What are the worst television stations you've ever seen?
By "worst" I mean stations which, now or then, set low standards ... i.e., bad production values, terrible newscasts, subpar technically, those defined by weird and/or flamboyant personalities, poor or dated graphics, bizarre programming choices, etc.
My nominations for the Anti-Emmy (or Antie Em?) awards:
WSIL 3 (ABC) / Harrisburg, Illinois (1978-82, when I lived in the market)
About as bargain-basement low-budget as it got for television of the late '70s. At least the people on-air *knew* they were outflanked and outclassed by the other stations in the market; you could see they were having a ball "playing TV"
Station back then was defined by sports director Briggs Gordon's alter ego UNCLE BRIGGS, who hosted a late afternoon 'kiddie show'; the guy literally had just minutes to get out of costume and into a regular attire to do the sportscast.
WSLA 8 (ABC, later CBS) / Selma, Ala. (1960s-1970s)
Low-power station went on the air as an ABC affiliate, owned by the Brennan family (a Deep South radio dynasty back in the day - owned several top-40 stations). Operated out of a Jim Walter home on the outskirts of town.
Had no network line. ABC programs came not via kine ... they made arrangements with WBRC-TV 6, 90 miles away in Birmingham to air ABC matter RIGHT OFF THEIR SIGNAL! If the engineer wasn't paying attention, local WBRC breaks and IDs would air on WSLA. And, more than a few times, they did. Also, when they got ready to 'join the network', fingers would be crossed that ABC would come up -- that WBRC hadn't preempted something at the last minute!
And during times of temp inversion or e-skip, WSLA would magically transform itself into a CBS station; the antenna sometimes picked up WCTV, channel 6 out of Thomasville, Ga.-Tallahassee, Fla.
I'm told one of their program hosts kept a (loaded) gun with him on set, and would sometimes wave it around as he talked.
The Brennans put the station on the air in the hopes that they could secure a power boost, and then sell the station at a good profit. Problem was, Montgomery (50 miles to the east) was a mostly-UHF market and the Us vigorously protested any such move.
The studio and transmitter went up in flames in 1968 ... Brennans chose to walk. Station was dark until another concern put it back on the air in 1973 as a CBS. Things were a bit better, but the station was still a joke.
Dereg in the '80s allowed 8 to go full-tilt ... today it's in Montgomery as the market's CBS, WAKA.
WTVY 4 (CBS) / Dothan, Ala. (pre-1998)
Launched and for years owned by perennial fringe presidential candidate and disfigured war hero Charles Woods. The first station in the South to go 24/7 (early '70s), but aside from that it was defined by two personalities: Farm director Gene Ragan, who for decades hosted the noon farm report. The opening theme and set were practically unchanged from the '60s -- same recorded theme and V/O, and same wood-paneling background and desk mic. This was the case well into the '90s, until after Woods lost the station amidst financial difficulties.
Then there was RED HOLLAND, who hosted a weekend hunting/fishing show Outdoors With Red, and his weekday early-morning show Good Morning Tri-States was a spectacle of bad television. Red didn't talk, he SCREAMED. Imagine Crazy Eddie with a "John Deere" cap and a redneck accent. Did most all sponsors' commercials himself. And the rural trailer-dwellin' folk worshipped him.
WTVY's graphics were pathetic -- just two (2) fonts. Picture wasn't very crisp, and audio was muffled.
When WTVY transferred to new ownership late in 1997, their first order of business was to axe Red.
WDHN 18 (ABC) / Dothan, Ala.
Dothan, Alabama was (and probably still is) bad TV capital of the world. 18 made WTVY above look major-market. Had a very cheap Chyron-esque device - one font. SAME as the one used most by WTVY. Newscast in the early '90s was done by the News Director - who had a pronounced lisp and a HEAVY Southern accent. Intro was done by someone trying to imitate the 'voice-of-God' guy who used to do rock concert promos in the '80s.
WLBT 3 (NBC) / Jackson, Miss. (prior to 1971)
Station Manager for years was a guy named Fred Beard. Fred was very tight with the White Citizens' Council of Mississippi (little more than a country-club level k lan), and his practices caused WLBT to have its license ordered vacated. On the fly preemptions - plenty of anecdotal evidence point to a common practice of interrupting network programming with a TECHNICAL DIFFICULTY slides whenever NBC did anything remotely advocating for integration. Whenever a black leader appeared on camera, suddenly WLBT would have "cable trouble."
A disclaimer was broadcast prior to the Today show: "The following program contains biased, managed Northern news. Be sure to stay tuned at 7:25 for your LOCAL news."
Oh, and a "Freedom Bookstore" operated in the lobby of WLBT -- selling white supremacist literature.
A black church organization challenged the station's license ... toward the late '60s, Lamar Life Insurance (WLBT's parent company) got nervous and fired Beard. But it didn't stop WLBT's license from getting yanked, and Lamar Life (while by then a bit subdued in its racism) cleaned out their desks in 1971.
By "worst" I mean stations which, now or then, set low standards ... i.e., bad production values, terrible newscasts, subpar technically, those defined by weird and/or flamboyant personalities, poor or dated graphics, bizarre programming choices, etc.
My nominations for the Anti-Emmy (or Antie Em?) awards:
WSIL 3 (ABC) / Harrisburg, Illinois (1978-82, when I lived in the market)
About as bargain-basement low-budget as it got for television of the late '70s. At least the people on-air *knew* they were outflanked and outclassed by the other stations in the market; you could see they were having a ball "playing TV"
Station back then was defined by sports director Briggs Gordon's alter ego UNCLE BRIGGS, who hosted a late afternoon 'kiddie show'; the guy literally had just minutes to get out of costume and into a regular attire to do the sportscast.
WSLA 8 (ABC, later CBS) / Selma, Ala. (1960s-1970s)
Low-power station went on the air as an ABC affiliate, owned by the Brennan family (a Deep South radio dynasty back in the day - owned several top-40 stations). Operated out of a Jim Walter home on the outskirts of town.
Had no network line. ABC programs came not via kine ... they made arrangements with WBRC-TV 6, 90 miles away in Birmingham to air ABC matter RIGHT OFF THEIR SIGNAL! If the engineer wasn't paying attention, local WBRC breaks and IDs would air on WSLA. And, more than a few times, they did. Also, when they got ready to 'join the network', fingers would be crossed that ABC would come up -- that WBRC hadn't preempted something at the last minute!
And during times of temp inversion or e-skip, WSLA would magically transform itself into a CBS station; the antenna sometimes picked up WCTV, channel 6 out of Thomasville, Ga.-Tallahassee, Fla.
I'm told one of their program hosts kept a (loaded) gun with him on set, and would sometimes wave it around as he talked.
The Brennans put the station on the air in the hopes that they could secure a power boost, and then sell the station at a good profit. Problem was, Montgomery (50 miles to the east) was a mostly-UHF market and the Us vigorously protested any such move.
The studio and transmitter went up in flames in 1968 ... Brennans chose to walk. Station was dark until another concern put it back on the air in 1973 as a CBS. Things were a bit better, but the station was still a joke.
Dereg in the '80s allowed 8 to go full-tilt ... today it's in Montgomery as the market's CBS, WAKA.
WTVY 4 (CBS) / Dothan, Ala. (pre-1998)
Launched and for years owned by perennial fringe presidential candidate and disfigured war hero Charles Woods. The first station in the South to go 24/7 (early '70s), but aside from that it was defined by two personalities: Farm director Gene Ragan, who for decades hosted the noon farm report. The opening theme and set were practically unchanged from the '60s -- same recorded theme and V/O, and same wood-paneling background and desk mic. This was the case well into the '90s, until after Woods lost the station amidst financial difficulties.
Then there was RED HOLLAND, who hosted a weekend hunting/fishing show Outdoors With Red, and his weekday early-morning show Good Morning Tri-States was a spectacle of bad television. Red didn't talk, he SCREAMED. Imagine Crazy Eddie with a "John Deere" cap and a redneck accent. Did most all sponsors' commercials himself. And the rural trailer-dwellin' folk worshipped him.
WTVY's graphics were pathetic -- just two (2) fonts. Picture wasn't very crisp, and audio was muffled.
When WTVY transferred to new ownership late in 1997, their first order of business was to axe Red.
WDHN 18 (ABC) / Dothan, Ala.
Dothan, Alabama was (and probably still is) bad TV capital of the world. 18 made WTVY above look major-market. Had a very cheap Chyron-esque device - one font. SAME as the one used most by WTVY. Newscast in the early '90s was done by the News Director - who had a pronounced lisp and a HEAVY Southern accent. Intro was done by someone trying to imitate the 'voice-of-God' guy who used to do rock concert promos in the '80s.
WLBT 3 (NBC) / Jackson, Miss. (prior to 1971)
Station Manager for years was a guy named Fred Beard. Fred was very tight with the White Citizens' Council of Mississippi (little more than a country-club level k lan), and his practices caused WLBT to have its license ordered vacated. On the fly preemptions - plenty of anecdotal evidence point to a common practice of interrupting network programming with a TECHNICAL DIFFICULTY slides whenever NBC did anything remotely advocating for integration. Whenever a black leader appeared on camera, suddenly WLBT would have "cable trouble."
A disclaimer was broadcast prior to the Today show: "The following program contains biased, managed Northern news. Be sure to stay tuned at 7:25 for your LOCAL news."
Oh, and a "Freedom Bookstore" operated in the lobby of WLBT -- selling white supremacist literature.
A black church organization challenged the station's license ... toward the late '60s, Lamar Life Insurance (WLBT's parent company) got nervous and fired Beard. But it didn't stop WLBT's license from getting yanked, and Lamar Life (while by then a bit subdued in its racism) cleaned out their desks in 1971.