Richard Valeriani | |
|---|---|
| Born | (1932-08-29)August 29, 1932 |
| Died | June 18, 2018(2018-06-18) (aged 85) |
| Occupation | Journalist |
| Employer | NBC News |
Richard Valeriani (August 29, 1932 – June 18, 2018)[1] was an American journalist who was aWhite House correspondent and diplomatic correspondent withNBC News in the 1960s and 1970s. He previously covered theCivil Rights Movement for the network and was seriously injured when hit in the head with an ax handle at a demonstration inMarion, Alabama, in 1965.[2]
Valeriani spoke five languages and began his career in the 1950s covering theBay of Pigs inCuba.[3] However, his seemingly most important works were in the Civil Rights Movement of the 1960s. He reported on the important happenings at Selma and Marion Alabama, along with numerous other civil rights happenings.
| External videos | |
|---|---|
 “Eyes on the Prize; Interview with Richard Valeriani” conducted in 1985 for theEyes on the Prize documentary. |
In an interview conducted byEyes on the Prize, on December 10, 1985, Valeriani said, "I think theSelma campaign was kind of the culmination of the movement. They had gone through the exercise in Albany, Georgia... they had the experience in Birmingham... so they refined a lot of their techniques and so I think Selma was carried out with that experience."[4] He was one of the reporters covering Selma, Albany, and Birmingham; which is how he knew what the movement members went through in order to prepare for Selma.
In that same interview Valeriani, in response to a question about whether the press was hated as much as the movement participants, he said, "Um, yeah, I think a lot of people identified us with the movement. We were in the middle... If you wanted to do something, well you couldn't do anything anyway, you couldn't write an editorial as a reporter, the best you could do, um, and you did it as much for the news value..."[4] He was in just as much danger as the movement participants because of this association with the movement. He would get complaints from the white population saying he was instigating aggravators for promoting the movement; while there were complaints from the movement saying that he wasn't promoting the movement enough. Based on this he couldn't satisfy both sides of the argument in the nation.[citation needed]
February 18, 1965 in Marion, Alabama, there was a march from the Baptist Church to the jail. Although this was only a half block march, they were met with strong opposition from the police. This was nothing short of a mass beating when the police moved in on the marchers. During this time, Valeriani was hit in the back on the head with an axe handle and put in the hospital because of his injuries.[5][full citation needed] This was an infamous time for Valeriani. He continued his work throughout the movement.
In July 1962, he interviewed Marion King, the wife ofSlater King, who had been beaten by policemen inCamilla, Georgia, while trying to take clothes to jailed civil rights protesters fromAlbany, Georgia.[citation needed]
Valeriani portrayed himself as a reporter forCNN from the deck of the Frenchaircraft carrierFoch in the 1995 filmCrimson Tide, providing the opening newscast which sets up the plot. He reappeared again in the aftermath of the conflict.[citation needed]
As a participant in the events portrayed in the 2014 filmSelma, Valeriani considered the film excellent and substantially accurate in presenting the role of media such as Roy Reed ofThe New York Times, but found the role of television underplayed.[6]
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
| Other | |
