JOHNSTOWN, Pa. (WJAC) - This weekend officially marks our 75th anniversary of broadcasting.
The station started small, with a control room and studio at our tower location, then moved to a building in Cambria City.
But in 1963, we moved into our current location on Hickory Lane in Upper Yoder Township.
News anchor Ron Stephenson recorded a tour during our move-in week.
Construction was finished and broadcast operations were moving into our facility in Upper Yoder Township.
The staff welcomed the news camera into our lobby.
Even compared to other television stations today, our building is quite large. Something the station general manager, Alvin Schrott, was quite proud of.
“Perhaps there will be a tendency to brag a little bit about WJAC-TV, but could you give us a fair evaluation of this building to other TV radio centers?” --- Ron asked.
“I can give you a very fair evaluation on this, it is one of the finest in the state of Pennsylvania and probably in the nation,” Schrott said.
Our viewers rarely see the full size of our news studio because the set blocks the view of its outer walls. We often compare it to a high school gymnasium, something we learned that our predecessors even noticed.
“I think there is a little joke going around, just among members of the crew, that when they got a look at this, they said we might play the Johnstown vs Windber game in here this year,” Stephenson said.
“You know, if it weren't for the lights, it wouldn't be a bad idea. It's barely 14 feet above the floor,” Schrott added.
The technology and equipment were cutting edge at the time. The idea of recording film and being able to play it back instantaneously was new.
“One of the brand-new pieces of equipment WJAC has is a video tape recorder. This tape recorder records both video and sound on a two-inch piece of magnetic tape. It's ready for instant playback without any processing involved.”
At this time, color television was just starting, and WJAC was already investing in the future.
“One of the color cameras, it’s just like a color TV set and is bigger than a black and white the black and white camera.”
“How much is one of these things cost?” --- Stephenson asked.
“Upwards of $50,000 and Channel 6 has two color cameras. That's right. We have two color, four black and white,” answered Schrott.
We hope you enjoyed this little tour of a place we call home.
27 сен 2024
