Chicago Weekend Fun!

WGN Channel 9 in Chicago is a local TV station that is owned by the Tribune company. I grew up here and it has always been a part of Chicago’s news and entertainment on television for my family. I heard on their newscast that WGN is celebrating 60 years of Broadcasting this year and while that doesn’t seem like a really long time (compared to newspapers) it does seem like a long time for television. Remember how different entertainment was back in 1948. Most average families in Chicago didn’t have a TV until the 1950′s and there wasn’t much programming on TV nor all hours of the day either. In TV terms this was the dark ages.

I looked up some information about this 60 year anniversary that WGN is having, and found out that the original purpose for WGN TV (which stands for World’s Greatest Newspaper, which is a little odd considering the Chicago Tribune is regional and not worldwide in it’s distribution) was to broadcast Cubs baseball games. According to the article in the Chicago Tribune today, the owner of the Cubs (and Tribune) at the time was  P.K. Wrigley and he decided that TV was the next big marketing medium and the games would attract more ticket sales if people could see what it was like to visit the ballpark from their TV set at home.

This marketing theory proved somewhat right because the Cubs have been a primarily loosing team in the past 60 years and yet have attracted sold out crowds and season ticket sales in the billions thanks in part to Jack Brickhouse and Harry Caray. (my dad and brother still love to watch Cubs Games on TV) Yet the WGN Channel 9 station changed over time from mostly sports content to a regular network with other programming to rival the big 3 networks in Chicago. (CBS, NBC and ABC) I have heard that WGN is also available as a cable channel in other areas of the country. Mostly from people who subscribe in Phoenix, AZ where a lot of Chicagoans moved to escape from the bad Chicago winters in the 1980′s and 1990′s.  

WGN also pineered other innovative strategies in television broadcasting over the years. I have always appreciated the Channel 9 news at 9pm because it is one hour earlier than the Channel 2, 5 and 7 news at 10 pm and for people who have to get up pretty early or have kids that go to bed early this is very helpful. Now with DVRs and TIVOs this is less of an issue for some people, but it was a great idea that added to the news offerings in a relevant way in Chicago.

Tom Skilling is also one of the notable WGN Channel 9 products, as the weather guy that goes crazy with technical color coded maps, diagrams and charts. He has more passion for weather and data than I have ever seen before and many people appreciate his detail and weather information because it is so helpful to them. Most other weather men just get by on being funny. (I personally just want to know what to wear that day, so maybe Channel 9 can get an opposite style broadcast to send to people like me that says, “hat, coat, umbrella, snow boots” or something so I have basics quickly.) But kidding aside, Tom Skilling is very well known and appreciated for his work in Chicago.

In the 1990′s and since 2000 WGN Channel 9 has had more success with a mix of prime time programming aimed at younger and more urban viewers from WB (the dancing frog; One Tree Hill) and now the CW network (Beauty and the Geek and America’s Next Top Model). I find that many nights the offerings on Channel 9 are better than what is available on Channel 2, 5 7 and 32. But then again, I am one of the last 20% of people in the U.S. that does not have cable. So, I have relied on the free TV Network channels more than most. Although I do get almost all of my information from the Internet now.

I am not sure what the next 60 years holds for WGN TV, WGN Radio, the Tribune or their web properties, but I am betting on more integration between mediums, more self selecting of content streams and broadcast preferences, less content developed specific to each broadcast medium and more interesting digital products that deliver information and news to me in interesting ways. Now, if we could only get the Cubs to win some games!