Roger Mudd

In his two-and-a-half-hour interview, Roger Mudd (1928-2021) describes working for a newspaper and in radio before transitioning to television news at CBS. He describes reporting at CBS in the 1960s, covering the Civil Rights Movement, JFK's assassination, and Capitol Hill. He recalls covering Bobby Kennedy's presidential bid, and standing next to Ethel Kennedy when her husband was killed. He talks of his work on the CBS documentaries Teddy and The Selling of the Pentagon, discusses filling in for Walter Cronkite as anchor of CBS Evening News, and learning that Dan Rather would be Cronkite's successor. Mudd then describes leaving CBS for NBC News, where he served as chief Washington correspondent and co-anchor with Tom Brokaw. He outlines teaching a seminar on politics and the press at Princeton University, describes his affiliation with The History Channel, and details writing his book, The Place to Be, which tells the tale of life at the Washington Bureau. He speaks of his views on ethics in journalism, shares where he was on 9/11, and offers advice to aspiring broadcast journalists. Karen Herman conducted the interview on November 18, 2011 in McLean, VA.