Here’s a “time capsule” of selected KDKA-TV on-air promos from ’79-’96. I attended a retirement party for Drew Moniot, a former director at KDKA-TV. Friends at the party reminded me of the many promotional campaigns Przyborski Productions produced for KDKA from 1979 through 1996. Those were the “analog” days of 35mm film production, film-to-tape transfers, and tape-to-tape video editing. A TV station’s “creative services director” is responsible for promoting the channel. This includes the concept & design of billboards, radio spots, print advertising, and TV commercials that showcase the station’s on-air talent and news broadcasts. Audience ratings establish the amount of money a station charges advertisers. Ratings are a big deal and usually the basis for evaluating a creative services director’s job performance. This intense focus on ratings and station rankings was especially true in the days before the internet and before social media. Back in the ’70’s-‘90s, KDKA-TV was consistently the number one news station in Pittsburgh. I was fortunate to work with 3 of KDKA’s creative services directors… Brad Crum (1979-1982), Art Greenwald (1985-1988), & Lorraine Sneebold (1988-1996). The promos we produced were often music-driven, high-energy spots that featured KDKA’s on-air talent and teamwork between station employees. Today, TV stations usually promote specific news stories that are scheduled for that day’s newscast. (Note the dates above are production dates, not employment dates.) The earliest of these promotions aired 40+ years ago. They are a visual tribute to KDKA’s talent and staff, many of whom are retired or unfortunately, no longer with us. TECHNICAL STUFF: All footage photographed by Glenn Przyborski who also edited many of the spots. Promos were transferred from 2” or 1” composite analog masters or protection masters. Video was processed through a Teranex2D image processor for 3-2 pulldown removal, blanking correction, noise reduction & up-conversion from SD to 1080P.

• published: 20 Jun 2019
• views: 12585