Early ASU grad reflects on media before, during and after Cronkite

Long before the founding of the Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication, Lon Lee was a fan. 

As a 1964 ASU grad, his bachelor of science degree predates both the Cronkite School and the Hugh Downs School of Human Communication, but his Sun Devil spirit transcends both.

Lee recently toured what is now the Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication on ASU's Downtown Phoenix Campus, and he reflected on his time in school and industry.

"I knew I wanted to stay in state for school and decided to attend Northern Arizona University," Lee said. "On weekends, I would drive home to work at a local radio station. After my freshman year, I transferred, enrolled and never looked back."

When he arrived at ASU, school leaders offered him an internship for 75 cents an hour.

"I learned how to run cameras and direct. We learned a lot about (Federal Communications Commission) rules and regulations which were required for a radio operator at the time."

As a senior, Lee managed KASN, the campus radio station. There, he and another prominent ASU alumnus had a bright idea. 

"Someone pitched the idea of broadcasting baseball games, and while the ASU team ended up losing the College World Series that year, the great Al Michaels got one of his first sports broadcasting gigs," Lee said.

After graduating in 1964, Lee spent time on the east coast, then took a job as a station manager at KOA-TV in Denver, where he lived and worked for 15 years before retiring. 

Throughout his career, Lee managed several teams and lived by the mantra, "We do it big, do it right, give it class."

His advice for upcoming Cronkite grads and incoming first-year students is two-fold: knock on doors and solve the hiring manager's problem.

Today there may be less door knocking and more texting, but Lee's wisdom endures.

"One of my best hires was a call out of the blue," Lee said. "The woman asked if I had a job for her, and I said we'll send you an airline ticket tomorrow. We would've never found her if she didn't call."

As his tour of the state-of-the-art building makes its way to the Cronkite News studio, Lee thought about how much has changed in his lifetime.

"If you're creative, the world is your oyster," Lee said. "You can do anything you want."

From working at a local station in high school in the late 1950s to two decade plus career and now standing in a high-tech newsroom, Lee has seen technology flip the media world upside down.

Rather than reminiscing on what the field was like, or holding onto the world he fell in love with, Lee is admiring the opportunities that up-and-coming journalists have.