The history of Eyewitness News

Every once in awhile you get to blow your own horn over something special. This is somewhat of a long story, but bear with me 'cause it shows how a chance meeting can change your life.

Back in the late 1970's I'd been kicking around working for newspapers and radio stations. It was in the middle of a recession and good jobs were hard to come by. Anyway, one day I went to get a haircut from the nice Italian lady who cut hair in the neighborhood. She knew I wanted to get into the television news business, and mentioned that she had started cutting the hair of a guy from WABC-TV in New York named Al Primo. "You want me to talk to him about you?" she asked.

Well, uh, yeah.

WABC-TV was the home of Eyewitness News, the newscast format that had completely changed the face of local news around the country. Before Al Primo arrived in 1968, local news primarily consisted of a solo male anchor that delivered the entire newscast. Primo created a beat system, put a culturally diverse news team on the air (one that actually included women), and put reporters on the set. He gave first jobs to people like Geraldo Rivera and Rose Ann Scamardella (later immortalized as Roseanne Roseannadanna on Saturday Night Live.) It was the number one newscast in New York, and I'd been watching it for ten years.

Anyway, Mickey the hairstylist talked to Al and he told her he'd be happy to meet me. I ended up doing some writing for him.

Eventually I broke into local news and over the next three decades ran into Al on occasion at RTNDA conventions and church fairs when I visited the old neighborhood, since he still lives there. When I was a manager I wanted to use the name Eyewitness News, and got his blessing.

Last summer Al called me up out of the blue and told me he needed someone to help him write his book on the creation of Eyewitness News… and he'd remembered my writing style. From 1980! He knew I was familiar with the early Eyewitness News product of New York and needed someone with a background in TV news to help write the book. Naturally I was thrilled with the opportunity. He sent an early draft and several hours of interviews he'd done, newspaper articles, etc. So I set about working with him to put together a book that was part life story, part history of television news.

We emailed chapters back and forth and several months later had a manuscript. But something was missing…. other points of view. Al sent me a list of television news veterans and I interviewed them over the phone, collecting some amazing stories that can only happen in the business. It was incredible to actually talk with some legends of broadcasting. One day I came home, hit the answering machine and heard, "Randy, Frank Gifford. Sorry I missed your call." (I still haven't erased the message.)

Those stories were woven into the manuscript, and the book was completed. Al poured through the hundreds of pictures he had in his scrapbook to add some wonderful color to the project.

The result is "Eyewitness Newsman" and I'm proud to have a part in chronicling such an important part of broadcasting history.

We have a number of advance copies available, and right now you can get them directly from Al Primo through the book's website:

www.eyewitnessnewsman.com

There's a preview of the book on the site, along with some vintage pictures. Turn up the sound and you'll hear the original news theme. If you put a nice note in with your order Al will autograph the book for you. You can also get them from amazon.com if you prefer. The links are on the right side of this blog.

Even if you didn't grow up in New York, and even if you weren't alive during that time period, I think you'll enjoy the story of how the newscast of today started forty years ago. Incredible as it may seem, a lot of what news people did in 1968 still applies today.