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Could CKLW's 20/20 news presentation work today?

Great to hear again, but if you described a domestic violence event where someone "bats a thousand on the woman's head" or a rape where someone "rode her up the elevator" the protesters would be at your door in 2 minutes.
 
I understand that some of the language would have to be altered or "cleaned up" if you will. "Batting a thousand on the women's head" would be borderline at best. And certainly "rode her to the vacant seventh floor" would be a no no. But I am more interested in what everyone thinks about the style and the fast-paced tone of the news casts. Could it, or is it, being done like that anywhere today?

By the way "dick jockeys" in the OP was a typo. I did not notice it until I returned here tonight. LOL
 
I think they said it best in the piece: They did news because they had to. Now, you don't have to. So stations don't.

Could it be done today? We went through a period where the big voiced jocks were called "pukers," and that style was frowned upon. I think it would be viewed as a charicature of what news once was, and would be laughed off the air.

I thought it was interesting that when WINS New York flipped from pop to news in 1964, they kept a lot of the DJs and made them newscasters. But they didn't read the news like the 20/20 guys.
 
If you get a chance and can run it down, this piece is part of a documentary by Michael McNamara that first aired on History Television of Canada on April 7th, 2004. It's about an hour and 11 minutes of sheer joy and is called "The Rise And Fall Of The Big 8...CKLW". You might find more from Art Vuolo. Great stuff.
 
If "shock jocks" like Howard Stern can make it, why not "shock news" today?

The more protesters, the more TV coverage. The more TV coverage, the more listeners.

I fail to see the problem with bringing this back...
 
It would be a treat to hear that kind of news again. Not sure how much retraining it would take to shift newscasters away from straight writing to this kind of sledgehammer imaging. I do agree with one of the other posters that stories of a sexual nature(i.e. rape, incest)need to be handled carefully, though.
 
I think that worked in a specific time and place. First, a station whose listeners were not tuned in for news but had to carry it, second because it had some entertainment value. It wasn't even successfully duplicated in its day. (Other Top 40s who had 20-20 News didn't have the blood and guts)
 
Not only could 20/20 news work today, it would work well. Consider the fact that TMZ and other sensationist shows are on tv, and that the Enquirer and Globe are best selling newspapers, the old 20/20 format would work better that anything on radio today. It would require a major market with lots of blood and guts (Miami, Dallas for example) and experienced newsmen like Grant Hudson, Randall Carlisle and me (former 20/20 newsguys)
 
The Big 8 stormed into Buffalo across the waters of Lake Erie like a "local," day and night. There wasn't a local jock worth his salt who didn't know about CKLW, its jocks, jingles, format and 20/20 news.

One of the elements from the video link that struck me was just how consistently big the voices were. Those are king size pipes! The guys who did the news also were very good writers with great production skills. Not so coincidentally, the alliterative writing style used at CKLW was pioneered in Buffalo by Irv Weinstein. In the early and mid-60s, Weinstein was a news director at WKBW radio. Irv later moved to WKBW-TV, where former 20/20 newsman Keith Radford, featured in the Big 8 video, has anchored the 6 and 11 p.m. cast for the past ten years.

The early KB radio style, with news at 15 and 45, so impacted WKBW listeners in Western New York with phrases such as "pistol packin' punks," "death rides the highway," "mangled metal," "smoke eaters," "blaze busters," "coin collecting cops" and "the best politicians money can buy" that it's possible to mention any one of those phrases to a radio listener over 50 and have them respond with "KB news," or "Irv!" The Big 8 seemed to incorporate that style and take it to the next level with deliveries and writing that were bigger-than-life.

With all due respect to the guys who made the CKLW 20/20 newscasts work so well in its time, I'm not sure it would work today. It takes an immense amount of talent, preparation, experience, energy, theatrical and production skill to properly pull it off; but more than that, it takes a great deal of investment in personnel. Sorry to say, that's just not where radio is today. We were fortunate in Buffalo to be able to have heard Dick Smythe's work not only on CKLW, but also when he moved to 1050 CHUM, Toronto.

Now I think I'll go to the Pastrick Archives (aka "that radio stuff in the basement') and try to my copy of Byron MacGregor's "Americans." Thanks for a great thread.
 
As I stated in my post, I was one of those guys and I am in contact with at least 4 others. Could it work, yes. Is a station willing to do it, that's another question, but it would work in certain news heavy markets.
 
Have you seen what people write on social media pages? I'm pretty sure that it would work on radio IF they had enough news people to be on top of stories and on location.
 
With the coarseness of some aspects of society these days, I too believe it would work, as long as the talent and corporate backing are there.
One down side is doing it in the Politically Correct days, which sometimes make it harder to know where to draw the line since some people and/or certain groups get offended so easily these days. They're always looking for something to whine about. Heck, the stations news writing and delivery would probably become a story in itself.
 
Great topic, and as I can detect, a near unanimous sampling of yes, it could work, albeit with some asterisk explanations attached.

Understand one thing...that if it couldn't work, that's not the Big 8's problem, it's the problem of the society that has evolved.

But in terms of format and creative approach, absolutely, with maybe a new world political correctness tone mixed in.

Thirtyfive years ago, WIFI 92's Bill Grady (my intern boss) could say the Phillies whipped some ASStros at the Vet last night. Now, he'd have to say the Phillies whipped some ASStros at the Bank last night.

There were Drake stations, and then there was thee Drake station. CKLW, first in the Motor City, with 20-20 news.
 
johnbasalla said:
With the coarseness of some aspects of society these days, I too believe it would work, as long as the talent and corporate backing are there.
One down side is doing it in the Politically Correct days, which sometimes make it harder to know where to draw the line since some people and/or certain groups get offended so easily these days. They're always looking for something to whine about. Heck, the stations news writing and delivery would probably become a story in itself.
Click to expand...

And therein lies the rub.
Maybe if Chrysler brought back the Dodge Dart with slant 6 and 3-on-the-column shifter they'd be a player again too. :-/

Just because something worked 45 years ago doesn't mean that it would work today.
 
Thanks for the great responses folks.

I have began a webcast on my website with the 20/20 format in mind. I want to get your feedback as it is a work in progress. This is my newscast from last Monday:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KsQutenwUIo&feature=player_embedded

Here is a commentary (with some behind the scenes banter) on the Anthony Wiener story, from my chief anchorman Dick Fitzwell.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ke6xucdxW2E&feature=player_embedded

Here is a link to my website: http://www.lansingandbeyond.com/

My idea is to create a internet news organization that resides at the corner of Bill Hicks Street and Bill Moyers Boulevard - with the news being a hybrid of 20/20 News, The Daily Show and the original SNL Weekend Update.
 
Some amusing moments... I'm to sure how the comedy of The Daily Show & SNL fits with 20/20 News; to me the newscasts were all about shock & awe, not really humor (unless it would REALLY get people talking).

I also suspect you missed an opportunity with your story about the e-coli outbreak. I'm no pro at this, but I picture a 20/20 news report being worded maybe more like this?

"Two thousand, twenty-two European moms now regret telling their kids to eat their vegetables when they were growing up. They helplessly watch as their offspring suffer with symptoms rivaling Montezuma's Revenge. The sickening source of e-coli poisoning in the European Union appears to be a bean sprout farm in Hamburg Germany. Three U.S. citizens, all recent visitors to Deutschland, are back in the States but hospitalized with the same sad symptoms. Infectious disease experts say there's no reason for Americans to panic... yet."

I don't know whether this helps or not... and if I get reamed for my copy by 20/20 experts, I'm sure I deserve it... and in that case, ignore what I said! :D
 
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