Biography
Doug Quick
Doug Quick, who retired on September 30, 2021, was the market's longest-tenured weathercaster. He had been at the Champaign studios doing weather since 1996.
He began at WICD as Promotions Director in 1994 and began to do weekend weathercasts in 1995. Doug later left promotions to become Sunrise's first weathercaster and co-anchor in 1998, moving to the evening newscasts in 2002. By 2006, he was doing weathercasts for the 5, 6, and 10 pm newscasts and at 9 pm on WCCU, Channel 27. He added co-anchoring to his role on WICD in 2013.
In 2015, Doug would become the exclusive weathercaster and co-anchor for FOX-Champaign News at 5:30 and 9 pm on WCCU, which was also broadcast on WBUI, CW23 from Decatur, Illinois, at 9 pm. He would continue through his retirement in 2021.
He has served as on-air talent for commercials broadcast on regional TV and radio stations and as voice-over talent for many industrial, military, and commercial entities.
After graduating from Lincoln Land Community College in Springfield, Doug's broadcast career began in 1974 in his original hometown of Taylorville, Illinois, at WTIM/WTIM-FM.
He later returned to college at Western Illinois University, where he co-anchored a local newscast on the WIU cablecast television station. He also continued to work for radio stations WTIM/WTIM-FM in Taylorville and WTAX/WDBR in Springfield. In late 1977, after his time at WIU, Doug was offered a position at the sister stations of WTAX/WDBR in Springfield at the Danville radio stations of WDAN/WMBJ(now known as WDNL, D-102). During the spring of 1979, he moved to Decatur for a position at WDZ/WDZQ radio but returned to Danville in September of 1979.
In 2013, the Midwest Academy of Television Arts and Sciences awarded him the Silver Circle Award for his 25 years in television and for documenting the history of Central Illinois Television. In 2017, the Illinois Broadcasting Association awarded him the Silver Dome Award for Medium Market Best Anchor. In 2022, he received the W. Russell Withers, Jr. Broadcast Pioneer Award for downstate Illinois.
In 2017, he published his book Pictures on the Prairie: The First Ten Years of Mid-Illinois Television. He maintains his Central Illinois' On-Line Broadcast Museum at dougquick.com, which is now in its 24th year.
Doug Quick at WTIM AM/FM Production Studio
Doug at IGM Automation commercial programmer for WEEE(FM).
Doug's address to the IBA and the large group of broadcasters at Normal, IL.
Doug Quick at WTIM AM/FM Production Studio
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Watch my Retirement Video by clicking here.
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Doug's first radio station job was at his hometown station, WTIM/WTIM-FM. After trying and failing to get a job there in 1972, he tried again in 1974 and was hired to host an evening rock show that he successfully pitched to the ownership of what was then a beautiful music station, WTIM-FM. After a few months, he was asked to do the WTIM(AM) morning show. With that, he took a year off from college to reconsider his major in pharmacy. After working the morning show at WTIM, he returned to college at Western Illinois University, majoring in mass communications and minoring in chemistry.
While at Western Illinois, he got a summer job at his dream radio station, WTAX/WDBR, in Springfield. He worked both stations in the news department, mostly the afternoon/evening news block on WTAX and late afternoon/evening newscasts on WDBR. He would also fill in a few weeks as the afternoon WTAX host. He continued as a weekend jock on Adult Top 40 WDBR through the Fall when the summer ended. Meanwhile, he was still working weekends at WTIM and what was then WEEE(FM) and finishing up at Western Illinois University.
During the Holiday break, he shifted the WEEE format to an oldie/current mix format, returning to the station full-time in March 1977. He would continue as program director of the automated station, overseeing its operation while selling advertisers' time on the station through September of that year.
After joining WDAN/WMBJ in Danville in September of 1977, he helped change WMBJ to WDNL, a contemporary high-personality radio station. He was the first morning DJ on the new D-102 radio station from October 1977 through May 1979. At that time, he left WDNL for a short three-month stint at WDZ/WDZQ in Decatur, Illinois, before returning to WDNL as an afternoon drive DJ and for an advertising sales position. For most of the next 25 years, Doug would take on many other roles at WDAN/WDNL, including sales manager and, eventually, general manager in 1989, all while keeping his on-air role as DJ/announcer.
In 1993, he spent a year as the first station manager of WWDZ(FM), 94.9FM in Danville, then returned as the late afternoon announcer at WDNL. Meanwhile, he joined WICD, NBC-Channel 15 in Champaign, in December 1994 as the station's promotions director. He oversaw the change of the station's new image campaign to become NewsChannel 15, producing on-air promotional announcements and overseeing the station's community initiatives, involving the station in many community events and activities.
In 1995, he added the job of weekend weathercaster to his television activities, and by 1998, he was the morning anchor/weathercaster of the morning "Sunrise" show on NewsChannel 15. His radio and television careers continued simultaneously from 1994 to 2002. Still, television won out when he left WDNL on the radio station's 25th anniversary to work exclusively at WICD through 2016 as the evening weathercaster for newscasts at 5, 6, and 10 pm.
In 2016, the ownership of WICD and the operator of WCCU flipped the news operation away from WICD and placed it on WCCU, FOX-Illinois 27. That move would shift Doug to being the news/weather anchor for FOX-Champaign and FOX-Illinois newscasts at 5:30 and 9 pm. He still occasionally filled in on NewsChannel 15/20-Springfield as part of the STORM TEAM.
Along with broadcasting, Doug has had a commercial and industrial video voice-over career over the last 40 years. His voice has been on local television stations, national and regional commercials, industrial and educational videos, military web training projects, and even video games. He has written historical articles that have been published in Central Illinois newspapers and has been featured in articles in the Danville Commercial News and the Champaign News-Gazette.
In 2013, Doug received the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences Silver Circle Award based on his work documenting mid-Illinois Television history on this website, Central Illinois On-Line Broadcast Museum. 2017 he received a Silver Dome Award for Best Medium Market News Anchor. In October 2022, he won the W. Russell Withers, Jr. Downstate Broadcast Pioneer Award from the Illinois Broadcasters Association.
His outside activities have included the Vermilion County Conservation Foundation, where he was a member of the Board of Directors. He is also a former director on the First Illinois Credit Union board. Doug has spoken before many civic groups, before students at all grade levels, for students considering broadcasting as a career, broadcast history, weather, or the Foundation. He is an avid classic movie fan and classic TV show collector, and has his own audio/video editing studio at home.
In December 2017, he completed his book Pictures on the Prairie: The First Ten Years of Mid-Illinois Television History. In it, he traces in minute detail the first ten years of a budding new industry that saw both the failures and successes of the early television pioneers. His book is no longer in print, but there are plans to have a revised and new e-version sometime in 2025.
Doug is now retired from broadcasting and will continue to make Vermilion County, Illinois, his home. He continues his work with Central Illinois' Online Broadcast Museum. Doug and his wife, Melissa, have been married since 1978 and are the parents of two adult married daughters and grandparents to a grandson.