Bill Jorgensen
William Carl Jorgensen (August 25, 1927 – March 13, 2024) was the founding and longtime anchor of New York City's WNEW-TV's (now
The Ten O'Clock News
Jorgensen was recruited to WNEW-TV from
The Ten O'Clock News on WNEW followed a talk show hosted by Merv Griffin and was followed by a local talk show hosted by Alan Burke. Gould described the acerbic Burke as "a piece of sandpaper wired for sound." The Ten O'Clock News rapidly built a substantial audience. Jorgensen was succeeded at WNEW by John Roland, who had previously been a featured reporter and co-anchor. His signature signoff was "I'm Bill Jorgensen, thanking you for your time this time 'till next time."
Jorgensen had it written into his contract at WNEW that he was the only one who could use a Teleprompter, and this meant that when he was debriefing a reporter on set, the reporter would have to constantly look at his notes. By contract, Jorgensen would always look steadily into the camera, projecting an air of power and confidence. He warred bitterly with station management, including Ted Kavanau, then news director, who says Jorgensen "was a difficult guy, very moody, hardly talked to anybody, but when you turned on that camera, he performed brilliantly. He had a voice that was like fate reaching out to you."[5]
WPIX / Independent Network News
Upon leaving WNEW, Jorgensen initially co-anchored
Retirement and death
According to a 2004 Newsday article by Verne Gay, Jorgensen was living in Florida. He died on March 13, 2024 in Franklin, North Carolina at the age of 96.[3] [8]
References
- ^ "Bill Jorgensen Quits as WNEW Newsman". The New York Times. March 15, 1979.
- ^ "Bill Jorgensen to Become 'Action News' Co-Anchor". The New York Times. April 6, 1979.
- ^ a b Sandomir, Richard. "Bill Jorgensen, Authoritative New York TV Newsman, Dies at 96". New York Times. New York, NY: New Your Times. Archived from the original on March 20, 2024. Retrieved March 20, 2024.
- ^ Gould, Jack (August 26, 1967). "The New Course of Channel 5 Co-Anchor". The New York Times.
- ^ Gay, Verne (July 11, 2004). "Dropping Anchor". Newsday (Melville, NY).
- ^ Jory, Tom (December 21, 1982). "'Independent News' Gets A Good Reception". Miami Herald.
- ^ Hill, Michael E. (August 12, 1987). "Morton Dean, Anchorman". The Record (New Jersey).
- ^ Haring, Bruce (March 16, 2024). "Bill Jorgensen Dies: TV Anchor For WNEW In New York Was 96". Deadline. Retrieved March 16, 2024.
External links
- The Robert Manry Project The story of Jorgensen's 1965 "Scoop of the Year".