''The Camel News Caravan'' or ''Camel Caravan of News'' was a 15-minute American television news program aired by NBC News from February 16, 1949 to October 26, 1956. Sponsored by the Camel cigarette brand and anchored by John Cameron Swayze, it was the first NBC news program to use NBC filmed news stories rather than movie newsreels. On February 16, 1954, the ''Camel News Caravan'' became the first news program broadcast in color, making use of 16mm color film. In early 1955, the

R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Company The R. J. Reynolds Tobacco Company (RJR) is an American tobacco manufacturing company based in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, and headquartered at the RJR Plaza Building. Founded by R. J. Reynolds in 1875, it is the second-largest tobacco compan ...

, maker of Camel cigarettes, cut back its sponsorship to three days a week.

Chrysler Stellantis North America (officially FCA US and formerly Chrysler ()) is one of the " Big Three" automobile manufacturers in the United States, headquartered in Auburn Hills, Michigan. It is the American subsidiary of the multinational automoti ...

Plymouth Plymouth () is a port city and unitary authority in South West England. It is located on the south coast of Devon, approximately south-west of Exeter and south-west of London. It is bordered by Cornwall to the west and south-west. Plymouth ...

division sponsored the other days, and on those days, the program was labelled the ''Plymouth News Caravan''. The program featured a young Washington correspondent named David Brinkley, and competed against ''Douglas Edwards with the News'' on rival CBS. With greater resources, the ''News Caravan'' attracted a larger audience than its CBS competition until 1955.Matusow, Barbara. The Evening Stars: The Making of the Network News Anchor (Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company, 1983), pp. 62-63, 69. John Cameron Swayze News Caravan 1955

Launched on February 16,

1948 Events January * January 1 ** The General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) is inaugurated. ** The Constitution of New Jersey (later subject to amendment) goes into effect. ** The railways of Britain are nationalized, to form British ...

, by NBC as ''

NBC Television Newsreel The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an American English-language commercial broadcast television and radio network. The flagship property of the NBC Entertainment division of NBCUniversal, a division of Comcast, its headquarters are l ...

'', and later '' Camel Newsreel Theatre'' it began as a 10-minute program that featured Fox Movietone News newsreels. John Cameron Swayze provided voice-over for the series. The ''Camel News Caravan'' was an expanded version of the ''Camel Newsreel Theatre'' and featured Swayze on-camera. It was also known as the ''Camel Caravan of News.'' The ''Camel News Caravan'' was replaced by the '' Huntley-Brinkley Report'' on October 29, 1956. President Dwight D. Eisenhower had word passed to NBC's White House correspondent that the president was displeased by the switch. In late 1961 and early 1962, Swayze served as one of three anchors of ABC News's evening news program but became best-known for his appearances in commercials for Timex watches.''John Cameron Swayze dead at 89''
CNN (1995-08-16).

Notes

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External links

''Camel News Caravan'' at IMDB

''60 Years of Nightly News on NBC''
NBC original programming 1948 American television series debuts 1956 American television series endings 1940s American television news shows 1950s American television news shows NBC News Black-and-white American television shows English-language television shows R. J. Reynolds Tobacco Company