Indiana University School of Journalism

Photo by Gena Asher

Riley Lecturer Lee Giles chatted with J385 student Carly Leviton before class. The veteran broadcaster is in his second stint teaching television news.

After spending 35 years as news director at WISH-TV in Indianapolis, Lee Giles was ready to relax when he retired in 2003. But after spending more than four decades in the news industry, he discovered that while he might be able to leave the industry, it would never leave him.

“News is just in my blood,” Giles said.

He signed on as the Riley Lecturer at the School of Journalism shortly after retiring, commuting from Indianapolis on class days. While he said he enjoyed that year-long experience, he didn’t say yes right away in August when School of Journalism Dean Bradley Hamm asked Giles to return to teach J385 Television News.

“I had to think about it,” Giles said. “But they were so accommodating, it was hard to say no. I’m very happy to be back. I love being on campus at the School of Journalism.”

Assistant professor Mike Conway says Giles’ return will be good for students because they’ll get to hear about the TV news business from the single longest serving news director in local news history.

“Lee is a legendary figure in local TV news,” Conway said. “It’s a great thing to have students work with someone who has that kind of experience.”

Conway’s history with Giles goes back farther than crossing paths at Ernie Pyle Hall. When Conway was still a TV reporter, he sent Giles an audition tape. While Conway didn’t get a job at WISH, he did get some valuable insight into what would make it better.

“He was always ready to help journalists,” Conway said. “You could send him a tape and he’d be willing to critique it for you. No matter how busy he was, Lee found the time.”

Giles now finds the time, every Monday and Wednesday, to drive roundtrip from Indianapolis to teach J385 Television News with Tony Perkins, news director at WTIU. Perkins also has a history with Giles; he was a reporter at WISH for seven years.

“The atmosphere in the newsroom was great,” Perkins said. “Lee was able to diffuse that other stuff that existed in so many other places, pressures from the sales department or ratings information, so that we were able to focus on the stories.”

Photo by Gena Asher

WTIU broadcaster Tony Perkins is working with Giles’ J385 class. The two worked together at WISH-TV in Indianapolis.

Now, Perkins and Giles focus on the stories students are telling, students such as senior Ashley Braun. She hopes to work in TV news after graduating from IU and says Giles’s knowledge of the business is invaluable.

“Thirty years in TV is a lot,” Braun said. “We hear about his experience and all the people he’s worked with. It’s really giving us a leg up when it comes time to find a job.”
Giles said as much as he loves news, it was the students that brought him back to IU.

“Reality is the best thing I can give to them,” Giles said. “I don’t paint a pretty picture. You have to have a lot of passion and have to be willing to learn. The students have impressed me with their work ethic. I find it energizing.”

Giles said he hopes to return the favor by helping energize the School of Journalism’s broadcast program.

“I want to help build partnerships,” Giles said. “The basics are here. There are just no limits to what’s possible. There are so many avenues to explore.”

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