RE: Bangor TV news

["Adam Rivers" <adamrivers@prodigy.net>]

FYI, WMTW isn't in the Bangor Market. WLBZ does not (as far as I know) do
newscasts (local) on weekends.. they all appear to come from WCSH in
Portland. So does the daily one in the morning and the 5:30 newscast. The 5
and 6 newscasts Look like they are produced locally.

Adam


 -----Original Message-----
From: Mark Laurence [mailto:mlaurence@mindspring.com]
Sent: Friday, August 31, 2001 4:26 PM
To: Adam Rivers; owner-boston-radio-interest@bostonradio.org
Subject: RE: Bangor TV news


On 31 Aug 2001, at 15:20, Adam Rivers wrote:

> My family spends considerable time in the Bangor TV Market (MDI).. each
> year.. and I personally don't like WLBZ, because the newscast is the same
as
> from Portland.. that's messed up.. I didn't really like WVII, not very
> professional.. and neither was WABI. If I had to pick one to watch, I'd
> watch channel 5.

That's not too much different from the way it was in the 1970's.
Channel 5 was the market leader then and I guess they still are.  Do
you mean that WLBZ doesn't do any local newscasts at all, or is the
simulcast on the weekends?

A couple of things I remember from Bangor TV then:  WABI only had
one person in the studio for their weekend 11PM newscast.  He'd
point the camera at the desk, then walk over and do the news.  I think
he controlled the commercial breaks with a foot pedal!  WMTW would
run an audio-only newscast on weekend late nights.  They'd have a
slide that said "Channel 8 News" and someone would read wire copy
for 15 minutes.  There was nothing in broadcasting like Marty
Engstrom on a black and white camera on channel 8, reporting on the
Mount Washington weather conditions, while holding his cat in his
lap!  I think WABI was the first station to get color newsgathering
equipment, but for most of the 70's, long after everyone had color
TV's, all the stations had black and white news film.  It made
everything look like World War II newsreels.

Mark
mlaurence@mindspring.com