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105-504: WMAQ may refer to: WMAQ-TV , a TV station in Chicago, U.S. WSCR , a radio station in Chicago, U.S., former call sign WMAQ (1922–2000) WKQX (FM) , a radio station in Chicago, U.S., former call sign WMAQ-FM (1948–74) WMAQ. an ICAO airport code for Labis Airport , Johor, Malaysia Topics referred to by the same term [REDACTED] This disambiguation page lists articles associated with

210-520: A half-hour delay . The LMA ended on July 1, 2005, upon Pax's rebranding as i: Independent Television. On September 6, 2003, WMAQ agreed to lease 4,000 square feet (372 m ) of space at the Equitable Building at 401 North Michigan Avenue (one block east of the NBC Tower), with the intent to build a streetside studio for the Chicago market, the first to be used for live broadcasting purposes by

315-593: A local marketing agreement (LMA) with WCPX-TV (channel 38) that indirectly resulted from NBC's partial ownership interest in WCPX-TV network partner Pax TV (now Ion Television ) and a related management agreement with that network's owned-and-operated stations . Under the LMA, the two stations shared certain programs, while WMAQ handled advertising sales services for channel 38. The agreement also allowed WCPX to air rebroadcasts of channel 5's 6 p.m. and 10 p.m. newscasts on

420-545: A $ 100 million-plus stake in Vornado. As of 2007, the building was valued at $ 917 million. The Merchandise Mart was modernized in the late 1950s and 1960s. In 1961 the Indian chiefs were removed and replaced with concrete plates, of minimal note to onlookers as skyscrapers did not rise on the north side of the river as predicted. In 2014, some of the carvings were found in a suburban backyard and auctioned. In 1962, an entrance canopy

525-513: A Chicago television station. On February 26, 2004, WMAQ-TV garnered national attention when Katie Couric , Al Roker , and Lester Holt hosted the Today show on Cityfront Plaza to unveil the new studio (known as "Studio 5") at the building's northwest corner. The station's morning and noon newscasts were broadcast from the Michigan Avenue facility until February 2013, when the studio was closed and

630-536: A callsign that was closer to co-owned NBC Red Network radio station WMAQ (670 AM, now WSCR ) and WMAQ-FM (101.1, now WKQX ) as the reasons for the change. The station's first mid-week broadcast occurred the month following its sign-on when Paul Winchell and Joseph Dunninger were featured on the NBC variety series, The Floor Show. The half-hour program was recorded via kinescope and rebroadcast on WNBQ at 8:30 p.m. on Thursdays. WNBQ originated several programs for

735-537: A good friend of Marshall Field and Joseph Kennedy, brokered the building's sale. At the time Klein was a partner of Field and together they started Fieldcrest Mills. Klein maintained that Kennedy's bargain price was predicated on an oral agreement between Field and Kennedy that after the sale the building would be donated to the University of Chicago and that Kennedy would take the tax deduction. No documentary evidence of this agreement exists. The building revenues became

840-410: A half feet wide by seven feet tall, the terra cotta figures were barely visible from the street, meant to be viewed from the upper floors of the skyscrapers planned to rise along the riverbank. The lobby of The Merchandise Mart is defined by eight square marble piers, with storefronts in side aisles framed in embossed bronze trim. The green and orange terrazzo floor was conceived as a carpet :

945-414: A host for the news series, and remained until their last report in 2005. Veteran newsman Len O'Connor worked his way up from a news writer for NBC Radio's Blue Network to be the commentator at WMAQ-TV. O'Connor, who was well known for his often-acerbic political commentary, ran afoul of the station's management in 1974, when he reported on Governor Dan Walker 's appointment of Bruce Sagan as head of

1050-485: A minimum of two hours of programming per day. The station originally proposed WNBY as its call letters. However, at NBC's request, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) approved an application filed by the network to change the station's calls to WNBQ. This move was announced on March 3, 1948. NBC officials cited the need to avoid possible confusion with WMBI (1110 AM, now WXES ) and to obtain

1155-446: A minimum of two hours of programming per day. April 15, 1956, is remembered as "C-Day" at WMAQ-TV , and was described by Broadcasting-Telecasting magazine as "a daring breakthrough the black-and-white curtain." With Mayor Richard J. Daley looking on, NBC President David Sarnoff operated the controls as Channel 5 became the world's first all-color TV station as "Wide, Wide World" was broadcast to 110 NBC-TV affiliated stations across

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1260-502: A news partnership with Merlin Media's WIQI (now WKQX) to use audio from all of WMAQ-TV's newscasts, including morning, noon, afternoon, 5 p.m., 6 p.m., and 10 p.m. newscasts, as well as the sharing of assignments and online content between the two stations. The news partnership ended on July 17, 2012, when WIQI switched to an adult hits format, branded as "i101". On July 27, 2013, WMAQ expanded its weekend morning newscasts, with

1365-476: A one-hour daily lifestyle and entertainment show. The program was hosted by Rosati and Nesita Kwan alongside meteorologist Byron Miranda . The show was reduced to a half-hour on April 26, 1999. In the spring of 1999, after negotiations between WMAQ-TV management and the American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (AFTRA), nearly all of the station's on-air talent went on strike. On March 30, 1999,

1470-478: A pattern of squares and stripes bordered by overscaled chevrons inlaid with The Mart's initials . The chevron theme is continued in the column sconces lighting an ornamented cornice overhead. Referred to as "business boulevards", two wide 650 feet (200 m) long corridors with terrazzo floors in the upper levels featured six and one-half miles of display windows. Building regulations specified identical entrances along corridors but tenants could personalize

1575-485: A peak in the form of a skyscraper, and rests in the southern half of the building. Deeply recessed portals occur between raised panels, and are adorned with medallions featuring the interlocked initials of the Merchandise Mart. The same logo occurs throughout the building. Fifty-six American Indian chiefs circled the tower's crown, a reference to the site's history and Chicago's early trade activities. Three and

1680-458: A priest at St. Sabina Church in Auburn Gresham and a group of Christian, Muslim, and Jewish leaders and clergy as part of the "Dump Jerry Springer !" coalition, called for a viewer and advertiser boycott of WMAQ-TV due to one of its syndicated shows, The Jerry Springer Show , which was filmed at the station's NBC Tower studios until 2009. On April 23, 1998, Pfleger and the coalition organized

1785-506: A principal source of Kennedy family wealth, often used for political campaign funding. In 1998 the Kennedys sold the property to Vornado Realty Trust as part of a larger $ 625 million ($ 1.2 billion in current dollars) transaction. When it was sold, the Merchandise Mart was also the Kennedy family's last remaining operating business. That year, Vornado acquired MMPI for $ 450 million cash and

1890-552: A rally at the station's NBC Tower studios. On May 1, 1998, WMAQ-TV announced that they would cancel the show. Studios USA (now NBCUniversal Syndication Studios ), one of the show's distributors, said that the show would move to Fox-owned WFLD the following month. The show moved production to Stamford, Connecticut , in 2009, and ended in 2018. On June 5, 2000, to improve station reception, the station extended its Sears Tower (now Willis Tower ) transmitter's western antenna height to 1,730 feet (527 m). In July 2000, NBC entered into

1995-618: A result. On January 18, 2011, the FCC and the Department of Justice approved the acquisition of WMAQ-TV's parent company NBCUniversal by Comcast (one of the largest cable providers in Chicago), with the deal being closed on January 28. As a result, WMAQ, WSNS, and regional sports network Comcast SportsNet Chicago (later NBC Sports Chicago ; now defunct) became sister stations. On March 18, 2013, longtime WVIT president and general manager David Doebler

2100-406: A short time after his broadcasts. O'Connor left the station and continued his political commentaries, on WGN-TV, until his retirement from broadcasting in 1980. On January 14, 1989, a missing persons poster with a grainy black-and-white photo of Joanna Lopez, a presumably Hispanic adolescent, and a white banner reading "MISSING" in black letters was displayed after the station signed off . Below

2205-694: A single roof. It has become home to several other enterprises, including the Shops at the Mart , the Chicago campus of the Illinois Institute of Art , Motorola Mobility , the Grainger Technology Group branch of W.W. Grainger , and the Chicago tech startup center 1871. It was sold in January 1998 to Vornado Realty Trust . The Merchandise Mart is so large that it had its own ZIP Code (60654) until 2008, when

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2310-452: A special correspondent until she stepped down from the station for the second time in 2020. Lyle Banks, who had hired Springer as a commentator, was fired from his position as general manager in January 1998 and was replaced by Larry Wert, who served as WMAQ's president and general manager until 2013, when he left to become president of WGN-TV parent Tribune Broadcasting. Five months later, on May 20, 1998, Cheatwood resigned as news director and

2415-406: A temporary basis during the holiday season; then it became permanent on January 3, 2022 ). On March 16, 2020, WMAQ-TV announced that the 6 p.m. newscast would expand to a full hour with a half-hour extension at 6:30 pm, making channel 5 the second station in Chicago to have a 6:30 p.m. newscast (after WGN-TV 's hour-long 6 p.m. weeknight newscast which debuted in 2017). This extension

2520-553: A three-story annex to the north of a planned 34-story, 1,000,000-square-foot (93,000 m ) skyscraper—a project developed by the Equitable Life Assurance Society and Tishman-Speyer Properties —that would be constructed as part of the Cityfront Center development on the northwest corner of Columbus Drive and North Water Street, in which WMAQ-TV's operations would occupy 251,000 square feet (23,000 m ) of

2625-503: Is a television station in Chicago, Illinois , United States, serving as the market's NBC outlet. It is owned and operated by the network's NBC Owned Television Stations division alongside Telemundo station WSNS-TV (channel 44). The two stations share studios at the NBC Tower on North Columbus Drive in the city's Streeterville neighborhood and broadcast from the same transmitter atop

2730-498: Is a digital art display begun in 2018. It provides a 2.5 acre "canvas" (2 football fields) for digital artwork projected on the Chicago River facing facade of the Merchandise Mart. It featured works from the nonprofit organization Arts of Life . The project is intended to be the largest digital art projection in the world and is scheduled to occur over thirty years with annual showings initially between March and December. In 2019 it

2835-516: Is not rectangular in shape, having been constructed after the bascule bridges over the Chicago River were completed. The control house for the double decked Wells Street Bridge stands between the lower level and the southeast corner of the building. The Franklin Street Bridge stands at the southwest corner of the building, at the junction of Orleans Street and Franklin Street. The building slants at

2940-631: Is on the second floor. The Apparel Center houses the 521-room Holiday Inn Chicago Mart Plaza River North hotel, the offices of the Chicago Sun-Times and the Chicago campus of the Illinois Institute of Art – Chicago , as well as the Chicago office of the Ogilvy & Mather advertising agency. GoHealth occupies 93,000 square feet (8,600 m ) on the 5th floor of Merchandise Mart, the Potbelly Sandwich Works ' corporate offices are located in

3045-656: The Chicago Sun-Times that they did not comment on the labor-related issues affecting the station. In October 1994, prior to the boycott of the station, the union, along with Republican candidate George Larney, had joined forces to boycott WMAQ-TV due to its negotiations involving its national contract with the network. In the summer of 1987, a handful of technicians at WMAQ-TV, WMAQ radio, and WKQX went on strike ; technicians at other NBC-owned stations in New York, Los Angeles, Washington, D.C., and Cleveland also went on strike as

3150-457: The Art Chicago international art fair. Before the location even opened, NBC announced plans to build studios in the Mart. When opened on October 20, 1930, the nineteenth-floor location covered 65,000 square feet (6,000 m ) and supported a variety of live broadcasts including those requiring orchestras. WENR and WMAQ broadcast from the location. Expanded in 1935, with office space in

3255-542: The Bank of America Shamrock Shuffle . On June 15, 2017, the Bank of America Chicago Marathon, the Bank of America Shamrock Shuffle 8K, and WMAQ-TV announced they will extend their partnership. Sister Telemundo station WSNS-TV announced they would air the marathon in Spanish beginning with the 40th anniversary of the running of the marathon on October 8, 2017. On December 10, 2020, the marathon,

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3360-605: The Central Time Zone in that it did not carry a newscast in the weekday midday time period. This changed on September 12, 2011, when it debuted a half-hour newscast at noon (the program returned to 11 a.m. when it was reformatted as an hour-long newscast on September 8, 2014). On December 6, 2011, WMAQ-TV announced a partnership with The Chicago Reporter as part of a larger effort by NBCUniversal to partner with non-profit news organizations, following its acquisition by Comcast. In January 2012, WMAQ-TV announced testing

3465-564: The Chicago River , was formerly a Native American trading post and the site of Chicago and North Western Railway 's former Wells Street Station , abandoned in 1911 in favor of the Chicago and North Western Passenger Terminal . With the railroad's air rights , the site was large enough to accommodate "the largest building in the world". Removing the train yard supported the Chicago Plan Commission 's desire to develop and beautify

3570-607: The Illinois Arts Council . O'Connor was troubled by the council's funding grant to the Chicago Dance Foundation, which was headed by Sagan's wife. Following O'Connor's original, January 1974 commentary on the grant, Sagan was invited to appear on the station and rebut O'Connor's statements. He declined and subsequently filed a complaint with the FCC in May 1974. Sagan claimed that he had been personally attacked and felt that

3675-528: The Sultan of Brunei once spent $ 1.6 million at the Mart to furnish his entire palace, claiming the location was the only place where the task could be completed in one week. Select showrooms are open only to wholesalers, with others accessible to the general public. Unlike stores with traditional shelf and rack displays, entire usable rooms are created, providing consumers an opportunity to compare form and function between applications and manufacturers. A portion of

3780-749: The Willis Tower in the Chicago Loop . The station first signed on the air on October 8, 1948, as WNBQ; it was the fourth television station to sign on in Chicago. It was also the third of NBC's five original owned-and-operated television stations to begin operations, after WNBC-TV in New York City and WRC-TV in Washington, D.C., and before WKYC in Cleveland and KNBC in Los Angeles. WNBQ initially broadcast

3885-509: The behemoth lit in pink for Cancer Awareness Month. To note the 2006 Chicago Bears season , highlighted by reaching Super Bowl XLI , the building was lit with team colors, orange floodlights for the setbacks and blue floodlights for the towers. Red and green lights are used during the Christmas season. During the Art Chicago 2008 the American artist Jenny Holzer illuminated the facade of

3990-476: The 5 p.m. newscasts. On January 14, 2008, WMAQ-TV became the second television station in the Chicago market (after WLS-TV) to begin broadcasting its local newscasts in high definition . Only in-studio footage and some of the remote footage, from the field, were presented in HD, while most remote footage was in standard definition , using a mixture of 16:9 ( widescreen ) and 4:3 cameras. In March 2008, Johnson

4095-427: The 60,000 tons of steel . An estimated 7.5 miles (10 km) of corridors and over 30 elevators were included in the construction. The total cost was estimated at $ 26 million. The Merchandise Mart opened on May 5, 1930, just east of Chicago's original trading post , Wolf Point . The building realized Marshall Field’s dream of a single wholesale center for the nation and consolidated 13 different warehouses. It

4200-816: The 8K shuffle, WMAQ and WSNS announced that they will extend their partnership again for three more years beginning in 2021 and will cover it through least 2023. In 2012, WMAQ-TV partnered with the Chicago Fire Soccer Club (now Chicago Fire FC ) to carry its matches in the 2012 season live on its NBC Chicago Nonstop subchannel. The local free-to-air rights to the Chicago Fire Soccer Club matches moved to WPWR-TV in 2013 . In 2023, WMAQ simulcast two Blackhawks and two Bulls game broadcast by sister network NBC Sports Chicago. WMAQ-TV presently broadcasts 41 hours, and 25 minutes of locally produced newscasts each week (with 6 hours, 35 minutes each weekday, four hours on Saturdays, and 4½ hours on Sundays). In addition,

4305-1260: The FCC's approval, the station determined that Terry did not have the bona fides of a serious candidate. The ad included the term " Democrat Party ", which the Democratic National Committee considers a pejorative label, and it was contrary to the party's pro-choice platform in general. In February 2015, WMAQ and the other NBC-owned stations offered live, web-based streaming of programming to subscribers of participating cable and satellite television providers, as provided through TV Everywhere Mobile apps . A month later, in March 2015, WMAQ, WSNS, and Comcast SportsNet Chicago, along with sister stations in New York City, Los Angeles, Dallas – Fort Worth , Miami, Philadelphia , and San Francisco, went live on Sony 's internet television service PlayStation Vue as part of its Access package. Two years later, in April 2017, WMAQ-TV, WSNS and NBC Sports Chicago, along with sister stations in New York, Los Angeles, Philadelphia, and San Francisco, went live on YouTube TV . On April 20, 2021, Kevin Cross,

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4410-598: The Illinois Department of Children and Family Services and the Freddie Mac Foundation to create a news series called Wednesday's Child , which is aired on the 6 p.m. newscast on Wednesdays and on the Sunday morning newscasts. The mission of the news series is to bring the children to the living rooms of about 500,000 Chicago area residents that have never adopted. Allison Rosati, a former foster child, served as

4515-454: The Mart Center has reduced pollution by 264,018 pounds (119,757 kg), the largest reduction by a commercial building. In 2006, the Mart Center recycling program saved over 13,000 trees and recycled nearly 11 million pounds of waste, while water conservation efforts saved 5.5 million US gallons (21,000 m ) of water. More than eight percent of the estimated 10,000 people working at

4620-495: The Mart and the Apparel Center. After a 10-year, $ 100 million modernization in the late 1980s that included public utility upgrades, Beyer Blinder Belle 's commission in 1989 was to create additional perimeter entrances and restore the display windows, main entrance, and lobby. On the south facade, the drive-through canopy was removed and two smaller doorways aside the main entrance added. Display windows, painted over during

4725-440: The Mart walk, bike or take public transportation; to encourage greener methods of transportation, the Mart expanded bicycle storage capacity to more than 200. In 2009, MMPI converted all stationery to a one hundred percent post-consumer recycled product. The Mart has nine LEED-certified showrooms, with five others on their way to LEED certification. Wholesale showrooms occupied 50% of the usable floor space as of 2007. In 1983,

4830-548: The Mart, it was the largest building in the world to be awarded LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) Certification in 2007 from the United States Green Building Council (USGBC). The Mart has long been implementing sustainable practices. The Mart Center began operating a thermal storage facility in 1986, capable of building 2,000,000 pounds (910,000 kg) of ice per night, cooling 71 buildings in

4935-412: The Merchandise Mart. A retail shopping area, named The Shops at the Mart, opened in 1991 and includes apparel shops, beauty services, bookstores and newsstands , financial services, telecommunication services, travel services, specialty food and wine stores, photo services, a dry cleaner , shoe shine stand, and a food court . A U.S. Post Office is located on the first floor and a FedEx location

5040-470: The NBC television network from its original studio facilities—a 170,000-square-foot (15,794 m ) studio on the 19th floor of the Merchandise Mart on the city's Near North Side —during the 1950s, including Kukla, Fran and Ollie , featuring Burr Tillstrom and Fran Allison ; Garroway at Large , starring Dave Garroway ; and Studs' Place , hosted by Studs Terkel . Television critics referred to

5145-593: The Palazzo Ducale rises above the towers of the Piazza San Marco. "To immortalize outstanding American merchants", Joseph Kennedy in 1953 commissioned eight bronze busts , four times life size, which would come to be known as the Merchandise Mart Hall of Fame: All of the busts rest on white pedestals lining the Chicago River and face north toward the gold front door of the building. "Art on theMART"

5250-543: The Postal Service assigned the ZIP Code to part of the surrounding area. In 2010, the building opened its Design Center showrooms to the public. In 1926, a westward extension of double-deck Wacker Drive increased development on the south riverbank . In 1927, Marshall Field & Co. announced its plans to build on the north bank opposite Wacker Drive. The site, bordered by Orleans Street, Wells Street , Kinzie Street, and

5355-431: The Sunday morning newscasts due to budget cuts at the station. The Sunday morning newscasts were revived on November 7, 2010. In May 2009, the station announced that it would conclude the public affairs program City Desk after 57 years; the show had its final broadcast on May 17, 2009. Two weeks later, on May 31, 2009, The Talk debuted on WMAQ with Brooks as host. Prior to this, Sunday morning anchor Ellee Pai Hong left

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5460-556: The banner was her name and an outdated Chicago Police Department youth division phone number. This very same poster was displayed in 1991 for a much shorter time than the original 1989 broadcast, but Lopez's whereabouts have never been discovered and there have been no leads since. This has been subject to controversy within the online community with frequent YouTube deciphers and conspiracy posts to online applications such as Reddit , Quora , and others. WMAQ achieved notoriety in 1997 when, in an effort to boost ratings for its newscasts,

5565-523: The broadcasts—often low-budget with few celebrity guests but a good deal of inventiveness—as examples of the "Chicago School of Television". Although NBC had long owned the WMAQ radio stations, the television station continued to maintain a callsign separate from those used by its co-owned radio outlets; this changed on August 31, 1964, when the network changed the station's calls to WMAQ-TV. The call letters of its sister radio station were initially assigned by

5670-730: The building with a poem by the Polish winner of the Nobel Prize in Literature Wisława Szymborska . In 2018, a large projection screen began displaying images and videos across the structure's riverfront side. Nighttime lighting on the Mart typically matches the colors of antenna lighting on the Sears Tower and John Hancock Center , as well as the colors used on the top floors of the Aon Center . Under Chris Kennedy 's leadership of

5775-436: The building. Under the plans for the project, NBC was given the option of acquiring an approximately 25% interest in the building. On October 1, 1989, after 40 years at the Merchandise Mart, the station officially relocated its operations and began broadcasting from the NBC Tower , located on 455 North Columbus Drive, six blocks east of the Mart. The Jenny Jones Show was taped at WMAQ-TV's Studio A from 1991 to 2003. In

5880-405: The construction of big dams." Cement arriving by boat was lifted by compressed air to bins 75 feet (20 m) above the ground, with gravel and sand delivered by railroad cars to conveyor belts and transfer elevators. Giant mixers provided wet concrete to skip hoists in vertical towers that were extended as the building rose. Continuously employing 2,500 men and as many as 5,700 men altogether,

5985-503: The construction project lasted a year and a half into the early months of the Great Depression . With a foundation footprint of nearly two square city blocks, the building required 29 million bricks, 40 miles (64 km) of plumbing, 380 miles (610 km) of wiring, nearly 4 million cubic yards (3,100,000 m ) of concrete, 200,000 cubic feet (5,700 m ) of stone, and 4,000 windows. Bethlehem Steel fabricated much of

6090-452: The country. The color conversion project cost more than $ 1.25 million with advertising costing $ 175,000. On "C-Day", three skywriting planes flew over the city, trailing streams of red, green and blue smoke. WMAQ-TV first installed color equipment in late 1953, with the Tournament of Roses Parade of 1954 as the first major broadcast. Introduced in March 1955, the first local color program

6195-500: The district cooling system now known as Thermal Chicago, thus contributing to the national effort to reduce the discharge of ozone-damaging CFCs . In 2006, MMPI joined Clean Air Counts, a voluntary initiative to reduce smog forming pollutants and energy consumption in the Chicago area. Part of the campaign strategies included utilizing only low VOC cleaning products, paints and building materials, as well as energy efficient lighting and alternative workplace transportation options. To date,

6300-406: The earlier modernization campaign, were restored with clear glass to showcase merchants' wares. New main and corner entrances were added to the rear facade, and the loading dock that occupied the north portion of the first floor of the river level was removed in order to use the bottom deck of North Bank Drive. Improvements to the lobby included restoration of the original glass curtain wall over

6405-449: The early edition of the program on both days expanding to two hours with the addition of an hour-long broadcast at 5 a.m. (from a previous 6 a.m. start) and an additional half-hour added at 10 a.m. on Sundays. On February 9, 2014, the Chicago Sun-Times announced that it would end its content partnership with WMAQ-TV, and enter into a new content agreement with ABC-owned station WLS-TV on February 10, 2014. In 2015, WMAQ became

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6510-453: The entrance, shop fronts, and reception desk using terrazzo floors and wall sconces influenced by the original design. The project was completed in 1991. In 2007, the building received LEED for Existing Buildings Silver recognition. The Merchandise Mart was designed by the Chicago architectural firm of Graham, Anderson, Probst and White to be a "city within a city". Second only to Holabird & Root in Chicago art deco architecture,

6615-653: The exception of 2020 due to the event's cancellation resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic), WMAQ has served as an official broadcaster of the Chicago Marathon , which is held annually every second Sunday in October. Because of its commitments to air the event, the station has had to reschedule NBC News programs preempted or delayed by the telecast of the marathon. Since 2012, WMAQ, through their station's official website NBCChicago.com, currently serves as an official web broadcaster of

6720-464: The fall of 2008, WMAQ-TV's website was relaunched, including a new layout, as part of a larger revamp of the websites of NBC's entire owned-and-operated station group. In December 2009, the Chicago local division of the National Association of Broadcast Employees and Technicians-Communication Workers of America (NABET) launched a boycott of WMAQ-TV. The station spokeswoman told Lewis Lazare of

6825-573: The firm had a long-standing relationship with the Field family. Started in 1928, completed in 1931, and built in the same art deco style as the Chicago Board of Trade Building , its cost was reported as both $ 32 million and $ 38 million. The building was the largest in the world in terms of floorspace, but was surpassed by the Pentagon in 1943, and now stands forty-fourth on the list of largest buildings in

6930-434: The first television station in the Chicago market to upgrade its news helicopter's camera system to shoot footage in ultra high definition . On August 24, 2015, WMAQ expanded its weekday morning newscast to three hours, with the addition of a half-hour at 4 am, becoming the second Chicago television station to expand into the timeslot – possibly to compete with WGN-TV, which began expanding its weekday morning newscast into

7035-511: The government but were creatively used to form the phrase "We Must Ask Questions", which the radio station took as its motto in the 1920s. Although the station's role as a program provider to NBC diminished in the 1960s, WMAQ-TV gathered and distributed more than 200 news footage feeds per month from overseas and the Central United States to NBC News . On December 3, 1985, NBC signed a $ 100 million+ agreement to lease office space in

7140-422: The individual floor space. Excepting the corridors, elevator halls, and exhibition space on the fourth floor, the 5 acres (20,000 m ) of each upper floor was "raw space" with concrete floors. Jules Guerin 's frieze of 17 murals is the primary feature of the lobby and graphically illustrate commerce throughout the world, including the countries of origin for items sold in the building. The murals depict

7245-465: The industries and products, the primary mode of transportation and the architecture of 14 countries. Drawing on years as a stage set designer, Guerin executed the murals in red with gold leaf using techniques producing distinct image layers in successive planes. In a panel representing Italy , Venetian glassware appears in the foreground with fishing boats moored on the Grand Canal and the facade of

7350-412: The matter. O'Connor proceeded to deliver three commentaries on the 10 p.m. newscast from September 25 to 27, 1974, which were severely critical of the situation's handling by WMAQ-TV station management. In the commentaries, O'Connor claimed he had been deprived of his freedom of speech , that the station compromised his integrity, and that station management had made secret plans to fire him within

7455-661: The newsroom behind her—WMAQ's newscasts at that time originated from a studio that opened into the station's newsroom—in a symbolic show of support for her decision to resign. Ratings declined, with the station's newscasts losing 20% of its audience share by the November 1997 sweeps period. Springer only made two commentaries before he resigned on May 8, feeling unhappy with the criticism he received. Magers wound up at rival WLS-TV, where he remained until his retirement in 2016. Marin, meanwhile, joined rival WBBM-TV, while contributing reports for CBS News , before returning to WMAQ in 2004 as

7560-549: The north. The Kinzie Chophouse, popular with politicians and celebrities, stands on the northwest corner of Wells and Kinzie, across from the Merchandise Mart. The Chicago Varnish Company Building , listed on the National Register of Historic Places and now housing Harry Caray 's restaurant, is located east on Kinzie Street. Across the street to the east is 325 N. Wells Street, home to The Chicago School of Professional Psychology and DIRTT Environmental Solutions. The Mart

7665-461: The previously unoccupied tower, the additional 11,500 square feet (1,070 m ) provided room for an organ chamber, two echo rooms, and a total of 11 studios. A staff of more than 300 produced up to 1,700 programs each month, including Amos 'n' Andy . Hugh Downs contributed to the Burr Tillstrom children's show Kukla, Fran and Ollie from the NBC studios after the network picked up

7770-580: The program from WBKB . The Captain Midnight radio program was broadcast from the Mart from 1942 until 1945. WMAQ and WMAQ-TV moved to the NBC Tower in 1989, though NBC sold WMAQ radio to Westinghouse Broadcasting two years earlier). WMAQ's former sister FM station, now WKQX , stayed at the Merchandise Mart until 2016, when it moved to NBC Tower itself.. The nineteenth floor is currently vacant. On January 7, 1949, NBC station WNBQ commercially debuted its television broadcast schedule on channel 5, with

7875-479: The riverfront. James Simpson, president of Marshall Field & Co. from 1923 to 1930 and chairman of the Chicago Plan Commission from 1926 to 1935, turned the first shovels of dirt at groundbreaking on August 16, 1928, along with architect Ernest Graham. General contractor John W. Griffiths & Sons brought building construction into the machine age through the use of techniques "ordinarily used in

7980-455: The same angle as Franklin Street, from southeast to northwest along Orleans Street. A heritage of lighting the structure finds the central and corner towers, along with the columns between each window on the setbacks, bathed nightly in an upwardly focused white light. Tradition dictates annual changes to green in mid-March for St. Patrick's Day and orange during the fall months around Halloween and Thanksgiving . Prominent events have found

8085-735: The senior vice president and general manager of NBC Sports Chicago, was officially appointed as president and general manager of WMAQ-TV, beginning in June, taking over from David Doebler, who retired after eight years at the station. Cross became the first president of NBCUniversal's Chicago broadcasting properties and the second Black president of the station in 25 years. As of September 2021 , syndicated programming broadcast by WMAQ-TV includes Access Hollywood (including its afternoon counterpart ) and The Kelly Clarkson Show (all of which being distributed by corporate sister NBCUniversal Syndication Studios). From 2001 to 2002, and again since 2008 (with

8190-415: The service was to be distributed to Centel Videopath systems in Chicago's northern, northwestern, and southern suburbs. However, the service's launch was postponed three times due to logistical issues and demands by cable providers to gain a share of the service's advertising revenues. Station management scrapped plans for the channel in June 1991. On August 24, 1998, WMAQ debuted NBC 5 Chicago Daytime ,

8295-470: The space within the 401 Michigan Avenue building was put up for sale, at which time production of both newscasts was moved back to the NBC Tower. In November 2007, the FCC proposed to fine WMAQ-TV $ 10,000 for "failure to publicize the existence and location of its children's television programming reports " because the station did not keep adequate records on commercial limits in children's TV programs. In

8400-550: The spring of 1992, the NBC-owned television stations, including WMAQ-TV, announced that they would no longer air paid programming . The last local infomercial aired on the station was a local weekly real estate show aired in 1992. Paid programming has since returned in a much more reduced capacity, but as an NBC O&O with a fully-filled schedule otherwise on weekdays, is usually limited to overnights on weekends and occasional Sunday mornings. On April 10, 1998, Rev. Michael Pfleger ,

8505-422: The station after six years. On June 12, 2009, Bob Sirott left WMAQ-TV for the second time, as his contract with the station had not been renewed. Later, on July 29, 2009, Davlantes' contract with the station was not renewed. On August 10, 2009, WMAQ promoted Stafford to main anchor. He, along with Rosati, co-anchored the 5 pm, 6 p.m., and 10 p.m. newscasts. For years, WMAQ-TV's 10 p.m. newscast

8610-406: The station hired Jerry Springer as a commentator. Though Springer was once a two-term mayor of Cincinnati before becoming a news anchor for that city's NBC affiliate WLWT , his association with his infamous syndicated talk show (which, until 2009, was recorded at WMAQ's NBC Tower studios, and later distributed by NBCUniversal through its syndication division) led to the belief that the newscast

8715-538: The station produces the half-hour sports highlight program Sports Sunday , which airs Sunday evenings after the 10 p.m. newscast. In January 1991, WMAQ announced plans to launch the Suburban News Source, a 24-hour local cable news channel featuring 4½-minute-long inserts of news headlines specific to suburban localities, placed within live simulcasts of the station's noon, 4 p.m., and 6 p.m. newscasts. Originally scheduled to debut on January 14, 1991,

8820-448: The station was not enforcing the FCC's Fairness Doctrine . He was again offered an opportunity to refute O'Connor's comments but declined once again after the FCC dismissed the charges he levied. Sagan appealed the FCC's decision, and O'Connor believed that the company's attorneys had secretly met with Sagan and offered him airtime in exchange for Sagan withdrawing his appeal. WMAQ-TV management stated that they had been open with O'Connor on

8925-417: The station's on-air talent planned to authorize a strike vote, if a bargaining session with the station scheduled for late April failed. On May 14, 1999, four of the station's high-profile personalities—including 6 p.m. & 10 p.m. anchor Allison Rosati, chief meteorologist Brant Miller, sports anchor Mike Adamle and weekend evening meteorologist Shelly Monahan—broke ranks with the union, following

9030-594: The stores offer items for purchase singly or as a collection, while others offer design services, preservation, renovation, or installation. In addition to being a resource for architects and decorators, the Mart also has featured award-winning designs as selected by the American Institute of Architects . Catering to suppliers, on-site firms specialize in providing professional services for market research projects. In 1931, Marshall Field and Company lost $ 5 million, followed by $ 8 million in 1932. The wholesale division

9135-549: The streaming service since its April 2020 launch. The streaming channel was later launched on The Roku Channel on June 28, 2022. Carol Cooling-Kopp, WMAQ-TV's longtime community relations assistant and longtime vice president for Special Projects & Community Relations died on October 30, 2013, after a battle with Lung Cancer; longtime WVIT Community Projects director Emma Asante appointed as WMAQ-TV's Vice President for Special Projects & Community Relations in March 2014, following her death. In 1999, WMAQ-TV partnered with

9240-402: The strike authorization vote. In early fall 2006, additional changes were made to WMAQ's early evening lineup. On September 18, the station moved the afternoon newscast, with Sirott and Brooks, to 4 p.m. and moved the newsmagazine show Extra to 4:30 pm. The early evening newscast remained at 5 pm. A week later on September 25, 2006, Saunders and Rosati were promoted to anchor

9345-467: The surrounding neighborhood, and saving $ 200,000 in electricity costs in the first year. In 1990, the Mart Center began using Green Seal -approved green cleaning products and the next year implemented a recycling program, which today includes all forms of paper products, glass, light bulbs, batteries, aluminum and construction materials. In 1996, the Mart Center became one of the first major property owners in downtown Chicago to enter into an agreement with

9450-504: The time period in July 2011. On August 8, 2016, the station's hour-long 4 p.m. newscast was revived after a 21-year absence, serving as a replacement for Extra , which moved to WFLD after a 20-year absence. WMAQ-TV became the third station in Chicago to expand into the time period, following WGN-TV (which began its 4 p.m. newscast in September 2014) and WLS-TV (which began expanding into

9555-516: The time period in the 1980s), indicating a decreased reliance on syndicated programming. With this addition, WMAQ-TV was reduced to only three hours of syndicated daytime shows to back up its newscasts outside of NBC network programming. On August 23, 2019, WMAQ-TV announced that they were cutting the 11 a.m. newscast to a half-hour on Fridays in favor of its new lifestyle show Chicago Today effective September 6 (The Monday to Thursday editions later cut them to 45 minutes on December 6, 2021, on

9660-538: The title WMAQ . If an internal link led you here, you may wish to change the link to point directly to the intended article. Retrieved from " https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=WMAQ&oldid=1245824497 " Categories : Disambiguation pages Broadcast call sign disambiguation pages Airport disambiguation pages Hidden categories: Short description is different from Wikidata All article disambiguation pages All disambiguation pages WMAQ-TV WMAQ-TV (channel 5)

9765-463: The tower. Motorola Mobility moved its headquarters to the Merchandise Mart in 2014. Since 1969, the Merchandise Mart has been home to the annual National Exposition of Contract Furnishings, known as NeoCon. With over 1,000 exhibitors of contract and commercial furnishings, and 50,000 attendees, it is the largest trade show of its kind in North America. Since 2006 the Merchandise Mart has hosted

9870-429: The windows, and the building's chamfered corners, minimal setbacks, and corner pavilions disguise the edges of the mass and visually reduce bulk. The south corner pavilions are of greater height than the north corner pavilions. The building is open at the pedestrian level with bronzed framed display windows , typical of a department store, on the south, west and east boundaries. The 25-story central tower ascends with

9975-457: The world . Once the largest commercial space in the world, New Century Global Center in China is now recognized by Guinness World Records as holding the record. Designer Alfred Shaw integrated art deco stylings with influences from three building types—the warehouse , the department store and the skyscraper . A warehouse block stands as the 18-story bulk of the building. Ribbon piers define

10080-411: Was appointed president and general manager of WMAQ-TV, replacing longtime president and general manager Larry Wert, who later became president of WGN-TV's parent Tribune Broadcasting . On February 3, 2012, the station rejected a political advertisement that contained anti-abortion talking points from activist and Democratic presidential candidate Randall Terry to air during Super Bowl XLVI . With

10185-404: Was being dumbed down. There were a handful of Springer supporters; nevertheless, the incident triggered a lot of negative publicity, on both the local and national levels. The station's longtime anchor team of Carol Marin and Ron Magers resigned in protest (with Marin resigning on May 1, and Magers following suit on May 16). As Marin signed off her last newscast, station personnel stood en masse in

10290-589: Was constructed over the south for vehicle use. In 1977, Skidmore, Owings & Merrill designed the Chicago Apparel Center , on the west side of Orleans Street, which increased the Merchandise Mart’s total floor space to 6.2 million square feet (580,000 m ). Plazas, esplanades , and overlooks employed the waterfront location for pedestrian use. In 1988, Helmut Jahn designed an enclosed pedestrian walking bridge over Orleans Street connecting

10395-479: Was demoted from the weekday newscast but continued his reporting work; Elgas was promoted to weekday morning anchor. On January 12, 2009, WMAQ and Fox owned-and-operated station WFLD entered into a Local News Service agreement, in which the two stations would share helicopter footage. This agreement reportedly paved the way for a larger pooling effort between the two stations. In spring 2009, WMAQ-TV laid off an undisclosed number of employees. In addition, they canceled

10500-524: Was expanded from five nights a week to every night. Displays begin 15 minutes after sunset and loop for two hours. Obscura Digital studio initially installed 34 projectors to allow the rotating roster of artists to display their work. Dominating the skyline in the south end of the Near North Side , the Mart lies just south of the gallery district on the southern terminus of Franklin Street. Eateries and nightclubs abound on Hubbard Street one block to

10605-545: Was greatly reduced and Field's reduced its space in the Mart from four floors to one and half. The Mart continued to display the latest trends in home furnishings within the showrooms and trade shows. The company recovered late in the decade, but did not return to all previously occupied space. In 1942, L. L. Skaggs formed a partnership with three other men and named the partnership the Owners Service Company, hence Osco . The headquarters moved from Waterloo, Iowa, to

10710-595: Was in second place behind WBBM-TV and, later, WLS-TV, with WBBM-TV third. At the conclusion of the November 2009 Nielsen ratings sweeps period, WBBM-TV's 10 p.m. newscast overtook WMAQ-TV for second place for the first time in many years, largely due to the low ratings of the latter station's lead-in The Jay Leno Show , as WLS-TV continued to dominate the local newscast ratings in the Chicago market. For five years, beginning in 2006 when WMAQ canceled its 11 a.m. newscast, WMAQ differed from most NBC stations in

10815-400: Was intended to be temporary due to the COVID-19 pandemic. On January 20, 2022, WMAQ-TV launched a new 24-hour streaming channel on NBCUniversal's streaming service Peacock . "NBC Chicago News" features simulcasts and encores of the station's newscasts as well as original content made for the channel. Prior to the launch of the streaming channel, the station had a curated playlist available on

10920-459: Was purchased in 1945 or 1946 by the Kennedy family through Merchandise Mart Properties, Inc. (MMPI), and managed by Sargent Shriver . Kennedy's purchase price was reported to be either $ 12.5 or $ 13 million, and it is said that his initial capital was $ 1 million, though records say his original mortgage was $ 12.5 million, roughly half of what it had cost to construct the complex. E. Stanley Klein,

11025-443: Was replaced by former WLS-TV news director Frank Whittaker, who served as WMAQ's news director until 1999, when he was promoted to vice president of news, where he remains today. Merchandise Mart Built by Marshall Field & Co. and later owned for over half a century by the Kennedy family , the Mart centralizes Chicago's wholesale goods business by consolidating architectural and interior design vendors and trades under

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