What if a TV station became the heart of Chicago news? That is WFLD. It pulses with stories, broadcasting from 205 N. Michigan Ave.
WFLD began its journey on January 4, 1966. It started as an independent station. Field Enterprises founded it. They published the Chicago Sun-Times and Chicago Daily News. Veteran broadcaster Sterling C. Red Quinlan led the station.
Back then WFLD operated from Marina City. The Sun-Times called it the Station of Tomorrow. This was due to its innovative broadcasting tech. It also aired news from the Sun-Times and Daily News.
In 1972 Field Enterprises sold control to Kaiser Broadcasting. WFLD then joined Kaiser’s group of UHF stations. These stretched from Los Angeles to Boston. By 1977 Kaiser ended the partnership. It sold its share back to Field Enterprises.
Channel 32 offered diverse content. It showed movies and public affairs programs. To compete, WFLD aired documentaries and sports. WGN-TV often led in ratings, however.
The station aired MASH and All in the Family later. It beat WGN-TV in the ratings eventually. The two stations battled for viewers throughout the 1980s.
In 1968 WFLD acquired White Sox baseball rights. It carried them until 1972. Then again from 1982 to 1989. From 1985 to 1989 WFLD aired Chicago Bulls games too.
WFLD was also the longtime home of Svengoolie. Jerry G. Bishop starred in Screaming Yellow Theatre. This became Svengoolie until 1973. Rich Koz revived it as Son of Svengoolie from 1979 to 1986.
Field sold WFLD to Metromedia in 1983. Metromedia had long sought channel 32. The acquisition changed WFLD’s programming slightly. Graphics quickly changed to reflect the new ownership.
News Corporation bought Metromedia’s stations in 1986. These became the core of Fox Broadcasting Company. Known as Fox 32 WFLD expanded its news.
Fox 32 News at 7 began in 1987. It was the news that does not get home before you do. A 9 p.m. newscast followed. In 1991 the station rebranded as Fox News Chicago. It also started Good Day Chicago. This later became Fox Thing in the Morning.
The station became the unofficial home of the Chicago Bears in 1995. Fox acquired rights to the National Football Conference. Today it is the official station of the Bears.
Fox purchased WPWR-TV in 2002. WPWR’s operations were integrated into WFLD’s Chicago facilities.
WFLD dropped Fox’s Saturday morning cartoons in 2003. The programs moved to WPWR. In September 2006 WFLD relaunched its website. It used the My platform.
In the mid-1990s Fox 32 became Fox Chicago. This was due to being on a UHF channel. In 2012 the station rebranded as Fox 32 again.
Today WFLD broadcasts almost 40 hours of local newscasts weekly. It also airs syndicated shows and Fox programming.
WFLD shut down its analog signal on June 12 2009. It continued broadcasting on channel 31. The station upgraded its transmitter to one megawatt.
Fox 32 remains a vital part of Chicago. It informs and entertains. From its early days to today WFLD has evolved. It continues to serve the Chicago area.