Richard Samuel Salant (April 14, 1914 – February 16, 1993) was a CBS executive from 1952 and president of the

CBS News CBS News is the news division of the American television and radio service CBS. CBS News television programs include the ''CBS Evening News'', ''CBS Mornings'', news magazine programs '' CBS News Sunday Morning'', '' 60 Minutes'', and '' 48 H ...

division from 1961 to 1964 and 1966–79. He was noted for the introduction of ''

60 Minutes ''60 Minutes'' is an American television news magazine broadcast on the CBS television network. Debuting in 1968, the program was created by Don Hewitt and Bill Leonard, who chose to set it apart from other news programs by using a unique styl ...

'' and the ''

CBS Morning News The ''CBS Morning News'' is an American early-morning news broadcast presented weekdays on the CBS television network. The program features late-breaking news stories, national weather forecasts and sports highlights. Since 2013, it has been an ...

'' and '' Sunday Morning'' programs during his tenure and for his quest to shape broadcast journalism integrity in the face of the industry's own tendency to emphasize entertainment content, and in the face of pushback from the

Nixon administration Richard Nixon's tenure as the List of presidents of the United States, 37th president of the United States began with First inauguration of Richard Nixon, his first inauguration on January 20, 1969, and ended when he resigned on August 9, 1974 ...

regarding unfavorable reporting on the conduct of the

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during the

Vietnam War The Vietnam War (also known by #Names, other names) was a conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. It was the second of the Indochina Wars and was officially fought between North Vie ...

era.

Early life and career

Salant was born in

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's borough of

Manhattan Manhattan (), known regionally as the City, is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the five boroughs of New York City. The borough is also coextensive with New York County, one of the original counties of the U.S. state ...

. He graduated from

Harvard University Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of higher le ...

in 1935 and

Harvard Law School Harvard Law School (Harvard Law or HLS) is the law school of Harvard University, a private research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1817, it is the oldest continuously operating law school in the United States. Each class ...

in 1938. In his early career, he was a lawyer for the

National Labor Relations Board The National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) is an independent agency of the federal government of the United States with responsibilities for enforcing U.S. labor law in relation to collective bargaining and unfair labor practices. Under the Natio ...

Washington, DC ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan ...

. Between 1940 and 1943, he held various posts in the

U.S. Department of Justice The United States Department of Justice (DOJ), also known as the Justice Department, is a federal executive department of the United States government tasked with the enforcement of federal law and administration of justice in the United State ...

. He joined the

U.S. Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage of ...

as a lieutenant commander during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

. Upon leaving the Navy, he joined the Manhattan law firm of Rosenman, Goldmark, Colin & Kaye and worked on behalf of the

Columbia Broadcasting System CBS Broadcasting Inc., commonly shortened to CBS, the abbreviation of its former legal name Columbia Broadcasting System, is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the CBS Entertainmen ...

as his client." Salant first married Rosalind Robb, whom he divorced. In 1953, he married the former Frances Trainer. Salant had three daughters, Linda, Susan, and Priscilla, plus a son, Robb, with his first wife. He had one daughter, Sarah, with his second wife.

Career with CBS

Salant's legal work for CBS led him to join that company in 1952 as a vice president. He represented CBS in hearings before the Federal Communications Commission and Congressional committees and headed the CBS legal team in litigation with RCA–NBC over which side would develop the standards and technology for color television. Although CBS lost the suit, he impressed the network's president, Frank Stanton, who influenced him to pursue broadcast journalism. Salant worked as Stanton's assistant for nine years and would become the president of the CBS News Division when Stanton appointed him to replace Sig Mickelson in February of 1961. Salant was president of CBS News from 1961 to 1964 and from 1966 to 1979. The ''New York Times'' credits him with raising professional standards and expanding news programming at CBS. During his tenure, CBS was the first network to expand its weeknight news report from 15 to 30 minutes. Under his leadership, CBS also introduced "60 Minutes" and the "CBS Morning News" and "Sunday Morning" programs. Salant's first major decision was to replace

Douglas Edwards Douglas Edwards (July 14, 1917 – October 13, 1990) was an American radio and television newscaster and correspondent who worked for the Columbia Broadcasting System (CBS) for more than four decades. After six years on CBS Radio in the 1940s ...

with

Walter Cronkite Walter Leland Cronkite Jr. (November 4, 1916 – July 17, 2009) was an American broadcast journalist who served as anchorman for the ''CBS Evening News'' for 19 years (1962–1981). During the 1960s and 1970s, he was often cited as "the mo ...

. At this time CBS was the only news station to have single anchors. His support of "60 Minutes" in 1968 was reluctant, since felt that this program money for more ambitious documentaries would be more cost-effective. Salant was a critical thinker regarding the news media's First Amendment rights and responsibilities. He broadcast the documentary "The Selling of the Pentagon," which "examined the military's manipulation of public opinion and the news media, including CBS". The

House Commerce Committee The Committee on Energy and Commerce is one of the oldest standing committees of the United States House of Representatives. Established in 1795, it has operated continuously—with various name changes and jurisdictional changes—for more than ...

subpoenaed Stanton, regarding this program, ordering him to provide copies of the outtakes and scripts from the documentary. Stanton refused, risking

contempt of Congress Contempt of Congress is the act of obstructing the work of the United States Congress or one of its committees. Historically, the bribery of a U.S. senator or U.S. representative was considered contempt of Congress. In modern times, contempt of Co ...

charges, claiming a "chilling effect" on

broadcast journalism Broadcast journalism is the field of news and journals which are broadcast by electronic methods instead of the older methods, such as printed newspapers and posters. It works on radio (via air, cable, and Internet), television (via air, cable, ...

that would result from compliance. Among Salant's other concerns during his tenure with CBS News were his concern that television news was becoming primarily an entertainment vehicle and the pressure that he felt from the White House via CBS president

William S. Paley William Samuel Paley (September 28, 1901 – October 26, 1990) was an American businessman, primarily involved in the media, and best known as the chief executive who built the Columbia Broadcasting System (CBS) from a small radio network into o ...

to fire

Daniel Schorr Daniel Louis Schorr (August 31, 1916 – July 23, 2010) was an American journalist who covered world news for more than 60 years. He was most recently a Senior News Analyst for National Public Radio (NPR). Schorr won three Emmy Awards for his te ...

for his reporting that reflected poorly on the administration of

Richard Nixon Richard Milhous Nixon (January 9, 1913April 22, 1994) was the 37th president of the United States, serving from 1969 to 1974. A member of the Republican Party, he previously served as a representative and senator from California and was ...

After CBS

In his book, ''Salant, CBS, and the Battle for the Soul of Broadcast Journalism: The Memoirs of Richard S Salant'', he cited Stanton's assessment upon his retirement that CBS had become so large that an individual broadcaster could no longer be in charge of decisions. The responsibilities for decisions became spread among many managers. Salant's challenges within management earned him a nickname, "the porcupine". The post-Stanton era was difficult for Salant because he had outstayed everyone that had come before him. The mandatory retirement policy of 65 required Salant to leave CBS. He had spent 27 years with CBS and 16 of them as the head of CBS News. He then moved to

NBC The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an Television in the United States, American English-language Commercial broadcasting, commercial television network, broadcast television and radio network. The flagship property of the NBC Enterta ...

to become vice chairman, but didn't feel positioned to make a mark there. He retired from broadcasting on April 30, 1983. He retained his interest in broadcasting after retirement when he was appointed president and chief executive officer of the

National News Council The National News Council (NNC) was a non-profit media watchdog organization. It investigated complaints of media bias and unfair reporting. The NNC formed in 1973 with a grant from the Twentieth Century Foundation, the Markle Foundation and other s ...

, a nonprofit organization dedicated to strengthening press freedom and advancement of the fairness and accuracy of journalism.

Recognition

* 1979: Paul White Award,

Radio Television Digital News Association The Radio Television Digital News Association (RTDNA, pronounced the same as " rotunda"), formerly the Radio-Television News Directors Association (RTNDA), is a United States-based membership organization of radio, television, and online news dire ...

References

External links

Bio: Museum of Broadcast Communications
{{DEFAULTSORT:Salant, Richard S.

American television executives American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, pe ...

1914 births 1993 deaths Presidents of CBS News 20th-century American Jews Harvard Law School alumni 20th-century American businesspeople 60 Minutes producers Harvard College alumni