Before Rachel and Keith, There Was Linda Ellerbee and Bill Schechner and NBC News Overnight

[Yavin4]

This is from 1983, and it's brilliant news. Yes, kids, there once was real news in America. Real news:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W977W0Pmxc4&feature=related

What you see here is a emphasis on great writing. No blowhard bullshit. Just real crisp and well-delivered writing. These are clips from the last Overnight show.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wW-UtzQP1Lo&feature=related

I would love to see Keith or Rachel invite Linda on their shows and make her a regular guest.


Wow, check out the sports segment:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dvnGVTAfs1o&feature=related

[Forkboy]

1. Linda was the coolest of cool in my book. Still is.

I watched that every single night.

[kentauros]

11. I remember watching her start a piece one night,

pause to pull the gum out of her mouth, and then keep going, though she was obviously struggling not to laugh

[Forkboy]

12. She has a great sense of humor.

Plus genuine warmth, a rarity these days.

And your sig is one of my fave bits, as Eddie is my favorite comedian. :)

[kentauros]

13. She was great to watch

and they had such great banter, real, unlike the fake-o stuff today.

Didn't they also do a segment on toys, whether weird or something to that effect?


I've considered changing the Izzard quote to something less "extensive" but every time I do, someone says how much they love it :D

[elleng]

18. That's available here!

There are 10 segments, and that's on one of them!

[AngryOldDem]

22. Do you remember "Weekend"?

It was on once a month in place of Saturday Night Live, during SNL's first season. Lloyd Dobyns and Ellerbee hosted, and that was one cool show. Just the proper amount of news magazine and snark.

[Forkboy]

25. I don't.

I was born in 67 so that must have been just a bit before I started paying attention to anything. :)

[Vidar]

26. I found her delightfully cynical.

[Forkboy]

28. Yeah, I was always drawn to that quality in people.

:)

[REP]

2. I remember watching it

I'm old (I was a kid back then).

[libnnc]

3. you've crawled into my brain

I was JUST thinking about Linda Ellerbee in the context of Rachel Maddow's success this morning. I think Rachel has circumvented the "lookist" attitude that is so prevalent in TV news. Linda tried but the suits at the networks wouldn't let her be herself (ie: she wasn't blond, wasn't skinny enough, wore glasses, etc).
Sad that it has taken 20 years for a woman to finally be able to overcome that.

[Yavin4]

6. We Gotta Get Rachel And/Or Keith To Get Linda Ellerbee On Their Shows

A nice weekly segment or something like that.

[Manifestor_of_Light]

4. I used to watch it when I was in grad school.

Linda and Bill were very cool.

Bill had a twinkle in his eye. He seemed to disappear after that show.

[CreekDog]

21. Bill Schechner didn't disappear, he was a local tv news personality at CBS-5 in San Francisco

in fact he had been working there since the early 1970's.

but he was laid off last year and is pursuing a lawsuit against the station for age discrimination with other laid off personalities. he and another reporter party to the suit have 5 emmys between them.

[Z_I_Peevey]

5. Now you have me thinking back

to Lloyd Dobbins and Ellerbee on Overnight. They were such a great team. And such good writers.

[Oeditpus Rex]

7. 'And so it goes'

A few years after "NBC News Overnight" ("which was recognized by the jurors of the duPont Columbia Awards as 'possibly the best written and most intelligent news program ever'" — http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Linda_Ellerbee ) Ellerbee and a guy named Ray Gandolf did a show on ABC called "Our World". Each episode focused on a period of American history and broke it down into its elements. It was an outstanding, PBS-caliber show, but it was up against "The Cosby Show" and "Family Ties," and lasted but one season. I still have the letter I wrote in TV Guide praising "Our World."

Ellerbee is one of the best journalists I've ever seen, but she never made it big because she stood up to news executives and because she wasn't pretty enough for prime time. ("And So It Goes: My Adventures In Television;" Playboy, April 1986.)

[elleng]

19. Her work on Our World won her an Emmy.

Here's a 27-minute interview:

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=2955703071734548126

[RandomThoughts]

20. The education of children does not turn a monetary profit

We send kids to school to learn, and even if a private school, a parent will pay to have children taught.

What parent would turn to there child and say they can't go to school because they get no next quarter profit from it.

So what about society and the continual education of its people. Shouldn't society have the same ideal, and know that continual education of its population on current events and history is necessary. Shouldn't that need overrule the fact that entertainment TV might make a little more money from advertisers.

Many will say that is what pbs is for, but in comparison to the amount of private for profit stations, pbs is small. And shouldn't PBS get some funded commercials on major networks. People watching cable news or even sitcoms need to know shows like frontline exist.

I am not saying people are children, I am saying adults need continual education. And quality media, including the truths of cause and effect. And the ideas of ethics that society thinks is best for all society should be part of TV.

[Zomby Woof]

8. My favorite news program of the 80's

After Cronkite retired from CBS, there was a void until 'NBC News Overnight' for credible news on TV. I was in high school when it aired - risking being tired the next day (no VCR yet in our household - but the summer of '83 made it far easier to catch). I loved loved loved Ellerbee!

When Frank Zappa died back in 1993, she wrote a wonderful obit for him in her syndicated column. Turns out, he was a big fan of the show, and used to call her at her desk after many of the programs, questioning her, discussing stories, etc. No surprise that a chronic insomniac and intellect like Zappa was an admirer of Ellerbee and the program.

[elleng]

9. Where the HECK was I?

Thats rhetorical; I do know. So how could I have missed this???

THANKS!

[Yavin4]

14. NBC Overnight Was On Really, Really Late At Night

It was on after Letterman at like 1:30 am. This was way before cable became big, but it was really great TV.

Dave's talk show was the anti-talk show, and Overnight was the real news show, done with straight faced humor and real wit.

[elleng]

17. Oh, I know now,

I was SLEEPING, because unlike NOW (that I'm retired) I had to wake to go to WORK!

SO SORRY that I missed; good to see what I could here.

[Tangerine LaBamba]

10. Linda Ellerbee always reminded me

of Molly Ivins. They looked a bit alike, but, sadly, they both battled breast cancer.

Molly lost, but Linda's still with us, although she's channeled her energy into other things.

She was great. Simply great.....................

[Yavin4]

15. Hey, Did You All Notice That The Great Reagan "Recovery" Didn't Kick In Until 1983

Two years after he took office! Yet, we've got RWers screaming after 6 months of Obama about how bad the economy is.

[Missy Vixen]

16. I loved that program

Linda Ellerbee is one of my heroes.

[blogslut]

23. I love Linda Ellerbee

And the Overnight program was sweet nectar for this night owl.

[peekaloo]

24. Didn't Linda Ellerbee host a short-lived prime time news show with

(of all people) Andrea Mitchell? They traveled around the country and did features on locals, I think. (too groggy to google right now). :-) Because of this I had (emphasis on had) a higher opinion of Mrs. Greenspan due to her association with LE.

I loved 'Overnight'. Period. I still laugh about the time they covered a night time space shuttle launch and when asked for her impression(s) Ellerbee responded, "the earth moved". :-)

[WolverineDG]

27. I remember they had a toy duck on the set

IIRC, one night they did a story on it & the tag line was "we did it all for the duck."

I really liked that show. I was often up late at night after closing at work & it was the only news show I was able to watch.

dg