His work:  News anchor for WRCB-TV, Chattanooga’s NBC affiliate, where he’s been for almost 19 years.  Besides anchoring news broadcasts, he also reports on local education issues in his regular “School Patrol” segment. 

His career in broadcasting:  “I started out as a disc jockey.  I was bitten by the radio bug when I was 12, and I’m still not over it.  I still do radio every chance I get.”  Since starting at a station in South Pittsburgh when he was 16, he’s been at several stops on the dial in Chattanooga:  WFLI (“That was the big rock station in town at the time.  I worked there and went to college at night.”), WGOW, and WSKZ (KZ 106, where he worked the station’s first morning show).  His first television job was with WDEF-TV, Channel 12, where he stayed four years before moving to Channel 3. 

His family:  Carroll and his wife Cindy have been married for 16 years, brought together by broadcasting.  “She was doing the news at KZ 106 when I worked there.”  They have two sons, Christopher, age 18, and Vince, 16. 

About what he does:  “I like what I’m doing because I get to focus on schools.  When ‘School Patrol’ started about 12 years ago, I wasn’t really sure if I wanted to do it, and the first couple of years were kind of tough.  I was positioned as sort of a consumer reporter for schools, and that didn’t go over too well.  So we softened our approach a bit, and our purpose is to make sure communication is good between parents and schools, not so much correcting problems at schools as showing what’s going on there.  If we’re covering a positive, happy story, like a DARE graduation, we’re there to get kids on TV.  If it’s something that’s not so positive, like if a kid got caught with a gun, our goal in reporting is to be fair and accurate about it and make sure parents get the right information…It’s fun to be able to specialize in something.  I get to see the good, the bad, and the average, a good well-rounded picture of what’s out there.” 

A major misconception people often have about reporters:  “I think what’s frustrated me the most over the years is the perception that we’re only out to get people.  It’s a negative way of thinking.  ‘If you’re here, there must be trouble.’  It’s frustrating when you really do try to be fair and report as many positive things as you can and people only remember the negative and accuse you of exploiting and sensationalizing.” 

What he watches on TV:  “Anything related to news, and I’m a big Braves fan.  I’m usually watching when they’re on.”  He names “Scrubs” and “My Name is Earl” as his favorite programs.  “I was a TV nut even when I was a toddler.  When you ask most TV people who their idols are, they usually say Walter Cronkite or someone like that, but I grew up on game shows and music with guys like Bob Barker and Dick Clark, people who can just communicate.  Watching them, you got the feeling that they could be anywhere and they could give you a description of what’s going on without a script or a teleprompter.”  He met Barker while attending a taping of “The Price is Right” a few years ago during a trip to California.  “That show is done on a small stage and there is so much going on, but it’s done so effortlessly.  Bob Barker talks back and forth with the audience during commercials, and I admire people like that who appreciate their fans and treat them like human beings.” 

Professional and personal influences:  “Bob Costas, because he seems to be able to talk to anyone and do it so eloquently.  I hope there’s a little of him in me at all times.  And I’d have to say my dad, Hoyt Carroll.  He always stressed the point of honesty to me.  He was always really honest, and you can’t go wrong with that, even if it hurts.”  Luther Masingill is another of Carroll’s influences.  They worked together for a few years, and he still occasionally fills in for Luther on WDEF-FM’s Sunny 92.3 morning show.  “What I admire about him is that he’s worked the same time at the same station for 65 years, and he never calls in sick and never seems grouchy or like he’s having a bad day.  People like him epitomize professionalism with their consistency and reliability.  They don’t make a big fuss over themselves.  They just do their jobs.  Things like that often go overlooked today.” 

What he listens to:  “I still haven’t outgrown rock and roll.  I tried getting into country, but I just can’t do it.”  He debated about his favorite performer before deciding that, if stranded on a desert island, he’d prefer to have his Beach Boys albums along. 

What he reads:  “I’ve always got some books going, usually about baseball, TV, or politics, and I like biographies.  I like to read about real-life people.  When I want fiction, I go to the movies.” 

His favorite film:  “Field of Dreams.  It was packed with such an emotional wallop with baseball, family, a good story, and good acting.” 

Why he likes baseball:  “To be such a seemingly simple game, it’s actually very complex, and I don’t think anybody ever totally gets it.  It’s a slow game, and that’s why it loses its allure for a lot of kids, but if you get caught up in the strategy of it, you realize that it’s never the same.  Every game is different, every pitch is different.  I like a lot of sports, but baseball is my season.”