ARN News Feed, 1995

[Sammy Reed]

Now I have added a continuous feed of 2 ARN news reports from 1995 to my website.
sammyreed.com/radio/various

 

[MichaelHibblen]

Wow, what a flashback. Those were two of my lackluster Saturday afternoon newscasts on ARN and clearly I didn't have a lot of news to work with that day. And I don't recall what I was talking about in the close-circuit announcement beforehand but know it was related to some kind of error with our early computerized automation system. But thanks for posting that. I don't have many of my newscasts from those days. Also a big thanks for the Lowell Ruffcorn ag reports. He really grew to be one of my favorite people around that place, the way he'd just stroll into the newsroom and start telling crazy stories about his hard-drinking days in Chicago.

 

[Zeke_Terry]

Ah the old filler and fluff days when there isn't enough news to fill 30 seconds, let alone 2-3 minutes. I kinda miss those, now it seems that the worlds coming to an end every 15 minutes -- doom and gloom and disasters galore.

Makes me just wanna find a really big rock to crawl under and sit out the apocolypses's (sp) whatever the plural of apocloypse is .

 

[Sammy Reed]

Wow, what a flashback. Those were two of my lackluster Saturday afternoon newscasts on ARN and clearly I didn't have a lot of news to work with that day. And I don't recall what I was talking about in the close-circuit announcement beforehand but know it was related to some kind of error with our early computerized automation system. But thanks for posting that.

You really wanna know why I recorded that in the first place? (And gosh, I didn't know Micheal Hibblen himself would writing about this! Glad you like this, and I hope you won't get too mad at me for bringing this up.)
On the message you gave before the last ARN newscast, you were all but begging for somebody to call the network with some news, because there wasn't much. I wish I could've had my recorder going for that message, because it was interesting to say the least. So I thought I'd better record the message before the next ARN newscast, in case it was interesting like the last one. Fortunately for you, but unfortunately for me and I guess everyone else, it wasn't. But I'm glad I recorded this thing anyway, because this continuous-feed stuff is pretty neat!

 

[MontyRowell]

Wow, what a flashback. Those were two of my lackluster Saturday afternoon newscasts on ARN and clearly I didn't have a lot of news to work with that day. And I don't recall what I was talking about in the close-circuit announcement beforehand but know it was related to some kind of error with our early computerized automation system. But thanks for posting that.

You really wanna know why I recorded that in the first place? (And gosh, I didn't know Micheal Hibblen himself would writing about this! Glad you like this, and I hope you won't get too mad at me for bringing this up.)
On the message you gave before the last ARN newscast, you were all but begging for somebody to call the network with some news, because there wasn't much. I wish I could've had my recorder going for that message, because it was interesting to say the least. So I thought I'd better record the message before the next ARN newscast, in case it was interesting like the last one. Fortunately for you, but unfortunately for me and I guess everyone else, it wasn't. But I'm glad I recorded this thing anyway, because this continuous-feed stuff is pretty neat!

As I recall, I think one of the news directors in the late 80's came up with that idea. He supposedly told his anchors to put out a call during the talk up that if you have any news in the area to give us a call.

ARN contended at the time that affiliate reports were up , but I recall it pretty much tailed off after awhile.

 

[MichaelHibblen]

It was fairly common for us to ask stations in that time just before the newscasts if they had anything going on. That was especially true for me during those years in the mid-90s because I would be the only person in the newsroom on Saturday afternoons and all day Sunday. But I think it did inspire a few people to share news with us when they had something happen. Here's an mp3 of a Sunday morning ARN newscast that featured a report from KBTM in Jonesboro:

http://www.hibblenradio.com/1994-03-20-ARN-Newscast.mp3

KARV in Russellville, KWAK in Stuttgart and KVOM also filed a few times on weekends as I recall. Of course ARN didn't pay anything for those spots, except for a while we offered something like $50 once a month to the station that had been the most helpful. That wasn't much of an incentive. And most of our affiliates also really didn't have any kind of news staffs. Still ARN seemed like much more of a network than a state operation I worked at a couple of years later called the Virginia News Network, where we never heard from our affiliates.

I've been in Miami for more than a decade and haven't heard ARN in years, despite trying to find the newscasts when I've been back home. I know KARN has cut back a bit. Any thoughts from anyone on how ARN sounds today?

 

[Rich Moellers]

Of course ARN didn't pay anything for those spots, except for a while we offered something like $50 once a month to the station that had been the most helpful. That wasn't much of an incentive.

Actually...back in the days of low-five-figure salaries, when we were eating ravioli straight from the can, $50 wasn't bad. This will sound pathetic, but I'll admit that when doing news at KVOM, I would try to be "the most helpful" to ARN when I needed money for new shoes. Loved those days and the experience, but soooooooo glad they're behind me.

 

[Sammy Reed]

>whew< Well, at least, Michael, you're not mad at me.

But from what I'm reading ... you mean, there were more of these moments?!?
Dang, I guess I didn't listen to this network nearly enough.

 

[Sammy Reed]

All the sounds on my "Various" page, including the ARN material, are now streaming!
sammyreed.com/radio/various