[TVTV on WTTW Channel 11]

This video contains an off the air recording of the February 1973 WTTW-Chicago broadcast of the TVTV documentaries "Four More Years" and "World's Largest TV Studio." The majority of the TVTV programs are skipped--the focus of this tape is on the way WTTW chose to present the programs rather than the programs themselves. Following the programs, Marty Robinson interviews TVTV representatives Tom Weinberg and Anda Korsts about the production. 

00:00Copy video clip URL This tape begins with a blue screen.

01:01Copy video clip URL Cut to a few WTTW commercials.

02:29Copy video clip URL Cut to a few clips from the TVTV documentary “Four More Years.”

03:00Copy video clip URL Cut to a shot of Marty Robinson doing an intro for the broadcast. WTTW will be airing the TVTV documentaries “Four More Years” and “The World’s Largest TV Studio,” two pieces on the 1972 Republican and Democratic National Conventions. Robinson also states that he’ll be interviewing TVTV members Tom Weinberg and Anda Korsts later in the program.

04:15Copy video clip URL Group W News Bureau Chief Sid Davis gives a detailed introduction for the program.

06:12Copy video clip URL Cut to a shot of the TVTV logo. The footage gets cut off shortly afterward.

06:35Copy video clip URL Cut to a few clips from “The World’s Largest Television Studio.” Democratic supporters are seen celebrating the event. NBC Reporter Douglas Kiker comments on NBC’s coverage of the convention. Dan Rather of CBS News talks about his excitement for the event. “Anytime you’ve got this many politicians under one roof, it’s for a reporter, it’s like a kid being turned loose in that proverbial candy store.” We also see clips from an interview with Roberta K. Johnson, a George Wallace delegate, who talks about her reasons for supporting Wallace. Johnson also watches the footage of her interview. This lasts for several minutes.

11:20Copy video clip URL Three convention attendees debate over the merits of underground media. This lasts for several minutes.

13:00Copy video clip URL Fade into a shot of Robinson who introduces Tom Weinberg and Anda Korsts. Weinberg first demos some half inch portable videotape equipment. Weinberg and Korsts talk about the equipment and its numerous uses out in the field. They state that one person can go out and gather footage for a program or project all by his or herself, meaning large television crews are no longer needed.

15:45Copy video clip URL Weinberg talks about TVTV’s organizing philosophy and states that it was because of the conventions that the group formed. The two also talk about the portable video equipment, which had already been available for four years, and its slow rise in popularity. Korsts emphasizes the need for the general public to understand the equipment and realize that it is relatively easy to use.

16:41Copy video clip URL Weinberg explains that the group conceptualized their ideas for the convention programs in January of 1972. Weinberg goes on to talk about TVTV’s coverage of the conventions and how it differed from the network coverage. The group was able to spread themselves throughout the convention a lot more than the networks could due to equipment restraints. Weinberg also talks about a specific scene from the program in which a few security officers didn’t realize they were being taped despite the camera being in open view.

19:10Copy video clip URL Korsts talks about the difficulty getting into the caucus rooms during the convention. Weinberg talks about the cooperation of politician Willie Brown at the Democratic caucuses. Korsts goes on to say that the videomakers had a harder time getting access to certain things at the Republican National Convention. The interview ends shortly afterward. It is followed by a commercial for Masterpiece Theater.

21:32Copy video clip URL Tape ends.