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News Goes 24 hours
1980 The first-ever 24-hour cable news channel was launched on June 1 1980, by Ted Turner. The channel was called Cable News Network (CNN). It was a move that changed the way how news used to be covered. With CNN, people were able to watch news fix without having to wait for that 6pm bulletin.
1980: RICHARD PRYOR SETS HIMSELF ON FIRE.
In what can be considered one of the stranger moments of 1980, Richard Pryor doused his body with rum, set himself on fire and ran down his neighborhood street in California on June 9th. Fortunately, Pryor was stopped and given medical attention allowing him to not only survive, but continue his career in comedy.
1981: BOB MARLEY DIES OF SKIN CANCER.
Bob Marley, the King of Reggae, entranced audiences with his spiritual voice and lyrics. In May of 1981, Marley succumbed to his cancer and was laid to rest. This capped a decade of the Rastafarian movement, which Marley had made popular, and left fans mourning for years to come.
1981: POPE JOHN PAUL II SURVIVES AN ASSASSINATION ATTEMPT.
May of 1981 was already an eventful month, then two days after the passing of Bob Marley, Pope John Paul II was shot four times by Mehmet Ali Ağca in Vatican City. Luckily, the Pope survived and even forgave Ağca, a gesture that surprised many. They would eventually develop a friendship after Ağca was released from prison (with help from the Pope.)
1981: PRINCE CHARLES AND LADY DIANA SPENCER ARE MARRIED.
Prince Charles married Lady Diana Spencer on July 29 in a ceremony considered by many to be the “wedding of the century.” As per norm, this British wedding followed long-held traditions and was televised in it’s entirety.
1981: SANDRA DAY O’CONNOR GETS APPOINTED.
On September 21, 1981 Sandra Day O’Connor was appointed by the U.S. Senate as the first female supreme court justice. This event was memorable on many levels, considering it had never happened before and laid the groundwork for future justices, like Ruth Bader Ginsburg and Sonia Sotomayor.
1982: THE CDC RECOGNIZES THE AIDS VIRUS.
To many, this moment should have come much earlier, but in September 1982 the CDC finally recognized the AIDS virus and made reports confirming cases. This was monumental since many people doubted the existence of the virus or simply labeling it as a “gay sickness.”
The first mobile phone was released (1983)
The first ever mobile phone was invented and released by Motorola in America in 1983. Its development cost more than $100 million. It was the size of a brick and took up to 10 hours to get fully charged. After charging it to full, it could only be used for 30 minutes (talk time).
1983: MICHAEL JACKSON RELEASES THE THRILLER MUSIC VIDEO.
Michael Jackson released his spooky ‘Thriller’ music video and created a monster. Directed by John Landis and released on MTV, the song and zombie dance sequence became a world-wide sensation. It won the 1984 Grammy award for Best Video Album, as well as the 1985 Grammy for Best Video, Long Form.
1985: STEVE JOBS GETS FIRED FROM APPLE COMPUTERS.
In a highly controversial move, Steve Jobs was forced to resign from the company he helped create. Tensions between John Scully and Jobs over the sales failure of their 1984 Macintosh Computer resulted in Jobs leaving. He eventually returned in 1996 and helped revitalize Apple, turning it into the tech superpower it is today.
Space Shuttle Explodes in Flight
1986 NASA’s Challenger Mission failed when its space shuttle combusted just 73 seconds after being launched on 28 January 1986, killing all seven astronauts that were on board. It was a nightmare for the millions of school children who were watching it taking off live.
1987: PROZAC GOES ON SALE AND BECOMES THE MOST PRESCRIBED ANTIDEPRESSANT.
Within two years of being available to U.S. markets, the antidepressant drug, Prozac, became one of the most prescribed medications of the late 1980s.
1988: CDS TAKE OVER THE MUSIC WORLD…VERY BRIEFLY.
By 1988, CD sales surpassed cassette and vinyls enough to push both into antiquity. Ironically, CD sales plummeted with the introduction of digital music by the late 90s.
1989: THE FIRST WEB PAGE WAS CREATED.
In late 1989, Tim Berners-Lee created the first web browser. This would lay the groundwork for basically every web site we use today, and change how we communicate, make purchases and more.
Jeff Thomas
Publisher • Opinion Columnist • Licensed General Contractor • Real Estate Appraiser • New Orleans
Jeff Thomas is the publisher of Black Source Media and one of New Orleans’ most direct voices on civic affairs, economic justice, and Louisiana politics. He writes from the intersection of experience and accountability — as a licensed general contractor,a tech company founder and executive with over 30 years experience, and a businessman who has worked across the city’s civic, media, and construction ecosystems for decades.
His Sunday column covers Louisiana legislative politics, insurance discrimination, housing policy, and the forces shaping Black community life in New Orleans and across the state. Thomas writes in the tradition of Black journalists who hold power accountable without apology — building arguments from data, delivering verdicts from evidence, and speaking to Black New Orleans with the directness the moment demands.
He is also the principal of Executive Appraisers Louisiana, an MBE-certified real estate appraisal firm, and EA Inspection Services, LLC, a government inspection services company. Black Source Media is his platform for the civic conversation New Orleans has needed and too rarely had.
Selected Articles by Jeff Thomas
Black Neighborhoods Pay the Highest Insurance Rates in Louisiana. Here’s What They Don’t Want You to Know.
They Didn’t Yell the N-Word. They Went to Law School, Bided Their Time, and Rewrote the Constitution Instead.
Vappie vs. Morrell: Why Does Justice Look Different in New Orleans?
The State Has the Money. New Orleans East Just Needs Them to Use It.
The Failure of Mitch Landrieu
Publisher — Black Source Media
Jeff Thomas
Publisher • Opinion Columnist • Licensed General Contractor • Real Estate Appraiser • New Orleans
Jeff Thomas is the publisher of Black Source Media and one of New Orleans’ most direct voices on civic affairs, economic justice, and Louisiana politics. He writes from the intersection of experience and accountability — as a licensed general contractor,a tech company founder and executive with over 30 years experience, and a businessman who has worked across the city’s civic, media, and construction ecosystems for decades.
His Sunday column covers Louisiana legislative politics, insurance discrimination, housing policy, and the forces shaping Black community life in New Orleans and across the state. Thomas writes in the tradition of Black journalists who hold power accountable without apology — building arguments from data, delivering verdicts from evidence, and speaking to Black New Orleans with the directness the moment demands.
He is also the principal of Executive Appraisers Louisiana, an MBE-certified real estate appraisal firm, and EA Inspection Services, LLC, a government inspection services company. Black Source Media is his platform for the civic conversation New Orleans has needed and too rarely had.
Selected Articles by Jeff Thomas
Black Neighborhoods Pay the Highest Insurance Rates in Louisiana. Here’s What They Don’t Want You to Know.
They Didn’t Yell the N-Word. They Went to Law School, Bided Their Time, and Rewrote the Constitution Instead.
Vappie vs. Morrell: Why Does Justice Look Different in New Orleans?
The State Has the Money. New Orleans East Just Needs Them to Use It.
The Failure of Mitch Landrieu