When Dennis Milligan was a senior in high school, he got a job writing news for a Rock and Roll radio station in San Diego. It was the start of a broadcasting career that would span more than three decades and position Milligan to cover several “tremendous” events and people, including President Jimmy Carter.
His first “on-the-air” job was at a small-market, Rock and Roll station in Marion, Ohio- about 50 miles north of Columbus. In 1979, Milligan’s news director sent him to Washington, DC to cover President Carter’s State of the Union Address.
“They put me up at the Mayflower Hotel, which is a pretty nice hotel,” Milligan said. “I had access to the White House press area; I had access to the House Congressional press area.”
But it was the opportunity to share space with President Carter, during his address, that really made an impression on the young reporter. Milligan recalls thinking to himself “I can't believe I'm here; I can't believe I'm hearing the president,” he said.
Now retired, Milligan said when he learned of Carter’s passing, it was sad news for him; calling him an “icon of our times.”
“I've said it before and I'll say it again, I don't know that Jimmy Carter will go down in history books as one of America's great, notable presidents,” Milligan said. “I think what he will go down in our history books for is being one of the greatest human beings who ever occupied that office.”
During his career, Milligan worked in broadcasting in both radio and television; serving as assignment editor, reporter, anchor, executive producer, and news director in Charleston, South Carolina and Charlotte, North Carolina. It was at WBTV in Charlotte, in 2009, Milligan shared space with Carter once more. Carter was in town on a media tour, promoting his book “We Can Have Peace in the Holy Land; A Plan That Will Work.”
“He came by WBTV and WBT radio to do interviews,” Milligan said. “I volunteered to stay at his side, while we were waiting for his on-air slot.”
Milligan recalls the two of them, sharing an unused studio for about 20 minutes, where they talked. “He was the most kind, engaging person you can possibly imagine,” he said.
