In his five-year absence from ABC, the number of television programs linked directly to radio had dwindled greatly, as the still-newish medium had developed its own actors, and the remaining radio holdovers had learned how to play to the camera. Winchell would have none of this. Still wearing his felt "reporter" hat on the air, and punching out bogus "Morse Code" with his telegraph key to punctuate his stories, Winchell came across as a relic of another era.
In his five-year absence from ABC, the number of television programs directly linked to radio had significantly decreased as the still-new medium had developed its own actors, and the remaining radio veterans had learned how to perform on camera. Winchell would not accept this shift. Still wearing his felt "reporter" hat on air, and using a telegraph key to punctuate his stories with fabricated Morse code, Winchell appeared outdated.