KPHO, the first broadcast news station in Phoenix, is celebrating 75 years this week. We reached out to longtime Valley industry insiders to compare the 'then' and 'now' of reporting the news. John Craft, who spent 49 years teaching at ASU's Cronkite School of Journalism, walked us through the gallery of items on their downtown Phoenix campus that he curated. He salvaged relics from Valley newsrooms, including an old 16mm film camera and early model studio cameras. He's on the board of the House of Broadcasting Museum and wrote a book about Phoenix television history.

The Early Days of Phoenix Television

KPHO was the first station to hit the local airwaves on Dec. 4, 1949. At that time, there were very few TV sets in the city and only one TV station. But in just five years, there were five TV stations. Now, due to digital and streaming, there are more than 100 possible off-air channels in Phoenix. People used to plan their nights around must-see TV programming. "You had a whole lineup of programs; it was appointment TV," Craft said.

Mary Jo West was the first female news anchor in Phoenix in 1976. She recalls people saying things like, "Oh, I get to go to bed with you every night, or I have dinner with you every night." One of the nicest calls she received on her debut night was from a lady in Sun City who said, "Tell that blonde-headed tomato to go straight home and cook supper for her husband."

Back then, field crews had to carry around a lot of heavy equipment. They used an old three-quarter recording deck that had to be tethered to a control unit, a power supply, and the camera itself. Editing stories took several hours, and developing and cutting film was a time-consuming process.

The Impact of Technology on News Reporting

One of the biggest changes now is seeing how technology has replaced many people behind the scenes in production. Floor directors, camera operators, and audio and graphic specialists are now automated. "Today, if you go into a studio, you will see a lot of automated cameras and robot cameras," West said.

Innovation has also improved efficiency and time. Editing stories is now digital, with fancy dissolves and special effects. "Life is so much easier," Craft said, reminiscing about the old behind-the-scenes chaos. "You would see somebody running frantically from the editing room up to the engineering area to put the videotape on the air as the anchor was talking about the lead-in to a particular story."

One of the most memorable photos from John's book is a KPHO weather girl from 1960 standing in front of a generic map with a pointer stick. Now, we have more sophisticated tools like digital maps and computer-generated graphics.

The Shift from Analog to Digital

In 2009, the industry shifted from analog to digital, improving quality and accelerating efficiency. "We can carry a TV station in our pocket," Craft said. Our crews can now go live with a cell phone and a backpack, without the need for cables or microwave vans. The smallest field cameras are not much bigger than a traditional still photo camera and can record hours on a single SD card.

John even remembers when teleprompters were used on studio cameras instead of appearing in a reflective mirror in front of the lens. Scripts used to scroll on a roll of paper below the lens.

The Future of Television News

Rapid innovation has catapulted us into the future. From the first artificial news anchor in 1985 to the emerging AI news gaining ground in other countries, the future is full of possibilities. John's students are now learning to dream ever-bigger and anticipate the demands for new content and mediums.

The House of Broadcasting is working to set up a new display at the Chandler Museum so that next year, people can see all the history of television news firsthand. It's a journey through 75 years of evolution.

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