'The List,' as it has come be known, is making the rounds across the country, and as ABC 4 has been involved in reporting about the infamous immigration tattle tale, national news agencies have been contacting us, looking for information, video and perspective.
I have been involved in helping get video and scripts to ABC News, and I've written a few web stories along the way, which is why I suppose a New York Times reporter sent an e-mail asking me to call and talk about the list and its origins.
I got permission from my superiors to be interviewed by an outside media source, and made the call.
Reporter Brian Stelter asked me a few questions about how ABC 4 got the list and whether we would be sharing the list with the world (we aren't). I shared how one person contacted me wondering whether one of his relatives was on the list and how he could find a copy of the list online (it isn't online, and anyone claiming to have it is probably selling something, or worse).
It seemed to me that Brian was perhaps after the list himself, and seemed a little disappointed that it did not exist in electronic form. The interview lasted less than 2 minutes, and I assumed that would be the end of it.
To my surprise, when I Googled the NYT and "Utah immigration" the next morning, there it was in black and white: My name and two quotes in a
New York Times article. They even called me "Mr. Metcalf."
Wow.
Suddenly, I felt kind of important. I told just about everybody in the newsroom, called my wife, and posted the link to my Facebook and Twitter profiles.
It's an odd feeling seeing your name in such an international media source (Deseret News' Joe Cannon and Salt Lake Tribune's Michael Anastasi were also quoted), but after a while I came to realize that it was pretty small thing.
My wife didn't seem too impressed and had me empty and clean the garbage cans when I got home - before she read the article.
I insisted that my 20-year-old son to read the article, and he gave me short "that's cool" response before returning to the couch to watch a Discovery Channel show about monsters.
Since Thursday, a few reporters mentioned it to me, perhaps a little envious, but rightfully so. To be sure, I'm not the point man in ABC 4's 'List' coverage. Brent Hunsaker actually broke the story and has done several great reports on it along with Chris Vanocur. I'm just the guy who does the stuff that needs to get on the web site ASAP.
Perhaps later in life I will tell my grand kids about the time I was quoted in a New York Times article, but for now, I'll just have to settle for being the web guy.
I promise not to let it go to my head.
