Does anyone know the history of news broadcasting on WOR-TV throughout the years? They will always be known for the News At Noon on which was the first in the New York Metropolitan Area. I would like to know more about the history even before News At Noon came on the air. It seemed they had it rough for a long time until they created News At Noon and that was when WOR-TV News was finally put on the map. I would like to know all about WOR-TV news in its entire history. I thought upon this subject with the budget cuts of the now MY 9 News as a half-hour news program. All historians can now respond here.
-
Get involved.
We want your input!
Apply for Membership and join the conversations about everything related to broadcasting.
After we receive your registration, a moderator will review it. After your registration is approved, you will be permitted to post.
If you use a disposable or false email address, your registration will be rejected.
After your membership is approved, please take a minute to tell us a little bit about yourself.
https://www.radiodiscussions.com/forums/introduce-yourself.1088/
Thanks in advance and have fun!
RadioDiscussions Administrators
History Of WOR-TV News
- Thread starter JonathanGabel
- Start date
As I mentioned in another thread, WWOR for awhile in the late 80's did a nightly newscast at 8 PM, dubbed "News 9 Prime Time".
You can find more information here:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/WWOR-TV#Newscasts
You can find more information here:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/WWOR-TV#Newscasts
That entry was a bit checkered in terms of factual data. What I can say is that during the 1960's, WOR-TV had a newscast anchored by John Wingate (a longtime fixture of WOR Radio), with Walter Kiernan doing commentary, and also featuring Mary Helen McPhillips (future Straight Talk co-hostess). Prior to 1967 or so, the news was in color only during months when the Mets were off-season; after the station acquired General Electric PE-250 cameras for both its studios and for Mets games that year, the news would be in color all year round. From around 1966 to February 1969, the newscast started at 12 noon (a precursor to their News at Noon which began c.1975 and continued until the birth of 9 Broadcast Plaza in the late 1980's). From February 1969 to November 1970, they had no regular newscast outside of the slides-only sign-on and -off news updates read by members of the station's announcing staff including Russ Dunbar, Phil Tonken, Ted Mallie et al. (February 1969 was when WOR premiered the ambitious Stock Market Observer that ran decades on Chicago's WCIU Channel 26, but on Channel 9 only ran to early or mid 1970.) Then in November 1970 was launched the 7:30 News Report, anchored by once-and-future WNBC-TV news reporter Bill Ryan (and under another NBC alumnus, news director Lem Tucker), with such future TV news legends as Tony Guida and Carol Jenkins as reporters. However, by early 1971 RKO's legendary cheapness (using the recent ban on cigarette advertising and the resulting drop in ad revenues as an excuse) affected the news operation to such a point that Tucker was ultimately fired as news director, and Ryan left in the fall of 1971 to rejoin NBC; Ryan's replacement was Tom Dunn, late of WCBS-TV and WABC-TV, who remained with Channel 9 for the rest of his run in the New York area. At the point Dunn joined, the newscast was moved first to 10:30, then to 10, as News Digest; it was shifted all over the map over the next few years to such times as 5:00 and 5:30 (the latter time I remember quite well from 1974; I seem to recall the closing theme of The 5:30 News on at least one of the days of the week being MFSB's "TSOP," an obvious sop to WPIX using the Love Unlimited Orchestra's "Love's Theme" as the closing theme for their Action News in those days), before finally settling at 12 noon by 1975 (and, not long after, Sara Lee Kessler joining as Dunn's co-anchor). But RKO's skinflint operation of WOR ensured that the news operation, under its direction, was (in the words of TV ARK) "docile and passive"; the only thing "hard-hitting" about the newscasts in the RKO years were the "urgent" intros during the opening, by the businesslike, smoky baritone of Phil Tonken.
wbhist said:
Personally, TSOP, though it's one of my favorite disco songs, was a bad choice for a news theme -- it just doesn't seem to fit the nature of the program, unlike "Love's Theme" (which was also the theme song for ABC Sports' golf coverage).
A better disco song that can be reappropriated for news is "I Feel Love", by Donna Summer (which WEYI in Saginaw, Michigan, used for its newscast in the late-1970s), but that's another thread.
Look, I'm not sure if you're going to read my response to this or not but I thought it's worth it, regardless, so here it goes:
I support the idea of a major TV station focusing on New Jersey issues and happenings. However, we must keep in mind the following:
- The way in which Channel 9 became a "New Jersey" station was questionable. It was a way for the then-owner of the station to avoid having their broadcast license yanked by the federal government. It did not work out for them in the long run, as they had to sell their interest in the station to another group.
- Channel 9 has historically been one of the lowest performers in terms of ratings. The picture quality of the programming showed the effects of lack of investment in the station, from when RKO owned the station.
- I wouldn't qualify shows like Morton Downey Jr's as "great". He was a loudmouth and controversial, for sure, but not someone who I found entertaining. Joe Franklin I can see because he's a local legend. I liked Lloyd Lyndsay Young but he's a weatherman on a low-rated TV news program. The weather can only be that much interesting. Funny that no mention was made of the Howard Stern Show, which did attract an audience, nor of Richard Bey.
- I put "New Jersey" in quotes because that area just across the Hudson is only important for certain businesses in terms of locating operations as close to the big city without having to pay New York cost-of-living expenses. In other words, New Jersey is there simply to be used when convenient. They didn't build an international airport in Newark just because they thought that city was worthy of one. The Giants and Jets still use "New York" as part of their name. I won't even comment on the Red Bulls soccer team. Then there are the various communication operations based in the area, including WXTV, WNJU, Channel 13 and Channel 68. Has anyone ever looked at whether either of them has done enough New Jersey-focused programs as much as with respect to Channel 9?
Now if someone could bring forth a viable business plan to operate the TV station and bring in viewers while being a primarily New Jersey-focused station, then great. Maybe the Fox Stations Group would happily sell to such group. However, I doubt that would happen anytime soon. Notice that Channels 2, 4, 5, 7, 11, 31, 41, 47 and 68 are owned by either the networks or other major entertainment groups. Channels 13, 21, 25, 50 and 58 are non-profit, public broadcasting channels. The rest are either low-power, religious or ethnic stations. As Channel 9 is a full-power station, chances are that if it were on sale tomorrow than it would fetch a pretty penny, even for a station with a spotty history. My 9 does carry Yankee baseball. It used to carry Mets baseball. Sports programming isn't cheap and more games are on cable than before. The New Jersey Devils are exclusively on cable. Not even hockey can be enticed to go on OTA channels. The Nets have practically disappeared from the "free" airwaves and the owner still is trying to move them to Brooklyn. Guess what? It costs a pretty penny to put sports on that channel. Who will be willing to pay for it if not some owner with deep pockets? Don't say the team because the only reason why a team would pay for put their games on is if they won't get exposure, otherwise. Even the Red Bulls are on MSG! Arena football? Women's soccer? Skateboarding? All on cable or about to disappear in the case of arena football.
Who can buy Channel 9 and do what New Jersey residents say they should do? There were many opportunities to do it before Fox bought the station. Why didn't it happen?
I cannot predict the future but I will say this: I wouldn't be surprised if Channel 9 does slip back into the city sometime in the future. There might be a deal in which they're allowed to do so in exchange for New Jersey getting a full-powered VHF station from somewhere else. I read the other day that a station group wants to bring in a VHF station from Nevada, of all places, and has petitioned the FCC for authorization. Look to that very closely as it might help decide the fate of Channel 9.
I support the idea of a major TV station focusing on New Jersey issues and happenings. However, we must keep in mind the following:
- The way in which Channel 9 became a "New Jersey" station was questionable. It was a way for the then-owner of the station to avoid having their broadcast license yanked by the federal government. It did not work out for them in the long run, as they had to sell their interest in the station to another group.
- Channel 9 has historically been one of the lowest performers in terms of ratings. The picture quality of the programming showed the effects of lack of investment in the station, from when RKO owned the station.
- I wouldn't qualify shows like Morton Downey Jr's as "great". He was a loudmouth and controversial, for sure, but not someone who I found entertaining. Joe Franklin I can see because he's a local legend. I liked Lloyd Lyndsay Young but he's a weatherman on a low-rated TV news program. The weather can only be that much interesting. Funny that no mention was made of the Howard Stern Show, which did attract an audience, nor of Richard Bey.
- I put "New Jersey" in quotes because that area just across the Hudson is only important for certain businesses in terms of locating operations as close to the big city without having to pay New York cost-of-living expenses. In other words, New Jersey is there simply to be used when convenient. They didn't build an international airport in Newark just because they thought that city was worthy of one. The Giants and Jets still use "New York" as part of their name. I won't even comment on the Red Bulls soccer team. Then there are the various communication operations based in the area, including WXTV, WNJU, Channel 13 and Channel 68. Has anyone ever looked at whether either of them has done enough New Jersey-focused programs as much as with respect to Channel 9?
Now if someone could bring forth a viable business plan to operate the TV station and bring in viewers while being a primarily New Jersey-focused station, then great. Maybe the Fox Stations Group would happily sell to such group. However, I doubt that would happen anytime soon. Notice that Channels 2, 4, 5, 7, 11, 31, 41, 47 and 68 are owned by either the networks or other major entertainment groups. Channels 13, 21, 25, 50 and 58 are non-profit, public broadcasting channels. The rest are either low-power, religious or ethnic stations. As Channel 9 is a full-power station, chances are that if it were on sale tomorrow than it would fetch a pretty penny, even for a station with a spotty history. My 9 does carry Yankee baseball. It used to carry Mets baseball. Sports programming isn't cheap and more games are on cable than before. The New Jersey Devils are exclusively on cable. Not even hockey can be enticed to go on OTA channels. The Nets have practically disappeared from the "free" airwaves and the owner still is trying to move them to Brooklyn. Guess what? It costs a pretty penny to put sports on that channel. Who will be willing to pay for it if not some owner with deep pockets? Don't say the team because the only reason why a team would pay for put their games on is if they won't get exposure, otherwise. Even the Red Bulls are on MSG! Arena football? Women's soccer? Skateboarding? All on cable or about to disappear in the case of arena football.
Who can buy Channel 9 and do what New Jersey residents say they should do? There were many opportunities to do it before Fox bought the station. Why didn't it happen?
I cannot predict the future but I will say this: I wouldn't be surprised if Channel 9 does slip back into the city sometime in the future. There might be a deal in which they're allowed to do so in exchange for New Jersey getting a full-powered VHF station from somewhere else. I read the other day that a station group wants to bring in a VHF station from Nevada, of all places, and has petitioned the FCC for authorization. Look to that very closely as it might help decide the fate of Channel 9.
azumanga said:
That remains to be seen. But a communications lawyer would use this to argue that this new channel, if approved, would comply with the law of having at least one commercial VHF station in the state of New Jersey, regardless of programming.
- Status