Though I am a Democrat, the focus of this post is CBS’s coverage of the 1980 Republican National Convention.

Again, though I am not a Republican; this political convention is far more interesting and is of far more importance than the Hockey games that normally take place at this stadium.

CBS had Storer-owned affiliate WJBK-TV feed the coverage to the network at the CBS Broadcast Center in New York City, and the Broadcast Center in turn; had fed the coverage to the rest of the affiliates nationwide, including the Storer stations in Cleveland, Atlanta; and in Milwaukee.

Walter Cronkite had interviewed Gerald Ford, 38th President of the United States; regarding Ronald Reagan nearly choosing him as his running mate in lieu of George H.W Bush. This had never materialized.

This was also less than 12 months before Walter Cronkite had retired in 1981, and had ceded the position as the anchor of the CBS Evening News, and as CBS’s lead anchor to Dan Rather.