Communism--China--History
China--Economic conditions
China--Social conditions
China--Social life and customs
In 1983, a little more than a decade after President Richard Nixon visited the People's Republic of China, a Buffalo TV news team accompanied a cancer researcher to the Mainland. Dr. Thomas Dougherty, of Roswell Park Cancer Institute, had developed a new treatment using laser beams and a special drug, designed to shrink non-bulky tumors. The Chinese had adopted the technique. During the journey, WIVB-TV reporter Rich Newberg and photographer Mike Mombrea Jr. were able to capture a unique inside view of Communist China, as its doors began opening wider to Western travelers, scientists, and companies.
Newberg, Rich (Producer, Writer, Host)
Mombrea, Mike, Jr. (Producer, Photographer, Editor)
WIVB (Television Station : Buffalo, N.Y.)
Buffalo & Erie County Public Library (publisher of digital)
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.
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First in Western New York : 50 Golden Years On 4
Jasen, Carol
Walker, Jacquie
Postals, Don
Miller, Van
Paul, Don
WIVB-TV (Television station : Buffalo, N.Y.)--History
Television stations--New York (State)--Buffalo.
Shows the history of Buffalo, N.Y.'s first television station, WBEN-TV (now WIVB-TV) Channel 4, from 1948-1998. Features anchors Rich Newberg, Carol Jasen, Jacquie Walker, Don Postals, Van Miller, and Don Paul. Includes video clips and photographs from some of the station's earliest productions.
Newberg, Rich (Producer, News Anchor, Host)
Baker, Vic (Producer)
Musial, Chris (Producer)
Schlaerth, Joseph (Producer)
Jasen, Carol (News Anchor, Co-host)
Walker, Jacquie (News Anchor)
Postles, Don (News Anchor)
Miller, Van (Sports Director)
Paul, Don (Chief Meteorologist)
Baxter, Tim (Photographer-editor)
Mombrea, John (Photographer-editor)
Schrodt, Roy (Photographer-editor)
Root, Kim (Photographer-editor)
Summerville, Dan (Photographer-editor)
Vetter, Tom (Photographer-editor)
Swan, Ray (Photographer)
Goldschlag, Dave (Photographer)
Beauchamp, Steve (Photographer)
Gabalski, Ron (Photographer)
Murphy, Kurt (Graphic Arts Director)
Mike Van Horn (Graphic Artist)
Kaufman, Ken (Music Composer)
Wolter, Carrol (Researcher)
McCall, Kawanza (Researcher)
Tamutus, Andrew (Researcher)
Gangs--New York (State)--Buffalo
Teenagers--New York (State)--Buffalo
Gang members on Buffalo's Lower West Side were getting recruited at younger ages as gang violence was on the increase. WIVB-TV reporter Rich Newberg and photographer Mike Mombrea Jr. spent a week on the streets of these neighborhoods. Their findings were that young teenagers were engaging in violence for the sake of violence alone, and that they had little regard for their own futures or those of their neighbors. "There is a ruthlessness on the streets, on a growing scale," observes Newberg, "that's new to our city."
Newberg, Rich (Producer, Writer, Reporter)
Solidarity (Polish labor organization)
Labor unions--Poland
Poland--History
It was 1985, the height of Solidarity's struggle for freedom and democracy in Poland. A popular priest had been assassinated. The Communist regime was tightening its grip on dissidents. Against this backdrop of strife, a delegation from Buffalo, New York, journeyed into the heart of the struggle, meeting first with Solidarity leader Lech Walesa, then with Pope John Paul II in Italy. "Hearts and Minds Together" is a series of vignettes documenting this historic odyssey, further strengthening ties between the people of Poland and Western New York. The documentary shows the triumph of the human spirit over adversity and oppression. The pontiff, at a quiet moment in his summer residence at Castel Gandolfo, told program host Rich Newberg: "Without Solidarity, there can be no peace."
Yearke, Don (Photographer, Editor)
Battilana, Tony (Director)
Case, Hal (Technical Crew)
Clemons, Michael (Technical Crew)
Elkan, Mike (Technical Crew)
Foster, Joseph D. (Technical Crew)
Kocic, Mike (Technical Crew)
Rusk, Brian (Trip Organizer)
Solecki, Richard (Trip Organizer)
The triumphant grand opening of Buffalo's inner harbor, based on the theme of the Erie Canal, symbolized a new era of hope for the city. The rebirth of Buffalo's waterfront allows visitors to relive the heyday of the Erie Canal, when the Queen City of the Great Lakes was the nation's 'Gateway to the West.' In this television special, WIVB-TV Senior Correspondent takes viewers back in time when Buffalo's bawdy Canal District was among the toughest of its kind in the world. There is also a special segment paying tribute to the city's beloved Memorial Auditorium, which was taken down to make way for new waterfront development. Featuring Buffalo Congressman Brian Higgins, whose vision and actions helped make Buffalo's revival, through waterfront development, possible.
Ersing, Rich (Producer, Photographer, Editor)
Schlearth, Joseph (Executive Producer)
Musial, Chris (Executive Producer)
Vinciguerra, Jerry (Graphic Artist)
Mombrea, Mike Jr. (Consulting and Contributing Photographer)
Cornwell, Craig (Contributing Photographer)
Summerville, Dan (Contributing Photographer)
Woodson, Paul (Contributing Photographer)
Ivancic, Paul (Contributing Photographer)
Baker, Boe (Contributing Photographer)
Paszkowsky, Danylo (Contributing Photographer)
Phillips, Shane (Contributing Photographer)
Dee, Joe (Contributing Photographer)
Carroll, John (Contributing Photographer)
Root, Kim (Contributing Photographer)
Swenson, Scott (Contributing Photographer)
Vogel, Mike (Historical Consultant)
Tielman, Tim (Historical Consultant)
Blanchard, Tom Jr. (Historical Consultant)
Newberg, Rich (Researcher)
Ersing, Rich (Researcher)
Schlaerth, Joseph (Researcher)
Musial, Chris (Researcher)
Yeomans, Doug (Musical Performer for "The Stringmen")
Perry, Geoffrey (Musical Performer "The Stringmen")
Communism--Cuba--History
Cuba--Economic conditions
Cuba--Social conditions
Thirty-five years after the Cuban Revolution, the island nation fell on exceptionally hard times. The collapse of the Soviet Union, combined with the strength of the U.S. Trade Embargo led to scarcities of food, medicine and other necessities of life. In 1993 two surgeons from Buffalo, New York were invited by the Cuban Ministry of Public Health to exchange medical information with their counterparts in Havana. During his coverage of this medical mission, WIVB-TV reporter Rich Newberg and photographer Don Yearke, provide a rare glimpse into a Cuban society struggling to survive and hungry for news from the outside world.
Baxter, Tim (Post-production Editor)
Life and Legacy of Rev. Bennett Walker Smith
Smith, Bennet Walker
African Americans--New York (State)--Buffalo--History
African Americans--Civil rights--New York (State)--Buffalo--History
Series of reports on the life of Rev. Bennett Smith of Buffalo, who marched with Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. in the 1960s. He died on August 7, 2001. Reports cover Rev. Smith's funeral, attended by New York Senator Hillary Clinton, and the Rev. Jesse Jackson, among the dignitaries. Archival interviews with Rev. Smith are included, as he reflects on his efforts to help those he once referred to as 'the least, the lost, and the left out.' He was the pastor of St. John Baptist Church in Buffalo for twenty-nine years. He was a player on the national civil rights stage. Interviews include Buffalo NAACP President Frank Mesiah, Rev. Smith's widow, Marilyn Smith, Erie County District Attorney Frank Clark, and former New York Assembly Deputy Speaker Arthur O. Eve. Rev. Smith's funeral lasted four hours. His last project was building the Family Life Center for education, health, recreation and counseling. Speakers at his funeral included Hillary Clinton, Governor George Pataki, Buffalo Mayor Anthony Masiello, and Buffalo Common Council President Jim Pitts.
Newberg, Rich (Writer, Reporter)
Schultz, Laurie (Writer, Reporter)
Loss of Innocence : the Oklahoma City Bombing and the Execution of Timothy McVeigh
McVeigh, Timothy
Terrorists--United States--Biography
Oklahoma City Federal Building Bombing, Oklahoma City, Okla., 1995.
At one time he was our neighbor, raised in rural Niagara County and trusted as a baby-sitter for the children next door. Timothy McVeigh would grow up to become America's most notorious terrorist, taking 168 lives when he bombed the Murrah Federal Building in Oklahoma City on April 19, 1995. This is his life story, including an exclusive interview with his father, Bill McVeigh, shortly before Timothy was executed for his crimes. Hosted by WIVB-TV Senior Correspondent Rich Newberg.
Vetter, Tom (Producer, Photographer, Editor)
Mombrea, Mike Jr. (Contributing Photographer)
Van Horn, Mike (Graphic Artist)
Baxter, Tim (On-line Editor)
Giovenco, Joseph (Director)
Clemons, Michael (Technical Director)
Benzel, Gary (Audio Engineer)
Foster, Joseph D. (Tape Operator)
Brown, David (Font Operator)
Griswold, Jason (Master Control Operator)
Lost Childhood : the Story of the Birkenau Boys
Holocaust, Jewish (1939-1945)
World War, 1939-1945--Concentration camps--Poland.
A group of Holocaust survivors -- some of the 89 Jewish boys spared by Dr. Joseph Mengele to serve as slave laborers in the Auschwitz-Birkenau death camp -- return to Europe fifty years later. They recount their experiences in the camp, their survival tactics and coping mechanisms, and the emotional scars they still carry. Hosted by veteran TV journalist Rich Newberg. Photographed and edited by WIVB-TV Chief Photographer Mike Mombrea Jr. Shot on the grounds of the Terezin concentration camp and Auschwitz-Birkenau.
Mombrea Jr., Mike (Producer, Photographer, Editor)
Kaufman, Ken (Composer of original score)
Newberg, Lori (Field Assistant)
Mombrea, John (Imix Editor)
Bacon, Yehuda (Artist, Holocaust Survivor)
Copyright held by Moments In Time Video, Inc. and Mike Mombrea, Jr. 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 producers Rich Newberg or Mike Mombrea, Jr. 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.
On a Beam of Hope : Journey Through China With a Buffalo Pioneer in Cancer Research
Dougherty, Thomas J. (Thomas John), 1933-2018
Cancer--Research--United States
Cancer--Treatment--United States
Cancer--Research--China
Cancer--Treatment--China
In September 1983, Buffalo pioneer cancer researcher Dr. Thomas Dougherty traveled to the People's Republic of China and Japan to share his discoveries and new treatment techniques. Photodynamic Therapy, now practiced throughout the world, uses laser beams and a special drug to shrink non-bulky tumors. Communist China had launched a campaign battling esophageal cancer, which had reached near epidemic proportions in certain provinces. "On a beam of hope" documents Dr. Dougherty's historic journey as China was rebounding from its brutal Cultural Revolution.
Vandivort, Dave (Director)
Christian, Roger (Music Coordinator)
Cunningham, Mike (Video Production Editor)
Root, Kim (Video Production Editor)
Binis, Mike (Audio Engineer)
Case, Hal (Technical Staff)
Elkan, Mike (Technical Staff)
Novelli, John (Technical Staff)
Pels, Gordon (Technical Staff)
Rozek, Dan (Technical Staff)
Walkowski, Brian (Technical Staff)
Schneider, Lawrence (Historical Consultant)
Nersinger, Janice (Historical Consultant)
Bergman, Randy (CBS News Researcher)
Erie County (N.Y.)--Defenses
Niagara County (N.Y.)--Defenses
Terrorism--Prevention
September 11 Terrorist Attacks, 2001
On the homefront gives Western New York its first comprehensive report of the region's ability to handle any potential terrorist incidents. The attacks on the United States on September 11, 2001 put the country on high alert. The Erie-Niagara region is considered one of the nation's more vulnerable areas, in part, because of the Niagara Power Project, bridge and border crossings with Canada, and chemical and petroleum plants. During a period of anthrax scares, this television special shows how the Hazmat and SWAT teams and health and disaster coordinators are preparing for any potential assault on public safety.
Musial Chris (Executive Producer)
Ersing, Rich (Contributing Photographer, Editor)
Mombrea, John (On-line Editor)
Flynn, Lisa (Contributing Reporter)
Rice, Marie (Contributing Reporter)
Le, Lani (Contributing Reporter)
Beauchamp, Steve (Contributing Photographer)
Goldschlag, Dave (Contributing Photographer)
Swan, Ray (Contributing Photographer)
Dawkins, Don (Contributing Photographer)
Greene, Terry (Contributing Photographer)
Ersing, Matt (Contributing Photographer)
Masse, Dave (Audio Engineer)
Palmatier, Scott (Videotape Operator)
Brown, Dave (Chyron Operator)
Newberg, Rich
Television journalists--United States--Biography
Television journalists--New York (State)--Buffalo--Biography
Emmy Award winning broadcast journalist Rich Newberg revisits his forty-six year quest to better understand the human condition. Beginning with his earliest days as "The Troubleshooter," when he brought the camera and microphone to those in society who didn't have a voice, Mr. Newberg reflects on the social upheavals, historical milestones, and lives of extraordinary people he covered throughout his storied career. He dedicates his memoir to the people of Buffalo, New York, who he says "are passionate about the issues that shape our lives." Rich Newberg spent almost four decades of his career at WIVB-TV in Buffalo, seeking to illuminate those issues. Mr. Newberg’s video memoir is co- produced and edited by his long-time colleague and friend, Mike Mombrea Jr., WIVB-TV’s chief Photographer.
Mombrea, Mike, Jr. (Producer, Editor)
Murphy, Kurt (Graphic Artist)
Jeromos, Kelly (Director)
Mullen, Sara (Special Projects Manager)
Morales, David (Contributing Editor)
Roy, Josh (Contributing Editor)
Our Two Most Cherished Rights : Rich Newberg Reports
Slepian, Barnett
Operation Rescue (Organization)
Common Ground (Organization)
Pro-choice movement--New York (State)--Buffalo
Pro-life movement--New York (State)--Buffalo.
Six months after the assassination of Dr. Barnett Slepian, a Buffalo OB-GYN who performed abortions, rhetoric from both sides of the abortion debate was reaching a critical level. It was the eve of another planned pro-life mass demonstration. WIVB-TV Senior Correspondent Rich Newberg and videographer Tom Vetter present the views of major players on both sides of the national issue, as well as the impact of Dr. Slepian's murder.
Paige, Lenny
Vaudeville--New York (State)--Buffalo
Entertainers--New York (State)--Buffalo
New York (State)--History
Five part series featuring memories from some of Buffalo's vaudeville and nightclub entertainers of the 1940's and 1950's, including Tony Ode, former master of ceremonies at McVan's nightclub, and Lenny Paige, former MC at the Town Casino. Second portion of video is Rich Newberg's extended interview with Lenny Paige, who was friends with many of the nation's top entertainers.
Beauchamp, Steve (Photographer, Editor)
Waterfronts--New York (State)--Buffalo--Planning
Urban renewal--New York (State)--Buffalo
Buffalo (N.Y.)--Economic conditions
City planning--New York (State)--Buffalo
Shows why, after a century of missed opportunities, there is solid evidence of progress on waterfront development in Buffalo, N.Y., and the money to back it up. Features the major players working behind the scenes to map out the city's future, such as Larry Quinn, Brian Higgins, Mark Goldman, Rich Tobe, Mike Powers. Shows the progress in completing the Inner Harbor Erie Canal project, as well as an overview of the plans at the foot of Main Street, and more.
Moretti, Luke (Investigative Reporter)
Schlaerth, Joseph (Executive Producer)
Richert, George (Reporter)
Flynn, Lisa (Reporter)
Walker, Jacquie (Reporter)
Root, Kim (Photographer, Editor)
Mombrea, Mike Jr. (Photographer, Editor)
Ersing, Matt (Photographer, Editor)
Hutchinson, Dave (Contributing Photographer)
Dee, Joe (Contributing photographer)
Gabalski, Ron (Contributing Photographer)
Goldman, Mark (Historical Consultant)
Tobe, Rich (Historical Consultant)
Moretti, Luke (Researcher)
Schlaerth, Joe (Researcher)
Holocaust survivors
Holocaust, Jewish (1939-1945)--Personal narratives
World War, 1939-1945--Concentration camps.
It took decades for Holocaust survivors to break their silence following the end of WWII. In the 1980's, a small but tight-knit survivor community in Buffalo, New York, began reaching out to the public, bearing witness to what they had personally experienced in Nazi death and labor camps. "Survivors of the Holocaust," presented on WIVB-TV in April 1983, was one of the first local television efforts to explore the lives of survivors, and the lessons they offered to civilization. The vignettes included testimony from three survivors, two of their children, and a liberator of Nazi concentration camps. The program became the cornerstone for the Holocaust Resource Center of Buffalo, which was created to teach the lessons of the Holocaust, remember its victims, and honor its survivors.
Summerville, Dan (Photographer, Editor)
Mombrea, Mike Sr. (Contributing Photographer)
Ader, Joe (Contributing Photographer)
Wigginton, Chris (Production Editor)
Root, Kim (Production Editor)
Barbour, Al (Technical Staff)
Johnson, Len (Technical Staff)
Rowell, Earl (Technical Staff)
Back, Toby (Historical Consultant)
Kuperstein, Asaiah (Historical Consultant)
Bucholz, Arden (Historical Consultant)
John Paul II, Pope, 1920-2005
Popes--Biography
Catholic Church--History
Live reports from St. Peter's Square during the funeral of Pope John Paul II, who died on April 2, 2005. WIVB-TV Senior Correspondent Rich Newberg and Chief Photographer Mike Mombrea Jr. find Western New York pilgrims among the millions of mourners who flocked to Vatican City to say goodbye to a pope who would later become a saint in the Catholic Church. Interviews also feature Sr. Mary Raymond Kasprzak, a Buffalo native who is head of all 2,200 Felician sisters in the world, as well as New York Governor George Pataki. Newberg and Mombrea devote a report to the deep ties between the late pope and Western New Yorkers, including Ann Odre, who was wounded by the same bullet that struck the pope during an assassination attempt on May 13, 1981. The final report in this series jumps ahead to Buffalo's reaction following the April 27, 2014 declaration by Pope Francis, making John Paul II a saint.
Sliwa, Curtis, 1954-
Sliwa, Lisa
Guardian Angels (Organization)
Crime prevention--United States--Citizen participation
When crime fighters who wore red berets appeared on the mean streets of Buffalo in the early 1980s, people wanted to know more about the young crime fighters calling themselves the Guardian Angels. Their leaders, Curtis and Lisa Sliwa, invited WIVB-TV reporter Rich Newberg and photographer Mike Mombrea Jr. to cover the group's activities in the Bronx, where they began organizing subway safety patrols in 1979. Newberg got an up close and personal view of the Sliwas, who lived in poverty on Manhattan's Lower East Side. They lived on $9,000 dollars in 1982 and didn't own a car or have life insurance. They called their apartment "The Roach Motel." Yet they were effective in organizing chapters in big cities including Toronto and Cleveland. Sliwa was shunned by Buffalo Mayor Jimmy Griffin when he accused city officials and police of taking payola in the areas of prostitution and drug dealing. Griffin said Sliwa could not produce evidence that this existed. Interviews include Buffalo Police Commissioner James Cunningham, Curtis and Lisa Sliwa.
Mombrea, Mike, Sr. (Photographer, Editor)
Sliwa, Curtis (Guardian Angels Founder)
Sliwa, Lisa (Guardian Angels Founder)
The People's Pope : Life and Times of Pope John Paul II
Polish Americans--New York (State)--Buffalo
Documentary on Pope John Paul II's historic 1999 visit to his homeland, Poland. It includes biographical video about the pope's life, his influence on the Catholic Church, and the impact of his papacy on the people of Poland and the many Polish-Americans in Western New York. A special segment focuses on the Pope's relationship with Ann Odre, the Buffalo woman who took a bullet along with John Paul II during a 1981 assassination attempt. Host Rich Newberg also interviews the former president of Poland, Lech Walesa, who he had met fourteen years earlier, during Solidarity's struggle to be free of communism in Poland. Two Buffalo physicians, Dr. Jeffrey Meilman and Dr. Amar Atwal, are also featured, donating their services on their mission of mercy in Poland.
Mombrea, John (Digital Editor)
Baxter, Tim (Digital Editor, Post-production Editor)
Giovenco, Joe (Director)
Clemens, Michael (Technical Director)
Foster, Joseph D. (Videotape Operator)
Masse, Dave (Master Control Operator)
Ayers, Don (Louth System Operator)
The Promise of 100 Years : the Pride of a People
Du Bois, W. E. B. (William Edward Burghardt), 1868-1963
Talbert, Mary
Niagara Movement
The organized struggle for civil rights in America had its early roots in Buffalo, New York in 1905. Hoping to create a great "current of protest," W.E.B. Dubois and fellow activists met at the home of Mary Talbert and voiced their demands for equality by establishing the Niagara Movement. It led to the creation of the N.A.A.C.P. A century later, African Americans in Buffalo's inner city are still struggling with poverty, crime, and unemployment. Many students fall far behind in school because of poor reading skills. See how these challenges are now being addressed, and how African culture is being preserved and promoted through the arts. "Minute by minute, hour by hour," says and old African proverb, "if we lose our history, we lose our power." Features reflections by former New York Deputy Assembly speaker and Buffalo mayoral candidate, Arthur O. Eve.
Hairston, Mylous (Producer, Writer, Reporter)
Mombrea, Mike, Jr. (Producer, Contributing Photographer, Editor)
Schrodt, Roy (Post-production Editor)
Mombrea, John (Post-production Editor)
Hairston, Mylous (Researcher)
Mombrea, Mike Jr. (Researcher)