“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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“Too often ‘winning’ really means winning at any cost.”

In October of 1985, I did a two-part series for the CBS Evening News called “When the Cheering Stops.” It covered college sports scandals… including that of athletes never learning the non-sports professional skills that college should have taught them. The result was a knowledge deficit that held them back in life.

Both parts are included in this week’s video.

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“Can’t is not part of your vocabulary.”

In 2012, while working for HBO’s Real Sports, I did a story on one of the most remarkable and inspiring people I’ve ever met: a young woman named Jennifer Bricker.

Bricker has an amazing personal story, from her birth and upbringing, to her life now. I hesitate to give any of it away here, as it might spoil the unfolding of that story in today’s video piece. I’ll just mention that I actually did two stories on Bricker — the first one in 2012, and a follow-up in 2016. Clips from both segments are in the video.

When you’re finished watching it, let me know what you think in the comment section.

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“Sharks aren’t the problem. Jaws is.”

Editor’s note: Today’s 50-year-old news clip his poor audio-quality, so we suggest that you turn up your volume all the way.

By August of 1975, the newly released Steven Spielberg film-classic, Jaws, was smashing box-office records and already having a major impact on American culture. It was driving many people’s fear of sharks through the roof… and also driving beach-community tourist bureaus nuts! They believed that irrational fears stoked by the movie were keeping visitors away from their beaches, and they were looking for ways to deal with the situation.

I covered one such community — Carolina Beach, North Carolina — for CBS News.

What gets me, while revisiting this report, is how the individuals we filmed and interviewed both look and sound like they could have been actual characters in the film.

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“There’s an awful lot of crudeness out there, in the street and all over our pop-culture.”

In 1998, I anchored a CBS prime-time documentary called “In Your Face, America.” It was an hour-long report about the coarsening of our country, and how vulgar and uncivil our popular culture was becoming. This was well illustrated, at the time, by junky, combative, daytime talk-shows (that I covered in one of the segments).

A lot of that crudeness may seem quaint by today’s standards, but people like former United States Secretary of Education, Bill Bennett (who I interviewed for the documentary), used to be very concerned about the social corrosion. (I say “used to,” because he changed quite a bit at the beginning of this political era). I also talked to Sally Jessy Raphael, a popular daytime talk-show host (who many of you will remember).

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“You said you wanted straight answers to straight questions… She can’t give straight answers because she’s too vulnerable.”

In recognition of all the new members who recently subscribed to this website after my appearance with Bill O’Reilly (thanks again!), I figured I’d take this week’s Bernie’s Time Machine trip back to The O’Reilly Factor — this time on November 3, 2016 (just a few days before the presidential election).

Hillary Clinton was leading in national polls, but important state polls were a bit tighter. The Clinton and Trump campaigns were both avoiding the media, perhaps afraid they’d make a last-minute, unforced error — Hillary because of her latest trouble with the FBI, and Trump (if I remember correctly) because of the Access Hollywood Tape controversy.

I spoke to Bill about the situation.

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Reminder: For a limited time, free and monthly subscribers can upgrade to an annual premium membership for just $25! That’s 50% off our regular price for a year’s worth of honest, irreverent commentary that challenges partisan narratives.

“Going on these comedy shows gives a politician an opportunity to portray himself or herself in a different light.”

You may have forgotten this, but back when Donald Trump first entered the 2016 presidential race (which began in 2015), the liberal media — including the entertainment media — loved him (even after he did things like call Mexicans “rapists,” mock a reporter’s physical disability, and knock John McCain for his wartime capture).

Well, it wasn’t so much him they loved, but rather a couple things about him:

1. He and his antics were great for ratings.

2. The Left was enjoying the chaos he was bringing to the GOP nomination process, and believed that, if he won the Republican primary, he would be an easy defeat for Hillary Clinton in the general election.

So, in November of 2015, Trump was asked to host Saturday Night Live. In the run-up to the episode, Bill O’Reilly had me on the O’Reilly Factor to talk about whether or not it was a smart political move for Trump.

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