Happy Birthday, Channel 3! September 21, 2012

Today Channel 3 turns 55.    On September 21, 1957, your favorite television station went on the air for the first time.     Our call letters then were WTIC, and became WFSB in 1974.

From all of us here at Eyewitness News, thanks to all of our viewers.     We have viewers my children’s ages who have just started watching Channel 3, others who grew up watching us, and those who have been with us every step of the way.  

This Sunday on Face the State, I have some of the oldest film in our archives from the fall of 1957.   Every Sunday, look for our Face the State flashback, when we rebroadcast one of the stories from the past 55 years. 

Here are some that you may have missed: 

2011:  Charlie Bagley obituary 

http://dennishouse.wordpress.com/2011/10/10/former-wfsb-weatherman-charlie-bagley-dead-at-82/

2011   Denise’s anniversary

http://dennishouse.wordpress.com/2011/03/18/denise-dascenzo-celebrates-25-years-at-wfsb/

2012:    Dennis’ anniversary

http://dennishouse.wordpress.com/2012/05/22/marking-20-years-at-wfsb/

1958

http://dennishouse.wordpress.com/2012/03/27/face-the-state-flashback-the-1958-democratic-senate-debate/

1964

http://dennishouse.wordpress.com/2012/06/08/face-the-state-flashback-the-news-bel-air/

1992

http://dennishouse.wordpress.com/2012/07/13/face-the-state-flashback-gore-campaigns-in-hartford/

1961

http://dennishouse.wordpress.com/2011/12/09/face-the-state-flashback-the-1961-hartford-hospital-fire/

1994

http://dennishouse.wordpress.com/2012/05/11/face-the-state-flashback-the-1994-democratic-convention/

2008

http://dennishouse.wordpress.com/2012/05/04/face-the-state-flashback-malloy-lays-groundwork-for-10-run/

1983

http://dennishouse.wordpress.com/2012/04/27/face-the-state-flashback-ct-senators-presidential-ambitions/

1988

http://dennishouse.wordpress.com/2012/03/16/face-the-state-flashback-1988-connecticut-presidential-primary/

2008

http://dennishouse.wordpress.com/2012/03/09/face-the-state-flashback-obama-campaigns-in-hartford/

1966

http://dennishouse.wordpress.com/2012/04/06/face-the-state-flashback-an-historic-easter-in-hartford/

1988

http://dennishouse.wordpress.com/2012/01/26/face-the-state-flashback-dodd-endorses-lieberman-but/

1991

http://dennishouse.wordpress.com/2012/02/02/face-the-state-flashback-the-banking-crisis-of-the-early-90s/

1993

http://dennishouse.wordpress.com/2012/02/16/face-the-state-flashback-the-hartford-bridgeport-casinos/

1978

http://dennishouse.wordpress.com/2012/01/19/face-the-state-flashback-the-jai-alai-scandal-of-the-late-70s/

1997

http://dennishouse.wordpress.com/2012/03/02/face-the-state-flashback-whalers-leave-hartford-in-1997/

1986

http://dennishouse.wordpress.com/2011/10/14/face-the-state-flashback-election-of-1986/

2004

http://dennishouse.wordpress.com/2011/05/20/flashback-john-rowland-on-face-the-state/

2001

http://dennishouse.wordpress.com/2011/12/15/face-the-state-flashback-the-implosions-of-2001/

1992

http://dennishouse.wordpress.com/2011/12/21/face-the-state-flashback-the-g-fox-era-comes-to-an-end/

1974

http://dennishouse.wordpress.com/2011/11/22/face-the-state-flashback-the-busway-proposal-of-74/

1960

http://dennishouse.wordpress.com/2011/12/01/face-the-state-flashback-lbj-campaigns-in-hartford-in-1960/

2002

http://dennishouse.wordpress.com/2012/06/14/face-the-state-flashback-rowland-kicks-off-campaign-for-historic-3rd-term/

1998

http://dennishouse.wordpress.com/2012/02/09/face-the-state-flashback-patriots-announce-move-to-hartford/

Why Framing the Camera is Important May 13, 2010

Doing a live report from our assignment desk today reminded me of this blooper from 1997.

Al Celebrates Golden Anniversary in Broadcasting January 8, 2010

 This week our pal Al Terzi is marking a milestone:  50 years in broadcasting.

It was January 1960.    Cars had fins, Eisenhower was in the White House, and Denise was potty training when A.J. the deejay burst onto the radio scene in Little Falls, New York.   Bet you can’t guess what the A.J. stands for…..it is not what you think.

I’ve worked with Al for the past 17 years, and we all rely on his expertise, knowledge and experience every day here at Eyewitness News.  For example, he is the only person here at Channel 3 who covered both Senators Chris and Tom Dodd.  

We wish Al the best and look forward to him celebrating more anniversaries in the years to come.

You can read Al’s biography on our website  and watch his 50th celebration right here http://www.wfsb.com/station/9313280/detail.html

Radio Rules November 3, 2008

Damon Scott

Jeannine Jersey

I heard something kind of bizarre on the radio the other night.  I was leaving work after the 11PM news,  turned on 96.5TIC in the car, and heard two familiar voices:  Damon Scott (the bizarre aspect of him we’ll discuss another day!) and Jeannine Jersey.   They are usually on in the afternoon,  not at the witching hour.

Anyway, they were reading rules of a contest.   They went back and forth with lines like “CBS radio reserves the right….” yada, yada, yada, and “all entrants must be..”  This went on for quite a while.  In fact, Damon and Jeannine were going through the rules when I left Rocky Hill and were still reading them by the time I crossed into Hartford, some 8 miles away. 

All the while, they remained upbeat, while a strange background music played.  It was sort of a soundtrack from “I Dream of Jeannie.”  Disturbing, yet I wanted to hear more of it…the music is.

We have contests on Channel now and then, and we just throw a list of the rules on the screen and you’re expected to read all one thousand words in 7 seconds.  I guess that gets WFSB off the hook legally.  Our friends in radio don’t have that option and have to read every word of every rule, and they Jeannine and Damon kept listeners captivated for the seemingly endless litany of rules without sounding like Charlie Brown’s teacher!

Another bizarre thing I caught this weekend that shows the power of the immediacy of radio: callers.  

Scotty McDonnell

On Saturday TIC deejay Scotty McDonnell took a call from a bride getting married and she requested a song for the wedding.  How cool is that?   To call in and request a song live for your nuptials and you get it!   Scotty threatened to play the “chicken dance”  and wisely decided to go with Guns and Roses.    That would have violated the rules of good taste!

Our Incredible Shrinking State October 8, 2008

We got some bad news in the television industry this fall:   the Hartford/New Haven market has fallen to its lowest ranking ever.    Nielsen (the ratings people) have declared we are now the 30th biggest TV market in the country…larger than Providence and San Antonio, but now smaller than Nashville and Charlotte.

When I started at WFSB in 1992, this was the 23rd market in the country, and Al and Denise remember when it was market 21.   Hartford and New Haven were different places 16 years ago.   Both had department stores downtown.   The New Haven coliseum and the Hartford Civic Center were hosting concerts.  The Whalers and yes the Celtics played in Hartford, and on your way to the game you could shop at the GAP.

Since then, our area has seen very little growth.   Cities like Baltimore, San Diego and Phoenix saw population grow, in some cases at our expense.   A smaller market size impedes our ability to attract a major league sports team, attract young talented professionals and it can negatively impact the economy, certainly for the media!

What’s next?   We’ll probably drop some more.    Kansas City and Columbus are nipping at our heels. 

Oh, and that smaller market where I “trained” to come to Hartford?    Grand Rapids is now market 39.