WLVI-TV "Meet the Manager" - 1980

About 1974, WSBK was the first Boston television station to air a weekly viewer response program. Within five years, WLVI/Channel 56 responded to Channel 38's "Ask the Manager" with "Meet the Manager," presented by general manager Steven Bell and promotion manager Liz Wrublin. In contrast to the more freewheeling style of "Ask the Manager" on WSBK, "Meet the Manager" conducted itself with a more serious tone.

In 1981, Mr. Bell left WLVI to manage KTLA in Los Angeles where he worked for 11 years.

The excerpts seen here are from a fall 1980 broadcast. At the end is a snippet of Channel 56's daily "Newscene" news summary, presented by Maurice Lewis. The station launched a full-service, hour-long news broadcast in 1984. It lasted until 2006 when the station was subsumed into Sunbeam's WHDH-TV operation.

All rights are acknowledged.

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[RetroToledo]

@wmbrown6 I think WKBD was the same way too over here in Detroit.

[wmbrown6]

Some viewers considered the film/slide reproductions on 56 below-par compared with, say, WSBK/38. WKBG/WLVI had used RCA TK-27 film chains, as opposed to WSBK's General Electric PE-240's (also in use at WNAC/WNEV 7). (WBZ 4 also had TK-27's.) One consensus about 56's film/slide reproduction was the the blacks were too milky, the whites too greyish, and the color too washed out.

[antoniod]

Bell wrote in a book years later that before he took it over, 56 was the worst TV station he'd ever seen. If I knew what year he'd come to the station, I'd have an inkling what he meant (I watched 56 from It's inception in 1966).

[atlanta4950]

Male Announcer: This is Field Communications of Boston.

[newscenter5]

more great stuff.. and maurice lewis.. with the "newscene" update... fantastic!

[TerryT1976]

@mobilene Yep, the Final Movement from the 3rd Brandenburg Concerto No. 3 in G Major.

[LowellDevil]

This was a good show, but nowhere near as good as "Ask The Manager" on TV38.

[ukendcx2000]

@flyguy359 you can say that again, that was a good choice!

[mobilene]

Heh, theme song is Walter (Wendy) Carlos, probably from the Switched-on Back Lp.

[flyguy359]

Dana makes the difference.