The comment from the archivist in TN was interesting -- once they gathered up all the old news footage and made it accessible to the university community, everyone found a use for something in the collection. I suspect it will be similar with the massive pile of VHS tapes. Since history is made up of connected events that seem to happen in waves, most old footage of truly newsworthy events will come back around to relevant at some future point. All too often, the day's events and crisis are deja vu all over again. Unfortunately, reviewing the news coverage of the last time we drove of the rails this way doesn't ever seem to provide a learning experience, just the strange comfort of knowing we're making the same dumb mistake, again. There is one slight error in the article. Saying the networks were too "modest" to keep recordings of their newscasts is being more than charitable. It was a dollars and cents decision, 2" videotape cost$$$$. So, often, tapes were erased after delay-broadcasts and reused. As far as I can tell, based on who goes to the archives most often, CBS kept more footage than anyone else. ----- Original Message ----- From: "Peter Hirsch" <[log in to unmask]> To: <[log in to unmask]> Sent: Saturday, November 23, 2013 12:29 AM Subject: [ARSCLIST] Solo video news archivist > *To those offended by off-topic postings, forgive me for sending this link > that I was made aware of via the ARCHIVES list. I know that is not > recorded-sound-related but it clearly touches on an issue that possesses > most of us to some degree. Like most accounts of extreme collecting > behavior, it both appalls and inspires.* > > *http://tinyurl.com/mf7pfvh <http://tinyurl.com/mf7pfvh>* > > *Peter Hirsch* > *NYPL* > >