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Profile - HARRY REASONER ALPHA PI

Harry Reasoner — a famous man. Yet in many ways, his life is like yours and mine. He spends his spare time commuting to and from the city and finds a moment or two for tennis. One of television's top journalists is a family man who devotes his evening hours to his wife and children. There are seven children — the oldest, a boy, is 30; the youngest is a boy, 15; and there are five girls in between. "I have daughters like some people have mice," exclaims Harry Reasoner.

His day is usually 9:30 a.m. to 7:30 p.m. unless there is a special assignment or trip. He eats lunch like everybody else (he's a French cooking fan), with some of his favorite eating spots in the west side of mid-town New York, near the CBS headquarters where he worked for 14 years. Now he is the key newsman with ABC and can be seen nightly during weekdays on the ABC Evening News.

Harry Reasoner (L) and Erecutive Director Howard Alter, Jr. following lunch at Le Biarritz in New York City

Harry Reasoner was introduced to Theta Chi in the fall of 1940 by Francis "Gus" Cooper, now a vice president of New York Life. "The chapter was way down in numbers and Gus took it upon himself to get a group of us from the journalism school to join". He was initiated October 16, 1941. He warmly remembers his days at the University of Minnesota and Alpha Pi Chapter and retains some deep friendships he made there. "We had fun, and the fellows were good about not making me pay my bills".

"About the only famous Theta Chi we knew back then was Sammy Kaye. He had just written 'Drink a Toast to Theta Chi' and one morning George Gates and I decided that the Fraternity had enough drinking songs. What Theta Chi needed were some breakfast songs, so we re-wrote it as 'Burn Some Toast for Theta Chi' and it went something like this:

Burn some toast for Theta Chi
From coast to coast, let cinders fly;
Burn white, burn rye for Theta Chi
And wave your bathrobes in a toast to Theta Chi.

Harry Reasoner was chapter social chair-man of Alpha Pi Chapter and worked on the Minnesota Daily staff.

Brother Reasoner left the University in the spring of 1942 and went to work as a drama critic for a local paper. He then got a job writ-ing news for radio in Minneapolis. "Those first jobs are most important to your future success". He later moved to Manila when he joined the U.S. Information Agency, and after his return, joined the staff of CBS news in 1956. He has worked in New York and lived in Connecticut ever since.

Harry Reasoner is author of two books now out of print, a novel Tell Me About Women, and a collection of essays known as The Reasoner Report. His travels have led him from Washing-ton, D.C. to his latest trip to China with President Ford. Comparing China and the Soviet Union, he feels that although things in China are constantly "rah-rah" for visitors, the Chinese way of life and attitude toward society and government are easier to put up with than the Russian. The stories he likes to cover most are ones involving individuals, not just people in the mass. "Usually you like best what you did last".

Brother Reasoner is the master at remain-ing non-partisan on the air, a talent not always shared by a great number of his colleagues. "Non-partisanship does not have to be bland". He is keenly aware of the power of the media and exercises care that he will remain a responsible spokesman for and to society.

The friendly charisma that projects from the man on the TV screen is not a phony image. Harry Reasoner is a warm, witty, and at times self-effacing man. He was pleased to learn he is a "hero figure" for today's Theta Chis in a day when heroes are all too few. We can be proud to call Harry Reasoner "brother". He is a famous man, but in many ways he's just like you and me.

Spring 1977 Edition of Rattle