The only surviving footage of the original WSAZ Saturday Night Jamboree, which aired 1953-1965 from Huntington, WV. This episode aired live in April, 1960.
It's interesting looking at the Saturday Night Jamboree there were hardly any technical errors as compared to
a typical newscast today..What a difference it makes when you had directors,producers,camera operators and
sound people who relayed on their abilities and not on a computer..They were much more dedicated to their
craft and were better operators with the equipment they had...Most people today are not as proficent..
Yesteryear, master control operators had to be licensed engineers. Today, they need a high school diploma.
Yesteryear, the switching was done manually by operators who knew very well where the door was if they mucked it up. Today, computers---programmed by kids with high school diplomas---handle the switching, and there is no ramifications if they muck it up because it is blamed on the automation system.
Yesteryear, you could smoke in the control room. Today, operators have to go outside to smoke. Just sayin.