In 1979 I was in Managua, Nicaragua. I was there to edit the story of the Sandinista’s ending the 42-year long Somoza dictatorship.

I arrived the same day Anastasio Somoza and his family fled the country, carrying whatever wealth they could wear or carry.

My first “day” lasted 53 hours. It began with watching Somoza’s soldiers leave the military base across from the Intercontinental Hotel. Within hours, Sandinista soldiers arrived and entered the compound that had served as the Presidential residence since the 1972 earthquake.

I used a backup camera from my sixth-floor balcony to capture wide shots of the base. As I was framing the main gate, I saw a soldier aiming his rifle at me. I fell back, pulling the tripod and camera on top of me just as a bullet hit the wall behind me. I realized he likely mistook me for a sniper after months of jungle warfare.

I quickly wrote “Periodista” (Press) in shoe polish on a towel and hung it over the balcony. When I eventually set the camera back up, the soldier waved at me with a thumbs up

My television career included 14 years at WRC/NBC in Washington, D.C., where I spent over a decade with the Network News Division. I contributed to programs like Today, Meet the Press, and Nightly News. I had the privilege of witnessing history firsthand, covering world leaders and Presidents from Carter to George HW Bush.

In 1990, I moved to Orlando to become the first Administrator of the Video and Film degree program at what is now Full Sail University.

Later, I joined Arnold Palmer’s Golf Channel, serving for 17 years as a lead studio and road editor and eventually as the network’s Archivist.

Throughout my career, a recurring theme was my work with the Universal Newsreels collection within the National Archives. I utilized these archives for projects at PBS, NBC, and the Golf Channel where I learned the value of the visual history they contained.

Inspired by the challenges students faced during the COVID-19 pandemic, I launched Historic Films Inc to provide a free public digital museum for the Universal Newsreels Collection and other examples of motion picture journalism, so they could be made accessible to everyone.

Sharing stories is what journalists do and it is our privilege at The Museum of Motion Picture Journalism to share these films.

Thank you for visiting the museum.

We couldn’t do this without your support, please make a donation to support expanding The Museum of Motion Picture Journalism’s collection of films.

History Matters.

Jim Michael, President and Founder of Historic Films Inc.