Graphic by Alex Fine
David Grzybowski interviewed over 250 Philadelphia TV news personalities–reporters, photographers, producers, news directors, and others–to document a definitive history of Philly TV News, written in the words of the people who lived it.
The end product is Grzybowski's new book, The Big Story: The Oral History of Philadelphia TV News.
After speaking at length to local legends such as Jim Gardner, Lisa Thomas-Laury, Larry Kane, Mike Jerrick, Cecily Tynan, and Vai Sickahema, Grzybowski masterfully deconstructed the individual interviews and re-centered excerpts around the events that shaped viewers’ lives.
The result is a vibrant, uniquely Philadelphian mosaic of voices and events. The Big Story is, in some ways, a history text with color commentary from the tv personalities who lived that history. But in other ways, it’s an exploration of the personalities themselves, with the events serving as hooks to get familiar names to tell us unfamiliar stories.
Thanks for the invite @RealGlenMacnow. The Great Sports Debate Reunion tonight.
Honored to be with these great writers. @ToddZolecki @ZBerm @jaysonst pic.twitter.com/HBcKTVTfRD
“I wrote [the book] to preserve the voices and stories of the journalists who shaped Philadelphia’s TV landscape,” said Grzybowski when contacted for this review. “The book is a tribute to their passion, innovation, and resilience–documenting how they informed, entertained, and connected a city through the golden age of local television news.”
Mission accomplished.
There’s Gardner, Kane, Jim Sinkovitz, and Vernon Odom discussing tv coverage of the Three Mile Island nuclear accident. There’s Terry Ruggles, Marc Howard, Dick Sheeran, and Rob Jennings discussing Pope John Paul II’s 1979 visit to Philadelphia.
The MOVE bombing. The birth of Comcast SportsNet and NBC Sports Philadelphia. The “Storm of the Century” that didn’t quite live up to expectations. September 11, 2001, Hurricane Sandy, the Phillies’ 2008 World Series victory, the Eagles’ Super Bowl LII championship, and dozens of other huge news events. With stories told by the folks at the heart of Philadelphia’s local news coverage.
For the 2008 World Series discussion, for example, readers hear from Ukee Washington, Lou Tilley, Maureen Quilter, Howard Eskin, Leslie Gudel, Marshall Harris, John Clark, Jamie Apody, Neil Hartman, Michael Barkann, and Angelo Cataldi, among others.
"I could have managed that team and won,” says Eskin. “[Fans] started to pour out into the streets . . . It was insane,” says Harris. “One man came up and kissed me. He was just so overwhelmed with joy.” “Philadelphia police snuck me onto the field,” says Apody. From Barkann: “That’s why I got into television. To be able to take people places where they can’t go . . . In this case, it was South Philadelphia in 2008.”
Some final thoughts from Grzybowski:
“If you love Philly TV, this is the book for you,” said the author. “This is the true behind the scenes of what it’s like to work in the Philadelphia TV market. Philly loves their media personalities and this book gives viewers and fans a unique perspective of what their favorite anchors and reporters were going through while covering huge stories in the city and beyond.”
The Big Story: The Oral History of Philadelphia TV News is available now on Amazon or wherever you find your books.
