wcia 3 champaign, wicd 15 champaign, wand 17 decatur, wics 20 Springfield, week 25 peoria, whoi 19 peoria, wmbd 31 peoria, wyyz 43 Bloomington, wbln, wtvh, wirl, wrau, wtvp, wdan, classic tv, central Illinois tv, radio, automation, Jimmy Kimmel, Nexstar Media Group, Sinclair Broadcast Group, Television News
Announcing...
I’m announcing my association with a new radio consulting company called “Open-Source Radio Group.” Their website states: “At Open-Source Radio Group, we believe in the power of open, flexible radio formats that give stations the freedom to create unique sounds without constraints. Our professionally programmed music formats are tailored to local markets, blending familiarity and innovation to connect with listeners.”
My association focused on developing a mass appeal format for radio listeners whom contemporary music formats have left behind. “Doug Quick’s Golden Classics” is available to small-market, low-power, and large-to-medium-market radio stations with HD channels and offers stations ultimate program flexibility, with 100% of the commercial time going to the station. Each format is available in three service tiers. It offers a station an automation-ready, custom, personality-driven format with music from the mid-60s, 70s, and early 80s. For more information, click on the logos above.
Featured Videos
Daytime Television and Radio, An Uncovered Piece of Broadcast History-Part 1
For this three-week Featured Videos session (through May 2nd), we look at daytime television and radio. In this grouping, I have selected some very popular daytime shows, one of which has aired for 63 years, as well as some less well-known ones. There were plenty of others I could have, or would have, liked to include, which is why I’m looking to expand the selection with another set of daytime shows soon. This group is mostly from the early days of stereotypical daytime dramas and game shows. Fortunately, many include the original commercials, which are often more entertaining than the shows themselves!
Many of these earlier “soaps” and game shows were produced live, mostly from the CBS and NBC studios in New York. It’s just lucky that a few 16mm filmed kinescopes remain. Many of those dramas and even game shows were like producing a 2 1/2-hour weekly program!
Even though game shows weren’t officially scripted, the writers had to come up with questions and gather film footage of kids, for example, for “The Baby Game” in a pre-Internet social media world! Interviewing potential contestants, arranging travel and hotel accommodations, and hiring chauffeurs to pick them up and take them to the studio on time in a large city with heavy traffic must have been a logistical nightmare. Just think: if someone “chickens out” of appearing, falls ill, or has a family emergency, what happens then? Those issues had to bring nervous breakdowns to many a producer during the era!
Daytime drama had similar issues with live programming. Would the writers deliver an approved script? The actors had to have memories like steel traps to remember their lines, under the stress of just showing up on time for a live daily broadcast.
I have a healthy respect for those TV pioneers who experienced all of that, and yet, most did make it through. Many writers, producers, and directors went on to work in television for years, on shows we’ve all seen in recent years. Many of the stars we’ve grown up with got their start on daytime dramas. Actors like Julianne Moore and Marisa Tomei (As the World Turns), Brad Pitt (Another World), Demi Moore and John Stamos (General Hospital), Kevin Bacon (Guiding Light), as well as Laurence Fishburne, Guy Pearce, Alec Baldwin, Sarah Michelle Gellar, Elizabeth Banks, Ryan Phillippe, and many others all began careers on daytime television.
Daytime television, compared to the early days, is much different today. Societal changes have shifted the daytime television audience. The target demo in those early days, mostly women and homemakers, has been depleted as many are in the workforce. The overall audience has become much smaller, especially with the rise of cable TV channels and streaming services.
Oh, how I miss those Betty Crocker and Duncan Hines cake mixes, Mr. Clean, Pine Sol, and Duz detergent commercials of the past! You’ll see a few in this bunch!
So, now through April 25th, I bring you a flashback to the earlier days of daytime television.
Let’s not forget about daytime radio! I also bring one great example, though it also appeared on television!
“Don McNeil’s Breakfast Club” was broadcast on radio and television and seen in central Illinois on two local TV stations. Watch a 15-minute opening segment as broadcast on ABC Television and Radio. He was a veteran broadcast host getting his start in the 1930s. Watch and imagine this show being broadcast on the radio, too.
There’s a lot to watch and listen to now through May 2nd.
Classic Television
Click on the image to watch the video directly from YouTube.
Search for Tomorrow (1953) CBS
This daytime drama, Search for Tomorrow, premiered on September 3, 1951, well before anyone in Mid-Illinois had the opportunity to watch. The first CBS stations didn’t go on the air until nearly two years later! The CBS daytime show would continue to air on CBS through March 26, 1982. The following Monday, it would reappear on NBC, airing through December 26, 1985. That was an incredible 36-year run, but wait, there’s one below that aired much longer than that!
From YouTube: “In this 1953 episode, Irene Barron is concerned Jim Wilcox has taken her for $100,000. Can it be true? Airdate April 3, 1953. Stars Bess Johnson, Les Damon, and Earl Hammond. Commercials for Joy and Spic and Span, with happy housewives dutifully cleaning house.”
“Search for Tomorrow” didn’t appear on the TV schedules of the Mid-Illinois CBS affiliates in the early 1950s, when most went on the air. It didn’t appear on WCIA, KHQA, or WTHI until sometime in the mid-1950s. Most stations in 1953 had only late-afternoon and evening programming schedules. They had to rely on being included in the “buy” from the advertising agencies that represented the products they advertised. In fact, the advertising agencies owned the programming, and it was produced at CBS by Procter & Gamble Productions, which also owned the original radio drama series.
This video and many others featured this week are from the Movie Craft YouTube Channel. Moviecraft Inc. is a multimedia film archive and distributor specializing in rare, historic, and industrial motion pictures. Since 1985, it's licensed classic television, documentaries, and feature films to platforms like Roku, Tubi, Amazon Prime, Plex, and Apple TV.
From the makers of Joy Dishwashing Liquid, there's Spic and Span, the sponsors of "Search for Tomorow" from 1953.
(YouTube screen grab)
Click on the image to watch the video directly from YouTube.
Art Linkletter’s House Party (1955) CBS
This is a segment from a show that aired in 1955. It’s a heartwarming segment filmed for a serviceman, his young wife's husband, and their new son. The most unusual thing about this was that the serviceman’s mother also introduced him to his new twin brothers!
The video also tells the story of how the film came into existence. It’s a fascinating story!
“Art Linkletter’s House Party” aired on CBS radio beginning in 1944, and began its television run on September 1, 1952. The first year, it was simulcast on both radio and television.
By then, WCIA was broadcasting all day. “Art Linkletter’s House Party” aired live from CBS at 1:30 pm (CT). One can assume it was probably also seen on KHQA and WTHI.
Art Linkletter and a wife of an overseas service man surprising her husband with a phone call with Art Linkletter. But, the service man gets another surprise....watch the video to find out what it is!
(YouTube screen grab)
WCIA Fall Promo 1981
Click on the image to watch the video directly from YouTube.
Click on the image to watch the video directly from YouTube.
The Brighter Day (1955) CBS
“The Brighter Day,” a 15-minute daily drama (soap opera) aired on CBS live from January 4, 1954, to September 28, 1962. It was seen across all CBS affiliates in Mid-Illinois at 3 pm (CT). The show was created by Irna Phillips, who was considered “The Queen of the Soaps.” This series began on the radio in 1948 and remained there through 1956. The radio version was an audio-only version of the TV series. It was televised live from New York.
In this episode, Dr. Hamilton (Larry Ward) is involved in a scandal. In watching this show, I see how people can get hooked on these daytime dramas. Central Illinois viewers got hooked thanks to the CBS affiliates WCIA, WTVH*, KHQA, and WTHI-TV. *WTVH was at that time a CBS primary affiliate until 6 pm on 1/1/1958.
This was transferred from a 16mm b-w kinescope film by Moviecraft.
Above is the TV listings of WCIA from January 4, 1955 the actual date of the broadcast of the video above!
(Bloomington Pantagraph)
This is why they were called "Soaps." Most of the daytime dramas were sponsored by the makers of household cleaning products, and in the case of "The Brighter Day", it sort of went with the idea of "brighter" clothes when you use "Cheer!"
(YouTube screen grab)
Click on the image to watch the video directly from YouTube.
Video Village (1960) CBS Jack Narz
Jack Narz (the brother of Tom Kennedy, who is seen below in “You Don’t Say”) served as the host (introduced on-air as “the Mayor”) of “Video Village” from the show’s daytime premiere on July 11, 1960, until September 9, 1960, after which he departed for personal reasons. Red Rowe replaced Narz during the week of September 16 (including the final nighttime episode). On the following Monday, Monty Hall (“Let’s Make a Deal”) replaced Narz and hosted “Video Village” the remainder of the show’s run. The video above would have aired sometime between July and September of 1960.
A game show, played like a board game, in which the contestants were tokens and moved on the board after rolling huge dice in a dice cage. Jack Narz hosted at the beginning of the series.
(YouTube screen grab)
From YouTube: “Kenny Williams served as the announcer (the “town crier”) throughout the show’s run. Joanne Copeland (later to become the second Mrs. Johnny Carson) served as the show’s original hostess during its New York City run. Shortly after, Hall joined the show, and Heatter-Quigley moved it to CBS Television City in Hollywood, California. Eileen Barton replaced Copeland.”
On a personal note, there was a Milton Bradley game based on the TV series, and, of course, being the TV kid I was, I had to have the game. I think I got it for Christmas. I would have been 5 years old at the time! I wish I still had it!
There was a children’s version of the show that aired on Saturday morning TV from September 30, 1961, to June 16, 1962. Monty Hall hosted it with Eileen Barton.
Click on the image to watch the video directly from YouTube.
The Match Game (1962), NBC Gene Rayburn
This is the original version, produced first in 1962 on NBC in color. This ten-minute segment was taken from a Goodson-Todman production, and you’ll probably recognize some of the celebrity contestants and panelists from the standard Goodson-Todman shows broadcast on CBS. This episode is undated, but it's probably one of the early episodes of the daytime game show. Sometime during its run, the six-celebrity panel was replaced by just one celebrity and 2 civilian contestants per team, as shown in the video below.
By the way, the almost-centaurian Betty White, in 2021, was 41 when this “Match Game” video above was broadcast and passed away just shy of 100 years old!
Gene Rayburn as host of "The Match Game" beginning in 1962. Then, 11 years later, "Match Game '73" for CBS. He was also as national radio personality as a former host of NBC's "Monitor."
(YouTube screen grab)
The newspaper listing for the 1963 premiere of "The Match Game" on December 31, 1962.
(Bloomington Pantagraph)
Click on the image to watch the video directly from YouTube.
The Match Game (1964) NBC Gene Rayburn
This segment, from July 1964, featured Jayne Mansfield and Orson Bean as the celebrity contestants. The “Match Game” was seen on NBC at 3 pm (CT) during its run on Mid-Illinois stations WICS, WCHU, WICD, WEEK, WGEM-TV, WTWO, and KSD-TV. Johnny Olson was the announcer. It was produced at 30 Rockefeller Center in New York.
It was also produced in New York at 30 Rock, where Gene Rayburn was the longtime host of “Monitor-Weekends” for NBC Radio. It was nationally broadcast by NBC Radio affiliates from New York and was a popular magazine-style show featuring news, interviews, musical guests, and comedy. He was involved with the show from 1961 to 1973. He left the radio series in 1973 to host “The Match Game ‘73” for CBS.
“Monitor” was probably best heard in Mid-Illinois on WMAQ 670AM in Chicago, KSD 550AM in St. Louis and, more locally, in the Springfield area on WMAY 970AM.
Click on the image to watch the video directly from YouTube.
You Don’t Say (1963) NBC Tom Kennedy
“You Don’t Say” aired on NBC daytime from April 1, 1963, through September 26, 1969. This edition, from April 25, 1963, with guests Mary Tyler Moore and Keenan Wynn, aired in color, but this 16mm kinescope is the only surviving copy. This game show featured both celebrities and contestants who tried to get each to say a person, place, or thing by making sentences with blanks to be filled by a word associated with or rhyming with the correct word. Tom Kennedy hosted the show throughout its run, including a primetime run in 1964.
It was seen on NBC Daytime across Mid-Illinois on WICS, WCHU, WICD, WEEK, WGEM-TV, WTWO, and KSD-TV.
Here's Tom Kennedy, host of "You Don't Say." Remember it's not what you do say....it's what you don't say" was the closing line of the show.
(YouTube screen grab)
Click on the image to watch the video directly from YouTube.
The Secret Storm (1966) CBS
The Secret Storm ran for one week plus 20 years on CBS, from February 1, 1954, to February 8, 1974, and was created by Roy Winsor, who previously created “Search for Tomorrow.” American Hope Products owned the production until the late 1960s, when it was sold to CBS. It was a 15-minute production until 1962, when it was expanded to 30 minutes.
In this 1966 episode, newlyweds Jerry (Peter White) and Hope (Pamela Raymond ) moved into a new apartment. Meanwhile, jealous Matthew (John Colicos) and Sally plot to break up the happy couple. All the original commercials are in this video. It was unknown whether it was broadcast in color, but this was taken from a good-quality 16mm black-and-white kinescope by Moviecraft.
In 1966, this would have been across Mid-Illinois on WCIA, WMBD-TV, KHQA, WTHI, and KMOX-TV.
The stars of the video above, Peter White played Jerry, and Pamela Raymond played Hope.
(YouTube screen grab)
Click on the image to watch the video directly from YouTube.
Art Linkletter’s House Party (1966) CBS
“Art Linkletter’s House Party” was at home on the CBS daytime TV schedule from 1952 to 1969. “Art Linkletter’s House Party” aired on CBS radio beginning in 1944, and began its television run on September 1, 1952. The first year, it was simulcast on both radio and television. From 1953 to 1969, the show was broadcast from CBS Television City in Hollywood, with most episodes originating from Studio 41.
This edition aired on November 8, 1966, and featured guest Pat Buttrum, who co-starred on “Green Acres” as Mr. Haney during the time of his appearance here. As a side note, in years past, Mr. Buttrum was a regular on the “WLS Barn Dance” and had his own CBS Radio Network program. He went to Hollywood in the 1940s and became a sidekick to movie and TV cowboy Roy Rogers, and later to Gene Autry.
Art Linkletter with investigator Larry Craig, who found lost heirs of estates.
(YouTube screen grab)
“Art Linkletter” aired on CBS across the region on WCIA, WMBD-TV, KHQA, WTHI-TV, and KMOX-TV, and was also broadcast across the CBS Radio Network simultaneously. It’s sad to note that at the end of May 2026, the CBS Radio Network will be no more…
The newspaper listing here is from the actual week of the broadcast.
(Bloomington Pantagraph)
Click on the image to watch the video directly from YouTube.
Temptation (1968) ABC Art James
“Temptation” was an ABC game show that, according to some sources, aired from December 4, 1967, to March 1, 1968. The earliest published schedule I spotted the show was on January 1st, 1968.
From YouTube: “This episode aired February 19, 1968. Art James was the host, and Carl King was the announcer. Art James always appeared dressed as a riverboat gambler, wearing a tuxedo, a ruffled shirt, and a cigar. Temptation has three contestants, each shown three prizes of varying value; each contestant secretly selects a prize. A contestant wins the prize only if neither of their opponents picks it. The prizes, fashions, and hairstyles are all indicative of the 1960’s. A real blast into the past. Short skirts, pretty girls, and products-for-prizes are definitely outdated. How about a NEW 8-track player? Or a Chromcraft kitchen set? A lot of fun to watch 57 years later. All the episodes of Temptation are presumed to be destroyed as per practices at the time.”
In checking the TV listings in the Bloomington Pantagraph, “Temptation” appeared on New Year's Day, January 1, 1968. It aired at 10 am (CT) on WAND, WIRL-TV, and KTVI.
Art James host of "Temptations" on ABC beginning on January 1, 1968, the first day it aired on the local ABC stations, but other research says otherwise.
(YouTube screen grab)
This the first time "Temptations" was shown as broadcast on the local ABC affiliates. This is from the newspapers listings of January 1, 1968.
(Bloomington Pantagraph)
Note that the Bloomington Pantagraph Newspaper listings were published on the Saturday before the upcoming weeks schedule. Also that Channel 2 is WBBM-TV, Chicago, Channel 5 is WMAQ-TV Chicago and Channel 7 is WLS-TV Chicago.
Click on the image to watch the video directly from YouTube.
General Hospital (1968) ABC
This video is of the March 12, 1968 episode of the ABC daytime drama (soap opera) “General Hospital.” “General Hospital” is one of TV’s longest-running daytime series airing today. That’s over 63 years!!
Movie craft describes the episode this way: “Audrey thinks back as a patient at the hospital after a car accident, and being told she lost her unborn child. Polly is put on the stand in the court case about her father's death. Polly Prentice did everything in her power to fuel suspicions that Jessie had killed her father. Polly also provided them with a possible reason for Jessie committing the heinous crime when she intimated that Jessie and Tom Baldwin (who had dumped Polly) were having an affair. Cast includes John Beradino, Emily McLaughlin, Rachel Ames, and Patricia Breslin.”
The series was originally broadcast in color and exists only as a 16mm kinescope copy, restored by the folks at Moviecraft!
This would have been seen across Mid-Illinois on WAND, WIRL-TV, and KTVI.
This is another video posted on the Moviecraft YouTube Channel.
Pictured above is John Beradino as Dr. Steve Hardy, a longtime cast member of "General Hospital." Mr. Beradino was a former American Major League Baseball second baseman. Some of his former teams included the St. Louis Browns, the Cleveland Indians, and the Pittsburgh Pirates.
(YouTube screen grab)
Click on the image to watch the video directly from YouTube.
The Baby Game (1968) ABC Richard Hayes
Here is an installment of “The Baby Game” broadcast on June 12, 1968. In this game, two couples compete for prizes. It consists of film clips of children performing various humorous tasks. Similar to those seen on social media today. If the couples predict the task's outcome, they earn points toward the grand prize. Richard Hayes serves as the show’s host.
There are other pieces to the game involving a baby race, kids' comments, a guy named Uncle Bobby with a trumpet, and phone acts out silly situations with the kids, and more. Home viewers would also send pictures of their kids during the show’s run, too. The Cutest Kid winner received a $15,000 college education for their child, and the five runners-up each won a 1968 Pontiac station wagon. The last 10 minutes after the show feature The Children’s Doctor with Dr. Lendon Smith. In this installment, he discusses what to do if your children have worms! Who says this website isn’t educational? All the original commercials are included in this video, and you can check out the late-1960s Pontiac “aircraft carrier” station wagon that probably got less than 15 mpg.
The set with the contestants ready to play "The Baby Game" on January 1, 1968.
(YouTube screen grab)
Both “Temptation” above and “The Baby Game” here looked to premiere on the same date, January 1, 1968. Those premieres may have been part of the ABC promotional campaign called “ABC’s Second Season,” in which many new or revamped prime-time shows also premiered.
This is another video posted on the Moviecraft YouTube Channel.
This TV listing is from January 1, 1968, showing the premiere of "The Baby Game," following the installment of "The Newlywed Game." Interesting placement....
(Bloomington Pantagraph)
Classic Radio
Was it Radio.... or Television? It was both!
Click on the image to watch the video directly from YouTube.
The Breakfast Club (ABC Radio and Television) Don McNeil
From YouTube: “Don McNeill's Breakfast Club was a long-running morning variety show on NBC Blue Network/ABC radio (and briefly on television) originating in Chicago, Illinois. Hosted by Don McNeil, the radio program ran from June 23, 1933, through December 27, 1968. McNeil's 35½-year run as host remains the longest tenure for an emcee of a network entertainment program, surpassing Johnny Carson (29½ years) on The Tonight Show and Bob Barker (34⅔ years) on The Price Is Right, albeit split between radio and television, whereas the latter two were television only.
“In Chicago during the early 1930s, McNeill was assigned to take over an unsponsored early morning variety show, The Pepper Pot, with an 8 a.m. timeslot on the NBC Blue Network. McNeill reorganized the hour as The Breakfast Club, dividing it into four segments, which McNeill labeled "the Four Calls to Breakfast."
“McNeill's revamped show premiered in 1933, combining music with informal talk and jokes often based on topical events, initially scripted by McNeill but later ad-libbed. In addition to recurring comedy performers, listeners heard sentimental verse, conversations with members of the studio audience, and a silent moment of prayer.
“The series eventually gained a sponsor in the Chicago-based meatpacker Swift and Company, beginning on February 8, 1941. McNeill is credited as the first performer to make morning talk and variety a viable radio format.
“The program featured Fran Allison (later of Kukla, Fran and Ollie fame) as "Aunt Fanny", plus Captain Stubby (Captain Stubby was a regular performer on Danville, Illinois’ WDAN Radio during the 1940s) and the Buccaneers and various comedy bits. Every quarter-hour came the "Call to Breakfast"—a march around the breakfast table.
“A featured vocalist on the show under her professional name, Annette King, was Charlotte Thompson Reid, who later served five terms as an Illinois congresswoman (1962–71). Eileen Parker joined the program as a vocalist in 1953.”
“Don McNeil’s Breakfast Club” was broadcast on local ABC Television affiliates from February 22, 1954, through February 25, 1955. It was a time when ABC didn’t program daytime, so stations would sign on before 8 am, broadcast the show, and sign off just after 9 am.
Local ABC stations broadcasting the show included WENR (now WLS) in Chicago; WBLN (Channel 15) in Bloomington, IL; and WTVP (Channel 17) in Decatur, IL. For reasons unknown, WDAN-TV, the Danville ABC affiliate, did not air the show. WTVH, Channel 19 in Peoria, which had originally been an ABC affiliate, became a CBS affiliate at that time. The Peoria station returned to ABC in 1958. As mentioned above, the station returned to ABC on January 1, 1958, when WMBD-TV became the CBS affiliate.
WBLN aired "Don McNeil's Breakfast Club" as it was broadcast from Chicago. This is from a TV Guide ad placed in 1955.
(TV Guide-Doug Quick Collection)
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According to CNN, CBS has announced the replacement for "The Late Show with Stephen Colbert" for late May.
Some may already be at least somewhat familiar with Byron Allen. His first national exposure was as one of the co-hosts of "Real People" back in the 1980s. More recently, he started a media company and purchased several TV stations. He was the owner of WLFI, Channel 18 in Lafayette, IN, and WTHI-TV, Channel 10 in Terre Haute, among others..
It was his company that decided to trim the operating budgets of his TV stations by firing many meteorologists, instead centralizing local weather from a remote location. Since then, he sold off the stations to Gray Television.
He's maintained an interest in comedy and stand-up comedy over the years, and now CBS is planning to fill the hour-long slot with "Comics Unleashed," airing two 30-minute reruns, followed by "Funny You Should Ask," a syndicated game show Allen created. Jon Kelly hosts it.
According to CNN, "CBS has a time-buy agreement with Allen Media Group for the 2026-27 season, meaning Allen PAYS to air his programs on the CBS network!" making it more of an infomercial!!
I'm sure the local affiliates will be screaming about the loss of audience and revenue soon!
Colbert's last show is on Thursday, May 21st.
WICS and WICD are reported to Change Owners Again
2026-0331
Springfield based Illinois Times is reporting the proposed sale of WICS, Channel 20, Springfield and WICD, Channel 15, Champaign. This sale follows an earlier sale of the staton just over a year ago to Rincon Broadcasting (president Todd Parkin) which purchased the station duo among other TV stations previously owned by Sinclair Broadcast Group. Others in original sale included ones in Hannibal, MO-Quincy IL (KHQA), Kirksville, MO-Ottumwa, IA (KTVO). That sale to Rincon was reported to total $29.5 million.
Compare that to the most recent announcement of the sale being $116.5 million for the Springfield and Champaign stations and many others located in Memphis, TN; Omak-Okanogan, Washington; Milwaukee, Wi; Lincoln, NE; Prosser, WA; Sandpoint, ID; Colville, WA; Cape Girardeau, MO; Grangeville, ID; Pendleton, OR; Spokane, WA; Lewiston, ID; New Bedford, MA; Yuma, AZ; Richland, WA; Yakima, WA; Coeur D’Alene, ID; Tulsa, OK; and Paducah, KY. The sale also includes a number of translator stations that rebroadcast the main stations owned by Rincon to hard to reach areas in the Rockies.
The purchaser is Community News Media LLC. It’s website states that it is “a leading multimedia company providing local news and information through a wide range of print, digital, and radio products...”
The local newspapers owned by Community News Media in our region include the Champaign-Urbana News-Gazette, The Iroquois Times-Republic (Watseka, IL), Piatt County (Monticello, IL) Journal-Republican, and Fountain County Neighbor (Covington, IN).
Local radio stations owned by Community News Media include: WDWS (AM-FM), WHMS (FM), Champaign, IL; WKIO (FM), Monticello, IL; WDAN (AM), WDNL (FM), WRHK (FM), Danville, IL, WSOY (AM) and (FM), WDZ (AM), WDZQ (FM).
This purchase of the Rincon TV stations appears to be the first venture into television for the company.
The ownership change is pending FCC approval.
2026-0331
A U.S. District Judge, Randolph Moss, has overturned President Trump's 2025 executive order that sought to deny federal funding to NPR and PBS.
Judge Moss ruled that Trump's order specifically targeted these two organizations based on Trump's accusations that NPR and PBS had promoted partisanship and left-wing propaganda. The judge concluded that Trump preventing them from providing critical and truthful coverage of the Trump Administration, while being funded by the federal government, was unconstitutional and protected by the First Amendment.
Even though this decison is a loss for Trump the congressional act that led to the dissolution of the Corporation for Public Broadcasting still stands.
More TV stations could appear soon in the Central Illinois market
2026-0319 For the first time in several years, March 19th was the day applicants could file for new low-power TV stations. Nationally, over 1000 applications were filed with the FCC. Each applicant, after legally filing including engineering studies and paying the $910 filing fee, now awaits the FCC's decision on their request and the issuance of a construction permit.
In Illinois, filings were made for Arlington Heights, 3 for Chicago, 2 for Yorkville, 2 for Elgin, Justice, and 1 each for Springfield and Champaign.
The applications for both Springfield and Champaign were submitted by the same person/group, whose address is 26 N. Halsted, Chicago. That is the home of Weigel Broadcasting. Two of the contacts listed in the application are with Weigel Broadcasting.
Weigel is the owner of MeTV, MeTV Toons, Movies!, H&I, StartTV, Story Television, Catchy Comedy, Dabl, West, and MeTV+. I'm assuming it's their intention to place all, or at least some, of those TV networks on each designated channel as digital subchannels.
In Springfield, the application is for Channel 14 with a power of 15kW from a tower/antenna height of 489-feet.
For Champaign the group is seeking Channel 33 with a power of 15kW from an tower/antenna, 450 feet high.
Members of Congress Now Urge the FCC to Set a Firm Transition Date for ATSC 3.0
2026-0330 A large group of 91 members of Congress have signed and sent a letter to the FCC urging the commission to set a date for the transition to NextGen TV also known as ATSC 3.0. We're now using ATSC 1.0 which is not compatible with current ATSC 3.0 TV turners.
The National Association of Broadcasters has expressed praise for the group. The group is bi-partisan and is headed by Reps. Mark Alford (R-MO-09) and Brendon Boyle (D-PA-02), Mike Flood (R-NE-01) and Darren Soto (D-FL-09).
The FCC has not yet openly committed to a firm date as to when the current ATSC 1.0 signals would end.
Nexstar-Tegna Merger Approved by the FCC But Challenges Remain
Updated 2026-0330
The FCC approved the merger of Nexstar Media Group and former competitor Tegna, but lawsuits have now emerged to challenge the deal.
The purchase price is $6.2 billion, which would create a mega media owner with 265 TV stations in 44 states, including Washington, DC. The company would include the affiliations of all three heritage TV networks, plus upstart FOX.
The deal needed the FCC's approval, which is now fully controlled by Brendon Carr and the Trump Administration, and the FCC approved a waiver of FCC “rules” that limit the number of local stations one company can own.
Perry Sook, chairman and CEO of Nexstar, actually thanked Trump for approving the merger.
FIRST UPDATE 2026-0327
A federal judge on Friday, March 27th granted a temporary restraining order to half the merger. US District Judge Troy Nunley sided with DirecTV which filed a suit to block the merger on the claim that it violates anti-trust laws. A group of states including Illinois and California have also filed suits to halt the merger at least for 14 more days. The judge has set the next hearing for April 7 on a possible preliminary injunction.
LATEST UPDATE 2026-0403
Nexstar's lawyers are responding to the temporary restraining order (TRO) that is stalling the Nexstar-Tegna merger, saying that certain aspects of the merger are “impossible to reverse” and that the TRO is harming both companies' operations.
The TRO was issued by US District Judge Troy L. Nunley in California in an antitrust suit that was filed by DirecTV. The judge’s order temporarily halts Nexstar and Tegna from combining the day-to-day operations of the two current companies. The court will hear further pleadings and will conduct a hearing on Tuesday, April 7th.
Nexstar currently owns/operates the TV stations WICA and WCIX (Champaign, IL) WMBD-TV and WYZZ (Peoria-Bloomington, IL) WTVO and WQRF (Rockford), WHBF-TV and KLJB(Quad Cities), WTTV, WTTK, and WXIN(Indianapolis), KPLR-TV and KTVI (St. Louis, MO).
Tegna currently owns/operates the TV stations WQAD (Quad Cities), KSDK-TV (St. Louis) and WTHR, WALV-CD (Indianapolis).
CBS Radio News to Shut Down After Nearly a Century of Broadcasting!
from CBS News: 2026-0320
CBS News announced Friday that CBS News Radio will be shutting down this spring after nearly 100 years of broadcasting. The company cited "challenging economic realities" and a shift in radio programming strategies as reasons behind the decision.
About 700 affiliated stations nationwide carry CBS News Radio programming, which will end on May 22. All jobs on the radio team will be eliminated, the company said.
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Now Streaming Nationally
Click on the image above to listen to MeTVFM. It's the popular music companion to MeTV, Memorable Entertainment Television, America’s #1 all classic television network. Launched at 87.7FM in late February, 2015, MeTVFM features a unique mix of timeless and memorable music incorporating a wide variety of classic hits, deep tracks and softer sounds spanning several decades of popular music.
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.
Marcus Welby M.D. (1969) Guest: David Cassidy
Flip Wilson Show (1970) NBC Guests include: Bobby Darin
Ironside (1967-1975) NBC Episode open/close
Gunsmoke (1970) CBS opening credits
ABC Movie of the Week (1971) ABC
Classic Radio
WLS Chicago (1970) Chuck Buell
WLS Chicago (1970) Larry Lujack
KXOK St. Louis (1966) William A. Hopkins
KXOK St. Louis (1968) Johnny Rabbitt and Bruno J. Grunion
KSHE(FM) St. Louis (1969) Don Corey
George Burns and Gracie Allen (1954) CBS
The Thin Man (1958) NBC Peter Lawford, Phyllis Kirk
The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis (1961) CBS Dwayne Hickman
The Dick Van Dyke Show (1961) CBS “Jealousy”
Love on a Rooftop (1966) ABC Peter Deuel Judy Carne
He and She (1967) CBS Richard Benjamin, Paula Prentiss
Hart to Hart (1979) ABC Robert Wagner Stefanie Powers
Fibber McGee and Molly (1959) NBC Pilot
Classic Radio
Fibber McGee and Molly (1948) NBC Radio Bowling Night
77 Sunset Strip (1958) ABC "All Our Yesterday's" Episode
Hawaiian Eye (1959-63) ABC Intro Credits
Hawaiian Eye (1959) ABC Original Credits
Maverick (1959) ABC Edit from "Duel at Sundown"
Maverick (1962) Season 5 Opening credits
The Roaring 20s (1960) ABC opening network credits
The Roaring 20s (1960) ABC opening credits and Dorothy Provine performances
Surside 6 (1960-62) ABC opening/closing credits
Wendy and Me (1965) ABC Connie Stevens
Classic Radio
WLS Radio (1972) Joel Sebastian
WLS Radio (1977) John Records Landecker
Cowboy G-Men (1952) Syndicated
Laredo (1966) NBC “Rendezvous at Arillo”
Happy Days (1974-2005) ABC 30th Anniversary Special, Part 1
Happy Days (1974-2005) ABC 30th Anniversary Special, Part 2
Love American Style (1972) ABC “Love and the Television Set”
Classic Radio
Larry Ware Interview with Harry Harrison
WIL Radio (1961) St. Louis with Dan Ingram
WIL Radio (1962) St. Louis with Ron Lundy
WABC Radio (1970) New York with Ron Lundy and Dan Ingram
Fame is the Name of the Game (1966) NBC Pilot
Movin' On (1974) NBC
ABC Sunday Night Movie (1978) “Crash”
CBS Tuesday Night Movies (1979) “Speedtrap”
ABC Sunday Night Movie (1980) “Fighting Back”
ABC Summer Movie (1980) “Make Me an Offer”
CBS Special Movie Presentation (1981) “The Other Victim”
Next Regular Update Comes on May 2nd!
I'll have another collection of great historical TV videos from your past!
Plus a collection of Classic Radio videos/audios! That comes on May 2nd.
The TV Time Capsule goes into rerun mode on May 1st. I normally take the late Spring-Summer months off from the hours of research to put together each months Time Capsule page. Be watching for a Time Capsule of former TV Time Capsule to be reopened for the month of May!
Central Illinois On-Line Broadcast Museum and dougquick.com supports the work of the St. Louis Media History Foundation.
Visit their website at:
National Academy
of Television Arts
and Sciences
Mid-America Chapter
Silver Circle Award
2013
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're watching on your mobile phone, the mobile phone view has been replaced by the desktop view throughout this site. 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.
