leave them the way they
are,” said Diane.
Most of the wooden pieces are carved
from native African woods. “There
are so many different variety of wood
in African forests,” said Diane. A
majority of the pieces in this exhibit
are 80-90 years old.