10Viewer

Rare promo from WTSP's "NewsCenter 10" era. Would love to find more!

After I posted, I found this gem Dec. 1991 with a "NewsCenter 10" intro:

Omaha is quickly becoming one of my favorite TV markets!!

5 hours ago, Info Junkie said:

A KMTV clip from 1980 featuring Dick Fletcher very shortly before his Tampa run, along with John McDonald and Chuck Roberts of CNN. They used “TuesdayA”.

I wonder if KMTV picked up "Tuesday A" when they changed from "News 3" to "NewsCenter 3" in 1979?

That was one helluva news team: Chuck Roberts, Dale Hanson, Dick Fletcher. I don't know much about John McDonald-wonder where he went after KMTV?

22 hours ago, AJClementeFan69 said:

While it may have been ethically questionable -- reporters using their connections is something that happens all the time. I can't imagine his friendship with the lawyer is something WTSP didn't know until now. Seems to me like Tegna, which has a notorious distaste for over-50s, was looking for a reason to can him and the newspaper article was it.

 

Is anyone over 50 even left there anymore?

 

Kathryn Bursch, probably. But she's more of a community affairs person. 

2 hours ago, MikePulse said:

#MeanwhileInTampaBay, after close to 25 years of working for WTSP, Mr Reginald Roundtree just got... let’s say, cut down. 

There were rumors in 2017 that he was going to be replaced by Mark Rivera, who ended up leaving for WLS. 

As for the situation with the attorney, I don't know what to think. It seems a bit unethical. At any rate, I am sad to see him go. In some of the candid facebook stuff they used to do in the studio, Reggie seemed like a serious news guy. He had a good run. 

11 hours ago, Info Junkie said:

That WTSP bump from 1993 is interesting, as it uses Brian James with Great News instead of NS2000+. Odd.

 

IIRC, WTSP dumped Jeff Laurence before the end of 1993 and picked up Brian James, who also worked at WFLA/970 Radio.  WTSP made a ton of changes in that 1992-94 era. 

Thirty years ago today...the execution of Ted Bundy. Warren Elly of Tampa's WTVT reports from outside Florida State Prison. Side note: John Wilson, then working for WTSP, was an observer in the execution chamber:

This just in from Omaha: WOWT from 1979:

I'm guessing this must be production music from some European library. WBNS used it from Dec. 1993-June 1996. Looks like WITI used it for promos around 1995 and WTOG used it as a 'breaking news' bed

Loving all the Omaha clips turning up!

Wow, Mt. St Helen's eruption coverage from 1980. Starts with KGW, then goes to KING, then to KOMO. The Seattle coverage starts at about 14:50. ALSO, the best quality version of KING's electronic theme:

WDAF in 1982...Today in Kansas City cut-in

Never seen this before: Interesting 1987 interview of President Reagan by the network anchors: Dan, Peter, Tom and Bernard.

18 minutes ago, TheRolyPoly said:

And left a large part of their history inside that building, you can see. Old tapes are still there!

Maybe they had transferred some of that already to another format? IDK-some stations clearly don't care. A shame to say the least.

13 minutes ago, bhratbrat said:

Sinclairs Dayton old building..has actually been abandoned a while. Hmmm

Always wondered what that building looked like inside. Back in the '80s it had a giant Proud "N" on the front when they were with NBC. 

Did you see the open at 2:10:47 with "All the News"/KSNW 1985?

WLWI Ch. 13 Indianapolis bloopers from the early-mid '70s!

1 hour ago, Ramona said:

In the mid-80s (about 1985?), WHTM actually updated to it. In '86 they were even still using the late 70s Times-Mirror stations theme (NMSA "KDFW 1979").

Even WETM used the same typeface, though we don't have any newscasts from the period when T-M still owned the station. (WSTM never seemed to, and then Elmira, Syracuse and Harrisburg were sold off in 1986.)

KTVI seemed to never be part of any standardization. If they were, it might have been in late 1980-1981 (T-M did not own KTVI until 1980). That said, it's unclear quite what they were like between 1980 and 82 or so.

In 1980, they dropped the NewsCenter 2 imaging they had been using. There's not much of that, but there's a demo reel from a graphics company with a KTVI 10pm open:

 

That KTVI open would be super cool to find. I do believe they debuted that "NewsCenter 2" logo in 1979 when Larry Conners took over the anchor desk after Gene Tuck left for San Antonio. That was when KTVI actually passed KSD in the ratings for a few years. 

KDFW from 26 years ago this week.

 

WTSP also did that "Getting Out Alive" gimmick in the '90s featured at 18:55 with Dale Schornack.

WISN Newsbrief from May 1985 with "WWL News". Looks like it was used from 1984-85:

Anybody know who the voiceover is that WISN used in the late '70s-80s?

WRAL in April 1988. Can anybody ID the music? That package is much more extensive than what the NMSA has. That close at the very end...whoa.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=id=1LCgVY0YfjA;m=4;s=17

I’ve updated the WFLA news opens compilation to include opens from the WXFL days.

This is awesome. You captured all the opens I've ever stumbled upon. I asked Bob Hite on YouTube if he would post opens from Part of Your Life era or Spirit of Tampa Bay. I really would like to see the newscast from May 9, 1980. He said he has a copy of it.

If you didn't know, Bob knew the bus driver that drove off the Skyway Bridge. Apparently, Bob was pretty emotional during that newscast.

BTW, there used to be a video on YT with a short clip of a 1976 WFLA newscast but no open and I'm aware of the weather guy that posted clips from 1973.

WCMH visits a competitor (?) in 1993. Public access TV. Interesting look at WCMH after a late 1992 revamp:

Ah, the promise of Public Access TV in the '90s!

WSYX got the shaft, because it was broken from Taft when the takeover went down. It couldn't be apart of Great American Broadcasting (UGH, which urkes me) due to lost its grandfathered protection of the FCC. Robert Bass was a shareholder when at Taft and he created AnchorMedia and bought then WTVN-TV now WSYX. AnchorMedia also bought WLOS & KOVR as well. It would of been nice if WSYX would at least had been under Great American at that time.

 

Many people who worked at WSYX told me the reason their woes always run deep was due to ownership. They had their issues with Taft. I remember reading about what Taft thought they did, but people on the inside said there was good and bad with Taft. When AnchorMedia & River City came along it was just business and numbers. Both companies were private equality group. They had no broadcasting history. It was all about numbers, and Sinclair had already owned WTTE, but used WSYX has service because it had an operation. Sinclair thing was to get rid of all the established anchors, because they made too much $$$. Cheaper is better, and that what they did. However, WSYX made alot of money for the company group, and before getting their hands on KOMO, WJLA. Sinclair, was just some regular broadcasting company that wasn't much to crow about. Everything was cheaply done. Now, in present day Sinclair sits as one of the top broadcasting companies. I do wonder what would have ever come of WSYX. There was a time where Nationwide Insurance had a communication division and owned several tv stations i.e. WBAY, WRIC, and WSYX was poised on that list. Also Journal Broadcasting was also interested as well too. Then when stations were switching in the 90s. There was even rumbles that WSYX could switch to FOX, but that kicked down very quickly!

Yes, it was very odd that Nationwide Communications (owner of WNCI-FM) never owned any of the Columbus TV stations.

Alan Henry, in his book "A Man and his Medium" talks about the formation of Anchor Media-He was previously one of the top brass at Gulf Broadcasting.

 

The set was updated in 1993...

The new set debuted in September 1992. It was met with derision in the local newspaper, calling it something out of a "Batman" film. It would get replaced in late 1995.

Still too bad we can't find anything with "USA News"...

WSYX trivia: IIRC the executives of Anchor Media, which purchased the station in 1987, were the same people behind Gulf Broadcasting (WTSP, KTSP, WGHP). Anchor also owned KOVR and a few others.