On Fri, 17 Jun 2022, Richard de Give wrote:
An overnight news show on one of the major networks (only three then) that
could handle breaking news? IIRC most stations signed off between 1 a.m.
and 6 a.m. then, starting the broadcast day, after all the technical
information and national anthem, with Sunrise Semester, cartoons or Captain
Kangaroo.
I don't recall the leadup (that is, whether there
was a "we now interrupt for a breaking story..)
but back in March, 1977, NBC News carried live
late night coverage of the Hanafi Muslim hostage
(and killings) in DC. [a]
Note that I was watching this in NYC, which was
one of the main routing centers for NBC, and
kicking the feed to WNBC was a simple matter. I
don't know how well this carried nationwide.
Oh, as an aside, the local station in DC pulled
in their "hell, it's 2 am and we're drunk and
asleep, but we'll do our best" crews for the
initial remotes. I've had my fingers crossed
for decades that someone, somewhere, has a
tape of it.
[a]
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1977_Washington,_D.C._attack_and_hostage_taking
