This is the home of television’s living history…
It is television’s story, built one article at a time. In writing and posting each of these articles, first on our Facebook pages and then here, almost every story has bloomed to near perfection, thanks to the contributions of lost details, comments and firsthand reports from industry veterans who were there.
I created this site over 20 years ago simply to share the broadcast history I’d collected. I never imagined what it would become.
As the site grew, something remarkable happened: the men and women who shaped American television — from all three major networks — began reaching out, in a manor above and beyond the Facebook commentaries. Producers, directors, engineers, studio crews, and the families of industry legends shared their stories, photos, documents, and memories with me. Many told me the same thing, even the historians for the networks:
“You’re preserving the only institutional knowledge we have left.”
That changed everything, but not my intention to curate and preserve this history with accuracy, respect and context.
Eyes Of A Generation has always been a collection of history, but now — it has, by default, become a home for the institutional memory of ABC, NBC, and CBS. In the same way networks kept the videotapes tapes but erased the talent, skill, craftsmanship and even revenue those recorded shows represented…they have lost their histories too!
Here you’ll find the culture, the craft, the engineering, and the people who built the medium. Our mission is: to make sure the history of American broadcasting is not forgotten as the generation who created it passes the torch.
This is television’s story — created by the people who shaped it and safeguarded here, for those who come after.
As Editor in Chief, I am assisted now by Dr. Jodie Peeler, Professor of Journalism at Newberry College, and author of the only biography ever of Dave Garroway, titled PEACE: The Wide, Wide World of Television’s Original Master Communicator. She had the cooperation of the Garroway children and what a great read is it.
Serving as our webmaster for over 11 years (and just for fun), Director, Broadcast Operations at Gray Media; David Donaldson. With his interest in our medium’s history and his participation in the industry, it is interesting to get his takes on some of the information we have been blessed enough to archive and curate.
This is a link to our original page Facebook page with 12,000 members and this link is to our group page Eyesofageneration.com Group | Facebook with over 40,000 members. Join us there and here with your input, comments and interests.
Thank you! -Bobby Ellerbee
For more information on me, go here About – Eyes Of A Generation…Television’s Living History
Margo Precht Speciale, Producer, Sunday Best: The Untold Story of Ed Sullivan
David Hazinski, NBC News – Chair, Broadcast Journalism UGA (Ret.)
John Pinto, Chief Cameraman, Saturday Night Live – NBC New York
Dicky Howett, Author, “Television Innovations – 50 Technological Developments”
Gady Reinhold, Technical Supervisor, CBS Broadcast Center (Ret.)
Mike Conway, Indiana University – Author “The Origins Of Television News In America”
Dr. Charles N. Davis, Dean of Henry W. Grady College of Journalism, University of Georgia