WBBM-TV
From Freepedia
| WBBM-TV | |
|---|---|
| Image:Wbbmcbs2.png | |
| Chicago, Illinois | |
| Branding | CBS2 Chicago |
| Slogan | Just turn to 2. |
| Analog channel | 2 (VHF) |
| Digital channel | 3 (VHF) |
| Affiliations | CBS (since 1949) |
| Owner | CBS/Viacom |
| Founded | 1943 (originally experimental W9XBK from 1940-49) |
| Call letters meaning | We Broadcast Better Music (referring to WBBM radio) |
| Former affiliations | None |
| Website | www.cbs2chicago.com |
WBBM-TV, "CBS2 Chicago" is the Chicago-based owned and operated station of the CBS television network and the network's flagship station in the Central Time Zone. Its transmitters are located on the John Hancock Center while its studio facilities are located at North McClurg Court in downtown Chicago.
The principal news anchors of WBBM-TV are Antonio Mora, a former news anchor for "Good Morning America" and Diann Burns, formerly of rival WLS-TV.
Contents |
History
WBBM traces its history to 1940, when Balaban & Katz, a subsidiary of Paramount Pictures, opened experimental station W9XBK. Balaban & Katz were already well known for owning several theaters in Chicago. In 1943, it received a commercial license as WBKB-TV (meaning Balaban and Katz Broadcasting) on channel 4, the first commercial station outside the Eastern Time Zone. Six years later, it became Chicago's CBS affiliate. Balaban & Katz was renamed United Paramount Theatres (UPT) in 1950 after Paramount was forced to divest it.
In 1953, UPT merged with ABC, who already owned WENR-TV on channel 7. ABC decided to keep WENR and sell WBKB to CBS for $6.75 million. On February 12, one day after the merger took effect, a complex deal took place. WBKB-TV was renamed WBBM-TV (after the CBS-owned radio station), while WENR-TV was renamed WBKB-TV (which became WLS in 1968). The talent stayed on channel 4 while the management moved to channel 7. As a condition of the merger, WBBM moved to channel 2 on July 5 to eliminate interference with WKZO-TV (now WWMT-TV) in Kalamazoo, Michigan. In 1956, WBBM-AM-FM-TV moved to a renovated arena on North McClurg Court, where the stations remain to this day.
In the late 1960s, WBBM surged past WMAQ-TV for first place in the Chicago news race. It became one of the most respected local news operations in the country and was considered a bastion of serious journalism. Led by anchors Bill Kurtis and Walter Jacobson, weatherman John Coughlin and sports director Johnny Morris, WBBM dominated the news ratings during the 1970s and 1980s. In March 1986, WLS, which had been a strong third for many years, overtook WBBM for the lead. In 1990, WBBM hired Bill Applegate, who had taken WLS to first place, as general manager. Applegate took Jacobson off the anchor desk (Jacobson eventually left for WFLD) and made the newscasts much flashier than they had previously been. It was enough for a rebound to a first-place tie with WLS by 1993. The momentum didn't last, however, and by the mid-1990s WBBM had crashed to last place, which the station has occupied for most of the last decade. WLS and WMAQ fight it out for first, while WBBM often trails syndicated reruns on WFLD.
The station has gone through several different on-air branding schemes—from its longtime brand of Channel 2 News to 2 News, News 2 Chicago, The News on CBS 2 Chicago, and finally the present CBS 2 News. A good example of this is in 2002, when the station eliminated its year-old computer-intensive graphics and "newsplex" studio in favor of a simpler studio and corresponding graphics set.
On April 6, 2005, the station announced that it had reached an agreement to move its facilities to the vacant "Block 37" near the Daley Center in downtown Chicago. The new facility will be an all-digital facility with a street-level windowed studio, similar to that of sister station KYW-TV in Philadelphia.
The 10 PM News Experiment
The most notable of many changes WBBM has made to its news operation occurred in 2000, when it revamped its 10 PM newscast by ditching the traditional news format in favor of in-depth "hard news" features, a staple of its glory days. Anchored by Carol Marin, former longtime anchor at WMAQ, the newscast was hailed as a return to quality in-depth journalism at a time when tabloid journalism and "soft news" were becoming the norm in broadcast news. However, plummeting ratings led to the newscast's cancellation in October after being on the air for only nine months.
Station Trivia
As WBKB, it played an indirect role in the demise of the DuMont Television Network. Paramount owned a stake in DuMont. As a result, the FCC considered WBKB a DuMont owned and operated station even though WGN-TV was Chicago's DuMont affiliate. Paramount also owned KTLA in Los Angeles. As DuMont already owned WABD (now WNYW-TV) in New York, WTTG in Washington and WDTV (now KDKA-TV) in Pittsburgh, the FCC's decision meant DuMont couldn't acquire any more stations.
In 1960, WBBM was the site of the first televised presidential debate between John F. Kennedy and Richard Nixon.
In 1975, Chicago jingle composer Dick Marx wrote a theme for WBBM based on an old folk song, "I Love Chicago, Chicago My Home." This theme, known simply as "Channel 2 News," became very popular in Chicago during WBBM's glory days. WBBM has used this theme and several variations on it for all but six years since then. The tune has also been adopted by several other stations across the country, mostly CBS stations. It has become the de facto official music for CBS's owned-and-operated stations. Since 2002, WBBM has used an updated version called "The Enforcer" by Frank Gari. It was especially written for the station, and was previously used from 1994 to 1997 and from 2000 to 2001. It is a synthesized version of the original theme.
WBBM was an inspiration (along with Philadelphia's WPVI-TV) for the fictional KBBL-TV from the cartoon television series The Simpsons. Ironically, in the May 2005 sweeps ratings, WBBM's 10 PM newscast finished behind re-runs of The Simpsons on WFLD-TV for fourth place in the timeslot.
Personalities
Current
Past
References
- WBBM-TV: History of CBS 2 (2005). CBS2Chicago.com.
- Changing Local News - WBBM Revisited (February 7, 2001). Online NewsHour.
External links
- Photos of WBBM's news set
- Original version of WBBM's theme (.mp3)
- Query the FCC's TV station database for WBBM
| Broadcast television in the Chicago market | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| WBBM 2 (CBS) - WMAQ 5 (NBC) - WLS 7 (ABC) - WGN 9 (The WB) - WTTW 11 (PBS) - WYCC 20 (PBS) - WCIU 26 (Ind) - WFLD 32 (Fox) WWTO 35 (TBN) - WCPX 38 (i) - WSNS 44 (TEL) - WPWR 50 (UPN) - WYIN 56 (PBS) - WXFT 60 (TFT) - WJYS 62 (Ind) - WGBO 66 (UNV) </br> | |||
| Viacom Inc. |
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Corporate Directors: George Abrams | David Andelman | Joseph Califano, Jr. | William Cohen | Philippe Dauman | Alan Greenberg | Charles Phillips | Shari Redstone | Sumner Redstone | Frederic Salerno | William Schwartz | Robert D. Walter |
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Misc. Assets: Infinity Broadcasting | Neopets | Paramount Parks | Paramount Pictures | Simon & Schuster | Viacom Outdoor |
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Annual Revenue: $22.5 billion USD (Image:Red down.png15% FY 2004) | Employees: 38,350 | Stock Symbol: NYSE: VIAB | Website: www.viacom.com |
