The Library of American Broadcasting inducted 11 people, including Dick Clark, 60 Minutes correspondent Lesley Stahl and former NAB chairman Eddie Fritts, into its Giants of Broadcasting group today in New York. Other inductees were radio producer Norman Corwin, ABC News correspondent Sam Donaldson, radio personality Hal Jackson, television TV host Art Linkletter, TV star Rue McClanahan, soap opera auteur Agnes Nixon, TV/radio reporter Daniel Schorr and TV producer David L. Wolper.
Library of American Broadcasting Foundation President/CEO Donald West hosted the event at the Grand Hyatt, while CBS Sunday Morning anchor Charles Osgood was master of ceremonies. Public broadcasting legend Bill Baker saluted the deceased awardees.
The advanced ages of the 2010 crew was a recurring, if unspoken, theme of the luncheon. Four of the 11 were inducted posthumously, and others, including Clark and Corwin, were unable to travel and offered their appreciation via video.
Donaldson gave one of the more spirited speeches, crediting three people for helping him thrive in the news business: Jimmy Carter, Ronald Reagan and Roone Arledge.
Stahl credited Donaldson with pushing her when both tried to outreport each other from the White House for a decade.
She called working at 60 Minutes "the best job in broadcast journalism--maybe in all of journalism," and credited those behind the scenes for keeping the show fresh and important. "The real giants are the producers I work with," she said.
Via video, the 100-year-old Corwin vowed to fill his new glass bowl award with "some classy booze."
Amidst the tales of covering presidents, hosting treasured programs and creating monster hits like Roots, Fritts reminded those in the room of the important role broadcasters play in "covering local news in small-town America."
