May 17, 2000
Web posted at: 5:00 p.m. EDT

(CNN) – CNN made its debut in 1980 with only one satellite feed and 24 affiliates. Many media giants scoffed at the idea that an all news network could succeed. CNN’s coverage of major events, particularly the Gulf War, made it a household name. It’s rapid growth and success with the public has silenced critics and fostered imitators. It has blossomed with 10 U.S. and 11 international satellite feeds and over 800 affiliates. The risky business has come of age and is a trusted news source around the globe.

Award-winning newsman Greg Lefevre has been with CNN for 17 years. He was with the network from the early days and has covered major events in the western United States. Stories he has reported for CNN include El Niño-related flooding in the West; the 81-day Montana Freemen standoff; the Unabomber trial; the TWA flight 800 crash; the O.J. Simpson trial; San Francisco and Los Angeles earthquakes; and numerous deadly forest fires in the West.

Chat Moderator: Thank you for joining us today, Greg Lefevre, and welcome.

Greg Lefevre: Good afternoon, it's a sunny day in San Francisco, and we are all looking forward to marking the 20th anniversary of what has been an incredible journalistic journey.

Chat Moderator: When did you join CNN?

Greg Lefevre: I joined CNN in the summer of 1983. CNN at the time was better known in the rural and country areas of the West, where we were seen more often by farmers and ranchers on their home satellite systems.

I recall having to explain to more than one interview subject first the concept of cable TV, and second, what Cable News Network was. I recall vividly one older woman whom I needed to interview for a story saying, "I'll be happy to talk to you, if you will fix my cable TV!"

I said, "Yes." I did, and she granted me the interview. :-) Things are a little different now. But, if you need your cable TV fixed, I can do it. :)

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Chat Moderator: How involved was Ted Turner in the actual news department in the early days?

Greg Lefevre: My recollection was that Mr. Turner wanted journalists to decide what was news. Certainly, in my experience, he was pretty much hands-off.

Question from Gogirl: Did you ever interview O.J.?

Greg Lefevre: No, I didn't. Mr. Simpson, during my tenure at the O.J. Simpson trial, was himself a guest of the County of Los Angeles, and thus unavailable to the media. Shortly after his acquittal, he did grant an interview that was later to be sold as a commercial videotape.

Chat Moderator: Is there a story or event that you would have liked to cover but didn't get the opportunity to and, if so, what was it?

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Greg Lefevre: Yes, the San Francisco earthquake. At the moment of the San Francisco earthquake in 1989, I was on vacation in New England. It was perhaps one of the most frustrating moments a journalist could have, to see parts of his city in flames, while struggling himself to secure an airline flight back home.

As it was, a heroic counter agent at American Airlines managed to find a way to get me on an already full flight and route me all the way from Boston to San Francisco in near record time.

I spent months covering the aftermath of the San Francisco earthquake, its effects on the people, the economy, the geology, and the history of San Francisco. But I have to tell you, as a journalist, I really missed being there at that moment. And yes, all my friends are okay. :)

Question from Jerry: CNN is referred to as the most liberal network. Do you think that label is justified?

Greg Lefevre: No. Each day, when I hear members of our company discuss the news of the day, and how it needs to be covered, there invariably is someone saying, "How do we balance this?" Quite often, a political story will run and we will hear from viewers on both sides of the issue, perhaps praising, or perhaps condemning in equal measure. Oddly, that is a clue that those who sought the balance in our coverage succeeded.

Question from Capitalist: How will the widespread growth of satellite receivers affect CNN's future?

Greg Lefevre: It will benefit us, because we are able to reach more people more easily. We hope that satellite technology will also help our viewers and readers by giving them easier access to the CNN channels.

I am also, as a journalist, excited about the Internet possibilities that satellite transmission offers. For example, I received an email from a man in Kenya who was asking how he could receive CNN Interactive in his village, which has no telephone service. I informed him of a number of satellite and wireless Internet services now available in the United States, and perhaps soon available in other parts of the world. With better communication, everyone wins.

Chat Moderator: What has been the most memorable story that you've covered?

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Greg Lefevre: A group called Simba, in Oakland, CA. They're a group of African-American men who have grown up in the inner city. They have devoted themselves to improving the lives of young boys who are at risk from drugs, broken homes, and poverty.

These men mentor these young boys in very small groups, counseling them, helping them with homework, sometimes just passing along man-to-man advice. The program is remarkable in that it has been extraordinarily successful despite very little funding. I have seen boys at severe risk become successful young men, who have returned to this program to help other young boys also succeed in life.

Chat Moderator: Do you have any funny stories about the early days at CNN that you can share with us?

Greg Lefevre: In the early days, CNN sometimes struggled just to get that day's news on the air. These were the early days of satellite transmission, of microwave trucks that sometimes did not work very well, new camera technologies that perhaps needed to be tested more, and sometimes, just bad luck, like missing a plane.

Five years later, I openly congratulated our network on its coverage of Operation Desert Shield, which many believed was the public turning point for CNN. I must give credit to the "CNN originals," those few who were at the helm of this company long before I got here, who set it on the course that it is on today.

Chat Moderator: Do you have any final thoughts you would like to share with us?

Greg Lefevre: Without sounding maudlin, this is journalism's best job. We are lucky enough to be seen by millions, and what is now becoming the really great part is that the Internet now brings us one-on-one to many of those people, creating a two-way communication, and two-way information flow that was never before possible.

Chat Moderator: Thank you for joining us today.

Greg Lefevre: I am so grateful that people take the time to talk to us.