Home Forums Blogs Articles Photos Videos Contact FAQ

WABC-TV - News operations

WABC-TV - News operations: Encyclopedia II - WABC-TV - News operations

WABC-TV is best known for popularizing the Eyewitness News format, in which reporters present their stories directly to the viewers. News director Al Primo brought the format to WABC-TV from KYW-TV in Philadelphia, but added a twist--chatter among the anchors, known as "happy talk." For a theme, Primo used the "Tar Sequence" cue from the musical score from the 1967 hit movie Cool Hand Luke. Written by Lalo Schifrin, it included a telegraphic-like melody appropriate for a newscast. It was quickly adopted by ABC's other large market owned-and-operated stations, WLS-TV in Chicago, KABC-TV ...

WABC-TV: Encyclopedia II - WABC-TV - News operations

WABC-TV - News operations

WABC-TV is best known for popularizing the Eyewitness News format, in which reporters present their stories directly to the viewers. News director Al Primo brought the format to WABC-TV from KYW-TV in Philadelphia, but added a twist--chatter among the anchors, known as "happy talk." For a theme, Primo used the "Tar Sequence" cue from the musical score from the 1967 hit movie Cool Hand Luke. Written by Lalo Schifrin, it included a telegraphic-like melody appropriate for a newscast. It was quickly adopted by ABC's other large market owned-and-operated stations, WLS-TV in Chicago, KABC-TV in Los Angeles and KGO-TV in San Francisco.

The format quickly rejuvenated a station that had long been an also-ran to WCBS-TV and WNBC-TV. Within a year, WABC had shot up to first place in the ratings, displacing longtime leader WCBS. It spent most of the 1970s going back and forth with WCBS for first place. For a time in the 1980s, it fell into last place while WCBS and WNBC fought it out for first. In 1985, the station lured WLS' news director, Bill Applegate, to New York. Applegate had taken WLS from last to first in just two years, and ABC hoped he could work the same magic at WABC. Their hopes were rewarded in 1987, when WABC surged to first place. It has been the ratings leader in New York since then.

In 1984, it started using News Series 2000, an updated version of the original Schifrin theme by Frank Gari that had been originally commissioned by WLS. In 1993, Schifrin raised his royalties for using his theme and its variations to a level that effectively priced it out of the local news market (though Australia's Nine Network still uses cuts from that theme). Gari was commissioned by WABC to compose a new music package called "Eyewitness News." This new package, based slightly on Cool Hand Luke, has been updated several times. WABC currently uses the "Series 4" version, which was specifically updated for the station.

For eighteen years, Roger Grimsby was the face of Eyewitness News. He was known for his opening tagline, "Good Evening, I'm Roger Grimsby, here now the news" and his closing line, "Hoping your news is good news, I'm Roger Grimsby." His April 16, 1986 firing by Applegate drew considerable fire, and he was quickly hired by rival WNBC. His most famous partner at the anchor desk was Bill Beutel, who had previously worked at WABC from 1962 to 1968 and spent two years at the network's London bureau. Beutel stepped down from the anchor desk in 2001, two years before his retirement--the longest tenure as a main anchor in New York television history.

While banter between anchors is still part of the daily 5 a.m. Eyewitness News broadcast with Steve Bartelstein and Lori Stokes, the modern-day Eyewitness News has abandoned much of the chatiness of their 1970s predecessors. The WABC-TV newscasts are respected for their straightforward presentation (especially during breaking-news coverage.) The shows are consistent ratings contenders, helped in part by the strong talk and entertainment shows that are their lead-ins.

WABC cooperates with sister station WPVI-TV Philadelphia -- popularizer of the Action News format -- in the production and broadcast of statewide New Jersey political debates. When the two stations broadcast a statewide office debate, such as Governor or U. S. Senate, they will pool resources and have anchors or reporters from both stations participate in the debate. Additionally, the two stations cooperate in the gathering of news in New Jersey where their markets overlap.