The author was CBS News legal correspondent for almost 15 years. He described changes at the network after Dan Rather replaced Walter Cronkite as anchor in 1981. The ratings went down and non-journalists were brought in to run the news division. Graham recalled his introduction to an “infotainment” approach to news. He also discussed the high salaries of network correspondents. After leaving CBS, Graham returned to Nashville, Tennessee and became a local television news anchor. That experience proved less than satisfying and accounts for the “Happy Talk” in the book’s title.