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WICD, Channel 15, Champaign, Illinois History

Part 4: The Plains Television Years(1978-1994)





During the 70's and 80's, WICD-TV developed a local news presence with personalities including Ron Davis, Bruce Jakubowski, Geni Roark, Art Barron, Rich Porter, Demetria Kaye, Susan Rieke, Sandra Chapman, Mark Schanowski, and weather caster Keith Page among many others.  Even though most of the programming was received from WICS-TV, WICD-TV could and would away and air either NBC programming when it was pre-empted at WICS, or air it's own local originated programming.  

Programs during this period from NBC included, "The Bill Cosby Show", "Julia", "Then Came Bronson", "The Monkees", "Dragnet", "Rowan and Martin's Laugh In", "Flip Wilson", "Dean Martin", "The Bold Ones", "Ironside", "Emergency", "Little House on the Prairie", "Police Story", "Sanford and Son", "Chico and the Man" and "Chips".

Syndicated Shows included I Love Lucy, Gilligan's Island, The Brady Bunch, Batman, Happy Days, Laverne and Shirley, Richard Simmons, The Newlywed Game, Mama's Family, The Dating Game, Grizzly Adams, Scooby Doo, Tom & Jerry, The Jeffersons,  Jeopardy, Wheel of Fortune, Too Close for Comfort, The Andy Griffith Show and others.

Also during 1986, stereo broadcasting began from WICD-TV with a major upgrade in the audio chain of the station.  Not only were NBC stereo programs broadcast in two actual discreet stereo channels, but local programming could be broadcast in stereo as well. 

It was also from the late 1980's through 1994 WICD and WICS were under separate ownership.  The stations were operated as a "regional network" to simulcast most of the locally originated syndicated proramming.  That separation lasted 8 years.



In the early 1990's WICD published a "Discount Club" flyer which contained coupons from participating advertisers.  It was also a promotional piece for the Channel 15 News.  Pictured above is (front row) Keith Page, Kathleen Quinn, Dan Swaney.  (back row) Sandra Chapman, Beth Morgan, Scott Andresen, Debra Linz.  This also promoted the fact that WICD was now broadcasting in stereo.

It wasn't until the Guy Gannett ownership tenure in September of 1994, was the ownership once again shared between the two central Illinois NBC affiliates.  It was that separation in ownership, which contributed to the failings of WICD during the early 1990's, along with some bad luck.  Cash flow suffered during the early 1990's, which necessitated the cutting of operating expenses.  One act which was rather short sighted, was the lowering of the power output of the station, to cut the electric bill.  Unfortunately, that set up a situtation which later, when permission was requested to the FCC to raise power to the the levels of the late 1960's, permission was denied.  The station continued to operate, not at just over a million watts as was the original output, but now at 600,000 watts.  The range of the station, though, benefits from the nearly 1400-foot antenna height.


A stroke of bad luck took the station off the air for an extended length of time during the early 1990's as well.  During the winter months, the transmission line shorted out along the tower, between the transmitter and antenna.  It was during this time, that WICD returned to broadcast, but at a significantly lower power output.  This continued for quite some time, which forced many cable operators, which received the stations off air signal, to select other NBC stations in surrounding markets to bring to subscribers.  The off air signal for WICD barely covered Danville and Urbana for a number of weeks. 

It was also, during the early 1990's, the impending sale of the station brought about a hiring freeze and a reduction of staff members, some holding important responsibilities to the proper care and feeding of a television station.  WICD was suffering from substantial neglect by the time of the Guy Gannett purchase in 1994.  The news operation was just an attempt to keep the station alive, but didn't have the tools which were being displayed by the other stations in the market.  WICD had no live capability outside the studio, no computer newsroom operations, a minimum number of staffers, an office/studio which was outdated and inefficient, and a public image which was less than desirable.
  During the late 80's, Plains Television Partners sold WICS-TV to other owners and later it was sold to Guy Gannett Communications of Portland, Maine.  Even though WICS, the Central Illinois "flagship station" was sold, Plains Television continued to operate WICD-TV until Guy Gannett purchased the station two years later in August of 1994. Guy Gannett, realized that the best way to grow the stations was to put a better effort on the east side of the market.  That was when a serious attempt was made to improve the facility of WICD along with an expansion of staff to better serve East Central Illinois.   That effort was one which was going to take several years...and later another owner.

It is of this era from 1979 to 1994 we continue on with the history of WICD....



By the late 1970's, it was evident that the studios/offices of WICD were quite substandard if the station was to be competitive in east central Illinois.  The effort which was going to be made to increase it's news department in the 1980's needed a larger factility, and a more modern one.   In 1978, WICD, Channel 15 moved from it's location at the Inman Hotel, to a converted slot car track and stamp store showroom at the Country Fair Shopping Center.  Both units at 250 South Country Fair Drive were converted to a television studio, master control , production facitlity, news room, as well as sales office, lobby and several individual offices and rest rooms.  The pictures above and below describe what an undertaking it was.


(Above left) A shot of the former home of WICD, the Inman Hotel taken from the final days of having WICD located there.  (Above left-center): The outside of the soon to be WICDstudios.  The photo shows the front wall of the facility missing.  This allowed construction to be easier on the studio,  production control, master control and newsroom . (Above center-right and right)  It's unknown what areas were shown in these two photos.  (Below left), The master control area is being set up on a suspended flooring system.  This allowed the running of cables under the floor and easy access as large sections are able to be removed.  (Below center-left) another shot of construction.  (Below center-right) A shot of the new sidewalk leading to the lobby at WICD's Television Plaza.  (Below right) A shot from the early 1980's of the front of Television Plaza showing both the courtyard and the newsroom wing of the facility.



A shot of the new Master Control
Room at WICD in 1978.


This is Production Control with
the audio control board on the left.


Production Control showing the
electronic text generator left with
video switcher on the right.


The new Newsroom at WICD.


A much larger news set was
possible with the new studio at
250 South Country Fair Drive.  Here Ron Davis(right) is with Tom Stocker(left).


A rafter shot showing the much expanded news set at WICD, Channel 15.

Here is a shot of an unkown news anchor talking with Roger Francisco(right) who was weekend weathercaster at WICD during much of the 1980's and early 1990's.


The weekend news, sports and weather
anchors at the new WICD news set.  Probably taken sometime in 1978 or 1979.
BobHope continued his Christmas Tour Highlight shows on NBC during the 1980's and early 1990's.  This one from the early 1980's, had an all star cast with over 200 stars appearing from Jack Benny to Bing Crosby, from Zsa Zsa Gabor to the Village People.  Brought to you by Texaco, while NBC was "Proud as a Peacock.  The other stations lister on the ad were W-TWO in Terre Haute, Indiana; Channel 20, WICS in Springfield and Channel 25, WEEK in Peoria.


From the 1960's through the mid 90's, the most frequently heard voice on WICD was Keith Page.  He was a "booth announcer" and commerical announcer for the station for a number of years, as well as weathercaster.










This was an artists view of the new WICD studios at 250 Country Fair Drive on Champaign's west side(right behind the Zayre Department Store).  Click on any of these pictures for larger versions.


Pictured here were the managers at WICD in 1978.  Top left Station Manager, Joe Norris.  He was in that postition until the sale of WICD to Guy Gannett in 1994.  He was heard during the 1990's as the station ID voice.  Also pictured in the top right is Plains Television Vice-President and WICS/WICD General Manager Milton Friedland.  At the lower left is Vince Daube, the Operations Manager of WICD, and at the lower right was Dave Boyer, Chief Engineer at WICD.  He held that postition through the late 1990's.





Here's the "sophisticated equipment" that was used by WICD in 1978 to produce local commericals for clients.


 Here's the story of how WICD uses computers to schedule commericals for it's clients.

 
Ron Davis was the News Director when the station moved to it's new location.  Here he uses a "word processer" to edit a newscast.

Here is the estimated coverage of WICD.  Notice that 40% of it's coverage is east of  the state line, into Indiana.

Tom Stocker was a sports anchor at WICD from the late 1970's through the early 80's.  The interesting thing about this ID slide, was the  "TELEVISION PLAZA", the new name of the new studio location.



Pictured above and to the right are images from the early 1980's of WICD's Local News Broadcasts.  Pictured was the first set after relocating to 250 South Country Fair Drive on Champaign's west side.   Pictured, above, is Mark Schanowski, sports and Tom Millburn, news anchor.  Upper right, Tom Millburn.  Lower right center longtime weathercaster Keith Page and far left, Schanowski.










Bruce Jakubowski, former radio news anchor at WLRW, found a home at WICD in the early 80's, where he became the main news anchor .





"David Letterman" hosted a daytime series in 1980, which led him to latenight.  The title of the 1980 show is pictured to the left, while Letterman is pictured from the final daytime show in October of 1980.


Prominent News People of the Era:
Tom Stocker(sports), Ron Davis(anchor 10 years), Bruce Jakubowski(ND and anchor), Art Barron(anchor), Demetria Kaye(anchor), Rich Porter(anchor), Susan Ricki(anchor), Sandra Chapman(anchor), Mark Schanowski(sports), Keith Page(weather), Lorne Tate(sports), Larry Stirewalt(anchor-reporter), Kathleen Quinn(anchor), Diana Morgan(anchor), Chuck Nagle(sports) Ronald Clark(sports), Becky McRae(wkend anchor), Pan Hanson(anchor), Dan Swaney(sports), Liz Merdian(anchor-reporter), Roger Francisco(weather), Tom Milbourn(ND and anchor), Mark Erwin(reporter), Barbara Leach(public service), Geni Roarck(public service and promotions), Jack Keefe(ND and sometimes anchor), Karen Greer(anchor-reporter), Susan Boller(anchor), April Robertson(anchor), Joan Lovelace(anchor), Jeff Friend(anchor), Rebecca Roe(anchor), Doris McGee(anchor-reporter)


Around 1983, WICD 15 News became, "NewsWatch 15" with a new set, new anchor, and new graphics designed by staffers.  One of the short comings of the production set up, was the inability to project scene boxes, called over the shoulder graphics.  So, the use of front projection televisions were used to show graphics during the newscast.  The scene with Demetria Kaye, illustrates how the use of those front projection TVs were used.



It was Sci-Fi and action adventure again with "Buck Rogers" with Gil Garard, Erin Grey, Tim O'Conner and William Conrad along with the voice of Mel Blanc as "Twiki" the Robot.




Another daytime entry in the NBC schedule of 1978 through 81, was "Card Sharks" which was hosted by Jim Perry and Bob Eubanks during it's run on NBC.



"Diff'rent Strokes" ran on NBC from 1978 to 1985, when it moved to ABC from 1985 to 1986.  Gary Coleman, Todd Bridges, Conrad Bain(from Maude), and Dana Plato starred.




"The Facts of Life" ran on NBC from 1979-1988 and was a spin off of "Diff'rent Strokes."  It starred Charlotte Rae as a housemother to seven young girls at a girls school in Peekskill, New York.



NBC's first 1980's nighttime soap, this time "Flamingo Road."  It was loosely based on the old Joan Crawford movie, this time an update starring  John Beck, Howard Duff, Woody Brown, Peter Donat, Morgan Fairchild and Kevin McCarthy.



"Gimme a Break!" ran on NBC from 1981 to 1983 and starred Nell Carter, Dolph Sweet, Kari Michaelsen, Jauri Hendler, Lara Jill Miller, Howard Morris, Jane Dulo and others.  Joey Lawrence joined the cast the second season as a six year old orphan.



It was a new era in police drama when "Hill Street Blues" premiered on NBC in 1981.   This series made stars out of many actors, and got the attention of the critics.  The theme was by Mike Post, who did other police dramas in the 1970's.  Very stylish, very realistic and topped out at #21 in the ratings in 1982-83.


What Hill Street Blues did for police dramas, "St. Elsewhere" did for hospital dramas.  Lots of emotion, lots of real life drama and once again a great cast.  Pictured is Howie Mandell who played Dr. Wayne Fiscus.  St. Elsewhere ran on NBC from 1982to 1988.  






In 1976, the "Proud N" NBC logo was introduced to replace the "snake NBC" logo which was used from 1959.  After it was introduced, NBC was sued by Nebraska Educational TV for copyright infringement.  It seems the logos for both networks were nearly the same.  Both networks settled with Nebraska ETV getting new broadcast equipment and an allowance to develop a new logo.  Meanwhile the aggreement allowed NBC to continue it's use.  Later the frequent use of the 12 feathered peacock was initiated to acquaint viewers to a new logo which would come a few years later.
"Assignment 15" was the title of the Sunday morning public affairs program hosted by the main news anchor of WICD at the time.  It would include various lawmakers, newsmakers and community leaders talking of the issues of the day. "Family Ties" launched the career of Michael J. Fox.  The idea, was a liberal set of parents whose oldest son was an ultra conservative, while his sisters couldn't care less, and were more normal.  The theme was sung by Johnny Mathis and Denice Williams.  The setting was Columbus, Ohio where the father, Steve Keaton(Michael Gross) was a manager of a public TV station.  The mother was played by Meredith Baxter-Birney, while the daughters were Mallory(Justine Bateman) and  Jennifer(Tina Yothers).  This series ran on NBC from 1982 to 1989, but also in syndication on WICD from the late 1980's to 1994.
From 1980 to 1985, the NBC lineup consisted of Disney's Wonderful World of Color, CHiPs, The NBC Big Event, Little House on the Prairie, Lobo, B.J. and the Bear, Steve Allen Comedy Hour, Real People, Diff'rent Strokes, Facts of Life, Quincy M.E., Games People Play, Marie, Speak Up America, Barbara Mandrell and the Mandrell Sisters, Walking Tall, Hill Street Blues, Here's Boomer, Father Murphy, Bret Maverick, Flamingo Road, Love Sidney, Harper Valley, Lewis and Clark, Gimme A Break, McClain's Law, Nashville Palace, Fitz and Bones, Voyagers, Little House: a New Beginning, Gavilan, St. Elsewhere, Family Ties, Fame, Cheers, Taxi, Powers of Mathew Star, Knight Rider, Remington Steele(pictured above), Silver Spoons, First Camera,Boone, The A-Team, Bay City Blues, Facts of Life, Mama's Family, We Got it Maid, Mr. Smith, Jennifer Slept Here, Manimal, For Love and Honor, The Rousters, Yellow Rose, Punky Brewster, Bloopers and Practical Jokes, Riptide, Highway to Heaven, It's Your Move, Cosby Show, Night Court, V, Hunter, Miami Vice, Partners in Crime, Hot Pursuit, Amazing Stories, Alfred Hitchcock Presents, Helltown, Golden Girls and 227.



"Cheers" cast Ted Danson, George Wendt, Woody Harrelson and John Ratzenberger.  The shows title song was called "Where Everybody Knows Your Name."


"Cheers" ran on NBC from 1982 to May 20, 1993.  Several cast changes actually made this series better through time.  The show was a true "buddy show" with a crazy bunch of friends who pretty much live at "Cheers"  The cast included Ted Danson, Shelley Long, Rhea Perlman, Nicholas Colasanto(who died during the run and was replaced by Woody Harrelson), Geroge Wendt, John Ratzenberger, Kelsey Grammer(as Dr. Frazier Crane), Kirstie Alley and others.

This one was a spin off of the long running CBS variety show, "The Carol Burnett Show."  On Burnett's show, the stars did a segment with much younger Vicki Lawrence as Thelma "Mama" Harper.  She was joined in "Mama's Family" by Rue McClanahan, Ken Berry, Dorothy Lyman, Eric Brown and was joined by Carol Burnett, Harvey Korman and others.  It ran on NBC from 1983 to 1985, then went to syndication where it ran on WICD from 1986 to 1990.






Johnny Carson continued well after his 20th year with "The Tonight Show" on NBC!  To the right is Carson with Dudley Moore.





The Independent Network News ran on WICD during the Noon hour.  WICS ran it's own local news, but WICD filled the same half hour with it's own programming.  The INN News filled the bill for a while, but after it was discontinued, it was replaced by reruns of "Family Ties." WICD aired "Jeopardy" and "The Wheel of Fortune" for a number of years in the 1980's and early 1990's.  The original NBC daytime game show was originally hosted by Chuck Woolery in 1975 , but grew in popularity in nighttime syndication with Pat Sajak, where it began in 1983.  It's been running ever since....just not on WICD A local PSA/Station ID from the early 1980's. "Riptide" ran on NBC from 1984 to 1986.  The show starred Joe Penny(pictured in an NBC promo) with Perry King and Thom Bray.  It was a story of some beach bumbs who become private eyes.  It was canceled four months before the last episode airred on NBC on August 22nd, 1986. "Knight Rider" ran on NBC from 1982 to 1986.  Starring David Hasselhoff before he hit the beach on Baywatch(which ran on WICD in syndication for years).  The series co-starred William Daniels as the voice of KITT, the car, as well as Edward Mulhare as Michael Knight's(Hasselhoff) boss.

"Blockbuster" ran on NBC daytime, hosted by Bill Cullen from 1980 to 1982.


"Taxi" switched networks after being a part of the ABC schedule from 1978 to 1982.  From 1982 to 1983 it ended it's run with NBC. The classic sitcom starred Judd Hirsch, Tony Danza, Danny De Vito, Marilu Henner, Christopher Lloyd, Andy Kaufman, Jeff Conaway, Carol Kane and others.


"The Doctors" ran on NBC from 1963 to 1982, a total of 5, 280 episodes.  The show was sponsored during it's run by Colgate-Polmolive.

"The Tomorrow Show" was hosted by Tom Snyder on NBC and it followed either the Tonight Show or Late Night with David Letterman for a time during the 1970's and early 1980's.



 
"Thicke of the Night" was a syndicated late night talker which was hosted by Alan Thicke and featured regulars: Richard Belzer, Gilbert Gottfried, Arsenio Hall and others.  It ran from 1983 through 1984, being produced by long time NBC programmer Fred Silverson.  It didn't last nationally, partly because many network affiliates ran it after midnight.  WICD scheduled the "Thicke of the Night" after "The Tonight Show."
This long time CBS prime time staple, "The Jeffersons" ran from 1975-1985.  By the early 80's, the series also ended up in syndication, and ran on WICS/WICD for several years in the 5PM time slot.  The series stared Sherman Hemsley, Isabel Sanford, Mike Evans, Roxie Roker, and others and was produced by Norman Lear.  It was also another spin off from  "All in the Family."
This screen capture is from a weather promotional announcement of WICD from the mid 1980's. 


Tom Milbourn was News Director and main Anchor on WICD for several years during the early to mid 1980's.  This ad is from an edition of TV Guide.


"TV's Bloopers and Practical Jokes" ran on NBC from 1984 through 1991, and popped up from time to time through the early 00's.  This one was hosed by Dick Clark and Ed McMahon and included bloopers capured on film from TV shows and movies over the years.  It was also a great promotional tool for various NBC shows at the time, in which the star would show up with a blooper reel from their show.
Detective Sonny Crockett and Ricardo Tubbs were played by Don Johnson and Philip Michael Thomas on the NBC, 1984-89 series "Miami Vice."  A stylish, series, influenced by the MTV generation of video styles, clothing styles and included cameos from many celebrities who wanted to appear "hip."


Just a technical note, that it was the 70's, that local stations began a weather warn system of putting a "W" in the corner of the screen.  That was to alert the audience that there was a "weather situation" they should be aware of.  In this promo, it was explained what would be displayed if there was a tornado warning in the area, or a severe thunderstorm in the area.  Since then, it was shortened back to just a "W" for most stations.  The biggest problem, is defining, who is involved in a partcular warning situation.
Geni Roark was the Promotions Director for WICD during most of the 1980's, into the early 1990's.  She also hosted various public service programs.  Here is a promo for a 4 mininute feature called "Today in Champaign" which ran right before, and during the 8:25 AM news break during the "Today Show."
In 1979, the peacock returned to NBC as part of the "Proud N" logo.  This marked the first time the peacock was actually used as part of it's logo, even though, it was used to introduce color programs from the 1950's.  This logo was used by NBC from 1979 to 1985.  The 12 feathered peacock was later abreviated to six feathers, and the "N" was eliminated.


Tom Brokaw was made a co-host of "The Today Show" in 1976, and by 1982 he was anchoring the NBC Nightly News.  He continued in that role until 2004.



"Bare Essence" was a short lived attempt by NBC to get into the nighttime soap business.  This one was to compete with Dynasty, the Colbys and Dallas.  It starred Jennifer O'Neill, Jaime Lyn Bauer, Jessica Walter and Al Corley(from Dynasty).


The TV Special "Motown 25: Yesterday, Today and Forever" airred on May 16, 1983 and the "moonwalk" of Michael Jackson blew everyone away and was one of the highlights of the year on network TV.



"The A-Team" aired on NBC and WICD from 1983-87.  The action adventure series starred George Pepard, Mr. T., Dirk Benedict and Dwight Schultz.



"Too Close for Comfort" aired on ABC from 1980 to 1983, and in spite of only airing 3 seasons, it was offered in syndication.  It ran on WICD for a period during the mid 1980's.  It starred Ted Knight from the old Mary Tyler Moore Show.



NBC daytime included this spinoff series from "Another World."  In fact it was called "Another World: Texas" for a while.  It ran on NBC daytime from 1980 to 1982.  It was the first hour long daytime soap from it's beginning.



"Silver Spoons" ran on NBC from 1982 to 1986.  It starred  Ricky Schroder, Erin Gray, Joel Higgins and others.


"Hunter" ran on NBC from 1984 to 1991 and starred Fred Dryer, Stephanie Kramer, John Amos, Bruce Davidson and others.



"Highway to Heaven" ran from 1984 to 1989 and starred Michael Landon and Victor Frence.  It was the third popular show starring Michael Landon after Bonanza and Little House on the Prairie.  The show was discontinued when Victor French died of lung cancer in 1989.





The "Cosby Show" was Thursday's first "Must See TV" series.  It premiered in 1984 where it ran through 1992 on NBC.  The Show starred Bill Cosby, Phylicia Rashad, Lisa Bonet, Malcolm Jamal Warner, Tempestt Bledsoe and Keshia Knight Pulliam.  This series, has an interesting start, having been proposed as a comedy about a blue collar worker, and was turned down by ABC and NBC.  Bill Cosby's real life wife, talked Cos into changing the characters to upscale professionals.  It was still turned down by ABC, but NBC in it a flash of wisdom, picked it up.  The rest is history..







Here's one of the strangest sit coms ever, but it still holds a cult following.  "Alf" was a puppett who was actually an alien who landed in the sit com families garage, and was accepted by the family as it's newest member.  It ran on NBC from 1986-1990.


"The Golden Girls" ran on NBC from 1985 through 1992 on NBC.  It won at least 10 emmy awards.  It also ran in daytime on NBC from 1989 to 1990.






Bryant Gumble replaced Tom Brokaw as co-host of "The Today Show."  Here he is shown with Jane Pauley.









Above are various NBC logos from the 1980's  It shows the transition from the "Proud N", "Peacock  N" and later the 12 feathered peacock logo without the N.




Below are various scenes from WICD as the logo was changed with the "stacked-15" look, a metalic looking logo with reflections.  The logo carried over to station ID's and promotional announcements.   Pictured are Geni Roark and Keith Page
.

In 1984, WICD celebrated it's 25th Aniversary.  Somehow, though, a good part of it's history was "lost."  Evidently the people in charge was not aware of it's history back to 1953 with WDAN-TV, which later became WICD in 1960.  The history, instead chose to go back to the WCHU history, which would only take it back to 1959.  Oh, well.....  The good thing about it, is that I have a video copy of the anniversary show, which was hosted by Keith Page.  Many of the screen grabs come from that special broadcast.










Above and right is the WICD news set with the "stacked-15 logo."  Anchors include Art Barron and Kim Khazei.  It's believed the sports anchor was Mark Schanowski.  At the far right was the later "modern 15" logo with Art Barron used after 1986.




"Saturday Night Live" had a few rough years in the 1980's, but, in spite of the show, just not being all that funny, it continued.  Pictured is Joe Piscopo doing an impression of Joan Rivers on a promo.



Another nightime soap attempt, "Berrenger's" starred Sam Wannamaker, Robert Strand and Anita Morris, Yvette Mimieux, Ben Murphy and others.  It ran for 11 episodes in 1985.








WICD-TV, Channel 15 logo used right before the transition of the station to stereo in 1986.

 
 

In 1986, during a broadcast of the network's 60th Anniversary Celebration the new 6 feather logo was introduced.  It remains the logo of NBC, and is one of the most recognized logos in the world.


"Generations" was a daytime soap which ran from 1989 to 1991.  It was the first soap to have an African-American family as main characters.  The show eventually moved to cables BET and ran through 1993.


Mr. T. from the A-Team in an NBC promo "NBC Be There."
WICD graphics which were shown with a listing of community announcements.



Along the new 6 feather logo, NBC began the slogan "Come Home to NBC" in 1986.


NBC Slogans during the 1980-1994 period


1982- "We're NBC, Just Watch Us Now
1983- "Be There"
1984- "Let's All Be There"
1986- "Come Home to NBC"
1988- "Come Home to the Best...Only on NBC"
1990- "The Place to Be"
1991- "It's a Whole New NBC"
1992- "NBC is the Only One"
1993- "Just Turn Us On NBC"







Susan Rieke, a former nursing supervisor at Burnham Hospital was hired by Station Manager Joe Norris to be a co-anchor for awhile in the late 1980's.  She had no TV news experience, no background in journalism...she was hired to just READ the news.  She joined Art Barron at the anchor desk.  It's been said that her hiring caused hard feelings in the newsroom as everyone there had to prepare what she read....plus she made a lot more money than they did.
What more can be said? "The Tonight Show" continued with Johnny Carson.
In 1986, WICD was the first station in east central Illinois to broadcast in stereo.  WICD passed NBC programming in full descrete stereo(as opposed to a simulated stereo audio signal).

Tom Brokaw anchoring NBC Nightly News, and representing NBC News during one of the NBC Anniversary Celebration Specials of the early 1990's.

WICD was able to bring viewers who had stereo TV receivers a television broadcast of the movie "The Jagged Edge" in stereo.
Keith Page with details about the weather forecast from the late 1980's
Sandra Chapman, anchor on WICD.  This shot is from 1993.


"Baywatch" ran on NBC for one season, 1989, then ran in syndication and was the most watched TV show in the world with over 1.1 billion viewers.  Stars included David Hasselhoff, Pamela Anderson, Yasmine Bleeth, Alexandra Paul and David Charvet.  After it left NBC, WICD ran "Baywatch" late night weekends.



From 1986 to 1994, "L.A. Law" probably did more to increase enrollments at law schools around the country than anything else.  It was a great show, and set the pattern to today's shows from  Boston Legal to E.R. and many others.  The show starred Harry Hamlin, Susan Dey, Corbin Bernsen, Jimmy Smits, Jill Eikenbery, Alan Rachins, Michele Greene, Michael Tucker, Susan Ruttan and Richard Dysart....along with a great set of additional cast members to numerous to mention.  It was original "Must See TV" on Thursdays.




"David Letterman" hosted a daytime series in 1980, which led him to latenight.  The title of the 1980 show is pictured to the left, while Letterman is pictured from the final daytime show in October of 1980.





"The Place to Be" was the slogan of NBC from 1990.






Shown above is the new late 1980's WICD logo with peacock and the Stereo logo.  For the rest of the 1980's and well into the 1990's, WICD was the only station in the market which was able to broadcast in stereo.  Center is Jeff Friend who was main anchor for a time in the late 1980's and early 90's.  He originally was with WAND in Decatur.  (Right below) is weekend weathercaster Pam Land with weekend anchor Kathleen Quinn.  It's also, unfortunate that that was the end of the success story for the station under it's original ownership.  A streak of technical bad luck-the failure of a transmition line along the tower,  bad decisions-like lowering the power to save on the electric bill, adversiting sales failures, and the end of ownership support pending a sale brought the station on hard times through the early 1990's.  It wasn't until the sale of the station to Guy Gannett did things begin to look more favorable.


"Fresh Pince of Bel Air" premiered on NBC in September of 1990 and ran through 1996.  It was also a syndicated weekday afternoon series on WICS/WICD during the 1990's as well.  It ran in conjuction with "Full House" on the stations through the late 1990's.
OK, it's my website, and if I want to include a shot of me in it, I will.  Here's one from January 1990, about four years before I was employed by WICD.  Here I was talking about the WDAN/WDNL Bridal Show which I headed as GM of the radio stations.  I was being interviewed by WICD news as the station covered the event.

"Coach" ran on ABC beginning in 1989 and ran into 1997.  It starred Craig T. Nelson as Hayden Fox, coach of the Minnesota State University "Screaming Eagles."  The series also starred, Danville's own Jerry Van Dyke as Luther, one of the assistant coaches.  It also ran in syndication on WICS/WICD for several years beginning in 1993 at 6:30pm CT.  It was ultimately replaced by reruns of Seinfeld.  "Coach" also filled some programming gaps, such as 12:30pm weekday afternoons, as well as Saturdays at 6:30pm.  Part of the appeal of the show here was the fact that Van Dyke was a Danville native. 




 
The Anchor Lineups....as they are remembered.....
Ron Davis, Loren Tate(sports), Keith Page(weather)
Ron Davis, Susan Boller, Tom Stocker(sports), Keith Page
Ron Davis, Diana Morgan, Tock Stocker, Keith Page
Ron Davis, Larry Stirewalt, Ronald Clark, Keith Page
Tom Milbourn, Joan Lovelace, Chuck Nagel(sports), Keith Page
Bruce Jackabowski, Demetra "Kay" Kalodemos, Mark Schanowski,      and Keith Page
Art Barron, Susan Rieke, Mark Schanowski, Keith Page
Jeff Friend, Sandra Chapman, Dan Swaney, Keith Page
Rich Porter,
(1995) Paul Donahue, Stacy Case, Scott Musgrave(sports), Keith Page
Paul Donahue, Stacy Case, Scott Musgrave, Jerome Ritchie
Eric Rinderle, Tiffani Sargent, Scott Musgrave, Jerome Ritchie
others include: Larry Stirewalt, April Robinson, Tamara Gibbs, Pam Land, Beth Morgan, Barbara Leach, Doris McGee, Becky McRae, Scott Andresen, Rebecca Roe, Kathleen Quinn, Diana Morgan(WICD's first black female anchor), Pam Hanson, Liz Merdian, Roger Francisco, Jack Keefe(News Director), Rich Porter(News Director), Ronald Clark(WICD's first black sports anchor).

A scene of the short intro which NBC used to introduce a special program, many times a Bob Hope Special, a Holiday Special or the like.

Seinfeld brought some good fortune to NBC in 1990.  It began rather weak, but built an audience to become the anchor for "Must See TV" Thursday night, 8PM CT time slot.  It also appeared on WICD in prime time access, 6:30PM CT beginning in 1997, where it continued until mid 2007 when it was moved to 10:35pm after WICD became an ABC affiliate.  It was replaced at 6:30pm by "Entertainemnt Tonight."








NBC shows from 1986 to 1989 include: Easy Street, Valerie, Alf, Amazing Stories, Matlock, Crime Story, 1986, Highway to Heaven, Gimme a Break, You Again, St. Elsewhere, Cosby Show, Family Ties, Cheers, Night Court, Hill Street Blues, The A-Team, Miami Vice, L.A. Law, Facts of Life, 227, Golden Girls, Amen, Hunter, Our House, My Two Dads, J.J. Starbuck, A Year in the Life, Rags to Riches, Miami Vice, Private Eye, Golden Girls, Amen, Magical World of Disney, Day by Day, Hogan Family, In the Heat of the Night, Midnight Caller, Unsolved Mysteries, Baby Boom, Tattingers, A Different World, Dear John, Sonny Spoon, Something Out There, 227, Empty Nest, Sister Kate, Quantum Leap, Baywatch, Hardball and Mancuso FBI,



"Law and Order" began on NBC in 1990 and has continued to spin off other variations of the successful drama.


It ended up being a TV classic beginning it's run in 1982.  It almost didn't make it out of it's first season when it ended up dead last in the ratings, but NBC took a chance and created a classic!  It ended up being in the top 10 during eight of it's 11 seasons on NBC.  The show also spun off "Frasier" in the the 1990's.


Another attempt of sci-fi from NBC, this one starred Scott Bakula and former child star Dean Stockwell.  "Quantum Leap" ran from 1989 to 1993.


Not quite a classic, but it does have a cult following.  "Night Court" ran on NBC and WICD from 1984 to 1992.  It starred Harry Anderson, John Larroquette, Markie Post, Richard Mull, Marsha Warfield and classic TV's Selma Diamond.


"Santa Barbara" was another NBC daytime drama which ran from 1984 to 1993.

"Wings" ran on NBC from 1990 to 1997 and starred Timothy Daly, Steve Weber, Crystal Bernard, David Schramm and others.  This was another of the "cult" sit coms of the era along with "Night Court" and "Alf."





NBC shows from 1990 to 1994 include: Hull High, Lifestories, Fresh Prince of Bel Air, Ferris Bueller, Matlock, In the Heat of the Night, Law and Order, Unsolved Mysteries, Fanelli Boys, Dear John, Hunter, Cosby Show, A Different World, Cheers, Grand, L.A. Law, Quantum Leap, Night Court, Wings, Midnight Caller, Parenthood, Working It Out, Golden Girls, Empty Nest, Carol and Company, American Dreamer, Adventures of Mark and Brian, Eerie Indiana, Man of the People, Pacific Station, Blossom, I'll Fly Away, Seinfeld, Real Life with Jane Pauley, Expose, Flesh n Blood, Reasonable Doubts, The Torkelsons, Nurses, Sisters and others.



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updated  6/30/2008
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