Surfing with Ted

This interview was originally posted on 09/29/97. A lot of things have changed since 1997, but it's fun to look back and remember the early days.

I have been watching Ted Henry for as long as I can remember. I was thrilled when I first saw his feature, "Surfing with Ted" on the 11 O'Clock News. I thought, wouldn't it be fun to turn the tables and Interview him for a change. Well, Ted is a very busy man, but I was able to catch him the other night during Monday Night Football and he had some great things to say and I found that he seems more like a neighbor than a celebrity.

Julianne: How long have you been in this business?

Ted: 32 years - 25 here at TV5

Julianne: Who were your main influences?

Ted: Dorothy Fuldheim and Paul Harvey both great story tellers...and to a lesser extent, John Hambrick here at TV5.

Julianne: Where did you get your start?

Ted: campus radio, WKSU Kent, then commercial radio at WKNT Kent for $1.25 an hour.

Julianne: Tell me about your first experience on the television. Was it frightening and did everything go as planned?

Ted: I was scared to death! I nearly froze doing the weather in front of a black and white camera, standing near a felt board with a bad outline of the U.S.

Julianne: Do you have an example of a story that really stands out as one that was most interesting or most affected you personally?

Ted: Covering the fall of the Berlin wall blew me away, just a majestic sweep of history within a single 24 hour span, watching John Demjanjuk being convicted as Ivan the Terrible the nazi killer at Treblinka...and then watching the Israeli supreme court three years later set him free for lack of sufficient evidence.

Julianne: Is there someone that stands out as your best or worst interview?

Ted: There is no such thing as a bad interview, just bad or good interviewers.

Julianne: If you could interview anyone in the world, who would it be? Why?

Ted: Christ, Budha, Sai Babba, Hitler, Mother Teresa, Princess Diana, Andrew Harvey, spiritual seekers and fully realized human beings no matter where they are or what they do.

Julianne: How long have you lived in Cleveland?

Ted: 25 years. I am from Canton.

Julianne: Have you been on the Internet very long?

Ted: About two or three years, but I am real bad at it.

Julianne: How did you get involved with "Surfing with Ted"?

Ted: It fell into my lap, assigned to me by my llpm producer, Marc Singer.

Julianne: What is your opinion of the Internet?

Ted: In my view, it will turn out to be the single greatest technological revolution of the century, eclipsing the car, electricity, the telephone and penicillin and man's landing on Moon and Mars!

Julianne: Do you have any advice for someone wanting to get started in this business in Cleveland?

Ted: Yeah, follow your gut, discern your passion, figure out what it is that fires you up the most and then go after it! NOTHING can/will stop you, but you.
You can see Ted Henry each night on WEWS, News Channel 5 at 6pm and 11pm. He also hosts the feature "Surfing with Ted" during the evening news, which showcases different people and places on the Web.