William Pitts on the 'constant treadmill' of journalism

William Pitts has seen it all. Starting his career off at 16 years old in Northern Arizona, Pitts was the teen reporter at a weekly paper called The Observer. He attended Arizona State University and graduated with a degree in broadcasting. It was there he got into radio reporting and spent time working at Blaze Radio. After graduating in 2005, Pitts moved to the tri-cities in Washington. After some time in the Tri-Cities, he moved to Spokane and eventually back to Arizona where he now works as a reporter for 12NEWS.

Pitts is a Rocky Mountain Emmy, Associated Press and Gracie-award-winning journalist. He has reported on stories ranging from the #MeToo movement to mental health challenges for Arizona’s veterans.

William Pitts (left) at the Rocky Mountain Emmy Awards in October 2022 where he and his team won for another drought special called Running Dry. Also in the photo are Katie Wilcox, Carlos Chavez, Dylan Dulberg and Mark Curtis. Photo courtesy of William Pitts.

Q: What do you find rewarding about being a journalist? Is there a specific story or experience that sticks out to you?

“I’ve never really had an answer to that question because I like it and hate it all,” Pitts said with a smile and a small chuckle.

As his toughest critic, Pitts said he likes all of his stories but he also hates them all. He feels as though he could have reported them better, but with time constraints and other factors, he is happy with the work he produces.

William Pitts with his camera at Lake Mead for the Scorched Earth series on drought in August 2021. Photo courtesy of William Pitts.

Pitts has enjoyed working on long-form reporting because he thinks it can be the most impactful. He currently is working on stories that are drawing attention to Arizona’s water crisis. Pitts enjoyed working on stories, not just collecting facts. One investigative piece that stuck out to him was about the disappearance of a girl living in Tempe who attended a nearby community college. To this day, no one knows what happened to her.

“I like the job because everything is different every day. I like the variety,” Pitts said.

Q: What has challenged you throughout your career in journalism?

“Not getting burned out. It’s a really hard thing to do. … The creativity and how I end up telling the story kind of keeps me going,” Pitts said.

He went on to talk about how it is a grind every day in the field of journalism. There will be weeks where all you have reported on is death, destruction and sad stuff and you think to yourself there is no way you can keep doing this.

“A little bit of it too is that you work on something all day and it airs then it’s over. You’re on a constant treadmill because nothing ever lasts for a long time,” Pitts said.

Q: Was burnout ever something you talked about while in “J-school”?

William Pitts in Prescott for the anniversary of the Granite Mountain Hotshots in June 2020. Photo courtesy of William Pitts.

“No, not in the least. Maybe it wasn’t really that bad when I first started. It definitely wasn’t a safety concern like it is now,” Pitts said.

When he first started reporting he said for the most part people were happy when journalists would show up to try to get the story out. Even when people weren’t happy to see Pitts, he never felt like it was a safety concern. In the last couple of years, there is an increasing need for security because people are increasingly weary of the media.

“It really wasn’t a thing back in college. Burnout was talked about a little bit, but more so in the sense that this job is hard, you’re going to have to work a lot, you’re going to make no money and that’s just the way it goes,” Pitts said. “It was more so just figure out a way to deal with it or pick a different job because this job isn’t for everybody.”

Q: Do you think schools need to make more of an effort to talk about it?

“Oh God yes. Not only should we talk about something in schools, but we should actually try to do something about it,” Pitts said.

It is important to switch it up and give people a break. It is unhealthy to keep someone on a story that is traumatic day after day. It is dependent on the person. Some people are good at putting trauma aside while it consumes others.

“I guess I’m kind of lucky. You develop that sort of paramedic and police gallows sense of humor. There are some things that get to me still, but it is segmented off as work life in my brain. Once the live shot is done and I’m out, that’s another part of my brain I don’t think about again,” Pitts said.

Q: What are some ways you personally cope when you experience things that may be upsetting or triggering?

“The job never really ends. Your work hours end and you’re still thinking about stuff later on,” Pitts said.

His main support system is his wife and daughter. When he is having a hard day at the office or has to report on a tough story involving a child, he will ask his wife to send him a picture of their daughter.

“At this point, she doesn’t even ask questions anymore. She just knows it must’ve been a shitty story day,” Pitts said.

William Pitts at Phoenix International Raceway in early 2021. Photo courtesy of William Pitts.

Q: If you could go back, what advice would you give yourself?

“Find better ways to deal with everything in the job. I wouldn’t say I dealt with it badly, I probably just could have dealt with it better. You know maybe I could’ve talked to a therapist or something, and I probably still should. In all honesty, we probably all should,” Pitts said.

He was lucky to be surrounded by friends in his jobs that understood what he was going through because they were in the same position. While in Spokane, he lived with two photographers from his newsroom and they knew exactly what it was like.

“Another thing I would say is don’t write it off as much as people do. Don’t think that it’s just part of the job and it’s not that big. It’s not just what you see, but it’s the stress and expectations of the job that can also start to build up,” Pitts said.

For the first few years, your job is your life. You will be surrounded by your coworkers probably in the middle of nowhere, Pitts said. You might be in a new town and not know anyone which is why it’s important to find life outside of work.

Q: When reporting on tough stories do you have any advice on how to balance objectivity and emotion?

“If I am talking to a victim’s family and then going to a press release or event about the incident you still maintain your objectivity, but you’re there to get answers for the people you just talked to,” Pitts said.

In his opinion, the aloof reporter who is above everything and completely objective is long gone. But, that doesn’t mean reporters should be subjective and overly emotional.

“It is important to recognize that you are human and have emotions. If you recognize that your audience will too. It goes a long way toward making you more likable but also it will help you tell better stories,” Pitts said.