Bill Kurtis Speaks About The “Whirlwind” Of His Life

By Wes Hessel with Beth Tomas

As a pre-event before the American Writers Festival June 6th and 7th, Bill Kurtis was interviewed by American Writers Museum President Carey Cranston about his new memoir, “Whirlwind: My Life Reporting the News” before a live audience June 4th. The discussion began about the overlap between Mr. Kurtis’ intended career path in law and his actual journey in journalism. Due to his legal education, having actually passed the bar exam, his first assignments covered stories that dealt with high profile trials, including the Richard Speck trial (which happened at the same time of the SCOTUS ruling on Miranda rights), the Chicago 7 trial, and the Charles Manson trial.

He also talked about how the development of technology affected journalism and his career. He went into details from days before news was “live at 5”, and how he had to interrupt taping of CBS shows to set up recordings of reports from the Manson trial to be completed by 3:00 pm in California to be ready in time for the 6:00 pm news report from New York. 

The conversation then moved into what it’s like to write for the news compared to other writing. He talked about what a thrill it was for him to match the narration perfectly for what viewers would see on the screen, noting that it needed to enhance what the viewer saw without interrupting their concentration.

When asked about his thoughts on current events with CBS, he said he was sick about it and that CBS has been destroyed. He stated that this hurts democracy as well, pointing out that journalism needs to be independent and neutral. To learn more, look for “Whirlwind: My Life Reporting the News” by Bill Kurtis at your local bookseller or online.

Category: Uncategorized