Idaho News 6 celebrates 50 years with a look back at the building that was custom-built to be a TV station.
- Idaho News 6 studios were finished in 1974.
- The building was custom-built to be a TV station.
- Its location in Nampa, once thought to be a liability, has now put it smack dab in the middle of one of the fastest growing regions in the country.
- KIVI went through a variety of brick-and-mortar sets over the years, but most recently used a digital set that could be changed with the press of a button.
(Below is the transcript from the broadcast story)
Michelle Edmonds: "1974, it was the year President Nixon resigned over the Watergate coverup."
Don Nelson: "And of course it was the year that Channel 6 signed on the air becoming Boise's first ABC affiliate."
There's no question, a LOT of things have changed since Idaho News 6 got its start in 1974. The surrounding area has certainly grown up. Gone are many of the farms, replaced by high schools and seeming endless subdivisions.
All that time, the Channel 6 building was here.
As it was being constructed, a lot of people had questions about what it was. In fact, Ken Burroughs, who was at that time the entertainment reporter for the Idaho Statesman, he said it looked like a dismantled pyramid.
Steve Bertel worked as the Assignment Director at Idaho News 6 and says Burroughs wasn't the only one who thought the building was strange.
"I certainly haven't worked in a building as uniquely shaped as this. The walls are slanted and it has very few windows. And windows are little slits so it reminded me of Star Trek and walking down the corridors of the enterprise," said Bertel.
The news biz is one of changing technology and changing sets.
And we've had a lot of different sets over the years.
We even got away from real sets and went virtual for a while.
"So, yeah, the building is 50 years old. But everything inside is updated. Almost. Take a look at this. This is the equipment that handles all the lighting in the studio. Very modern and nothing surprising there. The really interesting stuff nowadays is the stuff that still works 50 years later," says Chief Engineer Jeff Hoffert.
"Alright, what is this?" I asked.
"This is the lighting console that was put in in 1974. It's the original. It's all very old school. But it's. very functional," responded Hoffert. "To connect the lights, it's like an old patch panel. These aren't hot or anything, but you can plug them into a circuit."
"They built stuff really well back in the 70's," Hoffert commented.
And the changes just keep coming. Idaho News 6 is embracing a neighborhood reporting concept that has made traditional studios a thing of the past.
And while that means we're out in the community a lot more, we always have channel 6 to come home to.
In Nampa, I'm senior reporter Roland Beres, Idaho News 6.
