He was old-school to the max. He also did things few, if any do today. The old time Circle7 club know all this.
Amburg used to invite over some of the personnel at his home in the Eastbay. It was usually dinner and drinks, some wine and steaks. Not only breaking bread but an evening out. It wasn't for show. It was Van's way of telling his front line he had their back. He didn't advertise it and it was not an every day happening but he usually did these nights out a few times a year. And KGO staffers, a select few, were totally hip to it. You don't see much of this today. It was vintage Van.
Amburg was thought to be a power-hungry jerk and ego maniac at the end of his reign at KGO. I heard all the stories. Guess what? Who isn't? And even if it's true, Amburg earned the right. He was the conductor of Happy Talk. "NewsScene" was the RATINGS KING in the 70's and early-mid 1980's. It mixed pop culture with the news. Even some good crime stories. "If it bleeds, it leads."
Every station in the Bay Area tried to copy Channel 7 (Circle7) but they didn't come close.Nobody could copy the core4. It may hve been corny and not so newsy but it sure as hell was successful and it defined a time. I, for one, loved to watch it. I wasn't alone. And Van Amburg was at the forefront.
Rich, thanks for these memories. As a young student interested in journalism, I wrote to Van Amburg and to my surprise received a wonderful letter of encouragement back. He didn't need to do that but he did and it meant the world to me. THAT was the Van Amburg a lot of people will never know. An amazing talent AND human being.
ReplyDeleteAgree 100%
ReplyDeleteI wonder what Van would think about the "Building A Better Bay Area" BS.
Van was the only one Pete Giddings would bow to. That says it all.
ReplyDeleteGiddings was a dickhead.LLY lived in his head and it was wonderful!
Delete10 days after the 2017 Warriors won their only NBA Title in Oakland v 3 on the road, Circle7 had to cut their joy short when Van died, and Dan Ashley had to share that with everybody. Rich checked in on Pete Giddings, who still has his own weather website, and 12:18 is right. Pete said, "Van was one of a kind." Though I don't remember Giddings ever saying that Amburg invited him to dinner. Even if Amburg did, I would think Giddings wasn't comfortable with that.
DeleteI'll tell ya what, Rich, while I was not a big fan of hers, Cheryl Jennings' work when the 1989 earthquake happened live on the air, to me, really cemented that she was pretty darn good when it mattered. She was on the anchor desk when the quake occurred, and she, along with some of the older classic news people, were fantastic under circumstances that were chaotic, with the power fluctuating, no video, and having to depend on the helicopter to provide coverage of what condition the bay bridge was, etc. Videos of ABC7 and the quake of 89, "as it happened" are on Youtube. They just don't make news people like that anymore...
ReplyDeleteOne of El Cerrito’s best known residents.
ReplyDeleteGreat anchor. One of a kind.
And his ‘Happy Talk’ - damn good, and yes, old school, he was!
ReplyDeletehttps://m.youtube.com/watch?v=e0r-bXnpSNs
I remember being extremely pissed when the dummies 86'ed him.
ReplyDeleteHe was definitely old school. Didn't use a teleprompter and forbade any of his colleagues to do so when they worked with him.
ReplyDeleteI had the honor of meeting Van right before he left KGO. He called me an a-hole. I felt like I spoke with Jesus. I am so honored.
ReplyDeleteCoolio. Now tell us all about Douglas Edwards and Chet Huntley, gramps.
ReplyDeleteHe looks a little like Tom Vacar back when Vacar used to smile.
ReplyDeleteTom Vacation hasn’t smiled since 1997.
DeleteWhy doesn’t Tom Vacar smile anymore? He always looks constipated.
DeleteYou read my web page.
ReplyDeleteYou left out the part about the infamous severed penis.
You want some real nostalgia? Here is a 60 minutes piece from 1974 that looks at KGO news. https://youtu.be/QfudlYkzHqk
ReplyDeleteThis is a terrific clip. What a blast from the past! Grew up watch Van and Newscene.
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