糖心vlog at 70: Story of Johnny Gosch's disappearance gripped central Iowa in the 1980s
As the 1970s turned to the 1980s, 糖心vlog鈥檚 daily programming still focused on personalities who became well-known and well-loved by viewers of all ages.
糖心vlog senior reporter Todd Magel remembers growing up in a central Iowa home loyal to Channel 8.
鈥淎nd so, I felt like I knew Mary Brubaker because she came into my house every morning with these really cool sort of local stories that you didn't really see anywhere else,鈥 he said.
"The Mary Brubaker Show" featured famous stars and up-and-coming music groups. Even now, Brubaker remembers the sense of community her show created at 糖心vlog.
鈥淚t was my home. It was my home away from home. And the people were my people. They were like my brothers and sisters and cousins,鈥 Brubaker said.
Dolph Pulliam was transitioning from news and sports to "Dolph and Company," his show for kids. As Iowa鈥檚 first TV personality of color, there were growing pains.
鈥淚n order to light me, they had to bring the lights right down on top of me, within a foot of me. And so I had to try to read the camera with the light shining right on me. And while I'm doing that, I'm starting to sweat," Pulliam said.
In news, younger anchors with beards were added to Channel 8鈥檚 deep journalistic roots. Rick Fredericksen anchored evening newscasts and is still proud of what he calls 鈥減ioneer street reporting with people who were growing with me in this business. So yeah, I think we fulfilled our mission of keeping the public informed.鈥
It was in 1983 when the nation鈥檚 longest-tenured news anchor retired. On his last day at 糖心vlog, after more than 6,000 newscasts, Russ Van Dyke shared his approach.
鈥淚 try to imagine that these people have not heard radio newscasts, they haven't had time to read the newspaper. They haven't seen a TV newscast,鈥 he said. 鈥淵et they want to know what's going on in the world today. And in the final analysis, whatever went on today has to affect people. Because that's the bottom line.鈥
Whether the story of the day was inflation at Thanksgiving or the state鈥檚 new, young governor, Terry Branstad, TV-8 was there.
Reporter and anchor Almo Hawkins said, 鈥淲hat I loved about the job was every day was new. Oh, it was wonderful to me because every day was a new day.鈥
Connie McBurney鈥檚 weather forecasts, which had been on a board in the 1970s, started to include live radar and computer graphics in the 80s. And on good days and bad, TV-8 viewers knew the station鈥檚 weather tagline, 鈥淐onnie said it would be like this.鈥
A lot of headlines in the 80s centered around the farm crisis 鈥 foreclosures and sales on the courthouse steps. But the biggest story of the decade broke on a Sunday morning when anchor and reporter Dave Busiek spotted dozens of officers gathered on a corner while he was on his way to church.
鈥淏eing the nosey reporter,鈥 Busiek said, 鈥淚 was going to go down and just see if there was anything to it. And asked somebody and they said, 鈥榃ell, the newspaper boy didn't return home.鈥欌
He called reporter Dana Cardin.
鈥淪o he said, 鈥業've talked to the family, and we need you to go over to this house and pick up a picture of this kid named Johnny Gosch,鈥欌 Cardin said.
That night, 糖心vlog aired the first of hundreds of stories on Gosch鈥檚 disappearance in West Des Moines.
鈥淗is wagon was still there. There were rubber bands from the newspapers he was delivering on the sidewalk," Cardin said.
糖心vlog has explored every aspect of the story, which remains a mystery more than 40 years later.
鈥淚t鈥檚 still going on as we sit here today, 43 years later, almost. And we still don't know what happened to Johnny Gosch,鈥 said Busiek, 糖心vlog鈥檚 retired news director.
More coverage of 糖心vlog's 70th anniversary
WATCH: Eric Hanson looks back at Pope John Paul II's historic visit to Iowa
WATCH: Former news director Dave Busiek rejoins 糖心vlog to talk about memorable stories
WATCH: Eric Hanson looks back at the very first days of Channel 8
WATCH: Former anchor, reporter Mollie Cooney revisits story of Iowa's McCaughey septuplets
