Goodnight, Chet

It was a Friday -- July 31, 1970.

By all accounts, news was light that day. The Kansas City Chiefs won the 37th NFL Chicago All Star Game, beating the College All-Stars 24-3.

Richard Nixon was president and the Vietnam War was still raging.

With no internet and a whole different immediacy of reporting, the TV evening news still very much mattered.

On that fateful night, fifty years ago, one of the most iconic TV catchphrases was uttered for the last time:

"Good night, Chet." "Good night, David. And good night, for NBC News."

In truth, Chet Huntley -- a stoic newsman from Montana -- and David Brinkley -- more wry and witty than his partner, from North Carolina -- disliked their signoff on The Huntley-Brinkley Report. Newsmen (and newswomen, I'm sure) tend(ed) to be a far more cynical lot and preferred to not fall prey to such frivolity of cliches.

I can't say for sure Walter Cronkite, competing with the duo over on CBS, truly loved his "And that's the way it is" to end each CBS Evening News.

Huntley was seen as a future Edward R. Murrow and, in some ways, had the same appeal, though he didn't quite reach that height and is, sadly, somewhat easily forgotten in the annals of great journalism. Most people know Murrow, Cronkite -- even Brinkley -- as well as Peter Jennings, Tom Brokaw, Dan Rather and other more modern names, but sadly Chet Huntley's name goes largely unknown.

However, when they were in their prime, they were as popular -- and as famous -- as anyone. Frank Sinatra sang about them. Sammy Davis, Jr. would stop what he was doing to watch them.

They came together at the Democratic National Convention in 1956 and the duo showed such chemistry that NBC -- struggling in the ratings with John Cameron Swazye trailing Douglas Edwards over on CBS -- paired them up beginning that Oct 29.

Initially, it floundered a bit, and even President Dwight Eisenhower let the network know of his displeasure with the change.

Soon after, it worked. That chemistry, in truth, was funny, because they didn't see each other often. Brinley anchored in Washington while Huntley hosted from New York at 30 Rock. A technician operated a switcher between the two.

They had a lot to deal with over 14 years. Besides the elections of the era, the duo, and colleagues including Frank McGee presided over the Kennedy Assassination (McGee did an equally admirable, though often forgotten, job as compared to the more-famous work of Cronkite), the conflict in Vietnam, the civil unrest of the late 60s and the assassinations of Robert F Kennedy and Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

Cronkite, in fact, would be part of their undoing. Tastes changed, and Uncle Walter became the flavor of the late 60s, especially with his gripping reporting about the Vietnam War and the Apollo 11 moon landing.

And so, Huntley announced he would retire on Fri, July 31, 1970. The video quality for the entire show is a black and white raw feed (they were in color by then, and I'll post that at the bottom of this post), but the words of both anchors -- especially Huntley -- struck me as sad.

First, here's part one from that night.



And, here's part two, from 50 years ago tonight. Huntley's farewell begins at 8:40.



"I might also remind you that American journalism, all of it, is the best anywhere in the world....you have bolstered my conviction that this land contains incredible quality and quantity of good, common sense, and it's in no danger of being led down a primrose path by a journalist. At the risk of sounding presumptuous, I would say to all of you: be patient and have courage, for there will be better and happier news one day, if we work at it."

Damn. Damn. Damn.

As you can probably guess, we have a lot of work to do, and that we have, sadly, been led down several primrose paths by journalists.

I still believe in journalism. I know it still exists. I see it in every ounce of blood, sweat, and yes, tears that my friends and I shed. But I also realize there's a lot of bad, and I suppose I'm best to just leave that soap box right there.

Huntley went back to Montana where he died a little over three years later, on March 20, 1974. Brinkley stayed at the peacock network in a variety of rolls until 1981, when he was quickly grabbed by ABC. Brinkley became an elder statesman of journalism, presiding over This Week with David Brinkley until 1996. One of the great people of the industry, he died in 2003.

Those newsrooms probably smelled like stale cigarettes and plenty of alcohol. I won't bother to highlight how we still have a ways to go in terms of different faces in those rooms.

But, by the pen of Murrow, reporting the news was something special back then, wasn't it?

The show ended with at a title slate, and a birth and death date for the Huntley-Brinkley Report.

Eventually, the strains of "Symphony No. 9 in D Minor, Op. 125, second movement," played by the NBC Symphony Orchestra as conducted by Arturo Toscanini, sounded out over the credits, and the era was over.

Goodnight, David, and goodnight for NBC News.

(I promised you the color version of Huntley's farewell and it's preceded by a kind nod from Cronkite)