The local newscast on WILX looked much different in 1968.
For starters, Jim Mitchell was our anchorman and he did it without a teleprompter, a fancy news set, or fancy graphics.

"I wrote the news on a typewriter, edited the film by hand-- it was pretty rudimentary," says Jim Mitchell as he sits on the 2009 version of the WILX news set. "But, we got it on the air everyday... twice."

It was a time in local TV when the anchorman wore many hats.

"I would edit the film, produce the show myself and go down to the floor and do the news," says Mitchell. "It was kind of a one-man show."

Mitchell landed at WILX while still studying at Michigan State University and working in local radio.
While he only worked here for two years, he has the mother of all horror stories. One day all the film was lost which meant Mitchell had to read every script with no video or sound bites to cut to. That's when a fly started buzzing around the desk.

"Just as I said something, I took a breath and he went in and I immediately thought, 'That fly was too small for anyone to see so I can't pull it out or spit it out,'" recalls Mitchell. "So, I (gulp) took him down!"

In addition to eating flies, during his stint, Mitchell did the weather and the sports-- all at once for one wacky two-week period.
He was on the track to success. Stations in Tucson and Seattle were interested, when he was drafted.

"I wound up writing them later to say, 'Sorry, I've gotten a more substantial offer-- I've been drafted.'"

He joined the Navy and became a Captain and many years later, he retired as Deputy Chief of Information. He even served as spokesman for NATO during the Bosnia War appearing on CNN, CBS and other national programs.

"The background in broadcasting was what helped get me into that," says Mitchell. "I made a lot of use of the old stuff I did (at WILX)."