WGN Channel 9 - Nightbeat with Marty McNeeley - "A Nightbeat New Year" (Part 1, 1983)

Here's Part 1 of Nightbeat with Marty McNeeley on WGN Channel 9. Also featuring Bill Covington (of Independent Network News) and the voice of Pat Harper (from WGN's sister station in New York, WPIX Channel 11). Includes:

Animated WGN station ID with aerial shot of Chicago skyline at sunset in background

Nightbeat opening titles (way different from what was used in 1970's and early '80's)

Marty McNeeley opens the newscast by reporting on New Year's Eve celebrations in Chicago, which was also beginning commemorations of its 150th birthday. Shots of New Year's Eve celebrations at Pioneer Court on North Michigan Avenue at the river, including some of the thousands who attended, a malfunctioning digital countdown clock and fireworks displays, are shown. He promises more footage will be shown at the end of this edition.

Three New York police officers and one civilian injured in New Year's Eve explosions in and around four government buildings in that city; one of the officers' legs was nearly severed. Several groups, including the Palestine Liberation Organization and Puerto Rican terrorist group FALN, claim responsibility for the blasts.

Three people killed and more than 118 injured in London's Trafalgar Square during New Year's celebrations there after a portion of a crowd of 50,000 were involved in a stampede; more than 30 are arrested.

Thousands of lower Mississippi Valley residents are evacuated because of rising waters after New Year's Eve rains; INN's Bill Covington reports from Monroe, LA, and Louisiana Governor Dave Treen is interviewed in connection with his tour of the area.

Marty introduces a report on easing racial tensions in Miami, leading into part of the INN feed with the voice of Pat Harper reporting:

- File footage (from NBC) of Orange Bowl parade festivities in Miami, with shots of floats and marching bands; the procession also went through the vicinity of the Overtown ghetto which was plagued by days of racial tensions and strife which in turn nearly led to the parade's cancellation this New Year's; on Tuesday (December 28th) police officer Luis Alvarez had shot and killed a young black man, 20-year-old Neville Johnson, Jr., at a neighborhood video arcade, setting off disturbances which only lessened on the 31st.

Alderman Roman Pucinski of the Polish American Congress says the lifting of martial law in Poland was to appease Western banks, and says that the oppression of the Poles will continue under their current government. Pucinski had spoken by phone on Friday (the 31st) with Polish Solidarity leader Lech Walesa who thanked Chicagoans for their support.

More violence in and around Beirut, Lebanon, as Israeli and Lebanese leaders prepare for more peace talks, with neither side optimistic about a deal being reached on Monday.

Nightbeat bumper slide

Commercial: Cat's Auto Parts - deals on used tires, mufflers and batteries for $8.88; carbs, calipers, drums starters only $12.99; used doors, fenders, windshields and radiators for $39.00 (on most cars); automatic transmissions and rear ends, only $69.00 and up; engines for $125.00 and up; and free towing (voiceover by Jack Taylor)

This aired on local Chicago TV early Saturday, January 1st 1983.

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