tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6042603612494762084.post8840111761140299505..comments2024-03-27T22:27:16.556-04:00Comments on It's About TV: What's on TV? Wednesday, May 19, 1965 Mitchell Hadleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08695771505209080030noreply@blogger.comBlogger4125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6042603612494762084.post-22208475946111405052021-06-23T10:09:49.216-04:002021-06-23T10:09:49.216-04:00This was four weeks and one day before Robert Trou...This was four weeks and one day before Robert Trout left his spot as anchor of the early evening news (on June 17) and was replaced the next day by . . . Jim Jensen, who at that time anchored at 11; with a few ups and downs, he remained a fixture at Channel 2 through the mid-1990's. It was at that juncture that control of Channel 2's news department shifted from CBS News to the station itself. Within a year of that Lee Hanna would become news director and build a roster of reporters that, with some additions and departures, would carry the station to or near the top of the ratings through the 1980's (Mr. Hanna, though, would be gone by 1970, and later wind up at WNBC-TV where he was in on the 1974 startup of "NewsCenter4").<br /><br />NBC was the last of the three networks to yield control of their O&O's news departments to the stations themselves (by the late 1970's); can anyone advise when ABC did likewise with their stations (including, here, WABC-TV)? I saw a 1969 documentary on the assembly of a typical edition of "Eyewitness News" where numerous vehicles that went to various places to cover stories had "ABC News" markings.wbhisthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02270661237413315760noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6042603612494762084.post-35277624457172105422015-05-21T12:59:17.624-04:002015-05-21T12:59:17.624-04:00Al:
Remember, you're looking at listings for ...Al:<br /><br />Remember, you're looking at listings for New York City, which then as now considers itself Headquarters Of The World.<br />Nowhere was this attitude more prevalent than in the news departments of CBS and NBC; using the marquee names at both the local and national levels was a matter of pride at both networks - and is still so today, with ABC and FOX included.<br />Back in the '50s, Chicago attempted to get into the mix, but the "Second City" mentality got in the way.<br /><br />Side note:<br />During the '70s, ABC tried something with its late weekend news shows: they would import local anchors from its owned-and-operated stations to chair the newscasts.<br />These included Van Amburg from San Francisco, Jac LeGoff from Detroit, Robert Trout (who'd moved to ABC) and Bill Bonds from Los Angeles - and from channel 7 in Chicago, John Drury, Joel Daly, and Fahey Flynn.<br />That last was fascinating to me; in the mid-'70s, there was no less likely looking news anchor than Fahey Flynn: short, white-haired,roly-poly, bowtied, starting the broadcast with an ebullient "How do you do, ladies and gentlemen!", But Flynn was the most popular anchorman on ABC's top-rated O&O, and so he got his shot on the network, along with others at his level.<br /><br />"When did it die out?"<br />As I indicated above, I'm not sure that it has, at least in New York City.<br />The network morning shows still draw their talent pools from that market, as if there's no other (well, maybe Los Angeles occasionally ...).<br /><br />Mike Dorannoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6042603612494762084.post-69551147408305952552015-05-19T21:35:23.231-04:002015-05-19T21:35:23.231-04:00It strikes me as odd that newsmen like Robert Trou...It strikes me as odd that newsmen like Robert Trout and Robert MacNeil would do both local and national news reporting. What other notable newsmen did this, and when did it die out?Al Leosnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6042603612494762084.post-48549553265620555372015-05-19T00:20:31.926-04:002015-05-19T00:20:31.926-04:00Here, there, and anywhere ...
- Noting that WCBS...Here, there, and anywhere ...<br /><br /> - Noting that WCBS's very late news anchor was Peter Hyams. <br />A few years after this, Hyams turned up at CBS's Chicago station, WBBM, as a weekend and backup anchorman.<br />He didn't impress Chicago that much (one critic wrote that he looked like "a Keane painting of a newsman"), and it was here that he decided on a career change - to movie director.<br />Since the '70s, Peter Hyams has been writer and director (and occasionally cinematographer) of quite a few theatrical and TV movies; the best known are probably <i>2010</i> (the superfluous sequel to <i>2001</i>), <i>Goodnight, My Love</i> (a made-for-TV private eye spoof with Richard Boone and Michael Dunn, pretty good), and my favorite, <i>Capricorn One</i>, about a faked Mars landing that goes even wronger that the plotters imagined ( the astronauts who get trapped into cooperating are James Brolin, Sam Waterston, and a former football player whose name escapes me ...).<br /><br /> - My references tell me that the Dr. Joyce Brothers's show was a daily half-hour.<br />My guess is that the show covered multiple topics in the half-hour, which local stations could subdivide into five minute segments as needed.<br /><br /> -<i>Memory Lane</i> on WOR - wasn't this the Joe Franklin show?<br />Of course, this was years before Billy Crystal made Franklin's distracted manner of interviewing a staple of his stand-up act.<br /><br /> - We're still in the pre-stripping era of syndication; most of these shows were only on once a week.<br />One of ch5's shows is <i>Room For One More</i>, which ran on ABC for only half a season several years before - no more than 13-17 episodes, tops.<br />A qujck scan of my Chicago edition shows WGN with more than a few single-season (or less) series on its nightly schedules. Not so likely these days...<br /><br />- OK, it's not the right night, but check out Friday's episode of <i>Slattery's People</i> on CBS.<br />Particularly the guest cast.<br />Just thought you'd be interested ...<br /><br />Mike Dorannoreply@blogger.com