"GEORGIA
"GEORGIA DAVIDSON STARTED BROADCASTING TO IDAHOANS ON KIDO
RADIO, THEN THE ONLY
RADIO STATION ON THE
AIR IN BOISE. AT THAT
TIME, THERE WAS A
GOVERNMENT FREEZE ON
TELEVISION STATIONS
BECAUSE THEY WEREN'T
CONSIDERED NECESSARY
DURING A WAR TIME
ECONOMY. BUT IN 1952,
WHEN THE FREEZE WAS
LIFTED, DAVISON SENT AN
APPLICATION FOR KIDO
TELEVISION TO THE FCC
AND IT WAS APPROVED IN
DECEMBER OF THAT YEAR.
SHE HAD ENOUGH VISION
OF THE FUTURE TO
UNDERSTAND IT WAS A
GAMBLE WORTH TAKING
AND ON JULY 12, SHE
FLIPPED THE SWITCH THAT
PUT KIDO-TV ON THE AIR."
THAT
THAT SWITCH WAS FLIPPED... 68 YEARS AGO TODAY.
HAPPY BIRTHDAY K-I-D-
O-T-V-B!
K-I-D-O...DIDN'T BECOME
KTVB UNTIL 1959.
68 YEARS AGO...THERE
WERE VERY FEW
TELEVISION SETS IN
BOISE-AREA HOMES.
WE'RE TALKING
HUNDREDS...MAYBE
AND DESPITE THE COST
OF STARTING A T-V
STATION HERE...WAS THE
SAME AS SETTING ONE UP
IN NEW YORK
CITY....GEORGIA DAVIDSON
WENT FORWARD.
KNOW WHAT ELSE IS
COOL?
WHEN KTVB BECAME AN
N-B-C AFFILIATE...THOSE
NETWORK MEETINGS
CONSISTED OF 125
MEN...AND MRS
DAVIDSON.
BACK IN 2003...WE WERE
CELEBRATING OUR
GOLDEN
ANNIVERSARY...WHICH
GOLDEN ANNIVERSARY...WHICH CONSISTED OF STORIES
LIKE THAT ONE ABOUT
GEORGIA DAVIDSON...AND
THIS ONE FROM ALYSON
OUTEN...IN WHICH YOU
MAY SEE SOME VERY
FAMILIAR FACES FROM
YEARS PAST.
IN JULY OF 1953 -
CHANNEL 7 WAS BORN.
AT THE TIME, IT WAS
CALLED KIDO-TV...AND
TELEVISION
BROADCASTING WAS A
BRAND NEW BUSINESS.
"HECTIC, BUSY
EVERYTHING WAS NEW
EVERY
EVERY MOTION WAS NEW, YOU DIDN'T KNOW WHAT
YOU
YOU WERE
YOU WERE DOING HALF THE TIME," SAID BILL
HARVEY,
HARVEY, 1950S WEATHERMAN. "ACTUALLY IT WAS FUN."
BILL HARVEY WAS ONE OF
THE
THE PIONEERS AT KTVB...AND ONE OF ITS FIRST CELEBRITIES.
"OH, I WAS A BIG STAR, I
MEAN A REALLY BIG ONE."
"GOOD EVENING, BILL
HARVEY REPORTING
WEEKEND EDITION."
"HEY, THERE GOES BILL
HARVEY, THAT'S BILL
HARVEY, DON'T YOU
RECOGNIZE HIM. I
THOUGHT THAT WAS
NEAT."
IN 1955, KTVB STARTED
AIRING SOME NETWORK
PROGRAMMING IN
COLOR. BUT, THERE WERE
STILL ONLY ABOUT 350
TELEVISION SETS IN OUR
ENTIRE BROADCASTING
AREA.
AND, BACK THEN, THERE
WAS A FINE LINE BETWEEN
NEWS AND
COMMERCIALS.
COMMERCIALS.
"NO
"NO BOMB
"NO BOMB WAS FOUND. BOWLING, BASKETBALL AND ICE SKATING, YES,
YOU HAVE A CHOICE
WHEN YOU GO PHILLIPS
66."
"IT WAS SOMETHING LIKE,
THE FIRE'S OUT NOW
FOLKS, FIVE PEOPLE ARE
DEAD, BUT IN THE
MEANTIME, YOU CAN GET
THIS HEMEROID
PREPARATION AT SO-N-
SO'S
SO'S PLACE DOWNTOWN, JUST A SEGUE," SAID HARVEY.
HARVEY.
BOB
BOB KRUEGER STARTED WITH KTVB IN 1956...AND CLIMBED HIS WAY ALL THE
WAY UP THE CORPORATE
LADDER TO BE THE
STATION'S PRESIDENT AND
GENERAL MANAGER. A
LOT CHANGED OVER HIS
DECADES WITH CHANNEL
7.
"WHEN WE GOT HERE,
ALYSON, THE NEWS WAS
JUST ALMOST NON-
EXISTENT. WE HAD A
LITTLE 15 MINUTE
NEWSCAST CALLED THE
FLYING A REPORTER."
KRUEGER SAYS THINGS
REALLY GOT SERIOUS IN
1970, WHEN KTVB BROKE
GROUND ON A NEW
BUILDING...IT'S THE PLACE
WE STILL CALL HOME
TODAY HERE ON FAIRVIEW
AND CURTIS.
IN THE EARLY 80S SOME
VERY FAMILIAR FACES
MADE THEIR DEBUT ON
CHANNEL 7..AND STILL
BRING YOU THE NEWS
TODAY - DEE SARTON,
CAROLYN HOLLY, RICK
LANCE AND MARK
JOHNSON. TODAY, THEY
ALONG WITH MANY,
MANY OTHERS CELEBRATE
THE 50TH ANNIVERSARY
OF IDAHO'S
NEWSCHANNEL 7.
"TO ME, LOCAL
TELEVISION IS BUILT
AROUND ITS NEWS. WE
CONTINUALLY EXPANDED
OUR NEWS FROM WHERE
WE STARTED WITH 15
MINUTES OF JUST LOCAL
NEWS AND LOOK WHERE
WE ARE TODAY."
"I THINK TV IS A
WONDERFUL ART AND
CRAFT AND IT'S MY JOY
AND PRIVILEGE TO HAVE
BEEN A MEMBER OF IT."
SINCE
SINCE THEN... A FEW LONG-TIME FACES HAVE RETIRED, INCLUDING DEE
SARTON AND CAROLYN
HOLLY.
HOLLY. BUT IF YOU'RE AN AVID VIEWER... YOU'VE LIKELY
SEEN CAROLYN FILLING IN
FOR US FROM TIME TO
TIME.
AND IN JUST A FEW
MONTHS, ANOTHER BIG
NAME WILL JOIN THAT
LIST.
MARK JOHNSON WILL
SIGN OFF IN DECEMBER
AFTER DECADES IN THE
BUSINESS, SEVERAL OF
THEM ON KTVB.
BUT WE'LL CELEBRATE M-J
ANOTHER DAY.
CHECK OUT WHAT ELSE
WE FOUND IN THE KTVB
VAULT... SOME PRETTY
RETRO EQUIPMENT... TAKE
A LOOK...
"AND ROLL ONE, FADE MIC
QUE."
"GOOD AFTERNOON..."
WHEN YOU WATCH
CHANNEL 7 TODAY, THERE
ARE LITERALLY
THOUSANDS OF
COMPONENTS,
COMPUTERS AND
GADGETS THAT MAKE THE
MAGIC HAPPEN.
THE SAME HELD TRUE 50
YEARS AGO, ALTHOUGH
THE PIECES AND PARTS
BEHIND THE SCENES WERE
FEWER, BIGGER AND
HARDER TO HANDLE.
"TRYING TO KEEP THE
TUBE EQUIPMENT
RUNNING REQUIRED A
LOT MORE MAN POWER."
TAKE A LOOK FOR
YOURSELF. THESE BIG
BULKY BLACK AND WHITE
CAMERAS WERE STATE OF
THE ART BACK WHEN
CHANNEL 7 SIGNED ON.
HOWEVER,
HOWEVER, ENGINEERS HAD TO SPEND HUNDREDS OF HOURS
EACH WEEK KEEPING THEM
IN TIP TOP SHAPE JUST
FOR BROADCAST.
EVENTUALLY, COLOR
CAMERAS ARRIVED BACK
IN THE LATE 60'S THAT
WERE STILL BIGGER THAN
THE CREWS BEHIND THEM.
ABOUT
ABOUT A
ABOUT A MONTH BEFORE THAT STORY AIRED IN 2003...THE STUDIO WAS
OUTFITTED WITH NEW
CAMERAS.
AND THAT'S NOT THE
ONLY THING THAT'S
CHANGED IN 18 YEARS.
BACK THEN...WE HAD IN-
STUDIO CAMERA
OPERATORS...USUALLY ONE
FOR EACH CAMERA.
WE'VE SINCE WHITTLED