# Monitor (American TV program)

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***Monitor*** is an American [newsmagazine](/source/Newsmagazine) television program which premiered on [NBC](/source/NBC) on March 12, 1983. It was named after the earlier [NBC Radio](/source/NBC_Radio) series [of the same name](/source/Monitor_(NBC_Radio)). NBC News created this program as a platform to possibly challenge the success of [CBS](/source/CBS)'s *[60 Minutes](/source/60_Minutes)*. After being initially broadcast on Saturdays at 10 P.M. Eastern time, the program was moved to Sundays at 7 P.M. Eastern time for its second season, going head-to-head with *60 Minutes*, and was renamed ***First Camera***.

## Overview

Production was based in [Washington, D.C.](/source/Washington,_D.C.), with offices in the [Tenley Circle](/source/Tenley_Circle) area immediately east of [NBC](/source/NBC)'s Nebraska Avenue studios. [Lloyd Dobyns](/source/Lloyd_Dobyns), the show's anchor, appeared on a stark white, modernistic set. In the absence of a theme composed especially for the show, the producers opted to use the opening minute of "Piano Concerto No. 1 In D-Flat Major, Op. 10: I Allegro brioso" by [Sergei Prokofiev](/source/Sergei_Prokofiev), feeling that it added gravitas to the show—something they hoped would set them apart from ABC's lightweight *[20/20](/source/20/20_(American_TV_program))*.

In test audiences (including one in which future NBC anchor Sarah James was a college student), the show did not test well, but producers refused to change the format. The first episode featured an extended story on [Bobby Czyz](/source/Bobby_Czyz), a light heavyweight boxer from [New Jersey](/source/New_Jersey). The show placed last in its time period in national [ratings](/source/Audience_measurement) in its debut and was one of the least-watched programs in all of prime time. Additionally, the Prokofiev score brought complaints and was compared to a [funeral](/source/Funeral) [dirge](/source/Dirge).[1] Reporters that worked on the program included [Mark Nykanen](/source/Mark_Nykanen).[2][3]

In an attempt to boost the program's abysmal ratings for the fall 1983 season, NBC added new theme music and a new set with a den-like appearance that included bookshelves, a high-back desk chair and a handmade, French provincial desk with a word processor on top (the same model Dobyns reportedly used to write on in his office and at home);[4] additionally, NBC changed the series's title to *First Camera*. However, none of the changes were able to draw in viewers, and its new time slot only damaged ratings further; seeing no hope of successfully competing against the powerhouse *60 Minutes*, 7 percent of NBC affiliates declined to carry the revamped show, and it was further hurt by frequent pre-emptions due to [football](/source/American_football) run-overs. As a result, *First Camera* was removed from the NBC schedule several months after the makeover, its last episode airing April 1, 1984.

## References

1. [Lloyd Dobyns correspondence](https://archive.today/20101103123315/http://home.comcast.net/~mharneyma/dobyns.html)

1. ["First Camera"](https://www.newspapers.com/newspage/66306748/). The San Bernardino County Sun. September 25, 1983.

1. JULIANNE HASTINGS (August 11, 1983). ["TV World;NEWLN:NBC News preparing for all-new season"](http://www.upi.com/Archives/1983/08/11/TV-WorldNEWLNNBC-News-preparing-for-all-new-season/4534429422400/). UPI.

1. ["NBC's First Camera Premieres with Grisly Meat Industry Expose"](https://www.upi.com/Archives/1983/09/16/TV-WorldNEWLNNBCs-First-Camera-premieres-with-grisly-meat-industry-expose/7976432532800/)

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Monitor (American TV program)](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Monitor_(American_TV_program)) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Monitor_(American_TV_program)?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.