WMAQ-TV
This article contains content that is written like an advertisement. (December 2017) |
FCC | |
Facility ID | 47905 |
---|---|
ERP | 398 kW |
HAAT | 509 m (1,670 ft) |
Transmitter coordinates | 41°52′44.1″N 87°38′10.2″W / 41.878917°N 87.636167°W |
Links | |
Public license information | |
Website | www |
WMAQ-TV (channel 5) is a
History
Early years (1948–1964)
The station first signed on the air on October 8, 1948, as WNBQ; it was the fourth television station to sign on in Chicago. in Los Angeles. WNBQ initially broadcast a minimum of two hours of programming per day.
The station originally proposed WNBY as its call letters. However, at NBC's request, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) approved an application filed by the network to change the station's calls to WNBQ. This move was announced on March 3, 1948.
NBC officials cited the need to avoid possible confusion with
The station's first mid-week broadcast occurred the month following its sign-on when Paul Winchell and Joseph Dunninger were featured on the NBC variety series, The Floor Show. The half-hour program was recorded via kinescope and rebroadcast on WNBQ at 8:30 p.m. on Thursdays.[4]
WNBQ originated several programs for the NBC television network from its original studio facilities—a 170,000-square-foot (15,794 m2) studio on the 19th floor of the
Reborn as WMAQ-TV (1964–1995)
Although NBC had long owned the WMAQ radio stations, the television station continued to maintain call letters separate from those used by its co-owned radio outlets; this changed on August 31, 1964, when the network changed the station's calls to WMAQ-TV.[7][8]
The call letters of its sister radio station were initially assigned by the government but were creatively used to form the phrase "We Must Ask Questions", which the radio station took as its motto in the 1920s. Although the station's role as a program provider to NBC diminished in the 1960s, WMAQ-TV gathered and distributed more than 200 news footage feeds per month from overseas and the Central United States to NBC News.[9]
On December 3, 1985, NBC signed a $100 million+ agreement to lease office space in a three-story annex to the north of a planned 34-story, 1,000,000-square-foot (92,903 m2) skyscraper—a project developed by the
In the spring of 1992, the NBC-owned television stations, including WMAQ-TV, announced that they would no longer air
1995–present
On April 10, 1998,
On June 5, 2000, to improve station reception, the station extended its Sears Tower (now Willis Tower) transmitter's western antenna height to 1,730 feet (527 m).[14] In July 2000, NBC entered into a local marketing agreement (LMA) with WCPX-TV (channel 38) that indirectly resulted from NBC's partial ownership interest in WCPX-TV network partner Pax TV (now Ion Television) and a related management agreement with that network's owned-and-operated stations. Under the LMA, the two stations shared certain programs, while WMAQ handled advertising sales services for channel 38. The agreement also allowed WCPX to air rebroadcasts of channel 5's 6 p.m. and 10 p.m. newscasts on a half-hour delay. The LMA ended on July 1, 2005, upon Pax's rebranding as i: Independent Television.[15]
On September 6, 2003, WMAQ agreed to lease 4,000 square feet (372 m2) of space at the Equitable Building at 401 North Michigan Avenue (one block east of the NBC Tower), with the intent to build a streetside studio for the Chicago market, the first to be used for live broadcasting purposes by a Chicago television station.[16] On February 26, 2004, WMAQ-TV garnered national attention when Katie Couric, Al Roker, and Lester Holt hosted the Today show on Cityfront Plaza to unveil the new studio (known as "Studio 5") at the building's northwest corner. The station's morning and noon newscasts were broadcast from the Michigan Avenue facility until February 2013, when the studio was closed and the space within the 401 Michigan Avenue building was put up for sale, at which time production of both newscasts was moved back to the NBC Tower.[17][18]
In November 2007, the FCC proposed to fine WMAQ-TV $10,000 for "failure to publicize the existence and location of its
In the fall of 2008, WMAQ-TV's website was relaunched, including a new layout, as part of a larger revamp of the websites of NBC's entire owned-and-operated station group.[20]
In December 2009, the Chicago local division of the National Association of Broadcast Employees and Technicians-Communication Workers of America (NABET) launched a boycott of WMAQ-TV. The station spokeswoman told Lewis Lazare of the Chicago Sun-Times that they did not comment on the labor-related issues affecting the station. In October 1994, prior to the boycott of the station, the union, along with Republican candidate George Larney, had joined forces to boycott WMAQ-TV due to its negotiations involving its national contract with the network. In the summer of 1987, a handful of technicians at WMAQ-TV, WMAQ radio, and WKQX went on strike; technicians at other NBC-owned stations in New York, Los Angeles, Washington, D.C., and Cleveland also went on strike as a result.[21][22]
On January 18, 2011, the FCC and the Department of Justice approved the acquisition of WMAQ-TV's parent company NBCUniversal by Comcast (one of the largest cable providers in Chicago), with the deal being closed on January 28. As a result, WMAQ, WSNS, and regional sports network Comcast SportsNet Chicago (now NBC Sports Chicago) became sister stations. On March 18, 2013, longtime WVIT president and general manager David Doebler was appointed president and general manager of WMAQ-TV, replacing longtime president and general manager Larry Wert, who later became president of WGN-TV's parent Tribune Broadcasting.[23]
On February 3, 2012, the station rejected a
In February 2015, WMAQ and the other NBC-owned stations offered live, web-based streaming of programming to subscribers of participating cable and satellite television providers, as provided through
On April 20, 2021, Kevin Cross, the senior vice president and general manager of NBC Sports Chicago, was officially appointed as president and general manager of WMAQ-TV, beginning in June, taking over from David Doebler, who retired after eight years at the station. Cross became the first president of NBCUniversal's Chicago broadcasting properties and the second Black president of the station in 25 years.[28][29]
Programming
Syndicated programming
As of September 2021[update], syndicated programming broadcast by WMAQ-TV includes Access Hollywood (including its afternoon counterpart) and The Kelly Clarkson Show (all of which being distributed by corporate sister NBCUniversal Syndication Studios).[30]
Programming irregularities
- WMAQ-TV was one of four NBC-owned stations (along with sister stations WCAU in Philadelphia, WRC-TV in Washington, D.C. and KNSD in San Diego) that did not carry Access Hollywood Live. The talk show spin-off of Access Hollywood aired from the program's NBC O&O debut in September 2010 until September 2014, when all four stations dropped the program due to low local viewership in those markets.[31]
- On September 17, 2015, WMAQ-TV and the City of Chicago announced a partnership to broadcast the city's New Year's Eve celebrations entitled Chi-Town Rising, a special also syndicated to NBC affiliates across the Midwest.
Sports programming
Bank of America Chicago Marathon and Bank of America Shamrock Shuffle 8K
From 2001 to 2002, and again since 2008 (with the exception of 2020 due to the event's cancellation resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic), WMAQ has served as an official broadcaster of the
Chicago Fire Soccer Club
In 2012, WMAQ-TV partnered with the Chicago Fire Soccer Club (now
Chicago Blackhawks and Bulls
In 2023, WMAQ will simulcast two
News operation
This section needs additional citations for verification. (December 2019) |
WMAQ-TV presently broadcasts 41 hours, and 25 minutes of locally produced newscasts each week (with 6 hours, 35 minutes each weekday, four hours on Saturdays, and 4½ hours on Sundays). In addition, the station produces the half-hour sports highlight program Sports Sunday, which airs Sunday evenings after the 10 p.m. newscast.
News department history
1990s
In January 1991, WMAQ announced plans to launch the Suburban News Source, a 24-hour local cable news channel featuring 4½-minute-long inserts of news headlines specific to suburban localities, placed within live simulcasts of the station's noon, 4 p.m., and 6 p.m. newscasts. Originally scheduled to debut on January 14, 1991, the service was to be distributed to Centel Videopath systems in Chicago's northern, northwestern, and southern suburbs. However, the service's launch was postponed three times due to logistical issues and demands by cable providers to gain a share of the service's advertising revenues. Station management scrapped plans for the channel in June 1991.[43][44][45][46]
On August 24, 1998, WMAQ debuted NBC 5 Chicago Daytime, a one-hour daily lifestyle and entertainment show. The program was hosted by Rosati and Nesita Kwan alongside meteorologist Byron Miranda. The show was reduced to a half-hour on April 26, 1999.[47]
In the spring of 1999, after negotiations between WMAQ-TV management and the American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (AFTRA), nearly all of the station's on-air talent went on strike. On March 30, 1999, the station's on-air talent planned to authorize a strike vote, if a bargaining session with the station scheduled for late April failed.[48] On May 14, 1999, four of the station's high-profile personalities—including 6 p.m. & 10 p.m. anchor Allison Rosati, chief meteorologist Brant Miller, sports anchor Mike Adamle and weekend evening meteorologist Shelly Monahan—broke ranks with the union, following the strike authorization vote.[49][50]
2000s
In early fall 2006, additional changes were made to WMAQ's early evening lineup. On September 18, the station moved the afternoon newscast, with Sirott and Brooks, to 4 p.m. and moved the newsmagazine show Extra to 4:30 pm. The early evening newscast remained at 5 pm. A week later on September 25, 2006, Saunders and Rosati were promoted to anchor the 5 p.m. newscasts.[51]
On January 14, 2008, WMAQ-TV became the second television station in the Chicago market (after WLS-TV) to begin broadcasting its local newscasts in
In March 2008, Johnson was demoted from the weekday newscast but continued his reporting work; Elgas was promoted to weekday morning anchor. On January 12, 2009, WMAQ and Fox owned-and-operated station WFLD entered into a Local News Service agreement, in which the two stations would share helicopter footage. This agreement reportedly paved the way for a larger pooling effort between the two stations.[53] In spring 2009, WMAQ-TV laid off an undisclosed number of employees. In addition, they canceled the Sunday morning newscasts due to budget cuts at the station. The Sunday morning newscasts were revived on November 7, 2010.[54]
In May 2009, the station announced that it would conclude the public affairs program City Desk after 57 years; the show had its final broadcast on May 17, 2009. Two weeks later, on May 31, 2009, The Talk debuted on WMAQ with Brooks as host. Prior to this, Sunday morning anchor Ellee Pai Hong left the station after six years. On June 12, 2009, Bob Sirott left WMAQ-TV for the second time, as his contract with the station had not been renewed.[55] Later, on July 29, 2009, Davlantes' contract with the station was not renewed. On August 10, 2009, WMAQ promoted Stafford to main anchor. He, along with Rosati, co-anchored the 5 pm, 6 p.m., and 10 p.m. newscasts.[56]
For years, WMAQ-TV's 10 p.m. newscast was in second place behind WBBM-TV and, later, WLS-TV, with WBBM-TV third. At the conclusion of the November 2009
For five years, beginning in 2006 when WMAQ canceled its 11 a.m. newscast, WMAQ differed from most NBC stations in the Central Time Zone in that it did not carry a newscast in the weekday midday time period. This changed on September 12, 2011, when it debuted a half-hour newscast at noon (the program returned to 11 a.m. when it was reformatted as an hour-long newscast on September 8, 2014).[58][59] On December 6, 2011, WMAQ-TV announced a partnership with The Chicago Reporter as part of a larger effort by NBCUniversal to partner with non-profit news organizations, following its acquisition by Comcast.[60]
2010s
In January 2012, WMAQ-TV announced testing a news partnership with Merlin Media's WIQI (now WKQX) to use audio from all of WMAQ-TV's newscasts, including morning, noon, afternoon, 5 p.m., 6 p.m., and 10 p.m. newscasts, as well as the sharing of assignments and online content between the two stations. The news partnership ended on July 17, 2012, when WIQI switched to an adult hits format, branded as "i101".[61]
On July 27, 2013, WMAQ expanded its weekend morning newscasts, with the early edition of the program on both days expanding to two hours with the addition of an hour-long broadcast at 5 a.m. (from a previous 6 a.m. start) and an additional half-hour added at 10 a.m. on Sundays.
On August 8, 2016, the station's hour-long 4 p.m. newscast was revived after a 21-year absence, serving as a replacement for Extra, which moved to WFLD after a 20-year absence. WMAQ-TV became the third station in Chicago to expand into the time period, following WGN-TV (which began its 4 p.m. newscast in September 2014) and WLS-TV (which began expanding into the time period in the 1980s), indicating a decreased reliance on
On August 23, 2019, WMAQ-TV announced that they were cutting the 11 a.m. newscast to a half-hour on Fridays in favor of its new lifestyle show Chicago Today effective September 6[65] (The Monday to Thursday editions later cut them to 45 minutes on December 6, 2021, on a temporary basis during the holiday season; then it became permanent on January 3, 2022[66]).
2020s
On March 16, 2020, WMAQ-TV announced that the 6 p.m. newscast would expand to a full hour with a half-hour extension at 6:30 pm, making channel 5 the second station in Chicago to have a 6:30 p.m. newscast (after WGN-TV's hour-long 6 p.m. weeknight newscast which debuted in 2017). This extension was intended to be temporary due to the COVID-19 pandemic.[67]
On January 20, 2022, WMAQ-TV launched a new 24-hour streaming channel on NBCUniversal's streaming service Peacock. "NBC Chicago News" features simulcasts and encores of the station's newscasts as well as original content made for the channel. Prior to the launch of the streaming channel, the station had a curated playlist available on the streaming service since its April 2020 launch.[68][69] The streaming channel was later launched on The Roku Channel on June 28, 2022.[70]
Notable current on-air staff
- Steve Dolinsky – food reporter
- Mark Giangreco – A Very Chicago New Year host (formerly served as sports anchor from 1982 to 1994)[39]
- Stefan Holt – anchor; also the son of NBC Nightly News anchor Lester Holt[71][72]
- David Kaplan – contributor
- Brant Miller (AMS Seal of Approval) – chief meteorologist
- WSCR-AM)
- Allison Rosati – anchor
- Rob Stafford – anchor; also investigative reporter
Notable former on-air staff
- ^[†] Indicates deceased
- Mike Adamle (retired)
- Jackie Bange (now at WGN-TV)
- Jonathon Brandmeier
- Danny Bonaduce
- Susan Carlson (now a voice-over artist)
- John Coleman†
- Chet Coppock†
- Jim Cummins†
- WGN-AM)
- Billy Dec (now Founder and CEO of Rockit Ranch Productions)
- Jill Dougherty (now at CNN)
- Alex Dreier†
- Tom Duggan†
- Roger Ebert†
- Russ Ewing†
- Paula Faris (now at ABC News)
- Tsi-Tsi-Ki Felix
- Greg Gumbel (now at CBS Sports)
- Daniella Guzman (now at KPRC-TV in Houston)
- Steve Handelsman (retired)
- Chuck Henry (later at KNBC in Los Angeles; now retired)
- Cassidy Hubbarth (now at ESPN as host of NBA Tonight and co-anchor of SportsCenter)
- Amy Jacobson
- Walter Jacobson (later at WBBM-TV, then WFLD; now retired)
- Dick Johnson†
- Floyd Kalber†
- Jon Kelley (now host of Funny You Should Ask)
- Sarah Kustok (now at YES Network)
- Don Lemon (later at CNN from 2006 to 2023)
- Tammy Leitner (now NBC News Investigative reporter)
- Shelley Long
- Ron Magers (later at WLS-TV; now retired)
- Depaul UniversityCenter for Journalism Integrity & Excellence)
- HLN)
- Erin Moriarty (now at CBS News)
- WFLD-TV; now retired)
- Byron Miranda (now at WPIX in New York City)
- Deborah Norville (now host of Inside Edition)
- Mike North
- Pat O'Brien
- Anita Padilla (now at WFLD)
- John Palmer†
- Jane Pauley (now at CBS News)
- Maury Povich (now host of the syndicated talk show Maury)
- Cindy Preszler (now at WFOR-TV in Miami)
- Ash-har Quraishi (now at E. W. Scripps Company as a national correspondent)
- Carol Anne Riddell (later at WNBC)
- Max Robinson†
- Zoraida Sambolin
- Warner Saunders†
- Mark Schanowski (now at NBC Sports Chicago and WLS-TV)
- Carole Simpson (later at NBC News and then at ABC News)
- WGN-AM)
- Jerry Springer (news commentator in 1997 for two appearances until he resigned, while he was hosting his now-defunct syndicated talk show)†
- Tammie Souza
- Amy Stone
- Ray Suarez
- Mark Suppelsa (later at WFLD and WGN-TV; now retired)
- Jerry Taft†
- Martha Teichner (now at CBS News)
- Charlie Van Dyke (now a radio and television announcer, WMAQ served as one of his television station clients from 1994 to 1997)
- Harry Volkman†
- Jenniffer Weigel
- Tim Weigel†
- Bruce Wolf
- Linda Yu (later at WLS-TV; now retired)
- Ginger Zee (now at ABC News)
This section needs additional citations for verification. (December 2019) |
Community outreach
Carol Cooling-Kopp, WMAQ-TV's longtime community relations assistant and longtime vice president for Special Projects & Community Relations died on October 30, 2013, after a battle with Lung Cancer; longtime WVIT Community Projects director Emma Asante appointed as WMAQ-TV's Vice President for Special Projects & Community Relations in March 2014, following her death.[73]
Wednesday's Child
In 1999, WMAQ-TV partnered with the Illinois Department of Children and Family Services and the Freddie Mac Foundation to create a news series called Wednesday's Child, which is aired on the 6 p.m. newscast on Wednesdays and on the Sunday morning newscasts. The mission of the news series is to bring the children to the living rooms of about 500,000 Chicago area residents that have never adopted. Allison Rosati, a former foster child, served as a host for the news series, and remained until their last report in 2005.[74]
Controversies
Len O'Connor
Veteran newsman Len O'Connor worked his way up from a news writer for NBC Radio's
O'Connor proceeded to deliver three commentaries on the 10 p.m. newscast from September 25 to 27, 1974, which were severely critical of the situation's handling by WMAQ-TV station management. In the commentaries, O'Connor claimed he had been deprived of his freedom of speech, that the station compromised his integrity, and that station management had made secret plans to fire him within a short time after his broadcasts. O'Connor left the station and continued his political commentaries, on WGN-TV, until his retirement from broadcasting in 1980.[76][77]
The disappearance of Joanna Lopez
On January 14, 1989, a missing persons poster with a grainy black-and-white photo of Joanna Lopez, a presumably Hispanic adolescent, and a white banner reading "MISSING" in black letters was displayed after the station signed off. Below the banner was her name and an outdated Chicago Police Department youth division phone number. This very same poster was displayed in 1991 for a much shorter time than the original 1989 broadcast, but Lopez's whereabouts have never been discovered and there have been no leads since. This has been subject to controversy within the online community with frequent YouTube deciphers and conspiracy posts to online applications such as Reddit, Quora, and others.[78][79]
Jerry Springer
WMAQ achieved notoriety in 1997 when, in an effort to boost ratings for its newscasts, the station hired Jerry Springer as a commentator.[80]
Though Springer was once a two-term mayor of Cincinnati before becoming a news anchor for that city's NBC affiliate WLWT, his association with his infamous syndicated talk show (which, until 2009, was recorded at WMAQ's NBC Tower studios, and later distributed by NBCUniversal through its syndication division) led to the belief that the newscast was being dumbed down. There were a handful of Springer supporters; nevertheless, the incident triggered a lot of negative publicity, on both the local and national levels. The station's longtime anchor team of Carol Marin and Ron Magers resigned in protest (with Marin resigning on May 1, and Magers following suit on May 16).[81][82] As Marin signed off her last newscast, station personnel stood en masse in the newsroom behind her—WMAQ's newscasts at that time originated from a studio that opened into the station's newsroom—in a symbolic show of support for her decision to resign. Ratings declined, with the station's newscasts losing 20% of its audience share by the November 1997 sweeps period. Springer only made two commentaries before he resigned on May 8, feeling unhappy with the criticism he received.[83][84][85]
Magers wound up at rival WLS-TV, where he remained until his retirement in 2016. Marin, meanwhile, joined rival WBBM-TV, while contributing reports for CBS News, before returning to WMAQ in 2004 as a special correspondent until she stepped down from the station for the second time in 2020. Lyle Banks, who had hired Springer as a commentator, was fired from his position as general manager in January 1998 and was replaced by Larry Wert, who served as WMAQ's president and general manager until 2013, when he left to become president of WGN-TV parent Tribune Broadcasting.[86] Five months later, on May 20, 1998, Cheatwood resigned as news director and was replaced by former WLS-TV news director Frank Whittaker, who served as WMAQ's news director until 1999, when he was promoted to vice president of news, where he remains today.[87]
Amy Jacobson
On July 10, 2007,
Governor Quinn campaign commercial
In October 2014, WMAQ-TV strongly objected to a video clip from one of its news reports appearing in a commercial for Governor Pat Quinn's re-election campaign. The commercial included an excerpt from a news report about Bruce Rauner, and an audio clip of reporter Carol Marin, based on the joint investigation by the station and its former news partner the Chicago Sun-Times—reported by Marin, producer Don Moseley, and Sun-Times political reporter Dave McKinney—into Rauner's business practices.[90] On October 10, 2014, the station released a statement on the 10 p.m. newscast, and on the station's website, that said that the station is required by law to air campaign commercials bought by bona fide candidates for public office and the commercial is not an endorsement of Governor Quinn by Marin and WMAQ-TV.[91]
Death of JongHyun
On December 19, 2017, during the station's morning newscast, the station mistakenly ran a video of South Korean pop group
In popular culture
- In the 1986 action-comedy film Running Scared, the billboard of the station's news team including John Coleman, Ron Magers, Carol Marin, Deborah Norville, Mark Giangreco, Jim Ruddle, and Warner Saunders are shown.
- The 1992–1995 station logo seen in the Sears Skate on State ice rink is shown during the title sequence of the 1995 comedy film While You Were Sleeping.
- Most of the station's former 2000–2012 news set was used in the Nicolas Cage's 2005 drama film The Weather Man, although the station's news branding and graphics were not used.
- The "NBC 5 News" branding and logo are seen in the mic flags and the news van is occasionally shown in the Chicago franchise, as well as the long-running medical drama ER.
- In the 2021 Netflix comedy action film Thunder Force, the station's 2012 logo is shown as a mic flag.
Technical information
Subchannels
The station's signal is
Channel | Res. | Aspect | Short name | Programming |
---|---|---|---|---|
5.1 | 1080i | 16:9 |
NBC5 | Main WMAQ-TV programming / NBC |
5.2 | 480i | COZI | Cozi TV | |
5.3 | NBCLX | NBC LX Home | ||
5.4 | OXYGEN | Oxygen | ||
2.4 | 480i | 16:9 | FaveTV | Fave TV (WBBM-DT4) |
Subchannel broadcast with MPEG-4 video
WMAQ-DT2
In January 2005, WMAQ launched digital subchannel 5.2 as a charter affiliate of
Analog-to-digital conversion
On June 12, 2009, WMAQ-TV shut down its analog signal, over
From June 13 to July 12, 2009, in an "unprecedented" four-station partnership, WMAQ-TV
On April 13, 2017, it was revealed that the over-the-air spectrum of sister station WSNS-TV had been sold in the FCC's
See also
- Channel 5 virtual TV stations in the United States
- Channel 33 digital TV stations in the United States
- List of television stations in Illinois (by channel number)
- WMAQ (AM) (670 AM, now WSCR)
- WKQX (FM)(101.1 MHz), formerly WMAQ-FM/WNIS-FM
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The team at NBC 5 not only provides expert race day coverage and talent, but also captures the spirit of running featuring human interest stories from our participants that make all of us want to go the extra mile and do something extraordinary.
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NBC 5 Chicago and Telemundo Chicago are excited to remain as the home of the Bank of America Chicago Marathon and the Bank of America Shamrock Shuffle. Our team takes pride in covering these epic races but next year will be extra special. We look forward to showcasing the vibrancy of our communities and telling the stories of resiliency behind our local athletes. From pre-race running tips to interviews in our English and Spanish-language race broadcasts, our news teams take pride in showcasing the vibrancy of our city, and the people that make these races world-class sporting events.
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