Out of Thin Air: The Brief Wonderful Life of Network News

New York: Simon & Schuster, c1991. First Printing. Hardcover. 24 cm, 429 pages. Name and date written inside front board, minor staining to edges. Front board slightly weakened. Out of Thin Air is the story of the news behind the news. Studded with personal anecdotes, this is the inside story of the people and events that shaped the way TV reports the news. Frank gives readers a revealing look at how hit-or-miss the development of TV news was--and what a seat-of-the-pants adventure creating the news turned out to be. Agreeably sardonic reflections and recollections from a top broadcaster whose career in TV coincided with its emergence as a preeminent news medium. During his 38 globe-trotting years with the network, he wrote as well as produced a variety of news programs, including the Huntley-Brinkley Report, so-called instant specials, and a flock of prize-winning documentaries. In recounting the swift rise and subsequent fall of broadcast news in the context of his own experiences at NBC, Frank offers the equivalent of an anecdotal history of the post-WW II era. During its heyday, he argues, TV not only covered but also helped shape great events. With trashy infotainment shows now crowding the airwaves, the author concludes that TV has sold its birthright for a mess of pottage. A witty, illuminating memoir of the years when TV news was a hit-or-miss proposition. Reuven Frank (7 December 1920 – 5 February 2006) was an American broadcast news executive. Born in Montreal, Quebec, Israel Reuven Frank (he later dropped his first name) earned a bachelor's degree in social science at City College of New York. He served four years in the United States Army during World War II, rising to the rank of sergeant. After completing his studies at the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism, he worked for three years at the Newark Evening News as a reporter, rewrite man and night city editor. At the insistence of Gerald Green, he joined NBC News as a writer for the Camel News Caravan in 1950. Frank was a key figure in bringing television news out of the shadow of radio news by emphasizing the importance of visuals in telling stories. He paired Chet Huntley and David Brinkley for the first time to co-anchor NBC's coverage of the 1956 Democratic and Republican National Conventions. Later that same year, he created the groundbreaking Huntley-Brinkley Report, and was its producer until 1964. The national catchphrase "Good night, David" "Good night, Chet" was credited to Frank. Frank's documentaries included Emmy Award-winning report The Tunnel (1962) about the escape of 59 Germans through a passage under the Berlin Wall. It received the Emmy Award for program of the year, the only documentary ever so honored. In the 1970s, he created and was executive producer of Weekend, a news magazine hosted by Lloyd Dobyns that originally aired one Saturday a month from 11:30 p.m. to 1:00 a.m. The program received a Peabody award. Linda Ellerbee later joined as co-host. Frank served two tenures as president of NBC News, from 1968 to 1974 and from 1982 to 1984, and mentored such journalists as Tom Brokaw, John Chancellor, Linda Ellerbee, and Andrea Mitchell. His memoir, Out of Thin Air: The Brief Wonderful Life of Network News, was published in 1991. Condition: good / good.

Keywords: Television, Network News, Newscasters, Broadcasting, Journalism, David Brinkley, Dwight Eisenhower, Walter Cronkite, Vietnam, Chet Huntley, John Chancellor, Linda Ellerbee, Andrea Mitchell, Tom Brokaw

ISBN: 0671677586

[Book #16562]

Price: $35.00

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