Retro: Gulf Coast--Mon, Jan 28, 1974

[Mike Stroud]

BY SPECIAL REQUEST FROM AN EARLIER POST

TV Guide, Gulf Coast edition--cover, David Carradine ("Kung Fu")

NOTE: Channels in parentheses were originally designated by black bullets; those in brackets by white bullets.

Mobile, Alabama:
(5) WKRG (CBS)
(10) WALA (NBC)--now FOX affiliate
(42) WEIQ (PBS)*

Biloxi, Mississippi:
(13) WLOX (ABC)
(19) WMAH (PBS)#

Hattiesburg, Mississippi:
(7) WDAM (NBC)

Pensacola, Florida:
(3) WEAR (ABC)
(23) WSRE (PBS)

Panama City, Florida:
[7] WJHG (ABC)--now NBC affiliate

New Orleans, Louisiana
[4] WWL (CBS)
[6] WDSU (NBC)
[8] WVUE (ABC)--now FOX affiliate
[12] WYES (PBS)

*transmitter of Alabama Public Television network
#transmitter of Mississippi Educational Television network

NOTE: channels 12, 19, 23, and 42 carried in-school programming during the daytime.

MORNING
5:45
[6] Garner Ted Armstrong

5:50
(5) WKRG News

5:55
(5) Mobile County Extension Report--agriculture/farming
(10) Christopher Closeup

6:00
(5) Congressional Report (probably same as Sunday at Noon--see earlier post)
[7] Daybusters--local morning show

6:15
[4] Town and Country Journal--local morning show
[6] Breakfast Edition

6:25
(10) Garner Ted Armstrong

6:30
[4] Sunrise Semester
(5) Partyline--probably local morning show
[8] Herald of Truth--religion

6:35
(7) Laff Time--shown in black-and-white; possibly Little Rascals or Three Stooges shorts

6:45
(3) WEAR News
(13) South Mississippi RFD--local morning show

6:55
(3) Agriculture
[4] News in Spanish
[6] Earl Nightingale--motivational speaker's five-minute daily syndicated feature
(7) WDAM Weather
(10) Farm Report

7:00
(3) New Zoo Revue
[4] (5) CBS News--Hughes Rudd
[6] (7) (10) Today Show--Frank McGee, Barbara Walters
[8] Romper Room
(13) Just Coasting--as WLOX's main service area was the Mississippi Gulf Coast, the title probably indicated local public affairs or discussion

7:30
(3) Arthur Smith
[8] New Zoo Revue

7:55
[7] Morning Meditation--local devotional

8:00
(3) Aunt Beka's Bible Stories--probably same episode as 10 a.m. Sunday
[4] (5) Captain Kangaroo
[7] Cartoon Time
[8] Merv Griffin (60-minute version)
(13) Jack LaLanne--the most famous fitness expert of his day

8:30
(3) Romper Room
[7] New Zoo Revue
(13) Potpourri--probably local women's show

9:00
(3) Fran Carlton--Orlando-based exercise show
[4] (5) Joker's Wild
[6] (7) (10) Dinah Shore--actually titled "Dinah's Place"
[7] Merv Griffin (90-minute version)
[8] Movie--"Cyborg 2087," 1966
[12] Sesame Street

9:30
(3) Mike Douglas (60-minute version)
[4] (5) $10,000 Pyramid
[6] (7) (10) Jeopardy!
(13) Romper Room

10:00
[4] To Tell the Truth--panelist Kitty Carlisle was a New Orleans native
(5) Gambit
[6] (7) (10) Wizard of Odds

10:30
(3) [7] [8] (13) Brady Bunch--ABC rerun
[4] (5) Love of Life
[6] (7) Hollywood Squares
(10) That Girl--note WALA's tape-delay strategy in the late afternoon

11:00
(3) [7] [8] (13) Password
[4] (5) Young and the Restless
[6] (7) (10) Jackpot!

11:30
(3) [7] [8] (13) Split Second
[4] (5) Search for Tomorrow
[6] (7) (10) Baffle
[12] Electric Company

11:55
[6] (7) (10) NBC News--Edwin Newman

AFTERNOON
12:00
(3) (13) All My Children
[4] WWL News
(5) Woman's World--local
[6] (7) Midday (same name for different programs on WDSU and WDAM)
[7] Televisit--local religion
[8] WVUE News
(10) Gulf Coast Today--local women's show, hosted by Dot Moore

12:30
(3) [7] [8] (13) Let's Make a Deal
[4] (5) As the World Turns
[6] (7) (10) Three on a Match

1:00
(3) [7] [8] (13) Newlywed Game
[4] (5) Guiding Light
[6] (7) (10) Days of Our Lives

1:30
(3) [7] [8] (13) Girl in My Life--modern-day remake of "Queen for a Day"
[4] (5) Edge of Night
[6] (7) (10) Doctors

2:00
(3) [7] [8] (13) General Hospital
[4] (5) Price is Right
[6] (7) (10) Another World
[12] Electric Company

2:30
(3) [7] [8] (13) One Life to Live
[4] (5) Match Game
[6] (7) (10) How to Survive a Marriage

2:45
(42) America, Be Fit--exercise show

3:00
(3) [7] (13) Love, American Style--ABC rerun
[4] (5) Secret Storm--long-running soap opera would be cancelled the following week
[6] Movie--"Shoot Loud, Louder ... I Don't Understand," 1966
(7) (10) Somerset
[8] Gomer Pyle, USMC--rerun
(23) Sesame Street
(42) Dixie Digest--Alabama Public Television-produced features show

3:30
(3) Hogan's Heroes--rerun
[4] Gilligan's Island--rerun
(5) Movie--"Women's Prison," 1955
(7) Movie--"Born Yesterday," 1950
[7] All My Children--tape-delayed from earlier
[8] Flintstones
(10) Flipper--rerun of what has been described as an "aquatic Lassie;" ran on NBC from 1964 to 1967
(13) Movie--"The Outcast," 1954
(42) Electric Company

4:00
(3) [4] Bonanza (different episodes)
[7] Kathy's Funhouse 7--local children's show
[8] I Dream of Jeannie--rerun
(10) Big Valley--rerun of 1965-69 ABC Western
[12] (19) (23) Mister Rogers (Neighborhood)
(42) Sesame Street

4:30
[7] McHale's Navy--rerun of 1962-66 ABC sitcom
[8] Petticoat Junction--rerun
[12] (23) Electric Company
(19) Sesame Street

5:00
(3) Lucy Show--her 1962-68 series
[4] WWL News
(5) I Dream of Jeannie
[6] WDSU News--New Orleans was one of the few Southern markets airing 5 p.m. newscasts before the 1980s
[7] WJHG News
[8] ABC Evening News--Harry Reasoner (Howard K. Smith off today--source, http://tvnews.vanderbilt.edu)
(10) Hollywood Squares--WALA employed an unusual strategy here to lead into the evening news; daytime shows were seldom tape-delayed until this late in the day elsewhere
[12] (23) Sesame Street
(13) Green Acres--rerun
(42) Mister Rogers

5:10
(7) Mississippi Mirror--probably local public affairs

5:25
(7) WDAM Weather

5:30
(3) [7] (13) ABC Evening News
[4] CBS Evening News--Walter Cronkite
(5) WKRG News
[6] (7) (10) NBC Nightly News--Tom Brokaw substituting for John Chancellor
[8] Lucy Show
(19) Electric Company
(42) French Chef--cooking lessons just in time for dinner

5:45
(5) CBS News--note WKRG's unusual time-slot splitting; strategy employed to dissuade viewers from turning to WEAR or WALA at 6

EVENING
6:00
(3) WEAR News
[4] WWL News
[6] WDSU News
(7) WDAM News
[7] WJHG News
[8] WVUE News
(10) WALA News
[12] Antiques--not "Roadshow," though
(13) WLOX News
(19) Mulligan Stew--nutrition-themed children's educational show
(23) Dimensions of Health
(42) Your Future is Now--adult education

6:15
(5) WKRG News--resuming 5:30 p.m.

6:30
(3) Green Acres
[4] Truth or Consequences
(5) Pat Boone Presents Compassion's Children--singer and Christian activist in fundraising appeal for "refugee children in Asia"
[6] Price is Right--syndicated version with Dennis James
(7) (10) Dusty's Trail--syndicated re-casting of "Gilligan's Island" in the Old West that was also created by Sherwood Schwartz; both stations aired same episode
[7] I Dream of Jeannie
[8] Animal World--half-hour syndicated variant on "Wild Kingdom" theme
[12] On the Line--probably local public affairs
(19) Living Better--possibly local health show
(23) Communism--black-and-white film; might this be a classic 1950s propaganda piece?
(42) Dixie Digest

6:45
(13) PAS-Point Spotlights--as in Pascagoula and Moss Point, Mississippi; local features show
(19) Job Bank--Mississippi Educational Television production in association with the state employment service

6:55
(19) Art for the Day--possibly local

7:00
(3) [7] [8] (13) Rookies--four-season police drama notable for giving Kate Jackson her big start
[4] (5) Gunsmoke
[6] (7) (10) Magician--Bill Bixby played a professional trickster in this one-season flop
[12] (23) The Tribe that Hides from Man--documentary about the Kreen-Akore Indians in Brazil and the Amazon region
(19) Your Future is Now
(42) Adult Basic Education

7:30
(19) Day at Night--PBS interview show
(42) Advances in Health--local

8:00
(3) [7] [8] (13) ABC Theatre--"Judgment: The Trial of Ethel and Julius Rosenberg;" Brenda Vaccaro and Alan ("M*A*S*H") Arbus in title roles
[4] (5) Here's Lucy
[6] (7) (10) Movie--"See No Evil," 1971
[12] (23) Our Energy Challenge--documentary about alternative energy sources
(19) Taking Better Pictures--adult education; photography, of course, was the subject
(42) Consultation--health; probably local

8:30
[4] (5) New Dick Van Dyke Show
(19) (42) Book Beat--interview show

9:00
[4] Medical Center
(5) Let's Make a Deal
[12] (19) (42) Washington Straight Talk--political interview
(23) Humanities Literature--adult education

9:30
(3) [7] [8] (13) ABC News Special--documentary about the economic struggles of Great Britain
(5) Medical Center--same episode as on WWL; WKRG surely had some strange programming practices (bumping a show down for "Let's Make a Deal"???)
[12] Nation Time--possibly public affairs
(19) Lilias, Yoga and You
(42) Woman--PBS feminist-oriented interview show

10:00
(3) Perry Mason--WEAR was likely third in the ratings in the Mobile/Pensacola market, hence this counterprogramming
[4] WWL News
[6] WDSU News
(7) WDAM News
[7] WJHG News
[8] Untouchables--likewise WVUE in New Orleans
(10) WALA News
[12] David Susskind--highlights of this early confrontational talk show include a "debate on the equality of the races" and an "interview with the 'World's Greatest Jewel Thief;'" show ran a full two hours in length
(13) WLOX News
(19) Job Bank
(42) Speaking Freely--possibly public affairs

10:10
(19) Art for the Day

10:30
[4] Mission: Impossible--rerun of 1966-73 spy drama
(5) WKRG News
[6] (7) (10) Tonight Show--Joey Bishop substituting for Johnny Carson
[7] (13) Shadow of Fear--ABC mystery anthology series

11:00
(3) WEAR News
(5) Alfred Hitchcock--"The Jar"
[8] WVUE News

11:30
(3) Shadow of Fear--same episode as WJHG and WLOX
[4] Movie--"The Girl He Left Behind," 1956
[8] Movie--"Desiree," 1954

12:00 a.m.
[6] (10) Tomorrow Show--Tom Snyder (NOTE: Small-market stations like WDAM often pre-empted "Tomorrow" because relatively few viewers in those areas stayed up this late or worked late shifts, and because of the cosmopolitan, adult subject matter Snyder often dealt with)

1:30
[8] WVUE News

 

[Charles1]

Does anyone know when the Gulf Coast Edition added listings from WTVY-4 and WDHN-18 in Dothan?

 

[Mike Stroud]

I located an issue from the Gulf Coast for December 13-19, 1980. Here is the channel lineup in that issue (excluding cable channels; channels in parentheses were originally designated by black bullets; those in brackets by white bullets):

Biloxi, Mississippi:
[13] WLOX (ABC)

Dothan, Alabama:
(4) WTVY (CBS)
(18) WDHN (ABC)

Dozier, Alabama:
(2) WDIQ (PBS)*

Mobile, Alabama:
(5) WKRG (CBS)
(10) WALA (NBC)--now FOX affiliate
(42) WEIQ (PBS)*

Montgomery, Alabama:
(12) WSFA (NBC)

Tallahassee, Florida:
(11) WFSU (PBS)

Thomasville, Georgia/Tallahassee, Florida:
(6) WCTV (CBS)

Panama City, Florida:
(7) WJHG (ABC)--now NBC affiliate
(13) WMBB (NBC)--now ABC affiliate

Pensacola, Florida:
(3) WEAR (ABC)
(23) WSRE (PBS)

*transmitter of Alabama Public Television network

Since we have a nearly seven-year span between the issue I posted earlier and this one, I would gather that TV Guide realigned the territories sometime in the mid-1970s.

You will also notice that the New Orleans stations are no longer listed, as neither is Mississippi Educational Television's Gulf Coast translator WMAH, channel 19. According to Matt Sittel's website, the New Orleans edition has always only listed stations in that city; a separate Louisiana edition covers nearby areas. One should thus not be surprised at the increasing popularity of PBS stations/networks' programming guides, as they helped some viewers in territories where TV Guide did not list the station.

One should also remember in this context that the Annenberg family, despite their later funding an educational TV initiative, generally assumed a critical stance against public television, in both the opinion columns of the magazine and some articles throughout the 1970s. From that, it would make sense that PBS listings were probably not a high priority and some regional editors may well have had discretion about whether to carry them or not. That would, if true, sharply contrast with the FCC's "must carry" regulations on cable TV carriage of PBS.

 

[bpatrick]

Mobile and Pensacola stations were merged into
the Southern Alabama edition (Montgomery, Dothan,
Panama City, Columbus, GA) shortly before TV Guide
ended the digest-size magazine.

If you really wanted to see a lot of channels, you
had to look in the South Mississippi Edition; it had
Jackson affiliates (3, 12, and 16), Meridian, Laurel/
Hattiesburg, Biloxi, Mobile/Pensacola, and New Orleans.
Check Matt Sittel's website to see just what stations
were in there.

WALA's practice of running "Hollywood Squares" at 5
is strange, but I think it was NBC's number-one daytime
show (or close to it, it may have been "Another World")
at the time, and thus a possible strong lead-in for the news.
(Even stranger, WLWT Cincinnati ran "Jackpot!" at 5:30.)

I remember that when we used to go to Mobile, my mom
always had to watch Dot Moore at noon (she was partial
to the NBC daytime lineup anyway).

WKRG played fast and loose with the CBS primetime schedule
until CBS disaffiliated KXLY Spokane, WA, for doing the same
thing. After 1975, you'll see WKRG sticking pretty closely to
the schedule; I also think that around that time ('75) they began
running Cronkite at 5:30 and local news at 6.

True, a lot of small-market stations (Macon, GA comes to mind)
didn't carry "Tomorrow," but in the beginning at least, neither did
Tampa, even though much-smaller Ft. Myers did.

 

[Charles1]

I used to have a TVG Gulf Coast edition from 1978 (key word...used to have). My then-wife made me throw all of my old TV Guides away...said it was weird to have them, but I digress.

IIRC, the Gulf Coast edition I had then had the Dothan stations. I can't remember if the WCTV or WSFA were included in that edition then.

 

[Mike Stroud]

Well, Charles1, I guess that's one of the reasons she's your "ex"! If and when I take the plunge, there is no way in hell any woman is going to make me part with my collection.

The TV Guides from the Annenberg era are not only repositories of nerdy trivia, but also as close a barometer of the American people as any publication from that period. After all, it was the nation's most circulated magazine for many years, before being surpassed in the 1990s by Modern Maturity. The magazine's columnists and the letters to the editor told a whole lot more about "Middle America" than any of the news magazines (e.g., Time and Newsweek) or opinion journals (e.g., National Review) ever could have done. For instance, we can thank or blame (whatever your position is) the Annenbergs for things like the development and popularity of cable TV and the abolition of the Fairness Doctrine, two things TV Guide writers incessantly advocated for back in the day.

Anyway, don't feel embarrassed or ashamed. This is America, after all, and we have a right to be strange if we want.