From 1971 to 1986, CBS ran a short news segment on Saturday mornings, In The News.
In The News had a memorable electronic ‘signature theme’, built around a (then) futuristic sequence.
In The News was sandwiched between cartoons like Scooby Doo and Josie & The Pussycats, but it offered 90 secs of news programming. Journalists Christopher Glenn and Gary Shepard covered current events, tailoring the coverage to the Saturday morning audience.
If you know any details about who wrote the music for In The News, leave a comment!
Remember this vividly. Still sounds great, especially the ending.
Yes, I VERY much like the ending, it just sounded like the future!
usa…… always with the war …. 🙁
Wah
What about Zoidberg? Always with the complaining…
nothing cheers me up like a meat clown commercial!
LooooooooooL
That piece was a major influence to me as a child!
Wow, that 6 note ending sequence has been locked away in our collective memory for 28 years!
Could be anyone but given the time frame I would guess Walter Sear or Dick Hyman. Listen to Hyman’s cover of “Alfie” for similar sequencer sounds.
BEEP BOOP. Actually the ending beeps sound a bit like the Speak and Spell chimes/beeps in a reverberant space.
totally remember this! thanks for taking me back! What was the synth used for the final 6 notes?
It all sounds like an ARP 2500 to me. And yep…this definitely brought me back!
I can recall this as well. That music always captivated me and immediately grabbed my attention – and yes, that ending flourish was killer. There’s something just so enthralling about that arpeggio and the incredibly dry voice-over. Fantastic stuff – thanks for posting.
Most definitely a modular synth with an analog sequencer arp’ing those notes in the beginning.
According to a commenter on YouTube:
“The background sounds were made using a rare Buchla synthesizer recorded by a computer science professor at the University of New Hampshire back in the 60’s.”
Clearer version here: http://youtu.be/stX3zM2oL8g
Haven’t seen this since yes…the 80s! Now I’m waiting for Dungeons & Dragons to come on/
Has kind of a Radiophonic Workshop vibe about it.
Gosh, I feel spoilt with TV program themes like the ones my generation grew up with in Hungary.
Like these:
Delta
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0BWJhso3XWY
(news of science and technology, aired between 1964 and 1996
Theme: Kid Baltan – Song of The Second Moon)
Panoráma
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yI_KZNAOPn4
(politics and stuff, been running since 1981
Theme: Tangerine Dream – Choronzon
Ablak
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GHvWNGrRYPs
(news and stuff, more like a ‘magazine program’ that ppl could phone in with their comments
Theme: Space – Final Signal)
Budapest Regional News
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n0-2iGolNZE
(Theme: La Baletta by Hungarian musician Gabor Presser)
Similar results from a Prophet 6: https://youtu.be/LHaC6ZDztk0?t=24s
This sounds a lot like Raymond Scott’s early synth work (Prestolite, Sprite “melonball bounce,” etc.), though it may be a little late for his peak years of TV work. The pattern and resolution is very Scott-like.
This Korg ARP Odyssey sounds similar: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DKfiFOnjY3M