Continued Conversations with Neal Spelce

What if you got a call from Lyndon Johnson to be in Washington, DC, tomorrow to take a trip around the world? If you are 25-year-old broadcast journalist Neal Spelce, you buckle up. A two-week diplomatic dream trip turned into a lifelong rollercoaster ride.

Neal Spelce recounts those memories and more in his new book With the Bark Off: A Journalist’s Memories of LBJ and a Life in the News Media. Please join us on October 13 at 11:30 a.m. CDT for a conversation with Spelce, moderated by Mark Updegrove. This virtual event is co-hosted by the Dolph Briscoe Center for American History.

About the Speaker

Neal Spelce’s six-decade career has been distinguished by successes in radio, television, journalism, marketing, advertising, public relations, broadcast program syndication, public speaking, and consulting. He was a legendary news anchor and news director for KTBC-TV in Austin and gained national recognition for his live coverage of the UT Tower Sniper mass murders. Spelce was a close associate of and spokesperson for President and Mrs. Lyndon Johnson. He was also CEO of the company that produced the award-winning syndicated TV news programs “An American Moment™ with Charles Kuralt” and “An American Moment™ with James Earl Jones.” 

Named an Outstanding Alumnus of The University of Texas at Austin’s College of Communication, he holds three UT communications degrees in Radio/TV, Journalism and Speech. UT named the Neal Spelce Broadcast Journalism Studio in his honor.

About the Book

Spelce began his career as a part-time journalist in the LBJ family-owned Austin TV station in 1956, which vaulted him into a lifetime of impressive experiences with Johnson and many icons of the 20th  century. The Austin-based journalist shares his candid moments with LBJ and five more U.S. presidents, including his rare interview with father and son Presidents George Bush while the three were fishing in a small bass boat on a Texas lake.

During his lengthy media career, Spelce saw Austin grow from a college town to a thriving city. Along the way, he interacted with Texas legends such as Darrell Royal, Willie Nelson, Walter Cronkite, and more, all part of entertaining stories that he tells, as LBJ liked to say, “with the bark off.”

Signed, bookplated copies of With the Bark Off are available for sale from The Store at LBJ. By purchasing your book through The Store at LBJ, you support a local cultural institution. All proceeds from sales support our programming, exhibits, and educational initiatives at the LBJ Presidential Library.

Registration

Advance registration is required. You will receive a confirmation email with the link to join the event, and a reminder email the day prior to the event.