In June 2019, Sinclair fired Joe Crain, a weekday morning meteorologist who had been with WICS since 2006,[7] for speaking out on-air during the June 5 edition of NewsChannel 20 Sunrise against a group mandate to Sinclair's news-producing stations to denote threats of severe thunderstorm activity through "Code Red" alerts, regardless of the severity of the event being forecast, stating that the system was "created by, likely, a journalism school graduate," rather than a professional meteorologist. . The cars would be driven into the new WICS studio where up to four vehicles could be featured at one time! "[13] Despite complaints and comments from viewers on the station's social media platforms,[14] letters to the editor and local talk radio shows, Sinclair continued to mandate its meteorologists to use the terminology. Although, that wasn't all. One long-time fixture on NewsChannel 20 Joe Crain shows what made him Springfield's favorite weather guy. We are pleased that as an [], February 27, 2017 | 6:55 am EST by TVNewsCheck. Local SNL fans objected in a big way..in fact the backlash was huge! Quotation[3] = "'The TV Blogger who broke the news.' - Gawker"; This operations saw local news operations reduced at some stations and combined with national news coverage, weather forecasting, and sports headlines based out of Sinclair's headquarters in Hunt Valley, Maryland. The owners of Plains Television Partners were Harry and Elmer Balaban, the two younger brothers of Barney Balaban, who was the head of Paramount Pictures during the 1940s and '50s. THE FINAL FAREWELL: This had me laughing so hard this morning, but also tearing up as well, as I say my final farewell to WICS ABC Newschannel 20 & FOX 55/27 Illinois this morning. When WICS moved from the former Leland Hotel studios, it moved into a large facility located at 2680 East Cook Street in Springfield. June 10, 2019 | 6:34 am EDT by Brenden Moore. Blocks NBC affil WAND came in second. Syndicated Programming December 21, 2011 | 2:42 pm EST by TVNewsCheck, State Journal-Register | April 22, 2015, the NewsChannel 20 6pm newscast. WICD (channel 15) is a television station licensed to Champaign, Illinois, United States, affiliated with ABC.Owned by Sinclair Broadcast Group, the station has studios on South Country Fair Drive in downtown Champaign, and its transmitter is located northeast of Homer, along the Vermilion-Champaign county line.. Meteorologists at local stations under Sinclairs auspices are encouraged or at times, forced into declaring code red days, the decision often made by management. WICS would broadcast St. Louis Cardinal Baseball during the era as well. [5][6] While WICS and WICD operated separate news departments, there was a considerable amount of resource sharing between the two outlets, such as with video footage and personnel. During the 1979-1980 TV season, the WICS weekday schedule followed Today at 9am with the first run weekday syndicated Dating Game followed by the NBC daytime schedule which was solid through3pm. The picture with WICS staff members was taken sometime in the last days of "The Virginian" or during the 1974-75 era of "Lucas Tanner" which aired on NBC. (YouTube). (picture courtesy of Teresa Wilson Ericson, daughter of Robert Wilson) WICS Sold by Plains Television Partners to Guy Gannett Communications. Quotation [15] = " 'FTVLive Reported the Story First'- NY Times" During the Summer of 1967, the new WICD(channel 15) would go on the air from the tallest (tower)structure in the state of Illinois at the time. Viewers have been wondering what happened to WICS (Springfield) Anchor Maggie Poteau? We're your source for local news, weather and sports. Now Crain is officially out of a job. Others who have spent time there included Garrett Morris, Laraine Newman, Bill Murray, Albert Brooks, Don Novello, Paul Shaffer, Al Franken, Tom Davis, Gilbert Gottfried, Joe Piscopo, Charles Rocket, Eddie Murphy, Robin Duke, Tim Kazurinsky and Denny Dillon. WICS/WICD was to have switched to ABC at the beginning of the 200405 television season, but it was required to remain with NBC for another year, as its affiliation contract with the station did not expire until September 4 of the following year. Former Channel 20 anchor Don Hickman dies JOHN REYNOLDS and MATTHEW DIETRICH 0:00 0:35 Don Hickman, whose nearly three decades as news anchor at WICS Channel 20 made him one of. Other previous jobs include working at WXIA . After a brief stint as a "Today" anchor, she left NBC News in . This left WICS and WICD without a major network affiliation. 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. The Illinois State Journal-Register Although identifying as a separate station in its own right, WICD is considered . // To add more quotations, continue with the A 1979 NBC promo for the premiere network broadcasts of "Escape to Witch Mountain" and "The Towering Inferno" narrated by Casey Kasem. Senate Republican Caucus, Vice President & Senior Trust Officer at Jacksonville Savings Bank, Communication Manager/Spokesperson at Illinois Department of Transportation, President, Savant Multimedia, Social Media Management/Advertising Firm. WCHU, Channel 33 in Champaign only broadcast a radius of about 15 miles from downtown Champaign. "He was an instant star," recalled Vann, who retired in 2019 after 42 years on television and now lives in Asheville, North Carolina. CNN reported that Hickman died Wednesday after battling liver cancer, according to his widow, Sheila. It appears to have been a decision of new WICD Station Manager Joe Norris. List of news presenters by nationality American news anchors. Multimedia journalists based at WICD's Champaign studios still provide coverage of the eastern areas of the market. November 21, 2011 | 8:25 am EST by TVNewsCheck, News-Gazette.com | Impeachment managers argued that Trump's speech on January 6 incited the deadly insurrection at the U. S. Capitol. Mutual of Omaha's the Wild Kingdom would follow at 5 pm, then the NBC national newscast before prime time and Walt Disney's Wonderful World of Color. After the 10 pm local newscast, both WICS/WICD would follow, more than likely, with the broadcast of yet another TV movie before sign-off. That is false. The two stations operated as a regional network sharing most network and syndicated programming. | KHQA-TV (Quincy, IL) It was an unprecedented moment in history as former President Donald Trump and his legal team navigated the historic second impeachment trial. He would remain as WCIA's News Director until 1967. A link to the page for WICS is here, just click on the button above. Syndicated Programming This was the 1965-66 Season Premiere Video produced for NBC Sales. Eventually, WRSP and WBUI also moved from their offices on Old Rochester Road in Springfield and were consolidated into WICS' facility. Until October 13, 2014, WICD's separate weekday newscasts at its Champaign headquarters were not included in the upgrade because that set lacked high definition cameras. The Springfield State Journal-Register | ".and so it goes.". It seems that Saturday Night Live replaced a time period in which local stations previously programmed it to air movies and other syndicated programming. The situation with WICS/WICD wasunique when it came to Saturday Night Live. From the start, NewsChannel at 9 competed with a newscast already established in the time slot on then-UPN affiliate WCFN (produced by WCIA). --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 station's digital signal remained on its pre-transition UHF channel 42. One minute she's on the news, the next minute she's gone. WICS would often time preempt NBC for the airing of local origination programming during the prime time during the month following a rating period. In 1964, it moved to its current studios on East Cook Street in East Springfield. Most of the time it was to air more big dollar commercials during syndicated programming. Pictured above are several graphics from the show along with Chevy Chase who was only there during the 1975-76 season, but he's probably one of the best-known alumni of the show. WICS Newschannel 20 provides local news, weather forecasts, traffic updates, notices of events and items of interest in the community, sports and entertainment programming for Springfield and nearby towns and communities in the Decatur, and Champaign area, including Jacksonville, Taylorville, Lincoln, Petersburg, Pana, Effingham, Shelbyville, Beardstown, Carlinville, Litchfield and Hillsboro. Along with television, Elmer Balaban also owned a number of local radio stations in medium-size markets around the country. It may cost him his job", "Where is Joe Crain? The Saturday morning sign-on was at 6:30 am as well with the syndicated U.S. In addition to sporting director, Hickman was also a news reporter and sometimes news anchor, former WICS news director Les Vann recalled. 45 in Champaign into WICD's studios. [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. (from the Doug Quick Collection of TV Guide), "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. It was simply more profitable, since airing the NBC show would limit the time available for local commercials. Quotation[2] = "'The story first broke on FTVLive.com' - AP"; The station originally had facilities at the Leland Hotel on Capitol Street in Downtown Springfield. WICS, Channel 20, Springfield, Rick Lipps This is a recording of the "A" block of a newscast from WICS in early May of 1997. Quotation[7] = "'FTVLive Delivers some of the TV World's Biggest Scoops' - Tonawanda News "; 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. Quotation [14] = " 'FTVLive's Scott Jones one of the Most Important Media Reporters in America'- Mediaite" var Q = Quotation.length; Bomke's broadcast career began in Central Illinois as a morning anchor and reporter for WICD-TV in Champaign and WICS-TV in her hometown of Springfield. TV Guide (1954-1959) from the Doug Quick Collection Well Poteau has left the station and TV news altogether. The weekend edition of the prime time news will continue to be a market-wide simulcast on WRSP and WCCU. Facebook Justin Carter and Brittany Hardaway (WICS) SPRINGFIELD, Ill. (WICS/WRSP) Many people are wondering where Newschannel 20 and FOX Illinois morning anchors Justin Carter and Brittany Hardaway have been. This is a complete newscast from August 1999 with Don Hickman and Susan Finzen. YouTube videos are the property of the individual copyright holders and only posted for their historical significance. It was called the "Laramie" peacockbecause it was first used at the introductionof "Laramie" the first season it was produced/broadcast in color in 1962. (see above) The movies included many of Hollywoods classic films from the Warner Brothers and MGM libraries. It was called the "Laramie" peacockbecause it was first used at the introductionof "Laramie" the first season it was produced/broadcast in color in 1962. On Sundays, WICS would sign on at 6:30 am with a block of religious programming and public affairs. Jordan Elder is switching Sinclair owned stations. Cindy Larson and others at WICS I hope you can understand why I was unable to share the information sooner. Pictured below are few snapshots from their visit in Springfield, IL supplied by WICS. March 7, 2011 | 6:17 am EST by TVNewsCheck. Both WRSP/WCCU and WBUI were initially operated from separate facilities from WICS/WICD. var whichQuotation=Math.round(Math.random()*(Q-1)); Along with television, Elmer Balaban also owned a number of local radio stations in medium-size markets around the country. "Real People" ran from 1979 to 1984 on NBC. Brittany Hardaway joined 13 WREX as an anchor for the 5, 6 and 10 p.m. newscasts in July of 2021. 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. These paid commercial programs would pop up in March, June, August, and even December. This week I began a new career in a new industry. Morning/Midday Anchor at WICS-TV Title: Morning & Midday Anchor at WICS-TV Location: Springfield, Illinois Area Industry: Broadcast Media Work history: WICS-TV - Springfield, Illinois Area Morning/Midday Anchor since Jan 2012 Jasculca/Terman & Associates Account Executive Sep 2010 - Dec 2011 Full Profile Jeremy Rauch Springfield, IL Decatur Public Library // ====================================== It was not until December 2012 that local newscasts seen on WICS were upgraded to HD. SKILLS -Avid, Edius, and Premier Pro: Non-linear editing -Various web publishing programs Communications, Public Speaking, Public Relations, Writing, Marketing, Video Editing, Broadcasting, Broadcast, Broadcast Journalism, Non-linear Editing. In the early days, the WICS studios would allow for cars to be driven into the studios as well as for the many children's shows which included a studio audience as well as a panel of local kids. Later in the year, Sinclair signed the stations with ABC. The dog was Fang, the Wonderdog. Joe Crain 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 | His characters were Vincent Hedges(a vampire), Emmit(the hunchback), Beauregard(the caveman), and Bertie and Bernie(the skull). The reason? December 26, 2013 | 7:31 am EST by TVNewsCheck, TVNewsCheck/Playout | Radio Broadcasting, Adobe Audition, Broadcast, Feature Articles, Social Media, Storytelling, Radio, Communications Director at Illinois Department of Natural Resources, Communications Director- Illinois Department of Natural Resources. The rest of the weekday schedule was filled with NBC programming, with a local newscast at 10 pm. if(window.ImageLoader) window.ImageLoader.bootstrap({}, document);Squarespace.afterBodyLoad(Y); Anchor Leaves Station without a Word (Thanks to Sinclair). 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