Ed Bradley of 60 Minutes Passes on

It is sad to hear of the passing of Ed Bradley a news investigator of the highest caliber.  His interviews were penetrating, but not offensive to the interviewee.  He was out to get the best information out and did so because he never appeared to be out to humiliate or destroy. He carried out his courageous efforts to inform the public about sensitive matters and did so by allowing people to tell their own stories. He was respected by viewers because he seemed like one of us. What happened? Whom did what to whom? Does this sound fishy?  Let’s find out together what is going on.

He was best at going beneath the surface of a story to explore the human factor.  Why did this person react in this certain manner?  I recall a very small incident to most, wherein a black woman was taken “for her protection” to the basement of a California University for questioning.  Ed Bradley fully understood why she reacted with vehement at this incident.  Whether she was educated or not, stigmas of being taken to a dark basement are for many Blacks are insults seeded in the past of slavery.  He explored this issue with her and she was able to convey her sentiments and her story.  Everyone on the scene was oblivious to this critical factor.

Whether he was interviewing sports icons, like Tiger Woods, Bob Dylan, Mohammed Ali or the accused Lacrosse team and the Duke investigator in North Carolina, he fleshed out the story by allowing the facts to emerge by not leading.  He followed the sequence of the story teller. People’s trust in him allowed them to express their doubts, their strengths and allowed him to press on for critical facts.