At the Washington State University in 1997, Sam Donaldson was awarded the first Edward R. Murrow (journalism) Award for Lifetime Achievement in Broadcasting. He was asked to address the Murrow Symposium.
Chris Peck of 'The Spokeman Review' reviewed Sam's keynote speech, "In Pullman, Donaldson made an entertaining case that journalists have never been loved, that their work always has been controversial, and therefore there isn't much difference between Ed Murrow's day (during World War II years and the 1950s) and today's (the 1990s) TV news. Donaldson only drew one distinction between then and now - today’s broadcast journalists must make the news more interesting because people are distracted and the media are far more competitive than before."
Chris Peck of 'The Spokeman Review' reviewed Sam's keynote speech, "In Pullman, Donaldson made an entertaining case that journalists have never been loved, that their work always has been controversial, and therefore there isn't much difference between Ed Murrow's day (during World War II years and the 1950s) and today's (the 1990s) TV news. Donaldson only drew one distinction between then and now - today’s broadcast journalists must make the news more interesting because people are distracted and the media are far more competitive than before."
However, "news involves facts, implications, complicated pros and cons. These don’t always bring high ratings. And that’s the problem with Donaldson’s argument.
To make the news interesting and to build ratings often results in a type of news gathering and news presentation that does a disservice to both journalism and the public interest.
"The best journalists make judgments on the importance of stories and try to give a complete picture.
Murrow developed the genre known as eyewitness accounts. Murrow perfected what we now call the in-depth interview.
The substance of what Murrow did then and what the best journalists try to do today isn't much changed.
But the style and tone of Ed Murrow then and Sam Donaldson now couldn’t be more different."
In 1997, Roone Arledge moved into the role of chairman of the news division. A role insiders at ABC considered signaled the passing of an era. The Arledge era was said to have peaked in the early 1990s. In 1989, Roone Arledge pioneered the program 'PrimeTime Live', which was supposed to change the face of television news. 'New York' magazine reported, "Despairing of solving its Thursday problem with entertainment shows, ABC gave the time (10pm) to the news division. Roone Arledge had to find the product. And so 'PrimeTime Live' was born."
Scheduled against two established shows with intensely loyal followings - 'Knots Landing' and 'L.A. Law', 'PrimeTime Live' could not match the hype. 'The Washington Post' reported in July 1989, "Topicality is a watchword with Donaldson. 'If a big story breaks on Thursday, we beat 'Nightline',' said Donaldson. 'If it comes on a Monday, Tuesday or Wednesday, we've got a problem. Everybody's still talking about it, but it's been on - Teddy has had it on 'Nightline' and the evening news. If we can't take a different approach, we'll take a pass. But I think we have more wit than that.' Some stories can be fully anticipated and partly planned."
Eventually, executive producer Rick Kaplan told 'The New York Times' in 1991, "I had to change the show until I liked it (hence 'PrimeTime Live' became a '60 Minutes'-type show).
Now I think we have a program I can truly recommend people to watch.
We set out to do an experiment (for instance the live studio audience). It didn't work. Maybe it didn't work because it was a gimmick, but we didn't set out to do a gimmick."
After Christmas 1991. Sam Donaldson: This week produces one of those events that can change the course of civilization. The last President of the Soviet Union resigns his office and the Soviet Union - the Evil Empire of its time - ceases to exist. How often have we wish we could witness such event first hand from the inside? Well Ted Koppel has done just that. He watches it happens in Moscow over the last week at the sight of Mikhail Gorbachev – the last of the Soviet's leaders, the man whom many believe brought it about. Koppel was there as Gorbachev and the Soviet Union passes into history (1917-1991).
Ted Koppel:
For the past several days we have been inside the Kremlin watching as the power of one of the most celebrated leaders of our time drains away.
Mikhail Gorbachev: What is the difference between the statesman and the politician? It is said that the politician thinks about the next election but the stateman thinks about the future. There is so much tension today in our society, so many problems, our society simply cannot be able, may not be able to bear it. There is a fable that I learned years ago and that I treat very seriously.
"Centuries ago, there was a young ruler in the Orient and he wanted to rule in a different way, in a more human way in his kingdom. And he asked the views of the wise men, and it took ten years to bring twenty carts with volumes of advice. He said, 'When am I going to read all that? I have to govern my country.' Ten years later, they brought him just ten volumes of advice. He said: 'That too is too much.'
"Five years later he was brought just one volume, small volume. But, unfornately, twenty-five years had passed and he was on his death bed. And when the wise man looked at the book, he didn't even give the book to the dying man. He said, 'Well all in all, all that is here can be summarized in a simple formula: People are born. People suffer. And people die.'"
Three days after the screening of 'Gorbachev: The Final Hours', ABC showed the 1960 movie, 'Spartacus' directed by Stanley Kubrick and starring Kirk Douglas. The movie about the Roman Empire was described as a "restored classic with footage never before seeing on television."
Ted Koppel told 'The Washington Post', "Roone is one of the world's great salesmen. He makes you feel that you are the center of the universe." Sam Donaldson added, "Roone Arledge made and created ABC News." Roone Arledge maintained, "If five hundred new colas were introduced tomorrow, Coca-Cola would be more important than ever. The dependable, well-established brands survive - unless they self-destruct."
Roone Arledge, who introduced the stars system, believed, "They give us weight and importance. They have an impact on news-makers around the world that makes it easier for us to get them on our programs." One of ABC's biggest stars was Diane Sawyer, who had worked at the Nixon White House. She was often being wooed by Fox, CBS and NBC.
Tom Brokaw had stated, "It would be terrific to have her at NBC. She's a premier television-news player. One of the knocks on us (NBC) is that we don't have enough talent on the next level down - enough star quality. Though we have an impressive generation of reporters coming up behind me, the television audience is not aware of this. It would be helpful to me when I go away to have someone like Diane. I'm on a short leash. Though we have people who can step in (such as Jane Pauley, Stone Phillips, Katie Couric), they all have day jobs."
In 1994, 'The New Yorker' reported, "The richest dollar offer so far has come from Rupert Murdoch's Fox network. Murdoch has met personally with Sawyer. Richard Liebner, Sawyer's agent, hinted to ABC officials that Murdoch had offered close to ten million dollars annually if Sawyer would agree to anchor a magazine show on Sunday directly after John Madden and the N.F.C. games. Its competition would be '60 Minutes'.
"A Fox executive puts the offer closer to seven million dollars. Murdoch, less concerned with costs than with establishing a franchise, has now paid liberally to launch a sports division and may want Sawyer to launch a news division. 'We want somebody with news credentials,' an important Fox executive says. 'If we got her, we would be very aggressive in news.'"
By the 1994-95 season, ABC was forced to move 'PrimeTime Live' from Thursday at 10pm to Wednesday at 10pm after NBC scheduled the medical juggernaut, 'ER' starring George Clooney right next door. However even on Wednesday night, 'PrimeTime Live' still had to face the challenge of a resurgent 'Law & Order'. In June 1995, Diane Sawyer landed a coup - a live, one-hour 'PrimeTime' interview with Michael Jackson and Lisa Marie Presley.
The program attracted 25.9% households ratings and 42% audience share (about 60 million viewers were watching). The 'PrimeTime' special reportedly was part of a $30 million marketing campaign to launch Michael Jackson's double album, 'HIStory'. 'The Los Angeles Times' reported, "The Jackson interview is a high-profile 'get' for 'PrimeTime' and Sawyer, who first put in her request for an interview 18 months ago (January 1994). According to Bob Jones, Jackson's spokesman, Jackson agreed to be interviewed by Sawyer because 'he had met her and knew her work as a journalist.'"
Tom Brokaw had stated, "It would be terrific to have her at NBC. She's a premier television-news player. One of the knocks on us (NBC) is that we don't have enough talent on the next level down - enough star quality. Though we have an impressive generation of reporters coming up behind me, the television audience is not aware of this. It would be helpful to me when I go away to have someone like Diane. I'm on a short leash. Though we have people who can step in (such as Jane Pauley, Stone Phillips, Katie Couric), they all have day jobs."
In 1994, 'The New Yorker' reported, "The richest dollar offer so far has come from Rupert Murdoch's Fox network. Murdoch has met personally with Sawyer. Richard Liebner, Sawyer's agent, hinted to ABC officials that Murdoch had offered close to ten million dollars annually if Sawyer would agree to anchor a magazine show on Sunday directly after John Madden and the N.F.C. games. Its competition would be '60 Minutes'.
"A Fox executive puts the offer closer to seven million dollars. Murdoch, less concerned with costs than with establishing a franchise, has now paid liberally to launch a sports division and may want Sawyer to launch a news division. 'We want somebody with news credentials,' an important Fox executive says. 'If we got her, we would be very aggressive in news.'"
By the 1994-95 season, ABC was forced to move 'PrimeTime Live' from Thursday at 10pm to Wednesday at 10pm after NBC scheduled the medical juggernaut, 'ER' starring George Clooney right next door. However even on Wednesday night, 'PrimeTime Live' still had to face the challenge of a resurgent 'Law & Order'. In June 1995, Diane Sawyer landed a coup - a live, one-hour 'PrimeTime' interview with Michael Jackson and Lisa Marie Presley.
The program attracted 25.9% households ratings and 42% audience share (about 60 million viewers were watching). The 'PrimeTime' special reportedly was part of a $30 million marketing campaign to launch Michael Jackson's double album, 'HIStory'. 'The Los Angeles Times' reported, "The Jackson interview is a high-profile 'get' for 'PrimeTime' and Sawyer, who first put in her request for an interview 18 months ago (January 1994). According to Bob Jones, Jackson's spokesman, Jackson agreed to be interviewed by Sawyer because 'he had met her and knew her work as a journalist.'"
