7 replies to this topic

[editor]

I got this video e-mailed to me from a member of the Houston media corps. It was taken at a recent reunion of old KPRC-TV employees.

Each was asked what their first job in TV was. Some of the responses are kind of inside baseball, but if you're into media studies, you'll probably find it interesting.

Even if you're not into Houston media, a couple of the stories are very interesting, like the one about the "Big 2 News" Ford Mustang that was allowed to drive on the runways at what is now IAH. I'd guess it was still Jetero airport back then.


--EDIT--

I have removed this video. See below.

[FilioScotia]

editor, on Sunday, January 16, 2011 at 3:12 PM, said:

Even if you're not into Houston media, a couple of the stories are very interesting, like the one about the "Big 2 News" Ford Mustang that was allowed to drive on the runways at what is now IAH. I'd guess it was still Jetero airport back then.

No it wasn't still named Jetero. It had that name when it was still in the planning, design and most of the construction phases, but it was never "officially" named "Jetero". The airport opened for business in 1969 with the name of Houston Intercontinental Airport. The GHW Bush name was added in 1997.

FYI: The name "Jetero" was the result of a misprint. The original name of the holding company that bought land for the airport was "Jet Era Ranch Corporation." Somewhere along the line, a typographical error turned it into "Jetero", and the name stuck because it was on the official incorporation papers. Correcting it was more trouble than it was worth.

Also, that former courier guy wasn't talking about driving the news car on the runways at IAH. He was talking about the taxi-way leading to the terminal. When the courier was in a hurry - and they were always in a hurry when Ray Miller was running the News Department - he would cruise out onto the taxiway alongside the taxiing plane and somebody on the plane would toss out the bag of film. It saved a lot of time. Nobody ever complained that I ever heard about. Except maybe Ch 11 and Ch 13.

And my thanks to whomever put that video up on this site. I worked at KPRC Radio News in early and mid 70s - in the same newsroom with the TV guys - and it's really nice seeing a lot of my old friends again, and what the years have done to them. I can't believe how much weight Doug Johnson has lost. He is a shadow of his former self.

[little frau]

Wasn't there a Jetero Blvd out there somewhere? I never made that many trips to the airport back in those days but for some reason, Jetero Blvd. sticks in my mind.

I don't remember it's ever being called Jetero Airport. Houston Intercontinental is what I remember.

[JLWM8609]

little frau, on Thursday, January 20, 2011 at 1:09 AM, said:

Wasn't there a Jetero Blvd out there somewhere? I never made that many trips to the airport back in those days but for some reason, Jetero Blvd. sticks in my mind.

Yes, there was a Jetero Blvd. It was later renamed Will Clayton Parkway.

[editor]

Well, it looks like the person who sent me the video shouldn't have. The person who shot it filed a copyright complaint with YouTube, so it's gone.

The sad part is that the person didn't have the decency to just e-mail me. Instead, he went all DMCA/lawyer about it. Sad state of affairs. What ever happened to "Texas Friendly?"

[FilioScotia]

editor, on Thursday, January 20, 2011 at 11:40 AM, said:

Well, it looks like the person who sent me the video shouldn't have. The person who shot it filed a copyright complaint with YouTube, so it's gone. The sad part is that the person didn't have the decency to just e-mail me. Instead, he went all DMCA/lawyer about it. Sad state of affairs. What ever happened to "Texas Friendly?"

I wish we knew his name, so we could make a note to NEVER EVER hire him for anything involving shooting video. Blacklisting isn't necessarily a bad thing. Sometimes it can be your best revenge.

[editor]

FilioScotia, on Friday, January 21, 2011 at 12:21 AM, said:

I wish we knew his name, so we could make a note to NEVER EVER hire him for anything involving shooting video. Blacklisting isn't necessarily a bad thing. Sometimes it can be your best revenge.

According to the notice I got from YouTube, it was an organization called "Camp Videos." I don't see any web site for it on Google.

[Specwriter]

JLWM8609, on Thursday, January 20, 2011 at 1:42 AM, said:

Yes, there was a Jetero Blvd. It was later renamed Will Clayton Parkway.

It is fairly common knowledge among us older Houston history buffs, and is mentioned on another thread in HAIF, that Jetero was a misspelling on the road signs for what was supposed to be "Jet Era Blvd."

Will Clayton was a great citizen of Houston and probably deserves to have a road named after him but I frequently question where some names of streets and places are attached. Do I really want to fly out of Will Rogers Airport? He wasn't a renowned aviator but did die in a plane crash. I don't see Lubbock, Texas naming its airport after Buddy Holly. Perhaps their is a street somewhere in Houston that is physically closer to the things that are more emblematic of Mr. Clayton's philanthropy.

The same can be said, IMO, for the MIckey Leland terminal at George Bush International Airport (an appropriate name for the entire complex since the former president was a pilot). Congressman Leland lost his life while pursuing a better life for others and certainly deserves to be remembered. Since he died in a plane crash naming an air transportation facility after him seems a bit eerie to me though - granted it is the international terminal and he was on a plane flying outside the United States. Naming the Federal building on Smith Street after Mr. Leland was appropriate. It is just too bad the structure itself is so uninspired.