"The Mother of All TV Listings"--part 7

[Mike Stroud]

"The Mother of All Television Listings"--back in the 1960s through the 1980s, the Louisville Courier-Journal's statewide edition carried listings not only for Louisville stations, but for every TV signal that entered the Commonwealth of Kentucky. Every single state (seven in all) that borders Kentucky had a station carried in the listings. Some 33 stations appeared daily on one page. At the time, that was probably a record for any U.S. newspaper, and certainly far more than ever appeared in any one edition of TV Guide.

Here is part seven (final part), containing listings for stations serving extreme western Kentucky (the "Purchase" region) for Friday, August 9, 1974. All times are Central Daylight Saving.

Program listings for Paducah, Kentucky:


WPSD (6) NBC
(now digital 32, PSIP 6)

A.M.
6:54 Pastor Speaks--local
7:00 Today Show
9:00 Name That Tune
9:30 Winning Streak
10:00 High Rollers
10:30 Hollywood Squares
11:00 Jackpot!
11:30 Celebrity Sweepstakes
11:55 NBC News
P.M.
12:00 Midday Magazine--local talk/variety show
12:30 Romper Room
1:00 Days of Our Lives
1:30 The Doctors
2:00 Another World
2:30 How to Survive a Marriage
3:00 Somerset
3:30 Gilligan's Island
4:00 Dragnet
4:30 Bonanza
5:30 NBC Nightly News
6:00 WPSD News
6:30 Hollywood Squares (syndicated)
7:00 Sanford and Son
7:30 Brian Keith Show
8:00 NBC Movie
10:00 WPSD News
10:30 Tonight Show
A.M.
12:00 Midnight Special


WDXR (29) Independent
(now WKPD, part of Kentucky Educational Television on noncommercial license, on digital 41; PSIP 29)

P.M.
2:30 Galloping Gourmet
3:00 Police Surgeon
3:30 Uncle Briggs--probably local children's show
4:30 Batman
5:00 Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea
6:00 The Lucy Show
6:30 Mission: Impossible
7:30 Mike Douglas Show (60-minute version)
8:30 Week in Review (unsure if local or syndicated)
9:00 Double Feature Movie--"Dracula" and "Dead Man's Eyes" (listed as "Million Dollar Movies")




Program listings for Harrisburg, Illinois:


WSIL (3) ABC
(now digital 34 in Harrisburg; digital 15 in Poplar Bluff, Missouri)

A.M.
8:00 New Zoo Revue
8:30 Jack LaLanne
9:00 Not for Women Only
9:30 The Hour--probably local women's show
10:30 Brady Bunch
11:00 Password
11:30 Split Second
P.M.
12:00 All My Children
12:30 Let's Make a Deal
1:00 The Newlywed Game
1:30 Girl in My Life
2:00 General Hospital
2:30 One Life to Live
3:00 The $10,000 Pyramid
3:30 Roller Games
4:30 Soul Train
5:30 Cactus Pete--local children's show
6:00 Three Stooges (WSIL did not carry "ABC Evening News")
6:30 WSIL News
7:00 The Six Million Dollar Man
8:30 Toma
9:30 PGA Highlights
10:00 WSIL News
10:30 Wide World of Entertainment Special
A.M.
12:00 Movie--"Coast of Skeletons"




Program listings for Cape Girardeau, Missouri:


KFVS (12) CBS
(now digital 12, PSIP same)

A.M.
6:00 Summer Semester
6:30 Breakfast Show--local
7:00 CBS Morning News
8:00 Captain Kangaroo
9:00 The Joker's Wild
9:30 Gambit
10:00 Now You See It
10:30 Love of Life
10:55 CBS News
11:00 The Young and the Restless
11:30 Search for Tomorrow
P.M.
12:00 KFVS News
12:30 As the World Turns
1:00 The Guiding Light
1:30 Edge of Night
2:00 The Price is Right
2:30 Match Game
3:00 Tattletales
3:30 I Dream of Jeannie
4:00 Timmy and Lassie
4:30 Truth or Consequences
5:00 To Tell the Truth
5:30 KFVS News
6:00 CBS Evening News
6:30 The Flying Nun
7:00 Your Hit Parade
7:30 Good Times
8:00 CBS Movie
10:00 Channel 12 Reports--probably investigative/documentary program
10:30 CBS Movie
A.M.
12:30 KFVS News

 

[rwells2265]

WDXR (29) Independent

3:30 Uncle Briggs--probably local children's show

Wow, learn something new every day ..... I didn't know Briggs Gordon started out at WDXR. By 1978 he was hosting what by then was called "The Funny Company" on WSIL - despite it still being logged as "Cactus Pete" in TV GUIDE!

Lots to be said about Uncle Briggs (RIP) - it was a show that defied description; you had to be there.

WSIL (3) ABC

5:30 Cactus Pete--local children's show
6:00 Three Stooges (WSIL did not carry "ABC Evening News")
6:30 WSIL News

Not sure how the Louisville paper had this listed - I ass/u/me they had just "news" listed for 6:30. As of 1978 (when we moved to Cape Girardeau), WSIL aired "Cactus Pete"/"Funny Company" until 6:15, at which time WSIL aired a 15-minute local newscast ... with Briggs Gordon (!!) doing sports, not giving him much time to change from his flannel shirt/overalls/polka-dot cap Uncle Briggs getup. And at 6:30, WSIL aired ABC Evening News.

[I believe I might've mentioned a few years back that the Paducah-Cape-Harrisburg market was one of the few where you could watch all network newscasts without time-shifting .... WPSD aired NBC in pattern at 530, KFVS always aired CBS at 6, and WSIL cleared the ABC cast at 6:30.]

KFVS (12) CBS

10:00 Channel 12 Reports--probably investigative/documentary program

Nope, just the title for their 10 PM local newscast. Unlike the "Breakfast Show", noon (which began with "The Farm Picture") or 5:30 casts, this one had a very dramatic old-school filmed open with a spinning globe and a booming "CHANNEL 12 REPORTS!!!!!!" voiceover.

12 was basic and spartan, very no-frills under its original ownership (Oscar Hirsch). Until 1979, when Hirsch sold 12 to AFLAC, the station still had partitioned news, sports and weather segments ... sometimes with the same anchor doing all three.

--Russell

 

[Mike Stroud]

WDXR (29) Independent

3:30 Uncle Briggs--probably local children's show

Wow, learn something new every day ..... I didn't know Briggs Gordon started out at WDXR. By 1978 he was hosting what by then was called "The Funny Company" on WSIL - despite it still being logged as "Cactus Pete" in TV GUIDE!

Lots to be said about Uncle Briggs (RIP) - it was a show that defied description; you had to be there.

WSIL (3) ABC

5:30 Cactus Pete--local children's show
6:00 Three Stooges (WSIL did not carry "ABC Evening News")
6:30 WSIL News

Not sure how the Louisville paper had this listed - I ass/u/me they had just "news" listed for 6:30. As of 1978 (when we moved to Cape Girardeau), WSIL aired "Cactus Pete"/"Funny Company" until 6:15, at which time WSIL aired a 15-minute local newscast ... with Briggs Gordon (!!) doing sports, not giving him much time to change from his flannel shirt/overalls/polka-dot cap Uncle Briggs getup. And at 6:30, WSIL aired ABC Evening News.

[I believe I might've mentioned a few years back that the Paducah-Cape-Harrisburg market was one of the few where you could watch all network newscasts without time-shifting .... WPSD aired NBC in pattern at 530, KFVS always aired CBS at 6, and WSIL cleared the ABC cast at 6:30.]

KFVS (12) CBS

10:00 Channel 12 Reports--probably investigative/documentary program

Nope, just the title for their 10 PM local newscast. Unlike the "Breakfast Show", noon (which began with "The Farm Picture") or 5:30 casts, this one had a very dramatic old-school filmed open with a spinning globe and a booming "CHANNEL 12 REPORTS!!!!!!" voiceover.

12 was basic and spartan, very no-frills under its original ownership (Oscar Hirsch). Until 1979, when Hirsch sold 12 to AFLAC, the station still had partitioned news, sports and weather segments ... sometimes with the same anchor doing all three.

--Russell

O.K. R.W., here's my take, one at a time ...

WDXR, 3:30 p.m.: I have heard of Briggs Gordon before, but Tim Hollis' book Hi, There, Boys and Girls! should provide more of a bio on him.

WSIL, 5:30 to 7 p.m.: The 6:30 p.m. local newscast was rendered simply "Evening News," while the station's 10 p.m. newscast was listed as "Weather and News." Not surprising, given the station's reputation for extremely low budgets (which a post a long while back testified to, in the category of "Worst TV Station Ever." As for why WSIL held out on ABC's evening newscast for so long, I would venture that ratings were only part of it; WSIL's owners probably held ultra-conservative political views and likely balked at Howard K. Smith and Harry Reasoner's sometimes liberal commentaries airing on the station.

The so-called "Heartland" market (a slogan used by KFVS) is a highly unusual one, given that each station's primary local news audiences were those in the states they were located in (WSIL, southern Illinois; KFVS, southeastern Missouri; WPSD, western Kentucky and northwestern Tennessee). But all in all, KFVS had the strongest signal and probably the highest aggregate ratings. WSIL certainly took note of that and decided to counter-program by continuing a tradition that obviously held over from the station's earliest days (when kiddie programs up until news time was the norm). Viewers there had also been accustomed to this pattern and knew little about its uniqueness compared to other parts of the country.

But, boy, the WSIL makeup/costuming department sure had a job to do with Uncle Briggs, didn't they?

KFVS, 10 p.m.: I should have known that it was the 10 p.m. newscast, but I got thrown off by the title of its 5:30 bulletin: "Regional News." Usually, the names of the early evening and late evening newscasts are the same, except to modify a time perspective (e.g. "Evening Edition," "Late Edition," etc.).

BTW, another thing about KFVS' ratings strength. Its scheduling of CBS Evening News at 6 p.m. and local news at 5:30 was very rare for a Central Time Zone affiliate. Two other examples that come to mind are WMC in Memphis (with NBC Nightly News) and WBRC in Birmingham (with ABC and local news at 5, back in the 1970s). In both cases, those stations were so dominant that their local bulletins could easily trounce the network newscasts on their rivals (and vice versa at 6). So, I am sure that channel 12 had the Nielsens in its pocket and could pretty much do what it wanted. Only WPSD in this market did the conventional thing, with the network news at 5:30 and local at 6.

 

[bpatrick]

It wasn't so uncommon for ABC affiliates in the Central
time zone to air Smith and Reasoner at 5, followed by
local news at 5:30; KOCO Oklahoma City, KATV Little
Rock, KTUL Tulsa, and WKRN Nashville also did this at
one time or another during the '70s.

 

[rwells2265]

WDXR, 3:30 p.m.: I have heard of Briggs Gordon before, but Tim Hollis' book Hi, There, Boys and Girls! should provide more of a bio on him.

Unfortunately, Hollis' book mentions nothing about Briggs -- it was I who mentioned him after the fact (Tim and I collaborate on a Birmingham website).

He ended up in radio over in Cape Girardeau, jocking mornings on one of the top-40s before dying way before his time (he was, I believe, barely in his mid 30s). Gordon went out like Belushi - full-tilt and loving life (and the sauce) to the fullest.

WSIL, 5:30 to 7 p.m.: The 6:30 p.m. local newscast was rendered simply "Evening News," while the station's 10 p.m. newscast was listed as "Weather and News." Not surprising, given the station's reputation for extremely low budgets (which a post a long while back testified to, in the category of "Worst TV Station Ever." As for why WSIL held out on ABC's evening newscast for so long, I would venture that ratings were only part of it; WSIL's owners probably held ultra-conservative political views and likely balked at Howard K. Smith and Harry Reasoner's sometimes liberal commentaries airing on the station.

I don't think WSIL ever preempted ABC's network casts .... I do have a scattering of Evansville-Paducah TVG editions from the late '60s into the '70s, and soon as I get to 'em (we're in the process of moving), I'll pull and out and verify.

'SIL, to my knowledge, was hardly an ultra-conservative station! Not a station which, in the '70s, used Pink Floyd as a music bed for the station ID, plus the intro to ELO's "So Fine" for their afternoon movie. WSIL was what it was - a shoestring station, unpretentious, with young turks who seemed to have fun 'playing television.'

WPSD-6 in Paducah, on the other hand, THEY tended toward the reactionary side of the room - e.g., not clearing SNL until 1979, and even then delaying it by one hour!

The so-called "Heartland" market (a slogan used by KFVS) is a highly unusual one, given that each station's primary local news audiences were those in the states they were located in (WSIL, southern Illinois; KFVS, southeastern Missouri; WPSD, western Kentucky and northwestern Tennessee). But all in all, KFVS had the strongest signal and probably the highest aggregate ratings. WSIL certainly took note of that and decided to counter-program by continuing a tradition that obviously held over from the station's earliest days (when kiddie programs up until news time was the norm). Viewers there had also been accustomed to this pattern and knew little about its uniqueness compared to other parts of the country.

Oddly enough, KFVS didn't coin the phrase "heartland" until the mid-ish '80s. Like other markets spread out over different states, each station typically programmed to its own neighborhoods. Few in Cape, for instance, watched any news other than 12's.

--Russell

 

[bpatrick]

Was WSIL's 6:30 newscast local? ABC's was called the "ABC
Evening News With Howard K. Smith and Harry Reasoner," and
I recall thinking it strange that WSIL would carry it at 6:30 (CT),
since the three network feeds to that time zone would have been
at 5, 5:30, and 6. But I have seen Courier-Journal listings from
the period that indeed show ABC News at 6:30 on WSIL.

 

[firepoint525]

WPSD-6 in Paducah, on the other hand, THEY tended toward the reactionary side of the room - e.g., not clearing SNL until 1979, and even then delaying it by one hour!

I was only 11 when Saturday Night Live first came on, so I wouldn't have missed it anyway, not being old enough to stay up that late back then. However, it highly annoyed me in the '80s, having to wait through an extra hour of reruns before I could see SNL. Even on "Miss America" night, when everything was already an hour behind schedule, they still delayed SNL for the extra hour. They didn't carry SNL on time until sometime in the mid '90s, but by then, I had lost interest in it, as had nearly everyone else.

It's interesting to note that they did not carry Later with Bob Costas, instead signing off after Letterman at 12:30 a.m. Ironically, because of that, they were on the air later on Saturday evenings than they were the rest of the week.

 

[firepoint525]

As for channel 12, any clue as to why they often gave the temps for Dyersburg in their weather segments, but not Union City? Dyersburg has to be well over 100 miles from Cape! Dyersburg is only about 75 miles from Memphis, so I'm sure they got their weather coverage from Memphis. (The Missouri bootheel is usually also covered by Memphis TV stations.)

And on a side note, since Dyersburg also received their NBC from Memphis, that means that they got to see SNL on time!

 

[firepoint525]

It wasn't so uncommon for ABC affiliates in the Central
time zone to air Smith and Reasoner at 5, followed by
local news at 5:30; KOCO Oklahoma City, KATV Little
Rock, KTUL Tulsa, and WKRN Nashville also did this at
one time or another during the '70s.

I'm guessing that WKRN was operating under one of their previous sets of call letters (maybe WNGE?) back about that time?

 

[RyanHoward]

The Nashville station was WNGE back when Smith and Reasoner were on. It became WKRN in the 80's.

 

[rwells2265]

As for channel 12, any clue as to why they often gave the temps for Dyersburg in their weather segments, but not Union City? Dyersburg has to be well over 100 miles from Cape! Dyersburg is only about 75 miles from Memphis, so I'm sure they got their weather coverage from Memphis. (The Missouri bootheel is usually also covered by Memphis TV stations.)

I suppose it was a simple nod to the viewers, as KFVS-12 was on Dyersburg's cable for many years. 12 also had a place on many northeast Arkansas cable providers - as far south as Paragould at one time. Clay County, I think, is part of the Paducah-Cape DMA .... towns like Rector, Piggott and Corning received not just 12 but also WPSD-6 along with Jonesboro and Memphis stations. Pocahontas also had 12 on their cable until well into the '90s.

But the biggest surprise was in early 1994, while in a Paris, Tennessee motel. KFVS was carried there, too! I was shaving in the bathroom and my then-wife was watching some of the Olympics ... and my ear caught their ID. Almost cut myself. ;D

It should be mentioned that KFVS' tower, when first built in 1960, at the time was the tallest structure in the world.

--Russell

 

[bpatrick]

The Courier-Journal's TV listings were indeed a
gold mine for those of us who are interested in
that sort of thing; however, I never understood
why they left out WCHS/8 Charleston/Huntington,
when they listed WSAZ/3 and WOWK/13.

Another paper with extensive listings in its state
edition was The Milwaukee Journal; I remember
its Sunday TV insert having all the Wisconsin stations.

 

[Ultimajock]

It wasn't so uncommon for ABC affiliates in the Central
time zone to air Smith and Reasoner at 5, followed by
local news at 5:30; KOCO Oklahoma City, KATV Little
Rock, KTUL Tulsa, and WKRN Nashville also did this at
one time or another during the '70s.

...as did WLUK/11 Green Bay, WKOW-TV/27 Madison, WXOW/19 La Crosse and WAOW/9 Wausau, all in Wisconsin. I'm under the impression (but don't exactly want to be quoted) that WITI/6 Milwaukee and WLS-TV/7 Chicago ran the second feed at 5:30, against Chancellor and/or Brinkley on NBC and Cronkite on CBS. I'm also pretty sure that The Captioned ABC News, the late-night open-captioned repeat on some PBS stations, used the earlier feed before the World News Tonight era began...

 

[bpatrick]

WLS did run ABC News at 5:30, followed by an
hour of local news from 6-7. I don't recall if they
did a 5 PM local news.

When I lived in Dallas (1976-79) WFAA had local
news at 5, ABC News at 5:30, and local news at 6,
followed at 6:30 by "Bowling For Dollars" and, starting
in '78, "PM Magazine."