Ed Bradley dies a 65...one of the finest

CBS Inc.'s news department just took a huge body blow with the passing
of ace reporter Ed Bradley today, of leukemia at Cedars-Sinai in NYC.
Bradley was 65, and worked almost to the end. Bradley, who had come
up through the old CBS news organization in the tradition of Walter
Cronkite, was as seasoned and intellectual a newsman as ever appeared
on network TV. For years, Bradley has been a regular reporter on CBS'
flagship "60 Minutes," traveling the globe in search of stories. Like
Dan Rather, he cut his teeth on battelfield reporting in Viet Nam,
where he gained a sterling reputation for getting the story right and
getting it quickly.

This is sad news, not only for news consumers, but also for CBS, which
now finds itself mired in even a deeper dearth of news talent and
experience in its floundering news department. "60 Minutes" has taken
hits with the forced departure of Rather, who got the story wrong on
the Bush TANG papers, which were quickly outed as fakes, probably
planted by operatives working for Karl Rove. With Rather gone, CBS
was forced to rely more on remaining aging talent, such as Morley
Safer and Bradley, to get the stories for "60 Minutes." Now, with
Bradley gone and Mike Wallace in semi-retirement at age 88, CBS is in
bad shape indeed. Katie Couric, a collosal embarassment, cannot hold
viewers on hard news, and comes across as a nattering ditz who somehow
got displaced from where her ditziness works, the morning gabfest
shows, where her competition was the likes of Regis Philbin.

Bradley had been offered the "CBS Evening News" anchor slot after
Rather's departure but turned it down, probably due to health reasons,
although he kept that quiet, as did ABC's superstar anchor, Peter
Jennings, also I driven, high quality newsman. The old standbys of
credible network news, which kept CBS in the #1 slot for decades, are
falling by the wayside, and CBS cheif Les Moonves' preoccupation with
"entertainment" has furthered the already marked decline. CBS still
does have talent...lots of it...for "60 Minutes." Both Scott Pelley
and Steve Kroft are more than competent and will carry on, as will the
stealthy Leslie Stahl. Stahl, while she tends toward lighter fare,
was directly responsible for the sacking of bumbling, arrogant AT&T
CEO Bob Allen some years ago with a hard hitting surprise interview,
proving that she can run with the big dogs.

"60 Minutes" will continue on, but as Andy Rooney said after the
annoucement of Mike Wallace's retirement, "It won't be as good as it
was." When CBS loses Rooney, though, "60 Minutes" will be in real
trouble. Moonves forced Rooney off of one show last season to make
more room for a pet story, and the anger of viewers forced him to
realize that he is about 50% of the show. If broadcast journalism is
to survive, especially at CBS, two people will have to be removed from
the industry: Les Moonves and Faux News' Roger Ailes.

Look for a full hour documentary on the life and times of Ed Bradley
on "60 Minutes" this Sunday.