Sig Mickelson

Sig Mickelson (1913 –2000) was interviewed for five hours (in two sessions) in San Diego, CA.  Mickelson talked about his long career as an executive with CBS News, which culminated with his appointment as the network’s first News President (1959-61).  He described his association with the political conventions from 1948 through 1964, at first as a reporter (1948), then as senior executive in charge of the conventions (1952, 1956, 1960), and finally after retiring from CBS, as Executive Program Director for the Republican National Convention in San Francisco (1964).  Mickelson talked about hiring Walter Cronkite for the 1952 conventions and assigning him the role as anchorman, a term he is credited for coining.  He described the way in which footage was collected for the nightly news, documentaries, and public affairs programs and described such news series as See It Now, Face the Nation, and CBS Reports.  He described how CBS covered the Japanese Peace Conference (the first time the coaxial cable was used), the Coronation of Queen Elizabeth II, President Eisenhower’s press conferences, the “Great Debates” between presidential candidates Kennedy and Nixon, and the 1960 Olympic Games.  The two-part interview was conducted by Don Carleton on August 24 and August 25, 1999.