Description: Interview with Li'l Abner cartoonist and political satirist Al Capp in his Cambridge home. He talks about evading his father's creditors, and scheming to take semesters at various arts schools around the city. He says he likes the Boston view of the world, and talks about the influence Boston has had on his work. He talks about turning conservative. He criticizes American presidents, calling Gerald Ford ‘clumsy’ and Jimmy Carter ‘weak.’ He talks about working on Li'l Abner with a team of men.
Collection: Ten O'Clock News
Date Created: 11/04/1977
Description: Back Bay Amtrak station entrance. Train, viewed from above, starts up and moves slowly along tracks. Train histle and bells. Railroad bed. Commuter train pulls up, passengers board. Two trains pass in opposite directions. Looking down tracks to old and new Hancock buildings. Orange line elevated structure along Washington Street. T train passes overhead with typical clunking sound; congested vehicular traffic below. Camera moves on complex steel skeleton of tracks above.
Collection: Ten O'Clock News
Date Created: 10/04/1977
Description: Andrew Young, Ambassador to the United Nations, speaks at the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University. He takes questions about the UN, divestment from South Africa, the Middle East peace process and the Carter Administration. He also discusses his transition from the civil rights movement to politics. Young has a good rapport with the students in the audience.
0:00:44: Visual: Andrew Young (Ambassador to the United Nations) speaks at the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University. A representative from the school sits on stage while Young speaks. Young talks about the Trilateral Commission. He says that the Trilateral Commission "is the rich people of the world getting together to talk." Young says that UN has been criticized for being a part of the "Western Bloc"; that five members of the UN Security Council are western nations; that the UN must make policy with all nations in mind. Young describes UN efforts to initiate an arms embargo against South Africa; that the UN resolution on South Africa was not as strong as many would have liked; that the resolution is effective because all of South Africa's trading partners have agreed on it. Young mentions the "North-South dialogue." He says that it is important for nations to deal with issues like trade, debt relief and foreign aid as a group; that the Trilateral Commission is a negotiating group. Young says that there are competition and adversarial relationships among members of the Trilateral Commission; that the members of the Trilateral Commission are competing with each other, not with the Third World. 0:04:12: V: Young responds to an audience member's question about the UN Security Council. Young says that the US, France and England are permanent members of the Security Council; that France and Canada hold two of the rotating seats. Young has a good rapport with the crowd. The crowd laughs at his jokes. An audience member asks about UN policy in Africa. Young says that he does not think pressure should be put on US corporations to divest from South Africa. Young adds that companies would continue to invest in South Africa through complicated transactions using foreign subsidiaries. Young notes that the students at Harvard should be learning all about the complicated finances of multi-national corporations. Young says that nothing would change through divestment; that US corporations are complicit with the government of South Africa; that change can be wrought through the guilt felt by these corporations. He notes that the students should continue to put pressure on Harvard's Board of Directors to divest from South Africa. He says that students should be idealistic, while administrators like him must be realistic. An audience member asks about the Carter Administration's policy in the Middle East. Young says that Jimmy Carter (US President) has been willing to expend political capital pushing for a peace settlement in the Middle East. Young says that Carter has never tried to impose peace on the parties involved in the conflict. Young says that Anwar Sadat (President of Egypt) has moved boldly to move the peace process forward; that the Carter Administration must work with Sadat; that the USSR must be forced to participate in the peace process; that the USSR will undermine the peace process if they are not involved. Young notes that Sadat and the Soviets have had a difficult relationship. 0:12:55: V: An audience member asks how he can remain morally conscious when the policy he conducts for the US is not always morally conscious. Young says that protest movements in the 1960s have led to a reawakening of the nation's moral conscience; that the Carter Administration was voted into office by morally conscious voters. Young notes that it is easier to protest than it is to govern; that the Carter Administration is staffed with idealistic, moral people of all races and ethnicities. Young notes that he chose to enter politics to put his ideals into action; that effective change can be made through politics as well as protest. Young talks about his experiences in the civil rights movement and the movement against the Vietnam War. Young says that there was a logical progression from the protest movements of the 1960s to the politics of change in the 1970s. Young says that he took his post in order to effect change in foreign policy; that foreign policy issues and domestic policy are closely related; that he has not compromised his ideals in performing his job. Young jokes that he tries to stand up for what is right while doing his job; that he might be looking for a new job someday because of that; that perhaps Harvard will hire him if he ever needs a job. The audience laughs at the joke. 0:18:30: V: An audience member asks Young if he has seen an increase in "television diplomacy." Young says that he has seen an increase in "television diplomacy." Young responds to another audience question. Young says that the Carter Administration is staffed with people who are advocating change; that these people were outside of politics before. Young notes that Ernie Green (Assistant Secretary for Manpower) was one of the students who integrated Little Rock High School in 1958; that Green is working hard to create jobs within the African American communities; that he has been working on the problem for only six months. Young notes that an African American lawyer from Harvard helped prepare the brief for the Bakke court case. Young notes that Patricia Harris is Carter's Secretary for Housing and Urban Development. Young says that African American organizations needs to work within the structure of the government; that the activists in the civil rights movement were working with the Kennedy Administration in the early 1960s.
Collection: Ten O'Clock News
Date Created: 12/06/1977
Description: Back Bay environs with snow. Commonwealth Avenue mall. Facades of townhouses, street lanterns. Traffic, Kasanoff's bakery truck. Massachusetts Avenue. Prudential Tower. White Hen Pantry Food Store, College House Pharmacy, The Hawk Shops, Chester A. Baker Pharmacy. White Fuel sign atop flatiron building. Kenmore Square storefronts: The Fatted Calf, Strawberries, CVS, Paperback Booksmith, Bottled Liquors, Kenmore Army & Navy Store. Citgo sign.
Collection: Ten O'Clock News
Date Created: 01/06/1977
Description: Downtown exteriors of Boston banks. Monolithic view of Federal Reserve Bank from Summer Street. High rises in financial district. Keystone building. Severe angle view of Shawmut. Revolving clock at entrance to State Street Bank. Hornblower & Weeks, Hemphill, Noyes sign. First National Bank of Boston. Gillette headquarters along water.
Collection: Ten O'Clock News
Date Created: 11/25/1977
Description: No audio. First half runs in black and white, second half in color. Exteriors of Boston City Hall, wide and close shots. People crossing plaza, and going through revolving door at entrance to City Hall. Municipal workers exit building; some carry briefcases.
Collection: Ten O'Clock News
Date Created: 04/11/1977
Description: Several takes of reporter standup on the Boston Public Library having to shut down the bookmobile. Exteriors of Boston Public Library older (McKim) building. Pan of the inscription “The Commonwealth requires the education of the people as the safeguard of order and liberty.” Move to the attached modern building entrance. Interiors of the Library. Sign reads “Effective Sunday, February 13, the Library will be closed on Sundays until further notice.” Patrons in line at circulation desk in lobby. Librarian stamps due dates on borrowing cards. Patrons at reading tables in research room.
Collection: Ten O'Clock News
Date Created: 03/15/1977
Description: Interview with Buckminster Fuller. He discusses his work with gang members in New York, Chicago, and Los Angeles, teaching them the mathematics to build geodesic domes. He discusses the way the United States treats older people and medical treatment. He talks about human potential, productivity, and the ability to receive and process information. He discusses paranormal ideas and scientific discoveries. He talks about his daughter who died when she was four. He says that he has no fear of death. He talks very quickly throughout the interview. Reporter Art Cohen poses for cutaways and reasks several of the questions after the interview.
Collection: Ten O'Clock News
Date Created: 02/10/1977
Description: African American beachgoers are escorted onto Carson Beach in South Boston by Metropolitan District Commission (MDC) police officers. Officers are posted on the beach, forming a ring around the African American beachgoers. Police officers station themselves at the edge of the water as children play. Police officers line up near the recreation building, observing the action on the beach. Three MDC police boats patrol the water. Three white males are escorted from the beach. White beachgoers stand around, observing the scene.
0:00:26: Visual: Four Metropolitan District Commission (MDC) police officers escort a small group of African American youth on to Carson Beach in South Boston. There are white swimmers and sunbathers on the beach. The Boston skyline is visible in the distance. A group of older white men sit under a shelter near the road. Cars pass by slowly on the road. Groups of white people sit under the shelters or sunbathe on the sand. 0:01:50: V: A larger group of African Americans walk on to the beach, accompanied by police officers. The group of African Americans ranges in age from young kids to adults. The group walks along the beach, heading toward the recreation building. Young African American children play in the water along the shore. Police officers stand casually on the beach as the African American beachgoers get settled . An older white man greets some of the African American youth. White beachgoers are seated near the African American beachgoers. Many whites stare at the African Americans. MDC police officers are lined up near the recreation building, observing the scene on the beach. 0:06:25: V: White residents and beachgoers are standing up, watching the African American beachgoers and the police on the beach. Police officers walk among the crowd. A police officer escorts a white man from the beach. A large line of MDC police officers circles approaches the recreation building to join the other group of officers. Approximately 50 police officers stand in front of the recreation building. Two helmeted police officers escort another white man from the beach. Another group of police officers walks toward the beach. A group of 20 more African Americans are escorted onto the beach by a police officer. 0:09:31: V: An older white man with a walkie talkie walks down the beach toward the crowd. Police officers stand at the edge of the water while African American children play. A few white beachgoers mill about near the police officers. Most white beachgoers sit separately from the African American beachgoers. Other white beachgoers observe the scene from further up the beach. A group of police officers stands in front of the recreation building. A group of five African American adults walk down the beach toward the African American beachgoers. They are followed by a police officer. 0:12:05: V: African American beachgoers are seated in small groups on the beach. A line of police officers forms a ring around them. A group of white beachgoers stands nearby. Shot of a young white boy sitting by himself on the beach. African American children play in the water. MDC police officers stand at the edge of the water. White beachgoers stand near the police officers, watching the African American children. The African American beachgoers enjoy themselves. Police stand by. The media record the scene. White beachgoers stand around in groups. Two MDC Police boats patrol the water. 0:15:33: V: A line of MDC police officers with riot helmets stands in front of the recreation building. MDC police officers observe the action on the beach from the MDC boats in the water. A line of police cordons off the African American beachgoers from the white beachgoers. Members of the media and white bystanders stand near the African American beachgoers. White beachgoers sit and stand apart from the African American beachgoers. Two police officers escort a young white man from the beach. A group of African American beachgoers heads toward the recreation building.
Collection: Ten O'Clock News
Date Created: 08/03/1977
Description: Tight shots of many customers' hands paying for merchandise with dollars at checkout counter of discount store. Sound effect of old fashioned cash register. Transaction with BankAmericard (Visa). Cashier places credit card and charge slip on sliding metal plate to make impression of number; then checks printed list of invalid account numbers. Reporter explains different ways to pay including cash and check, and the increasing availability of charge cards or electronic money.
Collection: Ten O'Clock News
Date Created: 08/11/1977
Description: Celtics vs Houston Rockets with Moses Malone. John Havlicek, Scott, Curtis Rowe, JoJo White, Dave Cowens. Souvenirs for sale. Fans entering Boston Garden. Audience says tickets cost about $9 per seat. They discuss ticket pricing and player salary.
Collection: Ten O'Clock News
Date Created: 04/06/1977
Description: Charles Park Reservation along the Charles River watershed near the Dedham/Needham line. Woodsy area with snow cover. Footage from a moving car. Camera operator directs driver to get a better shot. Closeups on signs, including Dedham/Needham town line.
Collection: Ten O'Clock News
Date Created: 02/23/1977
Description: Charles Street Jail exteriors. A reporter asks members of administration about issues with the Charles Street Jail and Deer Island regarding the possibility of a new combined facility. Stated problems with building a new jail include security and the size of the proposed site. Charles Street physical plant issues include plumbing, recreation facilities, eating facilities, kitchen facilities, and noise level.
Collection: Ten O'Clock News
Date Created: 01/25/1977
Description: Bunker Hill Monument, exteriors of Charlestown High School, and Charlestown environs. A few police officers are stationed along Monument Square outside of Charlestown High School. Robert Murphy (Headmaster, Charlestown High School) stands in front of the school. School buses, accompanied by a police motorcycle escort, pull up in front of the school. African American students exit the buses and enter the school. Police officer tells camera operator that there is a standing order that the press has to remain across the street. A small number of photographers record the arrival of the buses from across the street. White students walks towards school and enter. Gary Griffith does several takes of reporter standup saying that the arrival of school buses at Charlestown High School was routine.
0:00:18: Visual: Shots of the Bunker Hill Monument; of the exterior of Charlestown High School. Two police officers stand outside of Charlestown High School. A white woman walks into the school. A muffled voice yells out, "No busing." Robert Murphy (Headmaster, Charlestown High School) stands out in front of the high school. Shot of Concord Street. Police motorcycles approach the school. Five police officers on motorcycles receive instructions from a police official. The motorcycles pull away. 0:03:41: V: School buses circle Monument Square and approach the high school. Police motorcycles escort the buses. A police officer stands near a Boston Police Department station wagon parked across the street from the high school. The officer watches the buses pull up in front of the school. African American students exit the buses and enter the school. Shot of the Hudson Bus Lines logo on one of the buses. The school buses pull away from the high school, accompanied by the police motorcycles. Murphy, a police officer, and a few school officials remain in front of the school. 0:07:06: V: White students walk toward the entrance of the school. Murphy and another school official greet a few of the students. A police officer is heard telling members of the media to move across the street. Two police officers stand casually on the corner of Bartlett Street and Monument Square. White students walk toward the school. Fewer than ten members of the media record the scene from the sidewalk across the street. A Hudson Bus Lines airport van pulls up in front of the school. An African American student is inside of the van. The van pulls away. The sidewalk in front of the school is empty. Some members of the media depart as two police officers walk up the opposite side of the street. Murphy speaks to two police officers on the corner of Bartlett Street and Monument Square. A man in a business suit speaks to a two-person camera crew. The street is quiet. Murphy and a police officer walk toward the school. 0:12:11: V: Gary Griffith stands outside of Charlestown High School. Griffith reports on the routine arrival of five buses at the high school this morning. He reports that there is no sign of unrest. The crew does two more takes of Griffith reporting on the story.
Collection: Ten O'Clock News
Date Created: 09/08/1977
Description: Building which houses the offices of the Boston Housing Authority in Charlestown. Rundown buildings in the Bunker Hill Housing Project in Charlestown. Many of the buildings have boarded up windows or broken windows. Trash is visible along the sidewalks and walkways in front of the buildings. Shots of a series of photographs of a meeting between Joseph Timilty and Jimmy Carter. Interview with John Vitagliano (Boston Housing Inspection Commissioner). He says that the city of Boston must renovate its existing public housing instead of building new public housing. Vitagliano believes that a program of private-housing subsidies would be superior to the present public housing program. He says that the disastrous environment in public housing developments contributes to a cycle of poverty; that public-housing tenants and private landlords would benefit from a private-housing subsidies program. Vitagliano suggests that public-housing projects be shut down and sold to private developers. He admits that Boston's public housing projects are de facto segregated
1:00:02: Visual: Footage of the exterior of the Boston Housing Authority (BHA) building on Bunker Hill Street in Charlestown. The building is brick and covered with ivy. There are a few, small broken windows on the building. An elderly white woman enters the building. Shots of Bunker Hill Street; of the housing project buildings on Bunker Hill Street. 1:02:58: V:Shots of boarded up windows in a housing project building in Charlestown; of other housing project buildings. A street sweeping vehicle passes slowly in the street. The cameraman jokes about the rarity of seeing a street sweeper in Boston. A police cruiser drives slowly down the street. Shot of a housing project building at 90 Decatur Street. Shot of a boarded up window on the building. Obscene graffiti is written on the board which covers the window. Shots of broken windows in an apartment in another housing project building. Shot of a young white boy playing with a garden hose outside of the building at 90 Decatur Street. The bottom windows of the building are all boarded up. Shots of a nearby housing project which looks to be in better condition. Shots of the housing project building with broken windows. Trash is visible on the ground around the housing project buildings. 1:07:41: V: Shots of black and white photos of a meeting between Jimmy Carter (US President) and Joseph Timilty (State Senator). 1:09:32: V: Footage of John Vitagliano (Boston Housing Inspection Commissioner) being interviewed by Marjorie Arons in his office. Arons notes that there are substantial numbers of substandard public housing units in Massachusetts. Arons asks how decent housing will be provided. Arons asks if new buildings will be built or if old buildings will be rehabilitated. Vitagliano says that many federal programs are geared toward building new housing in cities; that these programs are not geared to the needs of older cities like Boston. Vitagliano says that the city needs funds to rehabilitate existing housing. Vitagliano says that five or ten older buildings in the city could be rehabilitated for the same amount of money needed to build one new building. Vitagliano notes that the cost of new housing continues to increase. Arons asks if there are enough housing units being built, or if people are unable to afford to buy housing. Vitagliano says that most people cannot afford to buy newly built homes. Arons asks about providing tenants with subsidies which would allow them to buy a private home. Vitagliano says that subsidies for private housing purchases allows public-housing tenants to escape the "ghetto environment" of public housing projects. Vitagliano says that subsidies for private housing purchases put tenants in a "normal" neighborhood environment; that these subsidies allow tenants to break out of the cycle of poverty. Vitagliano says that the environment in public housing projects is a "disaster." Vitagliano says that subsidies for private housing purchases provide benefits for homeowners who rent to these tenants. Vitagliano says that public-housing tenants could be matched up with private homeowners to fill vacant apartments; that smaller landlords would not face vacancies. Arons asks if subsidies for private housing purchases would have an inflationary effect on rents. Arons notes that there may not be enough private housing options for public-housing tenants. Vitagliano says that a small inflationary trend could result. Vitagliano says that a program which subsidizes private housing purchases would cost no more than the present program. Vitagliano notes that 10% of the city's population is housed in public housing projects under the present program. Vitagliano says that a tremendous amount of money is spent on the maintenance of existing public-housing units. Vitagliano says that the public housing buildings occupy valuable land in the city; that the city could be receiving tax money on that land if it were held privately. Vitagliano says that the city could sell the land to private developers if the public housing units were shut down. Vitagliano says that private developers could develop commercial buildings or private housing; that the city would receive tax money on those buildings. Vitagliano says that he has no detailed analysis to prove that a subsidies would cost less than public housing. Vitagliano says that he suspects that subsidies would cost no more than public housing. Arons asks if a housing subsidy program would have a short-term inflationary effect on rents. Vitagliano says that it is difficult to predict what would happen. Vitagliano says that any negative short-term effects would be balanced out by long-term benefits. Arons comments that some middle-income tenants receive housing aid under the present program. Arons asks if the middle-income tenants would be left out if subsidies for private housing were only provided to welfare recipients. Vitagliano says that money should not be diverted from welfare to housing; that money from another program should be diverted to fund both welfare and housing. Arons asks if subsidies for private housing would provide a reason to extend the rent control program. Vitagliano says that the concept of private housing subsidies is still theoretical; that he does not want to guess at the effect of subsidies on rent control. Arons closes the interview. The crew takes cutaway shots of Arons and Vitagliano. Arons asks how minorities and large families would fare in the private housing market if they were provided with subsidies. Vitagliano says that the public housing developments in Boston are just as segregated as the private housing market. Vitagliano says that the court has criticized Boston's segregated housing projects. Vitagliano admits that there are very few racially mixed housing projects in Boston. Vitagliano says that minorities and large families would have no more trouble in the private housing market than they have in the BHA system. Arons talks with the cameraman.
Collection: Ten O'Clock News
Date Created: 07/21/1977
Description: Chinatown environs. Bilingual sign for Beach Street near expressway. Traffic, congested parking, Cantonese and other restaurants, Bob Lee's Islander, market, storefronts, modernistic mural on side of building. Chinese Merchants Association building. Entrance to Chinese Local Development Corporation. Asian figures in bas relief on facade.
Collection: Ten O'Clock News
Date Created: 11/28/1977
Description: Combat Zone environs. Marquees and store signs: “adult movies,” “uncensored books,” “nude review,” “XXX.” Publix Theater, Pussycat Cinema, Naked i, Two O'Clock Lounge. New England Medical Center adjacent. Display of pornographic materials and erotic books. District police headquarters sign and police station on Washington Street.
Collection: Ten O'Clock News
Date Created: 02/15/1977
Description: Construction site generics. Pile driver makes repeated loud pounding noise. Backhoe with giant swiveling armature scoops dirt and releases it into dump truck. Equipment from J.F. White contracting company. Striped safety barrier with amber flashing light. Hard hat workers on scaffolding. Project is Blodgett pool building at athletic center across from Harvard Business School. Port-O-San outhouse. 'Hazardous Area' and 'Restricted Access: Hard Hats Required' signs.
Collection: Ten O'Clock News
Date Created: 06/21/1977
Description: Interiors of Deer Island House of Corrections. Shots of occupied and unoccupied cells. Shots of cell block. Guard walks down cell block. Graffiti on cell walls. Prisoner walks through cafeteria. Exteriors of Deer Island House of Corrections. Camera operator and reporter discuss composition of shots throughout.
Collection: Ten O'Clock News
Date Created: 01/27/1977
Description: Deer Island prison exterior with snow. Main brick dormitory and several outbuildings. Boston skyline across harbor with whitecaps on waves. Plane flying low on approach to Logan Airport touches down on runway in distance.
Collection: Ten O'Clock News
Date Created: 01/27/1977