10 Plus 1: Broadcast Editor Tom Honeysett

(CBS)

So, what do you do for a living?

I'm currently the broadcast editor at "60 Minutes." I'm the lead dog for an incredibly talented, competitive team of editors. In addition to the actual editing of some of the segments that air on Sunday night, I'm also involved in assigning the rest of the edit staff to upcoming segments. On "show days," when all the elements that make up "60 Minutes" are put together, I track the whereabouts of those elements and act as the liaison between the edit rooms and the control room. During "crashes" (as with Hurricane Katrina) I do triage … moving between the edit rooms making sure all the participants have what they need to get the job done under some very tight deadlines. I keep the control room posted as to our progress. I also mop brows and do what I can to keep things calm. I try to be the "go-to" guy.

My biggest challenge at "60 Minutes" is getting the technical facility upgraded. Without going into all the details, when I arrived on this job, one of the edit rooms was equipped with a Steenbeck film editor … a Steenbeck!!!! I think we donated it to the Museum of Broadcasting. I'm working with the engineering staff and CBS management to bring the "60 Minutes" edit areas into the 21st Century.

Given the time allotted to news, I think CBS News does a good job serving up what people need to know in addition to what they might want to watch. I'd like to see us do more single-subject hours. Some possible topics: aging in America, religion and the modern world, some positive aspects of America's involvement in Iraq. The tributes that the "Evening News" does on our fallen military heroes are brilliant. I'm happy to see we're also doing more on those still living.

There's a Las Vegas ad campaign that says something like … "What happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas." I think the phrase was actually coined by a CBS cameraman … it was, "What happens on the road, stays on the road." That's where I'm leaving it.

I've been at CBS News for 30 years. It would be very hard (and unfair) to come up with just one.

I'm an alumnus of the BWB School of Editing. Bob (Orozovich – "48 Hours") taught Walter (Leiding – "Evening News"), Walter taught Brian (Lacey) … Brian taught me.

Bobby O. might be the best guy on the planet. Walt's the gentleman we all should be. Brian and I laughed our way around the world several times. He left us too soon. Warren Lustig has been my wing-man on "60" and "60 II." I'm Abbott to his Costello (or is it the other way around?) Matt Richman is our computer guru … everyone's first call when the Avid [news editing program] becomes the Diva. You can't put a broadcast together without a pro like Matt. Andy Soto, Bob Shattuck, Rich Koppel, Dan Glucksman, Roy Halee, Dennis Blakeley and I have a long history together. I couldn't do this job without them nor would I want to. Joe Murania is my "60 Minutes" paisano.

I owe a lot to Jeff, Mike, Patti, Zee and Linda Mason.

That's easy. A drummer in a rock 'n roll band. I've been playing for over 40 years. I just bought a new drum kit. My neighbors love me.

It's got to be the technology. When I started at CBS News the newsroom still chattered with the noise of telex machines and wire service printers. We were at the tail end of the film days. The various videotape formats that followed quickened the edit process immeasurably. The non-linear format we work on today is faster still. It affords editors more time to work on the finer points, the details, getting it just right -- less time changing tapes, finding shots. I don't miss the rewind noise. Cameraman crews are now shooting on optical disks. It will be amazing to see where the technology takes us in the years to come.

I just rented "Mad Hot Ballroom" … two thumbs up. I had a headache from smiling so much. I went to see "King Kong" for the CG. I think we now have enough King Kong movies. I just finished "Blink" by Malcolm Gladwell. I knew I'd like it by the end of the first paragraph. I'm currently reading "The Beatles - The Biography" by Bob Spitz.

I remember my dad watching the "Evening News" with Walter Cronkite. "20th Century" on Sunday evenings was another show my family watched. The coverage of the JFK assassination and funeral is still a strong memory. The whole country sat, shocked, in front of the television.

My daughter, Alexandra, is in her junior year at the University of Delaware. She just finished a TV production course that had the students put together news broadcasts that were accessible via the campus TV channel. They did everything – write, shoot, edit, anchor. She's a terrific writer. I wouldn't be surprised if she followed that path.

My daughter, Christina, is a high school junior. She's a singer with a beautiful voice. She also plays piano and guitar. Maybe she'll be the rock star.

I was in Cape Town and Johannesburg, South Africa in February 1990 when Nelson Mandela was released from prison. Experiencing that country and its people at that time probably tops my "most fascinating" list.

The biggest jerk might actually be someone who works at CBS News.

Quite well. I've always been fascinated by the technology. I've always found the new formats a challenge and although they keep changing, the concept remains the same. The goal is to make the story flow, keep the images moving and meaningful. The audio should be seamless.

Each new format offers more tools with which to work.

The first videotape edit system I remember that was able to achieve a simple dissolve required about 20 minutes and an advanced degree in mathematics (well, almost.) In the non-linear world, you're able to do that (and so much more) with the click of a mouse.

However, knowing how to operate the edit software won't make you an editor any more than knowing how to type will make you a writer. Those skills come from within and are honed by experience.