Weekend (news program)
| Weekend | |
|---|---|
| Genre | News |
| Presented by | Lloyd Dobyns Linda Ellerbee |
| Language(s) | English |
| Broadcast | |
| Original channel | NBC |
| Original run | 20 October 1974 – 1 September 1979 |
Weekend was a television newsmagazine that ran on NBC from 1974 to 1979. It was originally aired in the same time slot as Saturday Night Live,[1] rotating in on those weekends when the SNL cast was not producing a show, which averaged about once per month. The program was awarded a George Foster Peabody medal in 1975 and attracted a small cult following.
The program was hosted by Lloyd Dobyns.[2] The show's creator and executive producer was past (and future) president of NBC News, Reuven Frank.[3] Together, Dobyns and Frank were largely responsible for the distinctive writing and quirky style of the program.
In 1978, NBC moved Weekend to prime time and placed the program in head-to-head competition with CBS's 60 Minutes.[1] Linda Ellerbee was added as Dobyns' co-host. Placed against the perennial CBS powerhouse, the show eventually died of poor ratings. A few years later, Ellerbee and Dobyns reunited to anchor another late-night NBC news program, NBC News Overnight.
The program was known for a somewhat less serious tone than such programs as 60 Minutes; comic relief included the use of humorous images (e.g., a trio of magazine covers, New York, The New Yorker, and the completely fictitious New Yorkest), and the occasional animated cartoon.
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