Inside Albany to end 32-year run
On December 31, Inside Albany will complete 32 years of explaining New York state government and politics to television viewers across the state. We have produced more than 1,600 programs, covered countless stories and been honored with many awards from our peers, including the national Alfred I. duPont-Columbia University Award for excellence in broadcast journalism.
Inside Albany, one of the television’s longest-running public affairs programs, was created to bring attention and accountability to state government, the often overlooked middle child in news, wedged between coverage of Washington and City Hall. We went on the air in January, 1975 on public television stations in the Capital region, New York City, Long Island, Buffalo, Rochester, Syracuse, Binghamton, Watertown and Plattsburgh.
A Buffalo News columnist said Inside Albany “gives meaning to the issues and faces to the names.” The program was founded on the belief that the public needs to know how laws are made, why budgets are late and to actually see (not just talk about) the men and women who make decisions involving billions of dollars in annual spending.
While our beliefs remain constant, much has changed in journalism since we went on the air in the mid-1970’s to cover Governor Hugh Carey and the near bankruptcy of New York City. From the beginning, we have been able to take the time to sort through complicated issues and tell the big story. Our weekly deadline has given us the luxury to cover and connect separate news events and put them in perspective.
For many years, Inside Albany was broadcast at the same time statewide on all nine public broadcasting stations. It provided viewers thoughtful coverage of their state government that wasn’t available anywhere else on television. The internet, 24-hour cable news were still on the horizon. Blogs, YouTube and video streaming were unheard of.
The changing world of journalism is taking its toll on newspaper and broadcast companies. Circulation and viewership are down. Layoffs are announced with increasing frequency.
In 1996, Inside Albany became an independent journalistic entity that receives no funding from public television or government. We are proud to have kept the program on the air and to have maintained its quality. The financial support of viewers, public-spirited corporations, labor unions and foundations made that possible. We are very grateful.
However, while costs have increased, our budget and staff have not. Today we have three full-time people and one part-time person. In 1975, there were eight. The frustration of not being able to cover more stories and the strain of running a business while running after news has caused us to decide to end Inside Albany’s long run on December 31, 2006.
We are grateful for having had a front row seat on three decades of New York history. Inside Albany cameras have covered politicking at national conventions and in Albany back rooms, the cleanup of Love Canal and the shutdown of the Shoreham nuclear power plant. And viewers have had close-ups of political leaders from Warren Anderson and Stanley Fink to George Pataki and Eliot Spitzer. We have covered three governors, five Assembly Speakers, three Senate majority leaders and fifteen legislative elections.
At the request of Syracuse University, we donated 20 years of programs to the university library’s television history archive. We will soon turn over our remaining 11 years of programs. We are pleased to provide researchers with an invaluable visual political history of New York.
Lise Bang-Jensen
Gary Glinski
David Hepp
Diane Geary
Program #0652 ~ December 29, 2006
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32 years in review ~ A video trip through three decades of New York's political history.
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