Only 25 years ago - Different, But Same

Paper Scripts - Remember?

I've finally begun digging through my old scripts (paper - achooo!!) and reviewing what was news 25 years ago.  That's 1985 - when I joined NBC4 in Washington.  Many of the issues then are the same today: improving airport security after several hijackings and the murder, by hijackers, of US Navy Diver Robert Stetham (hometown Waldorf, MD).

Members of Congress called for more air marshals, more R&D money to detect explosives, tighter carry on luggage inspection, including "physical" inspection.  Up for discussion was the International Airport Security Safety Bill.

The big controversy in Washington, DC during the Summer was the anticipated 4th of July concert by the Beach Boys.

The Federal Computer Conference featured 300 exhibitors.  The key phrases were netowrking - ways to make computers make by different  manufacturers talk to each other.  InfoWorld reported a 12-megabyte memory board for an IBM PC was featured at the show.  For many years, the performance of the computer was most important; what you could do with it was starting to catch up.

And laws were starting to catch up with some computer users, namely the use of pedophiles to brag and share pictures.Virginia, among other jurisdictions, were calling for laws to protect children.

A computer company named Seequa had some financial problem and decided to auction off office equipment and 320 of its computers.  An attorney for the the software company that came up with SuperCalc3 showed up with a temporary restraining order to prevent the software from being auctioned off with the computers.  Computers back then retailed for about $2500.

Shades of bank bailouts!  Maryland's Savings and Loan crisis came to a head.  Governor Harry Hughes called a special session of the legislature. Some people went to jail.

And 1985 ended with a lot of stories about Christmas shopping, but no mention of online sales.