"BREAKING NEWS: My Front Row Seat is a must-read." –Peter Maer, Retired CBS News White House Correspondent
"Arrives at exactly the right moment—when we need to remember why journalism matters." –Andrew Heyward, former president, CBS News
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Drawing on more than fifty years in broadcast news, award-winning journalist Tim Scheld takes readers behind the headlines to reveal how history is witnessed, reported, and remembered by the journalists entrusted with telling the world what happened.
Beginning with his first taste of journalism in college, Scheld traces a career that took him from small-town Pennsylvania to New York City, where he became an award-winning reporter and later News Director of WCBS Newsradio 880, one of America's most respected all-news stations. His assignments placed him at the center of many defining moments in modern history, including the Oklahoma City bombing, Columbine, TWA Flight 800, the death of Princess Diana, and President Bill Clinton's impeachment.
Scheld takes readers behind the scenes of broadcast journalism, revealing how major stories are reported, how difficult editorial decisions are made under relentless deadlines, and what it feels like to arrive at the scene of someone's best—or worst—day. From bicycling into Manhattan after the September 11 attacks to leading a newsroom through Superstorm Sandy and the COVID-19 pandemic, he offers a rare insider's view of the profession. With warmth, humility, and occasional humor, he celebrates the reporters, photographers, producers, engineers, editors, and broadcasters whose work helps keep the public informed. Scheld reminds readers that the people who cover the news are their neighbors and friends—ordinary people who bear witness to extraordinary moments.
As local newsrooms disappear and public confidence in the media continues to erode, Scheld reflects on the changing state of journalism. Drawing on a lifetime devoted to factual, responsible reporting, he makes a compelling case for why journalism remains not simply a business, but a public trust. A former national board chair of the Radio, Television, Digital News Association and current media studies educator, Scheld remains an active voice in defending journalism and mentoring the young people who are carrying it forward.
Part memoir and part history, My Front Row Seat offers an unforgettable look at the stories behind the stories—and the people who dedicated their lives to telling them.
