If we could be Frank, it should still be about the news and not the newsman

August 13, 2009 An acquaintance of mine and former TV reporter way back when told me the story of his first crucial encounter with Reuven Frank, a legendary news producer at NBC. The act of taking off his glasses again and again, or wiping away that tear on Nov. 22, 1963, his gasp of astonishment upon the first moon landing, or the irritation in his voice over Nixon's attempts to muzzle the press all added to the texture of, and helped humanize, the news he was delivering. Much has changed since Rush and Bill and Keith and Anderson and Jon and Glenn have fractured the fraternity of network evening newscasters.

Subscribe to the Hollywood Reporter and see the entertainment industry from its best angle: the inside looking out. Complete access to real-time news and exclusive analysis that goes behind the scenes from film to television, home video to digital media.

   Subscribe now.