Alumni Files: Part 2 With Rick Klein

In this installment of the Alumni Files, we talked to a familiar face, at least to those who tune into ABC's World News with Diane Sawyer. Rick Klein graduated from Babylon High School in 1994 and has since reached the highest levels of political punditry: now a senior Washington editor at ABC News, Klein is a regular on-air political analyst, and also hosts a weekly segment on the network and a daily news webcast called "Top Line." He previously covered politics for The Boston Globe and attended Princeton University. He now lives in Washington, D.C. with his wife and son.

In the first part of Patch's interview with Klein he talked about his childhood roots and the state of news media.

In this second segment Patch talks to Klein about his career and working in the media industry.

You obviously have to maintain high standards of objectivity. But as Jon Stewart and his ilk always joke, it's good for them when the news gets funny, crazy, or interesting personalities emerge. As a news correspondent, is there a moment when you think, "Donald Trump as a candidate...that just made my job this year a little bit more interesting?"

Yes, all the time. Of course I want to cover interesting stories. I want to cover important stories, too, so it’s great when they overlap. That’s what made the 2008 campaign so incredible – it was important, and it was also fascinating. Political journalism allows for a taste of the very important and a taste of the trifling but interesting. It makes it fun, and rarely boring.

Do you still feel connected to your Long Island roots? How do you manage to keep in perspective what "everyday" Americans care about when you are so plugged in and connected to inside the beltway culture?

My parents still live in Babylon, in the house I grew up in. I was back in town over the weekend, after catching a Yankees game with my parents and my brother. And I love talking to members of Congress from New York – it reminds me of home. The best way to feel connected is to stay connected.

When we spoke to Dina Fraioli, a fellow BHS alum and now national Republican political strategist and consultant , she talked about encountering misconceptions that a traditional conservative born and bred on LI is a contradiction in terms. Do you find any recurring biases or misunderstandings about our corner of the world in the wider American culture?

I think the stereotypes of Long Islanders fall into two main categories. There are those who think Hamptons, and there are those who think “Sopranos.” I try to explain western Suffolk, on the South Shore, really isn’t either of those things. It’s suburbia – and probably a lot more like where most suburbanites grew up than people realize.

Is it hard to reach new viewers and readers in the current news climate when so many of us segregate ourselves into niche viewing patterns? How do you think television news and opinion shows can create and foster productive debate given this phenomenon?

There’s a lot of narrow-casting going on, and a lot of self-selecting audiences. Some of that makes sense – I wouldn’t advise watching my webcast, “Top Line,” unless you really like politics, or really like me. (Go click on it right now to find out if you fit the bill!) But searching for just the news sources that conform to your point of view – that’s problematic, potentially. And I think it’s an opportunity for outlets like ABC, which speaks to a broad cross-section of the country. There is, as I said, a premium on authority.