Word: stringer
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Dates: during 1980-1989
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...lose it. Last week Stringer, 44, was named president of CBS News, the third person to hold that post in less than a year. Last December Edward Joyce was ousted and replaced by his boss and predecessor, Van Gordon Sauter. Nine months later Sauter himself was forced out after Tisch wrested control of the company from then Chairman Thomas Wyman. The appointment of Stringer, a highly regarded 18-year veteran of CBS News, brought cheer to most staffers and may have finally signaled an end to a painful period of turmoil at TV's most prestigious news division...
Born in Wales and educated in England, Stringer started at CBS News as a researcher and soon became a producer of documentaries. As head of the CBS Reports unit, he oversaw acclaimed documentaries like the five-part series The Defense of the United States, as well as The Uncounted Enemy: A Vietnam Deception, the program that triggered a much publicized libel suit by General William Westmoreland. (Though Stringer did not have a major hand in the documentary, Westmoreland's lawyers revealed that in an off-the-record talk with a reporter he had voiced doubts about the objectivity...
...Stringer was named executive producer of the CBS Evening News with Dan Rather. During his tenure, the newscast was transformed with sprightly graphics, a faster pace and a de-emphasis on Washington news in favor of lighter stories and features from around the country. The change helped boost the ratings but was decried by some as violating CBS's "hard-news" traditions. Promoted to the division's No. 2 slot, Stringer championed West 57th, a magazine show that drew fire from traditionalists for its jazzy style and choice of stories...
...Stringer largely escaped the in-house criticism directed at Joyce and Sauter, partly because of his solid journalistic credentials and partly, some say, because of his skill at the corporate political game. In his campaign for the presidency, Stringer won the support of such key CBS News figures as Dan Rather, Bill Moyers and 60 Minutes Executive Producer Don Hewitt. He also sought the advice of two ex-CBS News presidents, Richard Salant and William Leonard, and Burton Benjamin, a longtime CBS News executive who retired last year. Benjamin, 69, had been offered the job of interim president but declined...
Colleagues praise Stringer as a talented producer and a bright, engaging man. He seems to have bridged the gap between CBS's Old Guard and younger staffers more eager for change. "Howard was the first choice of almost everyone I know," says Andrew Lack, executive producer of West 57th. "He will be good for morale." Says Washington Correspondent Phil Jones: "Stringer's a real newsman. We're all feeling good because we're convinced we're heading back to the CBS News of old." Accustomed to twelve-hour workdays, Stringer lives in Manhattan's Greenwich Village with his wife...