Local TV Editorials

[Stanislav]

Back when it became fashionable for local TV news broadcasts to include a brief editorial segment, they were usually delivered by the owner or station manager. Thing is, these gentlemen (and I'm not being sexist, as such execs were almost universally male back then, and still are to a great extent) were not primarily trained as on-camera talent, and sometimes their uncomfortable, stiff demeanor or personal quirks could tend to undermine the seriousness of the position they were espousing.

In Central Florida, I recall a couple of examples. WFTV (channel 9) had station manager Walter Windsor. A genuinely nice guy, according to those who knew him, but on-camera he displayed all the personality of a dead fish. Interesting, due to the fact that Windsor was also active acting in local theater productions. Of course, the fact that his roles were mostly in productions by a local theater group that he bankrolled (*ahem*) lead one to believe that it wasn't his talent as a thespian that got him those parts in the first place.

WESH (channel 2) had station manager John E. Evans deliver its editorials. A pleasant enough chap, but one could hardly avoid being distracted by the fact that his speaking voice was almost a dead ringer for Reggie Van Gleason. :

How about your own locals? Any good examples of editorializers who should have stayed behind the camera?

(And, BTW, do local stations even DO editorials anymore? I don't watch enough local news to know...)

 

[CrankyYankee]

WPTZ/WNNE, Burlington/Plattsburgh/White River Junction airs editorials. Delivered by station President and General Manager Paul Sands, they offer rebuttles and viewer comments as well. Read scripts of some recents editorials at http://www.wptz.com/editorials/index.html

 

[jh]

Back in the early to mid 70s, KCRG-9 in Cedar Rapids IA occasionally had the editorial done by GM Ed Lasko, who was probably in his 50s, looked good, and had a great voice. But most of the time, they were done by station VP Edna Herbst, who was 60ish, somewhat matronly, with a really annoying voice.

I don't know why they didn't have Lasko do them all, especially since Lasko did do them all for KCRG's AM station, and Herbst was never heard on the radio station.

The radio station was a top 40 operation back then, so every morning at 7:25 after the "16 Update" they started the stop watch sound effect and a deep-voiced announced intoned: "And now "60 Seconds" a statement of editorial opinion with KCRG general manager Ed Lasko."

When's the last time Top 40 stations ran editorials?

 

[therealjm12]

When's the last time Top 40 stations ran editorials?

Actually R. Peter Strauss ran editorials on his stations including WMCA, WTLB, WGVA and WALL. All were top 40.

 

[mleach]

When's the last time Top 40 stations ran editorials?

Actually R. Peter Strauss ran editorials on his stations including WMCA, WTLB, WGVA and WALL. All were top 40.

and the Virginia station Strauss had owned for many years...WFTR-AM in Front Royal, Virginia

 

[wbhist]

A more recent example of regular editorials as of a few years ago was News 12 Long Island, as delivered by Peter Kohler - whose name New Yorkers may recognize as one of two editorialists for WCBS-TV in the 1970's and '80's (along with Sue Cott).

As for New York editorialists, perhaps the most famous is WPIX's Richard N. Hughes (whose editorials ended with "What's your opinion? We'd like to know," and every so often had a segment where he read letters from viewers who saw his editorials). WNBC-TV had Joe Michaels (whose voice, in the opinion of some, sounded like he had a discomfort of some kind) and, to a lesser extent in the '80's, Bud Carey; WABC-TV's editorialists over the years included Kenneth H. MacQueen (to the late 1970's), Phil Boyer (from then to the early 1980's) and Bill Fyffe (for a few years afterward); WOR-TV had a parade of editorialists over the years including VP/GM's Robert J. Williamson (in the mid-to-late 1970's) and Robert Fennimore (early '80's), and VP of Public Affairs (in the early '80's) Marsha Kaminsky - I wouldn't be surprised if there were others who came before these individuals (not to mention an opening and closing segment with music that scared the bejesus out of some viewers).

 

[radiorob2.0]

Let's not forget Jesse Helms on WRAL-TV.

 

[LKellerIII]

Back when it became fashionable for local TV news broadcasts to include a brief editorial segment, they were usually delivered by the owner or station manager. Thing is, these gentlemen (and I'm not being sexist, as such execs were almost universally male back then, and still are to a great extent) were not primarily trained as on-camera talent, and sometimes their uncomfortable, stiff demeanor or personal quirks could tend to undermine the seriousness of the position they were espousing.

In Central Florida, I recall a couple of examples. WFTV (channel 9) had station manager Walter Windsor. A genuinely nice guy, according to those who knew him, but on-camera he displayed all the personality of a dead fish. Interesting, due to the fact that Windsor was also active acting in local theater productions. Of course, the fact that his roles were mostly in productions by a local theater group that he bankrolled (*ahem*) lead one to believe that it wasn't his talent as a thespian that got him those parts in the first place.

WESH (channel 2) had station manager John E. Evans deliver its editorials. A pleasant enough chap, but one could hardly avoid being distracted by the fact that his speaking voice was almost a dead ringer for Reggie Van Gleason. :

How about your own locals? Any good examples of editorializers who should have stayed behind the camera?

(And, BTW, do local stations even DO editorials anymore? I don't watch enough local news to know...)

If you're old enough to recall Pat Paulsen's "editorials" on the Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour - you'll remember that they were intended to be parodies of local TV station editorials. Paulson was always "nervous" (acting), spoke in a thin tremulous voice, and garbled words and phrases.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x4kWLUnorTU

Nobody in the SF Bay Area does editorials anymore, to my knowledge. I remember Ray Jacobs doing editorials at KTVU in the 70s and 80s, but Jacobs had been a professional TV reporter before his stint in management, so he looked and sounded great on camera. Cal Bollwinkel was also excellent on camera doing editorials at KTXL Sacramento, so I suspect he also had on-camera experiencel, goofy name or not.

 

[searadiofreak]

Yes, they still exist in some larger markets. KSL-TV in Salt Lake City still runs them with Duane Cardall. KOMO-TV in Seattle has them with Ken Schram, but he has become more of an entertainment feature as he hands out his so-called "Shrammies" for questionable deeds.

Seattle has a history of personality-driven editorials, with the venerable Lloyd Cooney spouting off for many years on KIRO-TV.

 

[Ultimajock]

...hmmm...would the commentaries that Len O'Connor delivered for years over WNBQ/WMAQ-TV/5 and WGN-TV/9 qualify here? Or are we speaking strictly about the ones that were delivered by station administrators?...

 

[LKellerIII]

The infamous George Putnam News on KTLA and KTTV always included George's One Reporter's Opinion, at the 30 minute mark. When George was upset, his conservative editorials would turn into emotional tirades against the COMMUNISTS, and anybody who he felt had disrespected the American flag.

It's no secret that Putnam was the inspiration for Ted Baxter on the MTM show.

 

[searadiofreak]

The infamous George Putnam News on KTLA and KTTV always included George's One Reporter's Opinion, at the 30 minute mark. When George was upset, his conservative editorials would turn into emotional tirades against the COMMUNISTS, and anybody who he felt had disrespected the American flag.

It's no secret that Putnam was the inspiration for Ted Baxter on the MTM show.

I had always thought that it was the late Jerry Dunphy that was the inspiration for the Ted Baxter character. Perhaps it was an amalgamation.

 

[Ultimajock]

The infamous George Putnam News on KTLA and KTTV always included George's One Reporter's Opinion, at the 30 minute mark. When George was upset, his conservative editorials would turn into emotional tirades against the COMMUNISTS, and anybody who he felt had disrespected the American flag.

It's no secret that Putnam was the inspiration for Ted Baxter on the MTM show.

I had always thought that it was the late Jerry Dunphy that was the inspiration for the Ted Baxter character. Perhaps it was an amalgamation.

...it was; Putnam was Ted Knight's model for the pompous delivery, while Dunphy's white hair was the model for the visual image (Knight's hair was naturally much darker when Mary Tyler Moore began production, and in the final sequence in the 1960 movie Psycho Knight is almost unrecognisable, partly because most modern audiences aren't used to seeing his hair that dark)...

 

[ixnay]

I believe Hearst-Argyle's WBAL-11 Baltimore still runs editorials, by their GM. A few years ago that GM was Phil Stolz. The position has changed hands a couple of times since Stolz left.

Sticking with Baltimore, in the late '80s/early '90s, WMAR-2, then owned by Gillett Broadcasting, had eds by its GM, Arnold (or was it Arthur) Kleiner. Whether Kleiner was a holdover from the previous ownership, I don't remember.

ixnay

 

[LKellerIII]

The infamous George Putnam News on KTLA and KTTV always included George's One Reporter's Opinion, at the 30 minute mark. When George was upset, his conservative editorials would turn into emotional tirades against the COMMUNISTS, and anybody who he felt had disrespected the American flag.

It's no secret that Putnam was the inspiration for Ted Baxter on the MTM show.

I had always thought that it was the late Jerry Dunphy that was the inspiration for the Ted Baxter character. Perhaps it was an amalgamation.

...it was; Putnam was Ted Knight's model for the pompous delivery, while Dunphy's white hair was the model for the visual image (Knight's hair was naturally much darker when Mary Tyler Moore began production, and in the final sequence in the 1960 movie Psycho Knight is almost unrecognisable, partly because most modern audiences aren't used to seeing his hair that dark)...

Ted Baxter's voice, demeanor, and pomposity were all Putnam. I saw an interview with Mary some years after the show was over, and she stated that Ted's character was fashioned after George Putnam. Knight has said the same thing.

During the show's run, the writers would be coy, and say it was an amalgamation. I think people just assumed Dunphy because Knight and Jerry Dunphy both had white hair...Dunphy's hair was white from a young age. But Dunphy's delivery and look were nothing like Putnam or Knight.

There was also an LA anchorman turned politician in those days named Baxter Ward, so I guess you could throw him into the mix, too.

Here's KTTV's obituary of Putnam, including pieces of an interview he did in his 80s - still looking vigorous and healthy...and his hair had gone gray by that time. There are also a couple of historic clips, including his 1950s era introduction of Ronald Reagan (still pronounced REE-gan) and his fiancee Nancy Davis. The story ends with George doing his famous sign off.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zRoF2WsFuTE

 

[Tim L]

From seeing TV Guide Schedules of the early 1960's, Storer TV stations WJW-TV 8 Cleveland and WSPD-TV 13 Toledo went as far as listing "TV Editorial" as a separate program in the listings 5 nights a week. At least in 1962-63 TV 8 News/Editoral director Norman Wagy would would have his editorials at 6:57 PM and 11:15 PM, resulting in sports and night movies being started at the odd times of 11:18 and 11:23 PM, respectively...In the mid 1970's TV 8 News Director Virgil Dominic would do editorials, but not every night..

About Ted Knight:He certainly got a lot of mileage out of the "Ted Baxter" Persona..even after The Mary Tyler Moore Show was canceled..

Here are a couple Commercials from YouTube for Cleveland area Mall Southgate USA featuring Ted Knight:from 1978-79

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6o72vcr4HeQ

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Esbix1o2MXk

 

[mleach]

Here are a couple Commercials from YouTube for Cleveland area Mall Southgate USA featuring Ted Knight:from 1978-79

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6o72vcr4HeQ

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Esbix1o2MXk

Too bad they aren't on You Tube but a few years before his death ( 1984?) Ted Knight had cut some ads for an AM radio station in Virginia Beach. The station didn't last ( thats why I don't remember their call letters ) but I do remember that they played MOR/standards. One ad had Knight holding a rock saying "..some people like rock....but we don't...time to throw out the garbage..." And Knight throws the rock into a trash can".

Another ad had Ted Knight taking a walk at the Norfolk Zoo ( or whatever they called it ) saying how this is a REAL zoo and how radio morning shows should just play the music and not be..well like thos "stupid radio morning zoos".

Very funny thing about those ads....that AM station, their sister station is/was WNVZ-FM "Z104"...a top 40 rock station at the time..and THEY were the ones in the Norfolk/Virginia Beach market that had the local "morning zoo". Talk about bashing your own family, even the two local newspapers took note of that one.

 

[TexasTom]

Yes, they still exist in some larger markets. KSL-TV in Salt Lake City still runs them with Duane Cardall. KOMO-TV in Seattle has them with Ken Schram, but he has become more of an entertainment feature as he hands out his so-called "Shrammies" for questionable deeds.

Seattle has a history of personality-driven editorials, with the venerable Lloyd Cooney spouting off for many years on KIRO-TV.

I remember Lloyd Cooney's editorials on KIRO-TV, back in the seventies, since KIRO was my parent's station of choice for the evening news. As I recall, Lloyd Cooney's on air presentation was pretty solid...he was obviously comfortable in front of the camera.

As would seem reasonable considering KIRO's ownership at the time (Bonneville Corp, a for profit subsidiary of the Mormon church), Lloyd Cooney's editorial opinions were generally quite conservative -- far more conservative than the Seattle/Tacoma market as a whole. I remembre that my parents frequently disagreed with his positions on the issues, but they kept watching...and it did stir up discussion, which is certainly one of the purposes of a good editorial.

 

[johnnya2k6]

Longtime News Director Phil Johnson did nightly editorials on WWL-TV (New Orleans) from the '60s to the early '90s.

 

[RadioDze]

Raleigh's WRAL-TV continued editorials after Jesse Helms left the station for the U.S. Senate. Giles Lambertson used to do these in the '80s and '90s, though I don't even remember whether they leaned conservative or liberal. Former WRAL TV reporter Chris Fitzsimon does editorials, at least on WRAL radio (101.5 FM) and it seems some of these have been seen on TV 5, and his editorials have a definite liberal bent, as he's now the head of a liberal think tank.

When Golsboro, NC-licensed channel 17 moved to the "big City" as WNCN "NBC 17" in 1995, the late Adam G. "Bud" Polacek, then the station's manager, delivered editorials.

Down I-40 in the Wilmington market, late WECT anchor Ken Murphy delivered editorials in thr '90s and '00s.