Staying Tuned: A Life in Journalism

I have to admit to a certain fascination with news personalities. After all, as a confirmed news junkie, I have faithfully watched all the major netweorks and tune into NPR on my way home from work daily. Therefore, I was pleased to discover this literary gem by long-time TV and radio commentator Daniel Schorr, the seemingly omni-present conscience of the electronic media. Like many of his generation, his is a voice of reason and objectivity in a sea of faces otherwise clamouring for fame and notoriety.

Yet, while I genuinely like the book and heartily recommend it, I must also admit to feeling a bit disappointed by what he has to say, for he seems determined throughout the book to confine his comments more to the stories at hand than I would have liked, and although he discusses personalities and the way some of his stories were affected by them, the insider's look is compromised to some extent by the very virtues he brings to the subject in the first place. Perhaps after fifty years in the business he simply cannot bring himself down to the level of a confessional tone in this self-described tour of a life within journalism.

Schorr has been everywhere and seen everything, from the infamous McCarthy Hearing in the early fifties to the erection of the Berlin Wall in the early sixties; from the events surrounding the Kennedy assassination to the tumult in Chicago at the 1968 Democratic convention; from the coverage of Watergate to the break-up of the Soviet Union. Throughout all this he has rubbed shoulders with all of the titans of media news, from Edward R. Murrow to Dan Rather, from Douglas Kiker to Sam Donaldson, and from Ted Turner to Walter Cronkite.

He has also been a witness to much of the history of the 20th century, having rubbed shoulders with everyone from Nikita Krushchev to President Eisenhower, from Charles DeGaulle to Marshall Tito, from Lyndon Johnson to John F. Kennedy, from George Bush to Bill Clinton. This is a wonderful book, and one I am sure you will enjoy as much as I did. It serves to remind us that a man of purpose, principle, and conscience can still act in accord with his ethics and values and succeed in the world of electronic journalism. Enjoy!

I was most impressed by "Staying Tuned". This book is Daniel Schorr's auto-biography of his many decades in journalism. Few people have had the opportunity to be the eyewitness to history that Schorr has had. Schorr was present to cover Nikita Khruschev and the De-Stalinization movement in Russia. He was present to cover post-nazi Germany under Chancellor Konrad Adenauer. He was able to cover aspects of the "Great Society" under Lyndon Johnson. Also, he was there during Watergate and was sufficiently critical of the Nixon Administration to make the White House "enemies list".

Schorr's ability to communicate directly with the personalities such as Khruschev, former Yugoslavian President Tito, and Chancellor Adenauer of West Germany was most impressive. Clearly these were the days before journalism became swollen with hordes of "news hungry" reporters. I doubt any correspondent today could get as much access to similar political and public figures.

While dealing with earth-shaking events and personalities, the book also touches on Schorr's day-to-day existence. Difficulties such as avoiding taxes in the Soviet Union, obtaining a refrigerator, and functioning in a communist country are interesting, as well as amusing. One also is touched by the descriptions of the people in foreign countries who worked for him.

Schorr viewed Johnson's "Great Society" programs as failing because the administration gave up on them, and reduced funding due to the demands of the Vietnam War. He rejects the conservative ideology that the programs failed because they were inherently flawed in some fashion. Its refreshing to hear another viewpoint besides the one that seems to be parroted constantly.

Its clear that Daniel Schorr is a person who by practicing his occupation as a journalist in a courageous and intelligent fashion, contributed much to American Democracy. The American people cannot make informed and sound decisions without good information from journalists. The First Amendment guarantee of "freedom of the press" would mean little without tough-minded journalists pursuing stories of national importance. God bless Daniel Schorr as he reaches his golden years of life. One only hopes there are other courageous men and women who will take his place.

What could be worse than trying to find words adequate to describe the memoir of one of the finest journalists this country (and perhaps Europe as well) has known? Anyone who laments the ratings competition... among the various news media today will find this book inspiring and refreshing, and perhaps shed a layer or two of their cynicism in the process. Schorr's career routinely landed him in the midst of incredibly historical circumstances, sometimes without his realizing the enduring importance of the situation. This book is a rare historical journey for anyone interested in current events. For this 48 year old reader, it was better than any history course I've ever taken. We would have more hope for a fair, accurate and trusted media if every journalist - and would be journalist - read this book. Thank you Mr. Schorr!

Before reading this book I already believed that Daniel Schorr was America's finest broadcast journalist. But my admiration has only increased. This book accomplishes what I had only hoped the memoirs of other famous broadcast journalists (e.g. Ted Koppel, Walter Cronkite, and David Brinkley) would.

Like those other journalists, Schorr has been very close to a remarkable number of the defining events of the last half century. But his writing seems harder-hitting, as much historical as journalistic, and he seems to be two levels deeper in understanding and perspective than they were in their books. I felt in the middle of the events with Schorr, not watching them at 30,000 feet. Perhaps it is the difference between the perspective of the man at the scene, compared to that of the anchorman. Schorr's immense knowledge of Nikita Khrushchev and (separately) of Richard Nixon are absolutely outstanding.

The book demands a lot from the reader. Not everything is told sequentially, and not all the background material is explained. Schorr seems to expect you to remember many of the events and issues yourself; his job is to add depth, perspective, and detail. Younger readers who don't remember the 50's, 60's, or 70's, will be challenged by the book. Those who do remember those decades, will be immensely impressed, educated, and enriched

Daniel Schorr's book about his life makes you crave for more people like him in journalism. It is refreshing to see another person of the news media community write about the decaying values of broadcasting.

I found it interesting that Daniel Schorr actually read his own name on Nixon's enemy list over the air upon seeing it for the first time. Yet, Schorr kept his professional composure by avoiding making himself the story, while being personally shaken, shocked and dismayed over it. This is what a true professional does when reporting to the public. The story is important not himself and Schorr did just that on that day. Today we have few Daniel Schorr's in news television.

At the same time, the press and media over the Clinton Impeachment crisis actually damaged themselves and our Republic far more than any kind of attack on first amendment rights. What was right in reporting on Nixon should never be ignored on Clinton. The public to this day no longer trust mainstream broadcasting due to this spinning cover up.

The mass media had far too many accomplices not reporting the truth in order to support a president who intentionally lied on TV and under oath to the American people. A Clinton's enemy list of actions and false spin without media challenge is far more sinister than a Nixon public exposed enemies lists. We can expose the known listings of people but it is the hidden agenda that is far more dangerous to our freedoms.

Additionally, the author confirms that TV Journalists are not particularly qualified as far as educational credentials to report the news. In the book he confirms that today's TV News Readers are hired based on their looks and delivery. We know this to be true by CNN recently hiring of a "B Movie Actress" who once posed nude to further her acting career. Does CNN really expects us to believe there are not many well qualified women with educational degrees and much more journalistic experience exists?

It gave me the reason why the O'Reilly Factor is so popular because O'Reilly did go back and acquired an Masters Degree at Harvard in order to discuss the issues for the better public edification. As opposed to the lack of real educational credentials of the three big networks News Readers. O'Reilly's rating are through the roof while Brohaw, Jennings and Rather are in steep decline. Schorr adds that today's "News Readers" are part of entertainment not real news.

What I found refreshing in the book is Schorr's candor, character and vision. He is telling us where he has been and what he felt as he reported events. He is conveying news entertainment can never preserve the public trust. In the future will the mass media be smart enough to tell us the truth or stupid enough to just accept the spin? We already know this answer based upon who is in broadcasting today. Schorr was an example of a fine past and hopefully O'Reilly is the future.

This is quite remarkable but then again Daniel Schorr is quite a remarkable man and dying breed of upright newsmen disappearing from the media. This genuine view of the life of a true professional who did the media proud over the years is worth your time to read it.