Show Eyewitness witness News with Dick N Nourse Mark Danielson Contributing Writer TIVE minutes to the FIVE 1 news is sounded on the intercom Dick Nourse is making some last minute changes changes' to his scripts prior to the Eyewitness News at 10 The newsroom is scrambling scram scram- z- z bling bUng to coordinate some last minute live shots Weve lost our window cries one of the associate producers er Call LA Damn it Weve We've got to have that shot replies the 10 0 o'clock c 10 c k pro producer d u c e r. r J Just us t minutes ago the wire service reported mass riots in Los Angeles Angeles Angeles An An- geles resulting from the acquittal acquittal acquittal ac ac- ac- ac of the police officers inv involved in the Rodney King beating Los An Angeles eles is a city under siege Now on the set of the number number number num num- ber one Eyewitness News Nourse is preparing for another live bro broadcast For Nourse tonight is no different than any other night while dozens of producers directors editors photographers and studio scramble to put together another Ii live e television broad broad- cast Tonight there will be five live shots three e of which will originate in the Los Angeles area Two will be shot here in J Salt Lake Lak Ci City Nourse organizes his thoughts and talks to some of the reporters on location in LA prior to the broadcast making sure the reporters willbe willbe will willbe be able abie to answer his questions when they go live Nourse began his career over 28 years ago as a radio disc jockey while putting himself through school When I started television wasn't all that big but radio sure was I was a big part of that back then reminisces Nourse His first television experience was doing live commercials Back then before videotape commercials commercials commercials commer- commer were live That's how I started in TV I remember ber berhow how nervous I was because the ink card I was holding sm smeared eared from my swea sweaty ty hands After a time I soon got used to it I eventually did three or four live commercials commercials commercials com com- every week Stand by Richard yells the stage manager IN FIVE FOUR THREE IN TWO The cameras camera's red tally-lights tally are turned on and the stage manager cues the talent Good evening Im I'm Dick Nourse Nourse is now broadcasting live to thousands of homes across the states of Utah Idaho and Wyoming He knows that things have changed since his first television broadcast back in 1962 My first live newscast was just as bad as my first commercial commercial com com- mercial Nourse says I III al almost almost almost al- al most forgot my name At first firstI I couldn't remember who I was To me Salt Lake was the big city compared to the small town in Colorado where I grew up This was the time big-time and I was scared Over the years television has become more competitive Those of us its s on the air each night must realize that we not only inform people we educate and sometime entertain entertain entertain enter enter- tain them as well Nourse ex- ex plains More and more people are demanding news and demanding it at differ different nt times of the day No longer are viewers sitting around and waiting to hear what's happening on the 6 o'clock news Dick weve we've lost the first live shot Go to page six and pitch to Boler on the roof of says his producer The viewers at home have no idea of the problem since this urgent message was given to Nourse via his earpiece while he was reading a story When I started you could stick just about anything or anybody on the air because not that many people watched television news at that time time Nourse bers It wasn't until after the Kennedy assassination the first real live coverage of any single event that people began to realize the power of television The Vietnam War followed that The liThe highlight of my entire entire entire en en- tire journalistic career was reporting on the scene in Vietnam Vietnam Nourse continues I got to see first hand Utah soldiers who were fighting there I saw many who didn't r NR a 9 a y i f z i 4 4 i 9 j yr v y r yf o r G Dick Nourse make it back These things tend to leave a lasting sion This was a time when we saw our young men being killed in battles unfolding in our own living rooms TV news started taking on its own image and became a part of peoples people's everyday lives Since then people have been placing bigger and bigger demands on us Now we have to do a first class jo job all the time If we dont don't people wont won't watch In the middle of a commercial commercial commercial com com- mercial break the stage manager yells instructions instructions instructions to the n a es 19 1 10 Q and 20 iU Th e e t pg v. AA Boler live shot ate too much time Go as scripted after that Acknowledging these instructions Nourse discusses discuss s the next segments segments segments seg- seg ments with his co- co anchor Picking up the telephone Nourse o asks one of the producers what the competition led with We had the only live shots but 2 and 4 opened with video replies a voice in his ear Nourse recalls 25 years ago when was near nearh the h bottom of the barrel as far as ratings went Back then Channel 4 had the big news audience with Roy Gib Gib- I son Bob Welti Welt and Paul PaulJames PaulJames PaulJames James he says I had been with almost a year when Welti and James left channel 4 and r renegotiated negotiated contracts with channel 5 S. They came to work with me and really brought the audience They had a big following Since then has continually been number one Nou Nourse se says Today people read their daily and we weekly kly magazines Our audience is pretty well informed The Themore Themore Themore more informed they become the more informed we have to be to stay ahead of them and our competition I truly b 1 1 ATT A 4 th h V t A d U e JJ teve v. v v Y v. v ma a i u our ui pro u ct could compete with anyone in the country The production production production I tion we put into our shows in addition to other elements lets us do as good a job if not nota a better job than any other market in the country Im I'm j speaking about both i and as well Were out of time i give them a wrap wrap growls the producer r J I Nourse is on a roll and wants to ask a final question question question ques ques- tion of the reporter in I LA Cut them barks J i ithe the producer Were out I of Nourse time time says I Good night The lights dim and the camera tallies tallies tallies tal tal- tal- tal 1 lies go out Nourse hollers I out to the crew Another show in the can Lets Let's do doit doit doit it again tomorrow 1 |