WIBC HISTORY
WIBC has been an integral part of the life of the city of Indianapolis
for more than 65 years. How did WIBC flourish through era's of
change to achieve a heritage position in the city? For that answer,
we go back to October 30, 1938 and WIBC's first broadcasts.
WIBC may be a 50,000 watt powerhouse today, but we didn't start
that way. When the station began in 1938, WIBC was a 1,000 watt
daytime only station, broadcasting from the Indianapolis Athletic
Club. Within two months of that first broadcast, WIBC had moved
into studios at 30 West Washington Street.
Early Days
In those early days, WIBC broadcast a combination of
live musical programs as well as news and information. In fact, "live"
was the only way to broadcast; tape didn't exist yet.
By the World War Two era, WIBC had upped its power to 5,000 watts
and added nighttime programming. In 1949, WIBC became the first
50,000-watt radio station in Indiana. With fewer radio stations
on the air at that time, the signal covered Indiana, Kentucky, and
Illinois. Documents from that era indicate that WIBC could also
be heard daily in Florida, Georgia, Alabama, and Mississippi.
 In
the 1950's (1955 photo, left ) WIBC had gathered a group of disc
jockeys and newsmen (no women in the newsroom, yet) who were very
popular with Indianapolis residents. People like Jack Morrow (left),
Jim Shelton, newsman Fred Heckman, and the voice of the Indianapolis
Motor Speedway, Sid Collins, became long time fixtures at the
station. Also on staff was a young reporter named Mike Ahern,
who went on to have success in local television at WISH-TV.
The 1960's saw great changes at "the Friendly Voice of Indiana."
It was a time when star DJ's like Bouncin' Bill Baker, Easy Gwynn
and Dick Summer were dominate on Indianapolis' 50,000 watt monster.
Summer broadcast his show nightly from a small studio atop Merrill's
Hi-Decker (like Mel's Drive-In) across from the Fair Grounds on
East 38th street. WIBC played the Top 40 hits with a chart known
as the 45 calibre list.
WIBC Shifts to News, Talk and Music
Two events triggered a shift in the WIBC format. One was on Halloween
night in 1963. It was the night of the worst disaster ever in
Indy at the Coliseum and the other was when 13/WIFE hit the air.
The WIFE influence WIBC which changed to an adult and full-service
format. By 1968, the station was on a comeback with big names
like Chuck Riley whose show was known as "The Life of Riley."
Chuck's voice is still heard today on the famous WIBC "Radio
Indiana" I.D.
By
the 1970's, WIBC had become the dominant player in the Indianapolis
radio market. This was the era of Gary Todd, Paul Page, Jerry
Baker,
Joe Pickett, Big John Gillis, Fred Heckman (right), Bob Lamey
and more.
The station moved from it's old facilities at 2835 N. Illinois
to the new Fairbanks Building at 9292 N. Meridian.
1980's
In the 1980's, WIBC continued it's dominance in Indianapolis.
Gary Todd was still the morning DJ that all other stations tried
to beat. The WIBC News Department, under the continued direction
of Fred Heckman, maintained a reputation as the source for news,
weather, and traffic in the city. During this decade, some names
you still hear on WIBC were added to the staff including a young
DJ named Jeff Pigeon (photo on car hood, below), newsmen and women
Leigh DeNoon, Sharon Alseth, and John Bartholomew.
The late 1980's and early 1990's brought a lot of change to WIBC.
New owners changed the station's focus from a full service radio
station to a talk show format. New, controversial hosts weren't
popular with many loyal listeners. Many of the old names left the
station or took early retirement. It seemed that the station had
lost its way and was headed into AM radio obscurity.
 New
Era Begins
Enter Emmis Communications and it's chairman, Jeff Smulyan.
In 1994, Emmis purchased WIBC and its sister FM station and began
a rebuilding task. As a native of Indianapolis, Smulyan remembered
the WIBC glory days and was determined to return WIBC to its place
of prominence in the Indianapolis radio market. Under Smulyan's
guidance, and current General Manager Tom Severino and Program
Director Jon Quick, WIBC has once again became a full service
radio station with it's emphasis on personalities and information.
Emmis added Network Indiana and AgriAmerica to the mix to strengthen
the news and information offered to listeners. Many staff members
who had left the station returned and important  new
voices were added. And the listeners began coming back, too.
WIBC was once again one of the most listened- to radio stations
in Indianapolis. The station moved into its new home in the Emmis
Communications World Headquarters on Monument Circle in December
of 1998. The station remains dedicated to its family of listeners
and continues to find new ways to enhance lives with news, weather,
traffic, sports, personality, and fun. (photo left, of Jeff Pigeon,
Terri Stacy and Steve Simpson, in late 90's station art)
Today, WIBC prides itself of delivering news and information one
way: Live, local and first.
WIBC-FM
On October 8, 2007, Emmis Communications management announced
a major change for WIBC. On December 26, the station's programming
wouldl be separated. On that date, 93.1 FM would become WIBC-FM
and broadcast a news/talk format, while the station's sports programming
would remain on 1070 AM and become known as 1070 The Fan.
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 WIBC
Broadcasts through Blizzard of 1978
 In
January 1978, Indianapolis was paralyzed by a blizzard more powerful
than any others in a hundred years.
More than 20 inches of snow buried the city after three consecutive
days of high winds and falling snow. Drifts reached as high as
10 feet, and National Guardsmen were called to rescue many stranded
motorists and break through snowdrifts on I-465. More than 300
travelers - most of them passengers on northbound and westbound
Greyhound buses - were stranded at the Downtown terminal.
On Thursday, Jan. 26, Mayor William Hudnut declared a snow emergency
following a statewide emergency declared by then Gov. Otis Bowen.
Hudnut climbed aboard a National Guard armored personnel carrier
and spent the days that followed at WIBC with Gary Todd and Fred
Heckman declaring the emergency, taking calls, and keeping the
town updated.
“WIBC has always been the premier station for news,”
Hudnut said. “I don’t know how those guys made it
in to work, but I, along with the rest of the city, was very grateful.”
Hudnut was awake for 36 straight hours as he coordinated the
city's response to the snow emergency, including time spent in
a helicopter hovering over the strangely quiet, pure white cityscape.
Finally, on Sunday, January 29, main roads in Indianapolis were
clear enough to navigate. Ultimately, 11 deaths were attributed
to the Blizzard of '78.
ARCHIVE HIGHLIGHT
Legendary
WIBC Newsman Key Figure in Ending Standoff
Fred Heckman, the legendary WIBC newsman, made headlines in 1977
as a key player in the infamous Tony Kiritsis hostage standoff.
It all began when Kiritsis took mortgage executive Dick Hall
hostage in downtown Indianapolis. Kiritsis had obtained a mortgage
from Hall's company on land he hoped to develop for commercial
use. But Kiritsis fell behind on payments, and Hall threatened
foreclosure.
Kiritsis was convinced that Hall had interfered with his efforts
to attract businesses to use the property and that Hall wanted
to foreclose on the property in order to sell it himself, since
the values of the property had increased considerably over the
years.
In early February, Kiritsis went into the mortgage company’s office
and pulled a pistol on Hall. He then proceeded to wire a sawed-off
shotgun around Hall's neck, pointing at his head. The safety on
the shotgun had been removed. If Hall or Kiritsis fell, or if
Hall would try to get away, the shotgun would fire.
With media cameras rolling and radio reporters broadcasting, Kiritsis
walked out of the building with Hall in front of him, climbed
into a police car, and ordered an officer to take them to his
apartment on the Indianapolis westside.
A stand-off then began, with Kiritsis and Hall inside the apartment
and the entire complex filled with police.
Officers were afraid to break into the apartment, since wire
could be seen around the windows, and Kiritsis was known to be
trained through the military in explosives. Kiritsis also indicated
on several occasions that he would "blow" the apartment
if police didn't follow his wishes.
During the 63 hours that he held Hall prisoner, Kiritsis would
speak to no one but WIBC’s own Fred Heckman, who he repeatedly called.
His calls aired live on the air, and he continuously asserted that
he was not crazy and had made a “preemptive strike” against Hall
because he was trying to take his land.
Finally, Kiritsis was told that Hall had signed a document stating
that Hall's company had mistreated him, promised pay $5 million,
and assured that Kiritis would not be arrested or prosecuted.
After getting that news, Kiritsis left his apartment with Hall
still wired to the end of the shotgun. He went to the apartment
complex's recreation room, where dozens of police and reporters
were waiting for him.
In what police would later call the "Thursday night news
conference," Kiritsis made a statement that was broadcast
live on WIBC as well as local and national TV. All through the
rambling speech, WIBC's Heckman stood nearby, at Kiritsis' insistance.
During this "speech," Kiritsis was extremely emotional,
and as he became teary-eyed, it looked as though he was going
to shoot Hall. At that point, some TV stations dropped the live
broadcast.
WIBC stayed with it until Kiritsis, surrounded by IPD officers
and Marion County Sheriff's deputies, led Hall into another apartment.
There, Kiritsis unwired the shotgun and fired it out an open
window to prove the gun was loaded. He was immediately arrested
and charged for kidnapping, extortion, and related offenses. Hall,
although shaken, was not seriously injured.
Months later, Kiritsis went on trial for these charges. Much
to the dismay of prosecutors, Kiritsis was found “not guilty by
reason of insanity” on all counts. He was sent to a mental insitution,
where he stayed for a number of years.
Later, the Indiana legislature would change the state's criminal
code to allow a verdict of "guilty, but mentally ill"
so future juries might have options in cases like this one.
Dick Hall never spoke publicly about the incident.
When asked to recall the incident, former mayor Bill Hudnut noted
the “way in which [Fred] Heckman rendered a tremendous public service
by negotiating for Hall’s life.
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