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"News Broadcasting - "Unique Stories"

"The Americans" - by Gordon Sinclair

On June 5, 1973, Gordon Sinclair sat up in bed in Toronto and turned on
his TV set. The United States had just pulled out of the Vietnamese War
which had ended in a stalemate - a war fought daily on TV, over the radio
and in the press. The aftermath of that war resulted in a world-wide
sell-off of American investments, prices tumbled, the United States
economy was in trouble. The war had also divided the American people, and
at home and abroad it seemed everyone was lambasting the United States.

He turned on his radio, twisted the dial and turned it off. He picked up
the morning paper. In print, he saw in headlines what he had found on TV
and radio - the Americans were taking a verbal beating from nations around
the world. Disgusted with what he saw and heard, he was outraged!


At 10:30, on his arrival at CFRB to prepare his two pre-noon broadcasts,
he strode into his office and "dashed-off" two pages in 20 minutes for
LET'S BE PERSONAL at 11:45 am, and then turned to writing his 11:50
newscast that was to follow. At 12:01 pm, the script for LET'S BE PERSONAL
was dropped on the desk of his secretary who scanned the pages for a
suitable heading and then wrote "Americans"" across the top and filed it
away. The phones were already ringing.


Gordon Sinclair could not have written a book that could have had a
greater impact in the world than his two-page script for THE AMERICANS. A
book should have been written on the events that followed. But, no one at
CFRB, including Sinclair himself, could have envisioned the reaction of
the people of the United States - from presidents - state governors -
Congress - the Senate - all media including TV, radio, newspapers,
magazines - and from the "ordinary" American on the street. Nor could have
the Canadian government - stunned by the response to what has come to be
regarded as one of Canada's greatest public relations feats in the history
of our relations with the United States of America.

But, how did Sinclair's tribute to Americans reach them? It had been swept
across the United States at the speed of a prairie fire by American radio
stations - first, a station in Buffalo called and asked to be fed a tape
copy of the broadcast with permission to use - both freely given. Nearby
American stations obtained copies from Buffalo or called direct. By the
time it reached the Washington, DC area, a station had superimposed Sinc's
broadcast over an instrumental version of BRIDGE OVER TROUBLED WATER, and
was repeating it at fixed times several times a day.


Congressmen and Senators heard it. It was read several times into the
Congressional Record. Assuming that it was on a phono (33 1/3 rpm),
Americans started a search for a copy. CFRB was contacted. To satisfy the
demand, CFRB started to make arrangements with AVCO, an American record
company, to manufacture and distribute it as a "single".


As they were finalizing a contract that would see all royalties which
would normally be due Gordon Sinclair be paid (at his request) to the
American Red Cross, word was received that an unauthorized record, using
Sinclair's script but read by another broadcaster, was already flooding
the US market. (Subsequently, on learning that this broadcaster had agreed
to turn over his royalties to the Red Cross, no legal action was taken).

Sinclair's recording of his own work (to which Avco had added a stirring
rendition of THE BATTLE HYMN OF THE REPUBLIC) did finally reach record
stores, and sold hundreds of thousands of copies, but the potential
numbers were depressed by the sale of the infringing record. Other record
producers and performers (including Tex Ritter obtained legal permission
to make their own versions. In Ritter's case, because of the first-person
style of the script, Tex preceded his performance with a proper credit to
Sinclair as the author. The American Red Cross received millions of
dollars in royalties, and Gordon Sinclair was present at a special
ceremony acknowledging his donation.


Advertisers using print media contacted CFRB for permission to publish the
text in a non-commercial manner; industrial plants asked for the right to
print the script in leaflet form to handout to their employees.

Gordon Sinclair received invitations to attend and be honoured at many
functions in the United States which, by number and due to family health
problems at the time, he had to decline. However, CFRB newscaster Charles
Doering, was flown to Washington to give a public reading of THE AMERICANS
to the 28th National Convention of the United States Air Force
Association, held September 18, 1974 at the Sheraton Park Hotel. His
presentation was performed with the on-stage backing of the U.S. Air Force
Concert Band, joined by the 100-voice Singing Sergeants in a special
arrangement of The Battle Hymn of the Republic.


8 years after the first broadcast of THE AMERICANS, U.S. President Ronald
Reagan made his first official visit to Canada. At the welcoming
ceremonies on Parliament Hill, the new President praised "the Canadian
journalist who wrote that (tribute)" to the United States when it needed a
friend. Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau had Sinclair flown to Ottawa to be
his guest at the reception that evening.


Sinc had a long and pleasant conversation with Mr. Reagan. The President
told him that he had a copy of the record of THE AMERICANS at his
California ranch home when he was governor of the state, and played it
from time to time when things looked gloomy.


On the evening of May 15th, 1984, following a regular day's broadcasting,
Gordon Sinclair suffered a heart attack. He died on May 17th. As the word
of his illness spread throughout the United States, calls inquiring about
his condition had been received from as far away as Texas. The editorial
in the Sarasota Herald-Tribune of May 28th was typical of the reaction of
the United States news media - A GOOD FRIEND PASSES ON.


U.S. President Ronald Reagan: "I know I speak for all Americans in saying
the radio editorial Gordon wrote in 1973 praising the accomplishments of
the United States was a wonderful inspiration. It was not only critics
abroad who forgot this nation's many great achievements, but even critics
here at home. Gordon Sinclair reminded us to take pride in our nation's
fundamental values."


Former Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau: "Gordon Sinclair's death ends one of
the longest and most remarkable careers in Canadian Journalism. His wit,
irreverence, bluntness and off-beat views have been part of the media
landscape for so long that many Canadians had come to believe he would
always be there."

Following a private family service, two thousand people from all walks of
life filled Nathan Phillips Square in front of Toronto's City Hall for a
public service of remembrance organized by Mayor Art Eggleton. Dignitaries
joining him on the platform were Ontario Lieutenant-Governor, John Black
Aird; the Premier of Ontario, William Davis; and Metro Chairman Paul
Godfrey. Tens of thousands more joined them through CFRB's live broadcast
of the service which began symbolically at 11:45 - the regular time of
Sinc's daily broadcast of LET'S BE PERSONAL.


As Ontario Premier William Davis said of him "The name GORDON SINCLAIR
could become the classic definition of a full life."


(recalled by J. Lyman Potts who was "there""

and the orginal text (Real Audio Sound Clip at web site too):

"The Americans - Original Script
(Listen to the original audio)

"LET'S BE PERSONAL" Broadcast June 5, 1973 CFRB, Toronto, Ontario

-Ronnie

On Thu, 13 Sep 2001, Jon Reynolds wrote:

> A TRIBUTE TO THE UNITED STATES
>
> This, from a Canadian newspaper, is worth sharing.
>
> America: The Good Neighbor.
>
> Widespread but only partial news coverage was given
> recently to a remarkable editorial broadcast from
> Toronto by Gordon Sinclair, a Canadian television
> commentator. What follows is the full text of his
> trenchant remarks as printed in the Congressional Record:
>
> "This Canadian thinks it is time to speak up for the
> Americans as the most generous and possibly the least
> appreciated people on all the earth.
>
> Germany, Japan and, to a lesser extent, Britain and
> Italy were lifted out of the debris of war by the
> Americans who poured in billions of dollars and
> forgave other billions in debts. None of these
> countries is today paying even the interest on its
> remaining debts to the United States.
>
> When France was in danger of collapsing in 1956,
> it was the Americans who propped it up, and their
> reward was to be insulted and swindled on the streets
> of Paris. I was there. I saw it.
>
> When earthquakes hit distant cities, it is the
> United States that hurries in to help. This spring, 59
> American communities were flattened by tornadoes.
> Nobody helped.
>
> The Marshall Plan and the Truman Policy pumped
> billions of dollars! into discouraged countries. Now
> newspapers in those countries are writing about the
> decadent, warmongering Americans.
>
> I'd like to see just one of those countries that
> is gloating over the erosion of the United States
> dollar build its own airplane. Does any other country
> in the world have a plane to equal the Boeing Jumbo
> Jet, the Lockheed Tri-Star, or the Douglas DC10?
> If so, why don't they fly them? Why do all the
> International lines except Russia fly American Planes?
>
> Why does no other land on earth even consider putting
> a man or woman on the moon? You talk about Japanese
> technocracy, and you get radios. You talk about German
> technocracy, and you get automobiles.
>
> You talk about American technocracy, and you find
> men on the moon -! not once, but several times -
> and safely home again.
>
> You talk about scandals, and the Americans put theirs
> right in the store window for everybody to look at.
> Even their draft-dodgers are not pursued and hounded.
> They are here on our streets, and most of them, unless
> they are breaking Canadian laws, are getting American
> dollars from ma and pa at home to spend here.
>
> When the railways of France, Germany and India
> were breaking down through age, it was the Americans
> who rebuilt them. When the Pennsylvania Railroad and
> the New York Central went broke, nobody loaned them an
> old caboose. Both are still broke.
>
> I can name you 5000 times when the Americans raced
> to the help of other people in trouble. Can you name
> me even one time when someone else raced to the
> Americans in trouble? I don't think there was outside
> help even during the San Francisco earthquake.
>
> Our neighbors have faced it alone, and I'm one
> Canadian who is damned tired of hearing them get
> kicked around. They will come out of this thing with
> their flag high. And when they do, they are entitled
> to thumb their nose at the lands that are gloating
> over their present troubles. I hope Canada is not one of
> those."
>
> Stand proud, America!
>
> ---
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