The Camera Never Blinks: Adventures of a TV Journalist

The Camera Never Blinks #1

by Dan Rather, Mickey Herskowitz

Excellent Book

Genres: Journalism, Nonfiction, Biography, Autobiography, History, American History, Read For School

320 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1977

About the author

With a famed and storied career that has spanned more than six decades, Dan Rather has earned his place as one of the world’s best-known journalists. He has interviewed every president since Eisenhower and, over that time, personally covered almost every important dateline in the United States and around the world. Rather joined CBS News in 1962. He quickly rose through the ranks, and in 1981 he assumed the position of Anchor and Managing Editor of the CBS Evening News—a post he held for twenty-four years. His reporting across the network helped turn 60 Minutes into an institution, launched 48 Hours as an innovative news magazine program, and shaped countless specials and documentaries. Upon leaving CBS, Rather returned to the in-depth reporting he always loved, creating the Emmy Award winning Dan Rather Reports on HDNet. Now, building upon that foundation, he is president and CEO of News and Guts, an independent production company he founded that specializes in high-quality nonfiction content across a range of traditional and digital distribution channels.

Reviews

[Adam Nelson · Rating 4 out of 5]

About 8 years ago, my wife and I nurtured the idea of running a used bookstore someday. It never fully came to fruition. We sold stuff online for a while, but maintaining and updating stock became burdensome, and really I just wanted to read everything I had gotten my hands on. This memoir was one of them. I didn't realize at the time that it had been written so long ago, before I was born but after Rather had already had a considerable career. I had gotten to know him as the anchor of the CBS evening news, but I knew little of his work as a reporter. When I began this book, I didn't know if it would hold much interest for me because I thought it wasn't really the Rather I knew, but it turns out it's exactly the Rather I know. I used to think of him as a grumpy old man, but over time I realized he is merely a serious news man. No, he's not as warm and endearing as Walter Cronkite, but Rather is a different kind of news man. He was always there to deliver tough news with a serious face. I don't think I ever saw him crack a smile on the evening news. It just wasn't his way. Little did I know that he had been weathered and seasoned by a remarkable career already as a reporter. Here, he gives his experiences from his early days in the 50s on up. He talks about how coverage of Hurricane (forget the name) and how his groundbreaking live radar updates on the weather put him in the national spotlight. He talks about reporting from Dallas on the day Kennedy was shot (and supports what Stephen King later had to say about 1963 Dallas in 11/22/63). He also covers the Nixon years, which were some of the toughest of his career. It's an interesting snapshot of some of the most tumultuous events in our nation's history, very fascinating. And I think it should be a primer of what might be expected of a reporter who hopes to make a decent name for himself or herself in this business. I personally wouldn't have the fortitude, so I'm more than happy to read Rather's recollections. The pacing of the book flags somewhat in the final chapters, which are basically an extended epilogue summing up his career thus far: what he's learned, what he'd do differently, etc. I could have done with a little less summary, especially since I know that Rather's career past this point was still pretty remarkable and would bring plenty more notable experiences.

[Anup Sinha · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read this like an American history book for the third quarter of the 20th century from the eyes of a reporter. Since Dan Rather actually wrote this in 1977, it lent me even more authenticity about all the incredible events he covered and his perspective is quite informative. I find his own career path and upbringing to be fascinating as well. This is a great read if you want to hear another witness angle to events like Bay of Pigs, Vietnam, the JFK assassination, Watergate, etc. I was surprised to read that Rather is convinced that Lee Harvey Oswald acted alone, or at least he was when he wrote this in 1977. Rather had just started working for 60 Minutes at this time and was a few years away from replacing Walter Cronkite on the CBS Evening News, which of course would lead to a number of other events including his falling out with Cronkite and CBS. At the time of this book, however, he has all good things to say about both. His take on the growing medium of television is interesting and of course he was unaware of the upcoming cable revolution. I loved it and will look for more books of this genre in the future.

[Drew · Rating 3 out of 5]

Rather came on the scene at an interesting time for journalism. Radio was still a major player and TV news was still taking shape.
In the book, Rather details his early career and his experience covering a hurricane, the Nixon presidency, the civil rights movement, Kennedy's assassination and Vietnam.
Many of the events in the book are what encouraged an entire generation of journalists to take up the pen. Those events did more than just make the news, they made the newsmen celebrities in their own right.
I don't rank Rather with the journalism demigods and, after reading his book, still won't. But he was a great journalist nonetheless and any insight into this business is greatly appreciated on my part.

[Michael · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read this when I was about to suddenly enter the throes of a divorce I didn't see coming. That can mess with your memory, and ability to write things down when you are quite distracted. I don't remember if Goodreads was around then. I don't think it was.

At that time I was still in radio and could identify with the younger Dan Rather. We were both from Houston, both did play-by-play sportscasting, covered news, familiar with the same high schools and universities. It went on. I followed him pretty well until the time of his undoing at CBS and then saw him again some in his TV interview program. He is usually interesting and informative.

The book was pretty good, and it should've with co-author Mickey Herskowitz, one of my favorite Houston journalists and writers.

[Greg Snyder · Rating 4 out of 5]

I did enjoy the book. I wish h would have gotten into his being on the ground in Viet Nam. Most of the time he was just close to the action/history when it was happening and not in the middle of it.

[Cathy DuPont · Rating 4 out of 5]

In media at the time and nice fellow thought, I guess, that I had higher expectations. Really liked the book though and Rather was at the top of his game then.

[Alice Crouch · Rating 4 out of 5]

Much better as a television journalist I still enjoyed reading this book especially since Rather wrote it in the 70s.

[Michael Morrison · Rating 1 out of 5]

Important to read this and realize what a partisan propagandist Rather was. The open-minded reader will also learn what a racist he was, part of his partisanship. He is a dogged liar, still swearing, after all these years, that his dishonest reporting of George W. Bush's military record -- obviously a forgery to every rational person -- was true.
Earlier, when the hapless Nixon was president and wanting to give a speech demonstrating what a man he was, Nixon chose to not be sitting behind a desk, but standing.
He had one of the White House employees, a butler, I believe, standing just off camera holding a tray with a pitcher of water and a glass.
No one else thought anything of it, but next day, racist Rather brought up the butler's skin color!
Vicious partisanship in the "news" media is not new. Rather was a rather spectacular practitioner, but by no means the first or the last.

[BradMD · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm reading this for the second time in 2007. I probably read it the first time in the 1980s. It's good because it gives the inside story of the news business. And of course Dan Rather resigned or was fired from CBS in disgrace for the false documents about President George Bush and the National Guard, last year 2006, I think. And, it's even more interesting because this week, September 20, 2007 we find out that Dan Rather is suing his former employers for $70 million for making him the scapegoat over the fake document scandal. Great timing for my second reading of this book! It's good the second time around too.

[Bethany R. Rains · Rating 5 out of 5]

When I was 12, my grandmother lent me this book. It was the first time I realized that a kid from Houston could grow up and have a viewpoint people wanted to hear. It was the first time I realized that I wasn’t the only person who only felt sadness and fear and loss only after a crisis had passed. This might not seem like a big deal, but to 12 year old me, it was a revelation. I was always calm and entirely analytical in emergencies (including shootings), only feeling emotion days later... and I thought I was broken. When I read Dan Rather describing his reaction to crises the same way, I realized that not only was I not broken, but that maybe I had a strength that I could use when I grew up and started a career. I’m now a historian and activist. Dan Rather, through The Camera Never Blinks, was my first mentor.

[Nicholas Maulucci · Rating 4 out of 5]

Wow - I was surprised by this one. Excellent autobiography of Dan Rather.

[Maryjane Nordgren · Rating 5 out of 5]

Amazing, dedicated newsman