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Staying Tuned: A Life in Journalism by Daniel Schorr Rating: ••• (Recommended)
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60 Years Dan Schorr’s memoir, Staying Tuned, tells us a 350-page story of his 60 years working as a journalist, for CBS, CNN and NPR. His voice in this book resonates with how he sounds as a broadcaster. Here’s a sample: “I was in Little Rock because Gov. Orval Faubus was trying to reimpose segregation by legislative ruses. The schools remained closed while the U.S. Supreme Court considered the issue. President Eisenhower demanded that the schools be opened, but Faubus replied that they were being kept shut in the interests of law and order. During the tense standoff, I moderated a Face the Nation interview with the governor, who talked of reopening Central High School as a private facility. We got into an argument when I asked him whether he thought he had the right to interpret Supreme Court decisions as he pleased. He snapped back, ‘Mr. Schorr, do you mean to say that all citizens no longer have the right to an opinion or viewpoint of their own?’ In the end, I thanked Governor Faubus for his appearance and said it was time to ‘segregate you now from this panel.’ He didn’t even laugh.” The book is full of great Washington stories, and lots of conflict. You get the impression throughout the book that Schorr knew he was not universally loved, but would do everything possible to get a story, and shove anybody aside to get it, which made him a great journalist. Here’s a brief insight into life in Washington, and Schorr’s relationships: “Kissinger, who constantly inveighed against security leaks, clearly had no compunction about using leaks to strike back at his critics. I told the tale – in confidence, I thought – to Seymour Hersh. He embarrassed me severely by writing a story for the Times telling how Kissinger had used classified information for his own manipulative ends. No journalist likes to have a confidential source exposed – especially by a friend. It was my belief, apparently mistaken, that friends don’t blow each other’s confidential sources.” In Washington, that all part of the game. Staying Tuned is an interesting walk through the 20^th century by an escort who found himself in the middle of many significant events. Steve Hopkins, June 12, 2002
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