Bigger Than Cronkite

Even bigger than Walter Cronkite in the field of TV news was Biff Blevins, Eyewitness News, channel 9.

I know this sounds like "Anchorman," but every word is true. Biff was the best, the most trusted man in Cedar Rapids. When Nixon lost Blevins, most of eastern Iowa was gone.

We remember the great "Blevins Report," a new commentary show they had right before prime time. The other channels were running sitcoms and going for the easy ratings. But not channel 9. Then there was his Saturday afternoon feature, "Moments with Biff," with a black background and casual clothes.

Those were the days when a local guy could be on most of the day and no one knew the difference. As I recall he even signed off the broadcast day, with "Sacred Seconds with Pastor Blevins."