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The NEW WCVB-TV/Channel 5!! (was Re: THIRTY YEARS AGO TUESDAY)
Harold J. Clancy was both Publisher of the Boston
Herald-Traveler and President of WHDH, Inc., the
wholly owned subsidiary that operated WHDH/850 AM,
WHDH-FM Stereo/94.5 and WHDH-TV/Channel 5.
The WHDH-TV transmitter breathed its' last gasp
of RF at exactly 2:30 am on Sunday, March 19th, 1972.
When "Fixed Bayonettes" ended about 2:00 am, WHDH-TV
did the usual sign-off. But it did not end there.
They ran the usual test-pattern with a pre-recorded
Ken Stahl saying the voice-over "WHDH-TV, Channel 5,
Boston, Massachusetts. We are now conducting our
regular maintenance test period. Our regular
programming will begin at 5:45 am this morning". Then
the screen went black for the next 25 minutes with
just a silent carrier. Then at 2:29:30 am, the test
pattern reappeared with Ken Stahl's voice-over MINUS
the "our regular programming will begin......."
statement. Then the carrier disappeared forever at
2:30:00 am.
Thirteen minutes later, the colorful WCVB-TV
test-pattern kicked in with 1,000 kHz tone at 2:43 am.
At 2:45 am, the announcer (Ken Stahl!!!!) came on to
say good morning to everyone and said that they would
be beginning in just a few minutes. Back to tone. At
exactly 3:00 am, the new WCVB-TV signed-on with the
National Anthem and a cheery "hello world" sign-on
statement! Afterwards, Leo J. Beranek and his fellow
executives came on and said "Good Morning...and
WELCOME to WCVB-TV!!!". The WCVB-TV Preview with
Arnold Zenker came on immediately after the greetings.
I would love to see that thirty minute preview once
again!!! WCVB-TV signed-off after the show and
returned to test-pattern and tone until 6:00 am.
So that's what happened on Sunday morning, March
19th, 1972. I know, I saw it all as a 12 year old
radio and TV junkie in Randolph, MA!
Cheers,
Peter Q. George (K1XRB)
Whitman, Massachusetts
--- "A. Joseph Ross" <lawyer@attorneyross.com> wrote:
> On 17 Mar 2002 at 9:08, Kevin Vahey wrote:
>
> > The Ch 5 president spoke on WHDH's last
> > newscast at 11 that Saturday night ( Harold
> Clancy?)
> > and other than that the station simply signed off
> with
> > no fanfare ( the last movie was "Fixed
> Bayonettes")
>
> I think Clancy was the HeraldpTraveler's publisher,
> too. I remember watching that last
> newscast. Clancy said that any new operation was
> likely to have things go wrong, although
> "we hope not." And if at any point WCVB had any
> problems (Again, "We hope not.") and
> there was any way WHDH could help, they would be
> glad to do so. I think he was trying to
> be gracious, but, despite that offer, he came across
> somehow as not a very happy camper.
> Al Gore sounded much more gracious in defeat.
>
> I also remember John Henning signing off that last
> newscast and looking very grim in his
> facial expression. I remember thinking he might be
> concerned for his own professional
> future. But, as it turned out, the next day, he was
> on WCVB.
>
> > In retrospect the Herald Traveler losing the
> license
> > was ill advised as the city lost a newspaper and
> the
> > so called local ownership of BBI proved to be a
> sham
> > because as feared they did sell out to Metromedia
> a
> > few years later ... ( it was always rumored that
> > Metromedia fronted BBI the money to set up shop)
> and
> > in fact top management was imported from
> Metromedia.
>
> As I recall, most of the ownership of BBI came from
> the law firm of Brown, Rudnick, Freed &
> Gesmer.
>
> I've long thought the Channel 5 dispute was largely
> a partisan battle. The Herald-Traveler
> was a major newspaper voice of the Northeast wing of
> the Republican Party. The Globe was
> a liberal newspaper with ties to the Kennedys. The
> Herald-Traveler was granted the TV
> license by an Eisenhower-appointed FCC. The license
> was taken away by a Kennedy and
> Johnson appointed FCC.
>
> While the litigation in the courts didn't end until
> 1972, four years into the Nixon
> Administration, by that time it was in the Federal
> courts. Not only are the courts supposed
> to be less partisan, but, with long-term
> appointments, it takes a long time for a new
> administration to put its stamp on the courts, to
> the extent that it's going to. And a major
> tenet of administrative law is that courts show some
> deference to an agency's decision,
> within its jurisdiction.
>
>
> --
> A. Joseph Ross, J.D.
> 617.367.0468
> 15 Court Square, Suite 210
> lawyer@attorneyross.com
> Boston, MA 02108-2503
> http://www.attorneyross.com
>
>
=====
Peter Q. George (K1XRB)
Whitman, Massachusetts
"Scanning the bands since 1967"
radiojunkie1@yahoo.com
radiojunkie3@yahoo.com
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