[Congressional Record Volume 144, Number 5 (Tuesday, February 3, 1998)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E64-E65]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                        A TRIBUTE TO DAVE MOORE

                                 ______
                                 

                            HON. JIM RAMSTAD

                              of minnesota

                    in the house of representatives

                       Tuesday, February 3, 1998

  Mr. RAMSTAD. Mr. Speaker, I rise to pay tribute to a true pioneer in 
broadcasting and television journalism.
  These are very sad days in Minnesota, as a true legend has passed 
from our midst. No one who has called Minnesota home for the past half 
century will ever forget Dave Moore of WCCO Television in Minneapolis, 
who died on Wednesday, January 28, 1998.
  Dave Moore was much, much more than a television news anchor. His 
standard-setting ethics, keen wit, astute observations, lyrical prose, 
sheer longevity, inspiring work ethic and unique, curmudgeonly demeanor 
helped to define Minnesota for all of us who absolutely had to be home 
for the 6 and 10 p.m. news. His background in theater gave him a 
special talent few of today's journalists possess: the ability to touch 
viewers by conveying his feelings.
  Mr. Speaker, Dave was a humble man, full of self-effacing humor, 
never one to overrate his importance in our lives. ``I am a very lucky 
guy . . . I have one marketable talent,'' he once said, ``reading out 
loud.''
  For 47 wonderful years on Channel 4, WCCO-TV, Dave gave us the news. 
On newscasts from 1957 until 1991, he was there every day.
  Late on Saturday nights, you were absolutely un-Minnesotan if you 
weren't home for Moore's late-night ``The Bedtime Nooz,'' a show full 
of cutting-edge humor that poked fun at current events and politicians.
  An outsider trying to gauge Dave Moore's significance to Minnesotans 
needed only look at the front pages of newspapers last week. The 
tributes to Dave Moore have been poignant and powerful: grown people 
searching and yanking deep to pull up childhood memories--and producing 
tears mixed with laughter in our newspapers and on broadcasts across 
the dial.
  Mr. Speaker, if you went back to just about any day--from television 
news' infancy in the 1950s to its slick, digitalized, distant relative 
here in the 1990s--you would find Moore dominating conversations, too. 
You would hear at lunch counters the ubiquitous query: ``Did you hear 
what Dave said last night on the news?''
  The Star Tribune wrote that, with Moore, it was ``not a question of 
credibility, or expertise, or looks--certainly not looks. It's simply 
that Moore had a presence that inspired calm, trust and good will.'' 
The Pioneer Press said Dave Moore ``was a kind of Midwestern comfort 
food--the meatloaf and mashed potatoes of broadcast . . . the heart 
behind the headlines.''
  Dave Moore was anything but slick, and that's why we loved him so 
much. He was trust personified, substance over style. His credibility 
was beyond reproach. But if you saw him at one of his favorite places 
out in public--a play, baseball game, movie--he was easily 
approachable. His diverse and widespread charitable efforts were 
inspiring. A truly fitting favorite was reading the newspaper to the 
blind.
  This week, a Vietnam veteran called a radio station to pay his 
tribute to Dave Moore. This

[[Page E65]]

vet said when he returned from the war, he had totally lost his sense 
of humor. He said he only started to laugh again when he tuned into 
Dave Moore.
  Mr. Speaker, Dave Moore was much, much more than just your everyday 
anchorman. He was the man we welcomed into our homes every day and 
filled it with important facts, wit, perspective and the simple joys of 
being from Minnesota.
  Dave Moore gave us great and priceless gifts. Our thoughts and 
prayers are with his wife Shirley and their wonderful family. Minnesota 
will never forget Dave. As one newspaper put it: ``Journalism won't see 
his like again.'' And Minnesota won't see a friend like him again, 
either.

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