Thanks to the online archives of the Daytona Beach Morning Journal, we’ve discovered another Orlando TV station logo from long ago. Here’s one for then-Daytona Beach based WESH-2. This logo from 1965 touts the station as “Florida’s Channel 2″ and incorporates the NBC “snake” logo. Based on our research, the station used this logo for about three years, until going to a modified version in 1968. See our graphic illustrating the WESH logos though the years.
WESH Channel 2 logo from 1965.
WOFL is now quite the ratings force locally, thanks in large part to Fox. But back in 1979, WOFL was just trying to survive. Orlando’s original “independent” station, WSWB-Channel 35, signed on in 1974 but ran into money troubles and went dark just three years later. A new ownership group returned Channel 35 to the air in 1979 — hoping for a little more success. Here’s an ad from November of that year, showing what Channel 35 had to offer Orlando viewers in prime time. And since it was still the swinging 1970s, check out the “groovy” slogan for the station too.
We’re climbing into the Wayback Machine again today, taking a look at an old newspaper ad from WESH-Channel 2. Back in the late 1960s, NBC was riding high with programs like Laugh-In, Bonanza and Julia. In Orlando, WESH 2 News was then known as Newscope. Here’s an ad from November 1969 showing some of the shows on Florida’s Channel 2.
Orlando’s CBS station is known today at WKMG-Local 6. But 40 years ago, it was just WDBO-TV Channel 6. And the station’s newscast was known as “Newsbeat.” Here’s a newspaper advertisement from November 1969 promoting some of the shows on Channel 6 during the day — including a double dose of Truth or Consequences.
It’s hard to believe today after more than 30 years of local dominance, but WFTV-Channel 9 used to be the least-watched station for Orlando TV news. Here’s a newspaper ad from that era — when “Eyewitness News” was just called “Eyewitness.” This advertisement from November 1971 shows that WFTV was trying — it had expanded its early evening news to a full hour, following the lead of WESH. The hour-long format didn’t take last — and it wouldn’t be until 1981 that Channel 9 went back to an hour of news in the early evening.
The final launch of the space shuttle on Friday capped what arguably has been one of the busiest news weeks ever for Orlando TV news. Like the shuttle program, the Casey Anthony story is starting to wind down. But if the launch of Atlantis was any indication, some of the local TV innovations from the Casey saga will stay with us for awhile.
WFTV-9 moved its mobile courthouse studio over to the Kennedy Space Center, where Bob Opsahl anchored the final shuttle launch. WKMG-6 can’t seem to break out of wall-to-wall coverage — pre-empting CBS’ Early Show and other daytime programming to provide non-stop shuttle launch coverage all Friday morning. In another holdover of the Casey Anthony trial, Local 6 displayed online blog comments during the shuttle launch — the same thing it did during the trial.
Here’s a quick look at how Orlando TV news covered the final space shuttle launch:
Channel 6 displays comments from its live blog during the shuttle Atlantis launch.
WFTV's mobile courthouse studio (left) becomes its space center studio for Atlantis.
Axia Diaz and veteran space reporter Dan Billow anchor coverage on WESH.
Fox 35 had anchor Cale Ramaker on site for the launch of Atlantis.