There were no mentors to guide Sherman Kaplan when he decided to write restaurant reviews in the early 1970s. No one to tell him the right way or the wrong way to do something. So Sherman relied on his journalism skills to develop the foundation for each review.
Asking the questions of who, what, where, why, and how gave him the initial story, and he followed up with additional research or interviews with restaurant personnel a day or so after the meal. Over the years, Sherman built on this foundation by expanding his knowledge of food techniques and trends. He said learning about cooking is important to a restaurant reviewer because it gives him a baseline to compare what he’s eaten to what the properly prepared dish should taste like. Sherman said, as a restaurant reviewer, it’s also important to know what goes on behind the scenes in a kitchen to appreciate the work that goes into a meal.
Sherman is also the midday co-news anchor at WBBM News Radio 780. Business writing is, of course, not as subjective as reviewing a restaurant. In focusing on business, rather than news in general, Sherman combines his interest in business with the same journalism skills that he used to demystify reviewing restaurants. He asks the five basic questions to determine how business affects people’s lives. Sherman then broadcasts the finished story on the radio…and adds just a pinch of inflection in his voice and a dash of pacing in his speech.
