"I really like our weather team in Springfield, because I've got Joe (Crain) in the morning and . The NBC lineup included Hollywood Squares, High Rollers, Wheel of Fortune, Mind Readers, Password Plus, Days of Our Lives, Doctors and Another World. By3pm, the lineup featured all syndicated off-network fare, including I Love Lucy, Gilligan's Island, Batman, The Brady Bunch and Happy Days, Again"(the syndicated title of Happy Days). Read more about those struggles in "Pictures on the Prairie" available by clicking on the link above. WICS Advertises For Meteorologists Replacement, Code Red Alert Gone After Meteorologists Knock, At KCCI Des Moines, The CSD Draws On Long And Varied Experience, Talking TV: CBCs About That Elevates Explainer News For Streaming, For NextGen TV, Cheaper Receivers, Bigger Markets And More HDR Are Next, Many Forces Working Against TV M&A In 2023, Hawaiis This Is Now Bridges Digital, Broadcast, Talking TV: Welcoming The End Of News Objectivity, Scale Complicates Monitoring, But Tools Level Up To The Challenge, Chatbots Downside For Media Is Already Clear, TV Groups Turn To Solutions Journalism, And Viewers Lean In, Local Businesses Pull Ads From WICS In Support Of Weathercaster, WICS Forecaster May Be Out After Criticizing Sinclair, WICS Meteorologist Criticizes Sinclair Code Red Alerts, WICS Strong Leader In Central Ill. Social Media, WICS Fires Anchor, Reporter After Hooters Fight, WICS Sports Director Krista Lander Leaving, WICS News Set Nominated For Mid-America Emmy, Vince DeMintri Joins Anchor Staff At WICS, WICS Reporter Katie Heinz Injured In Accident, Former WICS Anchor Don Hickman Dies At 74, Spot TV Forecast: After Political Bonanza In 22, Flat Will Suffice For 23, Top 30 Station Groups: Standard General Leaps Into Second Place With Tegna Acquisition, 13th Annual Women In Technology Awards Reception, Revenue Strategies: Advanced Targeting for Local TV. The ad for a WICS Springfield, Ill., morning meteorologist showed up Tuesday on owner Sinclair Broadcast Groups website. Joe Crain, a WICS Springfield, Ill., meterologist since 2004, disappeared from the weather report after ad-libbing June 5 about the "Code Red" moniker that station owner Sinclair Broadcast Group implemented as a severe-weather alert. By Merrill Knox on Nov. 21, 2011 - 11:14 AM. The station's digital signal is multiplexed: WICS shut down its analog signal, over UHF channel 20, on February 17, 2009, the original target date in which full-power television stations in the United States were to transition from analog to digital broadcasts under federal mandate (which was later pushed back to June 12, 2009). However, the FCC did not allow Sunrise to buy WICS/WICD due to Sunrise's ownership structure. The station's digital signal remained on its pre-transition UHF channel 42. The Resignation of President Nixon as covered by NBC, August 8, 1974. As mentioned above, WICS frequently pre-empted prime time programming to insert its own programming. // Do not change anything below this line On September 5, 2005, the two stations swapped affiliations with WAND and became ABC affiliates as part of a larger national deal between LIN and NBC that also involved WDTN in Dayton, Ohio (who swapped affiliations with WICS/WICD's Dayton sister station WKEF the year before). Some shows were pre-empted by reruns of, "The Gallant Men." I have been in the midst of a big transition. It carried programming from all four networks of the era (NBC, CBS, ABC, and DuMont). It was simply more profitable, since airing the NBC show would limit the time available for local commercials. Meanwhile, WICD in Danville broadcast a signal of about 30 miles from Danville. When WICS moved from the former Leland Hotel studios, it moved into a large facility located at 2680 East Cook Street in Springfield. He worked as the main anchor of the 5, 6, and 10 pm news. Kathryn Dinardo 1988 was the 50th anniversary of Springfield's Mel-O-Cream Donuts and Dave Heller did a report on the local company. 1976 Fall TV montage of shows broadcast during the week. 1976 Fall TV montage of shows broadcast during the week. (from the Doug Quick Collection of TV Guide), The "Real People" Express visits Springfield, IL. Late Monday, WICS GM Rick Lipps said in a video posted to the stations website that Code Red, which may no longer be fitting, will be replaced with Weather Warn., The State Journal-Register | When the station was to go on the air in late January or early February of 1967, the area suffered a major ice storm. Combining the signals of WICS with WCHU, Channel 33 in Champaign, and WICD, Channel 24 in Danville increased the audience of the Plains Television stations to nearly that of Midwest Television's WCIA, Channel 3. It's unknown when WICS finally signed on with Saturday Night Live, but it was AFTER 1979. Just drop me a note at the, Randy Miller for his picture contributions. Farm Report. The rest of the morning consisted of typical children's programming from NBC including more modern versions of classic fare like Fred and Barney Meet the Schmoo and the re-worked Warner Brothers cartoons with Daffy Duck and a modern rework of Casper. These paid commercial programs would pop up in March, June, August, and even December. "Real People" was a reality-based variety show which gave a number of "real" people/groups their 15-minutes of fame in front of a national audience. A short voice over promo for NBC Saturday Night at the Movies from 1975. WICS Charity Basketball Team, about 1989 (WICS). On December 31, 2012, the Sinclair Broadcast Group closed on the purchase of the non-license assets of GOCOM's three television stations, WRSP/WCCU and sister station WBUI for approximately $25.6 million. 1979, Newspaper ad from the Randy Miller Collection, TV Guide Ads for WICS Just drop me a note at the form on the Home page. June 11, 2019 | 6:23 am EDT by John O'Connor, Joe Crain, a WICS Springfield, Ill., meterologist since 2004, disappeared from the weather report after ad-libbing June 5 about the Code Red moniker that station owner Sinclair Broadcast Group implemented as a severe-weather alert. Critics of the initiative stated that the "Code Red" days unnecessarily alarm Central Illinois-area residents and harms local business revenue on the designated days. Syndicated Programming At one point in time, there had been a newscast weeknights at 5 that was simulcast on both outlets originating from Springfield.[4]. The Washington Post | Contributors: Anchors Jerry Lambert and Marianne Manko are featured with weathercaster Kelly Curran. We use cookies to ensure that we give you the best experience on our website. Jordan Elder is switching Sinclair owned stations. [21] Through the use of PSIP, digital television receivers display the station's virtual channel as its former UHF analog channel 20. However, WICD airs separate commercial inserts and legal identifications. WCHU, Channel 33 in Champaign only broadcast a radius of about 15 miles from downtown Champaign. This week I began a new career in a new industry. WCIA 3 Weather Special. Weekday programming in 1979 on WICS included the typical NBC daytime schedule of game and daytime dramas and locally originated off-network television series from the '60s and '70s. The company almost immediately turned around and announced it was selling the two (which count as one for regulatory purposes) plus KGAN in Cedar Rapids, Iowa to Sunrise Television. The prime-time access slot after the news block was filled by the weekday syndicated version of The Newlywed Game at 6:30 pm. The station originally had facilities at the Leland Hotel on Capitol Street in Downtown Springfield. (pictures from WICS and Flip Spiceland). WICS would preempt NBC programming to air syndicated programs during prime time, in which the station could charge prime rates to more advertisers as there was more commercial time available during those syndicated shows. (YouTube), Newsteam, Douglas Kimball, Dale Coleman and Nick Alexander, TV Guide, Nick Charles formerly of WICS at CNN, CNN Screen Shot. WICS began operations on September 17, 1953 and was owned by Plains Television Partners of Springfield, which was a 50/50 joint venture of Transcontinental Properties and the H & E Balaban Corporation. Some of the religious shows included Jimmy Swaggart, Herald of Truth and Faith for Today. Sometime in the 1960s, WICS began a tradition of airing a movie at 9:30 am. The SangamonLink has posted about historical highlights for Sangamon County including a story about WICS television history, in which it credits me as a source. Champaign Public Library Programming WICS from 1979 to 1986 Quotation[7] = "'FTVLive Delivers some of the TV World's Biggest Scoops' - Tonawanda News "; // Free for all; but please leave in this header. That enabled WICS to compete on the level of attracting central Illinois viewers to nearly an equal plain to its major competitor. --from Gus Gordon's Linkedin profile, September 5, 2005, first day at being an ABC affiliate, Gus Gordon (Doug Quick Collection), August 2010, Gus Gordon (Doug Quick Collection). The trainwould stop in as many of the NBC affiliate home towns as possible amid fans and local media. Urbana Free Library, The CompleteDirectoryto Prime Time Network Shows Quotation[2] = "'The story first broke on FTVLive.com' - AP"; The Final Years of Plains Television Partners and WICS. Pictured are WICS staff members Robert Wilson and John McKinney. This arrangement nearly brought down WICD, and for a time, it appeared the station would revert to a full-time satellite of WICS. Although identifying as a separate station in its own right, WICD is considered . A link to the page for WICS is here, just click on the button above. Here was a TV Guide entry for just such a pre-emption. April 22, 2015, the NewsChannel 20 6pm newscast. CBS Color Traveled on assignment . Other previous jobs include working at WXIA . In 1960, it bought WDAN-TV (another low-powered station in Danville) and changed the calls to WICD. [8][9][10][11][12], Crain stated that it was a "corporate initiative" and not reflective of the views of the station's meteorologists and likely "the idea of a journalism school graduate. Flip was WICS weathercaster for the six and ten-PM newscasts from 1973 to 1979. However, WCCU quickly moved its advertising sales operation from its location on South Neil Street/U.S. June 13, 2019 | 5:43 am EDT by Hank Price, Hank Price: The commitment of local broadcasters and their owners to the communities they serve is legendary. With the eventual relaxation of ownership limits, Sinclair soon took the stations off the market and retained them. Springfield TV weatherman off air since slamming station's Code Red "corporate initiative" during broadcast", "Weatherman Calls Out Sinclair Broadcasting For The Terrible Storm Alert System They Make Him Use", "WICS meteorologist Joe Crain criticizes 'Code Red' alerts", https://www.sj-r.com/news/20190613/sinclair-meteorologist-joe-crain-let-go-from-wics, "Viewers displeased after weatherman Ric Kearbey announces he's leaving WICS", "Former WICS personality Ric Kearbey raising money for online weather site", "DTV Tentative Channel Designations for the First and the Second Rounds", https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=WICS&oldid=1125953663, This page was last edited on 6 December 2022, at 19:36. One long-time fixture on NewsChannel 20 Joe Crain shows what made him Springfield's favorite weather guy. // ====================================== // ============================================== The Urbana Courier Newspaper WICS also pre-empted "Saturday Night Live" for a long period of time replacing it with a local-originated movie which allowed for more local ad sales than what was available during "SNL." At the same time, WCHU began breaking off from the WICS signal to air some local programming for the eastern side of the market, which was simulcast on WICD. It features Ric Kearbey, Liz Foster, Vince DeMentri, Shantel Middleton, Brett Baldeck, Garrett Brnger, and Donnie Tillman. March 3, 2015 | 10:02 am EST by TVNewsCheck, The State Journal-Register | That is false. Quotation [14] = " 'FTVLive's Scott Jones one of the Most Important Media Reporters in America'- Mediaite" The station is owned by the Sinclair Broadcast Group, and maintains studios on East Cook Street in Springfield's Eastside; its transmitter is located west of Mechanicsburg, in unincorporated Sangamon County. WCCU's advertising sales operation is also based out of WICD's studios. WICS would air paid religious programs by a professional evangelist, as well as paid info-commercials on behalf of charitable organizations. Dee Dee Gatton BREAKING: Crews battle two-alarm fire at south Charlotte apartment complex Dee Dee Gatton First at Four Anchor, Investigative Reporter Charlotte, NC Prior to coming to Charlotte, Dee Dee was the evening anchor/special projects reporter at WICS-WRSP in Springfield, Illinois. Professional Background CheckInformation on professionals, their work history and resumes. She's leaving WICS in Springfield, Ill. to join San Antonio NBC and Fox affiliates WOAI and KABB. On Instagram, Elder wrote that she'd "close. [2] WCFN's prime time broadcast would be eventually canceled by WCIA on September 28, 2009. June 7, 2019 | 6:43 am EDT by Bernard Schoenburg, Sinclair Broadcast Group said Thursday that International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Local Union Number 51 is no longer representing Sinclair employees at its ABC affiliate WICS Springfield, Ill. (DMA 88). John Belushi who was with the show from 1975 to 1979, Gilda Radner and Jane Curtin were there from 1975-1980. It's been an incredible ride over the past 2+ years here in Springfield, one that I won't soon forget. Washington Post | former wics news anchors: Anchors Jerry Lambert and Marianne Manko are featured with Kelly. Jerry Lambert and Marianne Manko are featured with weathercaster Kelly Curran of about 15 miles from downtown Champaign only a... 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