Retro: Detroit-Windsor-Toledo Saturday 6 April 1968

[mmb5]

Note that Toledo is a bit wacky. WTOL-11 was primary CBS, WSPD-13 was primary ABC, both then cherry picked NBC and WDHO-24 picked up the leftovers.

SATURDAY, APRIL 6, 1968

WJBK-2 (CBS) Detroit
6:05-TV Chapel
6:10-News
6:15-Farm Scene
6:30-Sunrise Semester
7:00-Captain Kangaroo (delay from previous week?)
8:00-Woodrow the Woodsman
9:00-Frankenstien Jr.
9:30-Herculoids
10:00-Shazzan!
10:30-Space Ghost
11:00-Moby Dick
11:30-Superman/Aquaman
12:30-Jonny Quest
1:00-Lone Ranger
1:30-Road Runner
2:00-Movie (The Haunted Strangler, '58)
3:55-Year of the Tiger '68
4:00-CBS Golf Classic
5:00-Outdoorsman
5:30-Gentle Ben
6:00-News
6:30-Grand Ole Opry
7:00-Death Valley Days (syndicated)
7:30-Jackie Gleason (rerun)
8:30-Charlie Brown's All Stars (pre-empts My Three Sons)
9:00-Hogan's Heroes (rerun)
9:30-Petticoat Junction (rerun)
10:00-Mannix (rerun)
11;00-News
11:15-Editorial
11:30-Movie (The Cobweb, '55)
1:30-Movie (Hit and Run, '58, French)
3:00-News, Weather

WWJ-4 (NBC) Detroit
7:00-Country Living
7:30-Oopsy! The Clown
9:00-Super 6
9:30-Super President
10:00-Flintstones
10:30-Young Samson
11:00-Birdman
11:30-Atom Ant/Secret Squirrel
12:00-Top Cat
12:30-Cool McCool
1:00-International Zone
1:30-The Professionals
2:00-Theater Four
2:30-Sports Documentary
3:30-Flying Fisherman
4:00-Greater Greensboro Open
5:00-Car and Track
5:30-George Pierrot
6:00-News
6:30-NBC News
7:00-Michigan Outdoors
7:30-The Saint
8:30-Get Smart
9:00-Movie (The Thrill of it All, '63)
11:15-News
11:30-Weather
11:35-Sports
11:45-Johnny Carson (rerun)
1:15-Beat the Champ
1:45-News

WXYZ-7 (ABC) Detroit
7:45-Rural Report
8:00-TV College
9:00-Casper
9:30-Fantastic Four
10:00-Spiderman
10:30-Journey to the Center of the Earth
11:00-King Kong
11:30-George of the Jungle
12:00-The Beatles
12:30-American Bandstand
1:30-Happening '68
2:00-Movie (Bengal Brigade, '54)
3:30-Pro Bowler's Tour
5:00-Wide World of Sports
6:30-Michigan Sportsman
7:00-Anniversary Game
7:30-The Dating Game
8:00-The Newlywed Game
8:30-Lawrence Welk
9:30-Hollywood Palace (guest host Don Adams)
10:30-Movie (King of Kings, '61, movie will be interrupted at 11 for a 30 minute news report)
2:00-Movie (Colonel Effingam's Raid, '45)

WKBD-50 (Independent) Detroit
8:30-Jungle Jim
10:00-Rocky Jones
10:30-Movie (Invisible Stripes, '40)
12:00-Movie (Hold Back the Night, '56)
1:30-Championship Wrestling
2:30-Roller Derby
3:30-Movie (The Hideous Sun Demon, '55)
5:00-Hy Lit
6:00-Munsters
6:30-McHale's Navy
7:00-Combat!
8:00-Movie (Elizabeth the Queen, '39)
10:00-Les Crane
11:00-News

WTVS-56 (NET) Detroit
4:00-Sing Hi, Sing Lo
4:15-Merlin the Magician
4:30-Music for Young People
5:00-What's New
5:30-Observing Eye
6:00-Cities of the World
6:30-A Probing Mind
7:00-Spectrum
7:30-French Chef
8:00-Folk Guitar
8:30-NET Journal
9:00-NET Festival

CKLW-9 (CBC) Windsor
10:00-Canadian Schools
10:30-Hawkeye
11:00-Country Calendar
11:30-Window on the World
11:45-Gardening
12:00-Curling (Alex Trebek is one of the commentators)
1:30-Liberal Leadership Convention (from 1:30)
7:30-Rawhide
8:30-Stanley Cup Hockey (Montreal vs. Boston)
10:15-In Person
10:45-Sports Profile
11:15-Movie (Jump into Hell, '55)
12:30-Window on the World

WTOL-11 (CBS/NBC) Toledo
6:30-Sunrise Semester (CBS)
7:00-4H TV Action Club
7:30-Movie (Tarzan's Savage Fury, '52)
9:00-Super 6 (NBC)
9:30-Super President (NBC)
10:00-Shazzan! (CBS)
10:30-no listing
11:00-Birdman (NBC)
11:30-Superman/Aquaman (CBS)
12:30-Jonny Quest (CBS)
1:00-Lone Ranger (CBS)
1:30-Road Runner (CBS)
2:00-Silent Service
2:30-Movie (Valley of the Kings, '54)
4:00-CBS Golf Classic
5:00-Petula Clark (Star Trek is pre-empted)
6:00-News
6:30-Monkees (NBC, delay from Monday)
7:00-Death Valley Days (syndicated)
7:30-Jackie Gleason (CBS, rerun)
8:30-Charlie Brown's All Stars (CBS)
9:00-Movie (NBC, The Thrill of it All, '63)
11:15-News
11:45-Movie (I Accuse, '58)
1:15-News

WSPD-13 (ABC/NBC) Toledo
7:00-U of M Television
7:30-Uncle Ben's Place
8:00-Milton the Monster
8:30-Linus
9:00-Casper (ABC)
9:30-Fantastic Four (ABC)
10:00-Spiderman (ABC)
10:30-Journey to the Center of the Earth (ABC)
11:00-King Kong (ABC)
11:30-George of the Jungle (ABC)
12:00-Mister Ed
12:30-Zorro
1:00-Wild Cargo
1:30-Happening '68 (ABC)
2:00-Movie (The Black Devil of Kali, '56)
3:30-Pro Bowler's Tour (ABC)
6:00-Wide World of Sports (ABC, from 5:00)
6:30-Wagon Train
7:30-not listed
8:00-The Newlywed Game (ABC)
8:30-Lawrence Welk (ABC)
9:30-Hollywood Palace (ABC, guest host Don Adams)
10:30-The Dating Game (ABC, delayed from 7:30)
11:00-News
11:30-Movie (Damn Citizen!, '57)

WDHO-24 (NBC/CBS/ABC) Toledo
4:00-Greater Greensboro Open (NBC)
5:00-Roller Derby
6:00-Wrestling
7:00-CBS News (Roger Mudd)
7:30-The Saint (NBC)
8:30-As It Happened (no other information)
9:00-Hogan's Heroes (CBS, rerun)
9:30-Petticoat Junction (CBS, rerun)
10:00-Mannix (CBS, rerun)
11:00-News (New Invisible Man, '62, Mexican)


--Mike Burger

 

[rugrats1]

> SATURDAY, APRIL 6, 1968
>
> WJBK-2 (CBS) Detroit
> 11;00-News
> 11:15-Editorial
> 11:30-Movie (The Cobweb, '55)

WJBK had long editorials?
>
> WWJ-4 (NBC) Detroit
> 1:15-Beat the Champ

No doubt a repeat from earlier.

> WXYZ-7 (ABC) Detroit
> 10:30-Movie (King of Kings, '61, movie will be interrupted
> at 11 for a 30 minute news report)

Do you know any other stations that start a movie, break for a full newscast, then return to the film? Kind of unorthodox for WXYZ to schedule a film like this.

> WKBD-50 (Independent) Detroit
> 5:00-Hy Lit

Bandstand-type dance program from WKBS Philadelphia (WKBD's late sister), hosted by Philly DJ Hy Lit.

> 8:00-Movie (Elizabeth the Queen, '39)
> 10:00-Les Crane
> 11:00-News

When did Lou Gordon start? Or was he Sundays only at this point?
>
> WTOL-11 (CBS/NBC) Toledo
> 5:00-Petula Clark (Star Trek is pre-empted)

No doublt this was delayed from Friday, when NBC bumped Trek for Petula that night.

> WSPD-13 (ABC/NBC) Toledo
> 6:30-Wagon Train
> 7:30-not listed

WSPD may have been showing a 1963-1964 episode; "Wagon Train" was 90 minutes that season.
>
> WDHO-24 (NBC/CBS/ABC) Toledo
> 11:00-News (New Invisible Man, '62, Mexican)
>
You meant "Movie", or did they have news first, then a movie?

 

[mmb5]

> >
> > WDHO-24 (NBC/CBS/ABC) Toledo
> > 11:00-News (New Invisible Man, '62, Mexican)
> >
> You meant "Movie", or did they have news first, then a
> movie?
>

I meant Movie.


--Mike

 

[Braves2005]

Can you put up a random weekday listing from April 1968?

 

[mjlarochelle]

> WKBD-50 (Independent) Detroit
> 8:30-Jungle Jim
> 10:00-Rocky Jones
> 10:30-Movie (Invisible Stripes, '40)
> 12:00-Movie (Hold Back the Night, '56)
> 1:30-Championship Wrestling
> 2:30-Roller Derby
> 3:30-Movie (The Hideous Sun Demon, '55)
> 5:00-Hy Lit
> 6:00-Munsters
> 6:30-McHale's Navy
> 7:00-Combat!
> 8:00-Movie (Elizabeth the Queen, '39)
> 10:00-Les Crane
> 11:00-News
---------
According to WKBD's website, they were an "all-sports" station when they signed on in 1965. Did they in fact broadcast only sports programming in the very beginning? If they did then that obviously didn't last long, looking at this 1968 schedule.

> CKLW-9 (CBC) Windsor
> 1:30-Liberal Leadership Convention (from 1:30)
---------
This would be the leadership convention where Pierre Elliot Trudeau was chosen as Canada's Liberal Party leader. Trudeau went on to become Prime Minister from 1968-1979 and 1980-1984.

 

[Radiofreewill]

> > WXYZ-7 (ABC) Detroit
> > 10:30-Movie (King of Kings, '61, movie will be interrupted
> > at 11 for a 30 minute news report)
>
> Do you know any other stations that start a movie, break for
> a full newscast, then return to the film? Kind of unorthodox
> for WXYZ to schedule a film like this.

I believe the ITV network in England used to interrupt films for its nightly "News at Ten" program.<P ID="signature">______________
The only thing I gotta do is stay terrestrial and die!</P>

 

[bpatrick]

> > > WXYZ-7 (ABC) Detroit
> > > 10:30-Movie (King of Kings, '61, movie will be
> interrupted
> > > at 11 for a 30 minute news report)
> >
> > Do you know any other stations that start a movie, break
> for
> > a full newscast, then return to the film? Kind of
> unorthodox
> > for WXYZ to schedule a film like this.
>
> I believe the ITV network in England used to interrupt films
> for its nightly "News at Ten" program.
>
I'm wondering, in this case, if the news report was an expanded
edition of ABC's 11 PM Saturday newscast, focusing on the aftermath
of Martin Luther King Jr.'s assassination two days earlier. I was
living in Norfolk, VA at the time, and Hampton was under curfew
because of rioting. That Saturday I was visiting my grandparents
in North Carolina, and WGHP/8 was running crawls saying that High
Point was under curfew for the same reason.

It may also be that WXYZ was doing a local report on the situation
in Detroit.

But if this was normal procedure, I know of at least one station
that did this Monday through Friday. When KTVT/11, now the CBS o&o in
Dallas/Ft. Worth, was independent, it started a movie at 9 PM
(Central), broke at 10 for a 15-minute newscast, then went back
to the movie until 11 or 11:30 (I've forgotten which).<P ID="edit"><FONT class="small">Edited by bpatrick on 09/06/05 01:51 PM.</FONT></P>

 

[TimL]

> > > > WXYZ-7 (ABC) Detroit
> > > > 10:30-Movie (King of Kings, '61, movie will be
> > interrupted
> > > > at 11 for a 30 minute news report)
> > >
> > > Do you know any other stations that start a movie, break
>
> > for
> > > a full newscast, then return to the film? Kind of
> > unorthodox
> > > for WXYZ to schedule a film like this.
> >
> > I believe the ITV network in England used to interrupt
> films
> > for its nightly "News at Ten" program.
> >
> I'm wondering, in this case, if the news report was an
> expanded
> edition of ABC's 11 PM Saturday newscast, focusing on the
> aftermath
> of Martin Luther King Jr.'s assassination two days earlier.
> I was
> living in Norfolk, VA at the time, and Hampton was under
> curfew
> because of rioting. That Saturday I was visiting my
> grandparents
> in North Carolina, and WGHP/8 was running crawls saying that
> High
> Point was under curfew for the same reason.
>
> It may also be that WXYZ was doing a local report on the
> situation
> in Detroit.
>
> But if this was normal procedure, I know of at least one
> station
> that did this Monday through Friday. When KTVT/11, now the
> CBS o&o in
> Dallas/Ft. Worth, was independent, it started a movie at 9
> PM
> (Central), broke at 10 for a 15-minute newscast, then went
> back
> to the movie until 11 or 11:30 (I've forgotten which).
>

WJW-8 in Cleveland did this on a Friday Prime Time Local Movie according to schedules I've seen Start a movie at 10, break for news at 11 then back to the movie at 11:15

 

[mmb5]

> I'm wondering, in this case, if the news report was an expanded
> edition of ABC's 11 PM Saturday newscast, focusing on the aftermath
> of Martin Luther King Jr.'s assassination two days earlier. I was
> living in Norfolk, VA at the time, and Hampton was under curfew
> because of rioting. That Saturday I was visiting my grandparents
> in North Carolina, and WGHP/8 was running crawls saying that High
> Point was under curfew for the same reason.
>

This was out of a TV Guide listing, so unless it was actually published by Trilateral Publishing rather than Triangle Publishing and therefore knew about the assassination ahead of time, I think this was standard operating procedure for WXYZ/7 to interrupt the movie. In the late '60s, WXYZ/7 was a distant third in the news race (they ran a prime-time movie on weekdays from 6:00-7:30), so this was probably a way to get people to sample their news.

Now that you've pointed out the MLK assassination (and thank you for doing so), I wonder how much of this schedule actually aired at all.


--Mike

 

[Joseph_Gallant]

April 4th, 1968 (Was: Re: Retro: Detroit-Windsor-Toledo Saturday 6 April 1968)

Mike commented:

> Now that you've pointed out the MLK assassination (and thank
> you for doing so), I wonder how much of this schedule
> actually aired at all.

Trying to remember across the years (I was a youngster back then):

Martin Luther King was assasinated on Thursday, April 4th. He was shot around 6 P.M. Central time.

The first news I heard of it was a local news bulletin on the then-WNAC-7 in Boston just before 7:30 P.M. EST (daylight time back then did not begin until late April). At 7:30 (about two minutes, if that, from the first bulletin I heard), the networks, instead of starting regular prime-time programming, began special coverage. I believe that first night, they went wall-to-wall (I myself went to sleep around 9).

Through the weekend and the funeral the following Monday (April 8th), there was usually at least one special program per day on each of the networks, as well as live coverage of the funeral.

One interesting facet was that the news flashed just after the 7 P.M. ET feed of the network evening newscasts. CBS' Walter Cronkite was going out to dinner and quickly left the newsroom/studio as soon as he closed the newscast. A minute or so later, the flash moved on the wires, so it was a young Dan Rather (who was in New York that evening; back then, he was normally based in Washington covering the White House) who went on the air for CBS during the first few minutes. Cronkite was back in the anchor chair shortly afterwards (I tend to think it was by 8).

At NBC, Chet Huntley had just finished his half of the 7 P.M. feed of the "Huntley/Brinkley Report", but was still in the studio when the flash came. He went back to the anchor desk, and with the cameras still running, went on the air at 7:30 (a short clip of the Huntley reading the flash that Dr. King had been killed at the start of NBC's coverage of the King assasination appeared on the network's 75th anniversary special). Then-interim ABC anchor Bob Young was still around the studio, and although the network's first bulletin was read by an off-camera announcer, Young quickly returned to the studio and took over.

Additionally, I seem to recall that while this was nearly a week before the scheduled start of the 1968 baseball season, the NHL and NBA had both started playoffs. I believe playoff games that Thursday in both sports were played, but all the NBA playoff series and one of the NHL playoff series (N.Y. Rangers vs. Chicago), IIRC, were suspended until after the funeral. There were three playoff games played on April 6th, but I think the NHL playoff schedule was altered so that there would be no playoff games on Sunday, April 7th or Monday, April 8th. I would think that on the networks, coverage of the aftermath of the King assasination replaced cancelled sports events that weekend.

One other note: The night after King was assasinated, soul singer James Brown was scheduled to perform in concert at Boston Garden. City authorities pleaded with Brown to postpone the show, but he insisited on going ahead with it. City officials tried to get a local TV station to broadcast the concert, in the hope that fans would stay off the streets and not commit violent acts. WGBH-2 agreed to broadcast the concert, and only about 1,000 people showed up (some 14,500 tickets--the building's capacity--had been sold). The broadcast of that concert is supposedely credited with keeping Boston relatively peaceful that weekend.

 

[bpatrick]

> > I'm wondering, in this case, if the news report was an
> expanded
> > edition of ABC's 11 PM Saturday newscast, focusing on the
> aftermath
> > of Martin Luther King Jr.'s assassination two days
> earlier. I was
> > living in Norfolk, VA at the time, and Hampton was under
> curfew
> > because of rioting. That Saturday I was visiting my
> grandparents
> > in North Carolina, and WGHP/8 was running crawls saying
> that High
> > Point was under curfew for the same reason.
> >
>
> This was out of a TV Guide listing, so unless it was
> actually published by Trilateral Publishing rather than
> Triangle Publishing and therefore knew about the
> assassination ahead of time, I think this was standard
> operating procedure for WXYZ/7 to interrupt the movie. In
> the late '60s, WXYZ/7 was a distant third in the news race
> (they ran a prime-time movie on weekdays from 6:00-7:30), so
> this was probably a way to get people to sample their news.
>
> Now that you've pointed out the MLK assassination (and thank
> you for doing so), I wonder how much of this schedule
> actually aired at all.
>
>
> --Mike
>
I don't think you mentioned that these listings came from
TV Guide. I may have thought they came out of the Detroit News
or Free Press, or just tried to invoke 20/20 hindsight.

While I don't know how many stations interrupted a movie for news,
a lot of ABC affiliates ran entertainment programming between
6 and 7:30 back then. ABC's first news feed was at 5:30 (Eastern,
yes!), so it was possible (as Atlanta's Channel 11 did) to run
local news at 5, network news at 5:30, and then counterprogram
the CBS and NBC stations' news blocks (Channel 11 ran Merv Griffin
from 6 to 7:30). And some didn't bother carrying ABC's news at all:
WGHP, which I mentioned in the post to which you responded, did its
local news at 5:30, ran Merv at 6, and pre-empted ABC's news altogether
in 1968. Imagine any station doing that today!

 

[mmb5]

> > This was out of a TV Guide listing, so unless it was
> > actually published by Trilateral Publishing rather than
> > Triangle Publishing and therefore knew about the
> > assassination ahead of time, I think this was standard
> > operating procedure for WXYZ/7 to interrupt the movie. In
> > the late '60s, WXYZ/7 was a distant third in the news race
> > (they ran a prime-time movie on weekdays from 6:00-7:30), so
> > this was probably a way to get people to sample their news.
> >
> I don't think you mentioned that these listings came from
> TV Guide. I may have thought they came out of the Detroit
> News or Free Press, or just tried to invoke 20/20 hindsight.
>

I finally remembered to source the third posting, plus I just couldn't pass up the Trilateral joke.

It appears WXYZ/7 (an O&O at the time) ran local news from 4:30-5:30 and the ABC News at 5:30 to allow the movie to run at 6.


--Mike

 

[Joseph_Gallant]

Network Newscasts Not Being Cleared (Was: Re: Retro: Detroit-Windsor-Toledo Saturday 6 April 1968)

And there was a period in 1968 and 1969 when then-ABC affiliate WNAC-7 here in Boston did not run ABC's network newscast. For much of that time, WNAC aired a half-hour local newscast from 5:30 to 6 P.M. and then broadcast off-network reruns from 6 to 7:30. For a time in 1969, ABC's evening newscast aired on WSBK-38.

I believe WNAC resumed broadcasting ABC's evening newscast sometime in 1970.

 

[mjlarochelle]

Re: Network Newscasts Not Being Cleared (Was: Re: Retro: Detroit-Windsor-Toledo Saturday 6 April 1968)

> And there was a period in 1968 and 1969 when then-ABC
> affiliate WNAC-7 here in Boston did not run ABC's network
> newscast. For much of that time, WNAC aired a half-hour
> local newscast from 5:30 to 6 P.M. and then broadcast
> off-network reruns from 6 to 7:30. For a time in 1969, ABC's
> evening newscast aired on WSBK-38.
---------
I am aware of independents of the day taking network programming not aired by local affiliates; however was WSBK the only indy to air a network newscast (other than, of course, INN)?

 

[bpatrick]

Re: Network Newscasts Not Being Cleared (Was: Re: Retro: Detroit-Windsor-Toledo Saturday 6 April 1968)

> > And there was a period in 1968 and 1969 when then-ABC
> > affiliate WNAC-7 here in Boston did not run ABC's network
> > newscast. For much of that time, WNAC aired a half-hour
> > local newscast from 5:30 to 6 P.M. and then broadcast
> > off-network reruns from 6 to 7:30. For a time in 1969,
> ABC's
> > evening newscast aired on WSBK-38.
> ---------
> I am aware of independents of the day taking network
> programming not aired by local affiliates; however was WSBK
> the only indy to air a network newscast (other than, of
> course, INN)?
>
WJRJ (now WTBS)/17 Atlanta briefly aired ABC News in the
summer and fall of 1968, after then-ABC affiliate WQXI
(now WXIA)/11 dropped it. (ABC News was then absent
from Atlanta television until 11 began running it again
in December 1971.) Also, around 1982 or '83,
WPCQ (now WCNC)/36 Charlotte did not air NBC Nightly News,
and WHKY/14, an independent in Hickory, NC, picked it up
until 36 began airing it again in the mid-'80s.