Television: Closeup of a Twister

"It's coming our way . . . boiling along, churning rather slowly. It ought to be here in just one minute. Now, we're going to have to step out of the way here to let this tornado go past. There it goes!" Seconds later, as the black twister screamed past him, Newsman Bob Whitten of Dallas' KRLD told radio listeners how the tornado flipped a huge trailer truck 50 ft. into air, then smashed it down atop an empty car. Listeners could hear the thud of debris on and around Whitten's own car.

Like Whitten, newsmen from other Dallas radio and TV...