Goodnight David

NPR's Fresh Air aired a 1989 interview with David Brinkley this evening (evening here, adjust based on location). I'm really glad I heard it (quite by accident as usual). I didn't watch The Huntley-Brinkley Report all that much as a kid, being a big fan of Walter Cronkite over at CBS from about the time I entered kindergarten. Of course, as a kid, I didn't get to control what was watched either.

I never knew that he hated the signature sign-off between he and Chet Huntley ("Goodnight Chet, Goodnight David"). It was ordered by someone in the New York office and he initially fought it bitterly. It caught on and he eventually gave up fighting about it.

His reaction to the riots at the 1968 Chicago convention was rather amazing. He was frightened and shocked by the events at the convention and wondered on the air if he was in Chicago or Checkoslavakia.

By the time his run with John Chancellor was over, national news was already being turned into an entertainment event instead of solid reporting and commentary (clearly separated). CBS seemed to be the last hold out and they folded their tent in the early eighties. It's been mostly downhill ever since (CNN created it's own renaissance for a while, but it's been FOXified for a while now). The man who help create the format of national network news will be missed.

The Washington Post has a very good article on Brinkley running tomorrow.