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Andrew HeiskellAndrew Heiskell
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Session:         Page of 824

Q:

Was the actual--was the influence of his political thinking as great on the publications as Luce's had been on the publications, even though the politics might have been a little different? Or had--

Heiskell:

He didn't overtly attempt to have very strong views about political matters. He had views, obviously, and his views changed--see Vietnam, where we moved from being very gung ho to saying, “Let's get out.” He had strong views, obviously, about Watergate, and called for Nixon's resignation, I guess it was, or impeachment--I forget which. But he didn't follow any particular party line. While having views, they were not all of a certain shape.

His silences were sometimes more effective than anything he said. He had a way of sort of implying that somebody was pretty dumb by a very long silence. [laughter]

Q:

[laughter] A very effective means.

Heiskell:

It is very effective. Oh, yes, it absolutely terrified people.

Q:

But whatever his political views at a given moment, were they as strongly influential on the particular M.E.'s--managing editors--or in the Donovan regime--as Luce's had been--or in the Donovan regime, were the magazines more a reflection of the particular managing editors' viewpoints, as opposed to the editor-in-chief?





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