Reagan’s
Life Captured in Documentary by Policy Professor
As the
nation mourned Ronald Reagan’s death, Public Policy
and Communication Professor Frank Sesno was called upon
to return to his former job as a commentator and journalist
covering the former President. Two television programs
that he created before Reagan’s death also ran
for the first time.
One of
them, a documentary he produced for the History Channel,
delved deeper into the man behind the former President
than ever before. “What really made it extraordinary
is the family opened up,” said Sesno, adding,
“This History Channel documentary was a three-dimensional
take on Reagan.”
While
the original documentary first aired in November
2002, an additional three hours of in-depth Sesno
interviews didn’t premier until after Reagan’s
death. This new piece, “Ronald Reagan: The
Man They Knew,” which is available for purchase
on the History Channel Web site, includes memories
from former President George Bush, President George
W. Bush and former Soviet Premiere Mikhail Gorbachev;
interviews with Reagan’s closest advisors:
Michael Deaver and James Baker; and interviews
with wife Nancy Reagan and children Patti Davis
and Ron Reagan.
|
President
George W. Bush speaks to Frank Sesno in the White
House Red Room for a History Channel special on
Ronald Reagan.
Source : Tina Hager for www.whitehouse.gov
[URL :
Red
Room Historical Photo Essay] |
“We
let them just tell their stories. They let us know what
it was like to work with or live with the former President,”
Sesno said. “They really brought him to life in
a special way.”
In addition
to the History Channel documentary, CNN premiered a
piece that Sesno did on Reagan in 2000, before he left
his job there.
Through
his work Sesno learned something about the former
President that he hoped to reveal to the public.
“Reagan was in fact more complex than often
appreciated. He had a much more significant hand
in scripting his presidency than is portrayed
in most media and commonly believed in public,”
Sesno said.
“From
a public policy point-of-view, Reagan’s
long track record and ideology thoroughly animated
his decision-making and personnel picks,”
Sesno said. “Because of his consistency
or stubbornness (depending on your political views),
he achieved a lot of what he talked about or at
least set the stage for it to happen.”
|
Professor
Frank Sesno |
Sesno included
an end to the arms buildup, the collapse of the Soviet
Union and Welfare reform as consequences of Reagan’s
policy decisions. He added, “The conservative
political realignment in America owes itself profoundly
to the determined, optimistic face Reagan put on conservative
politics…Reagan policy is profound.”
Sesno also
sees a communication lesson in Reagan’s
presidency, which he said the current President Bush
is trying to duplicate: “Know what you want to
do. Articulate it and repeat it often. Dismiss or belittle
the critics. Have confidence in yourself and play the
hand your dealt.”
Sesno has
narrated a series on homeland security and co-produced
a piece on Tom Ridge for the History Channel.
He also moderates “The Sesno Reports,” a
series of public television programs sponsored by GMU
and WETA. The next show, called “The Cost of
War,” will air in October on public television
stations nationwide. |
