About
"I've made in speeches a reference to the fact that as each new day begins, the pages of a newspaper are totally blank. The screen on television is blank. And all day long, there are people fighting to change and shape and arrange to their benefit, what goes on there. It is the purpose and the challenge of the newsperson responsible to make sure that what goes on is fair and not just what others want us to say."
In his nearly three-and-a-half-hour interview, Julian Goodman (1922-2012) discusses his years as president of NBC (from 1966 to 1974). In addition, he talks about his start at NBC News, when he was a news writer for David Brinkley in 1945. Goodman recalls producing the coverage of important news events including President John F. Kennedy's assassination and funeral, the moon landing, the Civil Rights Movement, and the Vietnam War. He also describes his rise within NBC management, eventually serving as president and then chairman of the network. Michael Rosen conducted the interview on December 12, 1998 in Jupiter, FL.
Highlights
Julian Goodman on NBC's coverage of JFK's assassination and his opinion on TV's best shot ever
Julian Goodman on NBC's coverage of Lee Harvey Oswald's death - TV's first live murder
Julian Goodman on the second Kennedy-Nixon debate in Washington, D.C.
Julian Goodman on meeting a young Jim Henson at WRC NBC in Washington, D.C.
Julian Goodman on working on the first episode of Today
Full Interview
Chapter 1
On his early childhood in Kentucky; on hobbies; on thinking he'd be a newspaper-man
On working for his local newspaper; on how the Depression affected his family; on his college years
On serving in World War II; on moving to Washington, D.C. and his first exposure to broadcasting; on working for a subsidiary of the War Protection Bureau and writing precis
Chapter 2
On becoming a radio news writer for WRC, NBC in Washington, D.C.; on his first supervisor at NBC, David Brinkley; on meeting a young Jim Henson at the station; on writing for radio
On the NBC News Bureau in Washington, D.C.; on NBC being challenged by CBS News and Edward R. Murrow; on a rivalry between New York and Washington; on Pat Weaver
On attending George Washington University; on working the 1948 political convention in Philadelphia and radio's dominance over television
On becoming manager of news and special events for NBC Radio in D.C.; on watching Meet the Press when it debuted
Chapter 3
On covering the 1952 Presidential Convention and CBS dominating the coverage; on equipment used
On producing the public affairs shows Window on Washington and Comment; on NBC studios in the mid 1950s; on his duties as a news producer/director
On McCarthyism and the Hollywood Blacklist; on broadcasting Congressional Committee Hearings on radio
On Edward R. Murrow's See it Now episode on Senator McCarthy; on the debut of The Huntley-Brinkley Report; on the expansion of television news; on working on the first episode of Today
Chapter 4
On the first Presidential News Conference in 1955; on Robert Kintner joining NBC; on NBC being the first network to broadcast in color
On becoming Director of News and Public Affairs; on working with David Sarnoff; on documentary filmmaker Irving Gitlin joining NBC
On television news documentaries
On producing the second of the Kennedy-Nixon debates
Chapter 5
On observing the first Kennedy-Nixon debate in Chicago and prepping to produce the second debate; on the second debate in Washington, D.C.
On becoming VP of NBC News in 1961; on Instant News Specials
On NBC's electronic news service; on covering Bay of Pigs and the Cuban Missile Crisis; on expanding NBC Nightly News to 30 minutes
On on NBC's coverage of JFK's assassination; on CBS' Walter Cronkite announcing JFK's death, and on NBC's announcement of the same
Chapter 6
On coverage of JFK's assassination and Lee Harvey Oswald's death; on the 1964 California primary and the '64 Republican convention
On becoming President of NBC
On NBC interrupting a 1968 Jets football game to broadcast "Heidi"; on the death of NBC's Bill McAndrew and Reuven Frank becoming President of NBC News
On news coverage of the 1968 Democratic Convention; on NBC news coverage of the Vietnam War
Chapter 7
On NBC's coverage of the moon landing; on becoming Chairman of NBC; on leaving NBC in 1979 and serving on the boards of several companies, including Gannett and Gulf Oil
On the most important decisions he made at NBC - pairing Huntley and Brinkley, and getting the AFL contract for NBC; on significant events on television; on news integrity; on 24 hour news networks
On the future of networks and ratings; on his thoughts on colleagues from throughout the years