Behind the Scenes of Channel 7 News in 1968

[@paulwalker1443]

Fascinating look at 60's local news. Everything was made to sound dramatic, so I guess it hasn't changed much here is 2022. But what is fascinating to me is this was still the era where the newscast was actually named after the anchor!

[@wmbrown6]

Must've been mid-1968. Didn't their newscasts get branded (however briefly, as history showed) as "Newsbeat" before year's end?

[@frankdenardo8684]

Excellent documentary on what goes on behind the scenes of a TV news show. I remember watching Van Amberg and Jerry Jensen on KGO 7 growing up in the San Francisco Bay Area during the 1970's.

[@spwash1000]

I notice the late Ray Tannehill was KGO’s evening anchor during that time, after Roger Grismby left the Bay Area to work at ABC's sister station WABC in New York City that same year to launch EWN.

[@frankdenardo8684]

Brian Washington The circle 7 that KGO TV used was also used on KABC Los Angeles, WXYZ Detroit, WLS Chicago, WABC New York City. The above mentioned stations are owned and operated by The American Broadcasting Company.

[@johnnyballenatl]

@@frankdenardo8684 ABC sold WXYZ to Scripps in the ‘90s, though they retained the Circle 7 (which is thicker).

[@ScoopNemeth]

Tannehill left to anchor at KDKA Pittsburgh, which was (and still is) sister station to KPIX CBS5 (KGO's competitor)

[@wmbrown6]

@@frankdenardo8684 - KGO was the first of the ABC O&O's to use the 'circle 7', beginning Aug. 27, 1962. It didn't get adopted by the others until December, and even then it took awhile for it to fully take hold (for example, it wasn't until April 1963 when WABC's Times Square billboard - in place from late 1959 until late 1964/early '65 - had the 'circle 7').

[@wmbrown6]

But before KGO first paired Van Amburg with Jerry Jensen at the anchor desk.

[@wmbrown6]

Given what was noted by 'testpattern701', I have the following queries: - At what point would KGO have replaced their TK-43's with the General Electric PE-350 cameras? (I'm thinking late 1969, given that GE introduced their PE-400 camera after 1970.) - What type test pattern was used during this period, and when would the first color TP have aired? (I'm betting 1970 or thereabouts.) - What film chains would they have used - GE PE-24/240 or RCA TK-27? Also, sounds like the TK-43 was what was also used by WXYZ-TV Detroit until about 1973-74.

[@ericsamuelson5656]

By January 1969, Van Amberg will become the head anchor

[@frankdenardo8684]

Saw both Van Amberg and Jerry Jensen during the 1970's. I grew up in the San Francisco Bay Area.

[@gloriaa2817]

To be fair, some of this is acting. “I don’t know what an MOS is!” Really, you’re a reporter in SF and have never heard of an MOS?! “I know we don’t cover (suicides),” glad you had to reassure the reporter the newsroom hasn’t forgotten it’s ethics the day they were doing a behind the scenes piece. “Well, I’m sorry. We covered it as we thought it should be done.” Glad you caught that on camera! Also, what reporter just dumps the story they’re assigned to to chase after a juicer one, only to tell the newsroom while they’re on the way? Haha!

[@testpattern701]

MOS could be an old film term which means "mit-out-sound" or a news term meaning "Man On the Street".

[@nuriabdullah6740]

I want to know what happened to Ray Tannehill, Van Amburg, Jerry Jensen, Karna Small, Bob Fouts and Wanda Ramsey, the original ABC7 News team. I remember watching them in my childhood years in Vallejo.

[@tyrese3745]

I know Ray Tannehill ended up at KDKA-TV Channel 2 (now a CBS owned-and-operated station) in Pittsburgh by the 1970s alongside the Burnses (Bill and his daughter, Patti; RIP).

[@ApartmentKing66]

Wanda *Ramey*

[@wmbrown6]

I seem to remember Karna Small, as of 1974, working at KGO's then-uber last place rival, KRON-TV, in a time when they had an ill-fated "Newshounds" promo in the papers.

[@jarrelljimerson3346]

Also, who did the weather and who covered sports?

[@testpattern701]

I think Bob Fouts did sports.

[@testpattern701]

No teleprompters on the cameras.

[@gkiltz0]

Remember that in 1968 at the national level ABC news was still an oxymoron! Some of trhe local stations did well, but nationally it was the 2-1/2 networks

[@jarrelljimerson3346]

Didn't Ray Tannehill work in Pittsburgh?

[@wmbrown6]

Years after this, yes. At KDKA-TV, co-anchoring at different time slots with Bill Burns and daughter Patti Burns starting in the '70's.

[@wmbrown6]

I see KGO at that point was using RCA TK-42 cameras. When did they switch to General Electric PE-350 cameras (as were in use by the time Van Amburg and Jerry Jensen assumed the co-anchoring of what by then had become "News Scene")?

[@testpattern701]

Those are TK-43's with the crank-operated zoom in the film. I don't think we see more than two cameras. In those days the news was done from a little studio about 20' x 20'. KGO-TV had two small studios and a much larger one with a small audience area where Tennessee Ernie Ford did his show for the ABC network. I worked there in 1975. The director in the film is Howard Hardin. I've heard ABC had to borrow heavily from ITT to buy color equipment. By the '70s ABC was doing much better financially.

[@dorianphilotheates3769]

1868-1968.