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Re: The NEW WCVB-TV/Channel 5!! (was Re: THIRTY YEARS AGO TUESDAY)
The first paid commercial was for Child World <g>
--- "Peter Q. George" <radiojunkie3@yahoo.com> wrote:
> 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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