Bruce Springsteen Goes to PBS for Half-Hour Conversation With ‘NewsHour’ Co-Anchor Geoff Bennett
Bruce Springsteen once decried TV as a venue that offers “fifty-seven channels and nothin’ on.” He apparently doesn’t feel that way about PBS.
“PBS NewsHour” co-anchor Geoff Bennett recently interviewed the musician about the opening of the Bruce Springsteen Center for American Music, the Monmouth University repository of the artist’s archives and a center for exhibits of his work as well as others tied to American music. “As the interview unfolded, it occurred to me that it would be a shame to lose half the conversation on the cutting-room floor, which is often what happens with a broadcast interview,” Bennett says via email.
The journalist pitched Sara Just, senior executive producer of “PBS NewsHour,” on the prospect of turning the interview into a half-hour special, and the public broadcaster agreed. “Bruce Springsteen: Finding America in Song,” will run on PBS on July 5th at 6:30 p.m., and will focus on Springsteen discussing his life, career, legacy, and the role music plays in telling America’s story.
“Bruce Springsteen doesn’t do many interviews these days, so we knew this was a rare opportunity and wanted to make the most of it. Rather than retracing the familiar milestones of his remarkable career, we wanted to use the moment to explore bigger questions,” Bennett says. “We talked about how his understanding of the country has evolved over five decades of songwriting, what he believes music can reveal about the American experience, and how he thinks about his own legacy. It became a conversation that was less about looking back and more about reflecting on the country, its history, and the role music plays in helping us understand both.”
And the conversation will air as the nation celebrates its 250th birthday. The program also features interviews with Jon Landau, who has long helped manage Springsteen’s career, and Bob Santelli, executive director of the new Center.
Springsteen was “remarkably thoughtful and generous with his time. He seemed genuinely interested in wrestling with the questions. He thinks his way through an answer, drawing connections between music, history, and lived experience,” says Bennett. “You can see why his work has resonated for so many decades. There’s an authenticity to him that comes across immediately.”
Because the discussion focused less on Springsteen’s individual achievements and more on broader ideas, Bennett felt it could capture attention for a longer period of time. “As the interview unfolded, I realized we were going to have to leave too much on the cutting room floor,” he says. “That’s the nature of television news — we’re always working within time constraints. But this conversation had a different rhythm. It felt like one that deserved room to breathe.” The longer time frame meant “we had the time and space to stay with ideas. Bruce reflected on his musical influences, patriotism, protest, and the role of artists in helping a nation understand itself,” says Bennett. “It’s less a conversation about Bruce Springsteen the celebrity than Bruce Springsteen the American storyteller.”
The anchor believes his conversation with the musician will spur a broader one among the people who watch it. “We hope people come away with a deeper appreciation not only of Bruce Springsteen and his cultural contribution, but of the power of music to tell the American story,” he says.