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Degree and Year: BJ '82 (Broadcast News) Company: CBS News Company Web Site: http://www.cbsnews.com/ Title: Anchor, CBS Evening News Sunday City and State: New York, N.Y.
The biggest difference is the format. The Early Show is looser in terms of newsworthy content. For example, Saturday morning you could find a story involving the Secretary of State and a cooking segment in the same newscast. On Sunday night you would never find a segment on cooking. What do you think about the future of network newscasts? How might you make a difference? Network newscasts will become even more accessible, because they have realized they are not the only game in town. When I was a kid, there was only one time to get national news. Now, no one has to wait for the network newscast. They can go to the Internet or listen to podcasts. My goal is to make people realize that when they watch a CBS newscast, they are watching something special. What do you find most interesting about your job? The best thing about my job is that I am not chained to a desk. I experience the best of both worlds. I get to do things I like, such as anchor three newscasts, which has some challenge involved, and to go out into the field to report. Every day is different. If I were carve out my ideal job, this would be it. What did you think you would be doing when you graduated from the J-School? I had no idea. I knew I wanted to be a television news reporter, but as far as a crystal ball of my future, I had absolutely no idea. If someone had told me I would be doing what I do now, I wouldn't have believed them; I would think they were nuts. I am very lucky to be where I am now. I work with a lot of great people. How did you work your way up to the level you are now? I spent 10 years in local television. It was a great training ground for me. I learned how to do things fast and get things done. In 1992, I joined CBS News and served as the co-anchor of the network's overnight news broadcast, Up To The Minute. Then in 1993, I was a correspondent for the CBS News magazine Eye to Eye, reporting from Russia, Chile, Indonesia and France, in addition to covering the 1994 U.S. military operation in Haiti. Before becoming co-anchor of the Saturday Early Show, I was a Washington correspondent. Now, I serve as an anchor of three newscasts. I am still the co-anchor of the Saturday Early Show with Tracy Smith, and I rotate as an anchor of the CBS Evening News on Saturdays. I have most recently been named the anchor of CBS Evening News on Sunday. How has being African American helped or hindered your success in the television industry? It has done both...At my first job, they were looking for an African American, so in that situation my skin color helped me and got my foot in the door. But, there's a big difference between getting your foot in the door and staying there. Once you are hired, you have to prove yourself no matter what color you are. Being African American has also worked against me at times. There are only a few slots for African Americans, so there is a lot more competition and less opportunity to go around. You have been involved in AHANA (African American, Hispanic American, Asian American and Native American) here at the School. How important is it for you to mentor minorities? It is important for me to be a mentor to not only minorities, but all students. I feel that I have a particular obligation to AHANA because I was a part of that program when I was in school, and I learned a lot from it. I credit AHANA for giving me the drive to pursue a career in this industry. The workshop has been instrumental in my career and really given me a lot of confidence. I feel that it's important to give back because people helped me along the way, and students can benefit from my experience. Since there are so few African Americans pursuing broadcast journalism, I enjoy talking with them and encouraging them and giving them a heads-up on what to expect. You anchored for seven hours straight when Mission Control lost contact with the space shuttle Columbia. How significant was this event for you personally, beyond just the impact of the news? It was an incredible experience! I served as a traffic cop on the news desk, filtering out fact from fiction. It's challenging to report breaking news. There is a big story developing all around you, and I had to learn as anchor that sometimes you have to hold back. Dan Rather came in. This was incredible experience for me personally. I learned a lot sitting next to him in a time of crisis. He taught me how to be in control. There is a lot of information coming at you and not all of it is correct, so in a matter of seconds you have to determine what you are going to report and tell it in a way that the viewers will understand. A sense of calm is absolutely necessary in times of crisis, and Dan taught me that. He is a master at what he does. You've covered many breaking news stories such as the Elian Gonzalez affair, the impeachment hearings for former president Bill Clinton and the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001. What makes covering these stories different from every other story you've covered? Those stories are breaking news and with breaking news you take advantage of the immediacy of television. There is a much more fluid format when reporting breaking news. I find myself saying, "I know I told you this earlier, but we just confirmed that..." Things are constantly changing, which is the biggest difference in comparison to the other stories I've covered, such as one about musician Paul Simon. Nothing is really changing; he is the same person now as he will be five minutes from now, and even a few days from now. Of those breaking news stories, which one was most difficult to cover and why? September 11th was definitely the most difficult to cover because it was such a massive story. I remember sitting at the anchor desk with Dan Rather, looking down at the monitor and watching the first tower collapse. We didn't know what to say, but the truth of the matter was there was nothing to say. In that moment, we didn't need to say anything. After that moment passed, we couldn't let what was happening affect us. We still had a job to do. You try to distance yourself when you are covering stories that involve death and destruction. You put your emotions away to do your job, but it comes back to hit you. September 11th was very difficult for me emotionally, not necessarily the day it happened, but in the days that followed. I was doing live shots in the streets and saw people crying, looking for their loved ones. When I walked down the street, people would hand me fliers with missing family members and friends asking if I could put it on the air. After a while, I just lost it. How have the media changed since your first television appearance on KOMU? News, at its core, is still the same. The way news is presented is still the same. The who? what? when? where? why? and how? haven't changed. What has changed is the way people get their news. In that respect, the industry has changed dramatically because consumers have so many places to go to get their news. News is "clickable" in that people can go to the Internet, listen to podcasts, or even look it up on their BlackBerry. When I was at KOMU, there weren't near as many choices. What is the best professional lesson learned at the J-School? Having a thick skin! Some days I would leave KOMU feeling like the worst journalist ever, but you can't let things you can't control get you down. You are only as good as your last story, so you have to come back the next day ready to start all over. What does the Missouri School of Journalism mean to you? The beauty of the Missouri School of Journalism for a broadcast student is the teaching laboratory that is KOMU. There is nowhere else, to my knowledge, that you learn how to be a reporter, an anchor, a photographer, and a producer from a network affiliate station. When I graduated I had a tape of stories not from a public access station, not from my basement, but from an NBC affiliate. What advice do you have for current students wanting to break into TV? Stay focused. Don't do it for the money. Keep your eye on the prize. Don't let anyone discourage you. News Releases
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| Revised: 30 March 2009. Copyright © 2009 The Curators of the University of Missouri | Contact the J-School | |
