Sunday morning missionary: legendary producer Tom Bettag takes on The Week.(Top of the Week)

Broadcasting & Cable, August, 2004 by McConnell, Bill

Tom Bettag has some choice words for the ritualistic world of Sunday-morning news: "ponderous, pompous and absolutely humorless."

That's strong language coming from the executive producer of This Week with George Stephanopoulos, an also-ran behind Tim Russert's Meet the Press ratings machine and even Bob Scheiffer's Face the Nation.

"There is a sense that guest spots belong to the Council of Foreign Relations, former diplomats and State Department people." Pursing his lips and nodding his head in a staccato rhythm, he adds: "They ... all ... talk ... like ... Wal ... ter ... Cron ... kite ... and ... that's the way it is."

Bettag faces the Herculean task of making Stephanopoulos, best known as a key player in Bill Clinton's first...

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