He Carter Home in Plains, Ga., While Rick While Waiting Outside the Carter House for Then -Vice -Presidential Kaplan (I), a CBS Producer, Gets a Shot of His Own
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Work and waft. In left photo, NBC News correspondent Judy Woodru f producer Justin Friedland and CBS correspondent Bill Plante play gin does a stand -up in front of the Carter home in Plains, Ga., while Rick while waiting outside the Carter house for then -vice -presidential Kaplan (I), a CBS producer, gets a shot of his own. At right, ABC News possibility John Glenn to emerge. Jimmy Carter as a man "who will say the speech was reported in the press, par- that came within inches of blocking a anything anywhere to be President of the ticularly in the areas to which that dis- transmission to New York. United States," and then some gorgeous cussion was addressed. As for the masses An afternoon in the Amtrak station in. pictures -all russets and reds and of voters reached by the networks in the Springfield, Ill., on the day following the yellows -of President Ford walking across urban areas, the attack of Jimmy Carter - Iowa State speech, when President Ford a sun -drenched cornfield with Marshall which seemed out of place in what was was whistle stopping through Illinois, King, the farm's owner. CBS's Bob otherwise a policy statement -would stick offers an example. The network crews had Schieffer, at the suggestion of editors in in the mind a great deal longer than the gotten pictures of the President in a num- New York, had added a sentence or two President's discussion of price supports. ber of rear -platform appearances and, about the political implications of the visit, (Whatever the networks did with it, in- from rented aircraft -CBS had an airplane, and Tom Jarriel, who had stumbled on a cidentally, the visit to Marshall King's the other networks, helicopters- pictures figure from the past who was visiting the farm provides a snapshot for the memory: of the train rolling south, and then had campus on a political mission of his own, There he was, President Ford, the leader broken off from the train to drive the 30 concluded with about 15 seconds on the of the free world, making a slow passage miles to Springfield, where the train was to faded glory of Senator George McGovern through a cornfield with Farmer King, arrive about three hours later. (Some (D- S.D.). There was nothing on the Presi- followed at a discreet distance by the press members of the crews rejoined the train dent's farm policy in either report. And pool, about 25 reporters and cameramen there; others chartered Lear jets for NBC chose not to use anything from taking notes and rolling tape. Along the transportation to St. Louis, the Ford par- Ames; it ran two pieces on the vice presi- road running past the field were the ubiq- ty's departure point for Washington.) The dential candidates instead. uitous press busses and, standing beside editing was to be done in the train's bag- Mr. Jarriel, who after eight years of them, the men and women who had piled gage room, where the editing equipment covering the White House, is being out to watch. And as they watched, they had been installed, and the producers and reassigned, discussed his piece the next heard a running commentary by a member correspondents had a good idea of the pic- day as the Ford campaign party rode the of the pool that was carried over the loud- tures they wanted; while on the train, they Honest Abe Special on a whistle -stop trip speakers on the buses: "I believe it has had screened on small monitors the tape through Illinois, south from Joliet to something to do with agriculture," the re- that had been rolled. The corre- Alton. Essentially, he did not think the porter said at one point, to the intense spondents -Bob Schieffer, Tom Jarriel farm policy remarks were new. "We're merriment of his audience. It was, as a and Bob Jamieson -found the room off after what is new," he says. "Something German correspondent among those on the rest rooms where the toilet paper was that is different, that shows the man under the road remarked, "almost Kafkaesque." stored to be an excellent announcer's the pressures of the campaign, how he is To their credit, CBS and ABC captured booth; the paper absorbed outside sound handling himself and the issues. If he has some of that feeling in their pieces.) beautifully. a new policy, it will get on television. But if But NBC's editing machine developed not, he's getting free television time for problems. The editing control unit did not something he only says is new." The Ames visit, as well as any cam- function properly. "It would edit before or The incident and the explanation have a paign event, helps illuminate the after we told it to," Tom Wolzien, one of place with other episodes in both cam- emergence of electronic coverage of news. NBC's field producers on the trip, recalls. paigns. Coverage of the blooper, the stum- Tape was used exclusively by the networks "At 6 p.m., that's not what we need" He ble, the embarrassment of a candidate in the campaigns and, combined with new and his colleagues managed to "override" over a misstatement or a forced retreat, the editing equipment, the logistical skills of the malfunction, however. "We hit a series sharp attack was justified on the ground networks in leapfrogging equipment from of buttons at the same time." And, since that, as ABC's Frank Reynolds says, "It place to place -an exercise that became in- they could not be certain that the voice tells us something about the candidate." creasingly tricky as the pace of the cam- track could be laid on the tape where it was There is, too, of course, the matter of paign picked up -and the willingness of intended, Mr. Jamieson did the narration competition. Referring to the flap that de- the networks to pay thousands of dollars live over an audio line to New York as he veloped over Jimmy Carter's retreat on the to AT &T to provide lines to connect their watched the pictures on the editing ma- question of whether, if elected, he would crews in the field with New York, it chine's monitor. fire Clarence Kelly as director of the FBI, proved, as NBC's Bob Jamieson said, "a That was not the only problem a net- Mr. Reynolds says, "What's network A liberating experience." Deadlines could be work had that day in Springfield. Before going to do -report on soy beans, and let moved back -a fact, CBS's Phil Jones ABC fed its tape to New York, a telephone network B have Kelley ?" noted, that campaign managers realized company technician, apparently believing But the Ames story indicates that the and began taking advantage of in schedul- ABC had completed its feed, disconnected candidate may not always lose in that kind ing events. But then there are the hair - its line -or "goodnighted us," as ABC's of journalism -that in fact he might even raising experiences producers and corre- producer on the spot, Ed Harris, puts it. play upon it. The farm policy discussion in spondents tell of the last- minute problems However, the ABC crew solved its problem Broadeaating Jan 3 1977 66 .