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
TV Time Capsule
For November 2025
The image on the TV screen above is a photo taken of a real WDAN-TV Broadcast called "Danville Bandstand," similar to ABC's "American Bandstand," which also aired on WDAN-TV in the late 1950s through the early 1960s. Read about the photo above on the History of WDAN-TV page by clicking here.
WDAN-TV
As part of operating a broadcast facility (radio and TV), stations are required to maintain and retain program logs that include the programming schedule, along with other program elements such as station IDs, commercials, and promotional announcements. The engineer or operator would have to sign in on the log to show who was on duty and responsible for seeing that everything on the log ran as scheduled as determined by the traffic person who does the scheduling based on local and network programming and what commercials air and what time they begin, then check off the log when the complete commercial airs for the advertiser.
What we have below is one such log, the schedule of programs, program elements, and commercials for the broadcast day of January 2, 1958, for WDAN-TV, Channel 24, in Danville, Illinois.
This particular log was found some 20 years later at the studios of WDAN/WDNL. Knowing the historical significance, I saved the log from the trash can and donated it to the Vermilion County Museum some years ago. Before I did, though, I ran off a copy of the log for my own use, long before I had this website.
Along with the log, I include pictures and videos from the programs seen on WDAN-TV and offer some explanations of what you see in the log. I'll also discuss how the culture that existed with WDAN-TV, later known as WICD and its Champaign sister station WCHU, affects its descendant station today, Channel 15, WICD, Champaign.
To further explore the history of WDAN-TV, visit the History of WDAN-TV page by clicking here.
The WDAN-TV Log from Thursday, January 2, 1958
Things To Look For:
-
The engineer on duty from 9 am-3:15 pm was Chief Engineer Bill Shoup. During the hours from 9 am to 3 pm, the station aired a test pattern and a 100 kHz tone. After 3:00 pm, Loaverne White was the operator on duty.
-
No paid commercials were played during the time represented on this page.
-
All programming originated from ABC, no local programming aired.
This installment of "American Bandstand" aired on December 18, 1957, just a couple of weeks before its January 2, 1958, airing. It's a rare complete program, You can assume many of the songs featured probably played on the one scheduled here on WDAN-TV.
(YouTube)
"Do You Trust Your Wife" began as a primetime game show on CBS hosted by Edgar Bergen. In September of 1957, it moved to ABC daytime airing at 3:30 pm (CT), starring Johnny Carson. Here is a complete episode from sometime in 1958, as the date is not specified.
(YouTube)
Things To Look For:
-
Woody Woodpecker, with host creator Walter Lantz, was a 30-minute mix of various other characters from Universal's animation studios. This sample was one of the early Woody cartoons produced for theater viewing.
-
Kellogg's Cereals sponsored Woody Woodpecker.
-
Mickey Mouse Club (this is the original series), produced by Disney and aired on ABC.
-
Note various abbreviations describe the type of program, and how it was received for air and its source
As stated above, this is not from the TV-formatted program "Woody Woodpecker" with host Walter Lantz. This is a theatrical cartoon release from 1941. It would have been seen only in black and white.
(YouTube)
Right: The title graphic is from the original TV version of the "Woody Woodpecker Show"
Some of the more common abbreviations include:
LSA = local sustaining (non-commercial) announcement
CH = Children's programming, M = Music programming, Q = Quiz/Game Show
SL = Video Slide (picture) ET = Electrical Transcription (recording on transcription disc)
FILM = From local Film Chain, SOF = Sound from Film, ABC = network source
The Mickey Mouse Club aired initially from October 3, 1955, through September 24, 1959, with reruns airing through the early 1960s. Complete shows are under tight control, but I can show you the opening video with sponsorships that do not match the sponsors on the log.
(YouTube)
Things To Look For:
-
WDAN-TV aired news during the "traditional" 6 pm (CT) news time. The half-hour news period began with local news originating at WDAN-TV.
-
The sponsor of the news block was Woodbury's (office supplies, greeting cards, gifts, etc.), a long-time business dating back to the early 20th century. It no longer exists, although its original building remains in downtown Danville.
-
There's a good chance the local news anchor could have been either Bill Houpt or Frank M. Williams of the Danville Commercial-News staff of reporters.
-
The sports block was most certainly anchored by Max Shaffer, long-time WDAN Radio station manager and sports director.
-
The sports were sponsored by Barkman Chevrolet, located on North Street at Franklin Street, just west of downtown Danville.
-
Ralph Webber probably anchored the weather segment.
-
Weather was not sponsored.
-
Baker Transfer and Storage sponsored a 20-second station ID at 6:14:40 pm.
-
John Daly anchored the ABC newscast, which ran for 15 minutes.
At the left is the WDAN-TV anchors from 1955, which probably continued through 1958. Pictured in the top row were Max Shaffer and Ralph Webber. Front row were the news anchors (not sure which is which), Frank M. Williams, and Bill Houpt.
Right is an ad from the Danville Commercial-News for the 3 Star Report.
John Charles Daly was the anchor of the nightly ABC News during the late 1950s and a Vice President of the ABC Television Network. To top off his professional life, he also hosted the CBS Quiz show, "What's My Line," for Goodson-Todman Productions, all at the same time!
"Circus Boy" aired on ABC from September 19, 1957, to September 11, 1958, after airing on NBC in 1956-57. It starred Robert Lowrey and Mickey Braddock (Dolenz) as Corky. Mickey Dolenz would join the TV pop group "The Monkees" on NBC about 10 years later.
(YouTube)
Right: MIckey Dolenz in 1956 as "Circus Boy"
(YouTube Screen Grab)
Above is an episode from January 30, 1958, that aired just four weeks later than the date on the log above.
(YouTube)
Left: Guy Madison as "Zorro" along with Gene Sheldon as Bernardo.
(Disney Channel Screen Grab)
Things To Look For:
-
A 20-second film commercial for Interstate Bakeries aired right before the top-of-the-hour ID.
-
The 8 pm station ID was also a short commercial mention on the slide and a short voice-over for Barkman Chevrolet, which aired right before the Chevrolet-sponsored "Pat Boon Chevy Show."
-
Barkman Chevrolet also aired a 20-second slide-and-voice-over commercial after the "Chevy Show."
-
Commercial breaks between network shows were only 30 seconds, allowing for a 20-second commercial and a 10-second station ID.
-
A promotional announcement for "The Walter Winchell Show" aired in the place of an unsold commercial slot at 8:59:30 pm.
-
The station ID was also unsponsored.
-
Notice the change in operators from Laverne White to W.E. Hunt at 8 pm.
This video is from the following week, January 9, 1958 and is the opening segment of "The Pat Boone Chevy Show" as broadcst on ABC.
(YouTube)
This is a rare segment from the British import series to ABC, "O.S.S." The Office of Strategic Services was the American intelligence unit active during World War II
(YouTube).
Things To Look For:
-
The "Navy Log" show would end ABC's prime-time lineup for the evening. It would continue the military-themed programming block for the large number of veterans from WWII, just 15 years before.
-
There was no late newscast at 10 pm.
-
WDAN-TV only featured a one-hour late feature under the umbrella title "Stage 24" after 9:30 pm.
-
There were only three commercial breaks during "Stage 24," with only one commercial for Pen-Bar Manufacturing Co..
-
The "movie" was probably a syndicated kinescope of one of the network's (ABC, NBC, CBS) former showcase live dramas, with the former national sponsor omitted. The title is not specified.
Here is a video of the opening credits for "Navy Log" as broadcast on ABC and WDAN-TV."
(YouTube)
What were the other stations'
Programming that day?
It's easy to see that WDAN-TV wasn't serious about programming a successful TV station. It established a culture within ownership and a negative public impression of the station that would later become WICD-TV in the early 1960s, and continued as Channel 15 beginning in 1967, through ownership changes, and to today!
From the time that Plains Television and Milton Friedland chose to address the expansion of WICS by taking a cheap shortcut to include households of Champaign and later Danville within the reach of Channel 20. Unfortunately, putting a station in Champaign on Channel 33 that barely reaches 15 miles, omitting much of east central Illinois from receiving NBC programming in color (taking it away from WCIA and its secondary affiliation), was just the beginning.
The simulcasting of WICS news, or the originating of a specially prepared Champaign version of local news from Springfield in the 1960s after WICD went full power on Channel 15 in 1967, continued the preferential treatment of the Springfield facility over the Champaign operation. There were genuine efforts to increase WICD's influence in East Central Illinois throughout the 1980s and the very late 1990s and early 2000s, but those efforts lacked consistency.
When WCIA's ownership changed around 2000 and Channel 3 dismissed key news personalities and management, creating a severe PR problem for WCIA, WICD could have benefited after its sale to Sinclair. Still, under Sinclair's stagnant ownership at the time, the opportunity to increase viewership wasn't pursued; instead, Sinclair diverted resources and personnel from WICD even further.
Some things never change. Despite the economic importance and size of the East Central Illinois and West Central Indiana coverage area Sinclair closed down the news operation at WICD, like they did at KDNL in St. Louis and other stations in Toledo, OH; Sioux City, IA,; Gainesville, FL;, Omaha, NE; Medord, OR; Columbia, SC; Flint/Saginaw, MI; Eureka, CA; Tallahassee, FL; Greensboro, NC; and reduced operations in a few others. It seems as if Sinclair is where TV news goes to die.
To take it even further, Sinclair made WICD a total 100% translator of WICS, Channel 20. Sinclair chose to eliminate any mention of "15" from all graphic representations, keeping NewsChannel 20 as the logo for both stations, even though viewers of WICD in East Central Illinois who watch NewsChannel 20 still tune to virtual channel 15 on their TVs! How difficult would it have been to put both 15 and 20 as part of the logo and use the ID as being "NewsChannel 15-20" or even "20-15?"
To see more about WDAN-TV and its future sister station, WCHU, Channel 33 in Champaign, and its future as a full-powered station on Channel 15, click here to begin tracing the history of the stations on Central Illinois' On-Line Broadcast Museum.
(Newspaper listings from the Bloomington Pantagraph)
