WMAQ Channel 5 - NewsCenter5 at 10pm (Complete Broadcast, 3/5/1981) πŸ“Ί @FuzzyMemoriesTV
WMAQ Channel 5 - NewsCenter5 at 10pm (Complete Broadcast, 3/5/1981) πŸ“Ί  @FuzzyMemoriesTV
Uploaded September 2025 | Updated September 2026, 2 weeks ago
Here's the complete broadcast of an edition of NewsCenter5 on WMAQ Channel 5, anchored by Jim Ruddle and Linda Yu (filling in for Chuck Henry) (this newscast immediately followed the broadcast of the made-for-TV movie "Death Ray 2000.")

A lengthy bonus will follow.

Local voiceovers by Ed Grennan.

Includes:

Station ID / promo for Harper Valley PTA

Newscast open, with items:

- Continental Airlines flight attendant Barbara Sorenson, 35, only hostage on plane held at L.A. International Airport; Heidi Schulman reports

- 4 Americans among 119 held hostage aboard airliner in Kabul, Afghanistan

- CTA engineers agree to take pay cut to keep 'L's' running if RTA employees do likewise

- Federal judge Nicholas Bua rules Democrats may appeal part of the Shakman Decrees eliminating patronage hiring

- Rich Samuels reports on Chicago's new Personnel Code for patronage workers

Commercials for:
"The Competition" (theatrical trailer)
United Airlines "Sunbird" to Florida
Jewel Food Stores (sales on beef)
Bigelow Herb Tea

- El Salvador President Jose Napoleon Duarte says his country no longer needs U.S. military advisers

- U.S. keeping eye on Soviet warnings to Poland

- President Reagan getting help for his budget cuts from conservative Democrats, but will keep money flowing to Atlanta to help in investigation of child murders

- A second plea to halt execution of condemned murderer Steven Judy is rejected

- Illinois appeals court rules cocaine is not a narcotic and that penalties should be relaxed; Paul Hogan reports

- Deborah Luckett, 24, charged with abandoning 4-month-old baby at Cook County Hospital washroom

Commercials for:
Poppin Fresh Pies
Kraft Golden Image Imitation Cheese (voiceover by Ed Herlihy)
Kmart Sale on sheets and pillowcases
Realty World

- Roger Ebert reviews "Charlie Chan and the Curse of the Dragon Queen" (with a young Michelle Pfeiffer before she made it big)

Commercials for:
Lincoln-Mercury - 10% Cash Savings Plan
Emery Air Freight (voiceover by Jackson Beck)
Tess (theatrical trailer)

- Rain in Los Angeles touches off mudslides, and New York City affected by heavy snows

- Jim Tilmon weather forecast

- Chet Coppock sports report on Indiana Hoosiers play, Big 10, ACC and SEC tourney scores, Bears' pre-season schedule, Dave Kingman (now with the Mets) at a St. Petersburg press conference, the status of the Windy City Gym, coming Jim "Quick" Tillis boxing match, NBA scores, Bulls upcoming game and Bullets highlights

- Update on hostage situation in Los Angeles

Newscast closes

Commercials for:
WCFL AM 1000 - "This Is It" (posted separately here: youtu.be/lGMlP4KYrCA)
Saks Fifth Avenue
Midas muffler repair
Aldi Foods

Newscast ending credits (with voiceover promo for noon newscast with Jorie Lueloff and guest Joan Wasem of Loyola Law Center)

PSA for Illinois Department of Revenue

Bonus: First 36 minutes of The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson, with guests Charles Nelson Reilly, Slim Whitman and The Mighty Carson Art Players, starting with Segment 1

Commercials for:
Nabisco Wheatsworth Stone Ground Wheat Crackers
Century 21 - "Yellow Jackets"
Shutan Camera (voiceover by Al Parker)
Sears Bank & Trust (with Bobby Hull) (posted separately here: youtu.be/JCXUPiLEQOA)

Segment 2

Commercials for:
American Florists Marketing Council
Purina High Protein Dog Meal
Swap-O-Rama Indoor Flea Market
Promo for The Doctors, Days of Our Lives and Texas (voiceover by Mel Brandt)
Woman's World (March 10th issue)

Segment 3

Commercials for:
Lipton Chicken Noodle Soup
Emery Air Freight (voiceover by Jackson Beck)
Drag Race Super Showdown at the Ampitheatre (what's that background tune again?)
Star magazine (March 10th ? issue) (Loretta Lynn on cover)

Bumper

Promo for Nero Wolfe (voiceover by Casey Kasem)

Commercials for:

WKQX 101 FM - "Chicago Is Turning To Us" (with excerpts of "What a Fool Believes" and "Baker Street") (posted separately here: youtu.be/Sp1oX3_Jc30)

Hunt's Reddi Wip pudding

Aldi Foods

Station ID / promo for The Business of Business (with Warner Saunders)

Segment 4 (recording ends before segment does)

This aired on local Chicago TV on Thursday, March 5th 1981 during the 10pm to 11:06pm timeframe.

About The Museum of Classic Chicago Television:

The MCCTv (FuzzyMemoriesTV) is a 501(c)(3) non-profit whose primary mission is the preservation and display of off-air, early home videotape recordings (70s to early 80s, mostly) recorded off of TV (in Chicago or other cities now too); things which would likely be lost if not sought out and preserved digitally. If you have any old 1970s videotapes recorded off of TV please email: tapes@fuzzy.tv We preserve the entire broadcasts in our archives - the complete programs with breaks (or however much is present on the tape), for historical preservation. For information on how to help in our mission, to donate or lend tapes to be converted to digital, please e-mail tapes@fuzzy.tv Thank you for your help!
WMAQ Channel 5 - NewsCenter5 at 10pm (Complete Broadcast, 3/5/1981) πŸ“ΊWNAC Channel 7 - The Streets of San Francisco (Technical Difficulties Moment, 12/20/1979) ❗WMAQ Channel 5 - Rap It Up - Integrated Education (1975)The Warren Freiberg Show - Adams / Charet / Weinberg - WCIU-TV (Complete Broadcast, 5/21/1981) πŸ“ΊWLUP The Loop FM 98 - Remarkable Mouth (Commercial, 1979) πŸ‘„ABC Network - Our Family Honor - Lone Justice (Complete Broadcast, 12/6/1985) πŸ“ΊAyds - Stop Yo-Yo Dieting! (Short Commercial, 1985)The Jokers Wild - WNAC Channel 7 [Boston, MA] (Complete Broadcast, 12/20/1979) πŸ“Ί πŸƒWREG Channel 3 [Memphis, TN] - Station Sign-On and Thought for the Day (5/12/1979)ABC Network - Our Family Honor - Crimes of Passion: Part 2 (Complete Broadcast, 1/3/1986) πŸ“ΊWBBM-TV - Channel 2 News at 6pm - Computer Crime?  In 1980?? (12/2/1980) πŸ’»WVON 1390 AM - Everybodys Talking: VONs On Again! (Commercial, 1980) πŸ“»
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WMAQ Channel 5 - NewsCenter5 at 10pm (Complete Broadcast, 3/5/1981) πŸ“Ί

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