mikemcguff.com: One Year After Eyewitness News Creator’s Death, Story of Houston Friendship Surface

Wendy Granato and Michael Quinn

September 29, 2023 marks one year of the passing of Al Primo, the man who created the Eyewitness News concept for the ABC Owned and Operated television stations in the mid to late 1960s.

Former KNWS-TV51 anchor Michael Quinn tells us for the first time about his unique low-key friendship with the ‘Father of Eyewitness News’, Al Primo:

I never met Al Primo, but we talked several times a year. Only a few people knew that I had a connection with Al.
We became friends over the phone – either he would call me…or I would call him. We would talk about Detroit and WXYZ-TV, Channel 7, where that market’s legendary Bill Bonds once worked for several decades…or his time in New York when he ran the news operation for WABC, Channel 7, with anchors Bill Buetel and Roger Grimsby…and, there was stories about Philadelphia and KYW-TV where Mort Crim worked (where Al first implemented the Eyewitness News concept—KYW rose to #1 in the ratings—he would tweak the format when he left for WABC-TV), Chicago, Miami, Los Angeles and San Francisco…and of course we talked about Houston and KTRK-TV, our city’s own Channel 13, where we have our own legendary Dave Ward, now retired. Dave Ward and Mort Crim are the only two original Eyewitness News anchors left for us to honor and pick their brains for advice about television news.
How did our unique friendship begin?
Al Primo and I connected in 2013 on social media – then he called. He enjoyed talking about television. I was very nervous...this was the guy newsrooms around the country need to thank for starting faster-paced newscasts, ‘happy talk’ between anchors, better use of sound bites…the list goes on. When he called the second time, I was at ease. Year after year, we talked about the television news industry.
As many know, one of my long-time friends is former TV51 anchor Wendy Granato…now President and General Manager of KTRK-TV, Channel 13. Every year, I like to do something different for Wendy’s birthday –and for two- years in a row, once while Wendy was still Vice President of News and once as President and General Manager – I still remember where I was, in my SUV, driving up Kirby, I just crossed Richmond Avenue, Al was returning my call, “Al I have a favor to ask”…I had asked Al Primo to call her on her birthday. Al was happy to have been asked to do it. This is the kind of guy he was – I figured he had guided the ABC O&O’s in the late 1960s and into the 1970s – it would just be a nice gesture.
He really was the nicest person in the world—and he would call me back to tell me that he had called Wendy to wish her ‘Happy Birthday’. In August of 2022, I had checked in on him – his daughter had texted me from Al’s cell number that he was sick. Al Primo died on September 29, 2022.
It was really a great experience to know the man who thought up the concept of Eyewitness News. I was the kid who would draw news sets when I was age 4 and 5. There were drawings all over my room. At that age it was all I ever wanted to do. In college, to interned at WXYZ-TV, Channel 7 and to work years later at KTRK-TV, Channel 13 – and for a ten-year span to know the man who helped create what we see as modern-day television news, Eyewitness News. Al, thank you for your friendship and I know Wendy appreciated those kind birthday calls, too.
As the kid who drew hundreds of news sets, and dreams of being a television news anchorman…and made it...from me to you – may you rest in peace, my friend. I miss our conversations.