Most TV networks began to switch to color broadcasts by the 1960s. WMT-TV Channel 2 in Iowa made the switch live on the air in 1967. Station manager Doug Grant asks reporter Bob Bruner, ‘Don’t you think it’s time for you to move into your new color set?’
Bob replies, ‘Well, I have one more question that maybe you can answer while I’m on my way down the studio to the new set.’ Bob asks, ‘Just what will this change mean to the Channel 2 viewers who will still be watching us in black and white?’ Viewers at home were concerned their picture might change.
Doug assures the viewers that the new cameras will give a better picture for those TVs that don’t have color too. Then, Bob makes his way across the studio floor.
He heads over to a new desk, and the lights illuminate. A crew member outfits him with a new microphone. Doug asks, ‘Are you all set, Bob? Take it away in full-spectrum color!’
Bob immediately switches to color. It is quite a remarkable transformation as the dull black and white gets replaced by vibrant colors. We can now see Bob’s blue suit and the lighter blue background walls.
Bob says he is honored to be the 1st to share this experience with the viewers. He says, ‘I feel doubly honored to have been chosen to be the first one involved in our big change because there are so many more colorful characters around here than this reporter!’
He begins the news broadcast realizing the station has changed forever. The switch is a historic moment in TV history. It certainly blew people’s minds back then, and it is still neat to see the moment it all changed.
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