Anchoring America: The Changing Face of Network News

If you loved Howard and Harry, Chet and David, Uncle Walter, Dan or Peter or Tom, you'll love Anchoring America for bringing their broadcasting years to life on the page. But if you thought you knew them, think again. In Anchoring America, you'll see whole new sides to both the anchors you loved and the ones you hated. This book will show you the real people they were and the way they approached the job. Anchoring America covers 17 anchors in 17 smart profiles that show the evolution of the job and reveal the characters of the men and women who have sat behind the desk. Anchoring America will startle you as it explodes myths. You'll discover that "Uncle" Walter Cronkite, "the most trusted man in America, " was in fact the most relentless, demanding, and ruthless competitor who ever sat at an anchor desk. That the real New York "insider" was Barbara Walters. That the toughest corporate politician of them all was wry, warm Harry Reasoner. You'll learn about Edward R. Murrow and the shadow he cast over all of them--as Chuck Yeager was to The Right Stuff, so was Murrow to the anchors. If you thought the evening news would go on forever as is, you may be surprised. This book traces the decline of the anchors' influence since the 1970s and examines how the evening news will change when Jennings, Rather, and Brokaw retire. Above all, you'll see how the anchors have interpreted their role in bringing the news into our living rooms every night.