Ginny Hingst’s father is former Indiana broadcaster Howard Caldwell, a man she describes as a good husband and father in addition to being well-liked and humble.
Caldwell saved a lot of material from his career and life that Hingst has shared with the IBHA.
“Dad was always a contributor to history,” Hingst said. “I’m following in his footsteps. I wouldn’t want to keep history to myself.”
While her father was born and raised in Indianapolis, his first job in broadcast was in Terre Haute, Indiana, where Hingst was born. In 1959, he got his position at WFBM, now know as WRTV, or Channel 6, after the current news anchor had a heart attack.
Hingst said her mom was more excited by attention than her father and joked she might have belonged on television instead of Caldwell, who was extremely humble about his success. His best friends said Caldwell never changed as his fame increased, Hingst said, because his passion for the job was enough for him.
Viewers of Caldwell’s broadcast would often interrupt family meals, Hingst said, when they went out to dinner to introduce themselves. He was often recognized around town as well.
“‘If people are recognizing me that means they’re watching me,’” Hingst recalls Caldwell saying. “That means I get to keep my job.”
Caldwell’s deepest reward for his work, Hingst said, was people recognizing him and speaking to him as if he was family. People often spoke to them as if they knew him, Hingst said, even out of state. He was well-liked and rarely received hate calls or mail, to what Hingst said she can remember.
Once in college, however, Hingst said a telecommunications major made a point to call her father unprofessional and put him down around her.
One of the highlights of Caldwell’s career was his interview with Indira Gandhi. Hingst said he did not often talk about the experience but was honest about the fact it was a lucky break. He was the first American journalist to interview Gandhi.
Another was Caldwell’s interview with John Mellencamp, an American rock singer-songwriter. Caldwell was a huge fan of jazz music and theater, Hingst said.
“Howard’s Indiana,” however, was Caldwell’s true passion during his career, Hingst said. This series covered average Hoosiers through short stories and interviews on their local passions. He genuinely enjoyed small town interviews, Hingst said, such as talking to regular business owners.
WRTV supported Caldwell to the very end, Hingst said. Her father’s funeral was similar to a Channel 6 reunion, she said.
“I am thrilled that young people care about who he was,” Hingst said.
Hingst got involved in journalism as well, following the footsteps of her father, and was a sports writer in the 1980s.
Luzane Draughon
Information from Daylee Devine's Video Interview with Ginny Hingst