Chicago's Media: Chicago’s Public Broadcasting History

IV. Chicago’s Public Broadcasting History

In 1953, local educational and civic groups lobbied for the creation of a noncommercial television channel in Chicago. With enthusiastic viewer support and sufficient financial backing, these organizations formed the nonprofit Chicago Educational Television Association and convinced the Federal Communications Commission to grant a license for an educational station. WTTW's first broadcast aired on September 6, 1955. In short order, under the leadership of Dr. John Taylor, former University of Louisville president and deputy director-general of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), WTTW's staff of 54 would regularly schedule 40 programs a week, Monday through Friday.

WTTW provided local programming that resonated with Chicago's audiences at a time when New York producers controlled most of Chicago's commercial stations. By its first anniversary, WTTW had doubled its program output, telecasting 43 hours a week. During its brief history, the station had scored several television firsts for Chicago and the nation. This new educational outlet had broadcast the first remote from Chicago’s Orchestra Hall, the first language course, and the first series on income tax preparation.

Consistent with its educational mission, WTTW worked with the Chicago Board of Education to create “TV College” in 1956. Chicago's TV College was the first program in the country to enable students to receive college credit through “telecourses.” Televised courses lessened the burden on city colleges as enrollment soared during the late 1950s and 1960s. After 10 years, approximately 80,000 students had enrolled. By 1972, TV College consumed the lion's share of WTTW's air-time and production hours.

Public television filled many of the gaps left by commercial broadcasters by providing educational programming and sharp analysis of local political and cultural life to large audiences without commercial sponsorship. Under the leadership of William McCarter, WTTW emerged as a major production center producing a large number of nationally broadcast series and specials. Broadcasting more than any public station in the country, with 120 logged hours per week, the station continued its tradition of excellence with such memorable programs as SoundStage, Consumer Game, Made in Chicago, Prime Time Chicago, Mike Royko's World Series of Softball, The Do-It-Yourself "Messiah," Joel Weisman's Chicago Week in Review, Chicago Commodities Report, Chicago Tonight, and Image Union. Chicago Matters began as a collaborative effort between WTTW, the Chicago Public Library and the Chicago Community Trust. More recently, the collaboration has expanded to include WBEZ/Chicago Public Radio, and The Chicago Reporter. This hard-hitting, award-winning series has tackled, among other topics, the tough problems of violence, racism, aging, and immigration policies – problems that confront many Chicagoans on a daily basis. Chicago Matters has also become the longest running multi-media public affairs series in the nation. Nielsen reported that WTTW was the most-watched public TV station in the nation.

In recent decades, decreased federal funding and increased competition challenged public television’s financial model. Struggling to stay financially afloat, WTTW bolstered corporate ties and adopted underwriting programs that allowed discreet mentions of corporate sponsors' participation during broadcasts. These relationships raised lingering concerns about public broadcasting's ability to stay true to its educational mission when insufficient funding forces stations to court corporate supporters.

Also in the Chicago region are two additional public broadcasting stations: WYCC (Channel 20), and WYIN (Channel 56).

WBEZ (91.5 FM) has been Chicago's public radio station since 1943, when it began under the auspices of the Chicago Board of Education. For most of its early years, the station only broadcast instructional programs, operating during the school year on weekdays while Chicago Public Schools were in session. In 1972, WBEZ joined National Public Radio (NPR), and in 1990 the WBEZ Alliance gained control of the station from the Chicago Board of Education. WBEZ offers a variety of programming, including news, talk, some jazz, and cultural content. WBEZ has won praise for its emphasis on international news and its ability to reach Chicago's international listening communities. Local-originated programming includes Worldview, an international news and analysis program that began in 1985, and Eight Forty-Eight, a morning magazine program. As of 2006, the station draws an estimated 600,000 listeners each week.

Loyola University Chicago ceased funding WLUW in 2002, turning over operational control of the station to WBEZ, though the station still broadcasts from Loyola's Rogers Park campus. But in July 2007, reports surfaced that Loyola is terminating it’s relationship with WBEZ and taking back control of the station in June 2008. Loyola says it is looking to leverage the license for educational purposes.

Additional noncommercial radio stations include the University of Chicago's WHPK (88.5 FM), Northwestern University's WNUR (89.3 FM), Northeastern Illinois University's WZRD (88.3 FM), the Mexican Fine Arts Center Museum's WRTE (90.5 FM) and the College of DuPage's WDCB (90.9 FM).