Thursday Morning With Rand Morrison

By: Brian Montopoli
Topics: 10 Plus 1

(CBS)

Rand Morrison has been executive producer of "Sunday Morning" since 1999. He has also worked behind the scenes on many other CBS News broadcasts – as executive producer of CBS News Productions, senior broadcast producer for "Public Eye with Bryant Gumbel" and "48 Hours," and senior producer for "Eye to Eye with Connie Chung," among others. Below he answers our questions, in the process offering up the shortest – but perhaps most satisfying – response to the question about what should be changed about journalism we've ever had:

What do you do at CBS News?

I'm an executive producer.

What single issue should be covered more at CBS News?

I think we do fairly well in terms of the "issues" we cover. What I'd like to see us do more of is "the explainer" – stories that give our viewers the big picture – the "why" behind the big story… the what-it-means-to-you…

Give us a great behind the scenes story.

I once served a delicious apple cobbler to Imelda Marcos at a buffet at her home on New York's upper east side. She was most gracious. As you'd expect, nice shoes, too.

Have you ever been assigned a story you objected to? How did you deal with it?

Now and again, you're asked to do a story you suspect is simply too unimportant for words. The irony is that, oftentimes, once you actually start getting into the subject, you discover there's a lot more there than you expected…

If you were not in news, what would you be doing?

I'd be an architect.

Do you read blogs? If so, which ones? If not, what do you read on the Internet?

I use the internet – like most folks – when it's convenient… for news, gossip… whatever… I don't have regular blogs I check out daily. It depends on what they're up to – and what I'm looking for…

What's the last really great book or movie you found?

Book: "Faith at War" by Yaroslav Trofimov of The Wall Street Journal. (I read it in paperback… I'm a little behind.) Movie: I was surprised at how much I enjoyed An Inconvenient Truth. I expected a polemic. Instead, I found a well-crafted look at the issue of global warming. Very nicely produced, too. Excellent graphics. Very effective use of various production tools, among them (with all due respect), Al Gore.

What is your first memory of TV news?

"Good night, Chet…" "Good night, David…" I also seem to have a vague recollection of NBC's Pauline Frederick at the United Nations… (but don't tell anyone…)

If you could change one thing about the profession of journalism, what would it be?

The hours.

Who is the most fascinating person you've covered and who is the biggest jerk?

I find almost EVERYONE I've covered fascinating in some way or another. Folks can try your patience… strain your credulity… even be downright impossible. But when you get a chance to find out what they're really about… discover what motivates them… "walk a mile in their shoes"… it's almost always a learning experience.

And now a question just for Rand:

What is the best thing about the unique style of Sunday Morning? And what's the worst?

The best thing: There's no subject we can't explore.
The worst thing: We don't always have the resources to explore all the subjects we'd like to.

Brian Montopoli
Brian Montopoli is the senior political reporter at CBSNews.com.
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by creina1 July 20, 2006 6:24 PM EDT: Rand runs the hands-down best, most intelligent news show on television. Sunday Morning was the gold standard during the Charles Kuralt years and remains so with Charlie Osgood. Writers like Peter Freundlich (for Kuralt) and now Tom Harris, and producers like Mary Lou Teal, are the best in the business. Rand is fortunate in that sense. But he's made his own fortune. From his days at The Associated Press, he has been completely dedicated to news and public affairs, and has worked harder than anyone I know. By most standards, television news has declined steeply over the years. But whenever things look bleakest, along comes Sunday Morning to remind us that, maybe, there's still some hope.; Reply to this comment