Dann Shively Interview: #1. Pilot of the Airwaves by Alex Cosper on Feb. 6, 2012 This video kicks off the first of five interviews with Dann Shively, who worked as a Pilot reporting on Sacramento traffic for KCRA TV and Radio. Dann confirms that KCRA was the first radio and TV station in town to regularly report on news from the sky. KCRA's sister radio station formerly under Kelly Broadcasting was 1320 AM, which was first called KCRA then in the 1980s it became Tribune Broadcasting's KGNR and was a vibrant news force. Dann joined KCRA AM in 1972 at first to produce morning radio news then to report on news from the sky for KCRA. In 1979 the TV station purchased its first copter, which Dann used for live televised traffic reports. Dann had gained flying experience while serving in the military in the late sixties, which prepared him for decades of traffic reporting. This video series of five brief interviews produced by Joe-G reflects on Dann's career as one of Sacramento's longest running local media figures who saw Sacramento evolve from the broadest of perspectives. Dann retired from KCRA in the summer of 2011 but maintains exciting memories of his extensive career. Although he spent time at several stations, he enjoyed the most consistency and longevity with KCRA, Sacramento's most watched TV station. |
Dann Shively Interview: #2. Early Radio Days by Alex Cosper on Feb. 6, 2012 Here's part 2 of 5 brief interviews with Dann Shively, who talks about his radio career before entering television. He started out spinning tunes at a low budget daytime-only Vallejo station in 1958. It was a time when DJs played their own selections but also had to work somewhere else to afford working in radio. A decade later he was as Sac State's KERS along with future KZAP jocks Charlie Weiss and Paul Merriam. His first television job was working part time at KVIE Channel 6 as a cameraman and then worked as a production assistant at KXTV Channel 10. Dann then was drafted and served in the U.S. Marine Corps in the late sixties. His experience put him in the public affairs department. After a few years Dann returned to Channel 10 as production assistant and learned more about television before getting deeper into reporting radio news. He also retured to radio at country AM station KRAK doing a Sunday morning show. After that he did weekend news on KXOA FM, which working at Channel 10. He then moved to Chico to learn a lot more about film editing. He came back to Sacramento in 1972 to work for KCRA radio then televsion. The interview was conducted Feb. 1, 2012 and presents interesting local radio history. As Dann points out, times have changed for people pursing radio jobs. It used to be, as he describes, you could meet with a radio owner and promise to sweep the floors and next thing you knew you were doing a radio show. It's amazing that Dann did it when he was only 12 years old. He is happy to have been a part of that era. |
Dann Shively Interview: #3. Helicopter Stories by Alex Cosper on Feb. 6, 2012 Dann Shively recalls big storiees throughout his long career as KCRA's pilot. His first story for KCRA Radio was reporting on the F-86 plane crash in September 1972 at an Executive Airport air show, killing 22 people at Farrell's Ice Cream Parlour. The incident made national news. Dann also recalls the San Francisco earthquake of 1989 in which KCRA went to 24 hour news reporting, during a time when he was one of the anchors. He also talks about an incident in which he helped authorities in a casino bomb threat. He explains how KCRA owned the helicopter, which allowed the station to do a lot more coverage from the sky. Over time he became synonymous in town with the copter as its image became a familiar part of Sacramento scenery. The copter gave the station a large supply of exclusive video. Other stories he recalls include the Alpine Meadows avalanche in the 1980s and presidential visits. This interview is the third of five produced on Feb. 1, 2012 by Joe-G. |
Dann Shively Interview: #4. Live TV Reporting by Alex Cosper on Feb. 6, 2012 In this brief part 4 of 5 interview segments, Dann Shively explains how he was able to do live reports from the ground fed to the chopper. He's referring to what he was talking about in part 3 about a casino bomb explosion at Harvey's in the 80s. This brief clip was isolated from the discussion due to its emphasis on the technical side of broadcasting. It explains how KCRA was able to scoop the news before anyone else on so many stories. Many stories developed just from Dann flying around looking for smoke, flooding or traffic slowdowns. |
Dann Shively Interview: #5. Sacramento Traffic by Alex Cosper on Feb. 6, 2012 This video wraps up the five part SacTV interview series with Dann Shively, who talks about his familiarity with Northern California and the layout of Sacramento streets. He comments on the hand-crafted SacTV map in the background and says he was more familiar with Sacramento from the air than the ground, as he would find news stories just from flying above Sacramento 800 feet and higher. He scanned for forest fires in the summer, looking for bright spots through haze. In 2010 he was able to cover the Galleria fire in Roseville, despite spending the day earlier taking aerial shots in the Salinas/Monterey area for KCRA's sister TV station there, KSBW (Channel 8). KCRA received an Emmy Award for the station's coverage of the Galleria fire. Sacramento's growth as a metropolis has created heavier traffic congestion. Dann remembers how under-developed the highways were when he started at KCRA in 1972. Highway 50 ended past Watt Avenue with a big space between Sacramento and Rancho Cordova, I-80 was the bypass 880 and Highway 99 was the main North-South highway before I-5. "When the freeways opened, population followed it seems," he observes, remembering how traffic would only be heavy for about 20 minutes in the morning with only a few major intersections jammed up. These days traffic stays heavy in many places weekeday mornings and early afternoons through early evenings. A few days before his retirement, Dann's reporting caught the area's first tornado live on the air. Since retiring from television broadcasting in July 2011 Dann has been relaxing and working on video projects. His experience reporting on major events from the air is unique, bold and memorable. His story coincides with many local historic events in which he delivered the news first. His longevity in the broadcast industry spanning decades is also noteworthy considering all the names and faces that have come and gone in local media. |