Charles Osgood
Anchor
Monday, January 26, 2004; 11:00 AM

A rising sun accompanied by a trumpet fanfare provide the signature opening for a television broadcast that has become a Sunday morning staple for its faithful viewing audience since 1979.

Twenty-five years of "CBS News Sunday Morning" were celebrated on Jan. 25, tracing the show's beginnings with Charles Kuralt and then carried on by Charles Osgood in 1994. A unique blend of news and feature reporting on music, fine arts, the performing arts, sports and science are the elements which make up the Emmy Award-winning program. And, of course, the nature piece at show's end. Birds, antelope, wildflowers -- the pictures and sounds of nature.

Osgood was online Monday, Jan. 23 at 11 a.m. ET, to discuss 25 years of "Sunday Morning."

After 25 Years, 'Sunday Morning' Is Still Good To The Last Drop (Post, Jan. 24)

A transcript follows.

Editor's Note: Washingtonpost.com moderators retain editorial control over Live Online discussions and choose the most relevant questions for guests and hosts; guests and hosts can decline to answer questions.

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washingtonpost.com: Charles Osgood, welcome to Monday morning at washingtonpost.com. Glad to have you with us. What did you think about the anniversary show yesterday? Were you pleased with it?

Charles Osgood: Yes, I was very moved by it. Of course, being involved for the past 10 years as anchor and the 15 years before that doing pieces for the broadcast, I could relate to all of it.

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Harrisburg, Pa.: If you were given full control of the program, is there anything you would change? If so, what would that be?

Charles Osgood: Well, first of all. I would not like to take control of the broadcast. The producers have been largely responsible for the quality and the success of the broadcast. And I trust their judgment more than I do my own.

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Washington, D.C.: Sunday Morning seems perfect for you. You seem low-key like the show. Are you?

Charles Osgood: Not really. I tried to pace myself to this time of day and day of the week so that's my Sunday morning pace.

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Washington, D.C.: Any idea of the ratings for yesterday's anniversary show? Does Sunday Morning care about ratings?

Charles Osgood: No. Yes. I have not yet seen any overnight ratings on the broadcast but we've had a lots of response by e-mails and phone calls -- all favorable. And because we promoted the broadcast heavily, I would imagine that many of our occasional viewers would tune in to see the broadcast.

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Pentagon City, Va.: How do you decide what to put in the program? Where do the ideas come from? And how far in advance are the pieces done for each week's show?

Charles Osgood: Some pieces take months to complete and others are done the day before. Obviously, if it's in reaction to a breaking story, we don't have the luxury of preparation time, but the take-outs (the major pieces) that we do for cover stories and other lengthier pieces almost all take at least a week and usually more.

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Washington, D.C.: I've been watching this remarkable program since its inception and constantly marvel at the elegant writing style. Is there one editor through whom all copy flows?

BTW, I always listen carefully when John Leonard appears. Generally I find his writing to be the most intelligent, a very rare characteristic on this medium, wouldn't you say?

Charles Osgood: I would agree completely. The one person who sees everything before Sunday morning is the producer who is Rand Morrison. The correspondents, of course, write their own pieces. Tom Harris writes the introductions to most of the pieces and I edit everything.

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Fairfax, Va.: What do you mean when you say, "I'll see you on the radio" at the end of each week's show?

Charles Osgood: The next time anybody will be hearing from me after the broadcast is over is on the radio (WTOP in Washington). My feeling is that radio is more visual than television because it is the theater of the mind. Of course, I cannot see the audience literally but I believe they can see my pictures better than any television can project.

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Worcester, Mass.: The final portion of Sunday Morning is one of the most relaxing moments of the week. Has there been any consideration of putting together a compilation DVD of all the nature pieces (with outtakes!)?

Charles Osgood: We talk about it all the time but haven't done it as yet.

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Charles Osgood: Parenthetically, I think what people like best about the nature end piece is that the anchorman finally shuts up.

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Gaithersburg, Md.: My cats often look at the TV when the nature piece comes on, especially if there are some kind of bird sounds coming from the set. I know of others whose cats do the same. Does "Sunday Morning" realize it plays to such an appreciative feline audience?

Charles Osgood: I have several pictures that people have sent in of their cats watching and perhaps this accounts for the ratings increase. It's all cats.

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Bethesda, Md.: Do you see any threat from the Sunday Today show or the upcoming weekend editions of ABC's Good Morning America in the fall?

Charles Osgood: We take all the competition seriously.

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Stamford, Conn.: Charles, I saw you speak at the Fordham Univ. (my alma mater too) New Library dedication, you gave a great speech about books and knowledge.
Are you writing a book, if not, have you read anything worthwhile recently?
I love Sunday Morning, I wish all TV offered the same quality.

Charles Osgood: I've just finished a book which will be out in May. It is a memoir of one year in my life when I was nine-years-old during WWII in Baltimore. The title will be "Defending Baltimore From Enemy Attack."

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Reston, Va.: I've seen Dan Rather appear on the program in the past and I know that CBS correspondents will often guest host around the schedule during their careers, but has Dan Rather ever hosted Sunday Morning?

Charles Osgood: No. When a very important story breaks as, for example, when Saddam Hussein was captured, Sunday Morning was pre-empted and Dan anchored the coverage. Sunday Morning people, including myself, were delighted that Saddam was caught.

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Washington, D.C.: I grew up watching the show - and still love it today. I saw that Wynton Marsalis will now be the artist performing the theme of the show -- who was performing it previously and again what is the name of that piece?

Charles Osgood: The previous trumpeter was Doc Severinsen. The piece is called Abblasen and it was written by a man called Gottfried Reische who was the trumpet player in the orchestra of Johann Sebastian Bach.

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Washington, D.C. -- former small town USA: Mr. Osgood!;

Thank you for being such an integral part of such a wonderful show. I'm 28 years old, and since I was a little kid growing up in Indiana, I've always appreciated the small town, slower paced view of the world that Sunday Morning presents. It has been a part of virtually my entire life so far, and I'm looking forward to the future. I also have to give a big thumbs up to Nancy Giles -- will we keep seeing more of her? AND, one last point, the new recording of the trumpet theme is amazing. Keep up the wonderful work!;

Charles Osgood: Thank you for the kind words. Nancy Giles will join our group of regulars. I feel fortunate to be surrounded by such a wonderful supporting cast, including of course, Bill Geist, John Leonard, Martha Teichner, Dr.Billy Taylor, Rita Braver, etc.

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Charles Osgood: I want to add Bill Flannagan to that list.

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new york, ny: Any idea if CBS will re-air this sometime during the week, even at 3 AM? I was watching C-Span yesterday and am very upset I caught wind of it too late. I love the program.

Charles Osgood: It was sort of an occasional piece that was for the anniversary and, as far as I know it will not be repeated, but television being as it is, we may see it again during the repeat season. (It's still our anniversary year all year.)

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Las Cruces, N.M.: I grew up on CBS News as it evolved. Individuals such as Ernest Leiser, Alexander Kendrick, Robert Trout, Eric Severeid, Winston Burdett, Edward R. Morrow and many others gave us news in a way that has never since been duplicated.

Face The Nation and Sunday Morning are the only two worthwhile news programs on CBS today.

Charles Osgood: Thank you for the kind words about Sunday Morning and Face the Nation. I share your admiration for Murrow, Severeid and the others who set the standard but I also find much to admire in our other CBS News broadcasts today.

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Derwood, Md.: Charles,

Thank you (and your colleagues) for your wonderful work.

Whenever you cover an exhibit at a D.C. museum, that museum will be packed every weekend until the exhibit you covered closes. Would you please give us chatters some hints about which upcoming shows you'll be covering so that we can beat the packed in crowds you guys cause?

Charles Osgood: I don't want to give out any insider information and we are working on some things but we don't like to talk about what we're working on because it may not come to fruition.

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Charles Osgood: Thank you everybody. See you on the radio.

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