CBS Cronkite Close-Morning-Rather Opens

[don417]

you missed the cronkite part, dummy



[pilotpoodle]

The best narrating voice was the first one: Bob Hite, Sr., one of the original "Tiffany Network" voices.

[gymnastix]

@pilotpoodle I thought Harry Kramer did the voice-over in the Walter Cronkite years? Or was Kramer after Bob Hite, possibly?

[dinfg6]

0:48 How long was Dianne Sawyer was at CBS before she moved to ABC in 1989?

[0814ma]

In his book, Prime Times, Bad Times (1988), former CBS News president Ed Joyce discusses the genesis of the "cold" open - a simple title graphic and the accompanying narration ("Good evening. This is the CBS Evening News. Dan Rather reporting.") that replaced the ones shown in the last part of this clip.

(The new opening debuted in early 1982.)

According to Joyce, Lou Dorfsman (CBS's legendary art director) suggested the "cold" open, after the men had brainstormed a variety of approaches.

[0814ma]

Great clip. Thanks for posting.

My best guess is that the Schieffer broadcast aired on Saturday, October 24, 1981 - the lead story that day was that an FBI spokesman had announced that the Weather Underground (note the "Radical Underground" graphic) was part of a network of domestic terrorist organizations.

The Rather opening may have aired on Thursday the 22nd or Friday the 23rd - on both those days, the Evening News led with stories on the economy.

[FutureNewsAnchor]

Charles Kuralt was not the original host of CBS News "Morning". Bob Schieffer hosted "Morning" when it first came on, but it didn't feel the same as "Sunday Morning" did, so Kuralt was brought in to bring the show closer to "home", so to speak.

[dkatzism]

Where's "Saturday?"

[David9788]

wait a minute diane sawyer was an anchor on cbs when did diane sawyer joined abc

[bmasters1981]

That "Morning" opening, I have to agree, was incredibly classy. I don't know why they don't still use it today, or why they don't use the 1979 "Sunday Morning" opening for the present-day Osgood broadcasts. It would certainly look good there. They can keep the new recording of the opening theme. I'd only like for them to go retro in the titles; in other words, to go back 30 years to the 1979 titles.

[Kuahmel]

Anything associated with shows that bombed gets the ax...just the way the networks do it.

[FutureNewsAnchor]

@bmasters1981 The reason why they don't do that is because the main titles would look severely outdated. Additionally, those main titles were animated and processed on film which is likely now destroyed.

[bmasters1981]

@FutureNewsAnchor Aha! Now I know. Thanks for the response!

[fromthesidelines]

The "EVENING NEWS" closing is from March 16, 1978, when the two-hour episode "The Return" aired on "THE WALTONS" that night [8pm(et)].

[lno2k6]

With Richard Thomas returing as John-Boy Walton!

[snoops71]

I was just about to ask that. Thanks for your answer;-)

[AllRequired]

That screen reads Wednesday October 14, which I think would put the year at 1981.

[selloutasaurus]

Q: In the last bit of footage, was Bob Schieffer intro-ing a story re: members of the Weather Underground & the "Broadway Baby" store that they used as a front? Those events took place around 1981 or '82.

[DerrickLee2006]

Forgot to mention this but I believe that was Hal Simms doing the voice-over for the CBS Evening News with Bob Schieffer.

[DerrickLee2006]

That's Bob Hite doing the voice-over for the CBS Evening News. A few years later, Dave Campbell took over as voice-over for the CBS Evening News.

Dave is heard doing the opening voice-over spiel to the CBS Evening News with Dan Rather.

[gymnastix]

@DerrickLee2006 I thought Harry Kramer did the voice-over in the Walter Cronkite years? Kramer was also the original v.o. for the CBS/Procter & Gamble afternoon drama "The Edge Of Night."

[AarHan3]

And that's the way it is...

[fossefan]

That Morning opening is incredibly classy!

[jaydude28]

yep and still played on CBS Sunday morning with Charles Osgood.

[WorldNews92]

Why did the globe that introduced the CBS Evening News begin with a "panning" over France?

[dgendvil]

Yeah, why did CBS cancel Morning except Sunday Morning? Sunday Morning is still going strong at the network, despite Charles Osgood is now at the helm. That same theme & title was on Sunday Morning for many years until the early 90's.

[tvpirate05]

I haven't seen that CBS (Sunday) Morning intro in over 15 years, and I vividly remember that Sunday-Friday scroll (with no Saturday as mentioned lol). I know they used it for Sunday Morning until c. 1988 or '89.

[05309193]

Well actually they used it untill around either 1991 or 1992

[jaybee1973jaybee]

Does anyone know anything about the CBS News policy that restricted use of theme music on broadcasts in the 1960s era? I believe that it was promulgated by Richard Salant of CBS News. I believe that this policy and/or its legacy prevented use of an orchestral theme on the "CBS Evening News" until 1987 and also led to use of the ticking stopwatch in lieu of theme music on "60 Minutes." Was an exception made for the "Morning" news broadcast?

[azzabop]

Did you notice that SATURDAY was missing from the days of the week in the CBS NEWS MORNING opening titles. Did CBS NEWS MORING not run on Saturday, just Sunday - Friday? BTW I'm in NZ so we didn't get these news programmes from the US.

[moosewelch]

You know something (giggles) I grew up watching CBS and only until you pointed that out in the opening graphic... I never noticed it. BTW.. That very same set and music are used in a program that by now has aired every week for decades... CBS News: Sunday Morning. CBS has always been trying to tweak their early morning TV news offering.. ever since I can remember. I'm nearly 30.

[eyeontv]

CBS did not have a Saturday broadcast, that's why it missing in the opening titles, plus the set was used by Sunday Morning before it was expanded to weekday morning use.

[ClassicLoverA]

So, I guess there's no news to report on Saturdays ???

[btm85bubs]

These are great clips. The 1982 clips must have been from very early in the year, because early in the year (probably February) the Evening News adopted a "cold" open where Dan Rather would begin the program by saying, "Good evening, This is the CBS Evening News, Dan Rather reporting." The cold open was used until November 23, 1987, when CBS debuted a full orchestral theme.

[fanotv]

When Dan Rather first took over as anchor of the CBS Evening News, they were still using what I call the "Cronkite" open with the spinning globe, used from the mid-70s to the very early 80s.

[WVECSpirit]

That spinning globe open from the later Cronkite/early Rather periods are probably some of the creepiest opens ever for the network news.

[fanotv]

That CBS News Morning intro is from October 1981.

[kresblain]

After seeing that CBS News Morning intro, it's no surprise that Diane Sawyer's no stranger to breakfast TV. She's been at it for around 25 years!