Live at Five (WNBC TV series)
Encyclopedia
Live at Five was WNBC
's 5 p.m. weekday newscast broadcasting from NBC
Studio 6B at 30 Rockefeller Center
. A mix of news, features and interviews, the Live at Five
concept was first introduced in 1979 by WNBC News Director Ron Kershaw
and Bob Davis. Their first anchors were Pia Lindstrom
and Melba Tolliver
. Jack Cafferty
joined the anchor chair a few months later. The final broadcast of Live at Five was Friday, September 7, 2007.
In October 1980, Sue Simmons
joined the WNBC and Live at Five team from Washington's
WRC-TV
. She has had several co-anchors, or as Sue called them "anchor husbands", including Jack Cafferty
, Tony Guida
, Matt Lauer
, Dean Shepherd and Jim Rosenfield
. From 1980 to 1991, legendary NBC announcer Don Pardo
of Jeopardy!
and Saturday Night Live
fame did the talent introductions and other voice overs
, usually live in the studio.
In the 1980s, the show was the talk of the town with guests ranging from Jimmy Carter
to Orson Welles
to Little Richard
. The show's impressive guest lineup was fodder for a running joke on Late Night with David Letterman
, which taped across the hall in Studio 6A at 30 Rockefeller Center
, where Letterman
complained that Live at Five got better guests than he did. Today, the show still maintains an impressive guest lineup, with everyone from Broadway
stars to NFL football stars to politicians coming to Studio 6B to be interviewed.
Live at Five was originally cancelled in September 1991 and replaced by "News 4 New York at 5", anchored by Simmons and Chuck Scarborough. This format didn't stay long, however - Simmons was paired with Matt Lauer for a new iteration of Live at Five, originating from NBC's
Today Show Window on the World studios. Shortly afterwards, Live at Five was moved back to 30 Rock and adopted a more traditional news-based format in September 1993.
In 2005, Jim Rosenfeld jumped ship to return to WCBS-TV
. His replacement was Perri Peltz
, who worked for WNBC in the late 1980s and early 1990s. Interestingly though, the 5 p.m. edition of WABC-TV's
Eyewitness News
has two female anchors; first with veterans Roz Abrams and Diana Williams
, then with Sade Baderinwa
when Roz went to WCBS-TV
in 2004; and in April 2006, WCBS switched to the two females at 5pm format with Roz Abrams and Mary Calvi
until November 6, 2006. At one point in time, three major market stations had leading female anchors at 5:00 p.m.
Several stations throughout the United States
(among them many NBC affiliates) attempted to copy the Live at Five format or just rebranded their newscast "Live at Five
" or some variant thereof.
WNBC's Live at Five was discontinued in favor of a new 7 P.M. newscast anchored by Chuck Scarborough
starting on September 10, 2007. EXTRA
replaced Live at Five at its former timeslot. http://www.wnbc.com/news/13763335/detail.html?dl=mainclick For a while, WNBC moved its 5:30 newscast back to 5 PM (moving Extra to 5:30), but did not return the Live at Five name to the newscast. Once again, Sue Simmons anchors, with David Ushery
as co-anchor. Currently, News 4 New York at 5 airs at 5 P.M. with News 4 New York at 6 airs at 6 P.M.
In 2011, WNBC's Newcast returned it's 5 PM Newscast as "News 4 at 5" moving Extra to 7:00 PM.
WNBC
WNBC, virtual channel 4 , is the flagship station of the NBC television network, located in New York City. WNBC's studios are co-located with NBC corporate headquarters at 30 Rockefeller Plaza in midtown Manhattan...
's 5 p.m. weekday newscast broadcasting from NBC
NBC
The National Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network and former radio network headquartered in the GE Building in New York City's Rockefeller Center with additional major offices near Los Angeles and in Chicago...
Studio 6B at 30 Rockefeller Center
Rockefeller Center
Rockefeller Center is a complex of 19 commercial buildings covering between 48th and 51st streets in New York City, United States. Built by the Rockefeller family, it is located in the center of Midtown Manhattan, spanning the area between Fifth Avenue and Sixth Avenue. It was declared a National...
. A mix of news, features and interviews, the Live at Five
Live at Five
Live at Five is a name used by several television stations in some countries to refer to their 5:00pm newscasts or talk shows.* The name was coined by WNBC-TV in New York City in 1980 for a lifestyle and celebrity news show...
concept was first introduced in 1979 by WNBC News Director Ron Kershaw
Ron Kershaw
Ron Kershaw was an American television news executive responsible for several television news innovations. Considered somewhat a genius, Kershaw was the news director in several large cities across the United States including New York, Chicago and Baltimore.-News director:In 1974, Kershaw was hired...
and Bob Davis. Their first anchors were Pia Lindstrom
Pia Lindström
Friedel Pia Lindström in Stockholm, Sweden, is the first child of actress Ingrid Bergman and Dr. Petter Aron Lindström, a Swedish American Neurosurgeon....
and Melba Tolliver
Melba Tolliver
Melba Tolliver is an American journalist and former New York City news anchor and reporter. She is best remembered for her defiant stance against ABC owned WABC-TV when she refused to don a wig or scarf to cover up her Afro in order to cover the White House wedding of President Richard Nixon's...
. Jack Cafferty
Jack Cafferty
Jack Cafferty is a CNN commentator and occasional host of specials. In the summer of 2005, Cafferty joined The Situation Room.-Career:...
joined the anchor chair a few months later. The final broadcast of Live at Five was Friday, September 7, 2007.
History
Live at Five was born of necessity. The 5 p.m. broadcast was part of a two-hour early news block called NewsCenter 4 which combined features and hard news, and attempted to compete with its competitors' old movies and syndicated programing. When ratings crumbled in 1980, WNBC decided to pour resources into its 6 p.m. newscast, which would feature its best reporters, while the 5 p.m. newscast would be more of an interview and lifestyle show with news headlines at the top of the show.In October 1980, Sue Simmons
Sue Simmons
Susan "Sue" Simmons has been the lead female news anchor at WNBC television in New York City since 1980.-Background:Simmons grew up in the New York City neighborhood of Harlem; her father was John Simmons, a renowned jazz bassist whose compatriots included Louis Armstrong, Art Tatum, John...
joined the WNBC and Live at Five team from Washington's
Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....
WRC-TV
WRC-TV
WRC-TV, channel 4, is an owned and operated television station of the NBC television network, located in the American capital city of Washington, D.C...
. She has had several co-anchors, or as Sue called them "anchor husbands", including Jack Cafferty
Jack Cafferty
Jack Cafferty is a CNN commentator and occasional host of specials. In the summer of 2005, Cafferty joined The Situation Room.-Career:...
, Tony Guida
Tony Guida
Tony Guida is a New York-based local television and radio personality. He is currently a news anchor for WCBS Newsradio 880 and a business correspondent for CBS News....
, Matt Lauer
Matt Lauer
Matthew Todd "Matt" Lauer . is an American television journalist best known as the host of NBC's The Today Show since 1997. He was previously a news anchor in New York and a local talk-show host in Boston, Philadelphia, Providence and Richmond...
, Dean Shepherd and Jim Rosenfield
Jim Rosenfield
Jim Rosenfield is an American local television news anchor. He most recently co-anchored the noon and 6 p.m. newscasts on WCBS-TV in New York City alongside Dana Tyler. At various times, he has appeared on the newscasts at noon, 5, 6, and 11 pm at WCBS-TV...
. From 1980 to 1991, legendary NBC announcer Don Pardo
Don Pardo
Dominick George "Don" Pardo is an American radio and television announcer. He is best known as the voice of the long-running late night sketch comedy show Saturday Night Live....
of Jeopardy!
Jeopardy!
Griffin's first conception of the game used a board comprising ten categories with ten clues each, but after finding that this board could not be shown on camera easily, he reduced it to two rounds of thirty clues each, with five clues in each of six categories...
and Saturday Night Live
Saturday Night Live
Saturday Night Live is a live American late-night television sketch comedy and variety show developed by Lorne Michaels and Dick Ebersol. The show premiered on NBC on October 11, 1975, under the original title of NBC's Saturday Night.The show's sketches often parody contemporary American culture...
fame did the talent introductions and other voice overs
Voice-over
Voice-over is a production technique where a voice which is not part of the narrative is used in a radio, television production, filmmaking, theatre, or other presentations...
, usually live in the studio.
In the 1980s, the show was the talk of the town with guests ranging from Jimmy Carter
Jimmy Carter
James Earl "Jimmy" Carter, Jr. is an American politician who served as the 39th President of the United States and was the recipient of the 2002 Nobel Peace Prize, the only U.S. President to have received the Prize after leaving office...
to Orson Welles
Orson Welles
George Orson Welles , best known as Orson Welles, was an American film director, actor, theatre director, screenwriter, and producer, who worked extensively in film, theatre, television and radio...
to Little Richard
Little Richard
Richard Wayne Penniman , known by the stage name Little Richard, is an American singer, songwriter, musician, recording artist, and actor, considered key in the transition from rhythm and blues to rock and roll in the 1950s. He was also the first artist to put the funk in the rock and roll beat and...
. The show's impressive guest lineup was fodder for a running joke on Late Night with David Letterman
Late Night with David Letterman
Late Night with David Letterman is a nightly hour-long comedy talk show on NBC that was created and hosted by David Letterman. It premiered in 1982 as the first incarnation of the Late Night franchise and went off the air in 1993, after Letterman left NBC and moved to Late Show on CBS. Late Night...
, which taped across the hall in Studio 6A at 30 Rockefeller Center
Rockefeller Center
Rockefeller Center is a complex of 19 commercial buildings covering between 48th and 51st streets in New York City, United States. Built by the Rockefeller family, it is located in the center of Midtown Manhattan, spanning the area between Fifth Avenue and Sixth Avenue. It was declared a National...
, where Letterman
David Letterman
David Michael Letterman is an American television host and comedian. He hosts the late night television talk show, Late Show with David Letterman, broadcast on CBS. Letterman has been a fixture on late night television since the 1982 debut of Late Night with David Letterman on NBC...
complained that Live at Five got better guests than he did. Today, the show still maintains an impressive guest lineup, with everyone from Broadway
Broadway theatre
Broadway theatre, commonly called simply Broadway, refers to theatrical performances presented in one of the 40 professional theatres with 500 or more seats located in the Theatre District centered along Broadway, and in Lincoln Center, in Manhattan in New York City...
stars to NFL football stars to politicians coming to Studio 6B to be interviewed.
Live at Five was originally cancelled in September 1991 and replaced by "News 4 New York at 5", anchored by Simmons and Chuck Scarborough. This format didn't stay long, however - Simmons was paired with Matt Lauer for a new iteration of Live at Five, originating from NBC's
NBC
The National Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network and former radio network headquartered in the GE Building in New York City's Rockefeller Center with additional major offices near Los Angeles and in Chicago...
Today Show Window on the World studios. Shortly afterwards, Live at Five was moved back to 30 Rock and adopted a more traditional news-based format in September 1993.
In 2005, Jim Rosenfeld jumped ship to return to WCBS-TV
WCBS-TV
WCBS-TV, channel 2, is the flagship station of the CBS television network, located in New York City. The station's studios are located within the CBS Broadcast Center and its transmitter is atop the Empire State Building, both in Midtown Manhattan....
. His replacement was Perri Peltz
Perri Peltz
Perri Peltz rejoined WNBC in 2005 after a nine year absence to co-anchor Live at Five with Sue Simmons. Peltz's previous stint at WNBC was from 1987 to 1996 where she co-anchored Weekend Today in New York with Ken Taylor and Weekend editions of News 4 New York at 6 and 11 with Ralph Penza...
, who worked for WNBC in the late 1980s and early 1990s. Interestingly though, the 5 p.m. edition of WABC-TV's
WABC-TV
WABC-TV, channel 7, is the flagship station of the Disney-owned American Broadcasting Company located in New York City. The station's studios and offices are located on the Upper West Side section of Manhattan, adjacent to ABC's corporate headquarters, and its transmitter is atop the Empire State...
Eyewitness News
Eyewitness News
Eyewitness News is a style of news broadcasting used by local television stations in different markets across the United States. It refers to a particular style of television newscast with an emphasis on visual elements and action video...
has two female anchors; first with veterans Roz Abrams and Diana Williams
Diana Williams
Diana Williams is a news anchor at WABC-TV in New York City, where she currently co-anchors the 5 p.m. Eyewitness News broadcast with Sade Baderinwa and hosts the Sunday morning public affairs program Eyewitness News Up Close with Diana Williams, which airs on Sunday mornings at 11am...
, then with Sade Baderinwa
Sade Baderinwa
Folasade Olayinka Baderinwa, known professionally as Sade Baderinwa , is an Emmy Award-winning news anchor at New York's WABC Channel 7. She co-anchors the weekday 5 p.m...
when Roz went to WCBS-TV
WCBS-TV
WCBS-TV, channel 2, is the flagship station of the CBS television network, located in New York City. The station's studios are located within the CBS Broadcast Center and its transmitter is atop the Empire State Building, both in Midtown Manhattan....
in 2004; and in April 2006, WCBS switched to the two females at 5pm format with Roz Abrams and Mary Calvi
Mary Calvi
Mary Calvi is an American television journalist.-Early life and education:She graduated magna cum laude with a degree in broadcast journalism from the S. I...
until November 6, 2006. At one point in time, three major market stations had leading female anchors at 5:00 p.m.
Several stations throughout the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
(among them many NBC affiliates) attempted to copy the Live at Five format or just rebranded their newscast "Live at Five
Live at Five
Live at Five is a name used by several television stations in some countries to refer to their 5:00pm newscasts or talk shows.* The name was coined by WNBC-TV in New York City in 1980 for a lifestyle and celebrity news show...
" or some variant thereof.
WNBC's Live at Five was discontinued in favor of a new 7 P.M. newscast anchored by Chuck Scarborough
Chuck Scarborough
Charles Bishop "Chuck" Scarborough III is an American television journalist and author. Since 1974 Scarborough has been the lead male news anchor at WNBC-TV, the New York City-based flagship station of the NBC Television Network, and has also appeared on NBC News. He currently co-anchors with...
starting on September 10, 2007. EXTRA
Extra (TV series)
Extra is an American entertainment television news program covering events and celebrities which debuted on September 5, 1994 in syndication. It is produced at Victory Studios in Glendale, California by Telepictures Productions in association with Warner Bros. Television Distribution...
replaced Live at Five at its former timeslot. http://www.wnbc.com/news/13763335/detail.html?dl=mainclick For a while, WNBC moved its 5:30 newscast back to 5 PM (moving Extra to 5:30), but did not return the Live at Five name to the newscast. Once again, Sue Simmons anchors, with David Ushery
David Ushery
David Ushery is a veteran American television news anchor at WNBC News 4 New York, NBC’s flagship owned and operated station...
as co-anchor. Currently, News 4 New York at 5 airs at 5 P.M. with News 4 New York at 6 airs at 6 P.M.
In 2011, WNBC's Newcast returned it's 5 PM Newscast as "News 4 at 5" moving Extra to 7:00 PM.