TV Reporting

Norman Horowitz was way off base in his Jan. 3 commentary when he wrote: “Sure, a few people--primarily, CBS’ Bill Paley, NBC’s David Sarnoff and ABC’s Leonard Goldenson--controlled a lot during the 20th century,” implying that they could influence what their news divisions were reporting. That is pure nonsense. They did not try.

I worked for all of these networks at various times between 1954 and 1992 and I can never remember anyone telling me that I had to reflect their views in my reporting. This was particularly true during the 1960s, when my reporting for NBC on Vietnam was very skeptical about U.S. involvement there.

SANDER VANOCUR

Santa Barbara