MACON, Ga. — We've seen a lot of changes in technology at 13WMAZ since we first came on the air in 1953.
At that time, fewer than half of the homes in America even had a TV set. Many of those that did were in or near big cities. But just as the station helped lead the way with TV, our commitment to serve you led us to seek out the newest technology through the years.
\When I started here in 1989, we'd just celebrated our 35th year. We wrote our stories on IBM Selectric typewriters, we shot on super beta tape using huge cameras and edited onto big 3/4 inch tapes. Producers put together and timed their shows on a handwritten spreadsheet.
Now, we each have our own laptop, allowing us to work from the field if needed. We edit on them. Our cameras fit in one hand, and we shoot on SD cards, just like your camera at home. It's a far cry from the early days.
When the station came on the air in 1953, TV was largely based on radio, which still ruled the roost in broadcasting.
As a matter of fact, it was a team of WMAZ AM940 radio engineers who helped get everything ready for the debut on September 27, 1953.
The first voice many people heard on 13 WMAZ was from announcer Jack Owens, saying, "You are listening to WMAZ-TV, Macon, Warner Robins.
Back then, all the local shows were live, and Jack would introduce each one.
Jack would appear on camera as the cameras moved from set to set in an open studio. So, as a news segment wrapped up, you'd see Jack as he announced, "And now to bring you middle Georgia's only daily TV sportscast, Bob Savage." Then Bob would follow with, "Here are tonight's headlines in sports... baseball veteran Nick Cullop has been signed as manager of the Macon Peaches".
Since there were no rules or established ways to do things, Owens says there was a lot of trial and error. "We'd heard about television. We didn't know anything about television. So we had to stumble. We had to fall. We had no teleprompters. We used what we called "idiot cards." (Cue cards). But our experiences were that we were really pioneering. We were learning".
There was some film back then, but it was expensive, took time to develop, and didn't hold up well, as our Chief Engineer Jim Lawhorn remembered during an interview for our 30th anniversary in 1983.
" Film, after you operate it very much, becomes scratchy where you get streaks down your picture, but fortunately, along came videotape and solved that problem," he said.
That happened in 1961. In 1965, the station went to color broadcasts. Those changes also affected the reporters out in the field. In the early days, a film camera kit with its separate audio recorder and tripod weighed about 67 pounds. The reporters covered each story for both the radio and TV stations. Ken Hill was a reporter from 1961 to 1986 and fondly remembers the transition from film to videotape. Even though the new cameras still weighed over 35 pounds.
"Of course, it was a good thing! It was a good thing for the reporters. It was easier on your clothes. It was just easier on your back also." he said.
In 1983, we introduced our first Live Eye van, allowing remote live coverage for around 30 miles.
Now, we can go live from anywhere worldwide with cell service using a small backpack unit.
In 1997, we purchased our own Doppler radar. At the time, it was 5 to 7 minutes faster than the signal coming in from the National Weather Service. It made a huge difference in situations when a few additional minutes of warning could mean precious extra time to take cover. Chief meteorologist Chris Smith talked about the potential life-saving difference in 2003.
"Coming here from another station, I was like a kid in a candy store," Smith said. "I mean, it was the greatest thing to have this technology. Not only me as a science geek but knowing what it could do for the viewers as far as the amount of information it could pass along and how instantaneous that information was," he said.
In late 1996, 13WMAZ introduced the market's first television website. Much like the pioneering broadcasters in 1953, we developed 13WMAZ.com at a time when there was no formula for building a website. But it was a game-changer from the start. Dodie Cantrell spoke about that during our 50th anniversary special in 2003.
"This was the first opportunity we had to be able to in people's workplace say 'Hey, you need to know this, and you need to know this now.'"
2002 brought the transition to high-definition television, with a shift to full digital by 2012. Just a few weeks ago, Former chief engineer John Timms talked about the difference.
"You get a far, far, better picture than you ever got before. Because you can do high def and the 16 by nine widescreen TV, the Color is perfect."
Technology continues to help us bring your information even more quickly and with better quality than ever before. But in the end, it's just a tool to help us achieve our primary mission, one former President and General Manager Don McGouirk summed up during our 50th-anniversary special.
"There's a lot of technology involved, but if we're not serving the viewers, then we're not doing our job. Every piece of technology we look at, we're asking, will this help serve our viewers better."
Another technology now utilized to cover news is Drone 13. With a camera flying through the sky, we can see central Georgia landmarks and give you new clarity from above and a difference-making perspective from above on some stories.