WABC-TV Eyewitness News

Eyewitness News began in 1968, replacing the previous newscast, Roger Grimsby and the Noisemakers. Roger Grimsby, as the name implies, was carried over to the new format as were Howard Cosell and weatherman Tex Antoine, but the commentators – or “noisemakers” – were dropped. Roger initially anchored alone and was encouraged to show his wit, but the unending stream of quips necessitated the need for a co-anchor. A succession of anchors, most notably Tom Dunn (poached from WCBS) were placed next to him, but Grimsby’s style was so strong that they tried to emulate his presentation – quips and all. After Tom Dunn was involved in a real-estate scam that forced his departure, Al Primo searched for an anchorman who could hold his own with Roger – in essence, his complete opposite. He found it in the anchorman grimsby replaced – Bill Beutel. Beutel had become a foreign correspondent for ABC News, and assured Primo he could be his own man. Beutel’s classy, sophisticated delivery ended up meshing well with Grimsby’s roughness and wit. The Grimsby/Beutel team lasted for 16 years, from 1970 to 1986. The newscast has often been derisively called “happy talk news” – this is, in fact, inaccurate. The term is often applied to the canned banter between anchors in order to make them appear “friendly”. This, emphatically, is NOT the type of banter that was featured on WABC. Grimsby’s remarks, which made up the bulk of the unscripted banter, were often laced with sarcasm and veered close to the lines of good taste. The rest of the banter arose from the natural personalities of the anchors and reporters, who often appeared extremely comfortable with one another, making the banter feel genuine. Thus, a better description for Eyewitness News is “personality news”. Outside of news, WABC had a very strong identity. Like WCBS and WNBC, ABC’s flagship station had all the resources of the network, including its staff announcers. However, while 2 and 4 appeared as extensions of their networks, WABC cultivated its own “brand”: the famous circle-7 logo. Used just as often as ABC’s logo, but rarely together, the local aspect of the station was given equal prominence with the network that broadcast on it.

By 1989, the effects of WABC’s new ownership – and sister station – were clearly visible. While this can be attributed partially to the loose corporate look instituted on all of ABC’s stations, much of WABC’s presentation began to mimic WPVI fairly closely. By the turn of the decade, the station was going through fairly radical personnel changes largely as a result of Capital Cities’ historically tighter budgets. Ernie Anastos, Storm Field, Kaity Tong, and Lou Young were among the prominent anchors and reporters who either left or were let go. In many cases, relatively inexperienced reporters and anchors replaced them – and in many of those cases, these reporters and anchors became popular personalities themselves. By and large, however, the station was defined by Bill Beutel, who was named solo anchor at 6pm and co-anchor of the 11pm news. And, despite his age, he unexpectedly blossomed, and his vivid storytelling and calm delivery became the station’s greatest asset.

By 1980, the classic version of Eyewitness News was arguably at its height. Roger and Bill reigned supreme at 6pm, Rose Ann and Ernie helmed the 11pm, and a host of colorful reporters and presenters added spice to the newscasts. Yet tough competition was brewing, one that would leave WABC in an unfamiliar place. That same year, WNBC overhauled its news operation – News 4 New York, with a slick presentation including a landmark set, and a new 5pm program – Live at Five – that emphasized entertainment, interviews, and lifestyle features. In some ways, “Live at Five” was a natural extension of the WABC personality news format, adding more prominent entertainment and lifestyle segments. By 1983, News 4 New York had deposed Eyewitness News as the top-rated news in the city. What followed was a period of panic as 7 tried to revitalize its product, with far slicker presentation than 7 has seen before or since. But by the end of the decade, WABC had climbed back to the top – thanks to some very controversial decisions.

The Murder of John Lennon

The death of John Lennon on December 8, 1980 was a profound and tragic event that initiated an unprecedented level of mourning around the world. WABC’s coverage during the days immediately following the murder was very thorough, with nearly all of their reporting team assigned to cover some aspect of the story. These clips not only show the massive outpouring of emotion that occurred during the event, but also how the Eyewitness News team covered a story that not only originated in New York, but had a massive global aspect to it as well.

Into The 2000s

The late 1990s and early 2000s saw increased turnover at Eyewitness News. Bill Beutel gradually decreased his workload, retiring from the 11pm news in 1999, and leaving the anchor desk altogether in 2001. Bill Ritter was chosen as his successor – not his replacement, as Ritter would stress. Like Beutel, Bill Ritter was a network correspondent, frequently based overseas – one of his biggest assignments was the death and funeral of Princess Diana. Longtime 6 and 11pm coanchor Diana Williams requested a move to

Comings, Goings, and the 5:00 Eyewitness News

Beginning in 1981, WABC began to slowly modernize its newscasts, as it rushed to compete with WNBC’s growing newscasts, especially its breakout Live at Five. This saw an end to the long-running 4:30 Movie. The new newscast was initially slated to be “Now on 7”, hosted by Rose Ann Scamardella and featuring a similar mix of news and entertainment as WNBC’s offering. What came to air was the aptly-titled 5:00 Eyewitness News, which seems to have initially featured Scamardella and Storm Field as presenters. In 1982, the set and graphics recieved a facelift. The beige woodpaneling and ribbon logo were replaced with a very curvy set – plainer than the other news organizations, yes, but then WABC was never as flashy as its competitors. This and the beginning of a ratings slide marked a period of continual change at 7, with anchors, graphics, and other features changing almost yearly.

All Change…

1984 and 1985 saw WABC and Eyewitness News slip badly in the ratings. This was due in large part to a bad ABC lineup, but also to the recent gains in viewership by long-time also-ran WNBC. The Live at Five/News 4 New York formats seemed to take viewership away from 7 and over to 4, while WCBS’ ratings remained relatively steady during this period. As a result, the station began to act curiously – trying to change its image to become “hipper”, and introducing fluffier and more sensational content in the form of “Insider Reports”. From 1984, another major change was made: the music. In 1983, WLS in Chicago, under the leadership of Bill Applegate and Dennis Swanson, retooled its own lagging Eyewitness News to great success. As part of that retooling, WLS commissioned Frank Gari to produce a revised and expanded version of the Cool Hand Luke/Tar Sequence theme called “News Series 2000”. Soon after, NS2000 was adopted by most of the stations using the original CHL theme, including WABC.

Cranston-Csuri

Computerized graphics began to come into their own by 1985, and all of the major New York stations embraced them rather quickly. Eyewitness News made tentative steps into CG with the previous “flying letters” set of titles, but commissioned a bold new look for 1985 from Cranston-Csuri, then one of the leaders in CGI computer graphics. The opens from this period are impressive, featuring a CGI New York skyline. Bold new chyron graphics were introduced and the 1982 set was painted blue. The look, while impressive, did not last a year as WABC continued to experience slumping ratings. ABC bosses brought in Bill Applegate, who had successfully revitalized KABC and WLS, to do the same thing at WABC. The station’s on-air look was changed to reflect that of WLS and KABC, and the expensive opens were scrapped for more primitive traditionally animated graphics.