Instant Schlesinger
This week we invited award-winning journalist Richard Schlesinger to answer our questions – and yours.
(CBS/AP)
So, what do you do for a living?
I ask impertinent questions to people who, many times, would rather I just go away. That's when I'm not fleeing from someone who has nothing to say and wants me to let him/her say it!
What is not being covered enough at CBS News?
I don't think anyone is covering race enough. Not just CBS NEWS but most outlets are guilty of this. I think issues revolving around race permeate much more of our society and government than we report.
What's the strangest thing that has ever happened to you on the job?
Getting arrested twice the same day by the same rifle-wielding teenager at the same roadblock in Honduras. We were taken to jail the second time where we were released after donating steak sandwiches to the "warden."If you had 10 broken fingers and no gas in the car, which colleague would you want to be there?
["48 Hours" Executive Producer] Susan Zirinsky without a doubt. She'd find a way to bandage my fingers…and charter a chopper to rescue me. She'd also find a way to explain away the abandoned car to the accountants!If you were not in news, what would you be doing?
I would love to be a pilot. That's what I wanted to be before I decided to become a reporter. It turned out I was a really lousy pilot and thought it would be better for the nation if I stayed out of the cockpit.What is the biggest change at CBS during the time you've been here?
The up and down fortunes of news magazines. 48 HOURS has had to re-invent itself several times in its history. It's frightening at first but ultimately it becomes a very gratifying challenge…one we've met successfully (thank goodness!)What are the last three books you've read or the last three movies you've seen?
I've read "The World Is Flat", "The Tender Bar" and a cheesy submarine novel I'm too embarrassed to name!What is your first memory of TV News?
Would you want your child to go into the news business?
I don't know if it's my FIRST memory, but my most powerful memory of a TV news story is of Bruce Dunning's account of the evacuation of Danang during the Vietnam War. It was brilliantly written with very spare narration that let the overwhelming pictures (shot by Mike Marriott, a legendary war photographer) wash over the viewer. It has to be the most powerful piece I've seen.
Absolutely...providing he or she is willing to make the personal commitment to an unpredictable life.Who is the most fascinating person you've covered and who is the biggest jerk?
The most fascinating person I've covered has to be Nelson Mandela. I was in South Africa when he was released and I was stunned by his grace, his eloquence and the fact that he had a sense of humor after what he had endured.This week we selected a multi-part question for Richard from Ben T: When do you know each day, what story your covering? When you're first assigned a story, are you given a point-of-view to tell the story from? Do you ever change the angle of a story because of new information? When are stories for the evening news completed, and leave your control?The biggest jerk? That's hard to say. I've interviewed so many murderers it's hard to remember which one was the BIGGEST jerk.
-- The various senior/executive producers can order up a story right up until airtime. If something breaks late in the afternoon we have the ability to jump on it quickly.-- I have never been given a point-of-view from which to tell a story. I do think some of my many masters have some pre-conceived notions about where a story will go ... but they've never forced them on me.
-- The question about changing angles is a very good one. Yes we do change if the facts turn out to be different than we thought. Believe it or nor…that can be a fun part of this job.
-- I lose control of a story after it's aired. I've made changes in pieces right up to the last minute.