The Collection
Video
The Thornburgh archive at the University of Pittsburgh has 547 videos from the years 1978–91, which begin with Thornburgh’s gubernatorial campaign in 1978, and continue up to and including his campaign for U.S. Senate in 1991. Since that time, both from Thornburgh’s position as under-secretary-general of the United Nations and in his ongoing career, there have been no video additions to the collection. All 547 videos have been reformatted for preservation, and 55 videos (14.5 hours total) are available here online.
Subjects and events include, for example: campaign ads; inaugurations; budget addresses; appearances on "MacNeil/Lehrer" both as governor and attorney general; news conferences from the week of the accident at Three Mile Island; Martin Luther King Day events; Governor’s Awards for Excellence in the Arts; Distinguished Service Medal to General Matthew B. Ridgeway; a brief clip of the welcoming by Governor Thornburgh of Pope John Paul II to Philadelphia, 1979; attorney general’s announcement of Banca Nazionale del Lavoro-related indictments; and the first anniversary of the signing of the Americans With Disabilities Act.
It should be noted that at the time Thornburgh became governor of Pennsylvania, in 1979, videotapes were comparatively early in their use and quality. In fact, Commonwealth Media was formally established by Governor Thornburgh only after the accident at Three Mile Island, which dramatically exemplified the usefulness of visual documentation of major occurrences, news conferences, and events.
The selection of videos available here online is intended to portray an array of events and issues that are both visually interesting and have representative and significant content. In some cases the quality is less than excellent, but the content merited inclusion. Videos here are in low/high bandwidth in Windows Media and QuickTime formats.
video available online
Thornburgh for governor campaign ads (primary and general elections, 1978 (11:45)
Governor of Pennsylvania, 1979–87, and re-election campaign 1982
PPTN: Governor Thornburgh inauguration ceremony, January 17, 1979 (28:29)
Governor's speech to Joint Session of Pennsylvania Legislature, October 1, 1979 (38:43)
Governor greeting Pope John Paul II in pope's first visit to Philadelphia, October 9, 1979 (03:16)
Pennsylvania Distinguished Service Medal awarded to General Matthew B. Ridgeway, June 6, 1980 (01:10)
PBS: "MacNeil/Lehrer Report" regarding New Federalism, January 27, 1982 (05:24)
Thornburgh re-election announcement, Franklin Plaza, Philadelphia, Pa., March 2, 1982 (15:39)
Re-election campaign fund-raising luncheon: President Reagan speaker, May 14, 1982 (30:05)
Re-election campaign for governor ads, 1982 (12:14)
Election Night, Philadelphia, November 2, 1982 (12:37)
Thornburgh inauguration and celebratory events, January 18, 1983 (33:26)
PBS: "MacNeil/Lehrer Report" regarding the federal deficit, July 31, 1984 (04:54)
Governor's Awards for Excellence in the Arts: Hazlett Memorial Awards, June 2, 1986 (06:57)
Pennsylvania tourism commercials, 1979–86 (10:55)
Conversations with the governor #28: "The Thornburgh Years,” December 17, 1986 (27:56)
Institute of Politics, John F. Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University, 1987–88
"Thornburgh Legacy,” April 13, 1988 (10:33)
PBS: "MacNeil/Lehrer Report": Thornburgh named attorney general of the United States, July 14, 1988 (08:27)
Attorney General of the United States, 1988–91
PBS: "MacNeil/Lehrer News Hour" regarding Columbia and drug war, August 28, 1989 (10:38)
Attorney general's press conference regarding Exxon Valdez, February 27, 1990 (20:48)
PBS: "MacNeil/Lehrer Report" regarding crime bill, March 11, 1991 (10:24)
Campaign for U.S. Senate, 1991
Dick Thornburgh for Senate: compilation of aired campaign ads, August–November 1991 (05:54)
U.S. Senate campaign concession speech, November 5, 1991 (09:50)
WQED kindly gave persmission to present these TMI videos.
© 1979 WQED Multimedia. All Rights Reserved.
WQED: Press conference #1, Lieutenant Governor Scranton, 10:55 a.m. (tape 2), March 28, 1979 (17:08)
WQED: Press conference #1, Lieutenant Governor Scranton, 10:55 a.m. (tape 3), March 28, 1979 (01:26)
WQED: Press conference #2, Lieutenant Governor Scranton, 4:30 p.m. (tape 2), March 28, 1979 (04:20)
WQED: Metropolitan Edison, Herbein, 1 p.m. (tape 1), March 28, 1979 (03:59)
WQED: Metropolitan Edison, Herbein, 1 p.m. (tape 2), March 28, 1979 (04:46)
WQED: Press conference #3, Lieutenant Governor Scranton, Higgins, Gallina, 10 p.m., March 28, 1979 (17:12)
WQED: Metropolitan Edison, Herbein, Crietz, 10 a.m. (tape 1), March 29, 1979 (21:32)
WQED: Metropolitan Edison, Herbein, Crietz, 10 a.m. (tape 2), March 29, 1979 (19:05)
WQED: Governor's first press conference, 5:15 p.m. (tape 2), March 29, 1979 (17:20)
WQED: Governor's first press conference, 5:15 p.m. (tape 3), March 29, 1979 (18:20)
WQED: Metropolitan Edison, Herbein, 11 a.m. (tape 1), March 30, 1979 (14:06)
WQED: Metropolitan Edison, 11 a.m. (tape 2), March 30, 1979 (17:57)
WQED: Governor and lieutenant governor press conference, 12:30 p.m. (tape 1), March 30, 1979 (21:13)
WQED: Governor and lieutenant governor press conference, 12:30 p.m. (tape 2), March 30, 1979 (12:09)
President Carter and Governor Thornburgh press conference regarding Three Mile Island, April 1, 1979 (07:43)
WQED: Harold Denton (Nuclear Regulatory Commission) press conference, 3 p.m. (tape 1), April 1, 1979 (16:29)
WQED: Harold Denton (Nuclear Regulatory Commission) press conference, 3 p.m. (tape 2), April 1, 1979 (08:21)
WQED: Governor Thornburgh press conference 9:30 p.m., April 3, 1979 (17:27)
WQED: Governor Thornburgh press conference, Scranton, Denton, Adamcik, 3 p.m., April 9, 1979 (18:00)
Governor proposes cost-sharing plan for cleanup of Three Mile Island, July 9, 1981 (20:15)
