( CNN ) Newspaper editor Benjamin C. Bradlee died in October , aged 93 . He was a giant of journalism , a real lion . In fact after Watergate and Woodward and Bernstein and the taking down of President Richard M. Nixon in the mid-1970s for corruption and subverting democracy , journalism schools in America were bursting at the seams with young would-be Woodward and Bernsteins . Bradlee and his fearless reporters launched a thousand careers -- including mine . Ben was also a friend . I met him after his glory days as Executive Editor of the Washington Post ; He in his Emeritus years and I , a galavanting foreign correspondent . I admired the heck out of him . He was mesmerizing in the sheer breadth of his knowledge and his lifetime experience . For all his achievements and accomplishments , read my friend Marilyn Berger 's definitive obituary in the New York Times . Ben was also hilarious and courtly , ribald and bawdy , handsome and craggy and full of the best stories ever . At dinner , he could conjure up a whole spellbinding era of the history he had lived and covered -- before the main course was served -- and often in French ! And that was part of his gravitational pull ; Ben embodied a different era , when top-flight journalists were the friends and counselors of presidents , as he was to John F. Kennedy . And when need be , their adversary , as with the mounting Watergate revelations . Ben defined the times when a headline , a story , a byline in the Washington Post et al , could shift history . The truth is , his reporters would have followed him through rings of fire . I consider myself unbelievably lucky to have worked for two of the great revolutionaries of our business , Ted Turner who created CNN and changed the world with 24/7 global news , and Don Hewitt , the legendary TV innovator and creator of 60 Minutes . I wish I could have worked for Ben . But perhaps I was luckier , certainly I was enormously proud , to call him my friend . Lorin Maazel . A little earlier this year , renowned conductor Lorin Maazel died , aged 84 , after a long and distinguished career as Grand Maestro . While we were n't close friends , I think I can say we bonded through an extraordinary shared experience : The 2008 visit by the New York Philharmonic Orchestra to Pyongyang , North Korea . In light of the U.S. government accusing North Korea of the massive hack-attack against Sony at the end of this year , it is extraordinary to look back and reflect on a different atmosphere that existed between the two countries for a brief moment in time . Along with a large delegation of international press , I was invited to travel with the New York Philharmonic on a cultural odyssey . Maestro Maazel was thrilled ; just as ping pong diplomacy had opened the door to normalizing relations between the United States and communist China , he told me he hoped musical diplomacy could do the same with one of the last bastions of entrenched communist dictatorship . And so one freezing , sunny morning in February , a planeload of enthusiasts all landed in Pyongyang in a flourish the likes of which the government and the people had never seen . We watched as Maazel and his musicians prepped and rehearsed , gave masterclasses to some of North Korea 's top musicians , and finally delivered a bravura performance on stage at the city 's main concert hall . The audience was treated to all-American tunes by George Gershwin and the concert ended with one of Korea 's best-loved folk songs , Arirang . North Korea 's invited elite were on their feet with standing ovations . And for two countries still officially at war , since the Korean War ended only with an armistice , just imagine how it felt in that concert hall -- and for Koreans listening on radio and TV at home -- to hear both countries ' national anthems played in public on stage for the first time . Remember this was during the Bush Administration -- George W. Bush had called North Korea part of the Axis of Evil , and yet change was in the air . Away from the concert hall , I was one of a small group of journalists taken to the Yongbyon nuclear plant , where then leader Kim Jong Il had started mothballing crucial parts and freezing the weapons program . A few months later I went back to witness North Korea blow up the plant 's iconic cooling tower . It seemed Lorin Maazel and the New York Philharmonic were on to something . But shortly thereafter Kim Jong Il fell ill and died , his son Kim Jong Un came to power with a ruthless streak , a penchant for testing his nuclear weapons , and apparently capable of massive cyber attacks on America 's top companies . Lorin Maazel died without realizing this dream , but I am grateful to have been there for that brief moment in time when he brought hope and the sound of beautiful music to North Korea . Read more : Amanpour . Read more : People we lost : Football legend Eusebio , by Duart Mendonca . Read more : People we lost : Phil Everly , by Jonathan Hawkins . Read more : People we lost : Christophe de Margerie , by John Defterios . Read more : Loved ones we lost in 2014 .
Newspaper editor Ben Bradlee was a giant of journalism , a real lion , writes Amanpour . `` He was mesmerizing in the sheer breadth of his knowledge and his lifetime experience '' Conductor Lorin Maazel brought hope and the sound of beautiful music to North Korea .