A New Channel

In 1952, the Federal Communications Commission lifted a freeze on the number of television channels on the broadcast spectrum. Many of the new channels would be reserved for educational purposes and Inland Steel chairman Edward Ryerson, imagining the impact such a station could have on Chicago, made it his mission to make sure that Chicago had its own non-commercial television channel. "The plan to acquire the license from the FCC for the use of Channel 11 is an opportunity that offers unknown and unlimited advantages for every citizen in this area," Ryerson said in 1953. This would be the viewer's station and programming would help to "make each day brighter." But, first things first, Chicago's Window To The World had to make it to air.

The Chicago Educational Television Association was formed by Ryerson and other civic leaders to lobby for, create, and fund Chicago's educational station. A public television station was born.

Using offices and a temporary studio in Chicago's Banker's Building, a staff of writers-directors was hired and trained for work in television. Report to the Teachers, WTTW11's first program, was broadcast September 6, 1955. In short order, under the leadership of Dr. John Taylor, former University of Louisville president and deputy director-general of UNESCO, WTTW's staff of 54 would regularly schedule 40 programs a week, Monday through Friday. They would also find a permanent home as a "working exhibit" in studios located in the east wing of the Museum of Science and Industry.

A Series of Firsts

Blending information and entertainment programming, WTTW's low-budget, offbeat offerings quickly escalated in number. On its first anniversary, it was reported that WTTW had doubled its program output, telecasting 43 hours a week. Most importantly 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 Orchestra Hall, the first language course, and the first series on income tax preparation, which climaxed with a two-hour SPEC-TAX-ULAR special.

Working in conjunction with Chicago's Board of Education in 1956, WTTW became the first station in the country to televise college courses for credit via its TV College. Chicago-area students were now able to enroll at one of the participating junior colleges and attend classes at home in front of their television sets. Having access to a full junior-college curriculum, within five years approximately 15,000 students had enrolled for credit. A decade later, TV College's yearly report noted that 80,000 people had enrolled for credit with an overall viewership estimated at 10,000 per broadcast.

In 1961, following its success with TV College, WTTW's commitment to teachers, schools, and education brought about its involvement with the Midwest Program on Airborne Television Instruction (MPATI). Transmitting from a four-engine DC-6 airplane circling a six-state Midwest region, MPATI tele-lessons were broadcast daily to participating high schools and colleges, and a potential 7 million students. WTTW11 was selected as one of a small number of national production centers to produce two of the tele-courses, World History and American History.

Catering To Kids

Beyond direct classroom-oriented instruction, programming for children has always played an important role at WTTW11. Today, Arthur, Sesame Street, Dragon Tales, and Calliou leap instantly to mind. In the early days, there were programs like Story Time with Miss Bunny, The Storyteller with Val Bettin, and Totem Club.

Co-founded by Don Clayton and Rachel Stevenson, Totem Club originally starred Joe Kelly of Quiz Kids fame and, for most of its eight-year run, National Barndance celebrity Arkie the Arkansas Woodchopper. Short on budget but long on ideas, the series was broadcast live five days a week, offering children a specific viewing experience each day. There was Grandmother's Kitchen, Funcraft for You, Let's Make a Play, Dr. Andy Merrick's Animal Clinic, Indian stories with Chief White Eagle, plus, over time, science day, animal day, baseball with Hall-of-Famer Roger Hornsby, water safety day, ice skating, and farm day. At one point, TV Guide reported that WTTW staffers were advising children not to watch every day of the week but to pick segments most suitable to their needs and interests. For her work in producing Totem Club and her pioneering efforts to make the series available to deaf children, Rachel Stevenson was honored with McCall's Golden Mike Award in 1962.

From his cluttered rolltop desk, or from the reasonable facsimile of a distant planet's surface, Dr. Daniel Q. Posin of DePaul University explained astronomy and physics to viewers of all ages in ways that were unique, entertaining, and always informative. Of course, his mechanical Venus's-flytrap might eat viewer mail and his inquisitive cat Miranda might periodically create a bit of on-air mischief. Notwithstanding, this respected scientist-academician would be honored time and again for his style of presentation and unusual use of the medium as developed in his Universe Around Us, Dr. Posin's Universe, and Dr. Posin's Giants.

Arts on the Air

Perhaps the best-known series from those early years was Festival – a "local excursion into the fine arts." Creatively using the medium of television to stimulate interest in various fields of human endeavor, this series, produced and directed by Jim McPharlin, offered Chicagoans ballet, modern dance, music, satire, and drama. Festival would provide a foundation for future arts programming and, in the process, recall imaginative production/scenic techniques cultivated in the critically acclaimed Chicago School of Television days of the late 1940s and early 1950s.

On the heels of its first successful membership drive, WTTW entered its second decade of operation on August 15, 1965, in new studios at 5400 N St. Louis Avenue. Designed by architects Perkins and Will, the new facility was built on five acres of land providing 52,000 square feet of work space. Three studios were designed into the facility – large enough, it was said, "to hold an entire symphony orchestra and high enough to permit dramatic productions requiring quick scene changes."

During this second decade, WTTW programming moved to another level of distinction. In 1968, delivering a steady stream of literary notables into viewers' homes, Book Beat, hosted by Robert Cromie, became the first of seven WTTW offerings to win the prestigious George Foster Peabody Award for excellence in broadcasting. One year later, in 1969, the legendary Burr Tillstrom and his Kuklapolitan Players, urged out of television retirement by WTTW Chairman of the Board Newton N. Minow, produced a series of half-hour specials resulting in an Emmy Award for Outstanding Achievement in Children's Programming. It was also during this period that WTTW initiated its Auction as an entertaining and effective method of fundraising.

Goal: Building Audience

The second important era in WTTW11 history occurred in 1971 when Board Chairman Minow recruited Washington, DC career broadcaster, William J. McCarter, to assume leadership of WTTW. Setting the goal of building audience, McCarter promptly expanded the broadcast schedule to seven days a week, introducing a wide range of general interest programming in the process. Under 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, and Prime Time Chicago. Never veering from principles of fiscal responsibility, McCarter's programming and financial successes led to the Harvard Business School's selection of WTTW as a case study of a prudent, well-run major public television station.

Cited by A. C. Nielsen as the most-watched public station in the country, WTTW began its third decade with an eclectic program lineup balanced between national and local programming, with a dash of international production mixed in for good measure. The highly acclaimed 26-part series on school de-segregation, As We See It, and the profound examination of mandatory retirement, Miles to Go Before We Sleep, were both WTTW Peabody Award winners. Ruth Page's ballet, The Merry Widow, was translated to television and also received a Peabody Award for the effort. Opening Soon at a Theater Near You (later retitled Sneak Previews) was developed as the first movie review series in the country starring Gene Siskel and Roger Ebert.

On the international level, WTTW's co-productions with the BBC culminated in the three-part Atlantic Realm series and the six-part Peabody Award winner, The Making of a Continent.

For local audiences, there was again a wide range of offerings, including sports with Chicago Tribune columnist Mike Royko's World Series of Softball, The Do-It-Yourself "Messiah," Joel Weisman's Chicago Week in Review, Chicago Commodities Report, the innovative Public Newscenter, Chicago Tonight, and the last broadcast home for Chicago's legendary Kup's Show. In turn, Image Union provided a home and much-needed creative outlet for independent film and video producers.

New Levels of Excellence

The fourth decade witnessed spirited political coverage on the local, state, and national levels, plus documentary production that gave new meaning to the term public affairs. Technically, WTTW became the first local television station in the country to produce a program utilizing high-definition technology. Special programs, including Mozart by the Masters and Solti's Beethoven: The Fifth Symphony Revisited, were applauded by Chicago audiences as was Wild Chicago and its unorthodox view of the people and places comprising Chicago's urban jungle. Excellence in children's programming was encouraged through WTTW's American Children's Television Festival, a national first, culminating in the presentation of Ollie Awards, honoring the best in children's programming and the most gregarious of the Kuklapolitan Players. In like fashion, the Golden Apple Awards for Excellence in Teaching continued its long tradition of paying homage to and encouraging outstanding Chicago-area educators.

In the 1990s, new program concepts, the development of innovative formats, and the creation of unique production partnerships have been trademarks of WTTW's local and national productions. Chicago Matters began as a collaborative effort between WTTW and the Chicago Community Trust. More recently, the collaboration has expanded to include WBEZ/Chicago Public Radio, The Chicago Reporter, and the Chicago Public Library. 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. Another one of WTTW's Peabody Award winners, The New Explorers, a co-production with Kurtis Productions, Ltd., portrayed 20th-century scientists as adventurers working in space, under the oceans, or, possibly, with endangered species. The series has led to a greater understanding and appreciation for those who dedicate their lives to scientific research and to the improvement of life on our planet. The series has also demonstrated its effectiveness as an educational component in science classrooms across the country.

For contemporary music lovers everywhere, in 1993, Center Stage – a Chicago Production Center and VH-1 Network co-production, made its national debut to critical acclaim. In uncomplicated settings, performers such as k. d. lang, Keith Richards, and Neil Young were free to explore their music more fully "with as few frills and distractions as possible." Combining lively music with pleasing visuals, The Kidsongs Television Show was designed to provide entertainment and educational experiences. Learning by singing is a goal, and the series provided an active element of participation for young viewers.

As in decades past, WTTW specials continue to bring unique experiences and messages to our viewers with emphasis on quality and state-of-the-art production sophistication. In 1993, Love in Four Acts featured four of Chicago's young choreographers sharing their interpretations of love by creating dance works specifically designed for the electronic wizardry of digital television. The Real McTeague, a production of The Chicago Production Center, was aired nationally via Great Performances on PBS. Combining the Lyric Opera production of McTeague with the Frank Norris novel and Erich von Stroheim silent film, this unique program was selected from among 500 entries in 30 countries to be screened at the Festival dei Popoli in Florence, Italy. In 1994, Remembering Chicago, a magical reminiscence of our city in the 1920s, 30s, and 40s was watched by Chicagoans of every age. Weaving memories and film footage from a variety of sources, including WTTW viewers, the Chicago Transit Authority, the Chicago Sun-Times, and the Chicago Historical Society, the program won the Chicago Headline Club's 1995 Peter Lisagor Award for Exemplary Journalism. Due to the success of the first program, sequels followed such as Remembering Chicago Again and Remembering Chicago and World War II.

Where We Are Now

In 1995, WTTW president William J. McCarter was selected to receive the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences Silver Circle award in recognition of his more than 25 years of service to the television industry and his significant contributions to Chicago broadcasting. In 1998, after a stellar 26-year career at WTTW, McCarter announced his retirement and Dan Schmidt took over as President and CEO of Window To The World Communications, Inc.

Under Schmidt's leadership, the station's commitment to producing the best programming, both for local and national audiences, has continued to deepen. Check, Please!, Chicago Stories, Artbeat Chicago, Arts Across Illinois, Network Chicago Presents, Candidate Free Time, and Geoffrey Baer's popular tour programs have all created a direct connection between the station and its audience. The expansion of WTTW11's flagship public affairs program to an hour-long program with hosts Phil Ponce and Carol Marin has contributed to the station's ever-growing audience and set the course for new projects, including The Friday Night Show and Chicago Sunday. Nationally, WTTW has charted new territory by producing and launching the new Soundstage series, shot entirely in High-Definition and distributed throughout the PBS system.

The station has also kept a keen eye on the changing technological landscape. In 2003, WTTW11 opened its state-of-the-art Digital Broadcast Operations Control Center, setting the stage for high-definition program service. The following year, WTTWDigital was launched, becoming Chicago's first 24-hour high definition channel.

As technologies change, WTTW11 is also dedicated to finding ways to make the viewer's relationship with the station more concrete. Whether through an event like the WTTWKids Fun and Run or Taste of Check, Please!, a community-based health screening, or one of the hundreds of educational workshops conducted for parents, educators and children each year, building tangible connections to the community has become a mission-critical endeavor.

Today, under Dan Schmidt's guidance, WTTW11 is still the most-watched public television station in the country, serving more than 65% of Illinois' population as well as areas of Indiana, Wisconsin, and Michigan.

The Window to the World Opens Wide

In 1955, the vision was bright and clear. Edward L. Ryerson and his colleagues were on an educational and cultural mission for their fellow Chicagoans. To be sure, no one could know what was to follow. This was risky business – educational television for a city with a rich, successful, commercial television history. But, through the efforts of its administrative leadership, producers, production personnel, performers, and most importantly, its viewers, the station has evolved and prospered. And through the efforts of its six distinguished Chairmen of the Board – Edward L. Ryerson, Newton N. Minow, Irving B. Harris, Henry W. Meers, John W. McCarter, Martin Koldyke, and the current chairman, Sandra Guthman – the vision has grown brighter and stronger.

From its earliest program offerings to its most recent, WTTW has been an agent for change – a bridge to the world of ideas around us. From its earliest broadcasts, WTTW has helped us to know ourselves through innovative, entertaining, and intellectually stimulating programming.

For 50 years, it has indeed been our Window To The World.