Firing Line (TV program)


Firing Line is an American public affairs show founded in and hosted by conservative author and columnist William F. Buckley Jr. from 1966 to 1999, and relaunched in 2018 with host Margaret Hoover.
Under Buckley, 1,504 episodes over 33 years made Firing Line the longest-running public affairs show in television history with a single host. The program, which featured many influential public figures in the United States, won an Emmy Award in 1969.

Broadcast history

Firing Line began on April 4, 1966 as an hour-long show for commercial television, syndicated by WOR-TV in New York City, where it ran for 240 episodes. It was mainly seen on weekends in low-rated afternoon or late-night time slots, because of the program's admitted appeal to a small, "high-brow" demographic group.
In 1971, Firing Line moved to the Public Broadcasting Service under the auspices of the Southern Educational Communications Association, an arm of South Carolina Educational Television. This was somewhat unusual, given the reputation among many conservatives that PBS unfairly discriminated against non-liberal viewpoints in its other programming. SECA/SCETV, however, was one of the very few public broadcasting entities of the time that was sympathetic to the conservative movement. On top of this, the program had already been carried by a number of individual PBS stations for a number of years.
Because the program received a relatively unfavorable Sunday evening timeslot on PBS' schedule in the early 1970s, Buckley and long-time director Warren Steibel briefly attempted to return Firing Line to commercial TV, but could not find sponsors. Thus, the program would remain on PBS until Buckley and Steibel discontinued production on December 17, 1999, with Buckley's final episode airing December 26, 1999.
In April 2018, PBS announced they would begin airing a new Firing Line hosted by Margaret Hoover.

Buckley tenure

Show format

Although the program's format varied over the years, it typically featured Buckley interviewing, and exchanging views with, a guest, while seated together in front of a small studio audience. Standing or sitting further away in the studio, an "examiner", typically a liberal, would ask questions, generally toward the end of the show. Most guests were intellectuals or those in positions of power, being notable in the fields of politics, religion, literature and academia. Their views could either sharply contrast or be in strong agreement with Buckley's.
Reflecting Buckley's talents and preferences, the exchange of views was almost always polite, and the guests were given time to answer questions at length, giving the program a leisurely pace. "The show was devoted to a leisurely examination of issues and ideas at an extremely high level", according to Jeff Greenfield, who frequently appeared as an examiner. John Kenneth Galbraith said of the program, "Firing Line is one of the rare occasions when you have a chance to correct the errors of the man who's interrogating you."
The show might be compared in politeness and style of discourse to other national public interview shows, specifically those hosted by Richard Heffner, Charlie Rose or Terry Gross, but Buckley was clearly interested in debate. In a 1999 Salon.com article, The Weekly Standard editor William Kristol summarized Buckley's approach to the show: "Buckley really believes that in order to convince, you have to debate and not just preach, which of course means risking the possibility that someone will beat you in debate." Buckley was not averse to asking tough questions of friendly guests, either, according to Tom Wolfe who recalled the interviewer asking him whether there were really any original insights in his book The Bonfire of the Vanities.
Buckley and his producer, Warren Steibel, used various methods over the years to bring extra perspectives to the show. In the early years, there would often be a panel of questioners. In 1977 the panel was replaced by an "examiner" who played a larger part in the proceedings. Examiners varied, with Jeff Greenfield, Michael Kinsley, Harriet Pilpel, and Mark J. Green appearing most frequently. When the show was shortened to 30 minutes in 1988, the role of examiner was eliminated, but there was often a moderator, whose role was similar to that of the moderator in a formal debate. The moderator would introduce both host and guest, and then ask the opening question.
Starting in 1978, scattered among the regular broadcasts were occasional specials and two-hour formal debates, with opening statements, cross-examination, and closing statements. In 1988, at Buckley's request, the running time of regular program shows was reduced from one hour to a half-hour. Beginning in March 1993, the two-hour formal debates would often be followed by half-hour shows in which most or all of the participants engaged in informal discussion. In the 1980s and 1990s, the debate episodes were frequently broadcast on the Monday evenings after PBS pledge drives concluded.
A recurring episode that Buckley had rebroadcast every Christmas, beginning in 1981, was an interview he did with Malcolm Muggeridge at his home in Sussex, England. The title of the episode was "How Does One Find Faith?" The episode deals with questions that are religious and spiritual in nature.

Buckley's persona

Buckley's distinctive mannerisms were prominently displayed by the program and were part of the public images of both the show and Buckley. Buckley was frequently seen leaning far back in his chair, a pen near his mouth and a clipboard in hand. His flicking tongue, widening eyes, and flashing smile also characterized his style, as did his multi-syllabic vocabulary. Buckley's voice was widely satirized as, for instance, by Robin Williams in the animated movie Aladdin.
At the same time that guests were treated politely, Buckley might also gently mock them, particularly if he was friendly with them, as with John Kenneth Galbraith or examiner Mark J. Green. "You've been on the show close to 100 times over the years", Buckley once asked Green. "Tell me, Mark, have you learned anything yet?" When Allen Ginsberg asked if he could sing a song in praise of Krishna, Buckley acceded and the poet chanted "Hare Krishna" repeatedly as he played dolefully on a harmonium. According to Richard Brookhiser, an associate of Buckley's, the host commented that it was "the most unharried Krishna I've ever heard".
Buckley's celebrated politeness sometimes wore thin: in a 1969 debate with linguist and political activist Noam Chomsky, Buckley said "I rejoice in your disposition to argue the Vietnam question, especially when I recognize what an act of self-control this must involve." Chomsky acknowledged that "ometimes I lose my temper. Maybe not tonight." "Maybe not tonight", Buckley said, "because if you would I'd smash you in the goddamn face."
Buckley addressed his guests as "Mr." or "Mrs." He once called Margaret Thatcher "Margaret" because he thought she had addressed him as "Bill". He was embarrassed later when he saw the transcript and realized she had been referring to a legislative bill. He immediately wrote a personal letter of apology to the Prime Minister.
For the show's 15th anniversary in 1981, Senator Daniel Patrick Moynihan, Vernon Jordan, Henry Kissinger, and Louis Auchincloss presided over a party for Buckley at the New York Yacht Club.

Guests

Prominent guests on the program included:

Show Reboot

is the current host of Firing Line reboot on PBS. The show premiered on June 2, 2018 on WNET, which serves the New York metropolitan area, and is the largest PBS market in the country. The show maintains the original format of deep exchange of ideas with a single guest on a single issue within its 26-minute runtime. It is produced weekly at the WNET Tisch Studios.

Episodes

The first fourteen episodes of the program featured guests representing a variety of sociopolitical ideologies, including Speaker of the House Paul Ryan, Ohio Governor John Kasich, Journalist Gretchen Carlson, Senator Jeff Merkley, “the rising star of the political Left,” Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, and “accidental icon of the conservative movement,” Jordan Peterson. Margaret Hoover's interview with Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez earned national and international attention for her comments ranging from the state of capitalism and the unemployment rate in the United States to the State of Israel. The former governor of New Jersey Chris Christie was interviewed in which he referred to the crimes that Jared Kushner’s father committed as 'loathsome'. Senator Tom Cotton of Arkansas declared in his interview that the U.S. could defeat Iran with, "two strikes. The first strike and the last strike."

Reception

wrote that, “Under Ms. Hoover's direction, the discourse is civil and substantive.” A show review by the National Review states, “the reincarnation of Firing Line comes at an interesting time, and a needful one.” In the run-up to the show's television premiere Politico said, "It seems like a great idea, so let’s test drive it and see what happens." CNN Anchor Poppy Harlow stated that Firing Line with Margaret Hoover “is appointment television in my house” on CNN Newsroom. Hoover has made multiple television appearances for the Firing Line reboot, including ones on Good Morning America, The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, and Real Time with Bill Maher.
In May 2019 Hoover was awarded Journalist of the Year by The Algemeiner for her work as host.

Guests

Beginning with the move of the program to public television in 1971, the theme music of Firing Line was the Brandenburg Concerto No. 2 in F Major, Third Movement, by Johann Sebastian Bach.

Availability of Episodes: Online and DVD

A number of episodes of the show have been released on DVD by the Hoover Institution Library & Archives at Stanford University, and are sold exclusively through Amazon.com, which also makes episodes accessible via Amazon Video. As well as that, for a slightly higher price, the Hoover Archive will supply unreleased episodes on DVD through its website. Episodes with playlists by year are now available on YouTube.
Digitized audiovisual recordings and transcripts of more than 1,500 Firing Line episodes were contributed to the American Archive of Public Broadcasting via external links from The Hoover Institution Library and Archives at Stanford University.