Television news

From 1948 to 1973, John Facenda was the lead news anchor for WCAU-TV; his newscasts were the highest-rated in Philadelphia and the Delaware Valley for over 2 decades.

John Facenda pioneered the format for the local newscasts: news, weather, sports and sign-off.

Launched in 1949, WSAZ has covered the Huntington-Charleston area.

Based in Huntington and Charleston, WSAZ pioneered the two-city news concept, utilized by many other television stations across the US and around the world, in the mid-1950's or before 1957.

KTLA, the first ever commercial television station based west of the Mississippi River, was initially owned by Paramount Pictures' television division called Television Productions, Inc.

In the mid-1960's, Golden West Broadcasters purchased KTLA from Paramount Pictures.

The KTLA Telecopter was the first ever television news helicopter in the world, which first went into operation in the late-1950's or after 1957 and was invented by John D. Silva.

Still in Los Angeles, KNXT (now KCBS-TV) innovated a concept in television news: The Big News.

Departing from the shorter network-focused news programs, The Big News on KNXT was one of the first news programs in a major US market to last 60 minutes or an hour.

Lasting 45 minutes, The Big News covered local news, weather and sports.

Sam Zelman was the driving force behind The Big News on KNXT.

Eyewitness News was a local newscast lasting 90 minutes on KYW-TV in Cleveland, which, like The Big News on KNXT, was the first news program to last 60 minutes or so.

Having begun at KYW-TV in Cleveland, the Eyewitness News name was also used by Westinghouse's other television stations for their local newscasts during the 1960's.

After the KYW-TV calls, management and some staffers moved to Philadelphia from Cleveland in the mid-1960's or before 1966, its then-news director Al Primo created the Eyewitness News format.

With Al Primo's Eyewitness News format, KYW-TV became the ratings leader at the time, displacing longtime leader WCAU-TV.

The huge success of the Eyewitness News format, made by Al Primo for KYW-TV, also spurred rival news executive Mel Kampmann to create Action News for WFIL-TV (now WPVI-TV).

Although Vince Leonard ws still the primary evening news anchor for KYW-TV when the Eyewitness News format began, Tom Snyder was harder-hitting and more urgent on the noon news.

From 1972 to 1977, Mort Crim and Jessica Savitch helped KYW-TV earn success through Eyewitness News.

In 1977, with the Action News concept, WPVI-TV won the ratings battle over KYW-TV, and has been always number one in Philadelphia and the Delaware Valley ever since.

Some reasons for WPVI's dominance over KYW starting in 1977 include the latter station's declining ratings and the loss of some of its key news people, like Mort Crim and Jessica Savitch.

The WPVI news team of Jim Gardner, Don Tollefson, Jim O'Brien, Dave Roberts and Gary Papa have contributed to (and established) the success and legacy of the Action News format.

Al Primo then took the Eyewitness News concept with him to WABC-TV in New York City, where he perfected/refined the one that he had created while at KYW-TV in Philadelphia.

By perfecting/refining the Eyewitness News format that Al Primo had created, WABC-TV became the ratings leader for the first time in its history, displacing longtime leader WCBS-TV.

Meanwhile, in New England, defunct television stations WNAC-TV and WXPO-TV brought some other innovations to local news presentation.

Lowell-based WXPO-TV was the first US television station to air hourly news updates.

WNAC-TV was one of the first television stations in the United States to use a music package based upon a jingle to promote its newscasts.

The KNBC News Service comprised the first 2 1/2 hour early-evening news block on a major-market station in the United States, when combined with The Huntley-Brinkley Report.

The CBS World News Roundup is the longest-running radio news program in the United States.

For its first edition in March 1938 as a one-time special in response to growing tensions in Europe, the CBS World News Roundup presented, for the first time, Edward R. Murrow's voice to the world.

Lowell Thomas was the regular narrator of the Movietone News series from 20th Century-Fox Film Corporation from the 1930's to the 1950's.

In addition, Lowell Thomas was also the radio newscaster from 1930 to between 1975 and 1977.

The newscast anchored by Lowell Thomas was sponsored by Sunoco.

During his run as a famous radio newscaster, Lowell Thomas also offered the first television news broadcast and the first regularly-scheduled television news program.

For his regularly-scheduled television newscasts before 1941, Lowell Thomas' own Sunoco News program aired over WX2BS (now WNBC) as a camera simulcast of his radio program.

Your Esso Reporter was a sydicated radio news program sponsored by Esso.

The War As It Happens, which came before WWII's 1945 end, began as a local program, but was later being fed to Philadelphia and the Capital District on the NBC network on a weekly basis.

I Can Hear It Now 1933-1945 (1948) is the first documentary record to become widely popular, which Edward R. Murrow narrated (and co-produced with Fred W. Friendly).

With the huge success of this first I Can Hear It Now record and two follow-ups in 1949 and 1950, the Edward R. Murrow and Fred W. Friendly pair parlayed them into a weekly program for CBS.

Hear It Now, which used a magazine format, was originally known as Report to the Nation, but had its name changed to capitalize on the high popularity of the albums from Edward R. Murrow.

See It Now, which is the television answer to Hear It Now, is one of the earliest documentary series on television, but also the program setting standards in broadcast journalism via Edward R. Murrow.

Unlike other news programs using newsreel companies to record events, See It Now utilized its own camera crews to coordinate filming on location.

Plus, See It Now had no rehearsed interviews, plus no background music to accompany the visuals.

Although See It Now relied on news correspondents from around the world, the first autonomous news unit was organized by Edward R. Murrow and Fred W. Friendly.

Don Hewitt, Joseph Wershba and Palmer Williams were involved in the first autonomous news unit for See It Now, which Edward R. Murrow and Fred W. Friendly organized.

Person to Person, which Edward R. Murrow hosted, uses celebrities in their homes from a comfortable chair in his New York studio, pioneering the celebrity interview concept.

One of the most notable guests on the original Person to Person version was Marilyn Monroe.

60 Minutes blends the elements made by the two television projects in which Edward R. Murrow was involved: See It Now and Person to Person.

The NBC Television Newsreel was the new name for The War As It Happens in 1945.

Just a year after WWII's 1945 end, the NBC Television Newsreel gained a sponsor in Esso and became known as the Esso Newsreel, rescheduled to two nights a week.

In February 1948, Esso left and Camel Cigarettes entered the NBC Television Newsreel, becoming the Camel Newsreel Theatre, with John Cameron Swayze as its narrator.

CBS News decided to put Douglas Edwards in front of the camera in May 1948; this launched the first regularly-scheduled television news program featuring an on-camera anchor on a network level.

Before Douglas Edwards, WCBS-TV newscasts were local television broadcasts only in New York.

Whereas the NBC Television Newsreel was simply film footage with voice narration, CBS Television News featured an on-camera anchor.

December 1948 was when NBC acquired an 11-story building at the Pathé complex based near Park Avenue, becoming NBC's Uptown Studios.

NBC had immediate access to filmed news stories from around the world through Pathé.

John Cameron Swayze jumped on Douglas Edwards' bandwagon in February 1949, and the Camel Newsreel Theatre underwent its expansion.

The Camel News Caravan is an expanded version of the Camel Newsreel Theatre.

In 1950, CBS Television News was renamed Douglas Edwards with the News, which was also the first television news program to be simulcast on both the East and West Coasts a year later.

A new coaxial cable connection was the reason for Douglas Edwards with the News marking a historic moment for television.

Chet Huntley and David Brinkley teamed up for the national political conventions in the mid-1950's or before 1957, leading to NBC's eponymous flagship newscast called The Huntley-Brinkley Report.

Using the two-city news format that WSAZ pioneered with the opening of its Charleston branch, miles away from Huntington, The Huntley-Brinkley Report had become a cultural landmark.

Reuven Frank was the driving force behind The Huntley-Brinkley Report's huge success.

Chet Huntley offers national and international news on The Huntley-Brinkley Report from NBC's 30 Rockefeller Plaza studios in New York; David Brinkley focuses on Washington reports.

For The Huntley-Brinkley Report, Chet Huntley was portrayed as a straightforward newsman; David Brinkley had a lighter, more compressed and more whimsical approach.

Douglas Edwards was succeeded by Walter Cronkite on CBS' flagship newscast in April 1962.

In his first year, Walter Cronkite anchored what was known as Walter Cronkite with the News.

Just one year later, in the mid-1960's or after 1962, the newscast, which was renamed the CBS Evening News, expanded its running time from the usual quarter-hour to 30 minutes or a half-hour.

With the mid-1960's expansion of its running time from a quarter-hour to a half-hour, the CBS Evening News with Walter Cronkite became network television's first daily half-hour weeknight newscast.

CBS' rivals NBC and ABC followed the example of the CBS Evening News' half-hour expansion.

This expansion from the usual quarter-hour to a half-hour through the CBS Evening News with Walter Cronkite revolutionized journalism, allowing for more in-depth reporting and analysis.

From 1962 to 1981, the CBS Evening News with Walter Cronkite had become a cultural landmark; his successor Dan Rather anchored the CBS Evening News for 24 years from 1981 to 2005.

Edward R. Murrow's signature sign-off is "Good night, and good luck."

Walter Cronkite's famous and iconic sign-off on the CBS Evening News is "And that's the way it is," followed by the date of the broadcast.

Meanwhile, the signature sign-off on The Huntley-Brinkley Report is "Good night, Chet. Good night, David. And good night, for NBC News."

The famous sign-off for the Camel News Caravan, anchored by John Cameron Swayze, is "That's the story, folks...glad we could get together."

Having been with ABC Sports since 1960, Roone Arledge also took over ABC News in 1977.

Roone Arledge, who took control of ABC News in 1977, revitalized this organization by improving its financial standing and revolutionizing its presentation.

Both ABC World News Tonight and 20/20 began their long and successful tenures in 1978; Nightline likewise started its long and successful run in 1980.

During World News Tonight's early years, Frank Reynolds reports from Washington, Max Robinson covers national news from Chicago and Peter Jennings covers world news from London.

This three-city format used during World News Tonight's first years was based on the two-city news format of The Huntley-Brinkley Report, which, in turn, was based on WSAZ.

After Frank Reynolds' death, this three-anchor setup for ABC World News Tonight was revised, with Peter Jennings becoming its solo anchor from New York, its new base of operations.

World News Tonight with Peter Jennings was the program's name from 1984 to 2005.

Back to Cleveland, WJW-TV's first newscast was The Sohio Reporter, delivered by Western Reserve University speech head Warren Guthrie, which was syndicated across Ohio.

Doug Adair joined WJW in September 1957, before moving to news a year later.

City Camera News was a news roundup seen on WJW-TV directly after Warren Guthrie; its name was taken from the use of Polaroid photographs taken from scenes involving news events.

The Sohio Reporter covered national and world news, and City Camera News focused on local news.

Joel Daly replaced Warren Guthrie as Doug Adair's partner in the mid-1960's or after 1962, and City Camera News underwent its expansion into a half-hour 11 p.m. newscast.

WJW-TV was one of the first stations to have two news anchors at the same desk together.

Plus, City Camera News on WJW-TV was the first local newscast to directly bring the news anchors, weather presenters and sportscasters together as a cohesive on-air team.

By eschewing a one-person news format, a two-person news team taking turns to bring flexibility and personality to news presentation was introduced for City Camera News on WJW-TV.

In the late-1960's, WCCO introduced a unique concept in television news called The Scene Tonight, in which the two-person news team, the weather forecaster and sportscaster sat in one desk.

For the innovative concept used by The Scene Tonight on WCCO, on-air news anchors rotate, with the weather forecaster and sportscaster appearing after the newscaster and sharing the space.

Both Eyewitness News and The Big News are unconventional television news formats.

Al Primo and the McHugh & Hoffman consulting firm are key figures in popularizing the Eyewitness News format in both the US and the world.

Frank N. Magid Associates likewise popularized Action News in both the US and the world.

Dave Garroway, a radio disc jockey at WMAQ-AM, moved to television with the eponymous program known as Garroway at Large, which began in 1949.

Garroway at Large, which aired every week at 10pm from the WMAQ-TV studios in Chicago, notably introduced an innovative presentation and staging to television through Dave Garroway.

Saturday is when Garroway at Large Dave Garroway, aired, and later, Sundays and Fridays.

When television first began in New York City, programs seen on the medium used/adopted the frequent theatrical proscenium concept, separating the stage from the audience area.

After World War II, several programs originated from Chicago, where Dave Garroway was a radio disc jockey on WMAQ-AM.

Through his own innovative Garroway at Large television program, Dave Garroway circumvented the conventions for a more casual approach in which the reality of the studio was acknowledged.

Followed by a single camera, Dave Garroway, in his own Garroway at Large program, walked around large studios and simple abstract sets as he directly talked to guests and television viewers.

Known as the Chicago Style, this live staging technique, made for Dave Garroway's own Garroway at Large program, was developed further through his other innovative program called Today.

During its initial years, NBC's Today program emanated from the RCA Exhibition Hall.

In the first ever studio used for NBC's Today program from the RCA Exhibition Hall was an open-plan working area with teletypes, wall clocks and workstations all visible (and audible) on the air.

Many people all around the United States described this open-plan working area in the first studio ever utilized for NBC's Today program from the RCA Exhibition Hall as television's command centre.

Plus, this open-plan working area in the first studio ever used for NBC's Today program from the RCA Exhibition Hall was described by Dave Garroway as "the nerve centre of the world."

Based at Rockefeller Plaza and West 49th Street in New York's Midtown Manhattan portion, the RCA Exhibition Hall was down the block from the current studio used for NBC's Today program.

Over the years, this working area in the first studio for NBC's Today program emanating from the RCA Exhibition Hall has become working newsrooms, though not as immersive as its original space.

Instead, working television newsrooms are usually placed directly behind the news anchor desk, with a physical or a imaginary divider between the studio and newsroom area.

Layouts for working television newsrooms include glass separating them from the broadcast area.

However, designs placing news anchors in the middle of the newsroom have been used by numerous programs over the years - in varying degrees.

Plus, TV stations/networks frequently do camera positions placed more inside newsroom areas; often called flash cams, they are used for live reports/updates, as well as taped teases/promos.

Newsrooms are used by TV stations for temporary sets, while primary studios are being renovated or updated with a new set or equipment.

A similar idea is also often used for working weather centres in modern television studio sets.

When NBC's Today program started in the 1950's, weather centres did not utilize chroma key, since it requires, by definition, colour cameras.

Upon its debut in early-1950's, NBC's Today program utilized panels, with printed maps, handwritten notations and movable cutout pieces to symbolize weather conditions.

On many local news studio sets, the weather team works in the studio from built-in workstations and video panels, while usually starting/ending their weather reports from in front of a working area.

Many weather centres use a desk or pod allowing weather forecasters to appear on screen, facing the camera, while also viewing computer monitors and manipulating graphics/maps in realtime.

Street-level and windowed studios, meanwhile, are still used from now on.

Technically, all Big Three networks have their morning newscasts from street-level studio sets.

Local US television stations also have street-level and windowed studios, though they often serve as secondary sets or double as a satellite operation for the station's main newsroom.

In many ways, however, these street-level and windowed studios serve more as a highly visual public showcase for the local station rather than using the view as a primary backdrop.

Many of these street-level and windowed studios feature sets, built inside of a traditional windowless studio and having looked much indifferent for all intents and purposes.

Plus, modern and efficient news tickers were not created or launched until CNN Headline News' own SportsTicker in 1993, nor fully popularized until September 11, 2001.

The news ticker used when NBC's Today program first began in the early-1950's or before 1953 was an actual piece of paper with typewritten headlines superimposed on the lower third of the screen.

J. Fred Muggs, a chimpanzee, is a mascot of  NBC's Today program from 1953 to 1957.

Although his tenure as a mascot of NBC's Today program was short-lived, J. Fred Muggs was popular among children.

During its first 48 years from the early-1950's or before 1953 to before 2001, NBC's Today program lasted two hours from 7 a.m. to 9 a.m. Eastern Time.

In the mid-1990's or after 1993, Today moved to a street-level location at Rockefeller Plaza, which is known as the Window on the World, recalling the program's early-1950's origins.

Some television programs in which Dave Garroway was involved, including Garroway at Large and Today, influenced modern broadcast design, like CNN and CityTV/MuchMusic.

Plus, Dave Garroway was the first host of NBC's Monitor, a weekend radio program which combined news, music, interviews and features.

One of the first guests on NBC's Monitor program was Marilyn Monroe.

News music uses the teletype, which is used for transmitting news, together with two of the loudest instrumental groups in the Western orchestra: brass and percussion.

In short, news music uses the teletype rhythm, plus the clarion call of lively, piercing tones.

Cool Hand Luke: The Tar Sequence by Lalo Schifrin is also used through newscasts.

What makes Cool Hand Luke: The Tar Sequence a fitting music theme tune for newscasts, including television news, is a staccato rhythm resembling the teletype, used for transmitting news.

Despite the decline in its direct use, the influence (and impact) of The Tar Sequence from Cool Hand Luke by Lalo Schifrin on news music remains strong.

Used in many television newscasts all around the world, The Tar Sequence from Cool Hand Luke by Lalo Schifrin establishes a certain style and sonic landscape for news music.

The cinematic quality being utilized in The Tar Sequence cue from Cool Hand Luke, with its driving rhythm and instrumentation, is adopted and adapted in news themes.

John Barry's 007 cue from the James Bond film From Russia With Love also goes down to the small screen through newscasts, fittingly due to a staccato mimicking the teletype.

In addition, the influence and impact of 007 from the James Bond movie From Russia With Love by John Barry on news music remains strong, despite its decline in its direct usage.

Just like The Tar Sequence from Cool Hand Luke by Lalo Schifrin, 007 from the James Bond movie From Russia With Love by John Barry makes contributions to the modern news music sound.

Some elements of 007 from the James Bond movie From Russia With Love - the powerful brass, the jazzy overtones and driving rhythm - are adopted and adapted in news themes.

When KYW-TV adopted the Eyewitness News format created by Al Primo, an edited version of 007 Takes the Lektor from the James Bond film From Russia With Love by John Barry was used.

Other Group W/Westinghouse Broadcasting stations used an edited iteration of 007 Takes the Lektor from the James Bond film From Russia With Love by John Barry as the Eyewitness News tune.

From the 1960's to the 1990's, an edited iteration of The Tar Sequence from Cool Hand Luke by Lalo Schifrin was the theme tune for Eyewitness News, used by ABC-owned-and-operated stations.

Increased licensing fees have caused local television stations, in particular Eyewitness News, to drop Cool Hand Luke: The Tar Sequence by Lalo Schifrin in the 1990's.

New York's ABC station WABC-TV was the first to use Cool Hand Luke: The Tar Sequence by Lalo Schifrin as the Eyewitness News theme when Al Primo arrived in the late-1960's or before 1969.

The practice of using music sourced from films as news themes was introduced by Eyewitness News creator Al Primo.

John Barry's 007 cue from James Bond's From Russia With Love was used as a news theme by some stations, but not as pervasive as Cool Hand Luke: The Tar Sequence by Lalo Schifrin.

Cool Hand Luke: The Tar Sequence by Lalo Schifrin uses a more cinematic sound in the news music arena than 007 from the James Bond film From Russia With Love by John Barry.

Having been an orchestral cue with a cinematic style for television news, Cool Hand Luke: The Tar Sequence marks a shift in news music, introducing a more cinematic sound to this business.

Before Cool Hand Luke: The Tar Sequence was adopted for Eyewitness News, earlier news themes utilized neutral or assertive themes based on fanfares.

cinematic Hollywood-like orchestral film score sound

Ever since the WABC-TV version of Eyewitness News, television stations have either used The Tar Sequence or created their own news themes mirroring its unique cinematic sound.

Most flagship television newscasts conclude with the weather forecast, while some prefer to conclude with a recap of the day's main stories.