Welcome to Central Illinois' On-Line Broadcast Museum. This website documents in detail the history of each of the viewable TV stations, past and present, across mid-Illinois in text, photos, and videos, as well as each station's current status. This site also includes local radio history and automated analog formats, again told in pictures, videos, and text.
Note that this website displays best on a full-size monitor, desktop, or laptop computer. If you are using your phone, use the "desktop" view. You can zoom in on the page if needed. Also, you may have to sign in to YouTube to view some videos. Some browsers do not allow some embedded videos to play, so click on the "YouTube" logo on the video to view it from YouTube.
Me at the Storm Team Weather Center, 2021
Doug Quick
Radio/TV Broadcaster/Historian, Author, Webmaster
complete bio available here.
Now through April, I present another look at the "TV Time Capsule," which will take us back to the week of September 11-17, 1954. On the cover of TV Guide is a movie actress, singer, and performer from Broadway, movies, and TV who is virtually unknown today. I'll give you her backstory.
Local TV was young, and programming consisted of a few network shows, syndicated first-run series, and some local productions. Many TV stations didn't sign on daily until noon or even later. There were no late movies, as most mainstream theatrical movies were still unavailable for broadcast. TV listings from Mid-Illinois stations, Peoria, Bloomington, Hannibal, Quincy, the Quad Cities, and St. Louis will be seen, along with some notable omissions.
There was no color, even though a Color Spectacular was broadcast that week, but no one saw it in color across Mid-Illinois! I'll show you two videos that aired that week, to give you a feel of how TV was viewed during that era. I'll also show you the names of personalities from most of the stations in the area. Some programs drew my attention, and I'll describe them, including one program that would not be acceptable to today's TV audience, yet it was produced for kids!
Check out the TV Time Capsule during April here at the Museum!
Featured Videos
Commercials—love them or hate them. I normally pre-record TV shows I want to watch so I can skip past them when I watch. I subscribe to YouTube Premium to avoid them. I subscribe to SiriusXM to avoid them. Ironically, I sold radio commercials during the first half of my career, appeared in TV commercials, did voice-overs for others, and was on the air between commercials as a weathercaster and TV news anchor for years.
That's the era I'm spotlighting now at Central Illinois' On-Line Broadcast Museum. I will include various collections produced by YouTube contributors. Where they got them, I have no idea, but I hope you'll look at them as tiny time capsules showing us what we bought, what we ate, what we cleaned with, what we fed our kids and our pets, what we drove, how we learned about products and decided what we needed to make our lives better.
As a warning to viewers here on this website, many commercials on this week's Featured Videos depict outdated cultural depictions of people and things that some may find offensive.
So, through Saturday, April 5, we hear and see "a word from our sponsor."
Click on the image to watch the video directly from YouTube.
Ten Commercials from the early 1950s, Variety
Check out these classic commercials from the 1940s (although most are from the 1950s). Products include Coca-Cola, Band-Aid Plastic Strips, Gillette Razors, Sunbeam Bread, Scotties Tissues, and Camel Cigarettes.
Click on the image to watch the video directly from YouTube.
TV Commercials from the 1950s and early 1960s, Variety
Here is over an hour of TV commercials from the 1950s. See ads for Pepsodent Tooth Paste, Chevrolet, Dodge, Speedway Gasoline, Lucky Strike, Muriel Cigars, E-Z Pop Popcorn, Maypo Oat Cereal, Keds Shoes, Westinghouse Washers, Butter-Nut Coffee, Shell Gasoline, and others.
Click on the image to watch the video directly from YouTube.
1950s-1960s TV Commercials, Variety
This video is over 7 hours long and includes commercials from two decades! You'll see commercials for cigarette brands before the 1971 law went into effect, eliminating them from broadcast advertising.
I in no way condone the use of cigarettes. Still, they are included in this video and others because of the historical significance of that type of advertising during the early days of television.
You'll see ads for food products that no longer exist, car models that no longer exist, beverages that no longer exist, but others in each category that still do. The list is seemingly endless—at 7+ hours!
Click on the image to watch the video directly from YouTube.
TV Commercials (1960s) Variety
The 60s included an explosion of TV commercials; some were even in color. This collection includes products from Kodak, Rexall Drugs, Betty Crocker breakfast cereals in packages (not boxes), Birds Eye Pudding, Head and Shoulders Shampoo, Coca-Cola-King Size, Pringles, Triacton, Ballentine Ale, Butternut Coffee, Mr. Clean, Old Spice, Timex Watches, Kodak Brownie cameras (with the Nelsons), Canada Dry Ginger Ale, Quisp Cereal, Sugus gum, Dodge Dart GT, Post Cereal, Dodge Coronet, Alpha-Bits Cereal and many more. This video above is an hour and 46 minutes of pure advertising nirvana.
Click on the image to watch the video directly from YouTube.
70s Commercials (1977) ABC
The video above is a collection of commercials recorded from ABC throughout 1977. They include commercials for McDonald's, Purina Cat Chow, Kentucky Fried Chicken, Gaines Burgers Dog Food, Singer Sewing Machines, Pillsbury Plus, Kook-Aid, FotoMat, and Wheat Thins (with Sandy Duncan-a central Illinois connection. She visited Taylorville, Illinois, when her CBS series "Funny Face" aired as her character's hometown was central Illinois' Taylorville. She has a street named for her there. Other commercials include those for Goodyear Tires, Canada Dry (with Aldo Ray, Broderick Crawford, and Jack Palance), Pepsi, and others.
ABC promos are included for the series "Eight is Enough," "The Brady Bunch Hour," "Blansky's Beauties," "Fish," "Barney Miller," "Starsky and Hutch," Future Cop" and Three's Company."
Click on the image to watch the video directly from YouTube.
TV Commercials from Oscar Broadcast (1978) ABC
The 50th Annual Academy Awards was broadcast on ABC on April 3, 1978. This video includes the show's opening, which has an apparent audio problem in the original broadcast. The video above includes just the commercials contained in the special broadcast. There's even a central Illinois connection, as Danville's own Bobby Short was featured in a Charlie's (cologne) commercial along with future "Charlie's Angel," Shelly Hack. She would be added to "Charlie's Angels" for the 1978-80 season.
Other commercials included Revlon, Polaroid, one for an instant video system with Tony Roberts (who passed away on February 7, 2025), and the Polaroid One-Step camera (with James Garner and another with Beverly Garland). There were commercials for Coca-Cola, Tab, Schlitz Beer (with James Coburn), Sprite, and several ABC program promotional spots, including ones for "The Barbara Walters Special," "Happy Days," "Laverne and Shirley," "Three's Company," "The Harvey Korman Show," "Welcome Back Kotter," "Barney Miller" and the short-lived "AES Hudson Street."
As a side note, "Star Wars" captured every technical category for which it was nominated, winning 6 Oscars. However, it lost in the Best Picture and Best Director categories to Woody Allen's "Annie Hall." The Best Picture winner also starred Tony Roberts (mentioned above as a commercial spokesperson for Polaroid's new video recorder/player).
Click on the image to watch the video directly from YouTube.
80s Retro TV Commercials (1980s) Variety
This collection recorded from San Francisco WKTU (FOX) and KPIX (CBS) (includes commercials from Domino's Pizza, 7-Up Gold, Circuit City, Burger King, Sunny Delight, Ragu Sauce, Ovaltine, Eggo Waffles, Campbell's Soup (with Jimmy Stewart), Coors Light, Dentyne Gum, McDonald's, "Halloween Four" movie, Diet 7-Up, Marine World, Welch's Juice Drinks, Toyota, Skittles, Minute Maid, Ford Trucks, New York Times, Coors Beer, and Pontiac LeMans.
Astute listeners might recognize on the WKTU promo for "Regis and Kathy Lee" and others near the end of the video the deep voice of Charlie Van Dyke, who was a former DJ at WLS in the 1970s, as well as an active voice-over guy who also did the news intros for WICS, Springfield, in the 1990s.
CBS Promos from "Newhart," "Heartland," "Hard Time on Planet Earth," "Kate and Allie," and "Jake and the Fat Man."
Click on the image to watch the video directly from YouTube.
Wendy's Hamburgers (1985) Russian Fashion Show
This video was the first of several commercials reflecting Americans' thoughts of Russians. Wendy's used this as an example of the lack of topping choices from other hamburger brands. It was one of the funniest commercials of the 1980s! Notice the picture of Stalin on the wall. The people in the audience are obviously under orders from the military to react favorably (they don't) to the fashion show. I hope this example of authoritarianism is not in our future, but it appears we're on the road to just that.
Click on the image to watch the video directly from YouTube.
Commercials from the 90s (1990s) Variety
Here are commercials that appeared on the FOX TV network from May 20, 1994. They include spots for Saturn, Reach Toothbrush, Miller Genuine Draft, Pontiac Grand Am, Dr. Pepper, Pantene Shampoo (with "Dynasty" star Emma Samms), Mercury Villager, MCI Long Distance Telephone, MetLife, Coca-Cola, Toyota Tercel DX (with David Bowie), promo for a Cub and Giants (voiced by former DJ and current voice-over artist Charlie Van Dyke), Coors Light, Kodak Royal Gold Film, Acura Integra, and Tylenol Allergy Sinus NightTime.
The video also includes several FOX Television Network shows, such as "Mr. Baseball," "Married With Children," "Beverly Hills 90210," and "NFL on FOX."
Click on the image to watch the video directly from YouTube.
TV Commercials from the 2000s
Now, we are entering the 21st century. So, how different are the TV commercials? The Answer is "not very." Check out Wendy's, Corona Beer, "The Dukes of Hazard" movie, Coca-Cola, Chili's, Gillette Razors, Sleep Number Mattresses, Radio Shack Cell Phones, McDonald's, Kraft Cheese, Ford Fusion, Saturn, Macy's, Jaguar XJ8L, Sprint, Buick, Orbin Gum, Applebee's, and more.
NBC Promos for "Saturday Night Live," "Carson Daley," and others from an NBC station in New England.
Classic Radio
Click on the image to listen to the video directly from YouTube.
WLS 890AM Chicago (1973) Charlie Van Dyke/Fred Winston/J. J. Jeffrey/John Landecker/Bill Bailey
Since I mentioned Charlie Van Dyke in more than one of the videos above, I feature Charlie as a morning DJ on WLS from 1973. This video is a daytime composite aircheck featuring all of the weekday jocks on the air at the time. Charlie is followed by midday DJ Fred Winston, afternoon drive DJ JJ Jeffrey, evening DJ John Landecker, and overnight DJ Bill Bailey.
This is from St. Patrick's Day in 1973 when the boys' High School Basketball Tournament was underway. He announces the results of some of the games and talks about the tournament in Champaign.
Charlie Van Dyke
(WLS Radio Publictiy Photo)
WLS Coverage Area. Click on the image to see a larger picture
(Broadcasting Year Book)
To see and hear more of the History of WLS go to the Legendary Radio Page under Radio History or CLICK HERE.
Thanks to John Gehron for identifying the first two at the top, Dick Saint and Chuck Knapp. I did know that from left to right middle is Fred Winston, Charlie Van Dyke, and J.J. Jeffrey. In front left to right are Bill Bailey and John "Records" Landecker.
(WLS Radio Publicity Photo)
WLS's John Gehron and me at the 2022 Illinois Broadcasters Association Awards, when we both received the W. Russell Withers, Jr. Broadcast Pioneer Awards. Click on the image above to see a larger view
(Doug Quick Collection)
Click on the image to watch the video directly from YouTube.
KPNX-TV, NBC 12 News, Phoenix,Arizona
This video is around a year old, as 12 News Phoenix did a feature on Charlie Van Dyke, their station news announcer. Charlie was also the news voice for WICS, Channel 20, Springfield, and 70+ other stations during the 1990s.
When I was the promotion director, I would have loved to have had Charlie do the same for WICD, but as always, WICS-Springfield was the center of the universe, and my budget for WICD wouldn't allow for the expenditure. To quote the late Tommy Smothers, "Mom (the station owners) always liked him (WICS) best." It's always been that way and still is.
Click on the NWS logo above to get the Lincoln, IL site and/or
click on the links below the logo for the latest weather story and current radar view of Mid-Illinois.
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Latest Updates
2025-0204 Former WICD crew member Lou Melgarejo sent me some candid studio pictures taken right before the station was sold to Guy Gannett Communications in 1994. See photos of anchor Gwen Ellis, weathercaster Keith Page, and Scott Andresen with sports. Thanks to Lou Melgarejo for the contribution. See the thumbnail sample below. See them all at WICD 1967-2015.
2025-0208 WSIO-LD signs on in Peoria. The low power television transmitrter operates on Channel 51 from a low hanging antenna on Peoria's north side. It's owned by Digital Networks, that owns a number of subchannel TV networks. Click here to get details from TVToday.
On February 13, 2025 I received some bad news with the passing of the original Sangamon Broadcasting WDAN/WDNL General Manager, Joe Jackson. I added him to the IN MEMORY section of the history of WDNL. See the WDNL In Memory Section by clicking here.
2025-0303 Due to the recent bad decisions of the brass at MSNBC, I have eliminated the link to the news network's website and replaced it with one of most popular blog networks on line, The Meidas Touch Network along with the three major TV network's streaming 24/7 news feeds from NBC, CBS and ABC.
2025-0311 Added the news item that Sinclair Broadcast Group has sold five Midwest TV stations, including ones visible across Mid-Illinois. The complete story is on this page.
2025-0313 Updated an unavailable video to replace with a video of one of the most popular TV shows of the 1950s on the WCIA history page. Now you can see the opening titles of "The Phil Silvers Show, You'll Never Get Rich" from 1955-1959. It also includes some rare commercials with Phil Silvers and other cast members.
2025-0313 Added a picture of Wolfman Jack with the Classic Radio video/audio selection. It was taken in 1974 as he made an appearance at KSLQ, 98.1FM, St. Louis. His syndicated show would air a couple of years later on KADI, 96.3FM, St. Louis. That's where the aircheck below is taken from.
2025-0319-20 I found some additional pictures in my file from radio and TV stations that I added to the various pages. Included more pictures of the history of WICD and WJJY-TV and radio stations WDBR, WDAN, WTIM and within the Radio Automation page.
2025-0324 Updated several subchannels in TV Today in the Mid-Illinois and Chicago pages. More updates are likely in the other markets over the next week or so.
2025-0331 New TV Time Capsule posted, opening the capsule to September 11-17, 1954.
2025-0331 I returnded "Cutting the Cable/Satellite" page to the site.
2025-0331 Each of the "TV Now" pages of the TV markets includes a link to get the local TV schedule grid. The former source went out of business last week, so the source is now to the Channel Master antenna people. Just click on the logo for "Channel Master" and insert your zip code to see what off air channels are available in your area. Note that many of the low power stations will not reach the entire market. Check the coverage area maps of each to see if you're included.
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Much of the information on the history of TV pages on this site comes directly from my 2016 book "Pictures on the Prairie: The First Ten Years of Mid-Illinois Television." There are many more pictures on this site than in the book as space was limited.
Latest TV
Headlines
2025-0306 NBC Names Replacement for Lester Holt on the NBC Nightly Newscast
Tom Llamas has been named the next anchor and managing editor NBC Nightly News, beginning this summer.
He takes over for Lester Holt. Llamas will also continue anchoring Top Story with Tom Llamas on NBC News NOW each weeknight, which is available by clicking on NBC News Now above.
Sale of Five Television Stations including Mid-Illinois Stations WICS and WICD Announced
Tuesday, March 11, 2025 One thing you can say about Central Illinois Television and the Springfield-Decatur-Champaign market is that change is slow and rare. Not since the turn of the 21st century have we seen any major ownership changes of the heritage TV stations in the market. Recalling the shift of WICS/WICD from Guy Gannett to Sunrise, then quickly to Sinclair, then the WAND ownership change from LIN Broadcasting to Block Communications, and about the same time Nexstar purchased WCIA/WMBD from Midwest Television. Those were seemingly set in stone over the last 20 years, but now another change is taking place.
Sinclair, Inc. has sold five Midwest TV stations to Rincon Broadcasting. The stations include Springfield's WICS (ABC), Channel 20, and Champaign's WICD (ABC), Channel 15. The other stations are KHQA (CBS-ABC), Channel 7 Hannibal, MO-Quincy, IL; KTVO (ABC-CBS), Channel 3 Kirksville, MO-Ottumwa, IA; and WVTV (CW), Channel 18, Milwaukee, WI. The Springfield (IL) Business Journal reported that the purchase price was $29.4 million. Rincon Broadcasting is based out of Santa Barbara, CA.
Rincon's principal owner is Todd Parkin, a former executive of Bally Sports regional sports networks who most recently was the Senior Vice President of Sports Operations. Sinclair, Inc. was a partner that operated the Bally Sports networks, Diamond Sports Group, which filed for bankruptcy Chapter 11 in 2023 and emerged from bankruptcy in 2024. Sinclair is no longer a part of that regional sports operation. Parkin is also the managing director of media and vice president of growth at Think Consulting in Atlanta, GA.
According to CNBC, just last year, Sinclair announced it was selling 30% of its 185 owned or operated stations and working with an investment bank to help with the sale.
Although the operations of the GOCOM stations FOX affiliates WRSP, Channel 55, Springfield, and WCCU, Channel 27, Urbana, or CW affiliate WBUI, Channel 23, Decatur, are under a local management agreement with WICS, there's been no official word as to that continuing after the sale.
Sources:
Capitol City Now, Springfield, IL
Dun & Bradstreet
The Desk.net
Muddy River News
Radio and Television Business Report
Previously on Videos of the Week...
If you've missed any of the "Videos of the Week" or "Classic Radio" recordings, you'll find them here. Unfortunately, there's no written narrative to go along with each. You have to visit each week for that.
Classic Radio
WLS AM/FM (1985) Animal Stories Larry Lujack, Tommy Edwards
WCIA (late 1970s) Paul Davis and Mr. Roberts
WICS (1996) News segment Mel-O-Cream
WEEK-TV, 70 Years-Captain Jinks and Salty Sam
WCIA (1983) PM Magazine-Complete Show
WICD-TV (1984) Aircheck of NBC Movie of the Week
WAND (1982) ABC Late Night-Vegas aircheck
WEEK-TV (1989) Weather Bill Houlihan
WICD-TV (1984) Aircheck of NBC- Bosom Buddies/Mama's Family
WICS (2013) Home for the Holidays Promo
Classic Radio
Tonight Show (1954) NBC Steve Allen
Tonight Show (unknown date) NBC Steve Allen
Interview with Steve Allen (1977)
The Tonight Show (1960) NBC Jack Paar
Dorothy Kilgallen vs. Jack Paar Video
Dorothy Kilgallen Story Video
The Tonight Show (1960) NBC Jack Paar with guest Sen. John F. Kennedy
The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson (1962) NBC
The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson (1964) NBC
The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson (1965) NBC New Year's Eve Show
The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson (1971) NBC
The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson (1982) NBC 20th Anniversary Show
Ten Commercials from the early 1950s (1950s) Variety
TV Commercials from the 1950s and early 1960s, Variety
1950s-1960s TV Commercials, Variety
TV Commercials (1960s) Variety
TV Commercials from Oscar Broadcast (1978) ABC
80s Retro TV Commercials (1980s) Variety
Wendy's Hamburgers (1985) Russian Fashion Show
Commercials from the 90s (1990s) Variety
Radio Classics
WLS 890AM Chicago (1973) Charlie Van Dyke/Fred Winston/JJ Jeffries/John Landecker/Bill Bailey
KPNX-TV, NBC 12 News, Phoenix, Arizona
Coming on April 5
Coming late Saturday, it's a new selection of Featured Videos! I pull from the TV archives a number of pilot shows from your favorite TV oldies from the 1960s through the 1980s. But that's not all! You'll see classic scenes from one of TV's last comedy variety shows, a collection of episodes of TV's first "epic" western series broadcast in color. Plus another classic radio selection!
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