WTNH Action News Open/Close - 1985

[Skinnyd4]

WPVI in Philly uses the same theme, but only as its closing.

[jhshifris1]

Indianapolis' WISH had that same 8 once.

[jwatch75]

The WHCN Picozzi is actually Michael Picozzi. He is on WCCC now as PD and morning show host, and bears NO resemblence to Bob Picozzi. Bob (no relation) is the morning sports guy for Mike and Mike on ESPN radio, and does college basketball games for ESPN regional telecasts, as well as the UCONN women on CPTV. Janet ran unsuccessfully for Congress last election, but may run for a vacated CT legislative seat in February.

[elc1960]

Bob Picozzi . . . I remember him and Gary Lee Horn (Picozzi & "The Horn") on WHCN 105.9FM about a thousand years ago. (Or was it WCCC? How time dims the memory.) And of course, the lovely Janet Peckinpaugh. She still looks pretty much the same today (no doubt due to the marvels of modern medicine; Botox maybe?).

[swami1]

@jokester1111 Too long.

[TheSupercaitlin1]

geoff foxx have been the weatherman on news channel 8 for 26 years! holy cow!

[jkringe]

this intro is no good! i am not assured i have coverage that i can count on!~

[pjvalisnochannel]

Shes a hot news anchor of WTNH is janet peckinpaugh...

[gibby100]

WKBW had almost the same intro verbage. "Now Eyewitness News, Now, Don Postles"

[BiscuitsMcGillicuddy]

It's weird hearing the Move Closer To Your World as a closing theme WITHOUT the singing. WPVI uses the version with the singing as their close.

[burbank]

Was the a dunce hat that she was putting on at the end of the news segment?

[newscaster13]

That's the same John Lindsay that co-anchored with the late-Bob Palmer when they were anchoring together at KMGH ABC-7 (CBS Affiliate at the time) during the late-1970s.

Palmer returned to KCNC CBS-4 (NBC-owned at the time) in 1982, retired in 1997, and died last year.

[NEUDude]

Hey, does anyone know when WTNH started carrying Jeopardy! and Wheel of Fortune? And if so, have they always been on at the same time?

[whataburgerfan1]

They were on in the afternoon for a while.

[OllieAverage]

I think it was 1984 but I'm not 100% positive.

[tito103175]

Thanks for posting, I used to love the old Action News song!

[bill06492]

Geoff Fox has been doing wx (official abbreviation for weather) at Channel 8 since 1984.

[ARatherCoolChannel]

and he's still doing it. crazy

[geofffox]

As it turns out, I still have that green knit hat (seen in the closing 4-shot).

How strange.

[mikepetrucci24]

I guess that means now you've got to wear it, Geoff!

[lordritchie]

went to grade school with Janet back in Canton Ohio and she was a very nice girl Glad to see she had a great career in broadcasting. She deserves it.

[GamingPalooza]

geoff fox is still there, what a legend, and also Dr Mel

[gsnman]

Is it me, or does the '8' logo look almost like WROC-TV's from back in the day?

[gshowguy]

It does. Plus it looks like the "8" used in WISH's logo in Indianapolis around the time.

[pudinc]

There seems to be a lot of recycling of stuff between distant TV stations. I'm not sure if it's the result of a common designer between them, or perhaps being owned by the same parent, or whatnot. Always fascinates (and mildly irritates) when I see a design for a local station being used out in some other state by someone else.

[burbank]

Thanks for posting this. I enjoyed the intro and the music theme "Move Closer to Your World." If you have any more of these Channel 8 Intros and Closings, please post!! Thanks!:)

[BruTube]

God, I haven't seen this in 20 years, since visiting my aunt in CT. Being a news junkie I would sometimes think of it, especially the way the words flashed onto the screen, but it's funny to see how it differed from my memory. And I always loved that name Janet Peckinpah. lol

[jjm1965]

I liked that music. That goes back to the 70s I think.

[shackpack]

To those of you ESPN Radio listeners... this is one of Bob Picozzi's many spots on his resume! And the weatherperson, Jeff Fox - was he worthy?

[capsgm2002]

Bob Picozzi is a Seton Hall grad, one of my favorite sportscasters from the Hall!

[capsgm2002]

And I'd have to assume Geoff Fox was worthy, he's still at WTNH.

[shackpack]

It was a pun - "Fox-worthy" - get it? (And if you do, you might be a redneck...)

[capsgm2002]

Now I get it... but I'm still not a redneck, lol.

[NEPatriot]

You also see him do ESPN telecasts of college basketball and is also play-by-play man for the UCONN Lady Huskies on CPTV.

[parodypictures90]

For how long did they use "Move Closer to Your World?"

[bill06492]

Originally during most of the 70s. They brought it back for a while in 1980 then again for year or two in 1984.

[OldsVistaCruiser]

WPVI (6ABC) in Philadelphia STILL uses "Move Closer To Your World" to this day for their own "Action News" program - it's considered WPVI's "national anthem".

parodypictures90 wrote:

For how long did they use "Move Closer to Your World?"

and bill06492 (the poster of this clip) replied:

Originally during most of the 70s. They brought it back for a while in 1980 then again for year or two in 1984.

[swami1]

As I recall, Ch 8(New Haven) used the "Move Closer" theme in the early and mid-70s, then went to something else, then returned to it in the 80s. Always liked it. They also had a :60 promo built around the jingle. Does anyone have that? Post it!

[KML0224]

Wow! Seeing a young Janet sure brings back memories! Who in the hell is John Lindsey? Also, why is there a picture of Hartford behind them when they were/are a NEW HAVEN station?

[bill06492]

John Lindsay was there for one year before they decided to put Al Terzi back in the 6 and 11 slot. If I remember correctly, they chroma keyed different skylines, including New Haven's.

[thisisairick]

...yea, i believe it was a virtual chroma set. somewhere, i have a clip of diane smith anchoring the late edition from 1987, and the camera moved slightly. you can see the desk move, but the city scape behind her stays still...which means it was a chroma key set. the only set from the "action news" era was the set where they had the vertical blinds behind the anchors and they'd have different colored spotlights shining up depending on the daypart.

[thisisairick]

...oops, my bad. i noticed i forgot a key part of a sentence above. the only set from the "action news" era THAT I VIVIDLY REMEMBER was the set that had the vertical blinds behind the anchors. they'd have different colored spotlights shining up depending on the daypart. gold was noon and 5:30, a light blue was five...and a dark blue was six and eleven.

[NEPatriot]

The ID at the top of the newscast said WTNH New Haven/Hartford. I still think that's how News Channel 8 would ID itself, perhaps they also add New London in. Then again, the legal ID's are so much in "Mice print" so small you can barely see it!

[NEPatriot]

WHEW! Talk about a flashback. That was when 8 was the only CT Station I had before cable came into the house and 8 was just kicking tail--even 3's. 30 was a non-factor back then despite NBC's powerful line-up.