Politicians and newsmakers don’t always love it when journalists ask them tough, probing questions or point out the contradictions in their position on an issue.
But Charlie Schlenker did it in a way that you just couldn’t help but respect.
“He doesn’t ask questions just to ask questions. He asks questions because he’s truly curious. And you can’t say anything better about a person than that,” said Jay Groves, who worked for five presidents at Illinois State University, including as the head of media relations.
Schlenker will retire Sept. 30 after 42 years in journalism, including the last 29 here at WGLT. He’ll be honored at a reception from 4-6 p.m. Thursday at WGLT’s studios in Normal.
Schlenker is one of the best journalists to ever live and work in Central Illinois, earning countless awards for his work, including four National Edward R. Murrow Awards ‒ the gold standard in broadcast journalism. His thorough interviewing style, made-for-radio voice and vocabulary are the stuff of legend, as is the kindness he showed colleagues (including student interns) who wanted to learn from him.
Retired WGLT host and arts reporter Laura Kennedy said she was so excited when Schlenker came to work at the station in 1997 because he, like her, was interested in arts coverage.
“It was really wonderful to have this great brain that I could pick, to learn how to become a better arts reporter. I learned so much from him ‒ how to narrow in on a good story, how to find good sources, being accurate and truthful,” Kennedy said. “I owe that to Charlie. He was really a great example for me to learn how to become the journalist that I was.”
A tough interviewer
Schlenker’s career in journalism started in the mid-1980s, first in LaSalle-Peru and then Urbana. He eventually moved to WJBC in Bloomington around 1991 before landing at WGLT in 1997.
Part of Jay Groves’ job at ISU was to get presidents and other university administrators ready for interviews with reporters like Schlenker, sometimes one right after the other. He always wanted Schlenker to go first.
“He was always the most prepared and always the toughest reporter,” Groves said. “And so I figured that if I could get through Charlie, I could get through anybody. It’s kind of like being in the on-deck circle with a weighted bat. When you take the bat weight off, it’s easier to swing. Charlie was the weighted bat.”
Newsmakers, especially political figures, can take advantage of reporters who ask surface-level questions and steer the conversation away from what matters.
Schlenker was the master of pre-interview preparation and, famously, the follow-up question. And then another. And then maybe another.
“Charlie was legendary for making his interviewees uncomfortable, but it was never his intention to do so,” said Mboka Mwilambwe, a former Bloomington mayor and colleague at ISU where WGLT is based. “He just wanted to get to the bottom of the issues, for the benefit of his audience. In that process, his listeners became more educated about those issues, and his interviewees learned they had better be prepared when Charlie interviewed them.”
Another former Bloomington mayor, Tari Renner, learned to appreciate Schlenker’s “dogged determination and his fairness and the extent to which he would continue to probe” during his run for Congress in 2004. Schlenker’s skills stood out compared with other downstate journalists.
“You always knew he was going to be thorough. And that if something didn’t make sense, he’d zero in on it and try to clarify it. And if something seemed contradictory, he’d call you out on it,” Renner said.
No one is unflappable, but Schlenker was close to it. Former U.S. Rep. Rodney Davis, who represented parts of Bloomington-Normal, said he was “amazed at how calm of an interviewer he was.”
“You could never rattle Charlie Schlenker,” said Davis, who now works for the U.S. Chamber of Commerce.
Eventually, Davis said, they bonded a bit over both having kids in college.
“I’d always try to make him laugh. And sometimes it worked. A lot of times it didn’t. Because Charlie Schlenker is a consummate professional,” Davis said.
That professionalism evokes another famously skilled journalist, according to former ISU President Larry Dietz, who was interviewed countless times by Schlenker through the years. Schlenker was respectful and fair, even during tough times like the pandemic or the years the state of Illinois operated without a budget, Dietz said.
“To me, he was an Edward R. Murrow-type of reporter. He did his research. He had a calm demeanor. If you didn’t answer his question in as much depth as he thought you should, he was inclined to follow up and make sure he got what he wanted out of the interview,” Dietz said.
Good journalism can change a community, and Schlenker did that too.
He was a “different type of journalist than what we’re used to,” said Dave Bentlin, a longtime LGBTQ+ advocate who is president of the Bloomington-based Prairie Pride Coalition.
“He was one of those journalists that really got to the nuance of the issues. And through his thorough reporting, he was able to help lift up the issues that surround LGBTQ+ people in Bloomington-Normal, and helped the greater community understand some of the issues that we face. And I think that helped bring about change in our community, and helped raise awareness and education around those issues.”
Schlenker seemed to thrive "in the weeds" of an issue. Groves, the media relations chief at ISU, recalled an episode in 2000 when Nobel Laureate and former president of Poland Lech Walesa spoke at ISU. Walesa was available for a 15-minute press conference before his public remarks. As he always did, Grove called on Schlenker first, keeping in mind they’d need a little extra time for Walesa, who didn’t speak English, to get the question translated, respond, and then translated back.
“Charlie likes to go into the deep end sometimes on questions. And he asked a question that was so long and involved, it took 14 minutes to get through that first question,” Groves laughed. “It was the shortest press conference ever.”
Mentoring others
Schlenker wasn’t just a reporter at WGLT. He was a leader. Schlenker served as news director and, most recently, the newsroom’s senior reporter. He was WGLT’s resident newscasting guru and taught many of the newscasters you hear on the air every day how to do it too.
“Charlie spent 30 years helping make everybody else around him better at their craft,” said Willis Kern, who hired Schlenker when he was WGLT’s news director from 1997-2017.
One of those colleagues who got better was Baylee Steelman, who interned at WGLT as a student reporter from 2016-18. Like many interns who worked under Schlenker, Steelman recalls getting a “barrage of feedback” and his willingness to “explain complex topics kindly and with patience.” She said those interactions inspired her to stay interested in public affairs and to keep learning.
Since graduating from ISU, Steelman has worked as a TV news producer, most recently in Milwaukee.
“I spent every day I produced a TV newscast asking myself: How would Charlie approach this news story?” Steelman said. “I’m eternally grateful for [Schlenker’s] dedication to mentoring me during my time as a WGLT student reporter.”
The same thoughtful, contemplative approach that Schlenker used in interviewing also applied to mentoring Steelman and others at WGLT. Schlenker is also a master of puns and wordplay.
“You can see him thinking before talking,” said Kern. “He chooses his words carefully, and his thoughtfulness comes through in his writing and interviewing. And I’ve never met anybody who can top Charlie in either of those two areas.”
Former Mayor Mwilambwe said Schlenker “will go down as one of the best journalists our community has ever known.”
“I hope the next generation of journalists emulates his career,” he said.
