48 Years Ago Today: Massachusetts Governor Charlie Baker issued a travel ban that begins after midnight on January 27, 2015 due to the Nor-easter bearing down on Northeast. Lets recall another blizzard, the one in Chicago from January 26-27, 1967. The forecasts called for a high of 40 degrees with rain or snow. Instead, 23 of snow fell with winds of 53 MPH and drifts of 4 to 6 feet. Heres an edition of Newscope on WFLD Channel 32, anchored by Patrick Muldowney. Also featuring Harlan Draeger of the Chicago Daily News, Richard Foster of the Chicago Sun-Times (both papers, like WFLD, were owned by Field Enterprises), sportscaster Dave Martin, and WA9RTP ham operators Jim Roper(?) and Dick Cox. This is the earliest footage currently known to exist of a WFLD broadcast (albeit via kinescope). At frame left on the Newscope set is a Teletype Model 28RO (Receive Only), which along with the Model 15 was the workhorse of many a newsroom for decades - and the source of the ubiquitous clack-clack-clack sound heard on many a newscast or all-news radio station (such as WBBM Newsradio 78 or the late, lamented WMAQ All News 67) until the advent of computer-based systems rendered teletype machines obsolete. Finally, the font used for lower-third identifications was Univers 67 Bold Condensed, which would be used by the station well into the early 1970s (noticeable, for example, on lower-thirds seen on surviving episodes of the late Jerry G. Bishops Screaming Yellow Theatre a.k.a. Svengoolie). Patrick opens the newscast by noting that, prior to a one-hour break, they had continuous coverage for the last 10 hours, with the combined facilities of Channel 32, the Daily News and Sun-Times, and amateur radio station WA9RTP (with him introducing Jim and Dick). At the city room of the Sun-Times, Richard Foster adds that by dawn, Chicago temperatures will be bitterly cold (10 above), and mentions the following facts in the course of his report: Snow fell for 29 hours and 8 minutes straight, with a total depth of 23 inches, with some drifts as deep as 15 feet. Patrick then mentions about WFLD having broadcast the longest weather report ever on a Chicago television station, and introduces a photo montage (taken by Daily News and Sun-Times photographers) of scenes from the storm (accompanied by numerous elevator music) including: Ben Minotte, OddityArchive in the forums wrote Such inappropriate music for that montage, the splice midway through is a thing of sheer beauty (and yes, someone had a wicked sense of humor). Awesome find. ArmitageNLowell wrote: I have never in my life seen a reporter give a report while smoking a cigarette. T.K. adds Note the distinctive spines of the World Book encyclopedia set over Muldowneys left shoulder ... that was a Field Enterprises publication as well. Talk about product placement! Realizing that WFLD was a fledgling UHF station, only on the air a year at this point, this was a very ambitious broadcast. (And to think that there wouldnt even be a WFLD news department to speak of for many years!) The higher-ups at Field were very forward-thinking in trying to create synergy between the papers and the TV station. While many newspapers owned radio and TV stations (i.e. the Tribune and WGN) there usually was little collaboration -- in part because many at the papers still viewed broadcasting as a sidelight, and also to deflect FCC scrutiny over media consolidation. (The latter concern proved to be valid with the cross-ownership bans and divestment that came during the mid-70s.) Surely the audience was minuscule compared with 2, 5, 7, and 9 -- were those stations also preempting long stretches of their usual schedules for news during the emergency? Finally, MildApplause in the FuzzyMemories.TV forum wrote: I am loving the way this Richard Foster of the Sun Times gives the news starting at about 2:20 into the clip. If someone were on the air today giving the news like he did here, that would be great! I love how hes all totally casual and interweaves the news with personal stories and his own take.
Posted on: Tue, 27 Jan 2015 06:01:00 +0000
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