"God," Roone Arledge said of Barbara Walters, "she's good. She just keeps getting better and better. She has a way that has matured over the years of getting people to say things on the air that they never thought they were going to say."
Barbara Walters could be seen on the 'Today' show between 1963 and 1976. In those days, 'Today' was "the only game in town". In 1976, she became the first woman on a network evening news when she joined Harry Reasoner as co-anchor of ABC News. "I can't say I was Gloria Steinem or Betty Friedan but I'm proud in making the progress I made," Barbara enthused. "There was a time in the movies when if you were 40, it was goodbye. That's certainly not the case today in the news business. I certainly can't take credit for that. I think that it's just what happened through the women's movement."
In 1979 Barbara joined the '20/20' reporting team scoring many big-time interview "gets". "Barbara has operated on the premise that her first allegiance is to the person tuning in. She represents the viewer and does it without hostility," Hugh Downs observed. In 1984 Barbara joined Hugh as co-anchor of '20/20'. She stayed with the program until 2004. In the '70s, Barbara created 'Not For Women Only'. She presented a similar idea to ABC in 1997. The result: 'The View'. "I don't often call somebody immediately after a broadcast but when she got through with the Colin Powell show, I called her at home to tell her it was superb," Mike Wallace recounted. "For a long time, I think she didn't fully understand how good she really is. But now I think she's more satisfied with herself and that shows in her work." However Barbara insisted, "...I ask the questions (the viewers) wanted to ask. Quite frankly, although some people fault me for being agressive, I can't stand not asking the questions that have to be asked."
Although Walter Cronkite was "more widely liked and trusted", Barbara believed, "Women identify with me because I'm not beautiful or remote." Of her interviews, Barbara made plain, "I have developed a particular type of interview. I'm good at drawing people out - there's a thin line between asking critical questions well and making someone mad." One observer opined, "Barbara would elicit things from other people instead of talking about herself. She was more of an observer than a participator." Barbara maintained, "I'm a pragmatist, not a romantic...I hate grossness and toughness but I'll step on someone's sensibilities if the interview demands it."
Barbara Walters could be seen on the 'Today' show between 1963 and 1976. In those days, 'Today' was "the only game in town". In 1976, she became the first woman on a network evening news when she joined Harry Reasoner as co-anchor of ABC News. "I can't say I was Gloria Steinem or Betty Friedan but I'm proud in making the progress I made," Barbara enthused. "There was a time in the movies when if you were 40, it was goodbye. That's certainly not the case today in the news business. I certainly can't take credit for that. I think that it's just what happened through the women's movement."
In 1979 Barbara joined the '20/20' reporting team scoring many big-time interview "gets". "Barbara has operated on the premise that her first allegiance is to the person tuning in. She represents the viewer and does it without hostility," Hugh Downs observed. In 1984 Barbara joined Hugh as co-anchor of '20/20'. She stayed with the program until 2004. In the '70s, Barbara created 'Not For Women Only'. She presented a similar idea to ABC in 1997. The result: 'The View'. "I don't often call somebody immediately after a broadcast but when she got through with the Colin Powell show, I called her at home to tell her it was superb," Mike Wallace recounted. "For a long time, I think she didn't fully understand how good she really is. But now I think she's more satisfied with herself and that shows in her work." However Barbara insisted, "...I ask the questions (the viewers) wanted to ask. Quite frankly, although some people fault me for being agressive, I can't stand not asking the questions that have to be asked."
Although Walter Cronkite was "more widely liked and trusted", Barbara believed, "Women identify with me because I'm not beautiful or remote." Of her interviews, Barbara made plain, "I have developed a particular type of interview. I'm good at drawing people out - there's a thin line between asking critical questions well and making someone mad." One observer opined, "Barbara would elicit things from other people instead of talking about herself. She was more of an observer than a participator." Barbara maintained, "I'm a pragmatist, not a romantic...I hate grossness and toughness but I'll step on someone's sensibilities if the interview demands it."
