This is the first in-depth look at the development of the television newscast the most popular
source of news for over forty-five years. During the 1940s most journalists ignored or
dismissed television leaving the challenge to a small group of people working above New York
City's Grand Central Terminal. Without the pressures of ratings sponsors company oversight
or many viewers the group refused to recreate newspapers radio or newsreels on the new
medium. They experimented argued tested and eventually settled on a format to exploit
television's strengths. This book documents that process challenging common myths - including
the importance of a popular anchor and television's inability to communicate non-visual
stories - and crediting those whose work was critical in the formation of television as a news
format and illustrating the pressures and professional roadblocks facing those who dare
question journalistic traditions of any era.
