WPIX-TV New York's Yule Log Celebrates 40 Years

WPIX-TV New York's Yule Log Celebrates 40 Years

WPIX to Air Holiday Special Detailing History of the Yule Log Plus Digitally Re-Mastered Soundtrack

NEW YORK, Nov. 28 /PRNewswire/ -- In celebration of the Yule Log's 40th anniversary this year, The CW11/WPIX-TV New York will air "The WPIX Yule Log: A Log's Life," a 60-minute holiday special detailing the history of the Yule Log, the famous film loop of a burning log in a hearth that has mesmerized viewers since it first premiered on WPIX-TV in 1966. In addition, WPIX has digitally re-mastered the Yule Log's 3-hour music soundtrack.

The Yule Log has always served as a holiday card to WPIX viewers, and this year it will be paired with "The WPIX Yule Log: A Log's Life." The historical special, produced by WPIX, traces the history of the Log, including the first filming at Gracie Mansion in 1966. "A Log's Life" also contains interviews with Mitch Thrower, the son of the Log's creator Fred Thrower; Ellen Stern, author of Gracie Mansion: A Celebration of New York City's Mayoral Residence; Thomas Vinciguerra, the New York Times contributor who has extensively researched the Log; Joe Malzone, the creator of the fan site www.theyulelog.com , and a special holiday message from his Eminence, Cardinal Egan.

"The WPIX Yule Log: A Log's Life" special will air:

* Saturday, 12/23, 7pm-8pm
* Sunday, 12/24, 3pm-4pm and 1:30am-2:30am
* Monday, 12/25, 12noon-1pm (following the Yule Log from 9am-12noon)

As a result of its many years of broadcast on TV, the quality of the video and audio of the Yule Log had begun to degrade so WPIX decided to restore the Yule Log. In 2001, the original 35mm Yule Log film was found in the station's New Jersey archives where it was misfiled in a "Honeymooners" film can titled "A Dog's Life" (hence the title of the anniversary special, "A Log's Life"). At that time, the original film was color corrected and cleaned of scratches. In 2003, the log was up-converted to High Definition and WPIX now airs a simultaneous HDTV Yule Log on WPIX-DT. In 2005 WPIX made the Yule Log available to viewers as a downloadable podcast.

In 2006, Lawrence "Chip" Arcuri and Joe Malzone, creator of theyulelog.com, restored the audio of the Yule Log for WPIX, a process that took several months. The restoration involved extensive research to correctly establish the original sequence of the music tracks. This also required the digital remastering of a number of songs to be pulled from their original vinyl records, since many of the songs in the Yule Log have never been released on CD (out of 70 selections on the program, 34 are currently out-of-print, and of that 34, 12 have never been in print on CD). In addition, a vast amount of production work was required to exactly duplicate the timing and pace of the original program.

With the Log now digitally re-mastered, the Yule Log has been fully restored in time to celebrate its 40th birthday.

The Yule Log can be seen on WPIX and WPIX-DT (Monday 12/25 from 9am-12noon) and is also available as a downloadable podcast and via flash video on www.cw11.com .

ABOUT THE CW11

New York's CW11 (WPIX-TV Channel 11), is the flagship station of The CW Television Network. Founded in 1948 and owned by Tribune Broadcasting, a division of the Tribune Company, WPIX has long been regarded as a groundbreaking station in New York. In September 2006, WPIX became The CW11, and its successful Network programming, award winning news, extensive library of hit movies, first-run programs, off-network sitcom favorites, children's programming and public affairs shows, as well as outstanding event coverage, have contributed to the station's success. The CW11 has earned over 150 Emmy Awards, including two Emmy Awards for Outstanding Morning News Program (The WB11 Morning News) and multiple Emmy Awards for Outstanding Newscast (The WB11 News at Ten). The station has been honored with numerous other awards for excellence in reporting, news coverage, public affairs, specials and features. In addition, The CW11 has been the official broadcast home of the New York Mets since 1999. www.cw11.com

CONTACT: Jessica Bellucci,
212-210-2626
jbellucci@tribune.com

Source: WPIX-TV

CONTACT: Jessica Bellucci of WPIX-TV, +1-212-210-2626, or
jbellucci@tribune.com

Web site: http://www.cw11.com/
http://www.theyulelog.com/
http://www.tribune.com/

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