In recent years, he's sorely missed his department's morning editorial meetings with their lively discussions. During his leave, beginning March 3, Buzenberg plans to finish a book he's writing with his wife Susan about former CBS News President Richard Salant. The late Salant was also an NPR Board member who tried to get the network to reject funding earmarked for specific regions or topics. Salant quit the board in 1990, during a conflict over the issue with then-President Doug Bennet. Salant also had struggles at CBS News, to which Buzenberg says he can relate.
Middle management is a thankless job.
Here he is, fighting upstairs for a budget. And Lewis said on Jan. 17 that he has the utmost respect for the news executive, who, like himself, comes from Kansas and served in the Peace Corps. Any time we won an award, or covered something very well, he really celebrated that. Buzenberg seems to agree. It's different from any place I ever worked.