The time machine takes us 40 years in the past to 1979 with a timeline of some of the biggest moments of that year at WKYC.
January 15, 1979: Al Roker joins WKYC-TV from WTTG-TV/Washington D.C. as weeknight 6 & 11 p.m. weather anchor and replaces Bob Zappe. Roker was supposed to debut a week earlier, but he waits until WKYC-TV’s new weather radar system was installed and tested. Al is credited with naming the weather computers “Ethel & Fred” after the characters Ethel & Fred Mertz on “I Love Lucy”.
January 19, 1979: Leon Bibb joins WKYC-TV from WCMH-TV/Columbus as a general assignment reporter. He is Ohio’s first black anchor.
January 27, 1979: Leon Bibb and Sheryl Browne become the new co-anchors of the weekend evening editions of “Action3News” along with weatherman Ron Allen and sportscaster Paul Warfield.
May 25, 1979: WKYC-TV airs its final “5:30” show as it prepares to expand the evening news to one hour the following Monday. Both Mona Scott and Ed Miller move to prominent roles in the new newscasts at 6 p.m.
May 28, 1979: Channel 3 adopts an hour weekday evening newscast from 6 to 7 p.m. with co-anchors Doug Adair and Amanda Arnold, followed by NBC Nightly News at 7 p.m.
June 3, 1979: Channel 3 adds a Sunday evening 6 p.m. newscast with Leon Bibb and Sheryl Browne as co-anchors.
June 4, 1979: WKYC-TV adds “TV” to its official call sign according to FCC records.
July 3, 1979: Dave Patterson joins WKYC-TV from WEWS-TV to become co-anchor of the 6 p.m. news with Doug Adair and serves as host of a daily, hour-long interview and variety program from 9 to 10 a.m. which will replace the “Zap” show.
August 1979: John Henk joins WKYC-TV from KSTP-TV/Saint Paul, as a weekend 6 & 11 p.m. sports anchor and replaces Paul Warfield.
August 27, 1979: “The Dave Patterson Show” debuts on WKYC-TV at 9 a.m. to become direct competition for the “Morning Exchange” on WEWS-TV/Cleveland.
October 10, 1979: John Chancellor once again becomes solo anchor of “NBC Nightly News” with Brinkley again providing commentaries until his departure for ABC News in 1981 to become host of “This Week” on Sunday morning.
December 13, 1979: Joe Pelligrino joins WKYC-TV from WXYZ-TV/Detroit as weeknight sports anchor replacing Tom Ryther in early January 1980.
December 14, 1979: Tom Ryther departs WKYC-TV due to family issues in Minneapolis.
December 21, 1979: Amanda Arnold departs WKYC-TV for KHOU-TV/Houston.
December 24, 1979: Mona Scott joins Doug Adair on the 11 p.m. newscast, replacing Amanda Arnold.
January 19, 1979: Leon Bibb joins WKYC-TV from WCMH-TV/Columbus as a general assignment reporter. He is Ohio’s first black anchor.
January 27, 1979: Leon Bibb and Sheryl Browne become the new co-anchors of the weekend evening editions of “Action3News” along with weatherman Ron Allen and sportscaster Paul Warfield.
May 25, 1979: WKYC-TV airs its final “5:30” show as it prepares to expand the evening news to one hour the following Monday. Both Mona Scott and Ed Miller move to prominent roles in the new newscasts at 6 p.m.
May 28, 1979: Channel 3 adopts an hour weekday evening newscast from 6 to 7 p.m. with co-anchors Doug Adair and Amanda Arnold, followed by NBC Nightly News at 7 p.m.
June 3, 1979: Channel 3 adds a Sunday evening 6 p.m. newscast with Leon Bibb and Sheryl Browne as co-anchors.
June 4, 1979: WKYC-TV adds “TV” to its official call sign according to FCC records.
July 3, 1979: Dave Patterson joins WKYC-TV from WEWS-TV to become co-anchor of the 6 p.m. news with Doug Adair and serves as host of a daily, hour-long interview and variety program from 9 to 10 a.m. which will replace the “Zap” show.
August 1979: John Henk joins WKYC-TV from KSTP-TV/Saint Paul, as a weekend 6 & 11 p.m. sports anchor and replaces Paul Warfield.
August 27, 1979: “The Dave Patterson Show” debuts on WKYC-TV at 9 a.m. to become direct competition for the “Morning Exchange” on WEWS-TV/Cleveland.
October 10, 1979: John Chancellor once again becomes solo anchor of “NBC Nightly News” with Brinkley again providing commentaries until his departure for ABC News in 1981 to become host of “This Week” on Sunday morning.
December 13, 1979: Joe Pelligrino joins WKYC-TV from WXYZ-TV/Detroit as weeknight sports anchor replacing Tom Ryther in early January 1980.
December 14, 1979: Tom Ryther departs WKYC-TV due to family issues in Minneapolis.
December 21, 1979: Amanda Arnold departs WKYC-TV for KHOU-TV/Houston.
December 24, 1979: Mona Scott joins Doug Adair on the 11 p.m. newscast, replacing Amanda Arnold.
1979: Quentin Bradford joins WKYC-TV as a reporter.
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This timeline is based on station archives and various newspaper stories. If you feel something is in error, please let me know and we'll make any necessary corrections. Email me at fmacek@wkyc.com
