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On March 13, 1967 Channel 5 launched the first prime time newscast in the tri-state area, just a few months after sister station WTTG in Washington D.C. became the first station in the United States with one. Since then, a lot has changed but there are still a few constants like the seemingly eternal question, “It’s 10 p.m. Do you know where your children are?”
In 1967, channel 5, then called WNEW-TV, had been an independent television station for eleven years since the disbanding of the DuMont Network where it was the flagship station. The station was owned by Metromedia, which obtained the majority of the network’s assets, including the DuMont Tele-centre on East 67th Street that served as the home for channel 5.
Metromedia tapped Bill Jorgensen, a reporter for WEWS in Cleveland to anchor the newscast in either Washington or New York. Jorgensen decided on New York after he had heard some in the industry say that the news couldn’t compete against entertainment programming. In the newscast’s first year, it was competing against programs from the networks such as The Big Valley, The Carol Burnett Show, The Dean Martin Show and I Spy. The neigh sayers were proven wrong and the plucky little newscast without all the resources of a big network behind it did quite well against the entertainment competition and quickly expanded from a half hour to an hour.
In December of 1969 John Roland joined the station and a little less than ten years later became Jorgensen’s successor after he moved over to WPIX in 1979. When Roland took over the anchor chair, WPIX’s Action News (later Independent Network News) offered the only 10 p.m. competition for news in the city. In other parts of the country 10 p.m. newscasts were popping up on independent stations after seeing the success in New York.
In 1986, Metromedia’s television stations were purchased by 20th Century Fox (owned by Rupert Murdoch’s Newscorp) to serve as the core of the new Fox network. Channel 5’s call letters changed to WNYW-TV and the station incorporated the new network’s schedule, which by design left the 10 p.m. hour free for local programs such as the Fox 5 10 O’clock News. This was also the year that Rosanna Scotto joined the station as a reporter and weekend anchor.
The next year WWOR entered the 10 p.m. newscast fray and Fox 5 launched a 7 p.m. newscast. The 7 p.m. newscast lasted until 1993, but it was in 1988 when the station found a more enduring and successful newscast, a local morning news program – Good Day New York. The format for the newscast was exported to the other Fox owned stations and was copied by WPIX.
By 2002 the station added two more newscasts, an hour long 5 p.m. and a half hour long 6 p.m. Two years later, when John Roland retired, he had been co-anchoring with Rosanna Scotto for ten years. Roland was succeeded by Len Cannon; however a few months later Ernie Anastos, who was anchoring at WCBS at the time, signed a long term multi-million dollar contract with WNYW. Due to the unusual circumstances, Cannon was granted a release from his contract and is now at KHOU in Houston, while Anastos started at Fox 5 in June of 2005.
In the past 40 years channel 5 has evolved from a scrappy independent station to a slick network powerhouse. Today, the Fox 5 10 O’clock news is number one in the ratings and instead of just 3 and a half hours of news a week as was the case when the newscast started in 1967, the station now has ten times that. Not bad a bad run for something most people said would never work.
Fox 5 is running a series of special anniversary reports all this week and will be having a special "New York's First. New York's Best. Celebrating 40 Years at 10" Friday at 10:30 p.m. The now ten year old 30th Anniversary special along with other anniversary related video clips are on the station’s website.
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Over the past few years, the Ch 5 10 O’Clock News has become so ridiculously stupid. It is 20% legit news and 80% nonsense….and can someone please tell them that when they ask for their viewers to write in their inarticulate opinions (usually about American Idol or 24, not real news), their viewers are writing e-mails….the viewers are not blogging. Some idiot behind the scenes probably heard about this blogging thing and made sure the anchors say “blogging”.
I’ve started watching Ch 11, it’s a much more legitimate newscast (and no Rosanna Scotto).
"The neigh sayers were proven wrong... "
So there were lots of horses who thought that news couldn't compete with entertainment? The term is "naysayers"...
I can't stand Fox news, national or local - even way back when but there is no doubt that in their day, John Roland, Jim Ryan, and Pablo Guzman were as perfect as can be.
FOX ruined Ch5 News
its pure garbage now
and somehow they are "taking credit" for a pioneering effort that took place 40 years ago and lasted for a long time w/o their "help"
Ben Dover is right about the blogging thing, they always say "blog your opinion!" You CAN sign up for a blog of your own on Fox's website, but the opinion things they read are message board entries at most, not blogs.
Fox 5 is good to watch for a laugh, but everything is so sensationalized. It's like a tabloid.
As far as I'm concerned, the day Jim Ryan left was the day I stopped watching anything to do with Fox and newscasting. He was the last "legitimate" newscaster on the station.
Scotto? Anastos? Applegate? You have GOT to be kidding.
The day John Roland was removed from the 10 o'clock Fox News it just wasn't the same. Now we have to many interuptions for advertisements and I can't stand anymore BS about American idol. That is not News. Now that the whacko Entertainment person from channel 11 has now arrived at channel five I stopped watching 5 and moved on to channel 11. However I do miss Rosanna Scotto! Rosanna and John Roland made a great news casting team. Ah the Good Old Days!