KCCI Time Capsule - January 1980
The following images have been taken from the KCCI-TV program "Time Capsule"
that was produced and aired in January 1980. This edition of the program
encapsulated a day in the life of the TV-8 News Room. This particular day
included the visit of Vice President Walter Mondale to Des Moines and the
KCCI studios. Bob McNamara from CBS News was in the building that day
following the VP. Both men are interviewed in the program.Co-hosts Kent Peterson and Connie McBurney narrate as we are taken through a
typical day at the station. We learn about story selection and assignments,
see a couple of field stories produced, the elements of newscast preparation
and production, how the director works with the anchors (who were their own
producers at the time), and what goes on in the control room during a
newscast. This program provides interviews with many of the people who
anchored and reported the news at TV-8 at that time.This was a very interesting time for television, particularly local news.
It's hard to know if the show's producers were aware of the shift taking
place, and that is what prompted them to make this program, or if they
simply wanted to capture the work of their colleagues. That shift was the
newsroom's transition from film to videotape. There is mention in the
program of the newer equipment, with one photographer interviewed saying
that she hopes some day the equipment could somehow be made smaller and
lighter, and more light sensitive (little did she know what was in store!)
Looking back, embracing ENG (Electronic News Gathering) equipment was a huge
step for any station (similar to today's transition to digital broadcasting)
and TV news has never been the same since.The source video is courtesy of Mark Braun (former KCCI reporter, now a
Deputy Attorney General for the State of Nevada). Video frame grabs are
courtesy of Eric Wylie, son of former TV-8 (and WOI-5) anchor George Wylie.
Eric can be contacted via www.ewproductions.com
Still images captured from Time Capsule
Webmaster's note: Please excuse the cryptic titles on the images. With this large number of pictures, using the file names saved a lot of time and allowed us to get this wonderful glimpse into 1980 television much sooner. Special thanks to Eric Wylie.
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