John Cameron Swayze Bob Barry's Unearthed Interviews

We’re going way back in television news history for this podcast. John Cameron Swayze had several jobs in radio and TV before moving on to TV news. The first use of the word anchorman was on a show that he anchored called “Who Said That?” NBC appointed John to host its national political convention coverage in 1948, the first commercial coverage by television. Swayze appeared on the “Camel News Caravan” where he was best known at the time for reporting on the Korean War. He got the job due to his amazing memory. He could recite the news without using a script. John was also known for doing the Timex commercials using the slogan, “It takes a licking and keeps on ticking.” His news catchphrases were: “Let’s go hopscotching the world for headlines” and he would sign off with, “That’s the story folks. Glad we could get together.” Dickie Goodman mocked him in a parody recording “The Flying Saucer.”