60 years of tv history in 2 minutes
By Laura Hand
Tuesday, May 05, 2009 at 7:06 p.m.
Black and white test patterns and film leader countdowns are the first 'identifiables', without much thought to being memorable. But TV people soon realized that the logos could be identifiers, too.
On the NBC network, the visual was matched with the three-note signature chime, and, when the network switched to color, the peacock, in varying forms, became the identifier. NBC experimented with graphic logos, including a disastrous switch to one that was claimed as copyright infringement by the Nebraska Educational Network, but the peacock has been the long-term symbol.
NBC-3, in Syracuse, quickly realized that logos on company vehicles could also serve as moving billboards. The '3' logo on the test pattern had a cult following, as did some artistic studio cards from the 60s...and our news set designs reflected those identifiers. At one point, in the 80s, staffers even wore a gold '3' daily---take a look at the video to see how our image (and our hairstyles!) evolved.
And, get in touch (lhand@cnycentral.com) to suggest more stories for Action News to look up for you, in the Action News Archive.
