Chicago Tonight with John Callaway; No. 5089; Sawyer Elected

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Series
Chicago Tonight with John Callaway
Episode Number
No. 5089
Episode
Sawyer Elected
Producing Organization
WTTW (Television station : Chicago, Ill.)
Contributing Organization
The Walter J. Brown Media Archives & Peabody Awards Collection at the University of Georgia (Athens, Georgia)
AAPB ID
cpb-aacip-526-v40js9jh7b
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Description
Series Description
The nightly prime-time news series CHICAGO TONIGHT WITH JOHN CALLAWAY is unique to Chicago, and, we believe, a model for other television stations in the country. CHICAGO TONIGHT covers breaking news stories live, devotes thirty minutes to one timely subject each night, and is shaped by an award-winning journalist with three decades of experience. The program is broadcast in a time slot accessible to the widest number of [viewers] (7-7:30 p.m.). 'People who depend on television for their news are, in too many instances, getting only headlines. They don't get the background that makes that story mean something,' veteran newsman Jess Marlow has said. CHICAGO TONIGHT presents the news story, and the background. Concisely conducted interviews and balanced discussion among small groups composed of experts in the field make the stories mean something. 'THE CHICAGO TONIGHT research and reporting staff is headed by John Callaway, a print and broadcast journalist with 30 years of experience both in Chicago and in network news, and the winner of more than 60 journalism awards. Chicago television critic Dan Ruth told Variety last fall 'I have said in print (John Callaway) is far and away the best [TV] interviewer in the nation.' Callaway is joined by senior editor Bruce DuMont, whose experience in political coverage gives valued insight into political news stories; and Royal Kennedy, with experience reporting news at network owned-and-operated stations in Cleveland and Chicago, and as a network correspondent for ABC News in Los Angeles. 'Callaway comments on CHICAGO [TONIGHT], now in its fourth season and enjoying the largest audiences in its history, 'In an age when news gets the two-minute treatment, we're giving it 30 minutes. It's not just an occasional special; ever night is a special. Not only is no other public television station in the country doing what we're doing; no other local commercial station in the country is doing what we're doing.' 'Some of CHICAGO TONIGHT's programs in 1987 give evidence to the unique coverage the series provides, and to the void that the program fills. The three programs selected for viewing here cover two important news events of 1987: the death of Chicago Mayor Harold Washington and the subsequent power brokering to choose his successor; and the stock market crash. All programs were broadcast live. In the first program submitted, 'Mayoral Succession,' Callaway questions the late Mayor's close friend Dempsey Travis in detail, and Travis reveals some poignant personal insights about his lifelong friend, one day after Washington's sudden death. Days later 'Sawyer Election' aired, discussing in detail with aldermen crucial to the deal making [] how Eugene Sawyer was chosen as the acting mayor of Chicago. In 'Stock Market, Day 2,' analysis by Chicago's economic leaders provided the audience with needed information, and reached more than a quarter-million households, one of the largest numbers in the series' history.'-- 1987 Peabody Awards entry form.
Broadcast Date
1987-12-22
Asset type
Episode
Media type
Moving Image
Duration
00:26:28.821
Embed Code
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Credits
Producing Organization: WTTW (Television station : Chicago, Ill.)
AAPB Contributor Holdings
The Walter J. Brown Media Archives & Peabody Awards Collection at the University of Georgia
Identifier: cpb-aacip-da68598fca2 (Filename)
Format: U-matic
Duration: 0:30:00
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Citations
Chicago: “Chicago Tonight with John Callaway; No. 5089; Sawyer Elected,” 1987-12-22, The Walter J. Brown Media Archives & Peabody Awards Collection at the University of Georgia, American Archive of Public Broadcasting (GBH and the Library of Congress), Boston, MA and Washington, DC, accessed April 25, 2024, http://americanarchive.org/catalog/cpb-aacip-526-v40js9jh7b.
MLA: “Chicago Tonight with John Callaway; No. 5089; Sawyer Elected.” 1987-12-22. The Walter J. Brown Media Archives & Peabody Awards Collection at the University of Georgia, American Archive of Public Broadcasting (GBH and the Library of Congress), Boston, MA and Washington, DC. Web. April 25, 2024. <http://americanarchive.org/catalog/cpb-aacip-526-v40js9jh7b>.
APA: Chicago Tonight with John Callaway; No. 5089; Sawyer Elected. Boston, MA: The Walter J. Brown Media Archives & Peabody Awards Collection at the University of Georgia, American Archive of Public Broadcasting (GBH and the Library of Congress), Boston, MA and Washington, DC. Retrieved from http://americanarchive.org/catalog/cpb-aacip-526-v40js9jh7b