Broadcasting Baltimore Update #7: Now & Then

In the WJZ-13 collection, there is a series called “Field Tapes.” This series contains archival footage and camera-original recordings produced and recorded by Norman Vogel for use on a segment called, “Now and Then” which aired on the news. From what we can tell, “Now and Then” was a regular part of Eyewitness News and was shown about twice a week in the early 1990s. They were short interviews of local people who had been on WJZ before. Norm would track individuals down and get their story. He interviewed everyone from artists, business owners, clowns, doctors, and an Elvis impersonator. Here is an interview with pianist and singer, Sandra Crawford. In this clip, she mentions the significance of “Now and Then” to her and other Baltimoreans.

One of our personal favorites is a story about Cecelia “Ladybug” Howell. In 1978, she entered a bubblegum-blowing contest at the third annual Kids Day at Memorial Park and was interviewed by Oprah. This video is an example of the power of representation and seeing yourself in the archive. As Norm would say, “Video, if you please!”

Cecelia “Ladybug” Howell watching herself on television in 1978 followed by her unedited interview with Norm from the early 1990s.

The third annual Kids Day at Memorial Park on Eyewitness News (1978)

This massive collection is an ongoing puzzle and the more we digitize, the more we discover. Thanks to our three-year CLIR-funded project, Broadcasting Baltimore: Digitizing Hidden Histories in the WJZ Collection, we are continuing to find treasures on tapes with little notes that say, “For Norm.”

We’ll end this post with a Morning Edition clip where Norm discusses the genesis of “Now and Then” which was the cleaning and organizing of the WJZ-13 archive!

The Council on Library and Information Resources (CLIR) is an independent, nonprofit organization that forges strategies to enhance research, teaching, and learning environments in collaboration with libraries, cultural institutions, and communities of higher learning. To learn more, visit www.clir.org.