Journalist Bob Schieffer Retires

Bob Schieffer never wanted to be the story; he just wanted to cover the news.  In signing off for the last time as anchor of Face the Nation, he made that clear.   "The news is not about the newscaster," he said, "it's about the people who make it and those who are affected by it."

Schieffer remembered that he was hooked when he saw his byline in the school newspaper when he was a ninth grader.  He grew up in Ft. Worth, Texas, and went to college locally at Texas Christian University.  He landed his first job at a local radio station, KXOL, working for $1 an hour.   In Sunday's Face the Nation he would recall, "I love the news, and, at the time, every job I have ever had was the best job in the world."

That enthusiasm soon landed him a job at the Ft. Worth Star-Telegram.  It was there he got his first big scoop.  He was working in the newsroom following the assassination of President John F. Kennedy in Dallas.  In his 2003 book, This Just In, he described answering one of the ringing phones.

"A Woman's voice asked if we could spare anyone to give her a ride to Dallas."  

"'Lady,' I said, 'this is not a taxi, and besides, the president has been shot.'"

"'I know,' she said, 'They think my son is the one who shot him.'"  It was Lee Harvey Oswald's mother who had heard her son had been arrested.  

"'Where do you live?' I blurted out, 'I'll be right over to get you!'"  

Schieffer picked her up and drove her to the Dallas police station where police guided him and Mrs. Oswald into an interrogation room.  Several hours later the FBI realized they had a reporter in their midst and ordered him to leave.  But Schieffer had a great story.  

Following the Kennedy assassination, Schieffer got his first promotion from the police beat to covering the county courthouse.  Then The Star-Telegram would send him to Vietnam to cover America's growing involvement there.  The paper had promised that he would interview every Ft. Worth boy he could find.  "I have yet to match the thrill I got when I would...tell a nineteen-year-old kid, 'I'm from the Star-Telegram and your mom wrote me a letter and asked me to look in on you,'" he remembered in his book.  When his assignment in Vietnam ended, he recalled, "I had gone to Vietnam convinced the government was on the right course, and was coming home convinced the course was hopeless." 

Schieffer would be hired by a local television station, but was eager to move a network news organization.   In 1969, he took a job in Washington as a reporter with Metromedia.  His first assignment would be to cover the Nixon Inaugural.  But he still wanted a network news job, preferably with CBS News because Walter Cronkite was his favorite broadcaster.  Loaded down with tapes of his stories, he arrived one day at the CBS News Washington bureau and announced he was there to see the bureau chief.  After making his case to Bill Small, the tough CBS News bureau chief, he left thinking he had failed.  But a week later Small hired him.

In 1970, CBS News assigned Schieffer to the Pentagon beat.  He would later note that he was one of the few Washington reporters who covered all of the four major beats, the Pentagon, State Department, White House and Congress.   Washington was ground zero for news with the Vietnam War, the re-election of President Nixon in 1972, and the Watergate scandal, and Schieffer was deeply involved in CBS News coverage.  Richard Nixon resigned in August 1974.  Schieffer covered Nixon's final departure from Andrews Air Force Base on Air Force One.  One week after Nixon's resignation, Schieffer was promoted to White House correspondent replacing Dan Rather, who took over as anchor for CBS Reports.

Schieffer covered Presidents Gerald Ford and Jimmy Carter.  Schieffer also continued his role as anchor of the Saturday edition of the CBS Evening News.  In 1979, Schieffer was asked to anchor the struggling CBS Morning News, a role he carried out for twenty-one months.  He would describe his stint as a "graduate course in learning how to handle on-the-air emergencies."  He requested a transfer back to Washington, and would soon become the State Department correspondent.  

In 1981, Dan Rather would replace the retiring Walter Cronkite as anchor of the CBS Evening News.  Schieffer found himself covering politics.  Meanwhile, CBS went through a change of ownership, which led to a round of deep budget cuts.  In the late 80's, Schieffer became CBS News' Congressional correspondent.  He later said that, "Congress had always been my favorite part of Washington."  He mastered the beat.

In 1991, Face the Nation anchor Lesley Stahl became a correspondent for 60 Minutes.  Schieffer was offered the job and responded, "When do I start."  He wrote, "It didn't take me long to realize that of all the jobs I have ever had over the years, this was the best.  I got to interview everyone who was anyone, and I didn't even have to go to them."

Schieffer anchored Face the Nation for twenty-four years.  He led the expansion of the program from thirty-minutes to an hour.  He hosted presidents and world leaders.  He asked tough questions, but was never confrontational.  He tried to make each program informative and interesting.  At the end of his tenure, Face the Nation was consistently the number one ranked Sunday pubic affairs program.  

As he began his final broadcast Sunday, the 78 year-old Schieffer, speaking with his characteristic Texas drawl, said, "Today we'll keep with that tradition set twenty-four years ago, and stay focused on the news."  While the news business has changed dramatically over the past six decades, there is much for all journalists to learn from Bob Schieffer's remarkable career. 

Thank you Bob.

Susan Zirinsky: A Lifetime of Achievement

Tonight in Las Vegas, Susan Zirinsky will be honored with the "2013 TV & Film Lifetime Achievement Award" by the New York Festivals.  In her 40 years at CBS News, Susan is a legend in the industry.  She is currently the Senior Executive Producer of 48 Hours, she produces prime time news specials, see oversees the website Crimesider, and she has developed a new prime time series, Brooklyn DA, which will premier in May.

Susan has covered wars, presidents, world leaders, summits, elections, uprisings and scandals.  She has produced news packages, newsmagazines and documentaries.  She also served as a role model for Academy Award winning actress Holly Hunter, who played news producer Jane Craig in the 1987 movie, Broadcast News.  Susan's shelf is stuffed with industry awards.  But what is most noteworthy is what those who have worked with Susan say about her. 

CBS CEO Les Moonves: “There is simply no one better in any business than Susan. She’s the consummate pro whose instincts and artistry are unerring and completely unique, and there’s just nobody who is more competitive than she is. For decades, she has simply been the go-to storyteller than we have turned to, over and over again, when there was an important project, something that had to be told. When we needed to capture the truth about 9/11, it was Susan who got us there with her award-winning and deeply moving account of that day. Every week, she gives us the top show on Saturday night, keeping the flame burning bright on one of our most highly regarded franchises – 48 Hours. She’s been doing it for a long time. And she just keeps on getting better and better. Today, she’s at the top of a really tough and crucial game, one of the people leading the regeneration of CBS News. Congratulations, Z, on this honor. We love you too.”

CBS News Correspondent Bob Schieffer: "I have known Susan since when she was a student at American University who was working part time for the weekend news in the CBS Washington bureau. She was one of those kids that you knew was going to rise to the top. The best part of watching her grow up is seeing how she still attacks her job and attack is the right word with the same enthusiasm and determination and grit that she showed back then. She always got to the office first and is still the last to leave. I love everything about her and have for a long, long time."

60 Minutes Correspondent Lesley Stahl: "Congrats to Susan Zirinsky, the maven of Meeting a Deadline.. The Queen of the Crash! In Zee's lifetime in journalism she's been at the top of her game from the beginning - which was in the '70s during Watergate.  Whether she was producing pieces or broadcasts, covering the White House, elections or crime stories, she managed to be a master.  And she's done it all with heart and good cheer.  And against all odds, she always made the deadline, whether that meant ordering up her own Air force of helicopters or just making her reporters better and faster than they thought they could be. How lucky I am, and CBS is, that Susan's been our colleague and friend."

Vogue Editor Anna Wintour: "When I worked with Susan, we were staging a global project with so many moving parts that to us it felt like a military operation.  Now, throughout her career Susan has produced segments on actual military operations.  But she brought the same remarkable focus, levelheadedness and sense of humor to what we were doing as I imagine she brings to everything she does."

Actress Holly Hunter: "It was an extraordinary advantage for me to get to tail Susan Zirinsky around the CBS newsroom in Washington to prepare for the role of "Jane Craig" in BROADCAST NEWS.  I was given carte blanche to steal all behavior, professional and otherwise, from her. I ripped off the unselfconscious intimacy she gave to co-workers---putting her hand on the shoulder of a guy as she was making a suggestion to him---or giving someone's arm a squeeze as she breezed by.  I just loved that.  And I thought it was a beautiful gesture to bring to an environment filled with nothing but deadlines.  I stole her hairdo---scaled her height and took that, too.   I mimicked her feist, but that was easy since I have some of my own.  I tried like crazy to capture her imaginative ability to take divergent parts of a story and intuitively contain them with an image that was previously unrelated but that  made manifest the heart of the story. The one thing I could not steal from her, though, was her calm.  Susan was a still point in a turning world at CBS, as far as I was concerned.  She never raised her voice.  She never ran. She made her producorial rounds with her wit and intellect blazing, but also while brandishing a good deal of laissez faire.  She had faith in her fellow man.  And woman.  Even under pressure, she always looked like she was definitely Not Sweating, which made her more attractive to all the people who were.  Because they knew, under the calm and encouragement, she was obsessed.  That's leadership."

Former CBS News colleague and Sony Chairman Sir Howard Stringer:  "Even actress Holly Hunter in the seminal movie “Broadcast News” could not match the intensity, the skills or the breadth of commitment of the extraordinary Susan Zirinsky.  As a producer she is fearless; as a colleague she is peerless; as a leader she is matchless, but as a friend she is irreplaceable.  When she clambered over a moving freight train to get her tapes to a ground station before the competition, she became a news icon who really did capture hearts and minds. She captured mine long ago!"

Well she captured my heart and mind long ago as well, because she is simply the most amazing woman I have ever known.  

Romney Tales

The story of the third presidential debate is not that President Barack Obama handily defeated Governor Mitt Romney. Rather, what was most noteworthy was how Romney suddenly embraced many of the president's foreign policy stances, as if to say, "Disregard all my previous positions."

Prior to the first debate Governor Romney was flailing and stumbling. President Obama was beginning to take a commanding lead in the polls as even some Republicans were making the switch. A debate win by the president would have effectively ended the Romney campaign. Of course, Romney had the president right where he wanted him.

President Obama, perhaps a bit overconfident, basically phoned in his first debate performance, while Romney came with a clear strategy, energy and purpose. The first debate was a game changer for Romney because it made him look like a legitimate contender. In contrast, President Obama looked as if he didn't care about a second term. Instead of a fatal blow to Romney, the first debate was a near fatal blow for President Obama.

While the president clearly won the rancorous second debate, held at Hoftra University, the results seemed to have little impact on voter sentiment. A bullying Romney commanded the stage, even treating the president disrespectfully. The debate devolved into a sparring match that did not benefit either candidate. Meanwhile, the president's lead in the national polls evaporated.

The third debate was on foreign policy, and moderated by Bob Schieffer of CBS News. For months candidate Romney had harshly criticized every aspect of President Obama's foreign policy. But in Monday night's debate Romney heaped praise on many of Obama's policies. At long last the governor had decided to come home to a more centrist position. He had won the nomination by being a "severe conservative," but Monday night he "Etch a Sketched" his persona into a moderate.

Romney agreed with many of the president's policies, even praising him a couple of times. Of course, there were a couple of tough exchanges, including over military spending. "Our Navy is older -- excuse me -- our Navy is smaller now than any time since 1917. The Navy said they needed 313 ships to carry out their mission. We're now down to 285." Romney said. "That's unacceptable to me. I want to make sure that we have the ships that are required by our Navy."

President Obama was ready with an answer, "You mentioned the Navy, for example, and that we have fewer ships than we did in 1916. Well, Governor, we also have fewer horses and bayonets -- (laughter) -- because the nature of our military's changed. " He concluded, "And so the question is not a game of Battleship where we're counting ships. It's -- it's what are our capabilities."

Going into the final debate Romney had a clear strategy: avoid looking like a warmonger and sound reasonable. He was attempting to appeal to women. As a consequence his responses were so moderate it appeared he was doing all he could to distance himself from the neocons and the "Bush Doctrine." Romney has no foreign policy experience at all. In the past he has staked out very aggressive foreign policy positions against China, Russia, Syria and Iran.

What is most troubling is that Romney has had no problem changing his deeply-held positions to appeal to some constituency. This pattern has repeated itself throughout his political career. He was pro-choice before he was pro-life. He was for Romneycare before he was against Obamacare, which is based on the former. The reason Romney is a serial flip flopper is because he will do and say anything he needs to in order to become president. He has even changed his position on an issue mid-debate.

Romney is a salesman; he is a closer. He sounds convincing, confident and certain. But while he is never in doubt, he is frequently wrong. And worse, he is often misleading. Take his tax cut proposal, which does add up to $5 trillion over 10 years, and most benefits the truly rich. There currently aren't enough tax deductions to eliminate, including mortgage and charity, to pay for the tax cuts. But tax cuts do not grow the economy. The economy barely grew during President George Bush's presidency even though he had signed into law two unpaid for tax cuts, a.k.a., the Bush Tax Cuts.

For those who are now considering voting for Romney, buyer beware.

Schieffer Smoking Mad

CBS News correspondent Bob Schieffer has become the dean of Washington reporters after more than 40 years covering the town for CBS News. Schieffer is a wonderful man who plays it straight as a journalist, seldom offering his own opinion. Sunday was an exception.

Schieffer is the anchor of the CBS News public affairs program, "Face the Nation." The guest this past Sunday was businessman Herman Cain, the Republican frontrunner for that party's presidential nomination. Cain's campaign had recently produced a political ad that ended with Cain's chief of staff, Mark Block, puffing on a cigarette. The ad has gone viral, but it has also raised plenty of questions.

Schieffer asked Cain to explain the ad, in particular the peculiar ending. Cain laughed it off, saying, “One of the themes of this campaign is ‘Let Herman be Herman.’ Mark Block is a smoker, and we say ‘Let Mark be Mark.’ That’s all we’re trying to say, because we believe ‘let people be people.’”

At this point Schieffer went right after Cain. “It wasn’t funny to me… I am a cancer survivor, like you. I had cancer that’s smoking related. I don’t think it serves the country well, and this is an editorial opinion here, to be showing someone smoking a cigarette." Schieffer continued, "And you’re the frontrunner now, and it seems to me that as frontrunner, you have a responsibility not to take that kind of a tone with this. I would suggest that perhaps as the frontrunner you would want to raise the level of the campaign.”

Cain sat composed but clearly stunned. Schieffer then directed Cain to admit that smoking was "uncool" and to warn young Americans not to start. Cain said he would, but Schieffer said how about now? "Young Americans," Cain said, "don't smoke."

Recently "Face the Nation" has finished atop the ratings for Sunday public affairs programs. Although it is only a half-hour in length, the broadcast lands impressive guests every week. Schieffer's Texas drawl and pleasant demeanor are part of the draw. But of greatest note is Schieffer's incredible experience and knowledge about Washington and politics. Therefore, his questions are well focused and the guest's answers are most often revealing and informative.

"Face the Nation" will be an important place for viewers to turn during the 2012 presidential elections for the latest insight from CBS News correspondent Bob Schieffer, arguably the best in the business.