A journalist who got his start in Las Vegas now finds himself in the center of the action – covering Donald Trump's White House every day.
Steve Herman returned to the United States last year after more than 20 years in Asia, eventually serving as the Southeast Asia bureau chief for Voice of America.
His big challenge now is explaining the Trump administration to a predominantly foreign audience as Voice of America's White House bureau chief.
"What I’m thinking of when I’m writing a story, or speaking on the air, is how do I explain this to somebody in Somalia, or in Bulgaria, or in Afghanistan," Herman told State of Nevada.
Herman grew up in Las Vegas and graduated from UNLV. He started his career as a journalist in the late 1970s – a competitive time for media in Las Vegas as three newspapers, four TV stations and other news radio stations all competing for scoops & stories. On top of that, Herman said federal law enforcement was starting to crackdown on the mob in Las Vegas, and bodies were being found in the desert almost on a daily basis.
"Everything I’ve been able to achieve is due to having that journalistic grounding in Las Vegas at that time," he said.
Herman used that experience to cover Asia for several years. Now, he's using it to translate what is happening in Washington to Voice of America's audiences around the world.
Voice of America is run by the federal government. Established during World War II, VOA was used as a way to get the American perspective on the war out to people living in Germany and Japan.
Now, it brings news from the United States to countries around the globe. Herman said one of the most difficult parts of the job is translating President Trump's tweets and giving the information coming from the White House some context and explanation for people living outside the United States.
Steve Herman, White House bureau chief, Voice of America
