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 News Director Lee Hanna hired
me as a news writer when I graduated from NYU. I worked at WCBS-TV nearly 7 years--it was
my childhood in the business--and what a wonderful time it was. My first stint as producer
of the 11:00 PM newscast came at the age of 24. I produced half-hour documentaries before
I was 25. |
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| But two things stand out about these years. | ||
| First, I was privileged to work at CBS under Frank Stanton...the true, original CBS. Standards were the highest, and I learned them from the finest. I will never forget learning to produce a hard news broadcast from the late executive producer Dick Clark. In the early years, I worked with superb off-camera journalists, and even one or two superb on-camera journalists (I'm thinking of Bob Potts and Harry Arouh, and of Jack Whitaker). During my years, I watched the decline of local news, and was disgusted by it. Eventually I resigned on New York primary night. I was the election producer. This was April of 1976. Shortly before air, the brass became afraid of carrying too much politics--too dangerous to the ratings! About a third of the time devoted to primary returns was given to a Pat Collins promotional piece about Jim Bouton's upcoming prime time series, Ball Four. I couldn't bear to be a part of it any further, and resigned at 11:35 PM. | ||
| But the Channel 2 years were about people, brilliant people, dear friends, with whom I passed my youth and my coming of age. | ||
| The late writer Stanley Koven, who worked one year here, then took a freighter to Spain to live the life of the expatriate Bohemian novelist in Mijas. One year here, one there. Stanley, whose guided overnight Village pub crawls were the most intellectually stimulating and high-as-a-kite times of my life. | ||
| David Ehrlich, "the Duke," a genius sans motivation, whose wit kept the newsroom alive with laughter. | ||
 The Duke |
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| Later, my long-time collaborator Joel Siegel. The work we did together! Literally the first coverage of pop culture, of rock 'n' roll, ever to appear on a newscast. So much more, so well done. We learned, challenged ourselves to do better, and better, and then better. | ||
| Reporter Trish Reilly, my desk neighbor and close friend. | ||
| Then, over the years, so many more collaborators and friends: Bob Weiner, John Stossel and Arnold Diaz, Linda Ellerbee, Lynn Sherr, Dave Marash and Rolland Smith, Bob Young, Pia Lindstrom, my cop story adventures with Chris Borgen, the endless list. | ||
| Off-camera, the tragically lost Jane Kessler, the unforgettable Dick Robinson (on whom the Mary Tyler Moore show Murray character was based), Andy Meppen, Gerry Solomon, Suzy Allen, Shelly Raskin, Ann Benjamin, Paul Enger, Dennis Sheehan, Joe Mancini, Paul Beckley (who covered World War II for, and later became lead film critic of, the New York Herald Tribune). | ||
| The film editors I worked with every day: among them David Ward, Joe Blanco, Sal Marciano, Doug Saunders. | ||
| In graphics, Skip Sabbione, Alan Drossman and Steve Linden. | ||
| During those years, my golden age in the newsroom I loved, I was known to everyone as "Scoop." | ||
| It was a time. |
April,
1969. That's me on the left, Paul Enger center, and Ozzie Segerberg right. This was the
WCBS-TV News election set. Note the upper right, where behind the camera you can see,
against the studio walls, actual tote boards with mechanical counters. Character
generators had not been invented in 1969. Look carefully at the manual
typewriter in front of Paul Enger. Sitting above us was anchor Jim Jensen.
Political color was furnished by Jerome Wilson. When we went off the air
every election night, news director Lee Hanna would stand by the studio door
and shake hands with each of us, interns, cameramen, writers, everyone, and
say "Thank you, you did outstanding work tonight".