10 Plus 1: Mike Wuebben On Hating TV News As A Kid, Holding Analysts Accountable, And Covering 9/11

CBSNews.com Broadcast Producer Mike Wuebben is the liaison between CBSNews.com and CBS News broadcasts. He also produces Katie Couric's web-exclusive content, including the daily rundown show "First Look" and Couric's long-form interview show "Eye To Eye."

Prior to his position at CBSNews.com, Mike was the line producer for "BET Nightly News with Jacque Reid." He has also worked as an associate producer for the CBS News magazine "48 Hours" and started as a desk assistant at CBS Radio News.

What do you do at CBS News?

I mostly look for opportunities to use material collected and produced by the CBS News broadcast units on the CBSNews.com site. Sometimes this means requesting special video or text from a reporter in the field. Other times it can be just monitoring the inflow of information to various news desks in the building. I also produce Katie Couric's web-exclusive video content, and I write a weekly humor column for our entertainment site, TheShowBuzz.com.

What single issue should be covered more at CBS News?

High-speed car chases on L.A. freeways. Just kidding. I don’t know if there’s one issue I would like covered more. I would rather see more follow-ups on the stories that do get reported that end with some dire prediction. I wish someone would go through all the gas prices stories over the last four years and see how many analysts predicted I would be paying $4 a gallon right now.

It's the same with medical coverage. How many researchers said in x-number of years we’d have a vaccine for something? Let's dig those up, or at least start a policy that right now when someone on one of our broadcasts or Web sites says something is likely to happen at a certain time we’re going to flag it and see what happened. I’d watch that.

Give us a great behind the scenes story.

I don’t know if this is a great story but it’s one that sticks with me. I was working at 48 Hours when 9-11 happened. Our program was in charge of coordinating a good chunk of the prime time coverage in the days that followed. It was an insane environment. We were working 16-hour days and gathering enough tape to fill the airwaves for a decade. Everyone was focused.

Friday, Sept. 14, we ended our portion of the CBS News coverage with a montage of the sights and sounds from the memorials and the ongoing rescue effort. Many of us gathered in one open room and watched in perfect silence. After a few seconds a sniffle, then an audible cry broke the silence. Soon we were all flowing tears. We had worked so hard and we were still left with a huge emptiness.

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

Yes. I was vocal about my objections and I can now admit I was wrong.

I was a writer for BET Nightly News and we got word that BET founder and President Bob Johnson was going to be the first black owner of an NBA franchise. (what would become the Charlotte Bobcats) I immediately raised concerns about conflict of interest and said in our staff meeting it wasn’t right for us to lead with it on our broadcast. Our executive producer Will Wright pulled me aside and said, “Mike, what do you think we should lead with tonight, the number of shopping days ‘til Christmas?”

He was right. We disclosed our connection to Johnson and led with it because it was the biggest story of the day for our audience.

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

Well, I was about to head to law school when I was hired at BET Nightly News and fell in love with the job. So if that wouldn't have come along I'd probably be an attorney.

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

I read blogs in spurts. I read TVSpy, Perez Hilton, Jeff
Jarvis sometimes. I’m a big fan of The Lonely Island guys so I check out their blog from time to time. Mostly I go to YouTube and read the papers, especially my old hometown paper, The Anchorage Daily News.

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

I watched the film “Rabbit-Proof Fence” the other day and found it incredibly inspiring. It’s the true story of the persecution of Australia’s aborigine people and the defiance of three young girls who become unlikely heroes in the struggle for equality. I also rent the Joe McCarthy documentary "Point Of Order" every once in a while just to restore my faith in American justice.

What is your first memory of TV news?

I remember hating it when my dad had it on during dinner. I couldn’t wait for it to be over so a Charlie Brown special could start.

My first radio news experience was better. My dad always listened to Paul Harvey in the car. I remember one time he brought us to school one morning and Paul Harvey was on. He stopped at the school door but my brothers and I wouldn’t get out until we heard, “the rest of the
story.” I probably only liked it because I didn’t think it was news.

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

I think there’s too much analyzing material and not enough news gathering. There are large sections of the country and the world that don’t get covered because there are no reporters on the ground gathering the facts and getting the story.

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

I've read a lot of these 10 plus 1's. Has anyone given you a "biggest jerk?"

The most fascinating person would be Jamie Foxx. I was line producing the BET Awards Afterparty and it was a crazy scene with everyone laughing and talking about their favorite moments from the show. Jamie came on just wouldn’t shut up about some movie he was making about Ray Charles. Mind you, this is more than a year before it came out. He was determined to talk about what was on his mind and he wasn’t going to play games. He wanted people to know we were in the presence of greatness with Ray Charles on this planet.

As for jerks (I only covered them from a distance), former Liberian President Charles Taylor, Saddam Hussein, Osama Bin Laden (and basically all of his friends and colleagues), Dylan Klebold and Eric Harris. There are more but this isn’t good for my blood pressure.

And now a question just for Mike…

How receptive have people who have worked primarily in television been to doing work for the Web site? Has their attitude changed at all over the years?

In general, everyone has been fairly cooperative. It was a struggle at first to explain what works on the Web and convince them and their seniors that they can benefit from releasing information to us before the "Evening News" broadcast.

Correspondents are definitely seeing the light that the site is another vehicle to tell their stories and create interest.