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Lutz Author Signs Off On Chet Huntley Book

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By WALT BELCHER

wbelcher@tampatrib.com

Published: October 26, 2008

LUTZ - When anchor Chet Huntley left NBC in 1970, he told viewers to "be patient and have courage, for there will be better and happier news one day if we work at it."

We're still working at it, and with each passing year, there are fewer people who remember when the stoic Huntley and his acerbic co-anchor, David Brinkley, were the most popular newscasters on television.

"The Huntley-Brinkley Report," which ran on NBC from 1956 to 1970, featured this tag team with their trademark sign-off:

"Good night, Chet."

"Good night, David."

"Their glory days were the late 1950s and early 1960s, especially their pioneering coverage of the 1960 and '64 presidential elections," says Mark Weisenmiller, an author, essayist and freelance journalist who has written a book about Huntley.

"Chet Huntley: Newscaster From the West" (Alka Press, $15.98) arrives just as the 2008 presidential campaign is at a fever pitch.

"I think it's fascinating to see how far television coverage has come," says Weisenmiller. "There certainly are more bells and whistles now, such as bigger and better graphics, and the pace is a lot faster. But I'm not sure that the anchors today are as trusted and respected as Huntley and Brinkley were."

Weisenmiller says the book also is a short history of the evolution of television news. Their evening newscast was innovative because the program cut back and forth between Huntley in New York and Brinkley in Washington.

Each developed a personal style of delivery. Brinkley added a touch of sarcasm and dry wit to his short, pithy sentences. Huntley was somber and often eloquent.

"Brinkley is considered probably the greatest writer of television news ever, but Huntley also could write reams of lyrical prose," says Weisenmiller, who studied scripts from the newscasts. "Sadly, most of their newscasts were not saved, and I could find nothing before 1968."

Weisenmiller, 44, who lives in Lutz, is a contributor to magazines such as Reason and The Economist. He has distinct memories of growing up in western Pennsylvania, where his family sat in front of the TV watching Huntley and Brinkley.

Born in Montana in 1911, Huntley grew up on a farm where he was shaped by the Depression era, as well as rural, Western values and hard work. He remained a cowboy at heart and kept a Winchester rifle and two brass spittoons in his NBC New York office.

Weisenmiller says the two were co-workers and respectful colleagues, but because they lived and worked in different cities, they were not close friends. Off-camera, Brinkley was shy and Huntley was a loner who liked to end the day with a stiff shot of Scotch. They stayed on top of the ratings until CBS' Walter Cronkite surpassed them in the late 1960s.

The book goes into much detail about how their newscasts, convention coverage and election-night coverage were produced. Weisenmiller describes Huntley as a social liberal and a fiscal conservative.

The book points out several times at which Huntley delivered special commentaries, such as one in 1963 following the assassination of President John F. Kennedy. It can be seen on YouTube (www.you tube.com/watch?v=AX7B Chan-xg).

Huntley retired in 1970 to pursue his many business interests. He and Brinkley were among the highest-paid newscasters of their day. Huntley moved to Montana, where he continued to produce syndicated radio commentaries. He also developed the 15,000-acre Big Sky Resort.

A chain smoker throughout his adult life, Huntley died from lung cancer in 1974 at age 62. (Brinkley was 82 when he died in 2003 as a result of complications from a fall.)

"My book is more than just a biography," Weisenmiller notes. "At the end of each chapter, I have included 'life lessons' drawn from Huntley's experiences."

Find out more at www.alka pressinternational.com or call 1-800-442-3170.

Reporter Walt Belcher can be reached at (813) 259-7654.

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