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.

Sandy Socolow 1928-2015

The legendary CBS News producer Sanford "Sandy" Socolow has died.  He worked at CBS News for 32 years, during its truly golden years, four of them as Walter Cronkite's executive producer.  He was a rare combination of outstanding journalist and wonderful person, beloved by all those who knew him.

Socolow participated in some of the most historic events in network news.  He was there when Cronkite took over as anchor of the CBS Evening News in April 1962, replacing Douglas Edwards.  Then the evening newscast aired for 15 minutes.  In an interview with CNN, Socolow recounted, "The first night up, he ended the show by saying, I'm paraphrasing, 'That's the news. Be sure to check your local newspapers tomorrow to get all the details on the headlines we are delivering to you.'"

Management did not like that. "In the absence of anything else, he came up with 'That's the way it is.'" But Socolow remembered CBS News President Richard Salant's reaction, "We're not telling them that's the way it is. We can't do that in 15 minutes,' which was the length of the show in those days. 'That's not the way it is.'"  But Cronkite prevailed.

Socolow was there in September 1962 when the CBS Evening News with Walter Cronkite became the first network newscast to expand to a half-hour.  The broadcast featured a lengthy interview with President John Kennedy filmed at his family compound in Hyannis Port, Massachusetts.  The president would be assassinated just 81 days later in Dallas, Texas.  An emotional Cronkite announced to the nation,  "From Dallas, Texas, the (AP) flash, apparently official:  'President Kennedy died at 1 p.m. Central Standard Time.' (glancing up at clock) 2 o'clock Eastern Standard Time, some 38 minutes ago."

Socolow worked with Cronkite during the tumultuous 60's, covering the Civil Rights movement, the assassinations of Martin Luther King and Robert Kennedy, and the Vietnam War.  When Cronkite returned from Vietnam in February 1968, where he went to get a reporter's view of the war, Socolow recalled that Salant urged him to share his opinion on the evening news.  But Cronkite was reluctant to do so, "He was a purist," Socolow said. "And, a lot of people would say, to a fault, if there can be a fault in such a definition."

Cronkite agreed to share his opinion in a prime time news special, not on the evening newscast.  After observing that the U.S. military was mired in a stalemate, Cronkite said, "It is increasingly clear to this reporter that the only rational way out (of the Vietnam War) then will be to negotiate, not as victors, but as an honorable people who lived up to their pledge to defend democracy, and did the best they could." 

The CBS Evening News with Walter Cronkite dominated the ratings throughout the 70's, including during the Watergate crisis and the resignation of President Richard Nixon.  Socolow served as CBS News' Washington Bureau Chief from Watergate to President Jimmy Carter's term in office, where he endured the contentious relationship between the Nixon White House and CBS News.

He then served as the final executive producer of The CBS Evening News with Walter Cronkite.  Socolow noted that Cronkite wanted "To retire as undefeated champ, and he made his views known." On Friday, March 6, 1981, nearly 30 million people watched as Cronkite signed off for a final time,  "And that's the way it is, Friday, March 6, 1981. I'll be away on assignment, and Dan Rather will be sitting in here for the next few years. Good night."  Socolow continued as executive producer during the Rather transition before taking over as CBS News London Bureau Chief.

Socolow was born in the Bronx on November 11, 1928.  He worked on the school newspaper while attending Stuyvesant High School.  Socolow remembered being at New York's Polo Grounds watching the New York Giants when the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor.  "The public address announcer was heard to say, ‘All active military personnel report to their stations,'" he remembered, "and the game continued."

His parents, who were both immigrants, wanted him to be an accountant because "they will always be needed."  So he attended City College, "because it was free," but dropped accounting after one semester for liberal arts.  He worked at the campus newspaper and became a stringer at the school for the New York Times.   North Korea invaded South Korea on the day Socolow graduated from college.  He was drafted and sent to Japan where, because of his New York Times experience, he was assigned to a radio group in Tokyo.

Following the Korean War he landed a job at the International News Agency (INS), which was a news service run by Hearst.  Because of his junior status at INS, he was assigned to cover Marilyn Monroe's weeklong visit to the U.S. troops in Korea.

He had made many reporter friends at CBS News during the Korean War, and they would lobby their management to hire Socolow.  He was hired by CBS News in 1956 to work in the Edward R. Murrow operation for $125 a week, "before taxes."  Soon Socolow would begin writing and producing for Cronkite, and their personal and professional relationship would continue until Cronkite's death in 2009, decades after they each left CBS.

Sandy Socolow is survived by his sons Jonathan and Michael, and daughter Elisabeth.  As word of his death spread throughout the industry, many of his former colleagues shared their thoughts on Facebook.  Long-time CBS News London correspondent Tom Fenton wrote, "Sandy was one of the best and brightest newsmen of the golden age of CBS News. He was also a warm and generous person, a great boss and a delightful friend. He will be greatly missed by all of us who knew him." 

And that is the way it is.  

(Sandy Socolow was a mentor to me, a wise and loving man who had a huge impact on my life. God bless him, and my deepest condolences and prayers for his family.   They will have a private burial for their father, and a memorial service is in the works for March or April.)

Sandy Socolow and Joe Peyronnin 9/14

 View and extended interview with Socolow by the Archive of American Television 

Tiananmen Square Live

The student demonstrations at Beijing's Tiananmen Square in 1989 led to some of the most riveting television seen in the United States.  CBS News was the only broadcast network to provide live coverage, until the Chinese government forced us to shut down our satellite just hours before the military launched a full assault on the students.

Tiananmen Square

CBS Evening News anchorman Dan Rather and executive producer Tom Bettag had lobbied in April to anchor their broadcast from Beijing for Soviet President Mikhail Gorbachev's visit to China.   CBS News President David Burke approved the idea, I was his deputy at the time and I strongly urged that we commit.  The news division was under tremendous financial pressure from the company, so the decision to spend a couple million dollars was risky.

It took a large team of producers, reporters, cameramen, sound men, editors and fixers to provide coverage when the Evening News anchored overseas.  The logistics were complicated, and the set up was challenging.  But all was ready when Gorbachev arrived in May.

Student Demonstration

By the time he arrived thousands of students had gathered at Tiananmen Square to voice their demands for change, more freedom and democracy.  The student uprising, supported by many citizens, eclipsed the Gorbachev visit and created a real problem for China's paramount leader, Deng Xiaoping.  Deng mobilized the army, calling in units from around the country.

Deng Xiaoping

CBS News provided live coverage of the protests, which had grown to more than one million people, with Dan Rather anchoring live from Tiananmen Square.  Our competition, NBC News and ABC News, was not anchoring from China.  Viewers in the United States, and around the world, watched CBS News as a nation struggled for its future.  Rather was outstanding, and the CBS team worked tirelessly and courageously to provide round-the-clock coverage for Americans.   A special bond builds among a team of journalists when covering a dangerous and historic news event.  Everyone's work excels, despite lack of sleep and chaotic conditions.

I remained in the CBS New York control room most of the time, coordinating coverage and network break-ins.   On a Friday night  a Chinese official came to our office and demanded that we shut down our live satellite.  Dan Rather and Lane Venardos, the producer in charge in Beijing, negotiated with the official.  I ordered that network programming be interrupted during the 10pm ET hour so all of America could watch as Venardos and Rather negotiated with the official.

Dan Rather

The program I interrupted was Dallas, television's most popular show.  In was the season finale, so viewership was enormous.  But I felt that the events unfolding nearly 7,000 miles from New York were incredibly important and made amazing television.  

It became clear to me that to defy the Chinese government would put the CBS News team at risk.  Many could be arrested and even harmed.  I decided that CBS News would comply with the request to shut down the satellite.  ("Dan Rather Remembers" video.)

As11pm ET approached, I instructed Venardos to tell the official we would comply with the government's order.  But I asked that we be able to shut down the satellite at 11:25pm, during the late local newscasts, which were airing in most of the country.  The official agreed.  

I then had a programming alert sent out to all of our affiliates so that they would inform their viewers about our upcoming special report.   I also asked our press department to inform other news organizations.  As it turned out the delay allowed us to air graphic new footage of the carnage.

At the appointed time Dan Rather appeared live from Beijing, across our network, and explained to viewers that CBS News had been ordered to shut down its live Satellite.  With a handful of CBS News staff watching, he then signed off, "this is Dan Rather reporting live from Beijing," turned to the satellite operator and instructed him to kill the satellite.

In the days that followed, hundreds, perhaps thousands of Chinese students and supporters, were massacred by Chinese troops. (Video by Brian Robbins, CBS NEWS)  Tiananmen Square was emptied.  The full force of Marshall Law was being imposed on everyone.  Citizens lived in fear for their lives.  The elation and hope of the democracy movement had been crushed in a bloody siege by China's authoritarian regime.   

Iconic Image

The iconic image from the student uprising was of a man, holding plastic shopping bags, standing in front of a tank column blocking its forward movement.   Today, the fate of that man is unknown.  The Tiananmen Square uprising is also unknown to most young Chinese, it is not mentioned in school, nor on television.  Twenty-five years later the Chinese government censured the Internet and social media during the anniversary period.  

The Chinese government may try to erase the events at Tiananmen Square from history, but it will never be forgotten by those of us a CBS News who covered the tragedy.      

Remembering Lane Venardos: 1944-2011

Walter Cronkite, Dan Rather, Diane Sawyer, Lesley Stahl and Charles Kuralt are among the giants who have been the public faces of broadcast news over the past four decades. But just out of the public spotlight, whether in glittering world capitols or war-torn hellholes, there worked behind the scenes some legendary figures that were held in the highest esteem by their peers. On Friday Lane Venardos, one of the news industry's greatest producers and executives, died at his home in Hawaii.

Lane was a very special person who combined a fiercely competitive spirit, a strong commitment to professionalism and integrity with a wonderful effervescent personality. For nearly thirty years he personified what was great about CBS News.

Lane was an exceptional executive producer because he had a clear vision, he communicated effectively and he was always incredibly organized. "No detail too small" he would often say. His approach would earn him more than a dozen Emmy awards. As an executive producer and then vice president of CBS News his energetic leadership style won respect from all those who worked with him.

Lane was born in post-war Alton, Illinois, just across the Mississippi River from St. Louis. He was a product of America's heartland. He started in radio news and had a booming radio voice. "Tall tower full power!" he would frequently blurt out even years after jumping to television. That transition would take place in Chicago in the early seventies where he served as assistant news director at WBBM-TV News. It wasn't long before CBS News recruited him.

In the late seventies, as a producer for The CBS Evening News with Walter Cronkite in Washington, he helped modernize television coverage of the White House. He applied organization and the latest technologies to presidential trip coverage around the world. He soon was promoted to senior producer. Sir Howard Stringer, now CEO of Sony and then the newly appointed CBS Evening News executive producer, brought him to New York to work with Dan Rather. When Howard was promoted to the CBS News front office two years later Lane took over as executive producer of the broadcast.

For four years in the mid-eighties he served as the executive producer of the CBS Evening News with Dan Rather, and he was proud to point out the broadcast was number one in the ratings during his entire tenure. "The CBS Evening News brings people together every day even for only a brief period of time." he once said. "That carries a special responsibility."

In the late eighties Lane took on the role of vice president of special events coverage. He was the executive producer of 48 Hours on Crack Street, the premier broadcast of that series. Lane led CBS News' presidential election specials, campaign coverage and dozens of specials on major news stories. He led the CBS News operations in Beijing, China, for its highly acclaimed coverage of the student uprising at Tiananmen Square. He was also executive producer of such CBS News specials as Remember Pearl Harbor, Eye on the Earth, and William S. Paley: Tribute to a Broadcasting Giant.

In the early nineties he was promoted to vice president of hard news. There he ran all of CBS News day-to-day news coverage and worldwide bureaus. He was as outstanding an executive as he had been an executive producer.

He retired from CBS News in the late nineties but did not retire from television. His subsequent television credits included several Survivor series, The Apprentice, The Contender and The Biggest Loser.

Yet, for all these considerable accomplishments, friends and colleagues will best remember Lane’s extraordinary sense of humor and personality. "Let's get out there and scratch that surface!" he would often quip. Working with him, no matter how difficult the task, was always fun. His energy, his passion and his down to earth character were incredibly endearing. And he was deeply admired for his strong family commitment.

Lane Venardos was a great friend to thousands of broadcasters throughout the world. For them, Lane Venardos is a legend in television news.

##

A few LANE-isms

A greeting: "Good luck in your own personal career!"
Booming radio voice: "Tall tower, full power!...50 thousand watts, clear channel...broadcasting from the heart of the capital...the capital city's number ONE source for ne-uws...now the golden tones of (insert your name)."
Answering the phone: "Good morning. miracle productions."
Comment during a failed video feed: "It looked good leaving here, New York."
Inspring the troops: "Let's get out there and scratch that surface."
Killing a package: "Boom, boom, boom, boom, you're piece is dead."
Or: "On any other day your story would have been the lede!"
Setting expectations: "Never make the same mistake once."
On being human: "No good deed goes unpunished."
Hard work: "If it is worth doing, it is worth overdoing."
Organization: "No detail too small."
On television investigative reporting. "Your report should be like a rock skipping across the top of the water, never too deep as to slow down the story."
On praise: "You're only as good as your next piece."
Avoiding controvery: "Life is lonely in the middle."
The producer's apology when caught being sneaky: "I don't know how it happened, I am sorry, it will never happen again."
The producer's pledge: "You have my word as a producer!"

Rather Special

Dan Rather is a uniquely important figure in broadcast journalism and his influence has been felt around the world.



So my class of graduate journalism students at New York University were particularly thrilled to hear Dan reflect on his remarkable career, including reporting the Kennedy assassination, the Vietnam War and Watergate. I questioned Dan for about an hour before an overflow crowd at NYU's Arthur L. Carter Journalism Institute Thursday afternoon.

Dan stressed to students the importance of writing; he suggested that they practice every day. Dan was particularly emotional when talking about the special responsibility of American journalists and how their role was protected in the constitution by our founding fathers.

The students described Dan's remarks as inspirational, and they swarmed over him for photos. You see, Dan Rather is a Rock Star!