Obit. Page #8

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in the second, third, and fourth graf.

This is just a really quick web version,

we will make it better by the end of the day.

Or even before, or even before, right, Elizabeth?

Even before the end of the day

- we'll make it better! - The end of the day

- is 6 o'clock! - Fabulous.

Okay, great, thank you, Elizabeth.

Okay, obits.

We actually have a very good story

about William P. Wilson, by Bruce Weber.

He was, by all accounts, the first advisor

to a presidential campaign

that was devoted entirely to television.

He was working for J.F.K.,

and he was in charge of all the theatrics,

you know, the effects-- the makeup, the podium.

But he was the Kennedy guy.

And they both had makeup to wear,

but Nixon's was not very effective.

- He was sweating, right? - Kennedy's was great,

Kennedy was well-tailored, tall.

Nixon looked a little haggard.

He had a beard that, you know, needed shaving.

So, you know, it's a small moment in history.

We think it's a refer but, you know,

you can certainly consider it for better.

Okay, thanks very much.

Washington, why don't we come back to you.

You've got two big news stories today.

You can pitch both international and national I think,

whichever way you want to start.

Okay, let's see, I guess I'll start with...

The competitive pressures in journalism

have just picked up and grown exponentially

in the last ten years simply because the internet

is just whipping us like a taskmaster,

and the demand to get not just a day

ahead of the competition,

but 20 minutes ahead of the competition

or 20 seconds ahead of the competition

has editors in an absolute lather all the time.

We have a 24/7 news cycle and obituaries are part of that.

We're a news organization and some deaths are major news.

When Elizabeth Taylor died, you know, "Stop the presses!"

If it's a competitive obit that we think we really need

for that next day's paper--

and maybe on the website sooner--

they will work accordingly.

They may have to forego

certain, you know, ventures into research.

They may have to just skip a few steps.

"Can you give us two paragraphs

just to show us the top of the story?"

"Let us just put like four paragraphs on the web,

and you can add to it later."

The clock is ticking, the clock is ticking,

the gun is to the head.

We have to file at six o'clock, come hell or high water.

One is always making concessions.

You're always robbing from Peter to pay Paul

in terms of where you focus your attention

and how you spend your time.

If you spend even two extra minutes thinking,

"How can I fit in such-and-such?"

there'll be a big white column in the next day's paper

under your name where that obit should go.

So this is due today, yes?

Uh, yeah, in about 20 minutes.

- Have you got your lede yet? - Yes, I have my lede.

It's long, I mean, it's not really a, you know--

"The 1960 Presidential campaign

that pitted Senator John F. Kennedy of Massachusetts

and Vice President Richard M. Nixon

was the first to feature nationally televised debates

between the candidates.

There were four of them, but the first held in Chicago

on September 26th on the theme of domestic affairs

is the one best remembered.

It has been estimated that 70 million viewers or more

tuned in for a close-up look at the candidates,

both of whom spoke with an admirable degree

of eloquence and authority on issues including the economy,

race relations, and the looming Soviet threat.

Some journalists and historians have said

that for those who listened on the radio,

Nixon won the debate.

But there can be no question that Kennedy,

looking tan from a California trip,

natty and fit in a dark suit,

graceful and athletic standing at a podium

with a single narrow pole,

and unflappably cool behind his lightly applied makeup,

had the more appealing figure,

at least in the minds of voters, than his opponent,

who had been ill and had lost weight,

whose bland grey suit seemed to swim on him,

and who sweated noticeably under the television lights.

The telecast conferred a previously unachieved

celebrity on Kennedy

and propelled him to a lead in the polls

that he never relinquished.

Just days after the election,

Kennedy himself acknowledged it was the TV

more than anything else that turned the tide.

The man who negotiated the terms of the debate

for the Kennedy campaign,

who insisted on the single pole podium,

who applied Kennedy's makeup,

and escorted him to the bathroom with scant moments left

before the telecast began, was William P. Wilson,

who died in Washington on Saturday at 86."

Now the question is whether the editors will allow me

to go two fairly lengthy paragraphs

before getting to the name of the guy who died.

However, I would argue that it's in the headline,

and that really, we are writing about this

because of the history.

So I'm actually practicing right now

for the argument that I'm gonna have with Bill

in about 20 minutes, so.

I'm hearing this, I'm hearing this.

I know you are, I did that on purpose.

I'm trying to write an entertaining piece

about history for people who don't know the history.

I think one of the things that I haven't nailed yet

is the effect of this debate

on subsequent presidential campaigns.

I haven't quite figured that out yet.

I have 20 minutes to go.

A fortunate death for me is one that occurs,

and you hear about it at 9 A.M.,

and you have all day to be able to put something together.

The unfortunate death is the one

that occurs late in the afternoon

when you're getting ready--

thinking about getting ready to leave.

There's times when you're starting to walk out the door

and somebody drops off the perch.

An editor comes over to you and says, "Not so fast."

Millions of people around the world

will be in shock tonight--

still in a bit of denial hoping this story's not true.

Late in the afternoon a few years ago,

we were putting Farrah Fawcett into the paper.

She had died earlier in the day.

We were well-prepared for her.

She had been sick for quite a while,

and we were all ready to go home,

and suddenly word comes down through various sources

that Michael Jackson might be dead.

And, of course, you know, you drop what you're doing.

He didn't seem to be ailing.

He was getting ready for a revival tour.

We had done some stories on it.

He seemed to be healthy.

We had no idea, obviously, this could happen.

Solo and behold, here he is.

Categorically dead.

It was around three in the afternoon, I think,

when we really knew it for sure.

And, you have to realize,

we have a print deadline of about 9 o'clock.

I mean that's just-- that's going to the presses.

So for a writer to file a story,

probably 8 o'clock, maybe 7:30.

So, you're talking about a window of time of four hours

to write the entire story of Michael Jackson in four hours

starting from, you know, zero.

It was a real team effort with a lot of help

from people in New York and people in Los Angeles.

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