Five Seconds To Air! Five Seconds To Air!

Former CNN Headline News Anchor Bob Losure, author of "Five Seconds to Air."

CNN Headline News anchorman Bob Losure's new book, "Five Seconds To Air: Broadcast Journalism Behind the Scenes," looks at what can and will go wrong when you are doing live television. The book, published by Hillsboro Press, debuted nationwide August 1, 1998. Losure draws on 30 years experience in broadcasting, from his beginnings in his hometown of Tulsa, OK, to CKLW Radio in the Motor City at age 22, and finally to anchoring at CNN Headline News, known in its early days as the "Chicken Noodle Network."

Losure chronicles behind the scene stories like barging unannounced with a live crew into Tina Turner's dressing room, chatting with pajama clad Ted Turner in the middle of the night at the old CNN facilities, and many more. "Five Seconds to Air" relates Losure's uneasy departure from CNN after eleven years and gives his uncompromising view of where CNN should be headed. The book also describes his fight through three surgeries and three sessions of chemotherapy to win a battle against cancer, a victory that propelled him to seek the CNN job. Seen around the world, his reporting of such history making events as the San Francisco earthquake, Manuel Noriega's capture, and Nelson Mandela's visit to America has given him a level of experience few national and international anchors have been privileged to have.

Losure also shares his broadcasting expertise as he speaks around the country on his inside knowledge of CNN's coverage of world events, how college grads can prepare for that first interview for a TV reporting job, and how corporate spokespersons can get their point across to the media in a positive light when only bad news is in store. His sense of humor has made him a favorite of organizations ranging from the U.S. Junior Chamber of Commerce to the International Television Association.