Chronicle (TV series)

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

For the Sci-Fi Channel series, please see The Chronicle (TV series).
Chronicle
Format Newsmagazine
Starring See Correspondents below
Country of origin Flag of the United States United States
Production
Running time 30 minutes
Broadcast
Original airing January 25, 1982-Present (on WCVB); October, 2001-Present (on WMUR)
External links
Official website

Chronicle is a newsmagazine produced at two Hearst-Argyle-owned New England television stations, WCVB-TV Ch. 5 in Boston, MA, and WMUR-TV Ch. 9 in Manchester, New Hampshire. It airs weeknights at 7:30 PM on both stations, offering an informative lifestyle, cultural, and news-related magazine format, most often covering a single topic per broadcast.

Many of the stories on Chronicle involve those that are of interest to New Englanders, from landmarks, vacation getaways, and the fine arts, to inspiring stories of people who overcame adversity, made an important contribution to society or, those who are currently in the news. However, Chronicle tends to avoid sensational tabloid topics and, since day one, has never underestimated the intellect of its audience. The program has been highly regarded for most of its years, and its long-running segment series, most notably The Main Streets & Back Roads, have become institutions.

The introductions of each segment and of the program itself are live portions of Chronicle, while on-location material is pre-taped. On October 25, 2006, the WCVB Boston edition of Chronicle began broadcasting in HDTV, converting all story segments to letterbox format. There is no word yet as to whether the WMUR New Hampshire edition will follow suit.

Contents

[edit] History

Chronicle was conceived as the latest in a long line of original local programming done by WCVB-TV, which, by the early 1980s, was considered by the New York Times to be the best TV station in the country. Up to that time, WCVB produced more local shows than any other network affiliate around, many of which had received national attention or pickup. Seeing how well their other public affiairs and talk programs were doing, management decided that the market was ripe to accept a five-days-a-week competitor to WBZ-TV's Evening Magazine. The new program, with proposed titles including OnLine, Prime Access, Tuning In, Close Up and 5 to You, was to follow the Evening Magazine format; a 30 minute newsmagazine covering different topics per night, ranging from arts & entertainment to human interest stories.

Initially, that is how Chronicle was structured when it premiered on Monday, January 25, 1982, at 7:30 PM. Anchored by chief NewsCenter 5 anchor Chet Curtis, with Donna Downes and Jeanne Blake, the program covered four unrelated topics with local appeal. Among the segments in the premiere was wintertime in Cape Cod, and funny pet tricks. Almost immediately, reviews for Chronicle were mixed. Some thought WCVB's effort to have an Evening of their own paid off and had potential, while one reviewer went so far as to blast the show by comparing it to 60 Minutes. The review read, "If Mike Wallace had watched the first 10 Chronicle shows, he would sue the producers for defamation of character, because Chronicle is a "dog-and-pony" show compared with 60 Minutes." Undaunted, the producers went along and continued running the mixed bag of stories until a few months into the show. Possibly due to marginal ratings, if not anything else, Chronicle began to evolve into its current form, a newsmagazine that tackled one single topic per night, with interviews and different aspects of the topic rolled into it. The new, longer segment style, including topics listed above, gradually built a substantial audience.

As the producers found the formula that worked, there was a certain turnover of Chronicle's on-air staff in the early years. In the fall of 1982, Chet Curtis left the program, and was replaced by new lead anchor/reporter Peter Mehegan. Jeanne Blake would stay on as lead female anchor as well as a reporter, but Donna Downes would depart in 1983. Another original regular, contributor Arnie Reisman, hosted an Andy Rooney-like closing segment that poked fun at life's little foibles. When the show underwent an early revamp beginning in the fall of '82, Reisman was gone, replaced by Tony Kahn, who then did similar closing segments. As main Chronicle segments became more involved due to the single-topic format, Kahn and his social commentary segment became occasional until they were phased out entirely in 1985. However, it was correspondent/contributor Mike Barnicle, a columnist who had stints at both the Boston Globe and Boston Herald, who remained in the long run. Known for his hard-biting, to the point commentary and unique outlook on whatever story he's covering, Barnicle has remained a fixture and is the only surviving staff member extending back to January 1982.


As Chronicle flourished, it soon rose to the top of the ratings, beating out the array of competition (from off-network reruns, to Evening Magazine and Entertainment Tonight) it had at 7:30 weeknights. On the heels of its success came the introduction of special continuing segment series within-the-show. One of the first, and most successful, was called The Main Streets & Back Roads, which first aired July 8, 1983. The series would give New Englanders a view of a different quaint, rural town from around the region per edition. Interviews with residents, business owners, and anyone else who had significance to the location were featured. Often, the basic lifestyles of the area were covered, but sometimes the legends or famous myths of the city or town would be investigated. The first edition, with Jeanne Blake on location, was on Mystic, Connecticut.


More on-air talent arrived just as the show was reaching new heights of success; the year 1984 saw a significant change in personnel. First, Jeanne Blake decided to leave Chronicle, and Channel 5 altogether, and was replaced by another NewsCenter 5 anchor, Mary Richardson. Andria Hall, a new correspondent, joined around the same time, and within a few years would also serve as fill-in anchor. Richardson, who had been anchoring the news for WCVB since 1980, was reunited with Peter Mehegan, her one-time NewsCenter 5 co-anchor. Now they were together again on Chronicle in the same capacity, and in time became just as dependable and recognizable as the leading NC5 team of Natalie Jacobson and Chet Curtis. Of course, unlike Chet Curtis during his several months on Chronicle in 1982, both Mehegan and Richardson never returned to NewsCenter 5.


By the mid-1980s, Peter Mehegan had taken over the bulk of The Main Streets & Back Roads segments, and in 1987, introduced a tradition that to this day has become a symbol of this series. Mehegan and his wife Julianne kept a rotting, decrepit old 1969 Chevrolet Impala V8 in their backyard garage after they had inherited it from Julianne's aunt. Rather than have the car decay and get hidden by all the weeds growing in the garage, Peter set about to get it restored, hiring auto body specialists that spent months bringing "the old Chevy" back to life. After a complete overhaul and new engine, Peter decided to share the project in a Main Streets segment, and then took it out for a spin to the show's next destination. Peter fell in love with the Chevy so much that he kept it as the principal vehicle for all Main Streets & Back Roads trips. For nearly two decades, through many states and countless miles, the Chevy has been Peter's loyal companion and an institution for viewers.

By the end of the decade, Chronicle had already won New England Emmys and countless other accolades. Its critical acclaim got the show picked up for a few national runs, although on a limited basis. In the late 1980s, Chronicle was seen on Arts & Entertainment (A&E) cable network, and later had selected runs on the Travel Channel. However, the program's fascinating segment series were not the only attraction. Other general subjects later included the continuing saga of people diagnosed with rare forms of cancer, and other life-threatening diseases. The early stages, treatment, and the effects their illnesses had on their overall life and mental well-being were all depicted. Similar stories even followed people, young or old, that had been unfortunate victims to freak accidents, who survived and now had to deal with permanent handicaps or appearances. While these stories in no way meant to depress the viewers, they often were told in a somewhat grim fashion but yet educated and inspired the audience. Certain people who were profiled connected with viewers in such a way that, indirectly, they taught lessons in getting in touch with the human spirit.

Into the early '90s, Chronicle's roster of talent remained stable. The first major staff addition since the mid-80s arrived in 1992, in the person of Liz Brunner. Brunner began as a fill-in anchor and occasional correspondent, but soon found her duties expanded when long-time regular Andria Hall left in 1993. Hall had been chosen to anchor Front Page, a prime-time newsmagazine for the Fox network. With Liz Brunner now an official member of the Chronicle family, the role of periodic contributor went to Ted Reinstein, a young Boston-based theatre actor who hosted the once-a-month program Discover New England, which in Boston also aired on WCVB. The new reporters added their own experiences and point of view, sometimes being the subject of stories themselves.

Other guest contributors over the years, mostly on-air talent from NewsCenter 5 and other WCVB programs, have included financial reporter/analyst Mark Mills, who contributed to stories involving the Massachusetts economy. His stories have ranged from the “Great Comeback” of 1984-85, through the stock market crash (1987) to the recession of the mid-1990s. Chuck Kraemer, WCVB’s former consumer reporter and humorous contributor, was an on-location correspondent from time to time.

In the fall of 1995, as Chronicle introduced yet another new graphic look and theme song, the show launched a popular ad campaign using the slogan “News You Can Use” (with the lyrics "Chronicle has got the news, the news you can use!"). While the campaign lasted a couple of years, the instrumental 1995 theme song, a slight off-shoot of the jingle, remains to this day. This Chronicle theme has the distinction of lasting longer than the NewsCenter 5 theme package that was introduced at the same time (Image News, by Gari Communications, which ran 1995-2003).

Chronicle's ability to maintain a stable roster of talent is impressive. After the permanent addition of Liz Brunner and Ted Reinstein, the team saw no more changes for the rest of the ‘90s. Starting after 2000, there would be shakeups, as WCVB as a whole saw many prominent personalities leave the station or switch positions. With the departure of Heather Kahn from NewsCenter 5 in 2000, Liz Brunner expanded her news duties by taking over the 5:30pm position that Kahn had left. Later that same year, she also began co-anchoring the 11pm news. However, for a couple years more, she would occasionally still turn up on Chronicle. She would not have a permanent replacement until 2002, when Karen Holmes Ward, host of WCVB’s weekend public affairs show CityLine (also the only other local show now produced by the station), assumed the position. Then in 2005, there were two farewells. That spring, after nearly 23 years with the program, Peter Mehegan announced he was stepping down as lead Chronicle anchor and correspondent, although he would still do periodic Main Streets & Back Roads segments. Mehegan’s final telecast as a regular aired in September 2005. Shortly thereafter, Karen Holmes Ward was dropped as a correspondent and fill-in anchor.


Meanwhile, NewsCenter 5 lead anchor Anthony Everett, who had often been a fill-in anchor in 2005, filled for Peter while the producers found a replacement. After deciding that the person to fill Peter’s shoes needed to be someone who remained at WCVB who had a strong viewer connection, management let Everett stay as full-time anchor alongside Mary Richardson. Anthony Everett continued his role as lead anchor on NewsCenter 5 while anchoring Chronicle, which in a sense brings the program full circle. Chet Curtis, who had been replaced by Everett at the news department when he defected to NECN in 2000, was the last lead anchor to hold the distinction of anchoring both Chronicle and NewsCenter 5 at the same time. Liz Brunner was the only non-lead anchor to do both the news and Chronicle simultaneously; in 1995, two years after going full time on Chronicle, she began co-anchoring NewsCenter 5's early morning EyeOpener newscast (Brunner was replaced in 2000 by Heather Unruh).

With the new anchor team in place, Chronicle went several more months will a smaller group of regulars. In April 2006, new talent finally arrived in reporter Shayna Seymour, hired away from ABC affiliate WGGB-TV in Springfield, Massachusetts. Seymour currently covers general interest stories, but has also garnered a producer credit.

As of March 26, 2007, Anthony Everett's total weekday airtime on WCVB became exculsively on Chronicle. In the time since Everett became a full-fledged member of the Chronicle team, it was station management's plan to phase him out of his demanding news duties and have him focus solely on Chronicle. This way, he could better display his talents and versatility within the newsmagazine format. Like Peter Mehegan before him, Everett will now be leaving a permanent anchor post at NewsCenter 5, whereupon his position on the 5pm, 5:30pm, 6pm, and 11pm newscasts will be filled by Ed Harding, who thus became WCVB's new lead anchor beside Natalie Jacobson (before Jacobson retired from her post in July 2007). Harding immediately took Everett's place while meteorologist David Brown became Harding's replacement on the EyeOpener newscast.

[edit] Current Segment Series

Lately, Chronicle has a few other continuing segment series running besides the venerable Main Streets & Back Roads. A monthly continuing segment is Pop Chron, an episode devoted to scoping the latest happenings in pop culture, from the fine arts to movies, TV, literature, fashion, music and more. Nearly all Chronicle regulars have been invovled with Pop Chron since its inception in 1997.

On the Road is bascially an offshoot of Main Streets & Back Roads, with Peter Mehegan continuously driving his Chevy from one point to another within a central area or region. Peter does make brief stops to talk to locals who are the center of subjects, activities or issues that he is covering. Both On the Road and Main Streets & Back Roads are the only segments Mehegan has been doing, ever so often, since stepping down from his regular post in 2005.

[edit] The Expansion: New Hampshire Chronicle

In October 2001, following Hearst-Argyle's purchase of Manchester, NH ABC affiliate WMUR-TV Ch. 9 the previous December, a second local edition of Chronicle premiered. Titled New Hampshire Chronicle, as a co-production between WMUR and originator WCVB, it was basically the same show and format, only tailor-made for New Hampshire-area viewers. The unique lifestyles, inspirational stories, flavor and quirks of the Granite State are all featured weeknights. The program is currently anchored by lead WMUR News 9 anchors Tom Griffith and Tiffany Eddy (who do not anchor together on News 9, however), who also serve as contributors. Another regular is Fritz Wetherbee, a legendary local storyteller who puts topics in his own perspective, and shares his own stories with the home viewer. Recently, an expanded group of reporters have been added to the show including veteran NH producers Jennifer Crompton and Cindy Jones.

In the five plus years that New Hampshire Chronicle has been running, the show has received numerous New England Emmys.

[edit] Chronicle Immortalized for its 25th Anniversary

For Chronicle's 25th anniversary on January 25, 2007, the Brigham's Ice Cream Company (with facilities based in Arlington, Massachusetts) introduced a special new flavor in honor of the show. Called "Chronicle Coffee Crunch", it is made up of coffee ice cream loaded with chocolate-covered espresso pieces and nuggets of chocolate-covered honeycomb. The new Brigham's flavor was briefly mentioned in the hour-long anniversary special that aired Monday, January 22, 2007 on the topic of food. Proceeds from the product's sales will benefit many New England-area charities. Brigham's Chronicle Coffee Crunch is available in many New England supermarket locations, as well at remaining Brigham's restaurants.

[edit] First Generation HD-Oriented Set

Chronicle received a new in-studio set which debuted Monday May 14, 2007, as a part of WCVB's total conversion to high definition TV on "Boston's Media Day". This new set is adjacent to the new set for NewsCenter 5, thus giving Chronicle its own unique set for the first time in about 14 years. (Prior to 1993, when Chronicle began sharing a set with NewsCenter 5, the show did have a separate set, noticeably away from the news department). The set contains brick and stucco-like features, with large multi-paned windows containing a "faux view". Anthony Everett described the look on the first night of the set as "if you are in an urban, uptown setting, like a cozy loft". A large HD monitor screen is on the other side of the set, encased in a polished-wood panel. As a Chronicle first, both Everett and Richardson will no longer be sitting down at an anchor desk; like other local and network news programs are having their talent do today, they will stand up and even walk around the set as they present stories.

[edit] Current Staff: Boston Edition

[edit] Current Staff: New Hampshire Edition

  • Fritz Wetherbee
  • Tiffany Eddy
  • Tom Griffith
  • Maryann Mroczka
  • Donna Smith
  • Todd Diorio
  • Cindy Jones
  • Jennifer Crompton
  • Bryan Murphy
  • Chris McDevitt
  • Paul Falco
  • Chris Shepherd
  • Chris Orr
  • Scott Hazzard

[edit] List of Chronicle Alumni (in order they joined)

  • Chet Curtis (January-September 1982, original member)
  • Donna Downes (1982-1983, original member)
  • Jeanne Blake (1982-1984, original member)
  • Arnie Reisman (January-September 1982, original member)
  • Peter Mehegan (September 1982-September 2005; remains a guest contributor)
  • Tony Kahn (September 1982-?? 1985)
  • Chuck Kraemer (occasional, 1982-1999)
  • Mark Mills (occasional, 1983-2001)
  • Andria Hall (1985-1993)
  • Liz Brunner (1992-2002)
  • Karen Holmes Ward (2002-2005)