When WICS moved from the former Leland Hotel studios, it moved into a large facility located at 2680 East Cook Street in Springfield. Also, you'll learn more about that full-powered east central Illinois station at the WICD page (which is coming soon). Click on the button to see the program schedule from the dates indicated above. Former Weather Channel Anchor Cheryl Lemke hasn't run into Homer Simpson yet, but she is enjoying life in Springfield, Illinois. CNN reported that Hickman died Wednesday after battling liver cancer, according to his widow, Sheila. [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. At Sinclair, employees are our most valuable asset. [16] This is not the first time the station has taken issue with talent popular with their viewers; in 2015, chief meteorologist Ric Kearbey was unable to reach a deal with WICS on a new contract, while anchor Liz Foster resigned to take a new position in Charlotte, North Carolina.[17][18][19]. Most of the time it was to air more big dollar commercials during syndicated programming. Along with television, Elmer Balaban also owned a number of local radio stations in medium-size markets around the country. The time slots would also be occupied by adult fare as well as syndicated shows like, "The Mike Douglas Show," "The John Gary Show" and "The Merv Griffin Show." It was not until December 2012 that local newscasts seen on WICS were upgraded to HD. (picture courtesy of Teresa Wilson Ericson, daughter of Robert Wilson), You can see Robert Wilson in WICS's early history as a cast member of "Pegwill's Circus". However, WCCU quickly moved its advertising sales operation from its location on South Neil Street/U.S. 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). It states that WICD was also purchased by Guy Gannett Communications in 1986. No corporation is perfect, nor is every policy. These paid commercial programs would pop up in March, June, August, and even December. Sinclair purchased most of Guy Gannett's stations, including WICS and WICD, in 1999. Former WICS Anchor Don Hickman Dies at 74. Justin and Brittany are setting the record straight on why they will be away. 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. Quotation [17] = " 'An insider newsy website' - Hoda Kotb" In 1960, it bought WDAN-TV (another low-powered station in Danville) and changed the calls to WICD. During the Summer of 2004, it was announced that WAND would become the market's NBC station. 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. Despite this, by June 11, Sinclair posted an advertisement on its website seeking a replacement for Crain as meteorologist for WICD/WICS and WRSP/WCCU's morning newscasts. He researched, produced, and presented award-winning investigative . In 1983, as part of a publicity stunt, the cast toured the country via a train called the "Real People Express." 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. Decatur Public Library Most commercials were either done live or live on tape from the studios of WICS. | 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. [15][8][10][12] On June 13, a spokesman for Sinclair stated that he had been, in fact, let go. // pattern, adding to the array. She's leaving WICS in Springfield, Ill. to join San Antonio NBC and Fox affiliates WOAI and KABB. The syndicated version aired in the 6:30-7pm time weekday evening slot. function showQuotation(){document.write(Quotation[whichQuotation]);} Before the high-def conversion, here is the 6 pm Newscast from WICS, Channel 20 from July 7, 2011. Contributors: I hope you can understand why I was unable to share the information sooner. Prior to joining WICS and WRSP, Lemke worked in Omaha at WOWT-TV. 1976 Fall TV montage of shows broadcast during the week. Springfield Area Weather Forecast. 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. Flip was WICS weathercaster for the six and ten-PM newscasts from 1973 to 1979. Through joint sales and shared services agreements (JSA/SSA), Sinclair also provides certain services to the area's Fox affiliate, Springfield-licensed WRSP-TV, channel 55 (and its semi-satellite, Urbana-licensed WCCU, channel 27), as well as Decatur-licensed CW outlet WBUI, channel 23 (all are owned by GOCOM Media, LLC). Fred Hickman, an influential sports broadcaster who became one of the early stars of CNN as host of "CNN Sports Tonight," has died. This full-powered, full-color facility would replace Channel 33, 24 and 75 in central Illinois and would bring rural viewers from Crawfordsville, Indiana to Decatur, Illinois NBC programming. 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. Teresa Wilson Ericson Vice President at Frontline Public Strategies, Inc. Senior public affairs & media relations strategist, Founder of Frontline Public Strategies. 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. This is a complete newscast from August 1999 with Don Hickman and Susan Finzen. 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). He received CableACE awards in 1989 and 1993, and was a New York . A link to the page for WICS is here, just click on the button above. (YouTube). // ====================================== He was 74. Railsplitters would go on to sponsor the Sunday night movie as well, "The Sunday Cinema.". (YouTube). She also was the Interim Chief Meteorologist at WSBT-TV in South Bend, Indiana. 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. 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. Flip was WICS weathercaster for the six and ten-PM newscasts from 1973 to 1979. SK Exteriors Stormtracker. That enabled WICS to compete on the level of attracting central Illinois viewers to nearly an equal plain to its major competitor. In 1967, Plains Television merged WCHU and WICD into a new full-power station on UHF channel 15 under the WICD calls, but operating under the WCHU license. When "Star Trek" premiered, it was pre-empted by WICS for off-network reruns of "Laramie." // ============================================== 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). Social Media, Promotions, Multimedia, Non-linear Editing, Camera Operation, Voice Over, Creative Director at Illinois Department of Agriculture, Director at Staley Family Foundation, Talent at Television Commercials, Stay at Home Mom at My House. ".and so it goes.". That movie run would fill the 9:30 to 11 or 11:15 am time slot. (from the Doug Quick Collection of TV Guide), The "Real People" Express visits Springfield, IL. 1988 was the 50th anniversary of Springfield's Mel-O-Cream Donuts and Dave Heller did a report on the local company. Well Poteau has left the station and TV news altogether. There should be one correction, though. It as done with a panel which included John Barbour, Sarah Percell, Byron Allen, Skip Stephenson, Bill Rafferty, Mark Russell, Fred Willard and even Peter Billingsley(of "Christmas Story"). var Quotation=new Array() // do not change this! // Set up the quotations to be shown, below. Besides ownership of the two central Illinois TV stations, the Balaban brothers' company, H and E Balaban Corporation entered into a partnership in 1959 with Transcontinental Properties to purchase WNBC-TV, Channel 30 from NBC. "He was an instant star," recalled Vann, who retired in 2019 after 42 years on television and now lives in Asheville, North Carolina. WICS-TV Jun 2018 - Feb 2020 1 year 9 months. Press Releases, Media Relations, Strategic Communications, Public Relations, Internal Family Service Consultant at Staab Funeral Home, Financial Planner, Insurance and Investments at Communication Manager at CMS - State of Illinois. Quotation [16] = " 'FTVLive.com a website I go too often for the latest news about the TV business (you should, too!)' 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. Kathryn Dinardo Quotation[10] = "'The statement from New York-based NBC was in response to a report on the FTVLive' - Bloomberg"; Later in the year, Sinclair signed the stations with ABC. YouTube videos are the property of the individual copyright holders and only posted for their historical significance. 1979, Newspaper ad from the Randy Miller Collection, TV Guide Ads for WICS WICS, WICD, WCIA, WRSP, WCCU, WAND, WBUI and WCIX are now broadcasting with ATSC 3.0 technology. Impeachment managers argued that Trump's speech on January 6 incited the deadly insurrection at the U. S. Capitol. Included with the change was a new set at the Springfield studios and updated Sinclair corporate graphics. The prime-time access slot after the news block was filled by the weekday syndicated version of The Newlywed Game at 6:30 pm. Crain criticized Sinclair Broadcast Groups initiative to implement mandatory code red days in their affiliates forecasts. Here's a sample segment from "Real People" about an ugly dog contest. November 21, 2011 | 8:25 am EST by TVNewsCheck, News-Gazette.com | Meanwhile, WICS would struggle with the technical limitations of WCHU and WICD. Be sure to check other regions around Springfield, IL to locate the records of more people. A link to the page for WICS is here, just click on the button above. The effort on WRSP/WCCU was further expanded on January 20, 2014, when WICS began producing a two-hour weekday morning show for the Fox affiliates. Local newscasts, produced by WICS, are simulcast on both stations. However, WICS was the only station uplinked by satellite providers due to contractual obligations, since it was considered the main station. WICS began operations on September 17, 1953 and was owned by Plains Television Partners of Springfield, which was a 50/50 joint venture of . 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. Weathercaster for the six and ten-PM newscasts from 1973 to 1979, Founder of Frontline Public Strategies, Inc. Public... 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