“It’s being called traffic anarchy, and nowhere is it more blatant than in New York City…”

This isn’t what you’d call a groundbreaking story, but as with many issues of public safety, it was a legitimate one.

In late 1981, for the CBS Evening News, I covered the reckless abandon of traffic laws in big cities, including the Big Apple.

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“For farmers it is a constant battle, keeping birds away from their rice seed.”

In 1981, approximately 100 waterfowl — mostly ducks and geese — were found dead or dying in ua rice field near Sweet Lake in Calcasieu Parish, Louisiana. They’d been poisoned by the illegal use of a pesticide called Azodrin.

I covered the story for the CBS Evening News, including worries over how humans might be affected by the poison.

Let me know what you think about my farmer attire for the piece. 😉

On a side note, all uses of Azodrin were discontinued in the United States by the late 1980s.

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“I believe that you should do everything possible for someone you love — not because they can hear you or see you, but because you love them.”

In April 1975, shortly after she turned 21, Karen Ann Quinlan fell into a coma she would never wake up from. Doctors initially refused her parents’ request to have her disconnected from her ventilator, leading to a lawsuit by her parents, and high-profile legal, moral, and cultural debates over the “right to die” controversy in the United States.

There was even a TV-movie on the family’s story, starring Brian Keith.

The Supreme Court eventually ruled that Quinlan’s ventilator could be removed. But to the surprise of everyone, Quinlan continued to breathe on her own. She remained, however, in a persistent vegetative state — kept alive by a feeding tube.

I covered the ongoing story for the CBS Evening News in 1981, which included an interview with her family, and a summary of ongoing court challenges.

Quinlan would pass away a little over four years later, from complications from pneumonia.

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Editor’s note: The volume on today’s clip is a little low, so you might need raise it on your device.

“What’s the reality, and what’s the myth?”

In my 2001 book, Bias, some of you may remember that I wrote about how many in the media heavily sensationalized and misrepresented the AIDS epidemic in the 1980s. The inclination of a number of journalists was to exaggerate the threat to heterosexuals and non-drug users, in order to draw more mainstream attention, sympathy, and funding to the crisis.

It wasn’t the first time that I explored this topic. I covered it, years earlier, in this 1992 segment of 48 Hours.

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“It can be easily mocked, by the way. All of it can be easily made fun of, but we’re not afraid of that.”

In 1992 for 48 Hours, I covered the New Men’s Movement — specifically a support group in Chicago where men voiced their life-frustrations, including with women, the modern feminist movement, and unfair male stereotypes.

As you’ll probably notice, some of the arguments made in this piece are still being made today.

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“We don’t want to waste genius sperm on morons.”

In 1991 for 48 Hours, I reported on a California sperm bank — a very exclusive one —that specialized in producing exceptionally smart kids.

The company even had “sperm recruiters” who sought out and essentially cold-called notably smart donors.

One of the “genius kids” I covered in the story, Doron Blake, was coincidentally written about in a New York Post story on the bank just a couple months ago. Now a father of two, he has some interesting (and perhaps surprising) views on how he was conceived.

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“The old way in Japan is crumbling, as old ways always do.”

In early 1989, I traveled with the 48 Hours crew to Japan, where I worked a couple different stories on the country’s tighter embrace of Western capitalism and American culture.

Some of the people I met were excelling in life. Others struggled with workloads and the cost of living.

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“What we’re seeing is the lunatic-fringe joining the mainstream — becoming the mainstream.”

In part three of my 48 Hours report from the NATPE convention in 1989, I covered the most outrageous syndicated television shows of the era, from American Gladiators, to Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, to the attempted revival of Jackpot.

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“They are the kings of this business.”

In part two of my 48 Hours report from the NATPE convention in 1989, I covered Roger and Michael King, who were behind some of television’s top syndicated shows at the time: Wheel of Fortune, Jeopardy, and Oprah.

I interviewed Vanna White, among others.

(Look for part three next week).

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“If they gave out Nobel Prizes for big mouths, Morton Downey would be doing his show from Stockholm.”

In 1989 for CBS News’s 48 Hours, I traveled to the NATPE convention in Houston, Texas, where popular syndicated TV shows were marketed to local stations.

In my first of three segments at the convention, I talked to two popular daytime Trash TV stars of the era: Morton Downey Jr. and Geraldo Rivera — both of whom insisted they were giving Americans what they really wanted.

(Look for part two next week).

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“You’re not going to put this on T.V., are you?”

In September of 1988, CBS News’ 48 Hours did an episode on the smoking war — the deepening conflict between smokers and non-smokers (and the role government should or shouldn’t play).

I traveled to San Leandro, California, where the battle was raging, to cover both sides of the argument.

(You all might get a kick out of the last scene).

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“The eye of the storm is nearing Texas.”

In September of 1988, our regularly scheduled episode of 48 Hours had to be put on hold to cover a deadly Category 5 hurricane that was barreling its way toward the United States. Hurricane Gilbert caused havoc in the Caribbean and Gulf of Mexico for almost a week and a half, ultimately killing 318 people and causing almost $3 billion in damages along its path.

I uncharacteristically played the role of weatherman from the National Hurricane Center in Coral Gables, Florida, doing my best to keep CBS’s audience up-to-date on the latest developments.

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“Everyone seems convinced that his side is right and other side is wrong.”

In early 1988, I traveled to Israel for a 48 Hours piece on the conflict between Israelis and Palestinians in the occupied territories (the West Bank and the Gaza strip).

The episode itself is hard to track down, but Dan Rather had me on the CBS Evening News to promote the episode.

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“I may have just doomed a hundred people to their death.”

In January of 1988, I and the rest of the 48 Hours crew spent a couple days at Stapleton International Airport in Denver (which no longer exists). We detailed the hazards and complications of winter air-travel at the base of Colorado’s Rocky Mountains (which could get pretty chaotic).

In one of the two segments I worked on (both are included in today’s clip), I met an entertaining fellow known as the Iron Messiah.

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“It’s very degrading to a man to get put in this situation.”

In late November of 1987, I did a Thanksgiving piece on homelessness and other social struggles for the CBS Evening News. I talked to some families going through a very hard time, and I suspect the piece left many viewers at home feeling thankful for the things they had in life.

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“Memories mean money.”

Nostalgia in advertising is pretty common these days, but back in 1985 it was still a novel approach — one being used quite successfully on wealthy baby boomers by Madison Avenue.

I did a report on the story for the CBS Evening News.

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“This is going to be one dynamite company.”

In December of 1985, General Electric (GE) agreed to acquire RCA Corporation (Radio Corporation of America) in a landmark $6.28 billion all-cash deal. Led by CEO Jack Welch (GE) and Chairman Thornton Bradshaw (RCA), it was, at the time, the largest non-oil merger in U.S. corporate history.

I covered the story for the CBS Evening News.

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“We’re showing Mr. Gorbachev something: This is how we do things in America.”

In 1985, a new book called “A Time for Peace” became a big commercial success. What made that success ironic is that the book was by Mikhail Gorbachev — a proud communist who, at the time, was the freshly minted leader of the Soviet Union.

The book was a collection of Gorbachev’s speeches, interviews, and letters that included his political views on various issues. There was still a consumer demand for it come Christmas time of that year, and capitalists in America were finding new, innovative ways to sell more copies.

I covered the story for the CBS Evening News.

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“A 40-something year-old man who couldn’t remember the months of the year in sequence.”

In 2012, when I was with HBO’s Real Sports, we worked on an extensive story called “Head Games” about Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy, and its link to concussions in NFL football players. The multiple-piece series (and yours truly) won a prestigious Alfred I. duPont Award, and shed new light on a serious issue that previously hadn’t gotten enough attention.

Today’s video isn’t the piece itself (Real Sports rarely released full stories online), but rather an interview with producer, Joseph Perskie, that I believe was shot and put together by people at the Alfred I. duPont Awards.

It’s an interesting look at how the story began, and where it went.

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“It just goes down your stomach like a dead glass of water.”

In 1985, Coca-Cola was convinced they were unveiling the beverage of the future. They called it “New Coke,” announcing in April of that year that it would replace the original 99-year-old Coca-Cola formula.

Public reception to the change was… not good (as you’ll see in this week’s video). Millions of Americans didn’t like the taste, sparking one of the most famous consumer backlashes in marketing history.

The company would eventually switch back to the original formula (calling it “Coca-Cola Classic”), but in early June (when my report aired), they were still convinced Americans would warm up to it.

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