A Reporter Retires
But no. The southern drawl gives him away. And something else, too: a clarity of thought and sharpness of attention that gives you the sense that when he listens in an interview, he not only listens, he absorbs. Jim Stewart is that rare bird in the television tree: content to just sit and watch and write and report. Let others preen and show their feathers. He is just a plain old reporter, and that's just fine.
Word came today that Jim is retiring in November, and moving to Florida. Florida's gain is our loss. He is a genuine gentlemen (southern variety) -- decent and courteous and blessed with a loping sort of way about him that makes you think he might be related to Barney Fife. He may also be, in his bones, a newspaper man, which explains a lot. I've known my share of southern-born newspaper-trained folks at CBS -- Bob Schieffer and Fred Graham leap to mind -- and Jim is very much part of that tradition. Thoughtful, sincere, wry. And able to put words together in a way that makes it seem easier than it is.
He's not the Prince of Wales. But he is a kind of royalty. And we'll miss him.