TV-2's Brent Musburger. He's young, enthusiastic and rising to the Top.

(This is another story I wrote when I was Sports Editor in High School.  This story was published on April 11, 1974, so I was the ripe old age of 16.)

He's a Chicago sportscaster for WBBM-TV as well as being a radio commentator during most o the week and on weekends he handles the CBS Sports Spectacular.  His name is Brent Musburger and he has come close to achieving national fame.  But interestingly enough he hasn't always wanted to be a sportscaster.

Musburger clearly states that is was an "accident" that he became a sportscaster.  He was a writer for the old Chicago American and in 1968 he was assigned to cover the Olympic Games in Mexico City.  While down in Mexico, Musburger was contacted by WBBM-Radio and was asked to do nightly reports on the games for the network.

His work at Mexico impressed the management so much that he was asked to leave the newspaper and do radio commentaries.  He agreed and one thing led to another, including rating problems on their TV News, so one again he was asked to change jobs and go to TV2 to work as a sportscaster.

"I miss writing," stated Musburger, "I think it's a great talent,but I'm still able to do some of it, although it's a completely different style when you are writing for the verbal word."

I'm not at professional broadcaster.

He also misses the time that he had before when he was writing.  "In my business, with four radio shows, two TV shows and three radio commentaries, it real thins me out over the day", said Brent.  "I would say that my being a TV sportscaster is more luck,  I didn't study broadcasting at Northwestern and I don't consider myself a professional broadcaster at all."  He claims to be a "communicator" of the sport world rather than a broadcaster.  

CBS Sports Spectacular

Recently Musburger has found himself to be "nationally recognized" through his efforts as host of the CBS Sports Spectacular.  As was the case for Brent in local broadcasting , the national show cam to him by "accident".  When the time came to do the Spectacular, Musburger made it clear to the network that he would love to do it as long as he didn't have to leave Chicago.

"It's a dream for me to do a show like that, where I get to do a variety of things," states Musburger, "I get to meet a lot of people and see a lot of things."

The CBS Sports Spectacular though has been called "an effort by CBS to keep up with ABC's Wide World of Sports on the weekend sports scene.  "CBS Sports Spectacular is the result of the tremendous success of the Wide World,"  said Musburger.  "ABC does the best job of covering Olympic type sports; gymnastics, swimming, track and field." he adds.

Brent feels that one of the reasons for ABC's success is because of ABC's "showcase" happens to be sports whereas CBS's is their prime time programming.  Musburger stated that "if you were to look at an ABC prime time show and compare it with a CBS show you'd see a difference, CBS pumps more money into prime time.  At the same time, if you compare a sports show on ABC with a show on CBS you'd see the same difference, except in the case ABC puts the money into the sports telecast rather than CBS."

We don't try to keep up with ABC.

"There isn't anyway we at the Spectacular can keep up with ABC because they spend more money than we do an consequently they have better talent," continues Musburger. He goes on to say that, "Ther isn't anyone at CBS sitting around saying that we have to keep up with ABC. . .  we hold our own against them."

Although the viewing public only sees a sportscaster like Musburger for 5 or 10 minutes a day, it doesn't mean that he spends the majority of his day waiting for his telecast.  Musburger works about 10 hours a day, spending most of his time planning, producing and writing his sportscast.  But it is true that much of his work is done at the last minute.  "I try to put things off as long as I can, so I can give sports reports that are up to the minute," states Musburger.  "Some people have called me disorganized because of that," he continues, "But I maintain that the beauty of this business is that is is up to the moment."

For Musburger this means that many times scripts for the telecasts aren't written until 10 of 15 minutes before hand and many times much of the material read is straight off the wire service.  "I take it down as close to the sportscast as I can," stated Brent, "without putting my technicians in a bind, because they have to know it I have video-tape to run and things like that."

He's a very busy man though, even without his local sportscasting.  "On an average work week, when we've got the Sports Spectacular on Sunday, I work two or three days in Chicago and then go on location for the Spectacular," says Musburger.  "It's a kind of schedule that I won't be able to work all my life, but it's great for me right now," he commented.  

But interestingly enough Musburger claims to be getting more that just "attention" from the Sports Spectacular.  "I'm gaining a lot of experience.  By the time I get finished there won't be a major sport that I haven't done on television at least once."

The other side of Brent

Musburger is a man who is very dedicated to his work.  But there is another side to Brent that very few people see.  "Sports does not sell the 10 o'clock news," he emphasizes.  "Statistics sow that maybe one out of four persons that watch the broadcast are interested in sports.  In other words there are 75% who watch the news alone and don't care about the sports."  He continues by stating, "It's not as if I'm working on a sports section of a newspaper where anyone that picks it up is automatically passionate about it.  I'm dealing with an audience that for the most part could care less and I try not to drive them away."

Brent says that he "worries about people who think that he is unaware of the outside world."  Many times he has been told to shorten his broadcast and sometimes even to eliminate it due to a special report such as a murder.  But this doesn't even phase Musburger.  "I realize that someone's death is far more important that a score that I might put up in a situation like that.  I'm very aware of what's going on in the world."

"On the other hand, when I think that I have an important story, such as the death of Peter Revson, I expect to be given some extra time."

At the age of 33 he is starting to achieve some 'national fame,' but he accepts this in stride.  "You know it's nice, because all of us in this business have tremendous egos, but I don't know if I wold like to be recognized everywhere I go like a Johnny Carson.  Sure  I'd like the money and the attention, but he has no freedom at all.  I think he has paid a tremendous price for his fame.  Sure it's nice though, I'd be lying to you if I said I didn't like it."

"I like the kids, the athletes," he continues, "I don't have anything to prove.  I just enjoy being around them.  I love their enthusiasm, it's not about a payday for them, and I really like being a part of their world.  I think they have done for me than I ever have done for them."

Brent Musburger is a very emotional man, he cares about sports, but more importantly he cares about he world around him.  He cares of a a lot of people and the people care back.  Musburger doesn't have to worry about achieving fame, he has already got it.