The Evening News (23 page)

He told an assignment
editor at a desk beside him, "We need a camera crew in Larchmont fast
.
Don't ask me how to find one, just pull them off something else, anything
else, and get them there
.”

The woman news director was already listening to Bert
Fisher. When she had made notes of the essentials, she asked him, "Who else has the story
?
”

"I was the first. Still am. But WNBC's man was arriving as I left
.”

"Did he have a camera crew
?
”

"No.,
,
The assistant news director crossed the newsroom to report, "I've a crew
on the way, We pulled them from the Bronx
.”

The news director spoke into the phone, instructing Bert Fisher, "Stay
on the line
.”

Then to a writer at a desk nearby: "Take line four. It's
Fisher, Larchmont. Get everything he has, then write it as our noon
lead
.”

At the same time the news director picked up a telephone connecting her
directly to the network. Ernie LaSalle, CBA's national editor, answered
and she told him, "The kidnap in Larchmont is confirmed. Half an hour ago
unknown persons violently seized Crawford Sloane's wife, his son, and
Crawford's father
.”

"Good Christ!
”
LaSalle's shock and incredulity came down the line
.”
Has
Crawf been told
?
”

"I don't think so
.”

"Are the police involved
?
”

"Very much so, and they've called in the FBI. Our man Fisher has a
statement from the Larchmont chief
.”

Checking her notes, the news
director read aloud the chief's statement, Bert Fisher's query, and the
chief's words, "That's an okay quote
.”

"Run that past me again
.”

LaSalle was frantically typing as he spoke
.
The WCBA news director did so, adding, "We've heard that WNBC is onto the
story, though a tad behind us. Look, we'll go with this at noon anyway
,
and I'm considering breaking into programming now. But I thought, since
this is family . .
.”

Before she could finish, LaSalle snapped, "Don't do a damn thing over
there. The brass will be in on this. And if anybody breaks it, we will
.”
Taking seconds only, Ernie LaSalle debated his options
.
He had several
.
One was to take whatever time was necessary to first contact Crawford
Sloane, who might or might not be in the building, then personally and
gently as possible convey to Crawf the frightening information. A second
was to pick up the red reporting phone in front of him and announce to
the entire News Division the kidnapping of the Sloane family, after which
urgent action to make an on-air report would undoubtedly begin. The third
was to issue an order to network master control that CBA News would "take
air
”
in approximately three minutes, interrupting network programming
with a special bulletin. LaSalle was one of a half-dozen people who had
the power to authorize such intrusion and, in his judgment, the news just
received was not only preeminent, but of immense public interest
.
He made his decision, opting for the second choice. Influencing his
judgment was the knowledge that another New York station, WNBC-TV---owned
by NBC network-was on the Larchmont scene. Undoubtedly NBC News would
receive a report swiftly from their affiliate, just as CBA had. Therefore
there wasn't time for humane niceties. As for going on the air at once
,
there were plenty of other people around, including the News Division
president, Les Chippingham, to make that decision
.
I'm sorry as hell to do this to you, Crawf LaSalle thought, then picked
up the red reporting phone
.”
National desk. LaSalle. The earlier reported kidnapping at Larchmont
,
New York, has been confirmed by the local chief of police who has called
in the FBI. According to police, the reported victims are Mrs. Crawford
Sloane, young Nicholas Sloane and . .
.”

Despite his resolve and
professionalism, LaSalle found his voice breaking. Steeling himself he
continued
.”
. . . and Crawford's father, who were violently seized and
driven away by unknown persons. WCBA has reliable on-scene coverage
,
details available here. NBC is believed to be working on this story
,
though we have a slight lead. National desk recommends taking network air
immediately
.”

Horror and consternation swept through the News Division like a tidal
wave. Everyone stopped working. Many looked at each other, asking
silently, Did I really hear that? When confirmation was forthcoming
,
unanswerable questions sprang to lips: How could it happen? Who would do
such a thing? Is it a kidnap for ransom? "at do the kidnappers want? What
are the chances the police will catch them quickly? Oh god, how must Crawford feel?
One floor above the newsroom, senior staffers at the Horseshoe were
equally appalled, though their shock lasted only moments. After it, out
of habit and discipline, they were galvanized to action
.
Chuck Insen, as senior producer in the building, left his office on the
run. All his newsman's instincts told him that the national desk advice
to take network air immediately would be followed. When that happened
,
Insen's appointed place was in the broadcast control room four floors
below. Reaching a bank of elevators, he jabbed a down button with his
thumb
.
Impatiently awaiting for an elevator, Insen's mind overflowed with
sympathy for Sloane, their differences for the moment totally erased. He
wondered: Where was Crawf? Earlier, Insen had seen him briefly in the
distance and knew that he and Les
Chippingham
had had their heads
together in Sloane's office for reasons Insen already knew. Presumably
Crawf was somewhere in the building and must have heard the hot-line
call. Which raised a crucial question
.
When urgent breaking news was deemed significant enough to interrupt the
network with a special report, it was the evening news anchorman-in CBA's
case, Crawford Sloane-who faced the cameras. If the anchorman wasn't on
the scene he would be sent for, with any
available correspondent filling
in until the anchor arrived. But, Insen realized, there was absolutely
no way Sloane could be expected to handle this sudden, harrowing news
about his own family
.
At that moment a "down
”
elevator arrived and the business correspondent
of CBA News, Don Kettering, prepared to step out. Kettering, middle-aged
with a thin mustache and looking
like a well-to-do businessman himself, opened his mouth to say something but never got started. This was because Insen shoved him back inside the elevator and hit the B I button for first basement. The elevator doors closed
.
Kettering spluttered, "What the-
”

“
Hold it
,”
Insen said
.”
You heard the speakerphone just now
?
”

"Yes, I'm damn sorry. I was going to tell Crawf-
”

“
Where you're going
,”
Insen said, "is on the air. Get to the flash studio
and take the hot seat. Crawf can't do this. You're available. I'll talk
to you from the control room
.”

Kettering, a quick thinker and an experienced general reporter before he
became a business specialist, nodded. He even seemed a little pleased at
the prospect
.”
Do I get some briefing
?
”

"We'll give you all we have so far. You'll get maybe a minute to do a
quick study, then ad-lib. More will be fed to you as it comes in
.”

"Right
.”

As Insen left the elevator, Kettering pressed a button which would take
him upward to the broadcast floor
.
Elsewhere, other activity was in high gear, some proceeding
automatically
.
In the newsroom, the Northeast assignment editor was rounding up two
network camera crews and correspondents. Their instructions were to
proceed post
haste to Larchmont and obtain pictures of the kidnap scene
as well as interview police and any witnesses. A mobile transmitting van
would follow right behind
.
In a small research department adjoining the Horseshoe, an offshoot of
a larger research library in another building, a half
-
dozen people were
hastily assembling a computer biography of Crawford Sloane and the few
known facts about his family
,
few because Jessica Sloane had always
insisted on privacy for herself and Nicholas
.
From somewhere, though, main research had acquired a photograph of
Jessica which was coming through on a fax machine; a graphics editor
hovered over the machine, waiting to
r
emove the picture and convert it to a slide. Printing out from another computer was the war record of Crawford's father, Angus Sloane. There would be a photo of him too. No picture of Nicky had been located so far
.
A research assistant grabbed all the material available and ran down a
flight of stairs to the flash facility studio where Don Kettering had
just arrived. Right behind research, a messenger from the national desk
brought a printout of Bert Fisher's Larchmont report, received from
WCBA-TV. Kettering sat down at the studio's central desk and, blocking
out all else, immersed himself in reading. Around him technicians were
arriving, lights coming on. Someone clipped a microphone onto Kettering's
jacket. A cameraman framed Kettering in his lens
.
The flash facility was the smallest studio in the building, no bigger
than a modest living room. It had a single camera and was kept for
occasions such as this when it could be activated and ready in rnoments
.
Meanwhile, in the darkened control room where Chuck Insen had now
established himself, a woman director slid into her central seat facing
a bank of TV monitors, some illumined, others black. On her right, an
assistant with an open notebook joined her. Operators and technicians
were taking their places, a stream of orders flowing
.”
Standby camera one. Mike check
.”

"Bill, this will be a live announce. 'We interrupt this programming' open
and a 'resume programming' close. Okay
?
”

"Okay. Got it
.”

"Do we have a script yet
?
”

"Negative. Don may go ad-lib
.”

"Bring the video up ten units
.”

"Camera one, let's see Kettering
.”

More monitors were coming alight, among thern one from the flash
facility. The face of Don Kettering filled the screen
.
The director's assistant was talking with network master control
.”
This
is news. We're expecting to break into the network with a bulletin
.
Please stand by
.”

The director inquired, "Is the special slide ready
?
”

A
voice responded, "Here it is
.”

On another monitor, bright red letters filled the screen:

CBA NEWSSPECIALBULLETIN

"Hold it there
.”