Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SATURDAY, February 5, 1994 TAG: 9402070250
SECTION: SPECTATOR PAGE: S-1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: By HARRIET WINSLOW THE WASHINGTON POST
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
Sunday morning, the CBS show marks its 15th anniversary. With its trademark solar graphics and easy pace, ``Sunday Morning'' (at 9 on WDBJ-Channel 7) has built up a devoted following of all ages who wake up to features on music, the arts, news, sports, weather, and a ``Postcard From Nebraska.''
Each week ends with a scene from nature - migrating birds, Alaskan whales, roaming wolves - reminding viewers that the best part of this country may be the scenes we rarely see.
``I know in television terms we don't have an awful lot of viewers, but those we do have seem to be loyal. They look forward to it,'' said Kuralt.
With the show earning 25 Emmy nominations and eight wins, networks should bottle the chemistry that makes ``Sunday Morning'' so watchable.
Kuralt, who will turn 60 in September, offered some thoughts: ``Part of it, of course, is the length. An hour and a half is a lovely amount of time to have,'' he said. And the time of day: ``I picture them with a cup of coffee and the Sunday paper in their laps, and watching `Sunday Morning' that way. It is a leisurely time of morning for a lot of people and I think they are able to sit still for our somewhat-leisurely program at that time on Sunday morning.''
But the show's success is more about its variety of news and feature stories, especially on artists and musicians, that attract viewers who span generations and backgrounds. ``Very rarely on television do you see a good 10- or 12-minute story about Leonard Bernstein or Pavarotti or Leontyne Price,'' or so many of the artists and musicians who are profiled on the show. ``It fills a little blank spot in television, I think.'' And it's the art and music features that ``stick in your mind,'' he added.
The show's features can have a haunting effect, lingering in one's memory for days. Credit is due to past and current producers (Missie Rennie is currently in charge) and the diverse contributors and their array of topics: pianist and composer Billy Taylor (on jazz), Eugenia Zukerman (classical music), author and critic John Leonard (television and films), Nebraska folklorist Roger Welsch, humorist Bill Geist, and recent additions Tim Sample (a Maine humorist) and reporter Martha Teichner.
North Carolina-born, Kuralt started at CBS in 1957 and has reported from around the globe. But viewers may remember him best for his ``On the Road'' features, which began in 1967 when he and a camera crew set out to see America in an old motor home.
Sunday's anniversary show, appropriately, is scheduled to have Jimmy Carter reflecting on the changes in America since he held office. Also, Kuralt plans to visit Robert Redford at his Sundance ranch in Utah to discuss Redford's interest in the environment, the arts and Indian artifacts. Other features will be on Jane Alexander, new chairman of the National Endowment for the Arts; and flutist-contributor Eugenia Zukerman will play with violinist Nadja Salerno-Sonnenberg and pianist Vladimir Feltsman.
``Sunday Morning'' also tackles hard news, such as the recent peace accord between Israel and the PLO. Each week Kuralt chats with a CBS correspondent about a timely topic, and reporters Terence Smith and David Culhane present a ``Cover Story.''
Kuralt reflected on other highlights of the past 15 years of Sundays. ``The stories I remember are almost all ones that were done by others. For example, and because they came as news to me, I remember one that Eugenia Zukerman did about Yo Yo Ma. I had never heard of Yo Yo Ma, and she did a lovely story. It began wonderfully with a guy racing with a cello down an airport corridor frantically. And we watched this for a little while and she said, `Don't worry, he's going to make it,' and of course he's made it as a famous musician.''
Kuralt recalled an especially powerful piece orchestrated by founding producer Shad Northshield, in the show's first year. The story, Kuralt said, was done almost without words.
``What had happened was that Lord Mountbatten was killed by IRA terrorists, and the day of his great funeral in Westminster Abbey, they also buried a Catholic kid who had been killed by Protestant terrorists in Northern Ireland. He was buried on a windswept, bleak hillside with a handful of mourners. And Shad just edited back and forth between the two funerals and of course some of the same words were said.
``There was no way anyone could watch that without a tear in his eyes. It was an unforgettable piece of work and except for the introduction nobody needed to say anything. It spoke volumes about the stupidity of sectarian hatred.'' He agreed that some things do not, unfortunately, change.
``I guess we in journalism don't really do the world any good. But we can at least illustrate the points once in a while.''
by CNB