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Test Site Becomes Mecca to International Press
 A craggy knoll of rock just across from the Control Point has its own
place in the history of the Nevada Test Site. On April 22, 1952 it was
established as a good point for news reporters, photographers, and
cameramen to watch and film the air drop and detonation of "Charlie"
(known as Operation "Big Shot"), a 31-kiloton atmospheric test at Yucca
Flat.
The original sign naming the rocky outcrop "News Nob" was a
weather-beaten board with a door knob attached from an old outdoor
privy. The name "News Nob" was painted in yellow. Later the board was
replaced with a more conventional sign, which still stands today.
Reporters witnessing shots from this vantage point included such
famous national newsmen as Bob Considine, from the New York Times, and
Walter Cronkite of CBS News who broadcast to the world from this spot.
Since then, hundreds of reporters, photographers and cameramen from all
over the world have visited "News Nob" and other sites on their tours of
this the nation's only active nuclear weapons testing facility.
While no records have been kept on the number of journalists who have
visited the Test Site, it would not be exaggerating to say that during
the atmospheric testing days, it was one of most photographed and
heavily reported areas in the world.
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