Bob Schieffer Biography Quotes 34 Report mistakes

Early Life and Education
Bob Schieffer was born on February 25, 1937, in Austin, Texas, and grew up in Fort Worth. He attended Texas Christian University, where he developed the reporting habits and civic curiosity that would define his career. After college he served in the U.S. Air Force as a public information officer, an experience that honed his discipline, his respect for facts, and his appreciation for institutions under stress. Returning to Fort Worth, he entered journalism amid the civic rhythms of a fast-growing Texas city, embracing the police beat and local politics as training grounds for bigger stories.

Fort Worth Reporting and the Kennedy Assassination
Schieffer's early years at the Fort Worth Star-Telegram were marked by the rigorous, unglamorous work of daily reporting. On November 22, 1963, the day President John F. Kennedy was assassinated in Dallas, Schieffer answered a call from Marguerite Oswald, the mother of Lee Harvey Oswald. He drove her to Dallas police headquarters and spent that unforgettable day inside the epicenter of one of the century's most consequential news events. The episode became a defining early chapter, not just for the access he obtained but for the composure he maintained while the nation convulsed in grief and uncertainty.

From Texas Television to CBS News
Following his newspaper success, Schieffer moved into television reporting in the Fort Worth-Dallas market, sharpening his skills for live broadcast and on-the-spot analysis. In 1969 he joined CBS News, beginning a Washington career that would last for decades. At CBS he covered the Pentagon, the White House, the State Department, and Capitol Hill, becoming one of the rare journalists to report from all four of Washington's central beats. This breadth made him a go-to correspondent when a story spanned national security, diplomacy, and domestic politics, and it helped him cultivate sources across administrations and parties.

Washington Correspondent and Major Stories
As CBS News chief Washington correspondent, Schieffer reported on presidential campaigns, party conventions, Supreme Court confirmations, and investigations that tested the system from the Watergate era forward. He worked alongside and in the tradition of network giants such as Walter Cronkite, Dan Rather, Lesley Stahl, Ed Bradley, Mike Wallace, and Morley Safer, helping define CBS's reputation for depth and steadiness. He earned the confidence of viewers by translating complex policy debates into clear English while resisting the temptations of hype and partisanship.

Face the Nation
In 1991 Schieffer became moderator of Face the Nation, CBS's Sunday public affairs program. Over nearly a quarter century he used the format to press policymakers while preserving civility, elevating the program with fair-minded questions and a preference for clarity over theatrics. Presidents and presidential hopefuls regularly appeared, including George W. Bush, John Kerry, Barack Obama, John McCain, Mitt Romney, and Hillary Clinton, as did Secretaries of State and congressional leaders from both parties. Schieffer's restraint and preparation made Face the Nation a forum where officials expected to be challenged on substance and where viewers expected to learn something new.

Presidential Debates
His standing as a trusted referee of political conversation led the Commission on Presidential Debates to select him as moderator for general-election debates in 2004, 2008, and 2012. Running discussions between George W. Bush and John Kerry, then Barack Obama and John McCain, and later Obama and Mitt Romney, he steered candidates toward policy specifics while letting their differences show. Those nights highlighted the qualities that had long guided his work: patience, an insistence on answering the question asked, and a refusal to make himself the story.

Interim Anchor of the CBS Evening News
When Dan Rather stepped down from the CBS Evening News in 2005, Schieffer became interim anchor. He stabilized the broadcast during a sensitive transition, restoring confidence with a calm, no-frills tone, before handing the desk to Katie Couric in 2006. His stewardship affirmed a core newsroom belief: that credibility is earned day by day.

Author and Public Voice
Beyond the studio he wrote books that blended insider reporting with a wry sense of history, including This Just In: What I Couldn't Tell You on TV, Face the Nation: My Favorite Stories from the First 50 Years, and Bob Schieffer's America. He lectured widely, encouraging students and young reporters to report more, to opine less, and to prize accuracy over speed. Texas Christian University honored his lifetime of work by naming its communication school for him, today the Bob Schieffer College of Communication, where he has been a regular presence mentoring students and convening conversations on the future of news.

Awards and Recognition
Schieffer's work earned numerous professional honors, among them multiple Emmy Awards, the Edward R. Murrow Award, and the Paul White Award for lifetime achievement in electronic journalism. These recognitions reflect both long-term excellence and an ability to adapt as television news moved from the Cronkite era through the 24-hour cable cycle and into the digital age.

Health, Family, and Interests
In the early 2000s Schieffer was successfully treated for bladder cancer, an experience he discussed publicly with characteristic candor to encourage screenings and resilience. Outside the newsroom, he indulged a lifelong love of country music, occasionally performing with a Washington-area band, a reminder that even the most serious Washington hands benefit from a little twang and humor. His family roots in Texas remained central to his identity. His brother, Tom Schieffer, became a diplomat and served as U.S. ambassador to Australia and Japan and was a partner in the Texas Rangers baseball franchise with George W. Bush, connecting Bob's journalistic life to a broader civic and political landscape.

Legacy
Bob Schieffer's legacy rests on a simple but vital standard: respect the audience by doing the work. Over more than half a century he showed that tough questions need not be loud, that fairness need not be dull, and that institutions, however battered, can still be held to account by persistent, well-sourced reporting. He bridged generations at CBS News, from the days of Walter Cronkite to the current era of correspondents like Scott Pelley, and helped preserve a space for serious conversation in American public life. In an age of rapid change, his steadiness offered something rare and valuable: trust.

Our collection contains 34 quotes who is written by Bob, under the main topics: Truth - Leadership - Writing - Freedom - Sarcastic.