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CNN Live Today

Veteran TV Journalist David Brinkley Dies at Age 82

Aired June 12, 2003 - 11:17   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.


LEON HARRIS, CNN ANCHOR: We look back now at a life well-lived. Veteran newsman David Brinkley has died. We learned this morning he died in Houston, where he has been living. As we understand, he died of complications from a fall.
Our Jeff Greenfield joins us now from New York to talk about the passing of David Brinkley.

Quite a sad event, David Brinkley having been in this business for decades and setting an incredible standard -- Jeff.

JEFF GREENFIELD, CNN SENIOR ANALYST: David Brinkley actually was one of the most significant figures, I think, in television journalism. In 1956, he and Chet Huntley were teamed together to cover the national conventions, which back then were generally significant stories. We didn't know who the presidential nominees were going to be.

And what Brinkley brought to the table was a very piffy (ph), often called dry-rise style. He looked for the off-beat, the amusing little details that humanized politics. And he talked in that kind of, not exactly sarcastic, but ironic way in contrast to a lot of other journalists who always talked like they were from Mt. Olympus preaching.

And that began a tremendously successful run. They became the co-anchors of the "Huntley-Brinkley Report." They became nationally famous for their sign off, "Goodnight Chet; Goodnight, David," which they both hated.

And that run ended -- until that run ended, they were dominant. Walter Cronkite didn't become Mr. Television News until after that.

And even more remarkably, when NBC officials thought Brinkley was over the hill, Roone Arledge of ABC News hired Brinkley, brought him over in 1981 or '82, and changed the face of Sunday morning television to hour-long shows with panels.

So, Brinkley was absolutely a significant figure, one of the best writers for the ear we have ever had in network television news.

HARRIS: I can't argue with you on that point. Let me ask you, though, this: Would you think it's overstating the point to say that perhaps you could create him as being maybe one of the creators of television news? Because before him, there was none like him, and it seemed as though he just happened to be there at the beginning when television was actually first introduced to the mass audiences. And to have been with the institution as long as he has and to have occupied a place in the pantheon as he has this entire time for his entire career practically, I can't see how anyone else could really play the same role that we have seen him play over the decades.

GREENFIELD: No, I think that's right. I think the sheer -- first of all, the sheer length of his run. I mean, he actually joined NBC News before he became a co-anchor, but he became famous in 1956 and he was still famous 41 years later, I believe, as the anchor of "This Week With David Brinkley," which was the dominant Sunday morning show. I mean, "Meet the Press" didn't become No. 1 until after Brinkley stepped down.

So, you have two completely different shows on two different networks -- "The Nightly News" or the "Huntley-Brinkley Report," and "This Week With Brinkley" -- in which as long as he was around he was the key figure. People liked him. They felt they could relate to him. As I say, he was a little less Olympian...

HARRIS: Yes.

GREENFIELD: ... than the style of a lot of anchors back then. He was like Westbrook Van Vorgis (ph) of the old radio and time marches on. We are telling you what's going on and you will believe us. And Brinkley loved the kind of more offbeat, more human side. And it was -- if I may be a little profane, it was one hell of a run that we may not ever see again.

HARRIS: Yes, and here's what strikes me after having heard you say all of that. He -- you can quote him, he says this in his own autobiography -- he doesn't think that he would get hired. If he went to get that same job today, he couldn't get hired on television.

GREENFIELD: Well, in all honesty, Leon, that last question eluded me because of some audio problems.

HARRIS: Oh, I'm sorry. Here's my final thought on that, Jeff, is the fact after having you heard you say all that you just said about him, doesn't it strike you, you know, as saying something that David Brinkley himself didn't think that he could get hired in television today if he were looking for a job in this business?

GREENFIELD: Ah, that raises some very interesting questions about whether Brinkley wouldn't be considered telegenic enough, although he was certainly an appealing personality. But, you know, one famous newsman once said of his boss, this guy knows good writing when he sees it and he wants no part of it on his program. As much as Brinkley was a personality, his very special gift, as I mentioned earlier, was to write for the ear. There are a handful of people in the five or six-decade history of television news who were masters. Brinkley was one of them, the late Charles Kuralt was one of them, Charles Osgood -- I can think of a couple more who are around today that I won't embarrass by omission.

But this guy knew how to speak to people in language they could understand, and that is a rare gift that no, you know, television coach or a bunch of focus-group executives can teach. He was an original.

HARRIS: And I think the message for all of us this morning is that, folks, when you hear that, you recognize it, enjoy it while you have it. Jeff Greenfield, thank you.

GREENFIELD: OK.

HARRIS: Appreciate it as always. Take care.

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com.






Aired June 12, 2003 - 11:17   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
LEON HARRIS, CNN ANCHOR: We look back now at a life well-lived. Veteran newsman David Brinkley has died. We learned this morning he died in Houston, where he has been living. As we understand, he died of complications from a fall.
Our Jeff Greenfield joins us now from New York to talk about the passing of David Brinkley.

Quite a sad event, David Brinkley having been in this business for decades and setting an incredible standard -- Jeff.

JEFF GREENFIELD, CNN SENIOR ANALYST: David Brinkley actually was one of the most significant figures, I think, in television journalism. In 1956, he and Chet Huntley were teamed together to cover the national conventions, which back then were generally significant stories. We didn't know who the presidential nominees were going to be.

And what Brinkley brought to the table was a very piffy (ph), often called dry-rise style. He looked for the off-beat, the amusing little details that humanized politics. And he talked in that kind of, not exactly sarcastic, but ironic way in contrast to a lot of other journalists who always talked like they were from Mt. Olympus preaching.

And that began a tremendously successful run. They became the co-anchors of the "Huntley-Brinkley Report." They became nationally famous for their sign off, "Goodnight Chet; Goodnight, David," which they both hated.

And that run ended -- until that run ended, they were dominant. Walter Cronkite didn't become Mr. Television News until after that.

And even more remarkably, when NBC officials thought Brinkley was over the hill, Roone Arledge of ABC News hired Brinkley, brought him over in 1981 or '82, and changed the face of Sunday morning television to hour-long shows with panels.

So, Brinkley was absolutely a significant figure, one of the best writers for the ear we have ever had in network television news.

HARRIS: I can't argue with you on that point. Let me ask you, though, this: Would you think it's overstating the point to say that perhaps you could create him as being maybe one of the creators of television news? Because before him, there was none like him, and it seemed as though he just happened to be there at the beginning when television was actually first introduced to the mass audiences. And to have been with the institution as long as he has and to have occupied a place in the pantheon as he has this entire time for his entire career practically, I can't see how anyone else could really play the same role that we have seen him play over the decades.

GREENFIELD: No, I think that's right. I think the sheer -- first of all, the sheer length of his run. I mean, he actually joined NBC News before he became a co-anchor, but he became famous in 1956 and he was still famous 41 years later, I believe, as the anchor of "This Week With David Brinkley," which was the dominant Sunday morning show. I mean, "Meet the Press" didn't become No. 1 until after Brinkley stepped down.

So, you have two completely different shows on two different networks -- "The Nightly News" or the "Huntley-Brinkley Report," and "This Week With Brinkley" -- in which as long as he was around he was the key figure. People liked him. They felt they could relate to him. As I say, he was a little less Olympian...

HARRIS: Yes.

GREENFIELD: ... than the style of a lot of anchors back then. He was like Westbrook Van Vorgis (ph) of the old radio and time marches on. We are telling you what's going on and you will believe us. And Brinkley loved the kind of more offbeat, more human side. And it was -- if I may be a little profane, it was one hell of a run that we may not ever see again.

HARRIS: Yes, and here's what strikes me after having heard you say all of that. He -- you can quote him, he says this in his own autobiography -- he doesn't think that he would get hired. If he went to get that same job today, he couldn't get hired on television.

GREENFIELD: Well, in all honesty, Leon, that last question eluded me because of some audio problems.

HARRIS: Oh, I'm sorry. Here's my final thought on that, Jeff, is the fact after having you heard you say all that you just said about him, doesn't it strike you, you know, as saying something that David Brinkley himself didn't think that he could get hired in television today if he were looking for a job in this business?

GREENFIELD: Ah, that raises some very interesting questions about whether Brinkley wouldn't be considered telegenic enough, although he was certainly an appealing personality. But, you know, one famous newsman once said of his boss, this guy knows good writing when he sees it and he wants no part of it on his program. As much as Brinkley was a personality, his very special gift, as I mentioned earlier, was to write for the ear. There are a handful of people in the five or six-decade history of television news who were masters. Brinkley was one of them, the late Charles Kuralt was one of them, Charles Osgood -- I can think of a couple more who are around today that I won't embarrass by omission.

But this guy knew how to speak to people in language they could understand, and that is a rare gift that no, you know, television coach or a bunch of focus-group executives can teach. He was an original.

HARRIS: And I think the message for all of us this morning is that, folks, when you hear that, you recognize it, enjoy it while you have it. Jeff Greenfield, thank you.

GREENFIELD: OK.

HARRIS: Appreciate it as always. Take care.

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com.