Air Time

by Gary Paul Gates

Red Cloth Hardbound with Gold Imprinting

Hardcover

Published January 1, 1978

About the author

Gary Paul Gates is recognized for his accomplished career as a journalist.
A week after graduating, he went to work for United Press International. After that—and a brief foray in freelance magazine writing—he responded to the siren song of television. He signed on to CBS News in the fall of 1969, where he scripted broadcasts anchored by Walter Cronkite, Harry Reasoner, Mike Wallace, Roger Mudd, and Dan Rather, among others.
In 1973, he left to work with Dan Rather on The Palace Guard, a New York Times Best Seller on the inner workings of the Nixon White House. Other books followed, including Air Time – The Inside Story of CBS News; Close Encounters, a biographical collaboration with Mike Wallace; and The Acting President with Bob Schieffer on the Reagan White House. Gates also took on TV assignments, including writing and producing for ABC News, CBS Sports, and ESPN.
Late in his career, Gates helped launch the official website for CBS News and wrote about politics until the spring of 2001. His most recent endeavor has been a column for his local newspaper, The Shelter Island Reporter.

Reviews

[Howard Brooks · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a very good book, very interesting and entertaining, about CBS News in the 1060s. CBS was, truly, like a bottle full of scorpions. Cronkite, Mudd, Rather, Reasoner: they're all here. If you're a fan of the big news organizations in the 1960s, you will find this book to be a joy to read.

[John L · Rating 5 out of 5]

Born in 1947, I grew up watching these newscasters, commentators and anchormen come of age, develop their styles, rise to prominence, and then disappear. This very well-written behind the scenes look at CBS news is a fascinating and compelling book, filled with humor, conflicts, successes and failures.
Highly recommended for septuagenarians and older!