Description
View WPTA 21 Fort Wayne’s news article and interview with the authors – 21Country: Former congressman writes book on first 65 years of TV in Fort Wayne
On November 21, 1953 the voice of Hilliard Gates inaugurated the television era in Fort Wayne. Ever since, television has largely defined the historical memory of the people of northeast Indiana. Video delivery has become increasingly fractured, which makes it a good time to do a retrospective of the golden age of television.
WPTA anchor Melissa Long, WANE anchor Heather Herron and Congressman Mark Souder all grew up in the region. All three are among the most visible news personalities in Fort Wayne history. The book concludes in 2018, when Heather was the last to leave the public arena.
This book covers 65 years of collective history – murders & mayhem, children’s programming, sports, politics, advertising, and entertainment. It is stuffed personal stories from local television celebrities including Steve Corona, Dick Florea, Marti Wright, Eric Olson, Liz Schatzlein, Victor Locke, Linda Jackson, Terra Brantley, Dean Pantazi, Randy Schiffman, Curtis Smith, Don Chevillet and many others.
There is no other book like it about any other television market. A full-color book of nearly 300 pages and nearly 500 images, Television in Fort Wayne is certain to become a collectible not for only northeast Indiana families but anyone interested in television history.
The book is available on a pre-sale basis at a special price. The large 8.5″ x 11″ coffee-table -style edition will have a deluxe hardbound cover with 296 color and black and white pages. High-gloss, double-coated paper will be used for superior photo reproduction. The cost of this limited edition is only $42.50 for the deluxe standard edition, or $79.95 for the genuine bonded-leather edition. A downloadable digital edition is also available for only $9.95 in conjunction with the purchase of a hard cover edition. You may have your pre-ordered copy personalized with a name stamped on the cover for a nominal $10.00 charge.
About the Authors
Mark Souder was elected to Congress in 1994 and served until 2010. He graduated from Leo High School, IPFW and the Notre Dame Graduate School of Business. Souder worked in retail marketing for many years, including for Souder’s of Grabill. He was active in helping develop marketing strategies for Congressmen Dan Quayle and Dan Coats as well sixteen contested campaigns as a congressional candidate.
Melissa Long is a Fort Wayne native. She is a graduate of Elmhurst High School and DePauw University. She began her media career at WGL radio, moving to television as a noon anchor for WKJG in 1984. In 1992, Melissa joined WPTA where she became the evening anchor.
Heather Herron is from Gaston, where she graduated from Wes-Del High School. She graduated from Ball State. Upon graduating, she joined WKJG-TV, moved to WOOD-TV in Grand Rapids, and returned to Fort Wayne as the evening anchor at WANE in 2001. Melissa and Heather are the most watched news anchors in Fort Wayne history.
Bill Nichols, who began at WKJG in 1958 and ended his distinguished career there as General Manager in 1996, generously shared his extensive research and photo collection on the first Fort Wayne television station with the authors.
The Table of Contents
PART ONE
The Golden Era of Network Television Stations (1953-1983)
Chapter 1: The Anchorwomen and the Congressman
Introduction and Table of Contents
9-11 America Under Attack
Melissa Hunter’s Early Path to Becoming “Melissa Long”
Heather Herron: Log Cabin Girl
Chapter 2: Hilliard Gates & WKJG: Fort Wayne’s First Television Station
Hilliard Gates Sports Icon: The Voice and Face of WKJG
WKJG Brings TV Broadcasting to Northeast Indiana
Wayne Rothgeb: Fort Wayne Television’s Farm King
Jane Flaningan Hersha & the First Females on Television
Politics at the Beginning of Fort Wayne Television
Chapter 3: The Early Days of Television in Fort Wayne
Breakfast on Fort Wayne TV
Davy Crockett and the Birth of Disney Dominance
Engineer John & Television for Kids in Northeast Indiana
Wolf & Dessauer & Christmas in Fort Wayne
Reid Chapman of WANE: From Chuckles to Hard News
“Good afternoon, and welcome to the Ann Colone Show”
Chapter 4: 21 Comes Alive: The Transformation of Television News
“The President Has Been Shot” November 22, 1963
The Astronauts: Sputniks, Buzz Lightyear & the Moon Landing
The Night the Mastodons Stomped into FW
Eyewitness News & the Rise of ABC
Edwin Metcalfe: Bringing Entertainment to the News (1974)
Susan Welday: Breaking the Glass Ceiling on the Evening News
Don Chevillet, Donahue & Daytime Television in the 70s
WPTA Becomes #1: Gannett, Roger Ball and the 1980 Winter Olympics
Civil Rights in Fort Wayne: Marti Wright, Pioneering Newswoman
Chapter 5: The Fort Wayne TV Market Adjusts
Steve Corona and WANE-TV in the 70s: Fighting to Stay Alive
WFWA PBS Fort Wayne: Television with a Difference (1975)
WFFT: Crashing the Network Party in Fort Wayne (1978)
CNN: Live Location Feeds Launched in Fort Wayne (1980)
Theatre for Ideas: Public Access Television (1981)
Christian TV: Billy Graham, Dr. Dobson, Calvary TV & Jeremiah
Liz Berry & WANE in the 80s: News Is War
Dick Florea: Anchor, Historian & the Editor at the Desk of WKJG
PART TWO
The Era of Melissa Long & Heather Herron (1984-2018): The Evening News by Section
Chapter 6: The First 7 Minutes of Local News
Melissa Long: A Fort Wayne Public Life
Heather Herron: The Country Girl Becomes Big City Success
Murder & Mayhem on TV
War on TV: From Vietnam to the Honor Flights
Fort Wayne’s Darkest Days & The Recovery
The Re-Birth of Downtown Fort Wayne: From Apples to Ash
Stories for Your Well-Being: Focus on Health
Chapter 7: The Weather Report in Northeast Indiana
The Palm Sunday Tornadoes of 1965
The Blizzard of ’78
Weather Before the Age of Meteorology
NEXRAD for Fort Wayne: The Postcard Blizzard in Washington
The Legend of Curtis Smith & His Beard
The City That Saved Itself: How a Flood Transformed the City
Chapter 8: The Fort Wayne Sports Report
Real Life Hoosiers: When High School Basketball Ruled Indiana
Bobby Knight & IU Basketball: When Indiana Was Great
The Fort Wayne Komets: Pride of FW Sports
Dean Pantazi: The Dean of Fort Wayne Sports
The Hoosier Celebrity Golf Tournament
Randy Schiffman & the Highlight Zone
The Rosy Years of Griese, Gonso and Gates
Sister Elise of St. Francis: Football Transforms a University
Ladies & Gentleman, Start Your Engines!
Chapter 9: And Now a Word from Past Sponsors ….
The Bite That Built Azar’s
Neckties at Patterson Fletcher: Pioneering Ad Research in FW
Let’s Go to the Tape: Pic-Trics, FW’s 1st Ad Production Company
Souder’s of Grabill: WKJG, Little House on the Prairie, & Mr. Oleson
Blackburn & Green: Attorneys for Injured People
Wayne Bun to REGGIE!: The Marketing of a Candy Bar
Myrtle Young: The Seyfert’s Potato Chip Lady
Chapter 10: Life in Northeast Indiana
21 Country with Eric Olson
It’s Festival Time! – Fort Wayne’s Big Event
The Classics in Auburn: Auburns, Cords & Deusenbergs
The Old Order Amish of NE Indiana
The Fort Wayne Children’s Zoo
Linda Jackson: A Circus Life
Positively Fort Wayne: Terra Brantley
Melissa Long: The Bishop John D’Arcy Interviews
The Sounds of Music: From the Beatles to the Voice
Chapter 11: Politics on Fort Wayne Television
Richard Nixon’s Makeup, JFK and the Rise of Politics on Television
Victor Locke of WPTA: Mr. Politics of Fort Wayne TV
Heather Herron Asks: Covering Politics at the Local Level
Rep. Mark Souder: From the Other Side of the Camera
Dan Quayle: Republican Golden Boy
The Mayor and a Whole Lot of Henrys
Presidential Campaigning in Northeast Indiana
Chapter 12: As the World Turns in Fort Wayne The Young and the Restless: Fort Wayne Version
As the World Turns
Goodbye, Farewell and Amen
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