So, what did Zenith do to make their CRT's fail quicker?

[NowhereMan 1966]

BTW, anybody remember when it was special when you saw "live by satellite" on the bottom of the screen?

[NowhereMan 1966]

Originally Posted by AUdubon5425

We got the same thing at my high school around '91 - Channel One did provide the sets, 19" Magnavoxes on swivel wall mounts. My school did not make use of the CCTV capabilities other than broadcasting Ch. One - we still used the old metal cabinet analog tuned sets hooked up to c.1980 top-loading VCRs on rollaround carts to watch anything else. I do remember we could pick up the local cable channels on the new sets though.

(Channel One rant here)
Our 15-20 minute homeroom period changed, as the faculty was pretty adamant that we watched and paid attention to those stupid (imo) Channel One news broadcasts and their commercials. Personally, I had been watching the local morning news since I was in the 6th or 7th grade and had no interest in these hip, dumbed-down "newscasts." I raised an ethical issue about an archdiocesan school forcing it's students to watch commercials, but the brothers & priests were disposed of by then and, like most everything else with the Church down here, it was all about the money (free TVs.) I wound up using Ch. One as an avenue for humor, cracking jokes about much of their subject material.

I have no idea if Channel One or the sets still exist, as I haven't set foot in my high school in 16 years.

Yeap, they still exist. Go here: http://www.channelone.com/ I graduated high school in 1985 so it was after my time.

You can even do the Jonas Brother's crossword puzzle. I don't know who the Jonas Brothers are, anybody want to do a Duran Duran, Culture Club or Van Halen crossword puzzle?

[Big Dave]

In our schools, they had 25" RCA XL-100's and top loading VHS machines or Sony Betamax. They were still showing 1960's vintage films (complete with splices) well into the 80's. Occasionally, when our local PBS station ran educational programs designed for schools in the afternoon, some of the teachers would use them, but very few.

Another poster mentioned news on NBC and in Cleveland. Youngstown used to have good local news on at least two stations. For many years, WFMJ was the fluff channel, but not anymore. When the tornadoes hit in 1985, it was not FMJ's top story, some fluff story was. Now, FMJ is the only locally owned station in the market. When WKBN (CBS) was sold in 1996, they sacked most behind the scenes people and one on-air personality. At the same time, FMJ's news director quit. Most of the KBN people went to FMJ. Now, they have the best news coverage in the market. WKBN and WYTV (ABC) is now mostly fluff.

I still watch NBC news because it's what I was raised on. I refuse to watch CBS fluff. At least now, CBS doesn't interrupt programming every time the President farts.

I'll take my tube sets anytime. What I want is more Zenith's.

[Jeffhs]

Originally Posted by NowhereMan 1966

when I was in grade school from 1973 - 1979, we had these old Setchell/Carlson B&W TV's:



I remember they had a "standby" position as well just to keep the tube filaments warm.

Brings back memories for me. When I was in high school from 1972-1975, we had several of those Setchell-Carlson sets as well. Stored in the A/V department when not in use, they were wheeled about the school into various classrooms for viewing video tapes through the school's closed-circuit video system.

I don't remember seeing a "standby" position, however, on the function switches of any of our Setchell-Carlson TVs, although I'm not surprised to find out from your post that these sets had it; it was an early form of the "instant on" system all new TVs of that era had, until the late '70s when it was decided that the feature actually wasted more energy than it saved. The advent of all-solid-state TV a few years later finally killed instant-on (the last nail in its coffin, so to speak) for good.

Those S/C TVs were made during the so-called energy crisis of the 1970s, when everyone was worried about wasting energy (turn off all unused lights, turn off the TV when you're finished watching it, don't let your car idle at railroad crossings when a train is going through, set your furnace at 68 degrees, turn off the instant-on feature of instant-on TVs.....that sort of thing). I remember every bit of that stuff, having grown up in the '70s (I'm 52 1/2 years old now) and hated studying it in school, but it's interesting looking back on it all now, thirty-odd years later.

[Jeffhs]

Originally Posted by NowhereMan 1966

BTW, anybody remember when it was special when you saw "live by satellite" on the bottom of the screen?

Yup. I sure do. When I was a teenager in the '70s and just starting to get interested in watching the news on TV, everything was either live or on film. In those days, I rarely, if ever, saw any kind of notice on my TV screen saying "live via satellite"--that or else if I did see it, it didn't make that much of an impression on me. I think the technology was so new back in the '70s that the networks didn't make much use of it, except for special reports.

Today, however, satellites are used all the time by the networks and local stations, so everything we see on the national evening news (or even the so-called "local" news on our areas' local network affiliates at 6 and 11 p.m. local time) looks as if it is happening right in our living rooms/dens/family rooms, as we are now seeing the events in real time as they unfold. The national networks (and local stations, for that matter) don't make much use of videotape for breaking news these days, either; the technology now exists (and is being used) to allow a national or or local TV news anchor to speak directly to one or more of his or her correspondents in real time while the event, etc. is underway--no more waiting for film to be developed and sent back to the station, as was common practice in the '60s through about the nineties.

[andy]

000

[Geoff Bourquin]

...Setchell-Carlson sets. We had one at Sunnyside Elementary back in 1970, and the cart it sat on also had an Ampex VR-5100 VTR. And there started my career in electronics. In 6th grade the school let me operate the Ampex. We had one in Junior high too, and a couple of VR7000s as well as some Panasonic 1/2 inch machines in high school. I was the school geek with a Panasonic VTR slung over my shoulder, carrying a b/w camera, and a Panaloid belt pack around my waist that weighed more than I did.

Where'd you find the picture of that Setchell-Carlson? I was looking all over for a picture of one of those a few nights ago.

Oh yeah. How about those Zenith tubes.

[zenith2134]

Very neat Setchell-Carlson. I'm driving out to Rockland to look at a 50's s/c console next week

[KentTeffeteller]

I remember when CNN had respectable news coverage. Nowadays, it might as well be Entertainment Tonight. No substance, all flash. I remember when NBC had excellent journalism and better than average news content. Today, Fox is on a par. CBS and ABC have much better newscasts. Every broadcast network needs solid Radio Network facilities which can deliver the news when TV fails to. We need pre-1959 Radio News and Mutual News back to provide a strong backbone when TV isn't able to broadcast in the event of national disaster or emergency. That aspect is a disaster itself.

[Jeffhs]

Originally Posted by KentTeffeteller

Every broadcast network needs solid Radio Network facilities which can deliver the news when TV fails to. We need pre-1959 Radio News and Mutual News back to provide a strong backbone when TV isn't able to broadcast in the event of national disaster or emergency. That aspect is a disaster itself.

I couldn't agree with you more.

IMHO, GE should have thought of that before they disbanded and killed the NBC radio network after buying out NBC (radio and TV) from RCA in 1986. That's a big reason why today's NBC-TV news is no longer the respected news organization it once was. I remember when NBC radio was alive and well in the late '60s, '70s, and right up until the end in '86. I would listen to their hourly news capsules in the '60s-'70s over WKYC-AM-FM radio in Cleveland, which were at the time owned and operated by NBC; however, in 1970, NBC sold their Cleveland affiliates and the network's programs (newscasts, features, Meet the Press, etc.) were picked up by another local AM station, then another after a couple more years. By the time NBC had landed on its third Cleveland radio station, however, the network was close to death, as by this time (1980s) GE was close to finalizing the deal that would give it absolute control of NBC, both its radio and television divisions. GE apparently thought that, by the mid-1980s, network radio was on its last legs and was losing money for NBC, which eventually led to GE disbanding and ultimately dismantling the network permanently.

A once-popular weekend variety show titled Monitor Beacon, running from 1955-1975 over NBC radio, was one of the last regularly scheduled network radio programs; as well, I liked Monitor Beacon's little interval signal they sent to the local affiliates just before going to commercial breaks. I've never heard anything like it on radio in my life since then. Very unique. This signal, plus other tributes to the former Monitor Beacon, may be heard on NBC's "Monitor Tribute Pages" web site. I don't recall the site's URL as I write this, but if you do a Google search on "NBC Radio" or "Monitor Beacon", one or more of the results should show a link to the site.

NBC's flagship Sunday morning public affairs program Meet the Press, however, is still carried on select stations over the Westwood One radio network on Sundays, just as MTP was carried over the NBC radio network until the latter's demise. The program may also be seen on NBC-TV and MSNBC; however, the time slot of the latter network's rebroadcast of the program varies by market. I am at something of a disadvantage where I live in that I cannot hear (over the radio) Westwood One's rebroadcast of MTP, as the radio station that carries it does not reach here (a small town just outside the greater Cleveland area) after sundown Eastern time. However, I could listen to the station's Internet stream and catch the program that way should I miss the rebroadcasts over MSNBC.

[AUdubon5425]

Originally Posted by Jeffhs

I realize times change, but what the changing times have done to local TV news leaves me cold. The previous poster said the newscasts in the New Orleans area are "hip (and) dumbed down"...

I was actually talking about the teen-marketed "Channel One" news we were forced to watch in high school, but you do make an interesting point. Most of the local newscasts have moved towards a tabloid, graphics-intensive production rather than a straight newscast.

Around 2002 we had a storm hit the Gulf Coast that caused some headaches, and WVUE was lauded as the only station that stayed on the air through it all with something close to 24 hours of continuous coverage. The fact is they didn't have a choice, as the stations owner, Ennis, had fired most of the technical staff and everything was controlled by a central computer in Mobile or Pensacola. The hurricane knocked out the computer, and the station had no means to run any programming themselves except a live newscast.

Of course, we had our share of characters years ago - including the late Ron Hunter. During a flood one year he rescued a dog. When he found out the cameraman wasn't filming it, what does he do? Yep, throws the dog back in the water for take two. He also once did a special report about escaping a submerged vehicle by having a Valiant lowered into Lake Pontchartrain with him inside. Never mind that anyone breaking through a guardrail and plunging into a lake or canal would have suffered the impact of a 10-20 foot drop - often upside down...

Originally Posted by Jeffhs

Please, whatever you do, don't get me started on CNN...do they ever overdramatize the stories they report.

During Katrina was the first time I had watched CNN/MSNBC/etc. in years, as I was in a motel in Valdosta, Ga. I grew very tired of the thirty-six screens flashing different images behind Blitzer - you know, the whole way many networks operated during the disaster was appalling. I remember when responsible broadcasters remained calm and broadcast confirmed facts. These networks' style of reporting added stress and despair to an already unbelievable situation. Geraldo did everything but wave a severed limb at the camera.

[andy]

000

[jedo1507r]

At my old high school, by 2002 or so, the Channel One-owned Magnavox sets and equipment (TV swivel brackets, huge metal box containing a Magnavox-branded Panasonic VHS, timer and distribution equipment) moved out. "Cable in the Classroom" took its place, though only a couple of instructors used it as a tool, the rest had the sets off during the day. By the time I graduated in '04, the school was doing its own newscasts - glopping with cheese, using 32-inch Samsungs and Toshibas.

The school system had also invested in a few mono 4-head Sony VHS recorders to compliment the dusty Pioneer CLD-V2400s in most classrooms. Of course, the 2400s sat unused except for the science classes.

As far as TV news, the mudslinging and oversensationalization between the cable networks is becoming tiring and I find myself watching the local stuff or even WGN (yes, I have cable and live nowhere near Chicago, blah, blah...).

[NowhereMan 1966]

Originally Posted by Jeffhs

Yup. I sure do. When I was a teenager in the '70s and just starting to get interested in watching the news on TV, everything was either live or on film. In those days, I rarely, if ever, saw any kind of notice on my TV screen saying "live via satellite"--that or else if I did see it, it didn't make that much of an impression on me. I think the technology was so new back in the '70s that the networks didn't make much use of it, except for special reports.

Today, however, satellites are used all the time by the networks and local stations, so everything we see on the national evening news (or even the so-called "local" news on our areas' local network affiliates at 6 and 11 p.m. local time) looks as if it is happening right in our living rooms/dens/family rooms, as we are now seeing the events in real time as they unfold. The national networks (and local stations, for that matter) don't make much use of videotape for breaking news these days, either; the technology now exists (and is being used) to allow a national or or local TV news anchor to speak directly to one or more of his or her correspondents in real time while the event, etc. is underway--no more waiting for film to be developed and sent back to the station, as was common practice in the '60s through about the nineties.

We sure do have a 24 hour news cycle. I remember as a kid, most people got their news on TV maybe in the morning, you had a local noon broadcast, then at 6 local news came on and at 7, the national news. Then at 11 PM, you had a local newscast again and that was it. I remember when ABC added "Nightline" when the hostages were taken in Iran and it stuck ever since.

Unless something really big was happening like the JFK assassination, TV news was restricted to those times and if you wanted to get news updates, radio was the way to go.

[NowhereMan 1966]

Originally Posted by Geoff Bourquin

...Setchell-Carlson sets. We had one at Sunnyside Elementary back in 1970, and the cart it sat on also had an Ampex VR-5100 VTR. And there started my career in electronics. In 6th grade the school let me operate the Ampex. We had one in Junior high too, and a couple of VR7000s as well as some Panasonic 1/2 inch machines in high school. I was the school geek with a Panasonic VTR slung over my shoulder, carrying a b/w camera, and a Panaloid belt pack around my waist that weighed more than I did.

Where'd you find the picture of that Setchell-Carlson? I was looking all over for a picture of one of those a few nights ago.

Oh yeah. How about those Zenith tubes.

I found it on a site that featured old televisions. I'll have to check my links or even look for it again.