How WGN changed broadcasting - Research Paper Example

(Philip, 1997: pg 76) The WGN is one of the major TV stations based in Chicago and it is basically owned by Tribune Company. The station has a radio station with a transmitter that is located in the Elk Grove in Illinois. The station has been the preferred station by Chicago Cubs, the Northwestern University football besides the men’s basketball team from the same university. The station was found to be favorable for these institutions and sports organization due to the freshness in terms of broadcasting as compared to its peers.

The letters that are used to abbreviate the name of the station stand for Worlds Greatest Newspaper which was a slogan that was coined by Chicago Tribune. The station hit the airwaves in 1948 in April on channel 9 from the studios in Tribune Tower in Chicago. The Tribune Company was led into television era with the belief that television was an idea thought necessary to embark on the adventure of America. The TV station was also one of the major stations that made first attempts at the production of entertainment series that were to air in the station and some were to be distributed to various other stations far and wide across the country.

(Philip, 1997: pg 276). The station was a former associate of CBS and DuMont television networks but they realized they would serve the Chicago based fans better if they operated independently. WGN became one of the first stations based locally to unleash a whole rich menu of live programs that were aired in color. The station also made many significant firsts for example the public appearance in Chicago of President Truman that was televised besides being the first station to show a mobile coverage of a visit to Chicago by General MacArthur.

In 1961, this station began airing its broadcast program in a new location from the one initially used center. The new facility was located in West Bradley place in the Northwestern side of Chicago. As they vacated to the new center of broadcast, the station premiered a show for children known as the Bozo’s Circus which went on ahead to become the most famous and largely viewed local production for children in television history. The other form of advancement that the WGN brought on board was that of expanding the news program to cover half an hour, especially the 10th hour news thereby making WGN the first television channel in Chicago to air news for that long.

The station was feted in 1966 when the president of WGN at that period Ward Quaal was awarded for bringing about the development of the finest and most independent television channel in the United States. (Ted, 2004: pg 49). The years around 1970 saw the introduction of television talk show when WGN introduced Phil Donahue to the nation and to Chicago specifically as he appeared on the daytime talk show that was moved out of Ohio into the television studios of the WGN. The show introduced a different format in television setting whereby there were to be discussions of current issues such as controversies that surrounded celebrities as they appeared as guests in the studio and were exposed to live audience participation. U. S.

farm report also debuted in the station as