NBC News Digest with Jessica Savitch (10/3/83)

This is the infamous digest of legend. I am not posting this to insult the memory of the late Ms. Savitch (whom I personally admire), however I do believe it should be seen as it has a place in broadcast history. It features the early report, and another digest from about an hour later. The improvement is considerable, that's something we don't hear about much when people are recalling this tale.

[@yepyep7372]

Disrespectful comments about the late Ms. Savitch will cease on this video. Discussing her situation and life is expected, but openly ridiculing the deceased is out of line and will not be tolerated going forward. Thank you.

[@guineapig4701]

I think she is beautiful with a beautiful voice. What a horrific way to die, bless their souls.

[@honestone490]

I agree. This is why Yahoo has suspended comments on their web pages out of respect to all parties involved. Everyone's a critic until they find themselves under the microscope.

[@yepyep7372]

@@ivandenisovichshukhov So you’re perfectly fine with lambasting a woman who’s been dead almost 40 years? Oh yeah, I’m the one who is ridiculous.

[@yepyep7372]

@@ivandenisovichshukhov So what? I suppose you’re perfect? What good does it do to trash a dead person? Or do you hate yourself that much that you feel it’s necessary? Yes, absurd indeed.

[@jacobnikos2693]

@@ivandenisovichshukhov I’m a recovering alcoholic. People have their bad days during their addiction, but the looking down upon them is pretty awful. There’s a lot of recovered alcoholics that have done many a great thing.

[@jennythepirateasmr8383]

I love the way they used to say "And now this ..." and "More news later on this NBC station, and on NBC News Overnight." It was cool. I miss hearing that.

[@brockreynolds870]

Now you see... if I saw this broadcast, my first thought would not be "Is she drunk"... I would be concerned she was having a stroke.

[@lisamarie3372]

Yep, her mouth movements look like a small stroke to me.

[@dianajames4717]

Yes you are right she sounds a bit like she's having a stroke

[@ClassicRock-SER]

Idiots. Shame on you 😡

[@thomaskeane6495]

It is sad that people are quick to say, "It's drugs - she's a druggie," but no one cared that the woman was ostracized by her own colleagues - many of whom sabotaged her on the job, which required her to be hyper-vigilant or be scuttled. Like any human being, she wanted to succeed and live independently. It is really sad that the people who brought her into NBC did not support or protect her when it was clear she was in over her head and being eaten alive by her colleagues. R.I.P.

[@ClassicRock-SER]

Idiots

[@danopticon]

She doesn’t seem drunk or high, she sounds like she’s trying to talk with half her mouth paralyzed from Novocain.

[@texastornado1075]

It was the ‘80s; her mouth was likely very numb.

[@MrCraigblaze]

@@texastornado1075 😂😂

[@VinVonVoom]

According to her agent it was because of a surgery after a boating accident so you'd probably be right.

[@ericandsarahsmom1000]

Jessica's father David Savitch also died young. He died in 1959 at age 33 of uremic pericarditis, often seen in patients with end-stage renal (kidney) failure. He had been ill for two months. Jessica was 12 when she lost her dad, and it haunted her throughout her life. May their memories be a blessing.

[@muffs55mercury61]

So sad !! My parents were that age in 1959. Mom lived to be 88, and dad 65 (emphysema due to 40 years of heavy smoking)

[@pamelajackson69]

I loved her and seeing her always reminds me of my childhood

[@drrmdjr]

Still miss seeing her. Glad there’s YT to relive moments like these anytime you want.

[@JohnSmith-fg7rd]

I have never forgotten Jessica Savitch.

[@bogey291]

She was a little thick tongue so maybe she had more than one glass of wine, but other than that it certainly was not the melt down disaster everybody has made it out to be. She was much better in the second digest broadcast. I've seen a lot worse out of anchors over the years and nothing is made out of that. She was a brilliant journalist and a trail blazing pioneer for all the other female journalist who came after her.

[@andeclayton5896]

Beautiful woman. I loved to hear her talk. Great voice!

[@111Phoenix777]

Wow! That wasn't so bad. I think she's more articulate "impaired" than over half the people on the news today. In fact, if I hadn't been told this was the broadcast, I probably would have completely missed it. Talk about being hyper-critical of people! She was fantastic! Were they this critical of the men? Probably not.

[@jrb2280]

It appears as though she already has a very slight speech impediment, but also a very unique voice and dialect. She is extremely articulate and if she needed to speak at a fast pace due to time constraints, she was still as clear and articulate as ever. She was a workaholic, rarely resting with very little sleep. These too are factors that can affect your voice, especially when reporting the volume of news she was required to do.

[@johnnycats5157]

I have to take extreme umbridge with her Wikipedia article where it states "Savitch was largely incoherent on the air". That was slightly slurred and *not* incoherent at all.

[@Lorne55]

My Favourite 2 Broadcasters were Walter Cronkite & Jessica❤ Savitch. 3 months & 1 day after Jessica Savitch passed, our 1st born arrived (during a snowstorm). Named her “Jessica” 👼❤👍

[@markhayes2003]

If you didn't know her previous broadcasts, this really isn't horrible.

[@daynasafranek7807]

I’m so sorry for the sad way her life ended along with her friend and dog. She had a stellar career and is still an influence today for all she achieved and not the way it ended. Whether you like her or not, you can’t deny she made it as a female major news anchor pioneer.

[@chadsoard500]

If You ever watch Jessica Savitch's interviews,she is just fascinating to listen to!!! I feel terrible about how she died....Nobody deserves that kind of horror!!!

[@thunderlightning1980]

She was killed because she did that Frontline episode about the mafia in the NFL.

[@RockinDaBoombox]

^LOL. Cut the conspiracy theory crap out. The car went off a 15ft cliff. Not that high and nobody was in the car to murder her and then got out and swam away. 🙄

[@janine1922]

@@RockinDaBoombox Trent, If you are an adult, you are a very naive. You are in for a bumpy ride in the near future.

[@jimroscovius]

@@janine1922 She wasn't killed. It was a car accident. I suppose we didn't walk on the moon either? And the earth is flat?

[@tiggerinthewoods7996]

@@RockinDaBoombox Actually, the man she had dinner with drove off a small bridge over a canal. The car flipped over and was pinned shut by the canal walls. There was a driving rain storm, and the canal was flooded, the car filled up, and.... you can imagine the rest. He wss driving, no drugs in either his or her bodies. This was in New Hope, PA, at a restaurant called 'Ché Odettes'

[@GinaSigillito]

Fame is a cruel mistress. It wasn’t even than bad but we love to tear our heroes down. She was a beautiful lady.

[@rogercamp6071]

I remember Jessica and how tragically she died, she was one of Dad's favorite newspersons R.I.P. Jessica 😇

[@tarabellamy6361]

My mom spoke about her during my youth. Beautiful lady, beautiful soul

[@mosescarolina9733]

RIP to THE anchor of my childhood. She was the 1st woman to do everything in Broadcast News & is the very woman I picture every time the conversation is had about women "breaking glass ceilings"! She was the ONLY WOMAN ANYWHERE ON TV NEWS, at the top of her game & just like Denzel said " That's when the devil comes for you". Rumors of & innuendos after this broadcast went haywire but the explanation given (after JS tried to ignore the uproar) was basically she had plastic surgery & it was the pain meds. That makes total sense 40yrs later, (especially before elective, same- day surgeries that are the norm now were around & better pain management expertise too) Three weeks later, she was in a car accident with a friend and her dog. The car skidded into a canal, turned upside down & settling in mud. All 3 died. There were no drugs found in her system. We pretty much all have been touched by drug dependence in some way, shape or form in 2022 wether ourselves, family or friends so we all can agree that a clean drug test 3 weeks after this broadcast doesn't sound like much of a coke head but if she did have a drug problem, we know that only makes her a human & obviously she was trying to not if she died with clean drug test. I think Ms Savitch is forgotten too much of the time & her name should be known more to the public, especially little girls who want to be tv newscasters. JS is an inspiration. Not to mention she inspired 2 HUGE movies (Michelle Phifer charecter\Up Close & Personal and Christina Applegate's character\Anchorman!). RIP Jessica Savitch

[@Mister_Listener]

Didnt Sela Ward portray her in a TV movie? I seem to recall the movie featured a song with a male vocal “Jessica, Jessica, we just love you so.”

[@MJBever]

I never knew she did one after that initial news break. Thank you for sharing this with us. Jessica was a leader, a treasure and a legend. Her untimely death, along with the other occupants in that car, was a horrific and disturbing tragedy that should have never happened. RIP to her and Chewy, and the other two people.

[@harrykargenian5013]

3 in the car: Martin Fischbein was the driver, Jessica and Chewy in the back seat.

[@loiteringwithintent461]

Thank you for posting this. I've never seen the second clip from that night, and in it, she is almost completely recovered. Extraordinary. I am a huge fan. She was a very major star, very much liked by the public who were quite discerning back in the 70s and 80s. However, she looked older than her years due to her substance abuse and was becoming a bit of a problem for the network. They had a hard time finding the right framework for her. Basically, they didn't know what they had, and so ended up squandering her. She was extremely ambitious, and I beleive her meteoric rise happened too rapidly. She then started having personal problems and the pressures and demands of success overwhelmed her. The magnitude of her stardom was such, that at the mere age of 32 she had her autobiography relased. Professional, talented, and born for TV, the fact that she was able to hold it together in this clip (despite whatever she is going through) is testament to her remarkable charisma and natural ability to command the screen. Had she lived, it would have been fascinating to ask her to reflect on this episode in later years. Most people I've talked to think this would have been the end of her network career- since it's hard for a modern viewer to truly assess how bad this would have looked then, I have to wonder. What were the ramifications....I don't think it's so bad, but we've been exposed to so much more on tv these days - maybe her bosses were looking for a reason to get rid of her? I don't think she had been fired when she died. We'll never know. I don't know if Barbara Walters was ever asked about Jessica, I would love to hear her thoughts.

[@yepyep7372]

She wasn’t fired after this, she was on the air two days before she died. Thanks for your comment!

[@murph8837]

I d believe that her contract had been renewed for another year. She was also the host of the new program Frontline. She did have something to fall back on even if she was punished at NBC

[@wmbrown6]

@@yepyep7372 - If you've noticed, one of her last recorded Digests from a few days before her death is on YT, besides that which you'd put up.

[@ilfautvivreavecsontemps]

I was born about two weeks before the day this aired. You are correct. I have trouble assessing how bad it must have been back then. I admit that without CC I’d have trouble understanding the beginning, but it’s 25 seconds. As you say, in my lifetime (40 years), I’ve seen so much on TV or the Internet that I am a bit shocked as to the impact this would have had on her and her viewers. I was reading an article about Jessica Savitch’s life, and so I was looking for what it calls a “disastrous flub” that was going to end her career. The article says it was her addiction to cocaine. I watched it once and thought to myself, “Is that it?” If I saw anything like it today, and payed enough attention I would imagine she was on medication and not give it a second thought. I’m really trying to imagine the high standards for broadcasting that people expected back then, as well as the general public’s ability to concentrate and pay undivided attention. My generation’s too used to being shocked, I believe.

[@monique2775]

Word was there was a teleprompter issue. And, reading about her, the crew was quite mean to her - they would play tricks like moving her scripts and relocating cameras at the last seconds. Very bad behaviour. I wouldn't be surprised if she were sabotaged that night, whether with intent to do real damage or simply horrible pranks with huge repercussions. :|

[@julesrandolph5687]

You can see she was most notably more together in the second broadcast of that evening (3 Oct. 1983). The first broadcast is definitely not Jessica Savitch at her best but isn't quite the unmitigated disaster I'd been led to expect after reading several accounts (including People Magazine and the biographies, 'Almost Golden' by Gwenda Blair and 'Golden Girl' by Alanna Nash).

[@RazorsEdge1810]

Yeah that Almost Golden scene was waaaaaayyy overboard.

[@centredoorplugsthornton4112]

If one must pick which bio of Savitch to read, Golden Girl by Alanna Nash is more thoroughly researched and more respectful.

[@sondrajean955]

Back then it was a big deal...

[@julesrandolph5687]

@@centredoorplugsthornton4112 I actually enjoyed both books - I have both in my library. Alanna Nash's book was more focused in on Jessica Savitch the person, what made her tick, what drove her ("Driven by the devil," I believe Nash was quoted as saying about Jessica); and Gwenda Blair's book - while also focused in on Jessica as a person - had additional focus on what was going on in regards to Network News (most especially NBC) at the time and how women were struggling to fit into a field that had been very recently almost exclusively male.

[@orvilleh.larson7581]

I read Gwenda Blair's "Almost Golden." It combines biography with a look at local and national television news. Jessica Savitch was a temperamental, unstable woman who was more "news reader" than reporter. Blair quotes Reuven Frank, a giant of broadcast journalism, that he wouldn't trust Savitch to cover a fire.

[@jkminnich]

If you watch her broadcasts over the years, she was really a talented broadcaster. She could have easily been the next Barbara Walters or Diane Sawyer had she not lost her life so early on. Sure, she had an off night, perhaps a cocktail that mixed badly with her medication, but that doesn’t negate her as a journalist or a person. We lost her far too soon, she was really golden.

[@garypora7214]

She had a great but short career. To be clear, alcohol didn't cause her to lose her life since she was not driving during the accident now 40 years ago tonight. There was heavy rain and the visibility was poor.

[@alexisdiva9]

Not only was she NOT driving but both she and her boyfriend (who was driving) had maybe a half glass of wine in their systems. IMHO a large part of the blame goes to the restaurant which had poorly marked signs AND this happened on the one day of the week - Sunday - where no valet parking was offered.

[@JasonNation72]

It's crazy to think we're coming up on the 40th anniversary of her untimely death. I remember hearing about it on the news and it was shocking considering she was one of the top anchors on TV at the time.

[@paulwalker1443]

The original clip has been played over and over, and yes, she seems a bit "out of it". But the 2nd clip shows she is back on her feet on the same night. She was a pro, not without problems off-camera, but a true newsperson who aimed at getting it right.

[@m.e.d.7997]

I read where she did collapse in her office after the broadcast that night and broke down because she knew what had happened. Back in 1983 it was a disaster to have this happen on air.

[@sixtythreekraft2608]

@@m.e.d.7997 Back then it was a disaster. Now, they are all bombed.

[@tikitorch1093]

So what was her explanation for this broadcast if the second one went OK? Her medication was affecting her here, but had worn off later and that’s the reason?

[@dwade6322]

She may have had her problems in her personal life,but so did most others in America. They had the benefit of not being on camera every day..This woman did good work through out her career. RIP Jessica.

[@dwade6322]

@@RadioRich100 i never said most others in America are drug addicts..i said most have personal problems. And they had the luxury of not being on camera when experiencing personal problems..Was she in the wrong? Of course. Just saying,its easy to judge when your not the one on camera whenever u did something wrong.

[@dwade6322]

@@RadioRich100 congrats on being a better person.

[@mosescarolina9733]

BOOM!BOOM!BOOM! YES!! Exactly. I really hate we don't have her hear to tell us all the times she had to deal with horrible misogyny because she was the only women at every place she worked

[@mosescarolina9733]

@@RadioRich100 You are showing your age or your naivety. She died 3 weeks after this and she had no drugs in her system. Her death was sensationalized & we know she wasn't an addict but actually tried to hide having plastic surgery....and I think it you are mistaken on American drug addicts, babe, because you are underestimating just how many drug addicts DON'T ADMIT they are drug addicts but the Sackler family JUST had a trial & settlement & found to have had pl

[@mosescarolina9733]

Sackler Family were found to have had plans for entire states to become dependent on drugs. I bet you are one of those ppl who is around addicts all day but it goes right over your head. I predict your attitude will change at some point because EVERYONE starts out in our lives thinking we are above so much and LIFE will laugh in your face like SO MANY others who were just slow to realize.

[@ORagnar]

Wow, what a blast from the past. I was reminded of her name today while listening to Will Ferrell on the Dan Patrick sports show. I thought "I remember that name. It's so familiar to me..." so I googled to find out why I knew the name and here I am. it's crazy that I remember her so well, so much so that I assumed she was still around. But clearly she passed in 1983. Crazy memory. RIP Jessica. 8/23/23 6:40 p.m.

[@muffs55mercury61]

Jessica looks a bit tense in the first clip. These of course being towards the end of her life. Still she was a professional to the very end. So nice when new clips of her surface. Thank you!!!!!!

[@song4you80]

A truly gifted beautiful woman that had to live though to many tragic moments in her life.

[@drewhunkins7192]

In the early 1980s she put together an enthralling and spectacular documentary on NFL football, gambling, possible game fixing and the outlaw line. One of the best things I've ever seen on the internet. It's extremely difficult to find online. I've seen it on KZbin only to disappear then reappear then disappear, etc.

[@bufnyfan1]

Ms. Savitch was going through some truly horrendous personal tragedies at this time-including the suicide of her second husband who she found had hung himself in their home-despite this she will be remembered for being a "trailblazer" for all the female journalists who followed her

[@chadsoard500]

Her husband committed suicide two years before this broadcast!!!

[@davidhenschel1990]

@Chad Soard - Jessica’s gynecologist - husband committed suicide one year and three months before these NBC News Digest live telecasts. He died in July 1982. Google can lead you to this time frame for his sudden death.

[@MrCraigblaze]

NBC did not want fire her because they thought she might kill herself..??

[@sixtythreekraft2608]

Wasn't Barbara Walters the "trailblazer?" Or Diane Sawyer? How many trailblazers do they need? Today, every time a woman makes it through a newscast sober, they call her a "trailblazer."

[@Noone9227]

Her husband was gay too.

[@kestrelhawkins6078]

I remember watching this first run, and we did notice she was not herself. But to be fair, her normal was a really strong, professional standard. Extremely articulate, and a different speech pattern than what was shown here in the first digest.

[@36054tiger]

Thank you for sharing. It's important for it's historical significance. It appeared to me that she was on something.

[@roaringmouse4505]

What a horrific end to her life- the mud blocking her exit, her companion drowned in the front, her dog most likely frantically trying to escape and fighting for her life until the end.

[@FunTowerRadio]

Jessica Savitch was an AMAZING woman and broadcaster. She would have risen to nightly news anchor during the week, no doubt!

[@wmbrown6]

Yeah. How come we never hear of that slight improvement on the "Digest" of an hour later? Context is everything in this world. I too remember Ms. Savitch's performance in the second "Digest" wasn't as "out of it" as in the first. A d---ing indictment on the whole reliance of "first impressions," if you were to ask me.

[@thomaskeane6495]

Nowhere near as bad as people made it sound. She was really strong

[@TomSanderson100]

I agree - you can tell something isn't quite right but hardly a disaster

[@Zoe-ld8qe]

I was expecting way worse. She held it together very well.

[@thomaskeane6495]

Yeah- I have worked with people in normal “office” settings that were worse than this day to day

[@Zoe-ld8qe]

@@thomaskeane6495yup! so have I

[@m.e.d.7997]

@@thomaskeane6495 Difference was this was 1983. Different time and era in history. Guess you had to be there to know.

[@timmy841212]

She held it together at the end like a professional. RIP

[@confidentlychar80]

To this day I admire my Aquarian sister. She is a news pioneer and a legend. Rest well Ms. Savitch.

[@dwade6322]

Your a real ass to post that about a woman who you never met. Now this is documented.

[@dwade6322]

@@RadioRich100 you cant sleep your way to the top unless 'The top' allows it. One isnt better than the other. Duh.Sounds like someone got some feelings hurt cuz life wasnt fair 🙄

[@DiggyDiggy1919]

@@RadioRich100 how does it feel to be so incredibly morally bankrupt? May people speak of you posthumously exactly as you speak of her.

[@njdxnjdx]

Why would you admire her? She was drunk on air. A complete disgrace

[@njdxnjdx]

@@DiggyDiggy1919 Why do I care? If anyone spoke about me posthumously I would just insult them right back.

[@harmonygalpal9]

I remember watching this with my family at dinner time. We wondered what happened to her.

[@meesalikeu]

AesopFan 2871 “she’s like your mom is after school sometimes honey”

[@harmonygalpal9]

@@meesalikeu that makes no sense

[@pattyskullfornicate6495]

@@harmonygalpal9 It does to some.

[@chitowncarm]

Loaded. I used to love her! She was my hero.

[@nancyericson4263]

I remember her so well as a kid. Something just wasn't right on this night.

[@ih8utbe]

Jessica was a good journalist. She led the path for women and minority groups in broadcast journalism. She always spoke as if she spoke to you personally with a gleam of hope in her eyes.

[@user-wp6zs2gk6l]

I won't be one to make negative comments or dance on her grave. Jessica Savitch wasn't perfect, she was human and made mistakes. It's a damn shame what happened to her not long after this broadcast as she was a very talented news anchor for NBC. If she could have lived, she would have done so much more. No telling how far up the ladder she could have gotten. Very sad.

[@esliet]

Not her normal broadcast but not as bad as people made to put to be. Also she did not look that bad , it was a different time and makeup in the 80’s was a bit much. I remember her so well and was full of personality

[@dustylee9234]

I mean, it is kinda bad, but there's definitely been worse. Definitely not "incoherent". If she was drunk or high during this, she did a good job maintaining. We don't know what was going in her personal life.

[@ryanjacobson2508]

The primitive video cameras of that era were not suited for the fashion either. At least with 80's movies they used film cameras so people do look more attractive.

[@fire12731]

I was young but I remember her so well.

[@markdwighttadina7655]

Hard to believe that she was the indirect inspiration behind the film Up Close and Personal starring Michelle Pfeiffer and Robert Redford which was released 13 years after her death.

[@JCNDCIII]

Over 40 years ago. Crazy

[@rolfbernerske2786]

Almost like a TIA, mini-stroke. Sad ending for her.

[@helenesteppe6091]

She had a bad cocaine and other drug problem. That is why her first husband divorced her.

[@nanny287]

So sad that they let her go on television that fateful night when she was clearly “altered.” Someone should have intervened sooner. The truly sad part is that she did ultimately get the help that she needed but sadly ended up in a car driven by another party in bad whether and went over the side of a small bridge, which killed her. There were no drugs or alcohol in her system. She was such an inspiration to women everywhere; I find it tragic that she passed in this manner at that time. She could have accomplished so much more…

[@nonplayerzealot4]

I was only a young kid in 83, so she was before my time, but I just learned about her as a person and her death by seeing an Andy Warhol silkscreen painting of that era that was simply a plain blown up picture of the NY Post front page of 10/23/83. Name of the painting is, "New York Post Marine Death Toll Hits 172". I then wiki'd her name and found out who she was and saw the thing about this broadcast. Link to Christie's here: tinyurl.com/yaswsz66 -- I saw the rumor that she got by with a little help from her friends like many do. If you've ever been prescribed opiates or sleeping pills, you have too, so don't judge. I've come away thinking this is nothin. I don't even know if I would've thought she was drunk/high if I watched it live. She slurred a little bit, but I've seen a lot worse. And if she was drunk or had a toot of coke before going on air, she pushed thru it pretty damn well. That only shows to me that she could handle her shit. At any rate, the death of any person of her relatively young age and ability is a sad thing. There's nothing to say that she wouldn't have gotten herself well had she lived. Her pain in life was vanquished, but she was too young to go.

[@KOHF34]

Someone else was ready to go on the air that night. Jessica didn’t arrive until the very last minute.

[@bh5606]

RIP.... October 23, 1983....

[@Afib95]

What most people don’t talk about is the incredible pressure these people have on them not to mention being a woman in this field at this time. Nobody bat an eye if it was a man. She got mad like a man she expressed her opinions like a man and yet she was expected to be a woman a beautiful woman that she was. RIP Jessica

[@centredoorplugsthornton4112]

Nbc is said to have erased all copies of the 8:58 pm news digest from that night. One surviving video recording was found in Jessica's mother's house in Margate, NJ in the 1990s.

[@virginiajackson8015]

I remember her and liked the way she said her name😊

[@BunnySlippers82]

It's clear that she was trying her best to be as professional as possible even though she was not sober. That's a testament to her character.

[@moncorp1]

Her Frontline piece on nfl ties to gambling and fixed games was good stuff.

[@pattyskullfornicate6495]

I know Jessica was a grown woman and responsible for her actions but I blame the producers for this embarrassment. When she jacked up that first segment they should've immediately replaced her. Nobody's gonna miss one or two news updates, so they could've either put in a few extra commercials or a taped segment - something to fill, so they could put someone else in. I don't care how insistent she was, the fact that they let an obviously impaired person on live t.v. is inexcusable. What do all those people in studio think they're paid for? Part of their duties are to prevent stuff like this. It also protects the dignity of the person on camera. How would you like there to be videotape of you in this condition. There didn't have to be. Makes me think that someone there wanted to sabotage her.

[@harrykargenian5013]

Not true. Accounts of that night and interviews with crew members indicate they were a little unsure of her but she said she was fine, The way that works, the anchor had a lot of clout and could easily had the crew transferred to a less important job, or even fired. So if you were the producer that night, and removing her in an "iffy" situation meant you might be fired--would you have done it?

[@RobertRothman1]

Exactly! Thank you so much for this!

[@thebestisyettocome4114]

NBC pioneer. 🇺🇸

[@pouetpouetdaddy5]

its so refreshing to listen not over the top news...no red, no dramatic music, no over saturartion of image...just the fucking news

[@ianh1984]

She was alright in the last segment. The effects had worn off.

[@m.e.d.7997]

It could have been a mix of medication and or a little alcohol. She doe get better at the end!

[@davidnikoloff3211]

God rest her soul. She did not look well.

[@jds021061]

Guess I missed something, Sometimes they have off days. I see news people do it everyday. Jessica Savitch was very good! It looked like more the producers fault going to commercial after 2 or 3 sentences.

[@ViralTuber]

I had to rewind it a few times to understand what she was saying in her first news break. ...Even after reviewing this part still sounds like: "but did *not not* fear for the President's safety" 0:14

[@ViralTuber]

@Sammy Reed Oh, thanks! I can hear that you're correct.

[@MrCraigblaze]

@@ViralTuber uh.. Jessica .. What to do with her. ?? XD

[@MrCraigblaze]

They cut her off because she looked "impaired". XD

[@MrCraigblaze]

She does look like she was cut off guard by that sudden Commerical.. XD

[@DocBBR]

Kind of reminds me a bit of Tom Brokaw, or maybe Dana Carvey doing his impression of Tom Brokaw. Either way, she doesn't sound drunk, just different.

[@MsNooneinparticular]

It's a shame addiction wasn't better understood then. Elizabeth Vargas, Lanre Fehintola, Steve Dunleavy & many other writers/journalists have struggled with substance problems (that we know of). It's nothing to hang your head in shame about and I hate that her life ended on such a sad note career-wise. I see a lot of comments about how she inspired so many people but I don't know if she knew that.

[@saramarshall2957]

She actually read everything perfect. Her speech just kind of sounded like maybe she took a muscle relaxer

[@hcombs0104]

She does seem to get it together by the second digest. But as I said a few months ago, this was the main topic at work the next morning: "What was WRONG with Jessica Savitch last night? OMG! I think she was drunk!" What was really shocking was when she died in that accident in New Hope, PA a few weeks later. The assumption at the time was she must have been high or drunk...she wasn't, just a freak accident and a nasty way to die. :(

[@MrCraigblaze]

Yes..it was..

[@itzenormous]

I always found it mysterious that the restaurant staff that served her, that fateful night, claimed that she hadn't been drinking, and had left the establishment at or around 7:30 pm. Then, she somehow drives her car into a normally shallow tidal canal, going the wrong way, down a dirt road, around 10:00 pm that same evening? Not to mention, her body was found in the back seat.

[@LWOPP]

@@itzenormous Jessica was not driving; her date, Martin Fischbein, was. Jessica was in the back seat w/ her dog, Chewy. Autopsies proved no drugs, and neither had consumed than a half glass of wine. The accident occurred around 7:15 p.m. but was not discovered for some time. The restaurant was built beside a canal-I went to same place a year before. Parking area was unlit, directional markers hard to read, and that night it was pouring rain. A tragic accident waiting to happen, and not the only time fatalities occurred in the same way in the same spot.

[@harrykargenian5013]

@@itzenormous Corrections: autopsy showed very minimal alcohol in her blood, about a half glass of wine. She did not drive, her date Martin Fishbein did and they left somewhere after 7 p.m. Jessica was in the back seat with her dog Chewy. It was raining hard, the driver went the wrong direction and couldn't see the warning signs.

[@NoName-ux7lh]

This aired during a break on a special one-hour episode of "The Facts of Life."

[@yepyep7372]

No Name It was actually aired during Johnny Carson’s 21st Anniversary Special.

[@julesrandolph5687]

You take the good You take the bad And wrap 'em up And there you have... The Facts of Life!

[@rodneyedwards338]

I’d be drunk too if I had to watch The Facts of Life

[@Mister_Listener]

Lil Tootie on rollerskates was my favorite!! And who doesnt love Charlotte Rae?

[@lablaine1981]

​@@Mister_Listeneragreed 💯, she was so funny on car 54in early 1960, RIP Charlotte Rae

[@JohnnyTubeNYC]

Sounds like she just came from dinner with NYC local anchor buddy Sue "Happy Hour" Simmons.

[@emilyloosli]

Has anything changed in the news?

[@JohnathonRoberts-py8nq]

Loved her

[@DevilDogDen1775]

She died 20 days later.....

[@MrXminus1]

She got better as she went on.

[@LBCORP1960]

Anyone else notice that the earth is rotating backwards?

[@JCNDCIII]

They eventually changed it. NBC defended the animation saying something about how the astronauts would view the sunrise but ultimately decided to rework it.

[@LBCORP1960]

D B So who told YOU it was not depicting rotation? You don’t sound like you meet the criteria to decipher that yourself.

[@JCNDCIII]

D B there more or less what NBC said in the 80s but the general public was not having it.

[@Noone9227]

True

[@Dookiemcfluffin]

Sealy, really?!

[@m.e.d.7997]

This is not a huge deal in this era but back in 1983 it was a big deal. Bad, very bad.

[@anthologyofinterest1]

thank you mr president

[@jmason2838]

It is a big deal 😕☹️... In ANY era. .. very UNPROFESSIONAL. 😔😞👃🤧🤕🤫

[@buckeyefangirl1976]

I always liked her and was very upset when she died. My husband and I had just gotten married when I heard about her death. Regardless of her demons and we all have those, folks, she was a good broadcaster and journalist IMHO. This was back when the country and world were so different. She would have gone on to CNN or MSNBC and her career and she wouldn't be swept under the carpet as if she didn't exist. I looked up to her because she was a barrier and ground breaker and I was in my 20's. I hope she's found eternal peace. ♥️

[@dalesnyder9556]

I just wonder what happened because the second delivery an hour later was much better. Not her best, but much better.

[@flipperhansen5600]

Her age is amazing. She looks like a well aged 50 year old. Certainly not mid 30’s.

[@raraparuka]

She was 36 when she died

[@ryanjacobson2508]

People in the 70's and 80's tended to look much older than their actual age. Nobody really understands why, although the fluffy hairstyles might have something to do with it.

[@kleverich]

The audio seems a little out of sync on the first portion, which makes it kind of hard to tell.

[@yepyep7372]

Works fine for me

[@DanielLDees]

It's cocktail hour!

[@paul28fo]

Jessica Savitch was my all time favorite newscaster . So professional and usually on top of her game always but life happens and this wasn't her best broadcast but not THAT bad. I was sick when she died in the most horrific way imaginable. What a freak accident and to die that way in a car upside down in a canal with mud and water filling the car with her boyfriend and dog with her. I remember vividly when that happened-- can't believe it was that long ago.

[@sixtythreekraft2608]

Was Ted Kennedy driving?

[@stevearmstrong5324]

Impact with the water probably knocked out the humans.

[@beckigreen]

@@stevearmstrong5324 Nope. The driver was knocked out. Jessica and her dog were found in the back of the station wagon, she was trying to escape.

[@gregorychoquette7632]

@@beckigreen unbelievable I was only 4 years old when that tragedy happened I’m now 42 years old where did the time go?

[@monique2775]

Sorry, but by TODAY's standards (have you seen some US politicians speak?) this is barely even noticeable. She accomplished so much in her young life, career, although without disrespect, it's hard not to comment that she looks, sounds, acts QUITE mature, as if over 50, well beyond her years.

[@alleyoop5185]

$390 an oz. gold ! Now it’s like $1500

[@meesalikeu]

Alley Oop $390 then is $1100 in 2020 smh

[@MrCraigblaze]

In 1983 dollars .. XD

[@honestone490]

Supposedly NBC News only renewed her contract for 1 year and not the 3 years she previously had prior to this broadcast airing. It either means Jessica was planning bigger projects on the horizon and didn't want to make a longer term commitment. The other option is that the network suspected that maybe something was wrong and they were seeking a possible exit strategy. Who knows ? At this point does it really matter?

[@demostheodorakakis6328]

I watched that broadcast in my room at Hellenic College. She was good. I feel she struggled but it was another who impacted her life in a bad manner.

[@mjadams912]

What a shame she was amazing

[@marcpower4167]

Something was definitely wrong in the first one (and honestly its tough to watch) but God bless her she was trying to be professional and the 2nd was better. Like someone else said she could have easily been Barbara Walters level famous but it's sad what your personal demons can do. RIP Jessica Savitch, truly underrated.

[@saramarshall2957]

Really wasn't that bad. She read every word fine. Really it just seemed like she had a heavy tongue. Maybe took a muscle relaxer

[@loiteringwithintent461]

Thank you She was a very major star, very much liked by the public who were quite discerning back in the 70s and 80s. However, she looked older than her years due to her substance abuse and was becoming a bit of a problem for the network. They had a hard time finding the right framework for her. Basically, they didn't know what they had, and so ended up squandering her. She was extremely ambitious, and her meteoric rise happened too rapidly. She then started having personal problems and the pressures and demands of success overwhelmed her. The magnitude of her stardom was such, that at the mere age of 32 she had her autobiography relased. Professional, talented, and born for TV, the fact that she was able to hold it together in this clip is testament to her remarkable charisma. Had she lived, it would have been fascinating to ask her to reflect on this episode in later years. Most people I've talked to think this would have been the end of her network career- maybe they were looking for a reason to get rid of her. We'll never know. I don't know if Barbara Walters was ever asked about Jessica, I would love to hear her thoughts.

[@ir10031981]

I entered my terrible twos that day.

[@MJBever]

And honestly, this is not really even that bad. I’ve seen much worse throughout the years.

[@uberhandle42]

Right, so from an outside perspective, aka someone who had yet to be born at the time, it seems as if alarm bells were set off by how different she sounded here when compared to her normal self. She was typically quite crisp, quick, and polished in her delivery. Her voice here was also a bit higher here. Had to listen to normal broadcasts to get some context.

[@georgfriedrichhandel4390]

Didn't she lose her husband a few months earlier? One report I read was that she came home and found him dead. That would be enough to shock anyone. IMO, she should have taken some time off after that tragedy to recover.

[@darkstarharry2947]

her 2nd husband committed suicide 2 years prior to the October 83' News digest incident.

[@ZenFox0]

She looked cooked.

[@buckfiden6227]

Saw the first one live. It was my 14th birthday. My mom said She acts like she’s drunk or high. Sad She died soon after this.

[@Vejur9000]

She was brilliant and a groundbreaker. I don’t wanna hear any trolling of her. She overcame a major speech impediment, and rampant sexism, in a time when women were challenged daily, and on so many levels. Her flaws, and we all have them, only made her more human.

[@andrewrobinson8019]

I really don't see why the "infamous" broadcast is event talked about??? She appears to be sober to me. In fact, Diane Sawyer was "lit" during the 2012 election coverage and that was fun to watch and not at all newsworthy.

[@DiscoMatty79]

I thought the same thing, until I saw her other news broadcasts. She was clearly...something. I still love her, and I always try to keep her memory alive. I relate to her more than anyone. Sadly, she died a couple of months before I was two years old.

[@richardscott8503]

I admit I came here to see her really mess up. Great it ain't but the stuff of legendary badness it is not. All the sexist remarks I am seeing on this page prove that little has changed since then.

[@rascal211]

She is slurring her speech.