Christmas In The Newsroom

December 24, 1989:

General Manuel Noriega is given asylum at the Vatican embassy in Panama City, four days after President George Bush orders an invasion of Panama.

Uh oh.

How dare the indicted strongman-turned-drug-trafficking-suspect give in, and give up… on Christmas Eve?

How could he do something so… how do I say it?... NEWSWORTHY… on a night when there are like three people in the entire newsroom?

Welcome to my nightmare.

So it was off to the phones, first calling manager-on-duty Caryn Brooks. “So Caryn, what do you suggest?” Caryn had some wonderful ideas… for a normal night. But this was Christmas Eve! Where were we going to get three reporters, three camera operators, another editor, and the engineering help we’d need to pull this off?

Caryn went into full manager mode, pretty much telling people they HAD to show up… on short notice… on Christmas Eve.

Oh, they were pissed. One cameraman – I’ll refrain from naming him, because he was basically a nice guy – railed several times how it was Jews forcing him to work, and why didn’t we bring more Jews in instead of him? I never saw this side of him before, and never saw it again after that night. It was Christmas Eve, so he gets a mulligan. But I mention it to show just how much people hate to have their holiday celebrations interrupted by the chance that (real) news might just break out.

I thought of that fateful Christmas Eve after watching this skit reel offering, from the early years following the CBS takeover of WCIX. Reporters Al Sunshine and Stephen Lankford, videographers Ralph Murciano, Luis Medellin, and Tony Jerez, and writer/producers Caryn Brooks, Dan Leveton, and Shannon High (pre-Bassalik, several years before returning as news director) all take part in this light-hearted spoof. You’ll also catch a glimpse of news director Paul Stueber, and feed room coordinator Evy Woods. A word of warning: Christmas reel skits often contain profanity, and this one is no exception. Even without the sound, some might be offended, so you might want to watch this clip when the kids and the boss aren’t around.

So This Is New Years...

(Push the button on the lower left to play the video)

There were dozens of people who made The Ten O’Clock News happen, but on most nights, only the producer and director received on-air credit. Once a week, we would remedy that situation with a credit roll, listing each and every person who worked on the newscast that week (plus the “regulars” who were on vacation).

What you see here is an interesting variation on the credit roll. On December 31, 1981, we sent cameraman George Buigas around the building to shoot film of all the behind-the-scenes folks who were stuck working on New Year’s Eve. We then edited the film, did some preproduction (supers, but not music) and bumped it to tape. The audio track ran live (off of a "cart") and unfortunately sounds sour, but that’s the way it aired, so that’s the way it’s being preserved.

A few interesting points about this credit roll:

1. Note the blackboard behind producer Arlene Ross. In those days the producer put the rundown of the show on a board, and it was everybody’s job to copy down the information.
2. Even Guy Thompson, the custodian, received credit that night. I’m sure it was the only time he was publicly acknowledged.
3. Several of the people in this credit roll are no longer with us, including Bob Hammerly, Ed Rehm, and Jerry Fisher. (Fisher was not acknowledged by name, since she was working as a reporter that night, and had an on-screen presence during the newscast. She can be sitting at her desk, behind Guy Thompson.)
4. The on-air team that night was Larry Klaas, John Loesing (sports), and Dave Corey (weather, substituting for Don Franklin). Corey was normally a booth announcer at the station.
5. It’s good to see Larry Wallenstein (Larry #3) in his role as assignment editor. He would exit in January 1984, only to return a few years later as news director.
6. Was that a space ship, or a news set? Beam me up!
7. I sure needed a haircut.

I hope you enjoyed viewing this rare artifact. Leave me some positive comments and bribes, and perhaps I can be persuaded to post some more clips from my Channel 6 archives. Send the bribes care of J. DeLaTorre (bad inside joke). Have a happy and safe 2009!

Chain Chain Chain

Just ten days after being named “news managing editor”, Larry Klaas decided to show us all who’s boss. Presenting: the infamous “chain of command” memo.

I know what Larry was trying to do. He was sending a message to the producer, assignment editor, and director that what he said GOES. He urged all members of the news staff to keep a copy of this chain of command on file for reference. Disagree with Larry? Unless you happened to be the news director, you didn’t stand a prayer. It’s right there, on an 8 ½” by 11” piece of paper.

The producers hated this! Not because of having to answer to Larry, but because in the Klaas command chain, they had no more authority than the assignment editor, and the nebulous “other”. The directors hated this, because under Larry’s law, they were equal to the assistant directors… the assistant producers… and, ahem… INTERNS!

None of that mattered to Larry. The moral of the story was “I am above all of you, and you will listen to me!” But in a newsroom where the producer had to have SOME authority over the assignment desk, and the directors had to call the technical shots during the show, this demonstrated a lack of understanding on several levels. After just ten days, hard feelings were already starting to form. It didn’t mean people didn’t like or respect Larry. They just wanted a little respect in return. By stating they wielded the same power as interns, the implication was the assistant producers, assistant directors, and even the directors were just bit players in the news operation. Of course Larry didn’t really feel that way, but this sure made it look that way, and did nothing for unity, morale, or inspiration in a news operation that needed it badly.