| The Story Behind the Story
With Bob Schieffer
Author, "This Just In: What I Couldn't Tell You on TV"
Friday, Jan. 24, 2003; Noon ET Bob Schieffer has worked all the beats. In fact, he's one of the very few correspondents who has covered the White House, Capitol Hill, the State Department and the Pentagon. For the past four decades he has reported some of the biggest stories during his life in journalism. But there are stories behind the stories and in his new book, "This Just In: What I Couldn't Tell You on TV," the veteran newsman writes about the quirks of history that often go unreported. "These are stories that have been sitting around to be put on paper. They're the stories I've told my friends all my life. They're the stories of how we got some of the big stories, how they were covered, and how people reacted to them," says Schieffer in his book. Schieffer was online Friday, Jan. 24 at Noon ET, to talk about his book and the events that have become part of our history. The newsman adds to the stories behind the headlines by seeking out the recollections of other participants and he called 85 people who went on record on a wide range of stories including the integration of Ole Miss, JFK's assassination, Vietnam, Watergate, turbulence inside CBS News in the 1980s, the Clinton/Lewinsky scandal, nearly forty years of presidential campaigns and the tragic events of Sept. 11. Some of those interviewed are President George W. Bush, former Presidents Jimmy Carter and Gerald Ford, Alexander Haig, Walter Mondale, Eugene McCarthy, Edward Kennedy and Bob Dole. Schieffer has been anchor and moderator of Face the Nation, CBS's Sunday public affairs broadcast, since May, 1991. He also serves as CBS News's chief Washington correspondent. 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.
Washington, D.C.: This Just In ... That's what news anchors often used to say. You don't hear it that much anymore. They now say "Breaking News" or something. Why that title and what's the book about? Bob Schieffer: The title came about ... it's really kind of a parody ... Some years back I was in New York, anchoring a special report and a young desk assistant handed me a piece of copy during a break and in my best TV voice, I said, "This just in?" and she said, "No, this was just sitting there. I didn't think you saw it." In a way, this is sort of what this book's about. There were a lot of stories just laying around, awaiting to be told and I just decided to tell them, mainly because I thought some of them were funny.
This book is really just stories that reporters tell each other at the end of a long day. Most of the time, these kinds of stories get told over a beer late in the evening.
Washington, D.C.: Were you really the first reporter to talk to Lee Harvey Oswald's mother? Bob Schieffer: Yes, as far as I know and this was one of the strangest experiences I ever had as a reporter. I had, on the day that Kennedy was shot ... It was complete bedlam in the news room where I worked at the Fort Worth Star-Telegram. Every phone on the city desk was ringing and I just grabbed one. A caller said, "Is there anyone there who can give me a ride to Dallas?" and I said, "Lady, this is not a taxi and besides, the President's been shot." And the caller responded, "Yes, I heard on the radio that they've arrested my son and they think he's the one who did it." It was Lee Harvey Oswald's mother. To this day, we really don't know why she called the Star-Telegram, but Fort Worth was a fairly small town in those days and we had a very informal relationship with our readers. There was no security in those days. People would simply walk in off the street and walk up to the city desk if they had a story. The old fella who sold Star Telegrams down on the street in front of a local hotel would often come to the city desk if he didn't like the headline on the paper. And he'd tell the city editor, "I can't sell these papers unless you get better stories on the front page." So, with that kind of a relationship with the community, maybe it wasn't all that surprising that Mrs. Oswald would call the paper and ask for a ride.
In any case, another reporter and I picked her up and took her to Dallas and I interviewed her along the way.
Washington, D.C.: The broadcasting business is very transient and people jump networks and stations all the time. You've stayed at CBS a long time. What's kept you there? Bob Schieffer: Well, it took me a long time to get there. I had been a reporter, first in newspapers and then in local television for about ten years before I finally was able to get a job at CBS. It was the place I had always wanted to work, mainly because Walter Cronkite had always been my hero. So, for some reason or other, once I got there, I just never left. It was the place I always wanted to be and I guess I still feel that way.
San Francisco, Calif.: Sometimes after watching your show, viewers like me have feedback that we would like to send to you. What is your e-mail address at CBS? Bob Schieffer: Go to the CBS News Web site (www.cbsnews.com) and then follow the prompts to the Face the Nation page. We really enjoy hearing from our audience, even when you have a complaint.
Washington, D.C.: Hello Bob,
I'm a 27-year-old D.C. resident and got turned on to "Face the Nation" by my father. I look forward to your broadcast every Sunday morning and I've always admired your journalistic integrity. What would you say was the most difficult "Face the Nation" broadcast you moderated and why?
Bob Schieffer: I would say some of the broadcasts during the impeachment of Bill Clinton. No particular one comes to mind, but we were under intense pressure from both sides and feelings were running so high that it was difficult to find anyone that we could talk to on the broadcast who could look at the situation in an objective way. It made for some good broadcasts and we felt like we were keeping people informed, but it was not always a pleasant exercise.
Washington, D.C.: I like watching you on Sundays, and have a few quick questions: How fierce is the competition to get guests for the Sunday shows, what kind of perks do the guests get and when/where are you going to be signing your book in the D.C. area (no, I'm not an employee, just an admirer)? Bob Schieffer: The competition is about as fierce as you could imagine. There are now five Sunday broadcasts competing most Sundays for the same guests. We generally follow an informal set of rules. We don't try to steal other people's guests but it takes a great deal of planning to get the right guest for the right broadcast.
What is sort of interesting about the Sunday shows is that they are considerably different from the talk shows that are sometimes seen during other parts of the day and week. We think our job is to give the news makers a place to lay out their positions on the top issues and then question them and scrutinize what they've said. We, and I mean all of the Sunday shows, are not into who can shout the loudest. We think we're being seen by an audience that wants a serious discussion of issues and that's what we try to do.
I think Sunday morning is the smartest time period on television. I'm proud of that and I want to keep it that way.
As for perks, we give people a ride to the studio and, on occasion, we'll fly them to Washington if we think the story warrants. Beyond that, we offer them only a good hot cup of coffee and a bagel.
I'll be signing books on several occasions in Washington. The first time is Feb. 11 at Borders, 1801 K St., NW at 1 p.m.
Vienna, Va.: Will Face the Nation ever go to an hour? Bob Schieffer: I hope so, but so far the network has not given us the go-ahead. Our CBS broadcast Sunday Morning, which precedes us, is an hour and a half long. When you add on Face the Nation's half-hour, that's two hours of network programming and, to be honest, some of our affiliate stations just don't want more network programming than that because they want to use the time to put on their own programs. Our argument is that if we could get another half-hour, we could really be competitive with Meet the Press and that would be good economics and good business for our affiliates and for us.
Somewhere, USA: Bob -- your Super Bowl pick? Bob Schieffer: I may be the only person in American who's not a football fan. I played baseball through my childhood and into college and simply never got into football. When baseball season is over, the period until spring training begins for me, is just a void.
Laurel, Md.: Can you either confirm or deny any of the behind-the-scenes anecdotes in Bernard Goldberg's "Bias"? Bob Schieffer: No.
Arlington, Va.: I saw Goldberg hawking his book on the local Fox affiliate yesterday. Any comment on his book or the whole liberal bias issue generally? Bob Schieffer: No, I really don't have a comment on that.
I've had a terrific time working at CBS News and I love the place.
Vienna, Va.: Do you think that the teachings you learned journalism is disappearing or different to what is taught today? Do you wish to see the older style again? What advice do you have for young journalists? Bob Schieffer: I think there are many ways one can learn to be a reporter. I learned how to be a reporter on the police beat, working for a newspaper. That worked for me, so I guess I'm a little biased toward that as a good way to learn. But other people have learned doing different things. One reason so many reporters my age worked first at newspapers is because when we were young there really weren't very many television stations that had good news departments where you could learn the craft.
Conway, Ark.: Can you comment on the current state of White House reporting, where reporters are willfully cut out of the loop for daring to ask probing questions, where most every bit of information, even the most innocuous, is given off the record or on background, where everything divulged is a trial balloon, and nothing can be taken at face value. Has the Bush administration invented a new and disingenuous game, simply refined it to staggering new heights, or has the truth always been so elusive for White House reporters? Bob Schieffer: There is no question that the Bush White House exercises some of the tightest control over the release of information that I've ever seen. But if you want to talk about difficulty in dealing with an administration, I still have to remember the Nixon folks. Every administration tries to present itself in the best possible light and is always hesitant to talk when the news is bad. I think that's a mistake. I think everyone's credibility is enhanced when they're willing to at least talk about not just their achievements, but their mistakes. I include reporters as well as politicians when I say that.
West Des Moines, Iowa: Bob: Great book. I had one question regarding President Clinton. No question he will go down in history as a controversial figure. Looking back, do you have any thoughts about the way the press dealt with him while in office? Should the press have approached him differently? And lastly, are you surprised at how partisan he has been since leaving office (given the unwritten protocol of other former Presidents)? Bob Schieffer: I must say I have been a little surprised at some of the criticism he has leveled. Some of it may have been legitimate but you're right, former presidents have tended not to speak so directly so soon after leaving office.
As for press coverage, I think it's fair to say that it was not the press, and by that I mean the mainstream press, that caused his problems. When you look back on it, we basically reported what he was doing, what his enemies were saying about him, and how he was responding. Unlike many big stories I've covered, I found no heroes in this one. In fact, I think it cost everybody involved something. The president, his pursuers and even the press. I think it also coarsened our society and to me that was Clinton's real sin.
SW D.C.: Bob, the President's approval rating are dropping. Do you think this will encourage the press to be more probing in its coverage of him? Bob Schieffer: Not really. But the president's State of the Union speech is going to be a real crossroads, I think, for this president. He has got to lay out the reasons that he believes it will be necessary to go to war if in fact he decides that has to be done. The people have given the president strong support on almost everything concerning national security since 9/11, which is usually what the American people do when they believe their safety is being threatened. I don't believe the president as yet has convinced a majority of the people that Saddam Hussein is posing such a threat that it would justify military action. I think that's the case that he has to make in this State of the Union speech. Without question, this is going to be the most important speech he has made since coming to office.
Old Lyme, Conn..: Greetings from across the river from where Walter Cronkite hangs out (Essex. Ct.). What was it like working with Mr. Cronkite? Do you have any particular memorable stories to mention about him? Bob Schieffer: The great thing about Walter Cronkite is that he is exactly like he is on television. He is the most curious person I have ever known. Walter is my hero and I love him like I would love my own father but he could drive you absolutely nuts on deadline. Like every good editor, he could always ask the one question that you had forgotten to ask.
Here are the kinds of things that Walter would actually ask about 6:15, when the Evening News was about to go on the air: How long is Greenland? Do you happen to know how much oil there is in the world? Or maybe this one: In Poland, do they call him Father Christmas or Santa Claus?
Harrisburg, Pa.: There online interviews are great. I enjoy asking questions of news makers. Do you write your own questions, or do you have writers assisting you? If you have writers, what do you look for when choosing writers? What qualifications would one need to be a researcher and writer on your show? Bob Schieffer: We have a very small staff at Face the Nation. Basically, an executive producer and a producer. They do a lot of research and the three of us write out questions. They give us an outline of what the interview will be like but rather than have specific questions, what I try to do is have a list of things that I need to cover in the interview. The success of the interview is not the questions you have prepared beforehand but the follow ups you ask during the interview itself. The most important thing is not so much the question, but to listen carefully to the answers you're getting.
I always write the commentary at the end of the broadcast myself. I was hired at CBS basically as a writer and I still think of myself in that way.
Bob Schieffer: My first job at CBS was as a reporter but one of the reasons I was hired was because I was thought to be a good writer. Whether I was or not, that was part of the criteria and you don't hear of many people being hired for that reason anymore. That's one of the things about television news that has changed.
Stering, Okla.: What do you think about all the "soft news features on the nightly news? Is there any hope for more serious international news? Bob Schieffer: I'm a hard news guy -- always have been. But there is a belief in television circles these days that you can get more people to watch your broadcast by making it more entertaining. I'm not sure it works and it's not my idea of how you do it, but you're right, that's all the vogue these days. I'm like you, I'd like to see a little more straight news. I think that if the television news programs as we know them today are going to survive, it won't be because they're entertaining, but because they tell people something they need to know. What I think we can do on the evening news, for example, is give these stories more perspective in context. We know that people already know the headlines by the time the evening news airs. What we have to do is tell them which of those headlines are really important, which stories are going to affect them personally. If we can do that consistently, we'll keep our viewers.
Silver Spring, Md. Bob, I'm always impressed by the obviously large amount of background work you do before a show. Do you start immediately after one Sunday preparing for the next? At what point during a week do you settle on your guests? Bob Schieffer: You're right. We start planning next week's show on Sunday afternoon once we have finished Face the Nation. Sometimes we'll know by mid-week who our guests are going to be. Sometimes it may literally be 11:00 on Saturday night who the guest is going to be. It all depends on the news. And if a story breaks late and it's big enough, we'll dump the whole show on Saturday and try to put together another one. We've actually dumped an entire show early on a Sunday morning when the news justifies it. That doesn't happen too often, thank goodness.
Bob Schieffer: Thanks everyone. I enjoyed the chat and I hope you'll take a look at This Just In. I think you'll find a few laughs there and you'll also find what turned out to be an informal history of the last forty years. I got to see a lot of major events in that time and I'd love to share some of the things we went through to get these stories that you already know. I've had a lot of fun doing that and I hope you'll have fun hearing some of these tales.
washingtonpost.com: That wraps up today's show. Thanks to everyone who joined the discussion.
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