♪ ♪ THAT MAN!

>> THEY WERE WORDS WHICH FLOATED OUT UPON THE AIR AND CRACK HE WOULD OVER THE HILLS AND VALLEYS.

♪ OR SONGS SUNG BY MUSICIANS LIKE DON FIELDS AND THE PONY BODIES OR BUD AND THE PLAYBOYS.

OR THE NEWS.

>> WILL ROGERS AND WILEY POST HAVE DIED IN AN AIRPLANE CRASH AT POINT BARREL, ALASKA.

>> FROM THE FIRST BROADCAST IN 1924 TO THE ADVENT OF TELEVISION 30 YEARS LATER, THERE WAS NOTHING ELSE THAT UNIFIED THE RURAL STATE OF VERMONT LIKE THE RADIO.

VERMONT'S FIRST RADIO STATION WAS LOCATED IN A SHACK BEHIND WILLIAM SCIENCE HALL AT THE UNIVERSITY OF VERMONT.

THE CALL LETTERS FOR THE STATION WERE WCAX, WHICH STOOD FOR COLLEGE OF AGRICULTURE.

ON OK 10, 1924, THE FIRST REGULARLY SCHEDULED PROGRAMMING BEGAN.

>> NOW IT IS WITH THE GWAs, NRAs -- >> FROM THERE STUDIO FROM ONE HOUR ON FRIDAY NIGHT THE STATION BROADCAST FARM INFORMATION, UNIVERSITY EVENTS AND LECTURES BY VARIOUS PROFESSORS.

THE UNIVERSITY OPERATED THE STATION UNTIL 1931.

IT WAS THE 4-RUNNER, NOT ONLY OF COMMERCIAL RADIO IN VERMONT BUT COLLEGE AND PUBLIC RADIO, AS WELL.

ON CHRISTMAS DAY, 1929, VERMONT'S FIRST COMMERCIAL RADIO STATION, WQDM BEGAN BROADCASTING FROM THE BASEMENT OF A ST.

ALBANS MUSIC STORE, INITIALLY OPERATING ONLY ONE HOUR A DAY, THE STATION SLOWLY BUILT UP ITS HOURS AND LISTENERSHIP.

GETTING AN INTERVIEW WITH La GUARDIA SEEN HERE AT THE BURLINGTON AIRPORT IN 1938 WAS A MAJOR BROADCASTING EVENT.

AFTER SEVERAL LOCATIONS IN ST.

ALBANS AND SEVERAL OWNERS, THE STATION WAS PURCHASED IN 1941 BY LLOYD SQUIRE AND WILLIAM RICKER.

THE TWO MEN ALREADY OWNED WDEV IN WATERBURY.

THEY CHANGED WQDM'S LETTERS TO WWSR AFTER SQUIRE AND RICKER.

THEY NEEDED A SECRETARY AND HIRED ST.

AL LANCE NATIVE C.C., THE FIRST WOMAN STATION MANAGER IN VERMONT AND A PIONEER IN WOMEN'S BROADCASTING.

>> I WANTED TO BE A GOOD BOOKKEEPER.

IN THE OLDEN DAYS THAT'S WHAT WOMEN DID.

YOU DID NOT BRANCH OUT AS MUCH AS THEY DO TODAY.

AND THEY JUST SORT OF -- I THOUGHT THAT WAS A THING YOU HAD TO DO.

AND I DID.

I TURNED OUT I WAS LUCKY BECAUSE I ENDED UP HAVING A VERY INTERESTING JOB.

I HAD A RECORD SHOW, AND I DID THOSE.

AND I DID THE OFFICE WORK, AND THE PROGRAM TRAFFIC AND A BIT OF EVERYTHING, AND WE HAD A WOMAN'S PROGRAM.

I HAD NEVER DONE ANYTHING LIKE THAT.

I HAD NEVER BEEN ON THE AIR.

THEY DECIDED TO LET ME DO A WOMAN'S PROGRAM, AND I TRIED IT, AND AT THE TIME I WENT BY THE NAME OF CESS SELE PRANDALL.

WE HAD GOTTEN SOME INFORMATION FROM THE CRANBERRY ASSOCIATION, AND SO THEY GAVE ME A RADIO NAME, AND IT WAS THAT.

>> ROBERT KIMMEL, A MASSACHUSETTS RADIO MAN WITH A BACKGROUND IN SALES PURCHASED WWSR IN 1959.

>> THINGS WERE TIGHT AT THE BEGINNING.

I ALWAYS HAVE BEEN IN THE HABIT OF GETTING UP EARLY.

I WOULD GET INTO THE OFFICE, ABOUT 6:30, 7:00, AND BY 8:00 I WOULD B OUT ON THE STREET GENERALLY BECAUSE C.C.

TOLD ME THAT WE HAVE NO MONEY TO MEET THE PATIENT PAYROLL THIS WEEK,I WOULD GO OUT TRYING TO COLLECT ACCOUNTS.

THAT'S WHAT I REMEMBER MOSTLY ABOUT THE BEGINNING OF THE BUSINESS.

>> THE LATEST WEATHER FORECAST FOR THE REGION IN VERMONT, NEW YORK, AND QUEBEC, FOR THIS AFTERNOON, PARTLY CLOUDY WITH A SNOW SHOWER POSSIBLE.

>> WWSR-AM WAS JOINED BY WLFE, F.M.

THE FIRST F.M.

STATION IN VERMONT TO PLAY ROCK 'N' ROLL.

ROBERT KIMMEL'S TWO SONS, JOHN AND DAVID, OWN THE TWO STATIONS TODAY, WHICH ARE NOW LOCATED ON ROUTE 7 JUST NORTH OF ST.

ALBANS.

>> FOUR MINUTES IN FRONT OF 6:00.

>> WSYB STANDS FOR, WE SERVE YOU BEST.

IT WAS VERMONT'S SECOND COMMERCIAL STATION ESTABLISHED IN RUTLAND IN 1930 BY MUSIC STORE OWNERS HENRY SEWARD AND PHILLIP WEISS.

>> THE STATION BEGAN AT 33 CENTER STREET RIGHT IN THE HEART OF DOWNTOWN RUTLAND, IN WHAT WAS A MUSIC STORE, AND RADIO YOU HAVE TO REMEMBER BACK IN THOSE DAYS WAS REALLY AN EXPERIMENTAL FORM THAT GREW OUT OF A LOT OF MUSIC TYPE OF SITUATIONS.

IT STAYED THERE FOR A WHILE, AND I KNOW IT HAD TWO OR THREE OTHER LOCATIONS.

ON EAST WASHINGTON STREET THERE IS A HOUSE WITH A TRANSOM AND THE CALL LETTERS STENCILED IN THE AREA THERE, SO I KNOW IT HAD THREE DOWNTOWN LOCATIONS.

THE CURRENT LOCATION, WHICH WAS OUT ON THE DRIVE WHERE WE ARE NOW, BEGAN ORIGINALLY AS A TRANSMITTER SITE.

AND IN THOSE DAYS, IT WAS LITERALLY JUST THAT, THERE WAS A JOHN, A VERY RUDE FOOD SHACK, AND A STICK, STICKING UP IN THE AIR FOR THE ANTENNA, AND THAT WAS ALL THAT THERE WAS, AND AS THE YEARS WENT BY THE STUDIOS WERE MOVED HERE, AND IT BECOMES ALMOST LIKE A PATCHWORK QUILT SITUATION WHERE A ROOM WAS ADDED AND THEN ANOTHER ONE KITTY CORNER AND THEN ANOTHER ONE ON TOP.

SO THERE ARE PROBABLY FIVE OR SIX DIFFERENT FOUNDATIONS FOR THE BUILDING.

AND IT LITERALLY, AS IT HAS GROWN, HAS ADDED TO ITSELF, AND IT'S AT THE POINT NOW MAYBE WHERE WE HAVE OUTGROWN IT AGAIN.

>> WHAT'S HAPPENED IN RADIO OVER THE YEARS, NOT JUST IN RUTLAND BUT ALL OVER IS THAT THE F.M.

STATIONS HAVE BECOME SORT OF THE MUSIC ORIENTED STATIONS AND ANDE AMS HAVE BECOME SOMETHING ELSE.

WE PLAY MUSIC AND A LOT OF THE OLDIES FROM THE 1960s AND 1970s, BUT WE ARE MORE INFORMATION ORIENTED, TOO.

WE TALK A LOT NOW.

>> IN THE INFORMATION HOUR, STILL TO COME, THE KEY TO THE FINANCIAL SECURITY IS YOUR EARNING POWER.

WE WILL HAVE THAT WITH ERIK.

>> IT HACK A CLOSE FRIEND TO A LOT OF PEOPLE IN THIS AREA FOR A LOT OF YEARS.

AND A VERY COMMUNITY MINDED RADIO STATION.

I THINK OF PEOPLE, IF THEY WANT TO KNOW WHAT'S GOING ON IN THIS LOCAL COMMUNITY, THEY TUNE INTO US.

YOU LOOK AT THE HISTORY OF RUTLAND, AND THAT'S WHY TO BE A PART OF THAT HISTORY -- >> ON JULY 16, 1931, WATERBURY'S WDEV AIRED THE FIRST BROADCAST TO VERMONT.

THE STATE'S THIRD COMMERCIAL STATION OWES ITS EXISTENCE TO THE 18th AMENDMENT.

>> IN THE PROHIBITION PERIOD, HARRY WHITEHILL WAS THE HEAD OF THE GROUP FOR THIS DISTRICT.

HE SPENT MOST OF HIS TIME, ALTHOUGH HE WAS A WATER BURY RESIDENT IN ST.

ALBANS, THEY HAD THE FIRST STATION.

AND HARRY WHITEHILL WAS AN ENTREPRENEURIAL SOUL.

AND HE HAD THE LOCAL NEWSPAPER.

THE WATER BURY WEEKLY PAPER WAS PUBLISHED IN THIS BUILDING, ONE DAY IN 1930, HE ARRIVED BACK FROM ST.

ALBANS, AND SAID THAT MORE PEOPLE CAN HEAR THAN CAN READ.

AND WE'RE GOING IN THE RADIO BUSINESS.

BILL WAS A CHARMING, DEBONAIR, FUN KIND OF GUY.

AND WHO LOVED RADIO AS MUCH AS MY DAD.

WHEN HARRY WHITEHILL PASSED AWAY AND HIS WIFE, MARY, A YEAR LATER, 35 AND 36, THEY TOOK OVER THE RADIO STATION.

>> WILLIAM RICKER WAS KILLED IN WORLD WAR II, CRUSH BY THE LOSS OF HIS FRIEND LLOYD SQUIRE, SOLD THEIR STATION WQDM.

SQUIRE WENT ON TO CONQUER A SPEECH IMPEDIMENT AND BECAME A WELL-KNOWN VOICE IN CENTRAL VERMONT.

AFTER HIS DEATH IN 1979, HIS SON, KEN, TOOK OVER THE STATION.

KEN SKEN SQUIRE IS KNOWN SAM BROWNBACK CBS SPORTS ANNOUNCER BUT HE ONCE KNOCKED THE STATION OFF THE AIR BY PLAYING WITH SOME BUTTONS OR THAT HE'S THE ORIGINATOR OF THE STATION'S MUSIC TO GO TO THE DUMP BY.

SQUIRE'S CHILDHOOD FRIEND, BRIAN HARWOOD, STILL TAKES TIME FROM HIS JOB AS AN AD MAN TO DO A MORNING SHOW AT WDEV.

HE WORKED WITH SQUIRE IN, WELL, ALL SORTS OF ROLES WHEN THE TWO WERE JUST STARTING OUT AT THE STATION.

>> IT WAS A LOT LOOSER IN THOSE DAYS.

I DON'T THINK THE STANDARDS WERE ANY LOWER.

IT WAS JUST BECAUSE EVERYTHING WAS LIVE, YOU HAD NO CONTROL OVER FATE AND THINGS HAPPENED THAT YOU JUST COULDN'T PREDICT.

THEY HAPPENED.

>> I GREW UP HERE IN WATER BURY, AND I STARTED COMING TO THE RADIO STATION AND HANGING AROUND WHEN I WAS ABOUT PROBABLY 10.

>> THIS IS A LIVE STUDIO.

ONE OF THE LIVE STUDIOS AT WDEV AND THIS IS WHERE DON FIELDS AND THE PONY BOYS AND BUD TRUE ACAX AND THEPLAYBOYS AND VERMONN DONOVAN HAPPENED AND STILL DOE.

>> THE AIRWAVES FILLED WITH THE STATIC OF RADIO STATIONS FROM ALL OVER THE STATE.

BRIAN HARWOOD WORKED AT THE FIRST F.M.

STATION, WJOY, WHICH WENT ON THE AIR IN 1962.

15 YEARS LATER IN 1977, VERMONT LISTENERS HEARD THE SOUNDS OF THEIR FIRST PUBLIC RADIO BROADCAST FROM THE THIRD FLOOR OF THIS BUILDING IN WINDSOR.

>> IT BECAME VERY OBVIOUS THROUGH SOME STUDIES THAT WERE DONE IN THE EARLY 1970s THAT IF SOMETHING WERE NOT DONE ABOUT PUBLIC RADIO, AT THAT TIME, THERE WOULD NOT BE ANY FREQUENCIES LEFT.

>> THE NUMBER TO CALL IS 1-800-999-5730, WE REALLY NEED TO HEAR FROM YOU, AND OUR GOAL THIS TIME IS OVER 100,000, AND -- >> THERE WERE A LOT OF TEN WATT STATIONS, COMMERCIALS STATIONS, AND WE WERE EXPANDING, THE F.M.

WAS EXPANDING.

VERY RAPIDLY AT THAT POINT.

AND IT WAS OBVIOUS THAT MAYBE THERE WOULD BE NO FREQUENCY, SO WE MANAGED TO GET A SMALL GROUP OF PEOPLE TOGETHER.

INCORPORATED IN 1975, WENT ON THE AIR IN 1977 IN WINDSOR, AND WE HAD NOT GOTTEN THE WINDSOR FREQUENCY AND THEN GOTTEN RIGHT TO WORK ON THE BURLINGTON FREQUENCY.

I THINK THAT WE HAD SIX MONTHS TO A YEAR.

I THINK THAT WE WERE THAT CLOSE, AND IN SIX MONTHS TO A YEAR, IF WE HAD NOT STARTED THE WORK, I THINK THAT THE OPTIONS FOR PUBLIC RADIO WOULD HAVE BEEN FOREVER CLOSED IN VERMONT.

>> DESPITE STIFF COMPETITION FOR THE AIRWAVES, PUBLIC, COLLEGE, AND COMMERCIAL RADIO ARE STILL THRIVING IN THE GREEN MOUNTAIN STATE.

AT THE UNIVERSITY OF VERMONT WHERE IT BEGAN, A FEW THINGS HAVE CHANGED.

THE STUDENTS, THE HAIRSTYLES AND THE CALL LETTERS.

NOW WRUV.

C.D.s ARE IN NOW, TOO, AND THEY ARE EXTENSIVE VINYL COLLECTIONS, BUT FOR A WHOLE NEW GENERATION OF COMPACT DISJOCKEYS, THE TUNE GOES ON AND THE RADIO IS HERE TO STAY.

>> WHAT PEOPLE NORMALLY DON'T REALIZE IS THAT FROM 1954, THERE'S BEEN SOMEONE ON THE TOP OF THE MOUNT 24 HOURS A DAY MANNING THE TRANSMITTER TO TAKE THE SNOW MACHINE IN THE WINTER AND ALL SORTS OF WEATHER CONDITIONS.

TAKING THE MACHINE AND FOG SO THICK YOU CAN IN THE SEE YOUR HAND.

I HAVE GOTTEN LOST UP HERE, AND I HAVE HAD THE MACHINE ROLL OVER ME.

YOU DO WHATEVER IT TAKES TO KEEP ON THE AIR, AND THAT'S THE PRIMARY FUNCTION OF THE STATION IS TO KEEP ON THE WAY.

>> ALTHOUGH MANY TELEVISION SHOWS BEGIN IN A STUDIO, THE ONLY WAY TO TRANSMIT A PROGRAM FROM THE STUDIO TO YOUR LIVING ROOM IS FROM A TRANSMISSION STATION LIKE THIS ONE.

FROM A MAJORITY OF VERMONT VIEWERS IT'S FROM THE DESOLATE HEIGHTS OF MOUNT MANSFIELD THAT THEIR SIGNAL ORIGINATES.

THE ORIGINS OF VERMONT'S FIRST TELEVISION STATION ARE ONLY 20 MILES AWAY AT THE UNIVERSITY OF VERMONT.

WCAX, THE FIRST RADIO STATION, WENT ON THE AIR IN 1924.

IN 1931, THE STATION MOVED TO BURLINGTON'S COLLEGE STREET AFTER BEING PURCHASED BY THE OWNER OF THE BURLINGTON DAILY NEWS.

SEVEN YEARS LATER, BOTH THE PAPER AND THE RADIO STATION WERE BOUGHT BY CHARLES P. H HASBROOK, DETERMINED TO SEE THEM COME TO THE GREEN MOUNTAIN STATE, AND NOT EVEN GETTING A TELEVISION ANTENNA UP THE MOUNTAIN WOULD STAND IN HIS WAY.

>> FIRST ANTENNA WAS IN TWO PIECES TO NEGOTIATE THE THREE TURNS IN THE ROOM.

WE WERE ALL KNOWN IN THE TELEVISION BUSINESS SO A LOT OF THINGS -- THERE WERE A LOT OF UNKNOWNS.

FIRST OF ALL, ON A MOUNTAIN LIKE MOUNT MANSFIELD WE DID NOT KNOW WHAT THE PROBLEMS WOULD END UP BEING.

>> THE INSTALLATION OF THE ANTENNA AND THE CONSTRUCTION OF THE TRANSMITTER STATION WERE SUPERVISED BY A YOUNG ENGINEER NAMED STUART MARTIN.

TODAY HE IS PRESIDENT OF WCAX TV.

THE ENGINEERS INSTALLED GENERATORS FOR POWER, DUG A WELL FOR WATER, AND THEN DUG IN FOR THEIR FIRST WINTER ON THE MOUNTAIN.

>> WE DID OUR OWN COOKING AND WE HAD ENOUGH FOOD TO LAST ABOUT SIX TO NINE MONTHS.

THE BOSS WOULD, WHEN WE WOULD COME DOWN TO CIVILIZATION AGAIN, HE WOULD KIND OF LOOK AT US AND THINK THAT MAYBE WE WERE EATING A LITTLE TOO WELL.

>> WCAX TV WAS THE FIRST STATION ON THE AIR IN THIS AREA.

FOLKS HAD BEEN LOOKING FORWARD TO IT, ALL THE CITIES OR A LOT OF THE BIG CITIES HAD THEIR STATIONS ALREADY, AND SO PEOPLE WERE ANXIOUSLY AWAITING ALL THE SIGNAL TO GET INTO THEIR HOMES.

SO WHEN WE GOT ON THE AIR, THE FIRST TING THAT WE HAD TO DO WAS RUN OUR TEST PATTERN AND MUSIC WITH IT SO WE COULD FINE TUNE THE TRANSMITTER.

FOLKS USED TO START -- USED TO WATCH VERY AFFIDAVITLY AND THEY.

>> ON-AIR PERSONALITY STEWART HALL JOINED WHEN IT SIGNED ON IN 1954.

>> IN THE EARLY DAYS OF TELEVISION, IT WAS QUITE COMMONPLACE TO DREAM UP YOUR OWN PROGRAMS AND PUT THEM ON THE AIR.

IS.

>> THE EARLY DAYS AT WCAX SAW A WIDE VARIETY OF LOCAL PROGRAMMING, FROM VERMONT'S FIRST TV GAME SHOW CART MILL CROSSWORD QUIZ TO THE LONGEST RUNNING PUBLIC AFFAIRS SERIES ACROSS THE FENCE.

FOR WHICH ANIMALS WERE LED THROUGH THE FRONT OFFICE TO GET TO THE STUDIO.

>> BEING THE FIRST STATION ON THE AIR, CHANNEL 3 WAS DEEPLY ENGRAINED WITH THE PEOPLE IN THIS AREA.

AND MAYBE COULD BE CALLED VERMONT'S OWN STATION BECAUSE IT WAS ON, THE ONLY STATION IN VERMONT FOR SUCH A NUMBER OF YEARS THAT PEOPLE GOT VERY USED TO ALL OF US WHO ORTHOPEDIC ON -- WHO WERE ONTHE STATIONS.

>> ALL THE PEOPLE HAD WINDUP CAMERAS THAT THEY SHOT PICTURES WITH.

WE RUSHED TO THE STATION AT 3:00 TO GET THEM INTO THE PROCESSOR AND SPLICE THEM TOGETHER, YOU KNOW, USING SCISSORS AND TAPE AND THINGS PEOPLE DON'T USE IN TELEVISION ANY MORE.

>> BUT THE BUSINESS IS THE SAME.

WE ARE STILL GATHERING NEWS.

AND NOW IN THE LAST YEAR, IN 1991, WE BOUGHT A SATELLITE TRUCK THAT BROADCASTS OUR SIGNAL ANY PLACE IN THE CONTINENTAL UNITED STATES, AND IF WE WANT TO THROUGH RELAYS, ANY PLACE IN THE WORLD.

THE CHANGE HAS BEEN UNBELIEVABLE.

>> ACROSS THE LAKE IN PLATTSBURG, WIRI, LATER TO BE KNOWN AS WPTZ ALSO BEGAN OPERATING IN THE EARLY 1950s.

1954 WAS A BUSY YEAR HERE IN THE NORTH COUNTRY WITH THE FORMATION OF GREAT NORTHERN TELEVISION, A LOCAL CORPORATION, THAT STARTED CHANNEL 5.

IN THOSE DAYS, IT WAS KNOWN AS WIRI BECAUSE THE GENERAL MANAGER AND OWNER OF THE RADIO WAS JOE SHIER AND THE LETTERS WERE WIRI, BETWEEN THE ACTIVITY ON TERRY MOUNTAIN WITH OUR TRANSMITTER SITE AND THE ACTIVITY AT THE STUDIO, 357 CORNELIUS STREET, IT WAS SOME FEVERISH PACE, AND IT BECAME DECEMBER, EARLY DECEMBER, 1954, AND WIRI TV CHANNEL 5 WENT ON THE AIR.

THIS IS WIRI, TV.

NORTH POLE, NEW YORK.

>> THE EARLY DAYS OF WPTZ WERE FUZZY AND ROUGH AROUND THE EDGES.

BECAUSE MOTION PICTURE FILM WAS TOO EXPENSIVE, PROGRAMS LIKE THE SMALLEY WILLETT SHOW WERE DONE LIVE IN THE STUDIO.

THE QUALITY OF THE PICTURE SOON CHANGED AND SO DID THE MUSIC.

>> DIRECT FROM THE CHANNEL 5 STUDIO, IT'S ACTION LAND FIVE.

>> WE HAVE GOT A GREAT SOUNDING GROUP.

THEIR NAME IS INNOVATIONS, AND A SPARKLING GROUP OF TEENAGERS HERE TO DANCE WITH US THIS EVENING, SO LET'S DO IT RIGHT NOW WITH HEY, LITTLE GIRL!

>> THEY HAVE LIVE SHOWS ON CHANNEL 5 WERE COUNTRY WESTERN MUSIC AND 4:00 P.M.

WE WOULD DO THE HOSS AT HOSPITALITY HOUSE M 5:00 TO 6:00, CHET HAD HIS RANCH TIME, A KITTY'S PROGRAM, AND THE NEWS WOULD GO ON AT 6:00, AND YOU CAN IMAGINE THE FEVERISH ACTIVITY, EVERYTHING WAS LIVE SO THE CAMERAS HAD TO BE SWUNG AROUND FROM ONE PART OF THE STUDIO TO ANOTHER FOR OUR KITCHEN SET AND ONE CORNER IN THE CHILDREN'S SET AND ANOTHER CORNER IN THE NEWS SET AND ANOTHER CORNER, SO PEOPLE WERE KEPT STEPPING.

>> LIVE FROM WPTZ, THIS IS NEWS 5.

>> GOOD EVENING, I'M BOB SALASKY.

>> I THINK CHANNEL 5 HAS BEEN A PART OF VERMONT BROADCASTING BECAUSE WE'VE BEEN THE NBC AFFILIATE, AND THEY WATCHED SHOWS, THAT SORT OF THING BUT WHETHER IT CAME TO NEWS, A INCREDIBLE NEWS-GATHERING FORCE, I THINK THAT'S REALLY INVOLVED IN THE LAST FOUR OR FIVE YEARS OR SO.

>> STILL TO COME ON NEWS 5.

>> WHAT'S FUN IS THERE IS COMPETITION, THE POINTS ARE GOING TO START TO COUNT.

WE ARE IN THE PAST, AND EVERYONE WENT, OH, CHANNEL 3 WINS AND WE COME IN A DISTANT SECOND.

IT'S NOT THAT WAY ANY MORE.

>> THE THIRD TELEVISION STATION TO BROADCAST IN VERMONT CAME ONTO THE SCENE IN THE LATE 1960s, IT WAS AFFILIATED WITH THE UNIVERSITY OF VERMONT.

THIS WAS THE ERA OF EDUCATIONAL TELEVISION AND VERMONT ETV.

>> IN THE EARLY 1950s, A CERTAIN NUMBER OF FREQUENCIES WERE RESERVED FOR NON-COMMERCIAL USE.

TV WAS FOUNDED BY THE UNIVERSITY OF VERMONT AS EDUCATIONAL TELEVISION IN VERMONT.

AT THAT POINT, THERE WAS NO PBS.

>> PUBLIC BROADCASTING STARTED ON A LOCAL LEVEL FOR THE TELEVISION.

THE DIFFERENT STATIONS STARTED UP INDEPENDENTLY.

ONE OF THE FIRST WAS WGBH.

THOSE STATIONS CAUGHT ON.

THEY COULD EXCHANGE PROGRAMS, THEY WOULD ALL BENEFIT, AND THEY USED TO PASS PROGRAMS AROUND, BICYCLING, AND THEY WOULD PUT IT ON THE GREYHOUND PUSS TO THE -- THEGREYHOUND BUS TO THE NEXT STATION.

THEY CALLED IT NATIONAL EDUCATIONAL TELEVISION.

IN 1967 THE FIRST FEDERAL FUNDING WENT INTO PUBLIC TELEVISION, AND THAT WAS THE POINT REALLY AT WHICH IT BECAME A NETWORK, AND PBS STARTED UP.

>> I WANT TO ASK YOU ANOTHER QUESTION ABOUT SENTENCING.

>> JACK BARRIE, CURRENTLY HERE'S AS MORNING TALK SHOW AT WVMT.

HIS CAREER AT VERMONT ETV SPANNED TWO DECADES AND EVERY KIND OF PROGRAMMING FROM PUBLIC AFFAIRS TO AUCTIONS TO SPORTS.

>> WE DID THE GREATEST SINGLE UPSET BY THE VERMONT BASKETBALL TEAM.

OHIO STATE.

VERY PROMINENT RIGHT NOW IN THE FINAL FOUR UP, UP TO THE FINAL FOUR WAS HERE, AND THEY HAD A TEAM THAT THEY TALKED ABOUT THREE FRESHMEN WHO ARE GOING TO BE ALL AMERICANS AND VERMONT BEAT THEM, AND IT WAS JUST ABSOLUTELY MADNESS.

I CAN REMEMBER -- I NEVER SAW LADDIE CORE SO EXCITED ABOUT ANYTHING IN MY LIFE.

I STARTED DOING THINGS AT ATV IN THE LATE 1960s, THE FIRST PROGRAMS THAT I HOSTED WERE LIKE CRACKER BARREL.% HAD A WONDERFUL SET.

IT REALLY WAS A CRACKER BARREL IN THE GROCERY STORE, AND I CAN REMEMBER INTERVIEWING A LOT OF PEOPLE ON THAT SET.

MONTREAL EXPOS CAME DOWN AND ALL KINDS OF PEOPLE ON THAT SET, WHICH WAS FUN.

I REMEMBER A WONDERFUL OPPORTUNITY TO TALK WITH GUESTS AND ALL KINDS OF GREAT PEOPLE OVER THE YEARS.

I NEVER HAVE BEEN AT A LOSS FOR WORDS, AND I HAVE NEVER HAD A CIRCUMSTANCE WHERE I FELT OUT OF PLACE.

>> IN 1968, THE NEW CAN I ON THE BLOCK IN VERMONT BROADCASTING WAS WVMY, CHANNEL 22, WHICH OPENED ITS DOORS AROUND THE CORNER FROM VERMONT ETV IN A BUILDING IT SHARED WITH THE RADIO COUNTERPART WEZF, F.M.

BRIAN HARWOOD WAS THE ANCHOR AT VERMONT'S FIRST COLOR TV STATION.

IT WAS HIGH TECHNOLOGY FOR THE TIME WHEN MOTHER NATURE KEPT HER NOSE OUT OF IT.

>> IT WAS THE DAY THAT THE SWANTON DOWNTOWN BURNED.

THE ICE HAD BUILT UP ON THE MAIN BUILDING AT THE FORT, AND A HUGE CHUNK OF ICE YOU, AND IT HAD BEGUN TO MELT.

THIS BLOCK OF ICE THAT MUST HAVE WEIGHED HUNDREDS OF POUNDS FELL OFF THE ROOF AND CAME LOOSE AND WENT RIGHT THROUGH THE ROOF OF THE TV STUDIO, LITERALLY, RIGHT THROUGH IT AND LANDED RIGHT IN THE NEWS SET.

SO THERE WAS A HOLE IN THE ROOF, AND THERE WAS NO NEWS SET.

IT, BASICALLY, DEMOLISHED THE SET.

AND HERE'S THE GIGANTIC STORY, SO I REMEMBER GOING UP TO SWANTON, AND WE SHOT A BUNCH OF THINGS, AND GOT A LOT OF INTERVIEWERS AND EVERYTHING, AND CAME BACK AND DID THE NIGHTLY NEWSCAST FROM THE GENERAL MANAGER'S OFFICE BECAUSE WE HAD NO STUDIO OR NEWS SET TO WORK FROM YANCEY WAS A CAMERAMAN AND FILM EDITOR IN NEW YORK.

22 BECAUSE HE LIKED TRYING HISL- HAND AT ALL SORTS OF JOBS.

HE RATHER SUDDENLY FOUND HIMSELF WITH A NEW CAREER, THE HOST OF THE POPULAR TROOPER YANCEY CHILDREN'S SHOW.

>> IT WAS RATHER AGREED UPON AMONG THE STAFF THAT WE WOULD DO A CHILDREN'S PROGRAM, AND THEN AS WE GOT CLOSER TO WHEN WE WERE GOING TO SIGN ON THE AIR, EVERYONE FOR ALL GOOD REASONS STARTED TO DROP OFF, AND PRETTY SOON ENDED UP WITH JUST ME.

WHAT ABOUT ME?

WELL, OF COURSE, YOU WERE THERE, TOO.

HE CAME ALONG BECAUSE YOU NEED SOMEBODY ON A SHOW TO BOUNCE IDEAS AND THOUGHTS OFF OF.

BOY, AND THEY HURT -- NO, COME ON YOU SAID YOU WOULD BEHAVE IF I BROUGHT YOU OUT TODAY, OKAY.

SO THAT'S HOW THE WHOLE THING STARTED.

>> WE ALL JUST SORT OF PITCHED IN AND WE DID A BIT OF THIS AND THAT.

I WAS THE WEATHERMAN, TOO.

>> THE TROOPER YANCEY SHOW WENT OFF THE AIR IN 1970 ALONG WITH THE REST OF THE PROGRAMMING DUE TO FINANCIAL PROBLEMS.

THE STATION WAS RESTARTED IN THE 1971 AND MOVED TO WCAX'S OLD STUDIOS OFF SHELLBURN ROAD IN SOUTH BURLINGTON WHERE THEY HAVE BEEN EVER SINCE.

THE LAST PLACE YOU WOULD EXPECT TO FIND VERMONT'S THIRD COMMERCIAL STATION IS THE BASEMENT OF THE PINES MOTEL IN WHITE RIVER JUNCTION.

DESPITE THE LOCATION, WNNE, CHANNEL 31, IS STILL FAR BETTER SITUATED THAN THE PREDECESSOR ONLY ON THE AIR FROM 1966 TO 1967.

IT WAS HERE THAT CHANNEL 3 NEWS DIRECTOR MARSIOUS PARSONS GOT HIS START.

>> THE CALL LETTERS WERE WRLH, AND WE WERE UP THE HILL BEHIND THE FOUR ACES DINER IN WEST LEBANON.

IN THE SUMMERTIME YOU COULD GET THERE IN A 4-WHEEL DRIVE VEHICLE, IN THE WINTER YOU WENT UP ON A SNOW MACHINE, AND I WOULD INTERVIEW GUEST DEPOSIT 15 -- I WOULDINTERVIEW GUESTS AT 7T NIGHT.

IT WAS FUN BUT WE HAD SOME PROBLEMS.

I WAS THE NEWS DIRECTOR OF A TV STATION THAT HAD NO TELEPHONE.

NO RUNNING WATER.

NO CENTRAL HEAT.

WE USED TO FIRE UP A WOOD STOVE WHEN I WENT TO WORK AT CHANNEL 31.

IT WAS ABOUT FOUR HOURS BEFORE WE HAD THE EQUIPMENT THAWED OUT ENOUGH TO GET IT RUNNING.

>> TIMES HAVE CHANGED.

THE NEW CHANNEL 31 STARTED IN 1978 COMPLETE WITH ELECTRICITY AND RUNNING WATER.

AND THE STATION IS STILL KNOWN FOR ITS SPUNK.

>> IN 1988 WE WENT TO BOTH THE DEMOCRATIC AND REPUBLICAN CONVENTIONS, THE SMALLEST STATION IN THE COUNTRY TO ATTEND THE CONVENTION.

WE SENT A CREW OF SIX.

AT THAT TIME WE ONLY HAD A CREW OF 12 IN NEWS, AND THAT WAS HALF THE STAFF BUT IT DID US SOME -- GAVE US CREDIBILITY.

WE ARE THE ONLY STATION THAT WE ARE AWARE OF THAT HAS TWO FEMALE ANCHORS DURING THE 6:00 NEWS.

MAYBE A BIT NOVEL BUT I DON'T THINK THAT PEOPLE SHOULD LOOK AT IT AS ANYTHING OUT OF THE ORDINARY.

I THINK IT'S A SIGN OF THINGS TO COME.

THERE ARE A LOT OF MORE FEMALES COMING INTO THE BUSINESS.

A LOT MORE GETTING PRESTIGIOUS JOBS.

AND I THINK THAT IT'S SOMETHING THAT WE ARE GOING TO SEE MORE OF IN THE FUTURE.

>> TOMORROW, ASIDE, PEOPLE IN WHITE RIVER JUNCTION ARE HAPPY TO HAVE A STATION IN THEIR BACKYARD TODAY.

>> THEY COULD NOT GET OVER THAT THERE WAS -- THAT WE HAD A TELEVISION STATION IN OUR AREA.

NBC AFFILIATE AT THAT.

SO IT WAS JUST -- I THINK THAT SETS US APART FROM THE BIGGER TELEVISION STATIONS.

>> BACK IN THE EARLY DAYS OF VERMONT BROADCASTING, JUST ABOUT ANYONE WHO WANTED TO COULD SET UP HIS OWN RADIO STATION AND BROADCAST JUST ABOUT ANYTHING.

COMING WITH THE ADVENT OF CABLE ACCESS TELEVISION VERMONT BROADCASTING HAS COME FULL CIRCLE, NOW, ANYONE CAN AGAIN BROADCAST A SHOW OF THEIR OWN DESIGN OVER THE PUBLIC AIRWAVES.

>> I HAVE TRAINED EIGHT, NINE-YEAR-OLD KIDS ALL THE WAY UP THROUGH SENIOR CITIZENS, EIGHT AND NINE-YEAR-OLDS, A LITTLE QUICKER TO LEARN AND LIKE IT MORE THAN THE SENIOR CITIZENS BUT WE HAVE HAD WHEELCHAIR USERS TAKE OUT OUR EQUIPMENT.

ANYBODY, REALLY.

ANYBODY AT ALL ON ANY TOPIC.

PUBLIC ACCESS IS A FRANCHISE REQUIREMENT THAT'S PLACED ON THE CABLE OPERATOR.

IN EXCHANGE FOR A MONOPOLY WITHIN A GIVEN TERRITORY.

IT ENSURES THAT THE GENERAL PUBLIC, YOU AND ME, HAVE ACCESS TO THE ELECTRONIC MEDIA, ACCESS TO THE AIRWAVES.

>> IT'S ACCESS TO THE AIRWAVES THAT BRINGS THE MAGIC OF TELEVISION TO LIFE.

FROM THE FIRST DAYS OF WCAX TV TO THE ERA OF CABLE TELEVISION AND THE SATELLITE DISH, VERMONT'S BROADCASTING HISTORY REVEALS A RAPIDLY SHRINKING WORLD.

THE FUTURE IS SURE TO SEE NEW NETWORKS AND NEW TECHNOLOGY IN THE GREEN MOUNTAIN STATE.

BUT THE NEED TELEVISION FILLS WILL STILL BE THE SAME.

IT BRINGS THE ENTIRE WORLD INTO YOUR LIVING ROOM.

>> FOR MORE CLASSIC PROGRAMS, VISIT