Quite Frankly: A Tribute to Mike Wallace... Who Was Also a Badass

Sean Franklin
Kappa Sigma

For those of you that don’t know, Mike Wallace died recently. Despite his relatively common name, he was one of the most hardnosed and tough journalists to ever walk the Earth. He was a correspondent for CBS’ "60 Minutes" and told many stories that hit the audience hard— a theme that continued throughout his career.

Wallace died of old age in a care facility in Connecticut on April 8. He was 93.

It has been said by many in the industry that Wallace was one of the most feared journalists of all time. He could reduce an interviewee to a sweaty mess of shaking Jell-o as soon as he sat in the opposite chair during an interview. He was that much of a man. Timesdaily.com had a great quote from CBS Chairman Jeff Fager about Wallace— here is the except:

“He was well aware that his reputation arrived at an interview before he did," said Jeff Fager, CBS News chairman and Wallace's long-time producer at ‘60 Minutes.’

"He loved it," Fager said Sunday. "He loved that part of Mike Wallace. He loved being Mike Wallace. He loved the fact that if he showed up for an interview, it made people nervous. ... He knew, and he knew that everybody else knew, that he was going to get to the truth. And that's what motivated him.”

Being a Journalism major who looks to enter the broadcast field myself, Wallace stands as a role model for many students. He won his 21st and final Emmy Award at 89— a testament to the success and longevity of his career.

He stands for the kind of journalism I would like to see out of myself, the hard-working and respected type that gets the truth no matter what.

Wallace started as a radio newscaster in Grand Rapids, Michigan. After bouncing between a few local radio jobs in Detroit and Chicago, Wallace enlisted in the Navy in 1943 and served as a communications officer during World War II. He saw no combat, but traveled to Hawaii, Australia and the Philippines during his time on duty.

He then came back to the United States and bounced between multiple radio and announcing jobs during the '40s. During the '50s, he hosted a number of game shows, which was normal because back then newscasters doubled as game show hosts sometimes.

He started with "60 Minutes" in 1968 after hosting "CBS Morning News" for a few years. His career as the lead reporter naturally led to some run-ins with the interviewees. While interviewing Louis Farrakhan, leader of the religious movement called the Nation of Islam, Wallace alleged that Nigeria was the most corrupt country in the world. Farrakhan immediately responded, exclaiming, "Nigeria didn't bomb Hiroshima or slaughter millions of Indians!" "Can you think of a more corrupt country?" asked Wallace. "I am living in one," said Farrakhan. Those types of exchanges were commonplace for Wallace, especially in his hot pursuit of the truth.

He interviewed Roger Clemens as his last interview of his career for "60 Minutes" in 2008 after Clemens had been accused of using steroids during his baseball career. Clemens vehemently denied the use of steroids during the interview, but he is still on trial for the inconsistencies in his testimony. Wallace’s interview was a crucial point in the investigation, giving Clemens a way to give his story to the public. That’s the kind of interview I would like to conduct someday.

Unfortunately, soon after that interview Wallace ran into the health problems that eventually cost him his life. He had a triple bypass heart surgery the same month he interviewed Clemens and had to retire.

Mike Wallace is the kind of journalist I want to be someday: someone who fights for the truth and pushes people’s buttons to get a good story. He toed the line between being a jerk and being a good journalist and succeeded most of the time.

Here’s to you, Mike.

Sean is a junior studying journalism and electronic media. You may contact him at sfrankL7@utk.edu.