Wade Bingham

Cameraman

The Academy of Television Arts & Sciences Foundation Presents

02:26

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About

About this interview

In his nearly six-hour Archive interview, Wade Bingham discusses his 43-year association with CBS News as a cameraman. He talks in detail about his work with Telenews which provided footage for the CBS evening newscast with Douglas Edwards in the 1950s. Bingham describes the many changes in camera equipment and techniques from the field through the years, as he covered Korea (1950-53), the coronation of Queen Elizabeth II (1953), the French involvement in Vietnam (1953-56), and Tokyo and Asia (1956-61). Bingham details his extensive work on the CBS news and documentary series Small World, The Twentieth Century, CBS Reports, and 60 Minutes, as well as various documentary specials. Michael Rosen conducted the interview on May 8, 2000 in Osprey, FL.

"The biggest change during my career has been the way cameramen and other people at my level are treated. It went from 'We’re delighted to have you, what do you need?' to 'Oh, you again?' The public perception of my working level has taken almost a 180 degree turn."

People Talking About ...

Wade Bingham

Highlights

Wade Bingham on Edward R. Murrow bringing See it Now to Korea during the Korean War

Wade Bingham on the 60 Minutes profile of Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton

Wade Bingham on shooting a hydrogen bomb test

Wade Bingham on deciding he wanted to be a newsreel cameraman

Wade Bingham on shooting an interview with the Dalai Lama in India

Wade Bingham on the different production companies to which he provided newsreel footage, and on the logistics of shooting that footage

Full Interview

Chapter 1

On his early life and influences; on growing up during the Great Depression; on deciding he wanted to be a newsreel cameraman

On the types of films he made as a child, and on making training films during World War II; on learning the basics of filmmaking

Chapter 2

On setting up a filming studio in Florida after World War II, and on the technical equipment he used; on using his studio in Florida to produce newsreels, and on the camera equipment he used; on the different production companies to which he provided newsreel footage, and on the logistics of shooting that footage

On shooting newsreel footage in Haiti and Cuba; on shooting newsreel footage in Kenya, and on shooting with sound; on his earliest memories of television, and on joining CBS News

Chapter 3

On covering the Korean War for CBS News; on covering the Battle of Chongju and other battles during the Korean War

On covering the firing of General Douglas MacArthur during the Korean War for CBS News; on his most memorable moments covering the Korean War for CBS News

Chapter 4

On memorable moments shooting the Korean War for CBS News; on Edward R. Murrow bringing See it Now to Korea during the Korean War; on shooting the coronation of Queen Elizabeth II for CBS News

On competing with other news organizations during the Korean War, and on bringing sound to his footage of it; on covering the French involvement in Vietnam, which was a precursor to the Vietnam War

Chapter 5

On covering the early stages of the Vietnam War for CBS News; on covering China's Taiwan Straits Crisis for CBS News

On covering the opium trade of Burma and Laos for CBS News; on covering the Suez Crisis in 1956

Chapter 6

On shooting the Edward R. Murrow series Small World, one of the first intercontinental broadcasts; on covering Soviet Premier Nikita Khrushchev's visit to Indonesia in 1960; on working with CBS News correspondents and producers when shooting a story

On shooting an interview with the Dalai Lama in India; on shooting a hydrogen bomb test

Chapter 7

On shooting an hydrogen bomb test for CBS News; on shooting the CBS News series The Twentieth Century, covering the youth upheaval in Japan

On shooting the CBS News series CBS Reports with anchor Edward R. Murrow and producer Fred Friendly; on the job of a camera operator/cinematographer on a news program or documentary series

Chapter 8

On shooting The Twentieth Century episode "The Burma Surgeon Today"; on shooting the two-part The Twentieth Century episode "Guerrilla"

On shooting The Twentieth Century episode "The Man Who Spied on Pearl Harbor"; on shooting CBS Reports episode "Showdown on the Congo"

Chapter 9

On The Twentieth Century episode "Man of the Month: Dr. Michael Ellis DeBakey"; on the CBS Reports episodes "The Poisoned Air" and "The Eric Hoffer Story"; on starting to use multiple cameras for news stories

On Walter Cronkite hosting The Twentieth Century and The Twenty-First Century; on going to work for 60 Minutes and on the 60 Minutes close-up

On working with Marion Goldin and various other behind-the-scenes people at 60 Minutes; on 60 Minutes executive producer Don Hewitt; on working with Mike Wallace on 60 Minutes

Chapter 10

On the correspondents of 60 Minutes including Morley Safer, Harry Reasoner, Diane Sawyer, Ed Bradley, and Dan Rather

On the 60 Minutes Gulf of Tonkin story reported by Harry Reasoner; on the CBS Reports story "The Mexican Connection"

Chapter 11

On the second part of the CBS Reports "Mexican Connection" story; on the 60 Minutes profile of Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton; on the 60 Minutes profile of James Michener reported by Diane Sawyer

On the 60 Minutes story about Hawaiian Airlines; on his retirement from 60 Minutes, and on the show's change from using film to using videotape; on how the methods of reporting stories changed over the years

Chapter 12

On how the perception of network news changed over the course of his career; on the benefits provided to the country by network news; on how he'd like to be remembered

On b-roll footage from his career- Matthew B. Ridgeway in Tokyo; Japanese spy Takeo Yoshikawa; on a Navy boat on Pearl Harbor; at an H-Bomb test; H-Bomb mushroom cloud; in Korea with General Matthew B. Ridgeway; press corps in Korea; filming in Hong Kong with reporter Robert Pierpoint; his camera; cover of "Quill" magazine; Nikita Khrushchev playing golf; with his camera; filming at a port for The Twentieth Century; filming The Twentieth Century in Japan; the Geisha the Japan; in Indonesia; in Vietnam with Morley Safer; in Vietnam at an airport; James Michener and "Bloody Mary"; cartoon from "Stars & Stripes" about Korea

Chapter 13

On b-roll pictures from his career- on the USS Aircraft carrier Boxer; walking with Vietnamese patrol; "fake" Master of Arts degree

Shows

60 Minutes

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Wade Bingham on going to work for 60 Minutes and on the 60 Minutes close up and ambush interview

Wade Bingham on 60 Minutes executive producer Don Hewitt

Wade Bingham on working with Mike Wallace on 60 Minutes

Wade Bingham on working with Marion Goldin and various other behind the scenes people at 60 Minutes

Wade Bingham on the correspondents of 60 Minutes including Morley Safer, Harry Reasoner, Diane Sawyer, Ed Bradley, and Dan Rather

Wade Bingham on the 60 Minutes story on fake universities produced by Marion Goldin and reported by Mike Wallace

Wade Bingham on the 60 Minutes Gulf of Tonkin story reported by Harry Reasoner

Wade Bingham on the 60 Minutes profile of Henry Kissinger

Wade Bingham on the 60 Minutes profile of Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton

Wade Bingham on the 60 Minutes profile of James Michener reported by Diane Sawyer

Wade Bingham on the 60 Minutes story about Hawaiian Airlines

Wade Bingham on his retirement from 60 Minutes, and on the show's change from using film to using videotape

CBS Reports

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Wade Bingham on shooting the CBS News series CBS Reports with anchor Edward R. Murrow and producer Fred Friendly

Wade Bingham on shooting CBS Reports episode "Showdown on the Congo"

Wade Bingham on the CBS Reports episodes "The Poisoned Air" and "The Eric Hoffer Story"

Wade Bingham on the CBS Reports story "The Mexican Connection"

Wade Bingham on the second part of the CBS Reports "Mexican Connection" story

See It Now

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Wade Bingham on Edward R. Murrow bringing See it Now to Korea during the Korean War

Small World

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Wade Bingham on shooting the Edward R. Murrow series Small World, one of the first intercontinental broadcasts

Twentieth Century, The

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Wade Bingham on shooting the CBS News series The Twentieth Century, covering the youth upheaval in Japan

Wade Bingham on shooting The Twentieth Century episode "The Burma Surgeon Today"

Wade Bingham on shooting the two-part The Twentieth Century episode "Guerrilla"

Wade Bingham on shooting The Twentieth Century episode "The Man Who Spied on Pearl Harbor"

Wade Bingham on Walter Cronkite hosting The Twentieth Century and The Twenty-First Century

Wade Bingham on The Twentieth Century episode "Man of the Month: Dr. Michael Ellis DeBakey"

Topics

Cold War

View Topic

Wade Bingham on shooting a hydrogen bomb test

Wade Bingham on covering Soviet Premier Nikita Khrushchev's visit to Indonesia in 1960

Wade Bingham on shooting an hydrogen bomb test for CBS News

Historic Events and Social Change

View Topic

Wade Bingham on the types of films he made as a child, and on making training films during World War II

Wade Bingham on covering the Korean War for CBS News

Wade Bingham on covering the Battle of Chongju and other battles during the Korean War

Wade Bingham on covering the firing of General Douglas MacArthur during the Korean War for CBS News

Wade Bingham on his most memorable moments covering the Korean War for CBS News

Wade Bingham on memorable moments shooting the Korean War for CBS News

Wade Bingham on Edward R. Murrow bringing See it Now to Korea during the Korean War

Wade Bingham on shooting the coronation of Queen Elizabeth II for CBS News

Wade Bingham on competing with other news organizations during the Korean War, and on bringing sound to his footage of it

Wade Bingham on covering the French involvement in Vietnam, which was a precursor to the Vietnam War

Wade Bingham on covering the early stages of the Vietnam War for CBS News

Wade Bingham on covering China's Taiwan Straits Crisis for CBS News

Wade Bingham on covering the opium trade of Burma and Laos for CBS News

Wade Bingham on covering the Suez Crisis in 1956

Wade Bingham on shooting a hydrogen bomb test

Wade Bingham on covering Soviet Premier Nikita Khrushchev's visit to Indonesia in 1960

Wade Bingham on shooting an hydrogen bomb test for CBS News

Korean War

View Topic

Wade Bingham on covering the Korean War for CBS News

Wade Bingham on covering the Battle of Chongju and other battles during the Korean War

Wade Bingham on covering the firing of General Douglas MacArthur during the Korean War for CBS News

Wade Bingham on his most memorable moments covering the Korean War for CBS News

Wade Bingham on memorable moments shooting the Korean War for CBS News

Wade Bingham on Edward R. Murrow bringing See it Now to Korea during the Korean War

Wade Bingham on competing with other news organizations during the Korean War, and on bringing sound to his footage of it

Queen Elizabeth Coronation

View Topic

Wade Bingham on shooting the coronation of Queen Elizabeth II for CBS News

Technological Innovation

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Wade Bingham on shooting the Edward R. Murrow series Small World, one of the first intercontinental broadcasts

Television Industry

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Wade Bingham on how the methods of reporting stories changed over the years

Wade Bingham on how the perception of network news changed over the course of his career

Wade Bingham on the benefits provided to the country by network news

Vietnam War

View Topic

Wade Bingham on covering the French involvement in Vietnam, which was a precursor to the Vietnam War

Wade Bingham on covering the early stages of the Vietnam War for CBS News

War