By Obed Manuel
Frank Librio, managing director of the Public Information Office for the City of Dallas, describes his parents as “incessant consumers of news.”
In Librio’s case, the apple did not fall far from the tree. He grew up ingesting news through whatever means he could: print, broadcast and radio. Librio says he was especially fond of watching “CBS Sunday Morning” with Charles Kuralt.
“I grew up with an appreciation of good storytelling, and since I was creative and asked a lot of questions, journalism was a draw,” Librio said.
While at Conard High School in West Hartford, Conn., Librio worked for the school newspaper, The Pow Wow. From 1985-1989, Librio attended Emerson College, where he completed a bachelor of science in mass communication.
After graduating, Librio worked as an associate producer/intern for “Point of View with Judy Jarvis,” a political talk show in Boston. After his internship ended, Librio worked for six years at WVIT NBC in Hartford, Conn. as a producer. He won an award from the Connecticut Associated Press in 1994 for Best Newscast.
In June 1995, Librio moved to Dallas to work for KTVT CBS. During his 10 years at KTVT CBS, Librio was the executive producer of the 5, 6 and 10 p.m. newscasts. Under his leadership, KTVT CBS won the Press Club of Dallas’ “Best Major Market Newscast” award in 2000. In 2001, the Pew Project gave KTVT CBS an “A” grade for excellence in journalism.
Despite his various occupations and awards, Librio sees journalism in a purist fashion.
“The ultimate benefit is when your work results in forcing change, helps someone in need, saves lives or simply puts a smile on someone’s face because your reporting, your storytelling, touched them in some way,” Librio said.
Librio says the purpose of journalism is to keep the public informed by seeking truth and acting as independent monitors between government institutions and society.
