Jack Williams movie review

[Kevin Vahey]

Does anybody better represent that era than Jay"found in a motel room" 
Scott?

Local news has changed but some relics of the 70's remain..WPVI Philly 
and WKBW Buffalo come to mind.

(And any Circle 7 ABC Imissit News  Chicago, NY they all the same )




On Fri, 9 Jul 2004 2:01pm, Donna Halper wrote:
> As many of you know, WBZ-TV's Jack Williams (who also fills in 
> admirably on WBZ radio when David Brudnoy is out sick) wrote an 
> interesting review of the movie "Anchorman" in today's Boston Globe.  
> Worth reading, for his recollections on the Boston media of 25 years 
> ago...
>
> Boston anchor Jack Williams recalls days of overinflated egos
>
> By Jack Williams, Special To The Globe  |  July 9, 2004
>
> Will Ferrell's "Anchorman" takes place in a TV news era that was ruled 
> by testosterone-laden, hair-sprayed caballeros in a time when everybody 
> -- and I mean everybody -- watched the 6 and 11 p.m. newscasts with a 
> regularity that qualified as religious fervor.
>
> Yes, those days, and maybe even some of those characters, really did 
> exist 30 years ago. Nonetheless, the target audience for this film -- a 
> young crowd used to remote controls that can blitz them through 
> hundreds of channels and TiVo that bypasses annoying commercials -- may 
> find Ron Burgundy's world as incomprehensible as life without Diet 
> Coke. Believe me. I was there.
>
> And there were popular boneheads like the egomaniacal Burgundy on the 
> air. But there was a reason for that, and it's one that really isn't 
> explained in "Anchorman."
>
> Back then, two stations dominated Boston: WBZ (with "Eyewitness News") 
> and WCVB, Channel 5. To be an anchor on one of those two stations in 
> the '70s gave one instant acceptance in New England and a power to 
> persuade far beyond what should have been expected from "journalists" 
> whose main claim to fame was a "certain something," or the "it" factor. 
> I remember one general manager saying: "You either had `it' or you 
> didn't." "It" didn't include journalistic talent or credibility. 
> Audience research showed the majority of viewers "just liked" some 
> people and didn't like others. Whatever this intangible was, likability 
> equaled credibility on the small screen.   [snip]
>
> remainder of article can be read at 
> http://www.boston.com/ae/media/articles/2004/07/09/boston_anchor_jack_williams_recalls_days_of_overinflated_egos?mode=PF