''An American Moment'' was a syndicated short-form television series, created by Dr. Prentice Meador, James R. Kirk and

Neal Spelce Neal (Neil) is a given masculine name and surname of Gaelic and Irish origin. The name is an Anglicisation of the Irish Niall which is of disputed derivation. The Irish name may be derived from words meaning "cloud", "passionate", "victory", "hon ...

, initially hosted by newsman

Charles Kuralt Charles Bishop Kuralt (September 10, 1934 – July 4, 1997) was an American television, newspaper and radio journalist and author. He is most widely known for his long career with CBS, first for his "On the Road" segments on '' The CBS Eveni ...

and later by actor

James Earl Jones James Earl Jones (born January 17, 1931) is an American actor. He has been described as "one of America's most distinguished and versatile" actors for his performances in film, television, and theater, and "one of the greatest actors in America ...

. The show consisted of 90-second vignettes, generally intended for use as inserts during local news programs, and focused on "small town America" and overlooked news stories. It was produced by an

Austin, Texas Austin is the capital city of the U.S. state of Texas, as well as the seat and largest city of Travis County, with portions extending into Hays and Williamson counties. Incorporated on December 27, 1839, it is the 11th-most-populous city ...

based production company headed by Spelce, a longtime local newsman, based on an earlier similar program called ''Breakthrough'' that featured Prentice Meador, a Dallas minister and professor. It was carried by more than 70 stations throughout the United States. Kuralt, the series's first host, came out of retirement to take on the series. Kuralt described the program's content as "New England stone walls, cowboy hats, the birth of a foal on a ranch, totem poles and barber poles." Kuralt died in 1997. He was replaced by James Earl Jones, who continued as host of the program until production ended in 1999. ''Charles Kuralt's American Moments'' , a compilation of vignettes from the series, was published by

Simon & Schuster Simon & Schuster () is an American publishing company and a subsidiary of Paramount Global. It was founded in New York City on January 2, 1924 by Richard L. Simon and M. Lincoln Schuster. As of 2016, Simon & Schuster was the third largest publi ...

in 1998. ''

Kirkus Reviews ''Kirkus Reviews'' (or ''Kirkus Media'') is an American book review magazine founded in 1933 by Virginia Kirkus (1893–1980). The magazine is headquartered in New York City. ''Kirkus Reviews'' confers the annual Kirkus Prize to authors of fic ...

'' described the book as " st as hokey and sentimental as Kuralt’s broadcasts." The

Dolph Briscoe Center for American History The Dolph Briscoe Center for American History is an organized research unit and public service component of the University of Texas at Austin named for Dolph Briscoe, the 41st governor of Texas. The center collects and preserves documents and a ...

at the

University of Texas at Austin The University of Texas at Austin (UT Austin, UT, or Texas) is a public research university in Austin, Texas. It was founded in 1883 and is the oldest institution in the University of Texas System. With 40,916 undergraduate students, 11,075 ...

holds an archive of materials relating to the series."A Guide to the An American Moment Collection, 1996-1999"

(accessed 2018/10/11).

References

External links

* First-run syndicated television programs in the United States 1990s American documentary television series 1996 American television series debuts 1999 American television series endings {{US-reality-tv-stub