"My father was an absolutely dedicated journalist who discovered
the joy of radio when he was quite young. It was his life-long
passion," said Robert Dembo, an executive director at NBC News. --
From an AP piece published March 16, 2010 in Newsday.
Joe Dembo was my boss for six years or so at CBS News, and I loved
working for him. He left you alone most of the time, assuming you knew
what you were doing unless you proved otherwise.
He thought newscasts were for news and not publicity, which may help
explain why he left commercial broadcasting in 1988. He was infuriated
if air time were wasted on stunts such as the one staged every February in
Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania.
Joe was quiet around the office but put up with boisterous people, me
for one. He had a booming voice and a laugh to match. He wasn't very
tall and didn't like height "jokes." He once returned from a morning
meeting of the top executives and producers of CBS News upset that the
president of news had made disparaging remarks about a short person.
He had a sly sense of humor, and sometimes it took me a while to
catch on. During my days as a copy editor, I usually said "hi" when he
walked by my desk. He frequently replied, "Easy for you to say."
Joe was a very private man and talked little about himself or his family,
although he would occasionally mention "the farm" in Columbia County,
New York, where he spent many weekends. It was clear "the farm" was a
very special place. Working outdoors there left him tired but
rejuvenated. I'm pretty sure a picture of the farm house was on a
greeting card we got one December.
CBS News, Radio, with a proud tradition and a passion for standards,
was perceived by some as resistant to change. But Joe welcomed new
ideas. While Joe was vice president of news, network radio began doing
Updates on breaking stories, sometimes three or more an hour. They are
still a part of network programming today.
Hearing that Joe wasn't doing well, I sent him a note last month to tell
him how proud I was to work for him and how patient he had been at
times when I was a genuine jerk.
I wrote: "The one scene I re-run many times in my head is from San
Antonio. You, Dick Reeves (a CBS News executive) and I are at dinner.
Something comes up about teaching journalism, and I spout off about
how it is impossible to teach journalism, why would anyone ever bother,
it's nonsense and on and on. Reeves is of absolutely no help. None. He
says nothing. There is one of those long Joe Dembo pauses and then,
calmly as always, the words come out, 'Well, I've taught at Fordham for
15 years and I love it.' To this day, I can't remember what happened next.
I know you didn't slug me. I'm sure I had no witty come back. What a twit
I could be."
Reeves has suggested in an e-mail that both Joe and I were right. "…it
is impossible to teach journalism and Joe loved trying to do so."
It's interesting what rubs off on you from other people. When Joe was
running CBS radio news, he would sometimes call on a manager at an
afternoon staff meeting by saying, something along the lines of, "Tony,
regale us with tales of what's been going on in Special Events today."
Until I met Joe, I know I had never used the word "regale." Now, about
once a week, I will tease Irene and say "regale us with stories of your
youth."
Joe Dembo was a wonderful human being. We all should be so lucky
to work for someone like him, at least once in our lives.