![]() ![]() The station maintained a strong following for morning and afternoon drive time and especially for midday programming. The controversial retirements of longtime newsman Joe Pickett in 1991 and news director Heckman in 1993 brought negative publicity and age discrimination complaints.īy the summer of 1993, having adopted a “talk-radio” format, WIBC ranked third in the city’s Arbitron ratings with a 10.4 share of the available audience. In 1992, WIBC lost the contract to broadcast Indianapolis Colts games to WNDE/WFBQ. ![]() The station shifted from “police blotter style” to “headlines” news, eliminating four people from its news staff in the process. Sconnix Broadcasting Company purchased WIBC in 1987 and by the early 1990s had begun making significant changes to the news format. In 1989, WIBC’s news-and-information format earned the station three-fourths of the $12 million in total AM revenue in the area. Its popular morning program hosted by Gary Todd battled with the equally popular “Bob and Tom Show” on WFBQ for many years before finally losing the first place position in 1988. In 1985, WIBC ranked first among area stations in Arbitron ratings. Breaking coverage of incidents such as the 1963 explosion at the indiana State Fairgrounds Coliseum and Heckman’s at-the-scene arbitration during the 1977 Tony Kiritsis Case kept the station at the forefront of radio news coverage even as others were downsizing or eliminating their news teams. WIBC’s focus on news kept it among the most listened to in the city even after other AM stations lost the majority of their audiences to FM radio. He reported from the first Indianapolis-area traffic helicopter that became known as the “Ten Seven-Oh Whirlybird.” Page and his pilot abandoned the traffic helicopter in 1977 following a serious crash that nearly killed them. Paul Page followed Sid Collins for the Speedway Radio Network as the “Voice of the 500” from WIBC and later served the same role on TV. He earned his nickname doing play-by-play coverage of the Indianapolis Racers WHA team before he became the voice of the Indianapolis Colts after they moved to Indianapolis in 1984. “Hockey Bob” Lamey was another sports broadcaster for WIBC. In the 1970s, other key WIBC personalities included Jerry Baker, the voice of Indiana University Hoosiers basketball and the Indiana Pacers, and Chuck Riley, who anchored the afternoon broadcast before becoming a successful voice-over talent in Los Angeles. He became well-known for his daily radio essays entitled “My Town Indy.” Heckman held high standards and encouraged his reporters to develop their own stories rather than read from news wire reports. He became news director in 1961 and retained that position for 32 years. Morrow also hosted weekly gospel concerts from the cadle tabernacle in Indianapolis, and he ranked second in the nation for on-air sales.ĭuring the 1950s and 1960s as network television eroded the radio market, WIBC transitioned to local news, talk, and music. Dee Jay U.S.A.” for his live-talent country music program. In 1956, the Grand Ole’ Opry nominated announcer Jack Morrow “Mr. During the 1950s, WIBC’s Dick Sumner hosted a nightly popular music program from atop Merrill’s Hi-Decker drive-in and Jim Shelton emceed “Pick-A-Pocket,” a man-on-the-street quiz show. ![]()
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