Count Bob Schieffer among those who thinks blogs give the mainstream media a bad name.
"They are practicing journalism, but it's not journalism," Schieffer said to New York Press Club members during his February appearance that inaugurated the Club's "Living Legends" Series.
"Often they fail to meet the standards of journalism, and sometimes what they put out there is totally untrue. But once it's out there it's hard to take back. And the mainstream media usually gets the blame."
During the 9/11 attacks, the longtime CBS
Face The Nation moderator recalled network staff having to spend too much time knocking down false Internet rumors instead of reporting the news. And during last fall's presidential campaign, Schieffer said, the media was falsely accused of perpetuating hearsay and unflattering news about Republican vice presidential candidate Gov. Sarah Palin and her family.
"Ninety-nine percent of the mainstream media is trying to get the story right without any ax to grind," Schieffer said. "But nowadays you can get the news served to you any way you want. We are bombarded by so much information that you really have to get your news from more than one source."
At 71-years-old, the longtime political reporter has covered every major beat in Washington. His career began modestly in radio and newspapers covering car crashes, robberies, murders and other unsavory topics. Since then he's reported the Vietnam War, the 9/11 attacks and covered the White House, Capitol Hill, the State Department and the Pentagon. Schieffer has witnessed countless events that have shaped the American political landscape. He's covered the triumphs of innumerable politicians — and their many disgraces.
But the biggest story he ever landed, he said, was on Nov. 22, 1963, the day President John F. Kennedy was assassinated in Dallas. Then a 26-year-old cub reporter with the Fort Worth Star-Telegram, Schieffer slept-in that day after a late night covering the police beat.
When he awoke and learned about the shooting he rushed to the office to pitch in.
"It was bedlam," Schieffer said of the newsroom. "And phones were ringing off the hook."
He recalled reaching for a random phone and on the other end was a woman who needed a ride to Dallas. He thought it was just some crazy caller who thought the paper was running a taxi service. Schieffer was about to hang up on her, but the woman kept talking.
She claimed to be the mother of Lee Harvey Oswald and Schieffer immediately knew he had a big story. He told Ms. Oswald he was on the way, and then ordered her not to answer her phone again under any circumstances "in the name of national security." Schieffer wanted to protect his scoop.
He convinced the paper's automotive reporter to ferry him to the house, and on their way to Dallas, Schieffer interviewed the accused assassin's mother. No other reporter got to her for weeks.
"It's probably the biggest story of my career," he said. "So the lesson is this: when the phone rings, answer it. It drives my wife crazy."
Schieffer also said that after 52 years in the business he doesn't get nervous about sitting in front of a television camera. But minutes before going live before the 2004 presidential debate between Sen. John Kerry and President George W. Bush something unusual happened.
"I got butterflies," Schieffer said. "I thought, 'this could decide the presidency.'"
Months after the election, Schieffer privately asked President Bush if he also had butterflies that night. "Well, hell yes I did," Bush deadpanned to Schieffer.
The way Schieffer sees it, that debate proves journalism is still providing a necessary public service, despite the charges of bias, the economic recession and the countless layoffs plaguing the industry.
"There will always be a need for accurate information, so I think journalists are going to be around for awhile," he said. "We're an industry in transition. We're changing. But what form that will take? I don't think anyone can say right now."
Bob Schieffer’s perspectives on more than 40 years in the news business are related in his latest book, "Bob Schieffer’s America." The book includes 171 of Schieffer’s commentaries on subjects such as “How Washington Works – and Doesn’t,” the bombing of the Oklahoma City federal building and waiting for the Supreme Court to decide the outcome of the 2000 election.
For more information on Face the Nation go to the CBS News Website.
