Retro: Northern Alabama Sun., March 18, 1979

[bpatrick]

By request, from TV Guide, Northern Alabama Edition:

WNGE (WKRN) Ch. 2 Nashville (ABC)

6 AM For You...Black Woman (topic: life inside prison)
6:30 Exchange (public affairs)
7 AM House Of Worship
7:30 Amazing Grace Bible Class
8 AM Little Rascals
8:30 Three Stooges
9:30 Rex Humbard
10:30 Church Service (Baptist)
11:30 Issues And Answers
12 N From The Hill (public affairs)
12:30 Nashville P.M.
1 PM Donna Fargo (guest: Tammy Wynette)
1:30 Nashville On The Road (guest: Ronnie Sessions)
2 PM Marty Robbins' Spotlight (saluted: Mel Tillis; Minnie Pearl is guest)
2:30 Lawrence Welk (salute to St. Patrick's Day)
3:30 Wild Kingdom
4 PM Movie: "Countdown" (James Caan as the first astronaut to land on the moon, from '68, a year before the first real moon landing)
6 PM Osmond Family Hour (from the Houston Livestock Show and World Championship Rodeo at the Astrodome: Tanya Tucker, K.C. and the Sunshine Band, rodeo great Larry Mahan, clown Wilbur Plaughter, Johnny Dark)
7 PM Battlestar Galactica
8 PM ABC Movie: "The Jericho Mile"
10 PM News
10:30 Auto Racing: Part 2 of the IROC final from Atlanta (delay from 2:30 PM)
11:30 Wide World Of Sports (World Figure Skating Championships women's final, delay from 3:30 PM)
1 AM ABC News (Tom Jarriel)

WCBI Ch. 4 Columbus, MS (ABC)

6:30 Church Service (Methodist)
7 AM Golden Spiritual Hour
8 AM Fayette Church Of Christ
8:30 Christ For The World
9 AM Jimmy Swaggart
9:30 Day Of Discovery
10 AM Rex Humbard
11 AM Church Service (Baptist)
12 N Bass Fishin' America
12:30 Doing Your Own Tax Returns
1 PM Superteams (final: Dallas Cowboys vs. Kansas City Royals, from Honolulu)
2:30 Auto Racing: Part 2 of the IROC final from Atlanta
3:30 Wide World Of Sports
5 PM Reaction
5:30 ABC News (Sam Donaldson)
6 PM Osmond Family Hour
7 PM Battlestar Galactica
8 PM ABC Movie: "The Jericho Mile"
10 PM ABC News
10:15 700 Club
sign off 11:15 PM

WSM (WSMV) Ch. 4 Nashville (NBC)

6:20 Farm Digest
6:30 Vegetable Soup
7 AM Go USA
7:30 Dennis The Menace
8 AM At Home With The Bible
8:30 Day Of Discovery
9 AM Nashville Gospel Show
9:30 Dimensions In Faith
10 AM Herald Of Truth
10:30 Community Worship
11 AM Jumpstreet (kids' show, not to be confused with "21 Jump Street")
11:30 Meet The Press
12 N NCAA Basketball: East Regional Final from Greensboro, NC
2 PM NCAA Basketball: Mideast Regional Final from Indianapolis (time approximate)
4 PM Sportsworld (Cork vs. Kilkenny in the All-Ireland Hurling Finals; the Bengal Bouts, an intramural boxing competition at Notre Dame, time approximate)
5 PM News
5:30 NBC News (Jessica Savitch)
6 PM Greatest Heroes Of The Bible (the story of Jacob and Esau)
7 PM Wonderful World Of Disney: "The Omega Connection"
9 PM Weekend (a profile of Charles Laufer, publisher of teen-oriented magazines)
10 PM News
10:30 NBC Movie: "The Critical List" (conclusion)
12:30 With This Ring

WTVF Ch. 5 Nashville (CBS)

6 AM Sunrise Semester: "Content Area Teaching"
6:30 Carl Tipton
7 AM Jerry Falwell
8 AM Jimmy Swaggart
8:30 James Robison Presents
9 AM Oral Roberts
9:30 Two Rivers Hour
10:30 It Is Written
11 AM Your Church
11:30 Bill Dance Outdoors
12 N Outdoorsman
12:30 Changing Times
12:45 NBA Basketball: Spurs-Bucks
3 PM Golf: Doral-Eastern Open (final round, time approximate)
5 PM News (time approximate)
5:30 WTVF Reports
6 PM 60 Minutes
7 PM All In The Family
7:30 Mister Dugan
8 PM Alice
8:30 Stockard Channing In Just Friends
9 PM Mary Tyler Moore Hour (guests: Bonnie Franklin, Henny Youngman)
10 PM News
10:30 Gunsmoke
11:30 Face The Nation
12 M The Next Step Beyond
12:30 Dwayne Friend
1 AM News

WBRC Ch. 6 Birmingham (ABC)

5 AM This Is The Life
5:30 Religion In The News
6 AM Perspectives (religious program)
6:30 Tony And Susan Alamo
7 AM Changed Lives
7:30 Rev. Jasper Roby
8 AM Rex Humbard
9 AM Jimmy Swaggart
9:30 Robert Schuller
10:30 Christ For The World
11 AM Issues And Answers
11:30 Alabama Comment
12 N Championship Fishing
12:30 The Ropers (debut, delay from Tue 8:30 PM)
1 PM Superteams
2:30 Auto Racing: IROC final from Atlanta (part 2)
3:30 Wide World Of Sports
5 PM News
5:30 Viewpoint
6 PM Osmond Family Hour
7 PM Battlestar Galactica
8 PM ABC Movie: "The Jericho Mile"
10 PM News
10:30 Movie: "The Ballad Of Josie"
12:30 Pro Bowlers Tour (King Louie Open from Overland Park, KS, delay from Sat 2:30 PM)
2 AM Rifleman
2:30 The FBI
3:30 Not For Women Only (first of five on Shakespeare's "seven ages of man"; topic: childhood; guests: acting teacher Lee Strasberg and several child actors)

WCIQ Ch. 7 Cheaha State Park/WBIQ Ch. 10 Birmingham/WHIQ Ch. 25 Huntsville/WFIQ Ch. 36 Florence (PBS)

8 AM Sesame Street
9 AM Environment
10 AM Julia Child & Company
10:30 Turnabout (a center that helps unwed teen mothers)
11 AM Nova (a profile of Albert Einstein)
12 N Washington Week In Review
12:30 Wall Street Week
1 PM Once Upon A Classic ("The Glitterball," an alien spaceship that has landed on Earth)
2 PM Movie: "Three Strangers" (Peter Lorre and Sydney Greenstreet in what must have been their umpteenth picture together, teamed with a woman (Geraldine Fitzgerald) to form a strange partnership on Chinese New Year; watch for Robert Shayne, aka Inspector Henderson on the George Reeves "Superman" series, from '48)
4 PM Firing Line (topic: Puerto Rico's future status: state, commonwealth, or independent nation)
5 PM Perspectives: The Alabama Heritage
6 PM Soccer Made In Germany
7 PM Arthur Fiedler: Just Call Me Maestro
8 PM Masterpiece Theatre ("Lillie," the story of Victorian-era actress Lillie Langtry, part 2)
9 PM Einstein's Universe
sign off 11 PM

WTWV (WTVA) Ch. 9 Tupelo, MS (NBC)

6:45 Mississippi Game And Fish Commission
7 AM Vegetable Soup
7:30 Campus Report
8 AM Oral Roberts
8:30 Christ For The Crisis
9 AM Robert Schuller
10 AM Jerry Falwell
11 AM Church Service (Baptist)
12 N NCAA Basketball: East Regional Final
2 PM NCAA Basketball: Mideast Regional Final (time approximate)
4 PM Sportsworld (time approximate)
5 PM Wild Kingdom
5:30 NBC News
6 PM Greatest Heroes Of The Bible
7 PM Wonderful World Of Disney
9 PM Weekend
10 PM News
10:30 NBC Movie: "The Critical List" (conclusion)
sign off 12:30 AM

WAPI (WVTM) Ch. 13 Birmingham (NBC)

5:25 Big Picture
5:55 Vegetable Soup
6:25 Book Talk
6:30 Meet The Minister
7 AM World Tomorrow
7:30 Show My People
8 AM Jerry Falwell
9 AM Oral Roberts
9:30 Day Of Discovery
10 AM Porter Wagoner
10:30 Nashville On The Road
11 AM Dolly
11:30 Meet The Press
12 N NCAA Basketball: East Regional Final
2 PM NCAA Basketball: Mideast Regional Final (time approximate)
4 PM Sportsworld (time approximate)
5 PM News
5:30 NBC News
6 PM Greatest Heroes Of The Bible
7 PM Wonderful World Of Disney
9 PM Weekend
10 PM News
10:30 Movie: "Fitzwilly" (Dick Van Dyke as a butler who organizes his fellow servants into thieves to keep their employer out of poverty; watch for Barbara Feldon, John McGiver, John Fiedler (Mr. Peterson on "The Bob Newhart Show"), Norman Fell, and Sam Waterston, from '67)
sign off 12:30 AM

WOWL (WHDF) Ch. 15 Florence (NBC)

5 AM PTL Club
7 AM Albert Kelly (gospel music)
8 AM James Robison
8:30 Jerry Falwell
9:30 Vegetable Soup
10 AM Cartoon Carnival
11 AM Church Service (Baptist)
12 N NCAA Basketball: East Regional Final
2 PM NCAA Basketball: Mideast Regional Final (time approximate)
4 PM Meet The Press (time approximate)
4:30 Ernest Angley
5:30 NBC News
6 PM Greatest Heroes Of The Bible
7 PM Wonderful World Of Disney
9 PM Weekend
10 PM Gospel Singing Jubilee (the Rex Nelon Singers, the Hinsons, the Inspirations, the Dixie Echoes, the Florida Boys)
10:30 700 Club

WTCG (WPCH) Ch. 17 Atlanta (Ind.)
Listed Central Time

4:30 Ag-USA (how fast food franchises have affected Americans' eating habits)
5 AM Up Close With Lillian Carter (profile of President Carter's mother)
5:30 Discovery (the Peace Corps training center in Hawaii)
6 AM Jimmy Swaggart
6:30 Christ For The World
7 AM Three Stooges And Friends
8 AM Lost In Space
9 AM Hazel
9:30 Movie: "The Bishop's Wife"
11:45 Movie: "Jumping Jacks" (Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis, from '52)
1:45 Movie: "Rocky Mountain"
3 PM Movie: "The Innocents"
5 PM Wrestling
6 PM Star Trek
7 PM Movie: "A Minute To Pray, A Second To Die"
9 PM Dragnet
9:30 Ruff House (Sen. Orrin Hatch gives his views on federal tax cuts and the ERA.)
10 PM Open Up (human-growth disorders; Dr. Lendon Smith discusses sex education for children)
12 M Movie: "A Breath Of Scandal"
2 AM Movie: "The Swinger"
4 AM Dragnet

WHNT Ch. 19 Huntsville (CBS)

6 AM Gospel Singing Jubilee (the Florida Boys, the Hinsons)
7 AM At The Crossroads
7:30 Jobs
8 AM Day Of Discovery
8:30 Jimmy Swaggart
9 AM Oral Roberts
9:30 Robert Schuller (guests: Pat, Shirley, and Debby Boone)
10:30 Face The Nation
11 AM Viewpoint
11:30 Sports Afield
12 N Challenge Of The Sexes (Linda Tardiff vs. Bart Conner (gymnastics), Lea Hilgren vs. Greg Athans (freestyle skiing), Terri Rudd vs. Bernie Traurig (show jumping)
12:45 NBA Basketball: Spurs-Bucks
3 PM Golf: Doral-Eastern Open (final round, time approximate)
5 PM CBS News (Morton Dean, time approximate)
5:30 News
6 PM 60 Minutes
7 PM All In The Family
7:30 Mister Dugan
8 PM Alice
8:30 Stockard Channing In Just Friends
9 PM Mary Tyler Moore Hour
10 PM CBS News (Ed Bradley)
10:15 News
10:30 Accent
11 PM Ernest Angley
sign off 12 M

WAAY Ch. 31 Huntsville (ABC)

5:30 Herald Of Truth
6 AM This Is The Life
6:30 Treehouse Club
7 AM Bugs Bunny/Porky Pig
7:30 Land Of The Giants
8:30 Voyage To The Bottom Of The Sea
9:30 Three Stooges
10:30 Dialogue
11 AM Church Service (Baptist)
12 N Issues And Answers
12:30 Love American Style
1 PM Superteams
2:30 Auto Racing: IROC final from Atlanta (part 2)
3:30 Wide World Of Sports
5 PM ABC News
5:30 News
6 PM Osmond Family Hour
7 PM Battlestar Galactica
8 PM ABC Movie: "The Jericho Mile"
10 PM News
10:30 Jerry Falwell
11:30 Dialogue
sign off 12 M

WCFT Ch. 33 Tuscaloosa (CBS)

7 AM PTL Club
8 AM Amazing Grace Bible Class
8:30 PTL Club continues
9:30 Proverb Gospel Singers
10 AM Herald Of Truth
10:30 Face The Nation
11 AM Church Service (Baptist)
12 N Challenge Of The Sexes
12:45 NBA Basketball: Spurs-Bucks
3 PM Golf: Doral-Eastern Open (final round, time approximate)
5 PM Uptown And Country (public affairs, time approximate)
5:30 CBS News
6 PM 60 Minutes
7 PM All In The Family
7:30 Mister Dugan
8 PM Alice
8:30 Stockard Channing In Just Friends
9 PM Mary Tyler Moore Hour
10 PM Church Service (Baptist)
10:45 PTL Club

WHMA (WJSU) Ch. 40 Anniston (CBS)

7:15 With This Ring
7:30 Clue Club
8 AM God's Answer
8:30 Church Service (Church of Christ)
9 AM Back To The Bible
9:30 700 Club
10:30 Face The Nation
11 AM Church Service (Baptist)
12 N Challenge Of The Sexes
12:45 NBA Basketball: Spurs-Bucks
3 PM Golf: Doral-Eastern Open (final round, time approximate)
5 PM American Angler (time approximate)
5:30 Bill Dance Outdoors
6 PM 60 Minutes
7 PM All In The Family
7:30 Mister Dugan
8 PM Alice
8:30 Stockard Channing In Just Friends
9 PM Mary Tyler Moore Hour
10 PM Church Service (Baptist)
10:45 CBS News
11 PM PTL Club
sign off 1 AM

WBMG (WIAT) Ch. 42 Birmingham (CBS)

6:45 Focus
7 AM Spectrum
7:30 J.T. Uptown Country Show
8 AM Rev. Max Morris
8:30 Popeye
9 AM Voice Of Truth
9:30 Living Word
9:45 Focus
10 AM Fishing With Roland Martin
10:30 Face The Nation
11 AM Church Service (Baptist)
12 N Challenge Of The Sexes
12:45 NBA Basketball: Spurs-Bucks
3 PM Golf: Doral-Eastern Open (final round, time approximate)
5 PM CBS News (time approximate)
5:30 Sports Afield
6 PM 60 Minutes
7 PM All In The Family
7:30 Mister Dugan
8 PM Alice
8:30 Stockard Channing In Just Friends
9 PM Mary Tyler Moore Hour
10 PM CBS News
10:15 Ernest Angley
11:15 Tennis: WCT Challenge Cup from Montego Bay: Ilie Nastase vs. Peter Flemming
12:15 Focus
sign off 12:30 AM

WAFF Ch. 48 Huntsville (NBC)

6:30 Edgewater Hour
7 AM Rev. Dennis Tucker
7:30 New Life
8 AM Christ For The World
8:30 James Robison
9 AM Showtime
10:30 Leroy Jenkins
11 AM Church Service (Baptist)
12 N NCAA Basketball: East Regional Final
2 PM NCAA Basketball: Mideast Regional Final (time approximate)
4 PM Sportsworld (time approximate)
5 PM Talkfest
5:30 NBC News
6 PM Greatest Heroes Of The Bible
7 PM Wonderful World Of Disney
9 PM Weekend
10 PM News
10:30 Pop Goes The Country (the Statler Brothers, Barbara Mandrell)
11 PM Nashville On The Road (guest: Mickey Gilley)
11:30 PTL Club
sign off 1:30 AM

 

[skipeastport]

I left my reading glasses at home, so maybe I overlooked it, but didn't any of these affiliates carry Insight?

 

[bpatrick]

I don't know if "Insight" was still on in 1979 but I haven't been able to find it on any of these stations; it was syndicated widely enough that I would think it would have been carried in Birmingham, Huntsville, and Nashville if it had still been in production. Notice, however, an abundance of local and regional religious programs; also notice how well-represented the Baptist church is when church services are scheduled. Wonder how other denominations, such as the Methodists and Presbyterians, felt about this (especially when Grace Methodist and Peachtree Presbyterian were both carried in Atlanta). Also, there has always been a large Italian-American population in Birmingham, many of whom today are descended from people who came to work in the coal mines and steel mills. You'd think at least one Birmingham station would have aired a Catholic Mass.

 

[Charles35080]

For whatever reason, Channel 42 was the only station in Birmingham that ever carried live church services, and from the beginning, the services were always from Baptist churches. Given how dominant Southern Baptists were in the area, it makes sense. In the nearly 50 years since Channel 42 signed on, they have carried the services from only three congregations: the church I grew up in, Hunter Street Baptist Church, Woodlawn Baptist Church, a congregation that has since relocated to the suburbs and changed their name to Liberty Park Baptist, and for the last 35 (or more) years, Dawson Memorial Baptist Church. When ABC 33/40 began serving the Birmingham area, they added the services from First Baptist Church of Gardendale.

 

[skipeastport]

I don't know if "Insight" was still on in 1979 but I haven't been able to find it on any of these stations; it was syndicated widely enough that I would think it would have been carried in Birmingham, Huntsville, and Nashville if it had still been in production.

Insight was definitely still in production. It ran through the 1983-84 season. This is why I was surprised that none of those affiliates carried it. Looking through TV Guides from so many different markets, it seems like it was on everywhere. We had it in Memphis on WHBQ-TV 13 for well over a decade in the same time-slot, Sundays at 11 a.m. It was an odd series to be sure and could actually be fairly creepy at times.

 

[Mike Stroud]

QUICK! Click onto another page! STROUD is back! Oh, no!

Ha, ha. I scared myself more than I annoyed all the rest of you.

So, why I am butting in again? To help my old chum bp out, of course. As an Alabamian, I can offer an easy answer (at least, back in the day) as to why Baptist churches were seemingly overrepresented on Sunday morning service broadcasts. Money and influence. I don't know exactly what the percentage is these days, but back in the '70s, the Southern Baptist Convention ALONE claimed the allegiance of half of all Alabamians. And while we think of "mega-churches" as a recent phenomenon, the Baptist telecasts seen here originated from some of the largest: Decatur's Central Baptist on WAFF/48, Nashville's Woodmont Baptist on WNGE/2, and Birmingham/Homewood's Dawson Memorial Baptist on WBMG/42. These telecasts, of course, were not simply in the interest of evangelizing the unchurched: for many elderly shut-ins, these services were (then) similar to the ones they were accustomed to in, say, Scottsboro, Alabama or Pulaski, Tennessee. But above all, these large congregations, which had full activity programs seven days a week in education, recreation, and mission work, were the only ones who could afford TV time. bp refers to Atlanta stations carrying Methodist and Presbyterian services, but there, even at that time, was a hugely different socioeconomic dynamic, where the mainline/liberal denominations had more social and economic clout than anywhere in Alabama or Tennessee--and moreover, rural, Southern-born whites had far less demographic and economic influence in metro Atlanta. Back to Birmingham, Charles35080 has pointed out that a relatively new (to the phenomenon, that is) mega-church is still doing the Sunday morning OTA thing. Most everywhere else, with cable access and now YouTube and cheap video equipment, congregations don't need OTA these days--except those seeking "buzz" and/or community prestige.

Actually, WBMG/42 carried a 15-minute local program before sign-off on Sunday nights back in the late 1960s called "Catholicism Explained." I suspect it was a production of the Birmingham Archdiocese, featuring a priest giving lessons (a la the "preaching and teaching" style of fundamentalist preachers). Whatever became of that, that same station was accused by Mother Angelica of EWTN fame of rejecting a half-hour Sunday Mass broadcast back in the 1970s. I could be conflating those two situations, but either way, while Catholicism still has a strong presence in Birmingham proper, in the rural areas of the market it did not. That said, WBRC/6 was so dominant it could have afforded to donate the time early on Sunday morning. I "sho nuff caint splain" that one, I'm afraid.

So, you folks actually think I need to get back in the retro business? I am considering it as seriously as a PBS fundraiser.

 

[briancraig]

In 1970, Insight aired in Nashville on channel 4. By 1972 it aired on PBS station WDCN. In 1974-1976, it was on channel 5. Not sure if aired in Nashville after 1976.

Memphis stations did not change their Sunday morning schedules much in the 1970s.

WHBQ had the same Sunday morning lineup for over a decade: Treehouse Club, a couple of local church services, Christ Is The Answer, Herald of Truth, Oral Roberts, Insight, Sacred Heart, Bellevue Baptist Church.