Donahue Dominated Daytime: How WGN 'launched' a new genre of talk show

WGN-TV played an outsize role in the development of the audience participation talk show that now dominates daytime television.

[@hailmaryrecordings8255]

Legend. I grew-up in Northern Illinois in the 70’s & 80’s. WGN was always on.

[@FredLord-sp4ym]

WGN-TV was a powerhouse in locally produced programming. "Donahue" and the late great Ron Weiner's Emmy Award winning rapid paced technical direction took this marvelous station and program to the next level. This is an excellent segment. Thanks so much.

[@TheCommunicationCoach]

Donahue was big, and a good guy. Married to That Girl! Marlo Thomas

[@wmbrown6]

The first New York station to air Donahue's show was WGN's then-sister, WPIX Channel 11, in 1969-70. Back then, he was still based in Dayton, OH. WNBC Channel 4 in New York, where he would tape his show for 11 years beginning in 1985, had a very short-lived first run in 1971-72 before finally snagging him for keeps in 1977. The year before WNBC picked him up (where he would make mince meat of WABC's Stanley Siegel, and remain unbeaten until Channel 7 first paired Regis with Kathie Lee on what was then "The Morning Show"), he had been on another Channel 9, in New York - WOR-TV. In-between, New York apparently hadn't been ready for him, as the only NY metro station to run his show was WTNH Channel 8 in New Haven, CT. Sometimes the cameras used in the studios he worked in at one time or another played as much a pivotal role as the guests and the audiences. Whilst at WGN, first TK-44A's, then TK-45A's were used. When he went to WBBM-TV, their cameras were Thomson-CSF TTV-1518's. After he moved to New York, initially TK-44A/B's (then about to be retired) were used, then for years TK-47's.

[@FredLord-sp4ym]

Great history. Ron Weiner became a mentor, and a very dear friend of mine. Ron's thrice Emmy Award Winning direction of "Donahue," was the template for how all Daytime Talk Shows that followed are shot. In March, Ron passed away at the age of 93. A life well lived.

[@FredLord-sp4ym]

WNBC-TV, and NBC Owned and Operated stations dropped "Donahue" in 1995 forcing him to move to the "News/Talk" cable channel in New York. The show did not have a New York outlet for its final season.

[@stevemeinecke]

He was the best talk show and sometimes made people mad in a good way

[@luislaplume8261]

Not for me as a New Yorker who grew up in NYC during the Mad Men era. It was the Morton Downey Jr. Show on WOR TV ch.9 in the 1980s. It was like hard core right wing talk radio show on TV. There was never a dull moment and it was never Woke Culture and Cancel Culture and Politically Correct.

[@FredLord-sp4ym]

During his Chicago years, Mr. Donahue seemed more compassionate, willing to listen and not talk over his guests. Once he moved to New York, he became a caricature of his former self. Either way, Phil Donahue was King of Daytime Television. Epic!

[@FredLord-sp4ym]

@@luislaplume8261 Morton Downey Junior would have never came to be had it not been for Phil Donahue. Please watch Mr. Downey's appearance on "Donahue" in 1988. It is a great interview here on yt.

[@TheCommunicationCoach]

I love old-time footage. In HS I was on a teen talk show, but Sinclair bought the network (ABC) and tossed it or lost it, which is pathetic. They were going to charge me $25k+ for one hour episode, "if" they found it which I paid a search fee for.

[@robjackson5245]

Sinclair never bought ABC

[@robjackson5245]

They may have bought many of their stations but ABC is not a Sinclair network whatsoever.

[@robjackson5245]

UPN being Fox is more true than ABC being Sinclair and I'm talking pre-2001 and 2001 and later too cause no way CBS owned UPN in any true capacity.

[@will89687]

RIP Phil Donahue

[@giarc888]

One of the very few talk shows that was any good.

[@charleswilliamsjr]

How long Donahue was on Wgn?

[@MIKECNW]

8 years though he finished up his Chicago years at Ch. 2 before moving to NY.

[@FredLord-sp4ym]

1974 - 1982. Three years at WBBM-TV.

[@robjackson5245]

I call BS on this. Tribune had nothing to with the audience participation talk show

[@FredLord-sp4ym]

"Donahue" started in 1967 in Dayton, Ohio. It began airing in Syndication in 1970. Avco Broadcasting (Multi-Media) had a difficult time selling the show to bigger market stations until it moved to WGN-TV. Ron Weiner became the Emmy Award winning Director and the rest is history. Tribune/WGN did not invent "Donahue," but became instrumental in its growth.

[@robjackson5245]

@FredLord-sp4ym it wasn't. Tribune isn't popular the way Chris Craft was. NBC might have had more to do with this show's success.

[@FredLord-sp4ym]

@@robjackson5245 Remember, WGN-TV was a Super Station. Did Chris Craft own stations too? I thought they were producers and distributors.

[@FredLord-sp4ym]

@@robjackson5245 Yes. But only after "Donahue" moved to Chicago and WGN-TV. The show did not air in New York until 1977.

[@robjackson5245]

@FredLord-sp4ym Yes they owned many stations. KCOP was their first one and then WWOR.