WLS-TV

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WLS-TV
Chicago, Illinois
Branding	ABC7 Chicago
Slogan	People make the difference.
Channels	7 (VHF) analog, 52 (UHF) digital
Affiliations	ABC, The AccuWeather Channel on DT3
Owner	Disney/ABC
Founded	September 17, 1948
Call letters meaning	World's Largest Store (reflecting its sister radio station's past ownership by Sears)
Former callsigns	WENR-TV (1948-53) WBKB (1953-68)
Former affiliations	none
Transmitter Power	55 kW/515.1 m (analog) 153.6 kW/514 m (digital)
Website	www.abc7chicago.com

WLS-TV, Channel 7 (officially branded as ABC7 Chicago), is an American television station in Chicago, Illinois this is owned and operated by the American Broadcasting Company. WLS-TV produces its broadcasts at 190 North State Street in The Loop and transmits its signal from the Sears Tower. The WLS-TV call letters stand for "World's Largest Store," recognizing its past affiliation with Sears on radio.

Contents 1 History 2 News operations 3 ABC7 News HD Broadcasts 3.1 Weekdays 3.2 Weekends 4 ABC7 News Bios 4.1 Current ABC7 News Anchors 4.2 ABC7 Weather Team 4.3 ABC7 Sports Team 4.4 ABC7 Local Program Hosts 4.5 ABC7 Reporters 4.6 Past personalities 5 Other locally produced programs 5.1 News Directors 6 Trivia 7 See also 8 References 9 External links

[edit] History

The station first went on the air on September 17, 1948 as WENR-TV. It was named after WENR-AM, ABC's Chicago radio affiliate. As one of the original ABC-owned stations on channel 7, it was the second station after WABC-TV in New York City to begin operations, ahead of WXYZ in Detroit, KGO-TV in San Francisco and KABC-TV in Los Angeles.

In 1953, ABC merged with United Paramount Theatres, the former theater division of Paramount Pictures. UPT owned WBKB on channel 4 (which shared a CBS affiliation with WGN-TV) but the new ABC could not keep both. As a result, WBKB was sold to CBS and renamed WBBM-TV CBS 2, while WENR was renamed WBKB-TV. The old WBKB's talent stayed at WBBM, while the old WBKB's call letters and management moved to channel 7. The general manager from the early 1950's to the mid-1960's was Sterling "Red" Quinlan My Afternoon with Red. who was a giant in early Chicago television. He was instrumental in the careers of Tom Duggan, Frank Reynolds, and Bob Newhart . The station courageously aired The Tom Duggan Show in the mid-1950's, which was the most popular show in Chicago far out drawing other network competition. The station became WLS-TV in 1968, after WLS-AM, which ABC had owned since 1959.

Today, the WBKB calls are used by a CBS affiliate in Alpena, Michigan.

WLS's digital signal, which is currently on UHF channel 52, is tentatively scheduled to move to the station's current analog channel assignment (VHF channel 7) when the FCC completes the move to digital on February 17, 2009. [2] This will make WLS one of two stations in the Chicago market that will be on VHF at that time (the other being WBBM, which will move to channel 11).

WLS is the only ABC-owned station not to air Live with Regis and Kelly, which is produced by New York sister station WABC-TV, due to WLS being the flagship (and original) station for Oprah, which airs first in the nation (and occasionally live) on Channel 7 in the 9am time slot usually ceded to Regis and Kelly on ABC stations in most markets. Instead, Regis and Kelly airs on CW affiliate WGN (Channel 9) at 9am.

[edit] News operations

WLS, like the other ABC owned-and-operated stations, adopted the Eyewitness News format in the late 1960s after it became a hit at flagship WABC-TV in New York. Fahey Flynn, a local broadcaster known for his bow ties and Joel Daly served as the anchormen of the newscasts from the late 1960s until the early 1980s. In 1983, Eyewitness News surpassed WMAQ-TV to become Chicago's top-rated new operation, a lead it held until WBBM-TV surpassed it in 1979. For much of the 1970s and 1980s, it waged a spirited battle for second place in the Chicago news ratings.

By 1983, changing tastes and a disastrous anchor change had dropped WLS into third place. That prompted two major changes. First was the hiring of Dennis Swanson as General Manager, who in turn, hired Bill Applegate as News Director. Secondly, ABC commissioned Frank Gari to write an updated version of the Cool Hand Luke theme widely associated with the Eyewitness News format. The result was News Series 2000, which was quickly picked up by the other ABC O&Os.

Swanson was instrumental in hiring talk show hostess Oprah Winfrey (originally for AM Chicago, later renamed "The Oprah Winfrey Show), lead anchor John Drury, who had previously worked at WLS, WBBM and WGN-TV and Floyd Kalber, who had led WMAQ-TV to the top of the ratings in the 1960s.

Drury and Mary Ann Childers were a popular anchor team at WLS during the 1980s and 1990s, accompanied by weatherman Steve Deshler and sportscaster Tim Weigel.

In March 1986, WLS passed longtime leader WBBM-TV as the highest-rated news station in Chicago. It has held the lead ever since, aside from a brief period when WBBM managed to forge a tie for first.

As of 1996, the station currently calls itself "ABC7 News," even though it still uses the same basic format from its Eyewitness News days. The station has been using its current news music package, News Series 2000 Plus by Frank Gari since 1992. It also updated the on-air graphics for its newscasts in July 2005.

The new State Street Studio officially debuted Monday, April 10, 2006 during its morning newscast, but they started broadcasting their newscast from the new studio on Saturday, April 8, 2006[3].

On the weekend of April 29-30, 2006, ABC7 began using Chopper 7 HD, becoming the first and only Chicago television station to do so. [4]

On Saturday, January 6, 2007, ABC7 became the first and only Chicago station so far to broadcast its entire news and local programming in high definition. [5]

[edit] ABC7 News HD Broadcasts

[edit] Weekdays

• ABC7 News This Morning - 5-7 a.m.
• ABC7 News at 11AM - 11 a.m.-Noon
• ABC7 News at 4PM - 4-5 p.m.
• ABC7 News at 5PM - 5-5:30 p.m.
• ABC7 News at 6PM - 6-6:30 p.m.
• ABC7 News at 10PM - 10-10:35 p.m.

[edit] Weekends

• ABC7 News Saturday Morning - 6-7 a.m.
• ABC7 News Sunday Morning - 6-7 and 8-9:30 a.m.
• ABC7 News at 5PM - 5-5:30 p.m.
• ABC7 News at 10PM - 10-10:35 p.m.

[edit] ABC7 News Bios

[edit] Current ABC7 News Anchors

• Stacey Baca - weekend mornings
• Ravi Baichwal - weekend evenings
• Kathy Brock - 6 and 10 p.m. weeknights
• Cheryl Burton - 5 and 10 p.m. weeknights
• Judy Hsu - weekday mornings
• Karen Jordan - weekend evenings
• Alan Krashesky - 4 and 6 p.m. weeknights; also host of NewsViews on Sunday mornings
• Ron Magers - 5 and 10 p.m. weeknights
• Sylvia Perez - 11 a.m. weekdays; also Healthbeat reporter 4 p.m. weekdays
• Kevin Roy - weekend mornings
• Hosea Sanders - weekday mornings
• Roz Varon - weekday morning traffic reporter
• Linda Yu - 11 a.m. and 4 p.m. weekdays

[edit] ABC7 Weather Team

The station's weather radar is called "MetroVision7."

• Mark Bishop - Saturday mornings
• Tracy Butler - Weekday mornings and 11 a.m.
• Mike Caplan - 4 p.m. weekdays
• Phil Schwarz - Sunday mornings, Weekend evenings
• Jerry Taft - chief meteorologist 5, 6, and 10 p.m. weeknights

[edit] ABC7 Sports Team

• Ryan Chiaverini - reporter
• Jeff Blanzy - weekends
• Mark Giangreco - sports director; 5 and 10 p.m. weeknights
• Jim Rose - 4 and 6 p.m. weeknights

[edit] ABC7 Local Program Hosts

• Bill Campbell - Chicagoing; also producer
• Janet Davies - 190 North; also feature/entertainment reporter
• Theresa Gutierrez - The ñ Beat specials; also reporter
• Harry Porterfield - People, Places, & Things specials; also occasional substitute anchor and '"Someone You Should Know" reporter

[edit] ABC7 Reporters

• Michelle Alegria - 190 North contributor
• Doug Banks - 190 North contributor
• Ben Bradley
• Lou Canellis - 190 North contributor
• Joel Daly - legal contributor (formerly anchor from 1968 until 2005)
• Steve Dolinksy - Food Reporter; "Hungry Hound" Wednesdays and Fridays 11am; Fridays 10pm
• Michelle Gallardo
• John Garcia
• Chuck Goudie - chief investigative reporter
• Evelyn Holmes
• Leah Hope (formerly morning anchor)
• Frank Mathie - features reporter
• Paul Meincke
• Karen Meyer - specializes in disablilty issues
• Dan Ponce
• Sarah Schulte
• Andy Shaw - political reporter
• Charles Thomas

[edit] Past personalities

• Mike Adamle - sports anchor (1983-1988)
• Andy Avalos - weather anchor (1983-1993)
• Jim Avila - reporter (1980-1984)
• Roberta Baskin - investigative reporter (1980-1984)
• Diann Burns - anchor/reporter (1985-2003)
• Jann Carl - reporter (1983-1984)
• Susan Carlson - traffic reporter (1998-2002)
• Mary Ann Childers - anchor/medical reporter (1980-1994)
• Lauren Cohn - anchor/reporter (1994-1998)
• John Coleman - longtime meteorologist (1968-1979)
• John Culea - reporter (1977-1980)
• Steve Deshler - weather anchor (1980-1993)
• John Drury - anchor (1970-1979 and 1984-2002)
• Tom Duggan - talk show/mob basher (1954-1956)
• John Edwards
• Steve Edwards - A.M. Chicago host (1975-1978)
• Joan Esposito - anchor/reporter (1981-1989)
• Russ Ewing - investigative reporter (1981-1995)
• Fahey Flynn - anchor (1968-1983, deceased)
• Bill Frink - sports anchor (1968-1979)
• Mike Jackson - anchor/reporter (1983-1989)
• Dick Johnson - anchor/reporter (1982-2002)
• Rob Johnson - weekend anchor/reporter (1998-2006)
• Jack Jones (1980-1984, deceased)
• Floyd Kalber - anchor (1984-1998, deceased)
• Jay Levine - reporter (1974-1990)
• Cora Ann Milhalik - anchor (1982-1984)
• Mike Nolan - sports anchor (1975-1978)
• Larry Moore - anchor (1981-1983)
• Terry Murphy - reporter (1976-1980)
• Brad Palmer - sports reporter/anchor (1985-2006)
• Bob Petty - weekend anchor/reporter/host of Weekend Edition (1971-2002)
• Jim Ramsey - weather anchor (1980-1983)
• Charlie Rose - A.M. Chicago host (1978-1979)
• Jim Rosenfield - anchor/reporter (1989-1998)
• Charles Rowe - anchor/reporter (1969-1973)
• Tim Ryan - reporter (1983-1989)
• Warner Saunders - host of For Blacks Only (1968-1972)
• Mark Schanowski - sports anchor/reporter (1990-1998)
• Jack Smith - reporter (1970-1976)
• Felicia Taylor - reporter (1986-1989)
• James Ward - restaurant/food critic (1985-2005)
• Tim Weigel - sports anchor (1977-1994, deceased)
• Oprah Winfrey - anchor/host of A.M. Chicago, which evolved into her current program (1984-1988)
• Robb Weller - A.M. Chicago host (1980-1983)
• Larry Yellen - reporter/producer (1982-1993)

[edit] Other locally produced programs

• 190 North - local entertainment program named after the station's studio address at 190 N. State St. in the Loop
  • airs Sundays 10:35pm and reruns Saturdays 11:05pm
• Chicagoing - local public affairs program
  • airs Sundays 11am
• The Oprah Winfrey Show - former A.M. Chicago 9am local program, retained name about one year after Oprah Winfrey became host - originally created by WLS-TV
  • airs Weekdays 9am and reruns Weeknights 11:05pm
• Ebert & Roeper - nationally syndicated film review program
  • airs Saturdays 10:35pm and reruns Sundays 10:30am

[edit] News Directors

• Jennifer Graves - (2001-present)
• Eric Lerner - (1999-2001)
• Phyllis Schwartz - (1993-1998)

[edit] Trivia

• WLS and sister station KGO-TV were among the earliest ABC O&Os to use the Circle 7 logo.
• Unlike most of the USA, ABC local and network programming has been ranked the number one Chicago station for most recent years.^[1]

[edit] See also

• WLS (AM)
• Circle 7 logo
• Eyewitness News

[edit] References

• The Bob & Kay Show (WENR-TV). Chicago Television.
• WLS-TV station history (2005). ABC7Chicago.com.

[edit] External links

• ABC7Chicago.com - WLS-TV Web site
• ABC7ToGo.com - WLS-TV Wireless Web site
• Query the FCC's TV station database for WLS-TV