Barbara Walters: Successful Journalist – Documentary Treatment Concept
By Crystal Hollis | Summer 2010 | RTVF 2010 Introduction to RTVF Writing
Barbara Walters: Successful Journalist
The film opens with dramatic music in the background and a clip from Barbara Walters’ 20/20 interview with Monica Lewinsky. We see Executive Producer David Sloan commenting on the interview. We see photographs and stock footage from recent times of Barbara Walters while the narrator provides a general overview about her. Barbara Walters talk about her parents and childhood. Walter’s sister Walda Anderson provides her thoughts on how Barbara coped with the deaths of their brother and sister. We see images and home videos of the family while Barbara talks about them. Then we hear the narrator talk about Walters’ personal life having married and divorced four times. Walters talk about her relationships with her ex-husbands. We see images of pages from Walters’ autobiography while the narrator talks about Walters’ previous relationships and affairs. We see footage of Walters interviewing Alan Greenspan from the show 10 Most Fascinating People while Greenspan provides some thought on their relationship. Walters’ daughter Jacqueline Danforth talks about what it is like having Barbara Walters as a mother. We see pictures of Danforth with her mother from when she was a little girl while Danforth comments on her mother’s success.
Then we see yearbook photos and graduation pictures while the narrator talk about Walters getting education in New York. Barbara Walters talks about how she became a news journalist. We see screenshots from early news tapings and images of news articles while the narrator explains how Walters working her way up and making millions of dollars. Oprah Winfrey provides her thoughts and opinions about the impact Barbara Walters made in the news media industry for women. We see footage of Walters’ coverage of the former First Lady Jackie Kennedy while the narrator explains the turning points of her career. Oprah Winfrey gives her opinions on the way Barbara Walters speaks to the audience. Whoopi Goldberg talks about Walters’ role in creating The View. Charles Gibson commenting on Walters’ significant role in the news media as a successful journalist and powerful woman. Diane Sawyer provides her opinions about Walters’ influence on the ABC news network. Barbara Walters talks about her recent open-heart surgery and her thoughts about retirement and her future plans.
Pictures:
- Collection of private photographs and home videos from Barbara Walters and her family members in New York.
- Stock footage, screenshots, and photographs from the ABC Network from programs such as The View, 10 Most Fascinating People, 20/20, ABC Evening News, ABC World News, and ABC News in New York.
- Stock footage, screenshots, and photographs from the NBC Network from the program The Today Show in New York.
- Scans of newspaper articles from the 1960s and 1970s with headlines about Barbara Walters’ successful rise in the American broadcast industry.
- Scans of pages from Barbara Walters’ autobiography Audition.
- Yearbook scans with pictures of Barbara Walters from Miami Beach High School class of 1947.
- Yearbook scans with pictures of Barbara Walters from the Ethical Culture Fieldston School and Birch Walthen Lenox school in years prior to graduation class of 1947.
Locations:
- Barbara Walters’ home in New York City
- ABC Network studio in New York City
- NBC Network studio in New York City
- Barbara Walters’ family home in Boston, Massachusetts
Interviews:
- Barbara Walters, on and off camera
- Jacqueline Danforth (daughter), on and off camera
- 20/20 anchor Diane Sawyer, on camera
- Alan Greenspan, on camera
- Walda Walters Anderson, on camera
- 20/20 Executive Producer David Sloan, on camera
- Oprah Winfrey, on camera
- Charles Gibson, on camera
- Whoopi Goldberg, on camera
Crystal J. Hollis 