Dave Oliver…aka “John Q. Dohp”

In early April of 1936, Dave Oliver, then a cameraman with Universal Newsreel, was shooting footage for a story of the winners of the Irish Hospitals’ Sweepstakes in New York City.

The winning ticket holders proved to be quite the characters, as such, Oliver’s editors though a losing ticket holder was needed to balance the story out.

Unable to find someone in a hurry, Oliver remembered he happened to have a losing ticket in his pocket himself. And so, a “Mister John Q. Dohp” just happened to be found and stepped in front of the lens to waxed poetic about how disappointed he was about losing the sweepstakes again.

Oliver’s going above and beyond for a story was enough to convince Universal to renew his contract at the princely sum for a cameraman in 1936 of $100 a week.

[Sweepstakes winner story|| Dave Oliver as John Q. Dohp, a losing ticket holder]

Lawrence “Larry” Darmour

This photo may be a repeat for some of my viewers, but in the course of writing the first chapter of that book, the editor of this site has finally figured out who the photog on the right is.

Lawrence “Larry” Darmour was one of the first full time staff news cameramen hired in the United States. His employer at the time this photo was taken was the Gaumont Newsreel, a French firm that entered the United States after the success of Pathe’s newsreel months earlier.

On the left is Dr. Frederick A. Cook, a discredited explorer of the era.

Norman Alley and views on TV News

By the time this article was written outlining Norman Alley’s views on news photography and television news, the Hearst newsreel crews were under contract with CBS News to shoot newsfilm for programs such as Ed Murrow’s See It Now.

Norman Alley, in addition to his usual duties with the Hearst newsreel, was Ed Murrow’s primary west coast news photographer outside of Charlie Mack, Murrow’s main go-to photog.

Alley son, Dexter, learned a lot at his father’s knee and followed in his footsteps of shooting news, becoming one of the first photographers hired on at a local affiliate in the late 1940s.

Hanford Views

A newsreel photog gets a close-up shot of a tank crew at the Hanford Nuclear Reservation on September 1, 1949.

It’s a wonder I can even stand… and other stuff

This little ENG bundle weighs in at around 70+ lbs. I’m talking gear, not me. The package basics are the NEC 3 tube camera (25lbs), Sony BVU-50 Portadeck (25lbs), camera battery belt (10lbs), extra BP battery for deck (5lbs), and miscellaneous poop in the Porta Brace bag for the deck. Not shown is the giant Frezzi light and equally giant battery belt worn around the waste. Mind you there were times we’d have to wear two camera battery belts. When fully geared, I got teased that I looked like the Michelin Tire Logo.

Welcome to the 1980’s. This is what I lugged around everyday for over five years. I have to say that my NEC camera had the best picture of any news camera I shot with… that is when the tubes were lined up–which on a good day was a 50/50 chance. Of course the problem never revealed itself until you checked the tape in play back and discovered you had a nice neon purple halo around all your shots. That’s when I acquired my dirty potty mouth.

In spite of the gear impediments, and there was always something, I loved every minute of it. Some of my best friends today are those men and women from the newsroom who mentored me through my rookie years. I learned from the best. We were a tight group and often spent our off hours hanging out together as well.
Today I’m the mentor and it’s a different news beast my younger colleagues work for. The one thing I try to convey to them is to have fun with the job. It took me nearly 30 years of shooting news before the fun started to wear off and I decided it was time to move on. I’m starting to see it show up in several of my young friends after a few months on the job.

Becoming “jaded” is a bad thing. If your not having fun at it, you’re gonna end up a wretched human being. News is what it is… I shot a “dead person” story nearly every day at work my final year at CBS13, Sacramento… that and getting “promoted” to the weekend night shift one man banding in the live truck convinced me to move on. Cutting the cord is hard, so I still contribute occasionally to news, but as a freelancer. I also teach at journalism workshops. Cyndy Green and I are heading up to Portland in April to the JEA Convention. I’ll be helping her with the three classes she’s presenting and then judging video competitions.

There is life after news. I’ll keep freelancing until I find that next “best job” in the whole world. I’m looking for a non-profit to sink my teeth into… I can do just about anything. News taught me that. Only one requirement– no lifting over 25lbs.