When WNEW-TV began producing the Ten O'Clock News with Jorgensen at the helm, no other commercial television stations had a prime time newscast, though.
The New York Times television critic Jack Gould described the newscast as "a thoroughly professional news summary" due in part to "Mr. Jorgensen's durably pleasing style and demeanor.
He warred bitterly with station management, including Ted Kavanau, then news director, who says Jorgensen "was a difficult guy, very moody, hardly talked to anybody, but when you turned on that camera, he performed brilliantly.
In June 1980, days after Ted Turner began the Cable News Network, WPIX began producing Independent Network News, a prime time national newscast that ran throughout the United States on small independent television stations.
Tribune Broadcasting hired Morton Dean to replace the three anchors in 1985 and rebranded the program as USA Tonight.