Bob Schieffer: ‘I Keep Saying I’m Going to Retire, and I Never Do’

Fresh from anchoring Face the Nation on Sunday from Miami, Bob Schieffer headlined some special events this week at his namesake, the Schieffer School of Journalism at Texas Christian University.

A 1959 TCU alum, Schieffer is actively involved with the School. After all, he tells TVNewser, “if it’s going to have my name on it, I want it to be the best.”

On Monday, the CBS newsman co-hosted a free campus screening of 1987′s Broadcast News with CBS’ 48 Hours EP Susan Zirinsky. Zirinsky was a technical adviser on the film and the inspiration for Holly Hunter‘s character.

Then today, Schieffer and wife Pat helped cut a ribbon at the official dedication ceremony for the School’s new multi-platform media convergence lab. “We’re really proud of it,” says Schieffer.

The lab is intended to help students prepare for a shifting media landscape. “It’s tough,” Schieffer says about the state of journalism. “And it is tough to get jobs…[But] you can’t have a democracy without accurate information…there will always be a need for accurate information…”

His trip to Texas complete, Schieffer is now trying to get home to Washington — but his flight today was canceled due to weather. Schieffer instead is hoping to fly to New York tonight on Zirinsky’s flight and then take Amtrak to DC tomorrow.

It’s a busy pace that Schieffer loves. “I keep saying I’m going to retire, and then something happens, and I never do. I’m not!” he says with a laugh. He says he has a long-term, “open-ended” contract, and “so I’m just going to keep doing Face the Nation as long as they want me to do it.”

(Photos: Chance Welch, TCU Daily Skiff)

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