It’s easy to confuse the utterly straightforward seriousness with which Howard 100/Howard 101 reporter Steve Langford approaches his job with schtick. It seems like schtick. But I think it is pure professionalism.

When Langford broke the news of the death of wack packer Kenneth Keith Kallenbach, listeners could not imagine that Langford would continue pushing on a larger, more broad story and even a larger policy issue in this country, that of privately-owned prisons.

In fact, it’s led the Philadelphia Enquirer to publish a probing, critical editorial regarding the George W. Hill Correctional Facility, where Kallenbach was held for a month pending charges of attempted child abduction after he was accused of trying to pull a girl into his car. Kallenbach, who suffered from cistic fibrosis, died of pneumonia, while in custody. According to the editorial, that facility has seen eight inmate deaths since 2005.

The issue of privately owned and operated prisons is a hot one. Just today, The Washington Post published a lengthy expose on the topic as it stands in regards to post-9/11 immigration policy. This country has turned over some 30,000 people to privately-run facilities. Funny how, allowed financial incentive to lock people up, we seem to do so more enthusiastically.

Anyway, Langford has been all over this story. He is an intrepid newsman and always a pleasure to hear, whether he’s reporting on High-Pitch Mike’s television or the apparent negligence of a privately-run correctional facility in Delaware County, Pa.