60th Anniversary: WKYC Celebrates 60 years on October 31st

It was on Halloween night that WNBK-Channel 4 signed on the air.

60 years later, WKYC is preparing to sign off on analog Channel 3 as we get set to welcome a new era in broadcasting - all digital TV.

On February 17, 2009, WKYC will assume our new digital channel, Channel 17 - though we will still be known at "Channel 3" for many years to come. (We are currently broadcasting on Digital Channel 2).

So, the "Director's Cut Blog" begins our look back at 60 great years of memories including a brief look at some of the historic moments in our station's history.

1948: WNBK-TV, an NBC owned and operated station begins broadcasting and goes on the air October 31, 1948. From 6 p.m. until 11 p.m., viewers tune in to WNBK. Soon after, the station moved its sign-on time up to 1 p.m. WNBK was Channel 4 then, and Tom Haley, who appeared on "Today in Cleveland", worked for WTAM Radio, the NBC radio arm of WNBK.

1954: WNBK-TV erects the most powerful television antenna in the Midwest and the tallest in the country. With this new and improved signal, Channel 4 moves to its new location as Channel 3 and that's where it has stayed ever since.

1955: Westinghouse trades its Philadelphia station for NBC's WNBK-TV, moving it from Cleveland, Ohio to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. WNBK-TV and WTAM Radio become KYW-TV and KYW Radio respectively.

1957: KYW-TV begins producing a children's program. Barnaby premieres with Linn Sheldon and becomes Cleveland's highest-rated locally produced show ever. Barnaby, all ad-libbed, is true "live" television. Sheldon became so popular; Barnaby airs seven days a week. WNBK then turned its attention to the news business and hired Paul Sciria at the station's first full-time news reporter.

1959: Channel 3 was featuring Eyewitness News, one of the first half-hour newscasts in the country. The Channel 3 news team consisted of anchors Carl Stern and Bud Dancy, weathercaster Dick Goddard, and Jim Graner with sports.

1963: KYW-TV hires Mike Doud, a lounge singer to host an afternoon variety show. His name is changed to "Mike Douglas," the show became a huge success and the rest as they say - is history. The show's format called for one guest to co-host each week. It also became the springboard for many celebrities who went on to fame and fortune. For example, a 20-year-old singer from New York was paid $1,000 to co-host five 90 minute shows -- Barbra Streisand. A KYW Radio director, Tom Conway often did comedy skits. A popular performer, he tried comedy on his own, but as Tim Conway.

1965: The FCC and Supreme Court rule the Westinghouse/NBC trade null and void. KYW moved back to Philadelphia, PA, taking along with it The Mike Douglas Show which went to national syndication soon after; WKYC-TV/Radio now came back to Cleveland.

1965: Television went from black and white to color, and WKYC-TV 3 became Cleveland's first all-color television station.

1986: Channel 3 became Cleveland's first VHF station to broadcast in stereo.

1990: WKYC-TV premiered northeast Ohio's first local newscasts closed-captioning for the hearing-impaired. Also that same year, NBC sold 51 percent of WKYC to Multimedia Broadcasting, Inc. from Greenville, South Carolina.

January 1991: Dick Feagler wins a Silver Baton in the Alfred I. duPont-Columbia University Awards competition for his outstanding commentaries. In April, it is announced that Dick Feagler has received broadcast journalism's highest honor, a George Foster Peabody Award for broadcast excellence.

February 1992: A 6 a.m. early morning newscast premieres on Channel 3. WKYC then purchases and introduces Northeast Ohio's first and only Doppler 3 radar system in March. In May, Channel 3 News at Noon begins. News reporter Leon Bibb is inducted to the Ohio Broadcasters Hall of Fame. In July, Saturday morning news begins at 9 a.m. and in September, Sunday 9 a.m. news comes on board. In October, WKYC adds more news with the debut of Saturday and Sunday noon newscasts.

March 1993: Weekday noon news goes to one hour. Talkback 3, a way for viewers to call in their suggestions and comments begins in August, over 18,000 calls are logged within a year.

April 1994: Channel 3 launches a weekday 5:30 a.m. newscast. In August, WKYC debuts a new weather forecasting feature called Stormtracker 3, which pinpoints location and direction of severe weather through specific neighborhoods.

January 1995: WKYC-TV enters into the computer world with an e-mail address on America On-line. Viewers can now enter comments to Channel 3 via computer, over 350 messages are logged within the first months of 1995.

October 1995: WKYC-TV Saturday morning news expands to 90 minutes.
October 1995: WKYC-TV finishes first in Nielsen overnight ratings for 11 p.m. news.

November 1995: WKYC-TV becomes a part of Gannett Broadcasting's television station group. Gannett is a nationwide news and information company that publishes daily newspapers including USA TODAY.

March 1996: Channel 3 expands its Sunday newscasts to 90 minutes at 9 a.m..

March 1997: Romona Robinson, long-time Cleveland television anchor joins TV3. TV3's successful viewer outreach program. Talkback 3, goes on the road and visits viewers throughout the community.

June 1997: "Today in Cleveland" concludes its run at 6:30 a.m.. Channel 3 News expands from 5:30 a.m. - 7:00 a.m. Monday - Friday.

October 1997: Brooke Spectorsky is named WKYC President and General Manager.

November 1997: WKYC posts the best ratings for 6 and 11 p.m. news in a November rating book in the station's history.

January 1998: WKYC begins to celebrate its 50th anniversary of bringing northeast Ohio quality local news, information and entertainment.

February 1998: WKYC is #1 in news ratings at 5:30 a.m., Noon, 6 p.m. and 11 p.m.

March 1998: WKYC launches annual community service ca.m.paign entitled 3 Cares and adopts John W. Raper Elementary School students as part of the progra.m..

May 1998: Channel 3 News again posts #1 rating numbers at 5:30 a.m., Noon, 6 p.m. and 11 p.m.

August 1998: WKYC is named the official local television of the Cleveland Browns with pre-season games, pre and post game shows, a Sunday night wrap-up show and a revolutionary children's show called Browns Blitz.

March 1999: Veteran reporter Del Donahoo, at Channel 3 for over 40 years, signs on for three more years.

June 1999: WKYC becomes the first local television station in the city of Cleveland (Northeast Ohio) to broadcast in high definition.

August 1999: WKYC joins forces with Cleveland Live (now cleveland.com) and goes to the Internet with our web site www.wkyc.com

August 1999: WKYC becomes the official home of Cleveland Browns pre-season game coverage and local programming.

September 1999: Channel 3 News expands local coverage beginning at 5 a.m. and at 6 p.m. Channel 3 News expands local coverage to one hour.

October 1999: WKYC breaks ground on a new state-of-the-art television facility, completed in December, 2000.

March 2000: Popular news anchor Romona Robinson, the first African-American female evening news anchor in Cleveland, renews her contract for four more years.

April 2000: Local television veteran Fred Griffith joins WKYC as host of "Fifteen Minutes with Fred," a mini-talk show during the noon hour. The show was expanded in 2004, becoming Studio 3.

June 2000: WKYC news at 6 p.m. goes from one hour to a half-hour at 6 p.m. and a half-hour at 7 p.m., to accommodate viewers' lifestyles.

August 2000: A venture into reality television, WKYC premieres "Room[mates]," a segment that follows six local college students for six weeks before they leave for school. It is the first reality programming on NBC.

December 2000: Channel 3 News at 11 p.m. is #1 in household Nielsen ratings.

January 2001: WKYC moves into its state-of-the-art all digital local television center. The 80,000 square foot facility positions WKYC Channel 3 for the future of local television.

June 2001: WKYC and Paxson Communications bring back local news on Channel 23 with a Monday - Friday nightly local newscast originating in Akron at 6:30 p.m. There is also a new voice for Akron news online: akron23.com

October 2002: WKYC's weekend morning news celebrates its 10th anniversary.

January 2003: Channel 23 News at 10 p.m. debuts.

September 2003: Channel 3 News at Noon moves to 11 AM with "Studio 3" from 11:30 until Noon with hosts Fred Griffith and Hollie Strano.

September 2005: "Good Company" hits the airwaves at 10 a.m. with hosts Eileen McShea, Michael Cardamone, Fred Griffith and Andrea Vecchio.

December 2005: WKYC and the Cleveland Indians form a new company to produce and broadcast Indians games. The partnership with Time Warner Cable is set to launch during spring training, 2006.

May 22, 2006: WKYC began broadcasting nall of our local newscasts in high definition, becoming the 2nd station in the market to do so.

May 31, 2008: WKYC ends is coverage of the Akron Canton News due to tough economic conditions.

June 2008: WKYC announced the launch of Metromix.com (cleveland.metromix.com) a hip, new website for socially active taste-makers and young professionals looking to be one-step ahead of Cleveland's latest trends and hotspots.

October 15, 2008: WKYC relaunches a new graphics look using the AXIS graphic systems and a hub called "G3" from Denver.

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