The TV Zone

He was one of the heavyweights of New York television journalism - no kidding - and was a veritable Chuck Scarborough of his day, only bigger. He launched an institution. Warred with TV station management (a fun guy!). And then, poof, was gone.

And now, poof, he's back. Bill Jorgensen will appear on New York television - Ch. 5, natch - for the first time in almost twenty years. It's what might be called one of those once-in-a-lifetime events, so please check it out this Wednesday night at 10. Unfortunately, the piece is taped, but that'll have to do. Living deep in the Great Smokies of North Carolina and in Florida, Bill is 79 and ailing (slightly.) He couldn't get to Ch. 5, so Ch. 5 went to him. I caught up with Bill on the phone this morning, and here's (an edited version of) what he had to say:

"I'm 79, 80 this summer, and my wife, Barbara is a retired psychotherapist, which is a good thing...Barbara bought an abandoned chalet about twelve years ago. It's a work in progress, do it for another ten years. I drive a sixteen-year-old pickup truck..have fruit trees, veggies, I plan to have a little secret orchard later this summer. It's kind of a wild place [where he lives] just south of the Smokies or in the Smokies, and if you want the mail, the mail box is a half mile down the private road. The closest neighbor is a bear hunter. I've been a conservationist and tree hugger all my life, and have to tolerate the Bible thumping that goes on here [but] we've got a great library..."

There was more, much more, but the bottom line - he's doing fine and rumors of his earthly departure are much exaggerated. The basics on Jorgy: He was the founding anchor of WNYW's (then WNEW's) 10 p.m. news broadcast in 1967 though later jumped to WPIX/11 where he spent his last four years in town before retirement in '79. He was a colorful guy - no kidding - whose sign-off, once heard, was never forgotten ("I'm Bill Jorgensen, thanking you for your time this time until next time.")

Here's what I wrote about him a few years ago in Newsday: "Jorgensen had it written into his contract that he was the only one who could use a TelePrompTer, and this meant that when he was debriefing a reporter on set, the reporter would have to constantly look at his notes. By contract, Jorgenson would always look steadily into the camera, projecting an air of power and confidence. He warred bitterly with station management, including Ted Kavanau, then news director, who says Jorgensen "was a difficult guy, very moody, hardly talked to anybody, but when you turned on that camera, he performed brilliantly. He had a voice that was like fate reaching out to you."

Ch. 5 will take a look at the 40th anniversary all week; tonight includes interviews with some founding producers - legendary names in their own rights - including Kavanau, John Corporon, and Victor Neufeld.

Here's an old shot of Jorgensen from his Cleveland days, pulled from Clevelandmemory.org.