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TeleTales: “Film At 11″… WPIX Coined The Phrase In 1948

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Eyes Of A Generation.com

TeleTales: “Film At 11″… WPIX Coined The Phrase In 1948

“First on the scene. First on the screen”. That was the motto for NYC’s newest television station, WPIX, which went on the air June 15, 1948. It was owned by the New York Daily News, which was famous for their pictures, thus the name PIX, and the video arm was just as determined to be a leader in their film and visuals.

At the time, WCBS, WNBT and WABD all ran their newscasts in the early evenings, and all signed off before 11 PM. In order to add some extra time for viewers to catch the news, and (aha!) have their set tuned to WPIX the next day, when it was turned on, they ran their WPIX Telepix Newsreel program at 7:30 PM and again at 11 PM.

Two days later, a United DC 6 passenger plane went down in Mt. Carmel PA. The NYDN had a plane, and WPIX film cameras went along to get the first footage and pictures for the late edition of the paper, and the 11 o’clock newscast.

That evening, June 17, 1948, WPIX announcers reminded the viewing public that soon, they would see the first images of the incident, and ended each mention with “film at 11”. This also added punch to the fact the WPIX was Channel 11.

For years, WPIX was the only NYC station to run an 11 o’clock news cast, and was the first TV station in the US to do this. There can be no doubt that “film at 11” was born then and there. Below is the NYDN front page from sign on day. Enjoy and share! -Bobby Ellerbee

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9 responses to “TeleTales: “Film At 11″… WPIX Coined The Phrase In 1948”

  1. Mark West

    Dr. Bob Coe (Professor at Ohio University) was the original Chief at WPIX. He tells a story of standing on the roof where he was playing the transmitter, falling to notice a large construction project by the East River – The IN. He said it cast a shadow for years!

  2. Glen Norman

    I know there never was any kind of a connection between WPIX and KPIX in San Francisco. But despite KPIX being a CBS O&O, it rejects the network mandate to call itself CBS 5, and proudly uses the KPIX 5 branding.

  3. Steve Dichter

    From Feb. 7, 1949 Broadcast Magazine:

  4. Richard Warner

    One side note — it was interesting how WPIX was involved with station launches around the country, including WSB Atlanta and WXEL Cleveland. Probably many more. They also supplied some programs, according to early newspaper articles, but I never saw an outline of what they were.

  5. Robert Oppenheimer

    “Film at 11” was one of my favorite tag lines. Thanks for the background.

  6. Carolyn Phillips

    Ha! I use the term “Film at 11” frequently with my broadcast buddies, when an ongoing event or situation will need to play out and I’ll provide more details later. I’m so glad to know the origin. Thanks. I have never lived anywhere near the WPIX market so I’m not sure where I learned it. I do remember in the 70s WIS-TV in Columbia, SC, would run a graphic over the news stories that said, “WIS Color Film”. Well, duh. I never understood that. I wonder if they changed it to “video” a few years later.

  7. WPIX Archives

    This is great. Thank you!

  8. Bart Dellarmi

    I watched WPIX as a child in the the nineteen fifties…..and I am proud to have worked there as a news cameraman for eight years. And they are still rockin’ in the News Building…..long live WPIX!

  9. Preston Trusler

    Bobby, in the early 60’s PIX called their newscast “Three Star News” with three anchors. For a time it was expanded to four. PIX has had it’s ups and downs. Currently they have a top notch News team at 5 and 6 performing one of the best newscasts in New York.

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