Longtime television newsman Gabe Pressman visits Warwick

WARWICK - Residents attending the ceremonies honoring Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. on Monday at the Warwick United Methodist Church were surprised by one visitor who quietly entered the church and sat with the congregation. Many people immediately recognized the familiar face of NBC 4 Senior Correspondent Gabe Pressman. Although Pressman brought along his camera crew and they did photograph some of the King Day services, it was not the main purpose of their journey from Manhattan to Warwick. Pressman later explained that he was preparing a TV report on the upcoming “Super Tuesday” primary contests. The segment, which would include interviews taken in Warwick, he said, would air in a few days. He had come to the Warwick United Methodist Church to interview Town of Warwick Supervisor Michael Sweeton who was to be one of the guest speakers that morning. And while there, Pressman instructed his cameraman to film part of that event. Pressman later explained that he selected Warwick because the population tended to vote Republican. After the service, he and his NBC cameraman interviewed several people as they were leaving the church. Pressman questioned them about their concerns for the country and how they felt about the candidates for president. He said that he also planned to stop by G’s Restaurant on Main Street where he was told he might find the most number of local residents in one area at that time of day. During the early days of his illustrious career as an award-winning television reporter, Pressman covered numerous major events including the sinking of the Andrea Doria, the New York City blackout, the riots at the Democratic Convention in Chicago in 1968, the civil strife in Newark and New York during the 1960s and the Mayoral campaigns for Abraham Beame, William F. Buckley and John Lindsay.