WTTW is a PBS member television station in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Owned by not-for-profit broadcaster Window to the World Communications, Inc., it is sister to commercial classical music radio station WFMT. The two stations share studios in the Renée Crown Public Media Center, located at 5400 North Saint Louis Avenue in the city's North Park neighborhood; its transmitter facility is atop the Willis Tower on South Wacker Drive in the Chicago Loop. WTTW also owns and operates The Chicago Production Center, a video production and editing facility that is operated alongside the two stations.
Barney & Friends is an American children's television series targeted at children aged 2–5, created by Sheryl Leach. The series first aired on PBS on April 6, 1992, and features Barney, a purple anthropomorphic Tyrannosaurus rex who conveys educational messages through songs and small dance routines with a friendly, huggable and optimistic attitude. The series ended on November 2, 2010, although new videos were still released on various dates after the last episode aired. Reruns aired on Sprout from 2005 to 2015, and from December 17, 2018 to January 25, 2020 on Sprout's successor network, Universal Kids. On October 6, 2015, the series was initially renewed for revival with a new season to premiere in 2017, but that season was cancelled. A CGI-animated series will air on Cartoon Network's Cartoonito and stream on Max.
The McLaughlin Group was a syndicated half-hour weekly public affairs television program in the United States, hosted by John McLaughlin from 1982 until his death in 2016. Prompted by the host, the group of four pundits discussed current political issues in a round table format. A revival reuniting the regular panelists aired intermittently between 2018 and 2020.
America's Funniest Home Videos, also called America's Funniest Videos, is an American video clip television series on ABC, based on the Japanese variety show Fun TV with Kato-chan and Ken-chan (1986–1992). The show features humorous homemade videos that are submitted by viewers. The most common videos feature unintentional physical comedy, pets or children and some staged pranks.
At the Movies is an American movie review television program produced by Disney–ABC Domestic Television in which two film critics share their opinions of newly released films. Its original hosts were Roger Ebert and Gene Siskel, the former hosts of Sneak Previews on PBS (1975–1982) and a similarly titled syndicated series (1982–1986). Following Siskel's death in 1999, Ebert worked with various guest critics until choosing Chicago Sun-Times colleague Richard Roeper as his regular partner in 2000.
British science fiction television series Doctor Who debuted on North American television in January 1965 on CBC.
Postcards from Buster is a live-action/animated children's television series that originally aired on PBS. It is a spin-off of the Arthur TV series. The show features Buster Baxter, an 8-year-old anthropomorphic rabbit and Arthur's best friend. The television series was created by Cookie Jar Group, WGBH Boston, and Marc Brown Studios.
WYCC was a public television station in Chicago, Illinois, United States. It was last owned by not-for-profit broadcasting entity Window to the World Communications, Inc., alongside PBS member station WTTW and classical music radio station WFMT. WYCC's operations were housed with WTTW and WFMT in the Renée Crown Public Media Center, located at 5400 North Saint Louis Avenue in the city's North Park neighborhood; WYCC and WTTW shared transmitter facilities atop the Willis Tower on South Wacker Drive in the Chicago Loop. WYCC previously maintained studios at Kennedy–King College on South Union Avenue and Halsted Parkway in the Englewood neighborhood.
Sneak Previews is an American film review show that ran for over two decades on Public Broadcasting Service (PBS). It was created by WTTW, a PBS member station in Chicago, Illinois. It premiered on November 26, 1975 as a monthly local-only show called Opening Soon...at a Theater Near You and was renamed in 1977 to Sneak Previews and it became a biweekly show in 1978 airing nationally on PBS. It grew to prominence with a review-conversation-banter format between opinionated film critics, notably for a time, Roger Ebert and Gene Siskel. By 1980, it was a weekly series airing on over 180 stations, and it was the highest rated weekly entertainment series in the history of public broadcasting. The show's final broadcast was on October 4, 1996.
Fetch! with Ruff Ruffman is an American live-action/animated television series that aired on PBS Kids Go! and is largely targeted toward children ages 6–10. It is a reality-game show hosted by Ruff Ruffman, an animated anthropomorphic dog who dispenses challenges to the show's real-life contestants. The series ran from May 29, 2006, to November 4, 2010 on PBS across five seasons and 100 episodes, and featured 30 contestants. Although a sixth season was planned, with auditions taking place in January 2010, WGBH announced on June 14, 2010 that the series would end due to lack of funding. In June 2008, the series received its first Emmy for Best Original Song for its theme.
KBDI-TV, known as PBS12, is a PBS member television station licensed to Broomfield, Colorado, United States, serving the Denver area. The station is owned by Colorado Public Television, Inc. KBDI-TV's studios are located at Welton and 29th Streets in the Five Points neighborhood northeast of downtown Denver; its main transmitter is located atop Mestaa'ėhehe Mountain, and it is rebroadcast by translators throughout the Front Range and eastern Colorado. KBDI-TV serves as Colorado's secondary public television station to Rocky Mountain PBS with an emphasis on local and independent programming.
On the night of November 22, 1987, the television signals of two stations in Chicago, Illinois, were hijacked, briefly sending a pirate broadcast of an unidentified person wearing a Max Headroom mask and costume to thousands of home viewers.
Zoom is an American live-action children's television series in which child cast members present a variety of types of content, including games, recipes, science experiments, and short plays, based on ideas sent in by children, and is a remake of the 1972 television program of the same name. Created by Christopher Sarson, the series originally aired on PBS Kids from January 4, 1999 to May 6, 2005, with reruns airing until September 2, 2007, and was produced by WGBH-TV in Boston.
Ebert Presents: At the Movies is a weekly, nationally syndicated movie review television program produced by film critic Roger Ebert and his wife, Chaz Ebert. The program aired on public television stations in the United States through American Public Television from January 21 to December 30, 2011.
The Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) is an American public broadcaster and non-commercial, free-to-air television network based in Crystal City, Arlington, Virginia. PBS is a publicly funded nonprofit organization and the most prominent provider of educational programs to public television stations in the United States, distributing shows such as Frontline, Nova, PBS NewsHour, Masterpiece, Sesame Street, and This Old House.
WFMT is a commercial FM radio station in Chicago, Illinois, featuring a classical music radio format. It is managed by Window to the World Communications, Inc., owner of WTTW, Chicago's Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) member station. WFMT seeks donations on the air and on its website. The studios and offices are on North Saint Louis Avenue in Chicago.
Tom Weinberg is a Chicago native filmmaker, independent documentary producer, and television producer. From an early age, he held an interest in television and media. He founded the independent video archive Media Burn in 2003, and currently sits on the board of directors as president. As a producer, he focused on guerrilla television and revolutionizing ways in which the public could have access to news other than what was displayed within the mainstream media. Some of his notable works include The 90s, the Emmy Award-winning Image Union, and the TVTV video collective.
Anda Korsts was a Chicago-based video artist and journalist. She was the founder of Videopolis, Chicago's first alternative video space, and worked with TVTV, a national video collective. She was one of the first of many new artists to use the portable camcorder as a tool for art making and radical journalism.
Image Union is an American independent documentary series created by Jamie Cesar and Tom Weinberg. It was aired on WTTW, a PBS affiliate in Chicago, Illinois and premiered on November 16, 1978. Each hour-long episode was either a "theme show" or a "potpourri" of work from different video makers and the segments were cut together with few transitions or announcer introductions. The show did not have an official end date and reruns regularly ran on WTTW up until the early 2010s.
Bird of the Iron Feather is an American television soap opera that aired on the National Educational Television network from January 19 to March 6, 1970. Created by script writer and radio producer Richard Durham, the series was notable as the first all-Black television soap opera. Bird of the Iron Feather starred African American actor Bernard Ward as fictional Chicago Police Detective Jonah Rhodes. The series addressed social issues like racism, school desegregation and the complicated relationship between Black people and the police. Produced in Chicago, Illinois, the series won a Chicago/Midwest Emmy Award, and was the highest-rated local show ever broadcast by WTTW-TV in Chicago.
