Discovering cause of news drives Sahl

By Missy Johnson

R.D. Sahl

Decades of covering major international events led Raleigh David "R.D." Sahl ('70) to a prestigious anchor position at the New England Cable News, the largest regional news network in the country.

He anchors the "News at Nine" and "News at Ten," co-hosts "New England Business Day" and, of course, "Right Now with R. D. Sahl."

"It's very flattering and very humbling to have a show with your name," he said. "It makes you think that your name is on it so you better make sure you're working on it."

Sahl, 57, has spent much of his reporting career on foreign assignments, including 26 years of Vatican coverage, from Pope John Paul II's visit to Boston Common to his funeral.

"I felt as if I had pushed hard for an understanding of who this man was, why he was important on the world scene and how he changed things," he said.

Sahl also covered Cuba's economics and political dissidents, the first days of Russia after the end of Communism, the 40th, 50th and 60th anniversaries of the Normandy D-Day landings and a series of reports on Japan's economy, defense and social change.

For journalists interested in covering foreign affairs, Sahl advised that they first learn how to cover a two-alarm fire down the street, then brush up on history and geography, two subjects in which he feels new reporters aren't adequately prepared.

"News doesn't just happen," Sahl said. "Events have causes, and the causes are history. How do you understand an event without some understanding and knowledge of what preceded it? The war in Iraq didn't just happen; there is history leading up to it. And Hurricane Katrina – geography had something to do with what happened there."

Sahl said the foundations of good reporting rely on thorough knowledge of literature, history and geography.

Throughout his time in TV journalism, Sahl has witnessed remarkable technological change. He started with 16mm film.

"I work in all-news television, and there is no such thing as deadline hours or days down the road," Sahl said. "Your deadline is as soon as you get there with the live truck."

To succeed in the business, Sahl said, anchors need to understand their audience by immersing themselves in local history, geography and politics. And they need to be good storytellers.

"It's one of the greatest lessons," Sahl said. "I'm on television. I understand that there are visual demands, but I'm from the school that you have to know how to be a good storyteller. In television it's our job to use sound, pictures and words that reinforce each other to tell a story."

Sahl is also from the school where the basics still matter.

"You need to do the legwork of the who, what, when, where, why and how – and that never changes. It doesn't matter whether you're a general assignment reporter or an anchor. You have to be a reporter every day. You have to leave your personal baggage in the lobby when you walk into the building and come to it as a questioning reporter."

Sahl grew up in a Navy family, and after plenty of travel, his father settled the family in Boulder in 1960. Living in Boulder, Sahl said attending the University of Colorado was the logical choice.

He picked up journalism, but after 40 years in the field, doesn't remember why.

"I wish I had a good answer to that question," Sahl said.

"I've always been curious about the world, and what better job to settle or pique your curiosity than this one? I really can't think of another pursuit where you go in every day not knowing what the day will hold and you go home a little smarter than when you arrived."

Sahl worked his way through school at Boulder radio station KBOL-AM and halfway through his college career moved to Denver radio station KHOW-AM. From his CU journalism adviser, now-retired Professor Sam Kuczun, Sahl received the tough discipline he said he badly needed. The two still maintain a friendship.

Sahl never left the broadcast track, anchoring and reporting at stations in Hartford, Conn., Boston and Los Angeles.

In 1994, when Sahl was 46, he returned to college, receiving his master's degree in international relations from The Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy at Tufts University in Boston.

In 1997, Sahl joined NECN, a joint venture between Hearst Corp. and Comcast Corp.

Sahl lives in Concord, Mass., with his wife, Linda Alford Sahl ('77). He has two grown sons; one is a college student and the other writes for an Internet company in New York. rdsahl@necn.com