The eight-minute video is from November 20th, 1978, a Monday night --KGO's esteemed Van Amburg and Marcia Brandwynne are on the anchor desk, with a riveting, chilling cameo phone interview with Peter Cleaveland.
The newscast interupts the Monday night movie on Channel 7--for good reason.
The Jonestown massacre took place on the Saturday earlier, November, 1978--on this unforgetable 48 hours, the first, gruesome images coming out of the Jim Jones compound were being seen.Amburg is unflappable and direct in his report. Cleveland, who is reporting direct from Guyana, provides a bone-chilling account of the nature of the historic hell that took place.
Brandwynne offers a brief summation.
Thanks for the memories, Rich. I long for those olden days when MSM and local news had credible and trustworthy anchors; pppffffttt! to present day anchors, very few are proffesionals
ReplyDeleteI was working at KCBS that Saturday. I still consider it one of my finest hour(s). We got word that something terrible had happened and started to make phone calls. There were no computers, no cell phones, one phone line to a hotel.in Georgetown. Our then news director ordered us to keep that line open and NOT TO HANG UP. He could have cared less how much the bill was--I stil don't know. Steve Little just two weeks earlier had produced a five part series on the People's Temple. We played that on a rotating basis. The anchor was Barbara Taylor who told us just set up the phone interviews, she "knew" most of the people involved. It was great coverage in an impossible situation. Of course, it then became partially overshadowed by what happened ten days later at City Hall.
ReplyDeleteI remember seeing the story on KGO and saddened by the horrific deaths.
ReplyDelete@5:04 At that time until a few years ago KCBS was my "Go -To" for everything newsworthy, unfortunately now not so much, sad
ReplyDeleteAmen, 5:51, Amen. Now it’s nothing but Jan Wahl, Mr Bojangles and Massengill.
DeleteJim R
Geyserville
I had worked there less than a year. Another editor was still going to SF State
ReplyDeleteand working at KCBS part time. The editor in charge had a few years of experience and Barbara had worked there about two years. When the four of us left early Sun. morning we went to the elevator lobby, someone pushed the button, the doors opened, we walked in the doors shut. On the way down we looked at each other and we all smiled. And one of us said, "Man did we do great radio." Truer words were never spoken. After she retired Barbara and I had lunch and I asked her if she remembered that day. She looked at me intently and said, "Every minute. Like it was yesterday. That was real all newsradio."
@7:35 Thanks to KCBS I was stuck on I-580 EB) Altamont Pass for 2 hours, the Modesto trip took 3-1/2 hours due to sucky or non existent traffic reporting, dang nab it, I voice activated 511 and got the whole shabang but too late, RIP KCBS
DeleteI see Jonestown every day when I drive through cities like San Francisco and Portland.
ReplyDelete10:47: no you don’t see Jonestown in either SF or Portland. Do you have any idea about who was in Jonestown? Obviously you don’t have a clue. I saw the mini-Jonestown near Ukiah, and it was nothing like either SF or Portland. Please stop your moronic diatribes, and let Rich do the reporting, without your fox bs.
Delete@10:47 Hey, Pinenuts, Jamestown was a different scenario, @ 7:07 I kinda agree with you, but no way nohow would I traverse south of Geary st downtown, don't believe me? Take your chance
Delete@7:07 FOX BS? The only media once dare to tell truth? Not only that but telling truth nowadays on FOX NEWS get you fired? Like O'Reilly and Tucker? WTF?
Delete@10:54 Yup, can't tell truth, you get fired, only untruth garbage management and producers and editors put on teleprompter
DeleteMy neighbors brother was part of the Leo Ryan party he survived.
ReplyDelete@ 5:04 Love Barbara Taylor, ultimate professional, you don't find too many anchoring and reporting like her nowadays, enjoy your retirement and God Bless
ReplyDelete