Buffalo Broadcasting Pioneers: Behind the Scenes
Title
Buffalo Broadcasting Pioneers: Behind the Scenes
Creator
Description
Buffalo Broadcasting Pioneers: Behind the Scenes
While the first Buffalo viewers of television in 1948 may have thought the images miraculously appeared on their small screens at home, it took a coordinated effort of technicians, directors, set designers, audio and film engineers, station support personnel, and many others who worked behind the scenes, to put programs on the air.
While their expertise, for the most part, was technical in nature, some possessed incredible artistic talents worthy of the public spotlight. In this series of reports by WIVB-TV'ss Rich Newberg and Jacquie Walker, these broadcasting pioneers are recognized for their contributions to the Buffalo television industry.
Order of Presentation: WIVB-TV Behind the Scenes
John Novelli / Technical Director, Artist
Ted Patton / TV and Stage Set Designer
Frank Wald / Technician
Hal Case / Technician
Ann Deckop / Executive Assistant
Alfred Kirchhofer / First President & General Manager
Bill McKibben / Station Manager under Kirchhofer
While the first Buffalo viewers of television in 1948 may have thought the images miraculously appeared on their small screens at home, it took a coordinated effort of technicians, directors, set designers, audio and film engineers, station support personnel, and many others who worked behind the scenes, to put programs on the air.
While their expertise, for the most part, was technical in nature, some possessed incredible artistic talents worthy of the public spotlight. In this series of reports by WIVB-TV'ss Rich Newberg and Jacquie Walker, these broadcasting pioneers are recognized for their contributions to the Buffalo television industry.
Order of Presentation: WIVB-TV Behind the Scenes
John Novelli / Technical Director, Artist
Ted Patton / TV and Stage Set Designer
Frank Wald / Technician
Hal Case / Technician
Ann Deckop / Executive Assistant
Alfred Kirchhofer / First President & General Manager
Bill McKibben / Station Manager under Kirchhofer
Contributor
Publisher
Buffalo & Erie County Public Library (publisher of digital)
WIVB (Television Station : Buffalo, N.Y.)
Rights
Copyright held by WIVB-TV. Access to this digital version provided by the Buffalo & Erie County Public Library. Videos or images in this collection are not to be used for any commercial purposes without the expressed written permission of WIVB-TV and the Buffalo & Erie County Public Library. Users of this website are free to utilize material from this collection for non-commercial and educational purposes.
Type
Moving Image
Format
video/mp4
Language
Collection
Citation
Newberg, Rich, “Buffalo Broadcasting Pioneers: Behind the Scenes,” B&ECPL Digital Collections, accessed December 5, 2025, https://digital.buffalolib.org/document/17421.