Outside Building 703
Crew members of Ed Murrow’s See It Now shooting outside Building 703 at the Hanford Nuclear Reservation in Hanford, Washington.
The Lone Shooter
Unidentified member of Edward R. Murrow’s See It Now crew at the Hanford Nuclear Reservation on January 21, 1958.
Internet sleuthing has yet to dig up names of these crew members, but indicated by other Hanford documents found elsewhere online, the See It Now assignment these men are shooting for appears to be the story called “Atomic Timetable: Radiation and Fallout” that aired on March 30, 1958.
A senator, a gun and a few news crews
Filed Under: politicians, washington dc
Senator Tom Connally (D-TX), shows off his shooting skills for the newsreel crews on Capitol Hill before he leaves D.C. on a hunting trip in his native Texas on June 14, 1938
Pathe News’ First “Grie Wagon”
The ancient ancestor of what seems to be many a shooter’s source of whining can be found in this September 1928 photo of the very first sound news truck Pathe News purchased.
The Pathe crews eventually nicknamed their green Chevy trucks “grie wagons.” If there is any history behind this nickname referenced in many period documents, the site author would love to know how and why the name grie wagon.
The newsreels went to sound in the late 1920s, with Fox Movietone going first in 1927 and then Pathe following a year later. The rest of the reels jumped into the sound pool shortly after legal issues surrounding the usage of sound and Western Electric’s patents were settled.
The switch to sound necessitated a need of a way to transport the new sound equipment, which had jumped in weight and crew size from a single shooter with his camera, film and sticks to the addition of the newly acquired soundman and the heavy batteries needed to power both the cameras and microphones. As a result, dozens of these Chevy DeLuxe 1/2 ton panel trucks were outfitted at a cost of $30k (in 1927 dollars) each and stationed around the world.
The switch to sound also brought dissident from the public in some cases due to the news ending up in many cases being solely events that could be set up several days in advance since the truck had to be transported to the site to shoot the event. Two grafs in a 1934 St. Petersburg Evening Independent editorial noted some of the complaints:
“Sound news reels have been talked to death and the news reel which was once popular as anything on a day’s program, has become stupid and dull. Only things that are arranged several days ahead of time can be taken with the sound truck. In the old days the news reel men were scattered all over the country and were on hand for any exciting event like a train wreck or a big fire. The news reels then had action and were interesting.
The sound adds little to a news reel, anyhow, as it is practically all talking by someone like Gen. Johnson or Hoover. The public would like to see some action in the news reels and is weary of Mussolini and Hitler reviewing troops and making speeches. There are lots of exciting things happening in this country that could be put into the news reels of the freelance photographers again had a chance to make and sell shots.”
