Newstar 1 is on the road!

Once we got the truck back home and had some time to equip it with communications gear, editing systems, etc., we began using it regularly. In fact, the SNG capabilities opened up an entire new format of news-remote anchoring, which we used extensively in a new newscast: 'First News'.

          'First News' came on the drawing boards as an expansion of our news efforts to the 5pm hour.  While there had been some versions of the news earlier than 6pm, we wanted a newscast that was truly unique: a summary of the hard news of the day without detracting from the established “news of record” broadcast at 6pm. First News would have some softer elements such as a “Leisure” segment exploring the Florida lifestyle, a more recreational Sports segment looking at “consumer” sports such as fishing and bowling, Health news, Consumer advice and a live, remote, field anchor component that would make it truly unique.

          Alan Wendt, a veteran news reporter and anchor, volunteered, (I think?), for this new assignment.  Traveling to an exotic or at least interesting Florida destination, Alan would report live via satellite throughout the hour.  To save satellite costs, we would often see Alan live in the first part of the program, but later run a pre-taped segment.  Alan was a hustler who could put together two packages at the location and prepare for his live appearance without seemingly breaking into a sweat.  He became the master as a field anchor.  One of my disappointments is that we could not sustain this creative effort. 'First News', in time, morphed back into a more conventional newscast.

          The satellite truck brought us a front-row seat to some remarkable news events.  It has been used throughout the years for coverage on the fringes or outside of the market. It also was one of only two trucks, I recall, at the Kennedy Space Center when the Space Shuttle Challenger exploded one minute after liftoff.

          I remember it well. January 28, 1986. I was watching the Challenger launch in my office on the closed-circuit network feed.  We had our truck in place since we were profiling the first teacher in space, Christa McAuliffe, with our education reporter, Suzanne Huffman. However, we were not planning to go live until the noon newscast.  

Heretofore, Pulse 13 had interrupted normal programming to carry every space shuttle launch. I made the decision not to this time. The launches were becoming so commonplace and it was only about 20 minutes until the noon news anyway. 'The Price is Right' would stay on the air.

          Like others watching live, we didn’t exactly know what happened when, 73 seconds after launch, it appeared something was not normal.  It seemed as if the solid rocket boosters had separated from the launch vehicle prematurely. But we knew little more than what we were seeing.  I ran into the newsroom and shouted to Leslie Spencer, the noon anchor, to get on the set. “Something is wrong with the Challenger” I shouted as I ran to the control room.  

Channel 13 provided live SNG coverage of
the Challenger disaster

          We interrupted programming even before CBS did. We replayed the launch just moments earlier and then joined the network coverage as it soon became available.  After a few minutes we had established a link with Suzanne at the Cape, who gave us a somber description of the launch from her perspective just a few feet away from the families who lost loved ones that day.  For the next 60 minutes, I stayed in the control room switching back and forth from the network coverage to ours.  We even replayed the Christa McAuliffe profile we had done a few days earlier.

          Then, we began making plans for coverage for the rest of the day. We sent several more staff members via helicopter to the Cape, including some of our anchors, to field anchor our coverage from the site. This event put our crews and the technology to the test.  With the presence of our SNG truck, our coverage was second to none. Though, it was a story none of us would have wished to cover.  

          SNG is now commonplace and new technology has challenged it. In the 2003 Iraqi invasion we saw an example of moving SNG capability through NBC’s David Bloom’s coverage.  We’ve seen the development and deployment of satellite video phones.  And there’s a new technology of COFDM transmission that will make live shots available through walls and other areas that are not line-of-sight.