So today, on Inspiring Women, we are honored to welcome Pat LaLama. And she's an Emmy Awarding winning journalist, TV host, and investigative reporter whose career has been defined by fearless story telling and a passion for uncovering the truth. With decades of experience in broadcast journalism, Pat has covered some of the most high profile stories across the nation, earning the respect of her peers and audiences alike. But before she became a recognized face on national television, Pat was a small town girl from, just like me, Westerville, Ohio. And she walked the same halls at Westerville South that I did and even, but she was really known for her drive, her intellectual her intellect, and her curiosity. It's always inspiring to see how somebody from familiar roots can reach and and and go into incredible heights, proving passion and perseverance, truly knows no bounds, and that is Pat. In addition to her work in journalism, Pat is a dedicated advocate for empowering women, my favorite kind of women, especially in media and beyond. And today, she's gonna share insights from her journey, what it took to break into the industries, the lessons that she's learned along the way, and her advice for striving others to make their mark.

We are only as good in our world when women support women, and women help women come along, and women make sure that we are not just on our own at the top. We're bringing people there. And so I'm as you know, I'm passionate about the empowerment of women and women who do that for other women, and that would be Pat. So, Pat, welcome today to, inspiring women with Betty Collins. We are thrilled that you are coming to us today. Even today, you are rocking it. You're moving. You're shaking, and you really accommodate it to make sure you could be on this podcast today.

So I totally appreciate it. So No worries. A great conversation for the listeners. I think you guys are really gonna enjoy her, and, I would really make sure you look her up and see where what things she's done. Pretty pretty amazing stuff. So but throughout your career as an investigative journalist, you know, I had interviewed and have a client who was with the BBC. So it's very I always love to hear the perspective from the journalist. You're you know, you tackle complex and often emotionally changed, charged stories.

So what personal challenges, you know, have you faced, and how did you rise above them to inspire others?

I first of all, thank you so much for inviting me. And it's it's so wonderful that you talk about the empowerment of women because back in 1977 when I got my first job in that broadcasting at WNCI Radio in Columbus,

Ohio Okay. Yes.

With Bob Nunley as the the the disc jockey. May he rest in peace. I loved him. I remember saying to myself that I had two endeavors. One was to inform and educate the public, not to try to influence their opinions like so many media do today, and I'm very unhappy about that.

Yep.

Inform and educate with vetted facts and let the viewer decide. I'm not gonna tell you which candidate meets your approval. I'm not gonna tell you which policy issue or, ballot issue is you I want only to give you enough good information that you can make the choice for your life. I still have that written down. I wrote it in 1977 when I graduated from the Ohio State University. And and I have tried so hard all these years to stay true to that. The second thing is that I swore that I was going because at the time, women were not as prominent in television. And and when they were, they were relegated to, don't be offended, what I called back then and still do call them chick stories.

The Yeah. And I'll explain that in a minute. It's what I told my first boss when he hired me. But Yeah. I said I want to make this, an open door for women. And, and and because of that, I refused when I saw all my colleagues starting to get Botox and face lifts and face lifts and popping up their lips. And I thought, no. I'm gonna prove that you can stay in the business without doing that.

And I am now 70 years old. I have never had work done. And I don't care. I don't care. I see that my peers, God bless them, that's their choice. I don't care what they do for themselves. But I it's like it's almost like a personal challenge to me to see how far I can go based on my abilities. And that is the greatest lesson.