A new Barbara Walters documentary delves into the sometimes unflattering truth of her life

Perhaps even more fascinating than the politicians, autocrats, and celebrities Barbara Walters interviewed during her lengthy and illustrious career is Walters herself. When she was hired in 1961 to write “women’s features” for NBC’s “Today Show,” she was keen to establish herself as a serious journalist and move beyond the “soft, fluffy” stories. In 1974, she co-hosted “The Today Show,” becoming the first female co-host. She then accepted a $1 million salary to co-anchor “The Evening News” with Harry Reasoner at ABC. “.”.

Although Walters experienced sexism and alienation at ABC, she also outperformed her competitors, including Walter Cronkite, by landing important interviews with Menachem Begin and Anwar Sadat. Additionally, Walters established herself as the go-to person for special interview shows at ABC, where she spoke openly with top news figures, including former presidents and well-known celebrities. In order to humanize her subjects—from Monica Lewinsky to Moammar Gadhafi—she frequently used probing questions. She co-hosted and produced the immensely popular talk show “The View” as her third act. “.”.

“There are some things in the movie that aren’t particularly flattering, but they reveal who she was, and I wanted it to be authentic and true. “..”.

The documentary “Barbara Walters Tell Me Everything” sheds light on the TV journalist’s extraordinary career, which opened doors for numerous female journalists, including mentees Oprah Winfrey and Katie Couric, who are interviewed for the film. It also discusses Walters’ rivalry with Diane Sawyer.

Director Jackie Jesko also explores Walter’s private life, including her tense relationships with Senator Edward Brook and Roy Cohn, her failed marriages, and her complex relationship with her parents and adopted daughter.

Jesko focuses on Walters’ struggles as an outsider in a male-dominated setting, her goals and failures in her career and personal life, and her victories. However, the movie also demonstrates the evolution and expansion of TV journalism over the years. Barbara Walters was an inspiration to many, and she will never be replaced.

Salon interviewed Jesko about the Tribeca Film Festival’s production of “Barbara Walters: Tell Me Everything.”.

To make it longer and more readable, the following interview has been slightly edited.

For many people, Barbara Walters is very important. What did you think of her at first?

Barbara Walters’ appearance on “The View” as a much older woman is what I associate with her culturally. While everyone remembers the Monica Lewinsky interviews, I specifically recall her as the “Grande Dame” of “The View.”. Actually, aside from her appearances on “The View,” I didn’t know much about her personal life. I was obviously aware of her career, but not her personal life.

Did she do any interviews that particularly stood out to you?

It was, for me, her 1976 interview with Fidel Castro. I hope we can utilize it all. Hours and hours of uncut video were available. She was able to hold him in many ways and force him to step outside of his comfort zone as they filmed back and forth for a full day. Watching it was incredible.

In “Barbara Walters Tell Me Everything” (ABC News Studios), Barbara Walters conducts an interview with Katharine Hepburn.

You set a celebratory, yet sometimes critical, tone, but what choices did you make about how to approach Barbara Walters, who had such a large and rich life?

I felt that avoiding a hagiography was crucial. Films like that don’t pique my interest. Everyone is aware of her complexity. At first, choosing which stories to use from her career was challenging. Her autobiography “Audition” served as my guide, and the topics she covered there were significant and served as a road map. The book is excellent. She gave it her all. I regret not doing an audiobook. It would greatly have eased our lives. [Giggles].

Wonderful snippets of Walters working both on and off camera are included. What were your criteria for what to include and how to include it, and how many hours of footage did you go through?

Making decisions was challenging because you don’t want to repeat the same tale repeatedly. It is up to you to determine what each of these interviews you read about signifies or demonstrates. Given how similar Castro and Gadhafi are, we only chose one. To answer your question, I should find out how many terabytes of footage there were, but entering the archives was really scary. The vast majority of Barbara’s career was spent working for ABC, and they opened a vault that I don’t believe they had ever opened before. It was difficult to choose what to focus on, but I began my career as a news producer (my first job was at ABC), so I knew that, because you shoot more on a trip, we would find the most hidden footage and impromptu material in shoots where she had to physically travel rather than in-studio. To find out what we could from the cutting room floor footage, we began with Israeli Prime Minister Menachem Begin and Egyptian President Anwar Sadat. We also discovered some excellent material in the routine sitting interviews.

Also, the film has a stellar cast of talking heads, including Joy Behar, Cynthia McFadden, Katie Couric, Oprah, and Bette Midler. How did you choose which people to interview and which tales to share?

We wanted to ensure that there was minimal overlap in the talking heads interviews because Barbara had a lot of different phases in her life and a wide range of interests. I was aware that she and Oprah had a unique bond; it wasn’t just that she was mentioning Barbara because she was well-known. They were acquainted. Cynthia McFadden, whom I knew from my days at “Nightline,” was an amazing interviewee. Our goal was to pull from both sides of the camera. The individuals seated opposite Barbara were Bette and Monica. As a member of “The View,” Joy was, in my opinion, Barbara’s proudest chapter.

The ABC News Studios program “Barbara Walters Tell Me Everything” features Barbara Walters interviewing Moammar Gadhafi.

Walters was an innovative reporter. Despite the extreme sexism she encountered, she managed to achieve success. Her reporting on politics, celebrities, and “tabloid” stories was extremely astute. Walters was also professionally paired with Diane Sawyer. It has been said that she did transactional work. How did you feel about her professional life?

“She wanted to be watched, and she was aware of where the eyes were going. “.”.

I wanted the movie to be authentic and real, and while some of the content isn’t particularly flattering, it does reveal something about her. That’s the movie’s main goal. I want people to leave knowing what she was like and what motivated her. Everyone is familiar with her work. With that, we weren’t exactly going to blow everyone away. It was done for the public. It has been seen by all. Depending on how much of a fan they are, people are aware of certain details about her life. [laughs] However, I thought we had to cover everything, including her contentious friendships, the Diane Sawyer incident, and how she altered the definition of news. And there has been a lot of criticism directed at that. Was it fair? I have mixed feelings about some of it. However, she wanted to be watched and was aware of where the eyes were going.

One interviewee in the movie, however, claims that “romance never worked in her life.”. Her unions were not fulfilling. She had that strange relationship with Roy Cohn and had to keep her affair with Senator Brooke a secret because he was married. Regarding her personal life, what observations do you have?

She might have benefited from these various relationships when they were healthy, but I don’t think she needed that to be content because she had such a large life. I recognize that.

How have the conditions for female journalists changed, in your opinion?

Today, women predominate in television news. They have probably held every position. They have worked both in front of and behind the cameras, and they have served as network presidents. They have essentially reached the pinnacle of the gender equality industry.

Why isn’t there a Barbara Walters today?

There can’t be another Barbara Walters, in my opinion, because there is no way to attract 70 million viewers. “,”.

Even the industry itself has been deteriorating. There can’t be another Barbara Walters, in my opinion, because there is no way to get 70 million viewers to watch anything. I believe that some podcasters may be occupying that area to some extent, but the notion that you can take over a whole nation has simply vanished. Social media has completely transformed our information-gathering habits. I believe that has advantages and disadvantages. It’s not a value judgment, but a television journalist could never reach the audiences Barbara did, and as a result, they would never have the same influence on public opinion as she did.

Walters had a reputation for posing difficult queries. If you had the opportunity to speak with Barbara Walters for this movie, what questions would you have asked her?

It’s a good question, and I haven’t thought about it much. In fact, I want to know if she has a true love. I’m not aware that there was.

Prior to its June 23 Hulu debut, “Barbara Walters: Tell Me Everything” made its world premiere on June 12 at the Tribeca Festival.