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Local news personalities who couldn't stand each other but you wouldn't know it

I

ixnay

Don't know if this thread belongs in Classic TV or National TV (the mods can tackle that issue)* but, inspired by http://boards.radio-info.com/smf/index.php?topic=112969.0 , I invite you to give stories hereon about local news personalities (preferably in-studio) who couldn't get along off camera. They seem like big happy families on camera but surely there must be backstage stories saying otherwise.

*I chose Classic TV because I'm looking for stories going back to, say, the '60s, if that's possible, or perhaps earlier.

ixnay
 
From what I've heard, WXYZ-TV's mid-1970's anchor duo of Bill Bonds and John Kelly would've qualified . . .
 
...howzabout Jessica Savitch and damn near anyone else onscreen at KYW-TV/3 Philadelphia in the '70s? Or, for that matter, Tom Snyder (tho he never confirmed it to me whenever I talked to him) and Mort Crim at KYW-TV a few years earlier? And Snyder (he *did* confirm this one to me) and Chuck Scarborough at WNBC-TV/4 New York in the '70s?...
 
Ultimajock said:
...howzabout Jessica Savitch and damn near anyone else onscreen at KYW-TV/3 Philadelphia in the '70s? Or, for that matter, Tom Snyder (tho he never confirmed it to me whenever I talked to him) and Mort Crim at KYW-TV a few years earlier? And Snyder (he *did* confirm this one to me) and Chuck Scarborough at WNBC-TV/4 New York in the '70s?...
Click to expand...

Here is a classic Jessica meltdown from NBC. But at the end of the day, she probably was right. "This is primetime television, folks!" Classic.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GpVuxgSxFFE
 
I remember my father saying that both Chet Huntley and David Brinkley had opposing political views. The chemistry of the two co-anchors on The Huntley-Brinkley Report netted a success for NBC. If there were any opposing political views..I didn't see it...but hey, I was in my early teens back then.
Any thoughts?
 
kirkiefan said:
I remember my father saying that both Chet Huntley and David Brinkley had opposing political views. The chemistry of the two co-anchors on The Huntley-Brinkley Report netted a success for NBC. If there were any opposing political views..I didn't see it...but hey, I was in my early teens back then.
Any thoughts?
Click to expand...

Yeah, this was an era when two anchors could have opposing viewpoints and still have great chemistry. Today, (especially if they are on cable), they would be yelling at each other.

In fairness, cable news today does seperate commentary from news, or atleast they do on the surface.
 
searadiofreak --

You may be the only one who remembers this in Seattle. Way back when at KIRO, I remember the noon newscast with Ann Bush and Susan Hutchison (who was filling in for a vacationing Solon Grey, I believe). It was horrid, zero chemistry all week. You had the news with the two beauty queens of KIRO at the time. Ann was fading; Susan was on her way up.
 
formeraa said:
searadiofreak --

You may be the only one who remembers this in Seattle. Way back when at KIRO, I remember the noon newscast with Ann Bush and Susan Hutchison (who was filling in for a vacationing Solon Grey, I believe). It was horrid, zero chemistry all week. You had the news with the two beauty queens of KIRO at the time. Ann was fading; Susan was on her way up.
Click to expand...

formeraa, I have always had a love-hate relationship with KIRO in Seattle. On one hand, they were groundbreaking in Seattle, introducing the fast-paced Eyewitness News format in 1969, which sort of woke up the market, and then again in the 80's, their lean toward crime/sensationalism also got the market into a tizzy. That took "balls", for lack of a better term. But, they also tended to be superficial with talent, Ann Bush, Susan Hutchison, and earlier, Sandy Hill. In fairness, Sandy Hill, and Ann Martin went on to bigger things. They have been last in the ratings throughout the 90's and most of this century, just recently coming on again. I would say KIRO has been the most interesting Seattle station to watch over the years.

But, back on topic...TV anchor chemistry is an inexact science. You obviously can't just team up people and expect it to work. It is almost a naturally occuring thing, and doesn't present itself until the audience accepts it on the other side of the camera. When it works, you know it. When it doesn't, you know it.
 
Mary Jo West and Bill Close at KOOL/KTSP in Phoenix, supposedly the story behind the movie "Anchorman". ;)
 
At one time there was a video of this on youtube, but has apparently been pulled.

At WBBJ in Jackson, TN the weekend news was anchored by two women and just before they went on-air, the prompter failed. To make it worse one of the women - who obviously disliked the other - made it worse by shuffling the script. The smirk on that woman's face - as the other struggled to find the correct page in the shuffle - spoke volumes about their relationship.
 
Re: Local news personalities who couldn't stand each other but you wouldn't know

Tim-In-Houston said:
At WBBJ in Jackson, TN the weekend news was anchored by two women and just before they went on-air, the prompter failed. To make it worse one of the women - who obviously disliked the other - made it worse by shuffling the script. The smirk on that woman's face - as the other struggled to find the correct page in the shuffle - spoke volumes about their relationship.
Click to expand...

Sounds like this was the kind of thing that was parodied by SCTV in their "SCTV News" sketches where anchors Floyd Robertson (Joe Flaherty) and Earl Camembert (Eugene Levy) were more at each other's throats on-air than reading the news.
 
kirkiefan said:
I remember my father saying that both Chet Huntley and David Brinkley had opposing political views. The chemistry of the two co-anchors on The Huntley-Brinkley Report netted a success for NBC. If there were any opposing political views..I didn't see it...but hey, I was in my early teens back then.
Any thoughts?
Click to expand...

Here's mine. I vaguely remember Huntley. I was not quite 9 when Chet retired in 1970 (in July, according to Brooks and Marsh).

I wasn't even aware of Huntley's retirement until a couple of nights later when I was staying at my grandparents, who preferred Cronkite (and John Facenda on WCAU-10). Cronkite's last story of that evening was a tribute to his rivals Chet and David. Then Walter said "That's the way it is, [date]. This is Walter Cronkite, CBS News... good night, Chet." Cut to Huntley, who was visiting the CBS set, and Chet said, "And a good night to you, Walter." :)

ixnay
 
ixnay said:
I wasn't even aware of Huntley's retirement until a couple of nights later when I was staying at my grandparents, who preferred Cronkite (and John Facenda on WCAU-10). Cronkite's last story of that evening was a tribute to his rivals Chet and David. Then Walter said "That's the way it is, [date]. This is Walter Cronkite, CBS News... good night, Chet." Cut to Huntley, who was visiting the CBS set, and Chet said, "And a good night to you, Walter." :)
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Actually, I think that Huntley's cameo was pre-taped at the NBC studios on Rockefeller Center (the light cyan blue background, as seen over both anchors on The Huntley-Brinkley Report within its last year on the air, was the giveaway), and it seemed evident that Chet had a mirthful twinkle in his eye as he gave his "Good bye and good luck, Walter." They actually have that ending piece of the July 31, 1970 Cronkite broadcast on YouTube:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FNHLejA6onY
And heard before the closing credits, then-CBS Evening News announcer Harry Kramer.
 
Tim-In-Houston said:
At one time there was a video of this on youtube, but has apparently been pulled.
At WBBJ in Jackson, TN the weekend news was anchored by two women and just before they went on-air, the prompter failed. To make it worse one of the women - who obviously disliked the other - made it worse by shuffling the script. The smirk on that woman's face - as the other struggled to find the correct page in the shuffle - spoke volumes about their relationship.
Click to expand...
I remember that clip! The smirking redhead (on the left in that clip, if I remember) is Vicky Zamata. I think that clip was from about 1996, so that was after I left west Tennessee, so I don't know the other woman in that clip. But Zamata (at least when I lived there) usually did public affairs-type programming, so I am not sure why she was doing "hard" news in that clip.
 
Kinda surprised that no one has mentioned Carol Marin (and her co-anchor) who left that TV station in Chicago over a dispute with Jerry Springer. I only remember Carol's name because she used to be on channel 4 here in Nashville, although that was before I moved here. I remember channel 4 showing an old clip of her interviewing Ray Blanton (easily the most corrupt governor we ever had!) right after his death.
 
Floyd Kalber & Jane Pauley, WMAQ-TV Chicago circa 1975-76. Ironically, a few months after Kalber went to NYC and became the Today Show news anchor, Pauley joined him.
 
M.J. said:
searadiofreak said:
Someone mentioned Mort Crimm in Philly w/ Jessica Savitch. In doing some searching for clips, I stumbled across this gem with Mort and guest anchorman Ted Baxter. This is pretty funny.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yqYMSkejABc&feature=rec-rn-1r-5-HM
Click to expand...
From the same station... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QENf3LDZHbk
Click to expand...

Speaking of Ted Baxter, real life Los Angeles anchorman George Putnam was the main inspiration for the Baxter character on the MTM show. Rumor had it that George and his co-anchor Hal Fishman became enemies over the years. Their political views were the same (right wing conservative), but Putnam had a major ego - and felt slighted and back-stabbed by Fishman when he was fired by KTLA's owner (Gene Autry) in the early 70s. Fishman succeeded Putnam as anchor, and was the primary anchor for KTLA News for over 3 decades.

KTLA celebrated its 60th anniversary a couple of years before both men passed away. Putnam reportedly felt slighted again because the 60th celebration included almost no video clips of his successful time with the station. He apparently believed that Fishman was behind that, too.
 
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