WGN-TV

==Programming==
{{overly detailed|section|date=March 2024}}
===Locally produced programs===
WGN-TV currently produces the following programs, some of which were previously rebroadcast on CLTV:
* ''Adelante, Chicago'' ([[American English|English]]: ''Onward, Chicago'') is a bi-weekly public affairs program (airing Saturdays every two weeks at 6:30&nbsp;a.m.) that debuted on February 19, 2000, and was originally hosted by former WGN-TV assignment reporter Eddie Arruza.<ref>{{cite news |title=WXRT Plans to Rock on During Super Bowl |url=https://www.chicagotribune.com/news/ct-xpm-2000-01-26-0001260022-story.html |author=Jim Kirk |newspaper=Chicago Tribune |date=January 26, 2000 |access-date=March 20, 2019}}</ref> Currently hosted by Lourdes Duarte (who also co-anchors the 4&nbsp;p.m. hour of the ''WGN Evening News''), it features topical discussions, interviews and feature segments focusing on Chicago's Hispanic community and culture.
* ''BackStory with Larry Potash'' is a half-hour historical series that premiered on October 18, 2018. Hosted by ''WGN Morning News'' anchor/assignment reporter Larry Potash and airing Saturdays at 10:30&nbsp;p.m., the program looks at interesting stories pertaining to history, culture, religion and science within and outside of Chicago.<ref>{{cite web |title=WGN's Larry Potash to host 'Backstory' history series |url=https://www.robertfeder.com/2018/10/18/wgns-larry-potash-host-backstory-history-series/ |author=Robert Feder |website=RobertFeder.com |date=October 18, 2018 |access-date=March 20, 2019}}</ref><ref>{{cite press release |title=WGN-TV To Air "Backstory with Larry Potash" Sunday Nights Beginning October 28 |url=http://www.tribunemedia.com/wgn-tv-to-air-backstory-with-larry-potash-sunday-nights-beginning-october-28/ |website=Tribune Media |date=October 17, 2018 |access-date=March 20, 2019 |archive-date=March 21, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190321201005/http://www.tribunemedia.com/wgn-tv-to-air-backstory-with-larry-potash-sunday-nights-beginning-october-28/ |url-status=dead}}</ref>
* ''Living Healthy Chicago'' is a weekly health-focused program (airing Saturdays at 10&nbsp;a.m.) that premiered in September 2011. Hosted by Jane Monzures, it features expert medical advice and health tips from local health professionals.
* ''People to People'' is a bi-weekly public affairs program (airing most Saturdays at 6:30&nbsp;a.m.) that debuted in 1973, with local civil rights leader Edwin C. "Bill" Berry as its original host.<ref>{{cite news |title=A Civil Rights Giant is Remembered |url=https://www.chicagotribune.com/news/ct-xpm-1987-05-20-8702070405-story.html |author=Manuel Galvan |newspaper=Chicago Tribune |date=May 20, 1987 |access-date=March 20, 2019}}</ref> Currently hosted by Micah Materre (who also serves as weeknight co-anchor of the ''WGN Evening News'' and the 9 and 10&nbsp;p.m. newscasts), the program community events and topical discussions focusing on the African-American community.
* ''WGN-TV Political Report'', which airs Sundays at 9&nbsp;a.m. and premiered on January 12, 2020, is a weekly [[Sunday morning talk shows|political talk show]] in which hosts Paul Lisnek (who serves as WGN-TV's political analyst and hosted a similar daily evening program, ''Politics Tonight'', from 2007 until CLTV's closure in December 2019) and Tahman Bradley (who serves as the station's weekend evening anchor and political reporter) provide analysis on Chicago-area and national political issues.<ref name="cn-wgnmorenews">{{cite web |title=With CLTV now gone, WGN adds more news. |url=https://changingnewscasts.wordpress.com/2020/01/11/cltv-gone-wgn-adds-news/ |author=Roly Ortega |website=Changing Newscasts |date=January 11, 2020 |access-date=January 12, 2020}}</ref>

Channel 9 became known for its heavy schedule of local programs during the period from the 1950s through the 1980s, including some influential programs:
* ''[[The Bozo Show]]'', a long-running children's program that aired under various titles and formats—including as ''Bozo'' (1960–1961), ''Bozo's Circus'' (1961–1980) and ''The Bozo Super Sunday Show'' (1994–2001) as well as the short-lived prime time spin-off ''Big Top'' (1965–1967)—from June 20, 1960, until July 14, 2001. The program was WGN-TV's most successful local program in terms of both ratings and cultural impact, and became the most well-known iteration of the ''[[Bozo the Clown|Bozo]]'' franchise partly as a result of the exposure it received after WGN became a national superstation in 1978. ''Bozo'' originated as a live, half-hour midday broadcast (expanding to a full hour in September 1961) featuring comedy sketches, circus acts, cartoon shorts and in-studio games.<ref>{{cite news |title=So Long, Bozo: WGN Pulls Plug on 40-Year Tradition |url=https://www.chicagotribune.com/news/ct-xpm-2001-03-24-0103300410-story.html |author=Allan Johnson |author2=Monica Davey |newspaper=Chicago Tribune |date=March 24, 2001 |access-date=March 20, 2019}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |title=Clowning around ends with taping of final Bozo show |url=https://www.chicagotribune.com/sns-bozo-story.html |author=Steve Johnson |newspaper=Chicago Tribune |date=June 13, 2001 |access-date=March 20, 2019}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |title=Kids' Shows No Longer Send in the Clown |url=https://www.chicagotribune.com/news/ct-xpm-2001-03-28-0103280020-story.html |author=Steve Johnson |newspaper=Chicago Tribune |date=March 28, 2001 |access-date=March 20, 2019}}</ref> The titular clown was portrayed by [[Bob Bell (actor)|Bob Bell]] until 1984 and by [[Joey D'Auria]] thereafter, and featured additional characters such as Ringmaster Ned ([[Ned Locke]], 1961–1976), Sandy the Tramp ([[Don Sandburg]], 1961–1969), Oliver O. Oliver ([[Ray Rayner]], 1961–1971), Cooky the Cook ([[Roy Brown (clown)|Roy Brown]], 1968–1994), Wizzo the Wizard ([[Marshall Brodien]], 1968–1994) and the circus manager ([[Frazier Thomas]], 1976–1985). At the peak of its popularity, ticket reservations for the show's studio audience surpassed a ten-year backlog. (WGN-TV management would discontinue the wait list in 1990, and began awarding tickets through a contest-style giveaway.) In response to [[Chicago Public Schools]] rule changes that disallowed students from going home for lunch, the program was moved to weekday mornings and switched to a pre-taped format in August 1980; to accommodate the launch of the ''WGN Morning News'', ''Bozo'' was relegated to Sunday mornings in September 1994, remaining there until it was controversially discontinued by station management in 2001. For the final four years of its run, ''The Bozo Super Sunday Show'' was restructured to incorporate segments compliant with FCC [[Children's Television Act|educational programming requirements]].<ref>{{cite news |title=Bozo takes final bow in Chicago |url=http://usatoday30.usatoday.com/life/television/2001-06-11-bozo-show.htm |newspaper=USA Today Company |date=June 11, 2001 |access-date=September 3, 2015}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |title=Is This Idea a Real Bozo? |url=https://www.chicagotribune.com/news/ct-xpm-1994-02-07-9402070043-story.html |author=Bob Greene |newspaper=Chicago Tribune |date=February 7, 1994 |access-date=March 20, 2019}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |title=WGN Catches Flak for Shifting 'Bozo' So Kids Can Watch |url=https://www.chicagotribune.com/news/ct-xpm-1994-02-08-9402080024-story.html |author=Jennifer Mangan |newspaper=Chicago Tribune |date=February 8, 1994 |access-date=March 20, 2019}}</ref>
* ''Charlando'' ({{translation}} ''Chatting''), a Spanish-language talk show focusing on Chicago's Hispanic and Latino community (originally airing on Saturday mornings until 1992, when it was moved to Sundays) that aired from 1964 to 1999. Peter Nuno hosted the program for its entire 35-year run before retiring from WGN-TV in December 1999.<ref>{{cite news |title=TV Alternative—Fluent Spanish is Not Required |url=https://www.chicagotribune.com/news/ct-xpm-1988-07-31-8801190393-story.html |author=Judy Hevrdejs |newspaper=Chicago Tribune |date=July 31, 1988 |access-date=March 20, 2019}}</ref><ref name="trib-wgnchurchtie">{{cite news |title=WGN-Church Tie Was Boon to Both |url=https://www.chicagotribune.com/news/ct-xpm-1992-01-10-9201030526-story.html |author=Michael Hirsley |newspaper=Chicago Tribune |date=January 10, 1992 |access-date=March 20, 2019}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |title=Channel 2 Newscast May Take on a Political Air |url=https://www.chicagotribune.com/news/ct-xpm-1999-12-08-9912080329-story.html |author=Jim Kirk |newspaper=Chicago Tribune |date=December 8, 1999 |access-date=March 20, 2019}}</ref>
* ''[[Creature Features]]'', a local version of the horror film franchise which aired Saturday nights from September 19, 1970, until May 19, 1976, showcasing classic horror and science fiction films released between the 1930s and the 1950s (many of which were [[Universal Studios]] releases). The films were presented by a disembodied voice known only as "The Creature" (voiced, at respective times, by WGN news anchors Carl Greyson and Marty McNeeley). After the WGN version ended, the title (unpluralized as "Creature Feature") was used by WFLD for its weekend horror movie presentations until their replacement by the ''[[Son of Svengoolie]]'' showcase in 1979.
* ''[[Family Classics]]'', a showcase of family-oriented feature films that originally ran from September 14, 1962, to [[Christmas|December 25]], 2000 and was co-created by Frazier Thomas and [[Fred Silverman]] (then a programming executive at WGN-TV).<ref>{{cite web |title=WGN 9 Chicago "Family Classics" Movie Timeline |url=https://wgntv.com/family-classics/ |website=WGN-TV |date=January 27, 2017 |publisher=Tribune Broadcasting |access-date=March 20, 2019}}</ref> As host, Thomas also was responsible for selecting the program's featured film titles and edited them to remove certain scenes he deemed unfit for family viewing; [[Roy Leonard]] took over hosting duties following Thomas's death in April 1985 from complications tied to a [[stroke]], and remained in that role until ''Family Classics'' ended its initial run. (After airing weekly throughout the fall-to-spring television season—first on Friday nights until 1986, and then on Sunday afternoons thereafter—for most of its run, the program began airing sporadically during the [[holiday season]] from November 1993 until the conclusion of the program's original run.) ''Family Classics'' was revived as an occasional series on December 8, 2017, with longtime entertainment reporter [[Dean Richards (reporter)|Dean Richards]] as host.<ref>{{cite news |title=Chicago's Merry Own: 'Family Classics' returns to WGN-TV for special holiday showing of 'Scrooge' hosted by Dean Richards |url=http://wgntv.com/2017/11/10/wgn-tv-becomes-chicagos-merry-own-for-the-holidays-family-classics-returns-for-special-holiday-showing-of-scrooge-hosted-by-dean-richards/ |website=WGN-TV |publisher=Tribune Broadcasting |date=November 11, 2017 |access-date=March 20, 2019 |archive-date=January 18, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180118101927/http://wgntv.com/2017/11/10/wgn-tv-becomes-chicagos-merry-own-for-the-holidays-family-classics-returns-for-special-holiday-showing-of-scrooge-hosted-by-dean-richards/ |url-status=dead}}</ref>
* ''[[Garfield Goose and Friends]]'', a children's program that aired on WGN-TV from September 1955 to October 1976 (originating on WBKB/WBBM-TV and then WBKB/WLS-TV under the unpluralized title ''Garfield Goose and Friend'' from 1952 to 1955). Considered the longest-running puppet show on television, the series was hosted by Frazier Thomas as the "[[prime minister]]" to the titular clacking goose puppet (puppeteered by Roy Brown) who designated himself as "King of the United States". The WGN-TV run of the program featured a mix of puppet characters developed by Brown before and after the show's move to Channel 9 such as Romberg Rabbit, Macintosh Mouse, Christmas "Chris" Goose (Garfield's nephew) and sleepy [[bloodhound]] Beauregard Burnside III (a character named after two [[American Civil War|Civil War]] generals). In addition to skits, the show also featured animated shorts (such as ''[[Clutch Cargo]]'' and ''[[Space Angel]]'') that were introduced by the camera zooming into the "Little Theater Screen", as well as educational feature segments.<ref>{{cite news |title=The Children's 'Prime Minister' |url=http://articles.chicagotribune.com/1985-05-19/news/8501310862_1_remember-magic-show-generation |author=Patricia Best |newspaper=Chicago Tribune |date=May 19, 1985 |access-date=March 20, 2019}}</ref>
* ''Issues Unlimited'', a Sunday morning public affairs program moderated by ''Chicago Bulletin'' editor and columnist Hurley Green Sr. from 1971 to 1987; the program featured a panel of local media representatives interviewing local and national newsmakers.<ref>{{cite news |title=Death of Hurley Green Sr, Elder Black Journalist—Tribute by Hurley Green III, and National Black Wall Street Leader |url=http://www.chicagonow.com/and-the-ordinary-people-said/2012/10/death-of-hurley-green-sr-elder-black-journalist-tribute-by-hurley-green-iii-and-national-black-wall-street-leader/ |author=Mark S. Allen |website=ChicagoNow |date=October 30, 2012 |access-date=March 20, 2019}}</ref>
* ''Ray Rayner and His Friends'' (originally ''Breakfast with [[Bugs Bunny]]'' from 1962 to 1964), a long-running children's program hosted by Ray Rayner from 1962 to 1980. The program featured animated shorts (including [[Looney Tunes]] and [[Merrie Melodies]] cartoons), arts and crafts segments, animals (such as Chelveston the Duck, named after the [[RAF Chelveston|military base]] where Rayner was stationed during [[World War II]]), science segments conducted with J. Bruce Mitchell of the [[Museum of Science and Industry (Chicago)|Museum of Science and Industry]] and a viewer mail segment in which Rayner appeared alongside a talking orange dog puppet, [[Cuddly Dudley]] (voiced by Roy Brown), which was originally created by the ''Chicago Tribune'' as a promotional item.<ref>{{cite web |title=Ray Rayner |url=http://chicagotelevision.com/rayner.htm |website=Chicago Television |access-date=March 20, 2019}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |title=Rayner's Pecking Pal In Duck Heaven |url=http://articles.chicagotribune.com/1991-11-08/news/9104100490_1_duck-heaven-pekin-duck-animal-kingdom |author=Harlene Ellin |newspaper=Chicago Tribune |date=November 8, 1991 |access-date=March 20, 2019}}</ref>

In addition, Channel 9 broadcasts several local events including the [[Chicago Thanksgiving Parade]] (which has aired since 2007, under an agreement with the Chicago Festival Association in which the WGN national feed—which continues to carry the parade despite WGN America's December 2014 programming separation from WGN-TV—was given national simulcast rights),<ref>{{cite news |title=Chicago's Thanksgiving Day Parade 80 years young |url=http://chicago.suntimes.com/news/7/71/792373/chicagos-thanksgiving-day-parade-80-years-young |newspaper=Chicago Sun-Times |date=November 26, 2013 |access-date=September 3, 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151017035638/http://chicago.suntimes.com/news/7/71/792373/chicagos-thanksgiving-day-parade-80-years-young |archive-date=October 17, 2015 |url-status=dead}}</ref> the Chicago St. Patrick's Day Parade (which aired from 1949 to 2002), the [[Chicago Auto Show]] (from 1952 to 1992 and again since 1999)<ref name="tribune-lotteryauto">{{cite news |title=New Channels for Auto Show, Lottery Telecast |url=https://www.chicagotribune.com/news/ct-xpm-1992-11-13-9204130011-story.html |author=Pat Widder |newspaper=Chicago Tribune |date=November 13, 1992 |access-date=March 20, 2019}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |title=Well Spoken |url=https://www.chicagotribune.com/news/ct-xpm-1999-02-12-9902120104-story.html |author=Katherine Sopranos |newspaper=Chicago Tribune |date=February 12, 1999 |access-date=March 20, 2019}}</ref> and the Philadelphia-based [[Mummers Parade]] (by arrangement with sister station WPHL-TV). Local events that WGN-TV aired in previous years have included the [[Bud Billiken Parade]] (from 1978 to 2011, with WCIU-TV obtaining primary rights to the broadcast beginning in 2012, before shifting exclusively to WLS-TV—which had been a partial rightsholder for the parade since 1984—in 2014).<ref>{{cite web |title=The 2012 Bud Billiken Parade To Air Live On WLS-TV & WCIU-TV |url=http://www.chicagoradioandmedia.com/news/2679-the-2012-bud-billiken-parade-to-air-live-on-wls-tv-a-wciu-tv |website=Chicagoland Radio and Media |date=August 8, 2012 |access-date=March 20, 2019}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=The 2013 Bud Billiken Parade To Air Live On WLS-TV |url=http://chicagoradioandmedia.com/news/5848-the-2013-bud-billiken-parade-to-air-live-on-wls-tv |website=Chicagoland Radio and Media |date=August 9, 2013 |access-date=September 3, 2015}}</ref>

The station's Bradley Place studios, in addition to housing a large number of its own programs, have also served as the production facilities for nationally syndicated programs, including ''[[The Phil Donahue Show|Donahue]]'' (which shifted production from the [[Dayton, Ohio]] studios of WLWD [now [[WDTN]]] to the WGN-TV facilities in Chicago in 1974, where production of the daytime talk show remained before moving to WBBM-TV's [[Streeterville]] studios in January 1982),<ref>{{cite magazine |title=Monitor: Donahue switch. |periodical=Broadcasting |page=35 |date=October 1, 1981}}</ref> ''[[U.S. Farm Report]]'' (which originated from the Bradley Place facility from the agriculture program's national syndication debut in 1975 until production moved to [[South Bend, Indiana]] after ''Farm Journal''{{'}}s production unit assumed distribution rights from the defunct Tribune Entertainment in 2008), and ''[[At the Movies (1982 TV program)|At the Movies]]'' (which was produced from the facility from 1982 until 1990, three years after [[Gene Siskel]] and [[Roger Ebert]] left the program amid a 1986 contract dispute with Tribune Entertainment to develop ''[[At the Movies (1986 TV program)|Siskel & Ebert & the Movies]]'' with [[Disney–ABC Home Entertainment and Television Distribution|Buena Vista Television]], which was produced out of WBBM-TV's studios and later WLS-TV's North State Street studios).

Channel 9 formerly served as the [[Muscular Dystrophy Association]] (MDA)'s "[[MDA Labor Day Telethon#Love Network|Love Network]]" station for Chicago, carrying the charity's [[MDA Labor Day Telethon|annual telethon]] on [[Labor Day]] and the preceding Sunday night each September from 1973 to 2012 (in its original 21½-hour format that existed until 2010, the six-hour evening format used in 2011 and the three-hour prime-time-only format used in 2012). For most of its run on the station (except in 1994, due to the [[1994 Major League Baseball strike|Major League Baseball strike]] that year), WGN-TV would preempt portions of the telethon on Labor Day to carry Chicago Cubs or White Sox games held during the afternoon of the holiday. Through its national distribution, beginning with the 1979 event, donations to the WGN-produced local segments of the telethon were also pledged by viewers in other parts of the United States and Canada. The broadcast moved from syndication to ABC in September 2013 (by then reduced to a two-hour special), airing thereafter by association on WLS-TV until the final telecast of the retitled ''MDA Show of Strength'' in August 2014.<ref>{{cite news |date=June 17, 2013 |title='MDA' Telethon Heads to Primetime on ABC |periodical=[[Variety (magazine)|Variety]] |url=https://variety.com/2013/tv/news/mda-telethon-heads-to-primetime-on-abc-1200497737/}}</ref>

===Lottery===
WGN-TV served as the originating station for the [[Illinois Lottery]] beginning at its July 1974 inception. Live drawings initially aired as a half-hour Thursday night broadcast (then hosted by Ray Rayner) held at its Bradley Place studios. Channel 9 shared the drawing rights with WSNS-TV from March to May 1975 and again from September 1975 until August 1977, when WGN gained exclusivity over the telecasts. With the introduction of the Daily Game (now Pick 3) in February 1980, drawings began airing on the station at 6:57&nbsp;p.m. nightly.<ref>{{cite magazine |title=Gaming shows a winner in Ohio, Illinois |periodical=Broadcasting |page=48 |date=June 2, 1975}}</ref> After a three-year run on WFLD (which assumed drawing rights in January 1984), the Lottery migrated the drawing telecasts back to WGN-TV in January 1987. In August 1992, the Lottery awarded the telecast rights to its drawings and game show to CBS-owned WBBM—which beat out competing offers from WGN and WLS-TV, and saw the move as a way to help improve viewership for its third-place-ranked 10&nbsp;p.m. newscast—effective December 28. WBBM's bid was chosen for its offers to hold the drawings during its late newscast (which ultimately produced no beneficial ratings impact) and agreed to handle promotional responsibilities and production costs.<ref name="tribune-lotteryauto"/> Citing in part the station's statewide cable distribution (which, after the SyndEx rules were implemented, would occasionally subject the evening drawings to preemption associated with that of the delayed 9&nbsp;p.m. newscast when sports clearance restrictions applied to the WGN national feed), the Lottery moved its telecasts back to WGN on January 1, 1994; with this move, citing declining revenues under the WBBM contract partly under the later drawing timeslot, the live evening results were shifted to 9:22&nbsp;p.m. Midday drawings for Pick 3 and Pick 4 were added upon their introduction on December 20, 1994. (The 12:40&nbsp;p.m. drawings were shown during WGN's noon newscast on weekdays, while the Saturday drawing was usually not shown live nationally because of programming substitutions.)<ref>{{cite news |title=Lottery Considering Changing Channels |url=https://www.chicagotribune.com/news/ct-xpm-1993-11-19-9311190074-story.html |author=Michael A. Lev |newspaper=Chicago Tribune |date=December 19, 1993 |access-date=March 20, 2019}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |title=Channel 9 Beats Out Channel 2 for Lottery Drawing |url=https://www.chicagotribune.com/news/ct-xpm-1993-11-23-9311230040-story.html |author=Michael A. Lev |newspaper=Chicago Tribune |date=August 2, 1989 |access-date=March 20, 2019}}</ref><ref name="illlottery-history"/><ref>{{cite web |title=Drawing Fact Sheet |url=http://www.illinoislottery.com/subsections/drawfact.htm/ |website=[[Illinois State Lottery]] |access-date=December 15, 2010 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101124013052/http://illinoislottery.com/subsections/drawfact.htm |archive-date=November 24, 2010}}</ref>

In addition to the live drawing results, WGN also carried two lottery-produced weekly game shows. From September 16, 1989, to December 19, 1992, and from January 8 to July 2, 1994, the station aired ''[[$100,000 Fortune Hunt]]''. It was originally hosted by [[Jeff Coopwood]], with co-host Linda Kollmeyer, and subsequently with Mike Jackson as host. The program saw six contestants selected from a preliminary [[scratch-off]] entry ticket drawing choose panels from a numbered 36-panel game board containing various dollar amounts. The player with the highest prize amount after five rounds won $100,000 and their two chosen at-home partners won $500 each; the remaining on-air contestants kept their existing winnings, with their partners receiving $100. (Initially, each on-air contestant was given the option of keeping their winnings or trading them for other prizes.) <ref>{{cite news |title=Lottery, WGN-TV Team Up for Show |url=https://www.chicagotribune.com/news/ct-xpm-1989-08-02-8901010451-story.html |author=Sumeeta Rai |newspaper=Chicago Tribune |date=August 2, 1989 |access-date=March 20, 2019}}</ref><ref name="illlottery-history">{{cite web |title=Lottery History |url=https://www.illinoislottery.com/illinois-lottery/lottery-history |website=Illinois State Lottery |access-date=March 20, 2019 |archive-date=March 21, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190321201006/https://www.illinoislottery.com/illinois-lottery/lottery-history |url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |title=Smile! It's lottery lady Linda Kollmeyer |url=https://www.chicagotribune.com/ct-lottery-lady-linda-kollmeyer-20150930-story.html |author=Kevin Pang |newspaper=Chicago Tribune |date=September 30, 2015 |access-date=October 1, 2015}}</ref> Its successor, ''Illinois Instant Riches'' (retitled ''Illinois' Luckiest'' in 1998), ran from July 9, 1994, to October 21, 2000, with [[Mark Goodman]] and Kollmeyer as co-hosts. Produced in conjunction with [[Mark Goodson|Mark Goodson Productions]] (later [[Jonathan Goodson Productions]]), it featured a similar drawing format as its predecessor, but had individual contestants chosen randomly by a wheel spun by Kollmeyer each round (which was hooked to lights above each contestant's seat) play various mini-games.<ref>{{cite magazine |title=Goodson takes chance on state lotteries |author=David Tobenkin |periodical=Broadcasting & Cable |page=21 |date=August 8, 1994}}</ref>

In September 1996, the station began carrying The Big Game multi-state drawing (replaced by [[Mega Millions]] in May 2002) each Tuesday and Friday; [[Powerball]] drawings were eventually added upon Illinois joining that multi-state lottery in January 2010. WGN America ceased carrying the drawings nationally on December 12, 2014; the Lottery ceased televising its daily drawings outright and moved the results for the Pick 3, Pick 4, Lotto with Extra Shot and Lucky Day Lotto (formerly Little Lotto until 2011) games exclusively to its website on October 1, 2015, upon switching to a [[random number generator]] structure.<ref>{{cite news |title=WGN America dropping Illinois Lottery drawings |url=https://www.chicagotribune.com/business/ct-wgna-lottery-1215-biz-20141212-story.html |author=Robert Channick |newspaper=Chicago Tribune |date=December 12, 2014}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |title=Last WGN-TV Live Lottery Marks End of an Era |url=https://www.chicagotribune.com/news/ct-wgn-lottery-met-20150930-story.html |author=Angie Leventis Lourgos |newspaper=Chicago Tribune |date=September 30, 2015 |access-date=October 1, 2015}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |title=Illinois Lottery moves drawings from TV to online |url=https://wgntv.com/2015/09/25/illinois-lottery-moves-drawings-from-tv-to-online/ |website=WGN-TV |publisher=Tribune Broadcasting |date=September 25, 2015 |access-date=March 20, 2019}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |title=No more numbered balls or live telecasts as Illinois Lottery drawings going digital |url=https://chicago.suntimes.com/news/no-more-numbered-balls-or-live-telecasts-as-illinois-lottery-drawings-going-digital/ |newspaper=Chicago Sun-Times |date=September 29, 2015 |access-date=March 20, 2019}}</ref>

===Sports programming===
{{Main|WGN Sports}}
Throughout its history, WGN-TV has had a long association with Chicago sports, with most of the city's major professional sports franchises—particularly the Chicago Cubs, White Sox, [[Chicago Bulls|Bulls]] and [[Blackhawks]]—and several local and regional collegiate teams (including the [[Illinois Fighting Illini]], the [[Northwestern Wildcats]], the [[DePaul Blue Demons]] and the [[Notre Dame Fighting Irish]] as well as various [[Big Ten Conference]] universities) having regularly televised their games over channel 9.

The Cubs and White Sox were the first teams to be carried on the station, when on April 23, 1948, WGN aired a [[Cubs–White Sox rivalry|crosstown rivalry game]] that the Sox won, 4–1. (The Tribune Company wholly owned the Cubs from 1981 until 2008, and retained a minority interest in the team until January 2019.)<ref>{{cite news |title=Wrigley 100 4/16: WGN-TV 1st Wrigley Broadcast |url=https://wgntv.com/2014/04/16/wrigley-100-416-wgn-tv-1st-wrigley-broadcast/ |author=Bob Vorwald |website=WGN-TV |publisher=Tribune Broadcasting |date=April 16, 2014 |access-date=March 20, 2019}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Today in Chicago Cubs history: The very first WGN-TV baseball telecast |url=https://www.bleedcubbieblue.com/2018/4/16/17203600/today-chicago-cubs-history-first-wgn-tv-baseball-telecast |author=Al Yellon |website=BleedCubbieBlue |date=April 16, 2018 |access-date=March 20, 2019}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |title=Chicago Cubs Are Sold by Wrigley to Tribune Co. for $20.5 Million |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1981/06/17/sports/chicago-cubs-are-sold-by-wrigley-to-tribune-co-for-20.5million.html |author=Neil Amdur |newspaper=The New York Times |date=June 17, 1981 |access-date=March 20, 2019}}</ref> Over the years, the number of Cubs and White Sox games on WGN had gradually decreased (down to about 70 per season for each team by 2008) as a result of the two [[Major League Baseball]] clubs—as well as the [[NBA]]'s Bulls—migrating some of their local game telecasts to cable-originated [[regional sports network]]s, Fox Sports Net Chicago (later [[FSN Chicago]]) from 1999 until 2003 and then Comcast SportsNet Chicago (now [[NBC Sports Chicago]]) beginning in 2004. Beginning in 2015, WGN-TV began sharing the over-the-air rights to Cubs games with WLS-TV, resulting in Channel 9 reducing its coverage schedule to 45 games per season as part of a four-year contract involving the two stations.<ref>{{cite news |title=Cubs exercise option to end WGN-TV contract after next season |url=https://www.chicagotribune.com/business/breaking/chi-chicago-cubs-wgn-tv-20131106-story.html |author=Robert Channick |newspaper=Chicago Tribune |date=November 6, 2013 |access-date=September 1, 2014}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |title=Cubs reach deal with WGN-TV for remaining 45 broadcasts |url=http://www.bizjournals.com/chicago/news/2015/01/07/cubs-reach-deal-with-wgn-tv-for-remaining-45.html |newspaper=Chicago Business Journal |date=January 7, 2015 |access-date=January 10, 2015}}</ref> WGN carried the White Sox until [[1972 Chicago White Sox season|1972]], before returning to the station for one season in [[1981 Chicago White Sox season|1981]]; the White Sox moved its local telecasts to WGN-TV after an eight-year absence in [[1990 Chicago White Sox season|1990]].<ref>{{cite magazine |title=Two UHF's land major-league teams |periodical=Broadcasting |page=26 |date=August 11, 1972}}</ref><ref name="ct-soxbullsleavewfldforwgn">{{cite news |title=White Sox, Bulls Leave Channel 32 for Channel 9 |url=http://articles.chicagotribune.com/1989-09-15/sports/8901130433_1_wgn-tv-white-sox-sox-president-eddie-einhorn |author=Steve Nidetz |newspaper=Chicago Tribune |date=September 15, 1989 |access-date=December 10, 2010}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |title=TV Clout On Trial In White Sox Suit |url=http://articles.sun-sentinel.com/1988-10-21/sports/8803010857_1_white-sox-television-ratings-comiskey-park |author=Jeff Rusnak |newspaper=[[Fort Lauderdale Sun-Sentinel]] |date=October 21, 1988 |access-date=October 12, 2015 |archive-date=December 10, 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151210190306/http://articles.sun-sentinel.com/1988-10-21/sports/8803010857_1_white-sox-television-ratings-comiskey-park |url-status=dead}}</ref>

The Bulls began carrying their games with its inaugural season in [[1966–67 Chicago Bulls season|1966]]; after airing their games on WFLD for four years, the Bulls returned to WGN-TV for the [[1989–90 Chicago Bulls season|1989–90 season]], overlapping with the start of the team's NBA championship dynasty during [[Michael Jordan]]'s tenure with the team.<ref>{{cite magazine |title=Chicago Bulls for WGN-TV |periodical=Broadcasting |page=10 |date=August 29, 1966}}</ref><ref name="ct-soxbullsleavewfldforwgn"/> WGN initially carried Blackhawks [[NHL]] games (which, per prohibitions on televised home games imposed by then-owner [[Bill Wirtz]] in order to sustain ticket sales, were restricted to away games) from [[1961–62 Chicago Black Hawks season|1961]] until [[1974–75 Chicago Black Hawks season|1975]]. The Blackhawks returned to the station during the [[2008–09 Chicago Blackhawks season|2008–09 season]], with a package of both home and away games (the result of [[Rocky Wirtz]]'s decision to end the home game television blackout after taking over the franchise's ownership following his father's death).<ref>{{cite news |title=Blackhawks to Televise All Games, Join 20th Century |url=http://slapshot.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/04/01/blackhawks-to-televise-all-games-join-20th-century/ |author=Stu Hackel |newspaper=The New York Times |date=April 1, 2008 |access-date=October 12, 2015}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |title=WGN, Comcast Deals Make History for Hawks |url=https://www.questia.com/read/1G1-197439470 |author=Tim Sassone |newspaper=[[Daily Herald (Arlington Heights)|Daily Herald]] |via= |date=April 2, 2008 |access-date=}}{{dead link |date=July 2021}}</ref> WGN-TV carried Chicago Bears regular season football games as a [[NFL on DuMont|DuMont affiliate]] during the [[1951 NFL season]], after which the team moved their telecasts to ABC (and by association, ABC O&O WBKB-TV [now WLS-TV]) under a limited contract; the Bears aired their first game on WGN in 55 years on October 1, 2012, when the station carried the team's ''[[Monday Night Football]]'' matchup against the [[Dallas Cowboys]]. ([[NFL]] rules require national games aired by cable networks to be syndicated to broadcast stations in the participating teams' home markets.) Although WLS-TV has right of first refusal to ''MNF'' due to its corporate parent [[The Walt Disney Company]]'s majority ownership of [[ESPN]], WLS passed on carrying the game in order to air that night's live broadcast of ABC's ''[[Dancing with the Stars (American TV series)|Dancing with the Stars]]''.<ref>{{cite web |title=WGN to Simulcast Monday Night's Bears Game |url=http://www.mediabistro.com/tvspy/wgn-to-simulcast-monday-nights-bears-game_b63759 |author=Kevin Eck |website=TVSpy |publisher=Mediabistro Holdings |date=September 28, 2012 |access-date=January 10, 2015}}</ref>

From November 1978 until October 2014, WGN America frequently simulcast WGN Sports broadcasts (mostly Cubs, White Sox and Bulls games) nationwide, when permitted under the station's sports contracts. (Tribune's President and CEO at the time, [[Peter Liguori]], cited the limited viewership and advertising revenue generated from televising sports on a national basis relative to their contractual expense for its decision to stop carrying WGN's sports telecasts over WGN America after the [[2014 MLB season]].)<ref>{{cite news |title=WGN America to drop Chicago sports |url=http://www.chicagobusiness.com/article/20140530/NEWS01/140539978/wgn-america-to-drop-chicago-sports |author=Lynne Marek |newspaper=[[Crain's Chicago Business]] |publisher=[[Crain Communications]] |date=May 30, 2014 |access-date=June 27, 2014}}</ref> In addition, until it ceased offering sporting events in September 2019, WGN-TV also distributed its White Sox and Bulls telecasts to television stations in Illinois, Indiana and Iowa that are within their respective broadcast territories (including CW affiliate [[WISH-TV]] in Indianapolis and the subchannels of WGN sister stations [[WHO-DT]] in [[Des Moines]] and WQAD in Davenport, Iowa).<ref>{{cite news |title=WHO-TV to air select White Sox, Cubs games at Channel 13.3 |url=http://blogs.desmoinesregister.com/dmr/index.php/2011/05/31/who-tv-to-air-white-sox-cubs-games-at-channel-13-3 |author=David Elbert |newspaper=[[The Des Moines Register]] |date=May 31, 2011 |access-date=September 3, 2015}}{{dead link |date=January 2018 |bot=medic}}{{cbignore |bot=medic}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |title=WQAD picking up 45 Cubs, 55 Sox games |url=http://qctimes.com/entertainment/wqad-picking-up-cubs-sox-games/article_003e47a9-bf66-5bd0-afc9-9a7ea97a59ac.html |newspaper=[[Quad-City Times]] |publisher=[[Lee Enterprises]] |date=March 5, 2015 |access-date=September 3, 2015}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |title=WISH-WNDY To Carry Cubs, White Sox |url=http://www.tvnewscheck.com/article/83915/wishwndy-to-carry-cubs-white-sox |website=TVNewsCheck |date=March 20, 2015 |access-date=September 3, 2015}}</ref> WGN-TV's Cubs and White Sox game broadcasts also were often carried on the [[MLB Extra Innings]] feeds available to DirecTV subscribers, sometimes including local commercials and station promotions that were not shown during the WGN America telecasts from the imposition of the SyndEx rules until the 2014 separation of the national and local feeds. (This also was the case for WGN-produced games shown on WPWR-TV, as well as WLS-TV's Cubs broadcasts.)

On January 2, 2019, the White Sox, Bulls and Blackhawks agreed to an exclusive multi-year deal with NBC Sports Chicago to take effect that fall. This was followed on February 13 by the announcement of the formation of the [[Marquee Sports Network]], a joint venture between the Cubs and Sinclair Broadcast Group that launched in the spring of 2020.<ref>{{cite news |title=NBC Sports Chicago Announces New Pact With White Sox, Bulls, and Blackhawks |url=https://www.nbcchicago.com/news/sports/nbc-sports-chicago-announces-new-deal-with-white-sox-bulls-and-blackhawks-503802931.html |website=[[WMAQ-TV]] |publisher=[[NBC Owned Television Stations]] |date=January 2, 2019 |access-date=January 4, 2019}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |title=NBC Sports Chicago announces multiyear deal with the White Sox, Bulls and Blackhawks |url=https://www.chicagotribune.com/sports/breaking/ct-spt-nbc-sports-chicago-bulls-blackhawks-white-sox-20190102-story.html |author=Teddy Greenstein |newspaper=Chicago Tribune |date=January 2, 2019 |access-date=March 20, 2019}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |title=The Cubs are starting a new TV channel in 2020. Here's what that means for fans. |url=https://www.chicagotribune.com/sports/baseball/cubs/ct-spt-cubs-marquee-tv-channel-debut-sinclair-what-to-know-20190213-story.html |author=Phil Rosenthal |newspaper=Chicago Tribune |date=February 13, 2019 |access-date=March 20, 2019}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |title=Cubs launching a network of their own, Marquee Sports Network |url=http://www.espn.com/mlb/story/_/id/25987146/chicago-cubs-launching-marquee-sports-network-partnering-sinclair-broadcasting-group |author=Jesse Rogers |website=[[ESPN]] |publisher=[[ESPN Inc.]] |date=February 13, 2019 |access-date=March 20, 2019}}</ref> As a consequence of the four teams electing to move their local game telecasts off broadcast television completely in favor of airing them exclusively over regional sports networks, WGN wound down its local sports coverage throughout the spring and summer of 2019—beginning with the April 1 game between the Blackhawks and the [[Winnipeg Jets]],<ref>{{cite web |title=2018–19 Chicago Blackhawks Television Schedule |url=https://nhl.bamcontent.com/images/assets/binary/300276784/binary-file/file.pdf |website=[[Chicago Blackhawks]] |publisher=[[National Hockey League]] |access-date=October 27, 2019}}</ref> and continuing with its final game telecasts involving the Bulls (an [[Madison Square Garden|away]] game against the [[New York Knicks]] on April 9)<ref>{{cite news |title=WGN-TV Announces 2018–19 Chicago Bulls TV Schedule |url=https://wgntv.com/2018/08/30/wgn-tv-announces-2018-19-chicago-bulls-tv-schedule/ |website=WGN-TV |publisher=Tribune Broadcasting |date=August 30, 2018 |access-date=October 23, 2019}}</ref> and the Cubs (an [[Busch Stadium|away]] game against the [[Cardinals–Cubs rivalry|rival]] [[St. Louis Cardinals]] on September 27)<ref>{{cite news |title=After Over 70 Years, The Cubs On WGN Is Coming To An End |url=https://www.forbes.com/sites/jaredwyllys/2019/09/13/after-over-70-years-the-cubs-on-wgn-is-coming-to-an-end/#632ecbf8560b |website=[[Forbes]] |date=September 13, 2019 |access-date=October 23, 2019}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=WGN's final Wrigley Field broadcast appropriately includes tributes, memories, and a Cubs loss |url=https://awfulannouncing.com/local-networks/wgn-final-wrigley-field-broadcast.html |author=Sean Keeley |website=Awful Announcing |date=September 21, 2019 |access-date=October 23, 2019}}</ref>—as the station's contracts with all four teams gradually expired.<ref>{{cite news |title=Sports media: Will Chicago teams leave WGN-TV without any sports? |url=https://chicago.suntimes.com/sports/chicago-sports-media-wgn-tv-blackhawks-bull-cubs-white-sox-marquee-sports-network-nbc-sports-chicago/ |author=Jeff Agrest |newspaper=Chicago Sun-Times |date=March 7, 2019 |access-date=March 20, 2019}}</ref> WGN-TV's final sports telecast involving any of the station's four legacy professional sports broadcast partners was the second game of a White Sox–[[Detroit Tigers]] doubleheader at [[Guaranteed Rate Field]] on September 28, 2019.<ref>{{cite news |title=A rare Hicks-up for White Sox bullpen: Colome blows lead, Tigers gain split |url=https://chicago.suntimes.com/white-sox/2019/9/28/20889224/a-rare-hicks-up-for-white-sox-bullpen-colome-blows-lead-tigers-gain-split |author=Daryl Van Schouwen |newspaper=Chicago Sun-Times |date=September 28, 2019 |access-date=October 27, 2019}}</ref> However, on February 19, 2020, [[Chicago Fire FC]] announced a multi-year agreement with WGN-TV to broadcast their [[Major League Soccer]] (MLS) telecasts on the station, beginning with its March 7 match against the [[New England Revolution]], returning regular sporting events to Channel 9 after a seven-month hiatus.<ref name="wgn-firesoccer">{{cite news |title=WGN-TV to air 24 Chicago Fire Football Club games in landmark multi-year broadcast agreement |url=https://wgntv.com/2020/02/19/wgn-tv-to-air-24-chicago-fire-football-club-games-in-landmark-multi-year-broadcast-agreement/ |website=WGN-TV |publisher=[[Nexstar Media Group]] |date=February 19, 2020 |access-date=February 19, 2020 |archive-date=February 20, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200220163146/https://wgntv.com/2020/02/19/wgn-tv-to-air-24-chicago-fire-football-club-games-in-landmark-multi-year-broadcast-agreement/ |url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |title=Chicago Fire reach a multiyear deal with WGN to televise games |url=https://www.chicagotribune.com/sports/soccer/ct-chicago-fire-wgn-tv-deal-20200219-dz5od33jdbaclojqe6c5aytrhu-story.html |author=Jeremy Mikula |newspaper=Chicago Tribune |date=February 19, 2020}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |title=Back to play-by-play, WGN to air Chicago Fire soccer broadcasts |url=https://www.robertfeder.com/2020/02/19/back-play-play-wgn-air-chicago-fire-soccer-broadcasts/ |author=Robert Feder |website=RobertFeder.com |date=February 19, 2020}}</ref> Those games moved to [[MLS Season Pass]] beginning in 2023, and without any NFL-style syndication rights, the [[2022 Chicago Fire FC season|2022 season]] was the final season for Fire broadcasts on any television channel.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.msn.com/en-us/sports/soccer/mls-signs-10-year-2-5-billion-plus-global-deal-with-apple-for-all-mls-matches-with-some-available-in-base-appletv-app-and-some-requiring-a-separate-subscription/ar-AAYsFzx?ocid=msedgntp&cvid=c660f06420b8435c8024f9db2e65de64 |title=MLS signs 10-year, $2.5-billion-plus global deal with Apple for all MLS matches, with some available in base AppleTV app and some requiring a separate subscription |website=[[MSN]]}}</ref> The deal also marks the first time in the station's 74-year history that Channel 9 will not have any local sports programming on the station.

WGN returned to The CW in small manner in 2023, when it began to broadcast weekend coverage from the now Nexstar-owned network of the controversial [[LIV Golf]] league in place of WCIU, which refused to carry it due to already-existing weekend programming commitments.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.tdogmedia.com/2023/02/nexstar-to-air-liv-golf-matches-on-wgn-tv-and-not-wciu.html |title=Nexstar to air LIV Golf matches on WGN-TV – and not WCIU |date=February 16, 2023 |publisher=TDog Media |access-date=February 24, 2023}}</ref> WGN will also air [[Atlantic Coast Conference]] football and men's basketball games instead of WCIU.{{cn|date=September 2023}}

===News operation===
{{As of|January 2020}}, WGN-TV presently broadcasts 72½ hours of locally produced newscasts each week (with 12½ hours each weekday, 5½ hours on Saturdays and 4½ hours on Sundays); in regards to the number of hours devoted to news programming, it is the highest newscast output of any television station in the Chicago market and the state of Illinois, and the sixth-highest newscast output in the United States behind [[WAGA-TV]] in Atlanta, [[WHDH (TV)|WHDH]] in Boston, [[KTVK]] in [[Phoenix, Arizona|Phoenix]], WISH-TV in Indianapolis, and WGN-TV's sister station KTLA in Los Angeles. In addition to its conventional local newscasts, the station produces two late-evening sports news programs: ''{{'}}GN Sports'', a half-hour sports highlight and interview program (airing nightly at 10:30&nbsp;p.m.), which is co-anchored by longtime [[sports director]] Dan Roan (who joined WGN as a weekend sports anchor and sports reporter in 1984) and [[Jarrett Payton]] (son of late Chicago Bears [[Pro Football Hall of Fame|Hall of Famer]] [[Walter Payton]], and brother of former ''Chicago's Best'' host and current WFLD anchor Brittney Payton, who joined the station in 2015 as the 4&nbsp;p.m. sports anchor for the ''WGN Evening News'');<ref name="feder-gnsports">{{cite web |title=WGN to launch half-hour sports show at 10:30 weeknights |url=https://www.robertfeder.com/2020/01/16/wgn-launch-half-hour-sports-show-1030-weeknights/ |author=Robert Feder |website=RobertFeder.com |date=January 16, 2020 |access-date=January 29, 2020}}</ref> and ''Instant Replay'', a 20-minute Sunday evening highlight program (airing during the final 20 minutes of the 9&nbsp;p.m. newscast), which is solo anchored by Roan.

Until regular sports telecasts on WGN-TV ended in September 2019, the station's midday, early and late evening newscasts were subject to (at least, partial) preemption or delay due to local sports telecasts overrunning into that time period; from July 8, 2010, onward, CLTV had served as an alternate broadcaster of WGN-TV newscasts that were preempted by the latter's sports broadcasts and aired live half-hour editions of ''WGN News at Nine'' on nights when Channel 9 carried a sports event being held on the [[Pacific Time Zone|West Coast]] that started locally at 9&nbsp;p.m. (An additional half-hour live newscast followed the game telecast on WGN-TV, which had originally been titled under the ''WGN News at Nine'' brand prior to the 2016 launch of its 10&nbsp;p.m. newscast.)<ref>{{cite press release |title=WGN News at Nine to Air on CLTV & Stream Live on WGNtv.com When Baseball on WGN-TV Starts at 9pm |url=http://corporate.tribune.com/pressroom/?p=1978/ |website=Tribune Company |access-date=December 9, 2010 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110717101340/http://corporate.tribune.com/pressroom/?p=1978%2F |archive-date=July 17, 2011}}</ref> The WGN-TV weather staff also provides local weather updates for WGN Radio under an agreement that began on October 13, 2008, at the conclusion of [[The Weather Channel]]'s ten-year content partnership with the radio station.<ref>{{cite press release |title=WGN Radio to Partner With WGN-TV to Deliver Top Local Weather Reporting to Listeners |url=http://corporate.tribune.com/pressroom/?p=1331/ |website=Tribune Company |date=October 13, 2008 |access-date=December 9, 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110717101505/http://corporate.tribune.com/pressroom/?p=1331%2F |archive-date=July 17, 2011 |url-status=dead}}</ref>

====News department history====
[[File:Federal Center 20180613 (25).jpg|210px|right|thumb|News van outside the [[Dirksen Federal Building]] in June 2018.]]
Although sports has been a major part of WGN-TV's identity, the station has also been well known in the Chicago area for its news programming, which, through its former co-ownership with the ''Chicago Tribune'', has played an important role since its launch. WGN's news department—which shared operations and management with WGN Radio until the news division was split into separate departments maintained by the respective properties in 1983—began operations along with the station on April 5, 1948, with the launch of its first regular news program, the ''Chicagoland Newsreel'', which was the first television newscast in the Chicago market to consist entirely of filmed coverage. The 15-minute broadcast—which originally aired weeknights at 6:45&nbsp;p.m., with a midday edition at 11:30&nbsp;a.m. being added in September 1949—was anchored by [[news director]] Spencer Allen (who had been a reporter and news writer for WGN Radio since 1938) and used a large staff of photographers and technicians, many of whom had previously worked for the ''Tribune''; Allen also anchored a 15-minute midday news program for Channel 9, ''Spencer Allen and the News'', from 1951 to 1953.<ref>{{cite news |title=Spencer Allen, TV News Pioneer |url=https://www.chicagotribune.com/news/ct-xpm-1999-02-25-9902250178-story.html |author=Diane Struzzi |newspaper=Chicago Tribune |date=February 25, 1999 |access-date=March 25, 2019}}</ref>

From 1948 to 1965, WGN also produced an additional 15-minute-long newscast at 6:30&nbsp;p.m., with Austin Kiplinger (to be replaced by Allen in 1953 and then by [[Lloyd Pettit]] in 1956) reading the news summary and Frann Weigel as the weather anchor; the program was expanded to a half-hour in September 1955, when ''Newsreel'' was discontinued in favor of an amended sports news segment (anchored originally by [[Vince Lloyd]]). Under Allen's leadership, WGN-TV's newscasts evolved from a "police blotter/fire alarm-type of news operation" to incorporating more in-depth and investigative reports. WGN-TV also was the first Chicago television station to televise a local appearance by a [[U.S. President]] (carrying [[Harry S. Truman]]'s 1948 visit to Chicago) and provided mobile coverage of Gen. [[Douglas MacArthur]]'s visit to the city (in April 1951); it has also provided coverage of the Republican and Democratic presidential conventions each election cycle since 1952, and provided extensive pool coverage of [[Pope John Paul II]]'s Mass at [[Grant Park (Chicago)|Grant Park]] in 1979.

In September 1951, Channel 9 began carrying a 15-minute late night edition of ''Chicagoland Newsreel'' that followed its late evening movie presentations (which began at 10&nbsp;p.m. at the time). By 1967, the program had evolved into ''Night Beat'', a 30-minute overnight newscast that—until it was discontinued in 1983—featured the main anchor (which had included, among others, Greyson, McNeeley, Cliff Mercer and [[Jack Taylor (journalist)|Jack Taylor]]) presenting a summary of local and world news headlines as well as a brief weather forecast summary. In February 1955, the station installed a coaxial cable link from the city room of the ''Chicago Tribune'' (originally done for the early newscast, ''First Edition'', which aired from 1954 to 1956) to allow ''Tribune'' reporters and contributors to provide information on developing stories being covered by the newspaper and the WGN news department.<ref>{{cite magazine |title=WGN-TV Gets Hot News From 'Trib' |periodical=Broadcasting |page=64 |date=February 24, 1958}}</ref> After WGN-TV became an independent station in August 1956, the evening newscast was moved to 7&nbsp;p.m.—becoming the market's first prime time newscast and often being subjected to sports-induced preemptions—before settling at 10&nbsp;p.m. in September 1959, originally under the title ''10th Hour News'' (known in later years as ''The Park-Ruddle News'' and ''[Jack Taylor/John Drury and] NewsNine''). In May 1960, the late newscast (which, by that point, was anchored by Jim Conway, who also hosted a self-titled daytime talk show at the time) became the first local television news program in the U.S. to expand to a half-hour broadcast. Standard news updates presented by various on-staff anchors—under the title ''WGN Newsbreak''—also ran during the late morning, early afternoon and prime time hours in-between programs.<ref>{{cite magazine |title=WGN advertisement |periodical=Broadcasting |page=2 |date=October 16, 1961}}</ref>

In 1965, WGN appointed the first dual-anchor team ever employed in Chicago television news, as Gary Park (who came to the station from [[KCRA-TV]] in [[Sacramento]]) and Jim Ruddle (who previously worked at [[WTVT]] in [[Tampa]]) took the helm of the evening newscasts. On January 9, 1967, WGN shifted the 10 p.m. edition of the newscast by 15 minutes (concurrently reducing it to that length) in an attempt to improve viewership by placing the telephone quiz show ''The Name Game'' in the timeslot, reducing competition with late newscasts on WLS-TV, WMAQ-TV and WBBM-TV. (This experiment ended in May 1967, when WGN reverted to carrying the late newscast in its former 10&nbsp;p.m. slot and expanded it to 25 minutes.) The Park-Ruddle combination was broken up in June 1967, when Ruddle left to join NBC-owned WMAQ-TV, to be followed two years later by Park taking a prime time anchor role at fellow independent [[KTVU]] (now a Fox owned-and-operated station) in [[San Francisco]].<ref>{{cite web |title=Anchorman Ruddle sets sail as novelist |url=https://www.robertfeder.com/2014/05/11/ex-anchorman-ruddle-sets-sail-as-novelist/ |author=Robert Feder |website=RobertFeder.com |date=May 11, 2014 |access-date=March 25, 2019}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |title=Anchor's Aweigh |url=https://www.chicagotribune.com/news/ct-xpm-1988-11-27-8802190970-story.html |author=Michael Kilian |newspaper=Chicago Tribune |date=November 27, 1988 |access-date=March 25, 2019}}</ref><ref>{{cite magazine |title=WGN-TV upsets Chicago news hour with no news |periodical=Broadcasting |page=9 |date=December 26, 1966}}</ref> Also in 1965, WGN premiered its first attempt at a morning news show with ''Top 'o' the Morning''; [[Orion Samuelson]]—then a farm reporter for WGN Radio, who would eventually host the syndicated ''U.S. Farm Report'' starting in 1975—and Harold Turner (later replaced by Max Armstrong) provided agricultural news and weather. The program was replaced in May 1984 by a traditional morning newscast, ''Chicago's First Report'', which was canceled due to low viewership that December.

The WGN news department has long been one of the most respected local television news operations in the United States and has earned several journalism awards throughout its history, including [[Emmy]], [[Associated Press]], [[United Press International]] and [[Alfred I. duPont–Columbia University Award|duPont-Columbia Awards]]. The station has also long established top-drawer talent for its newscasts, many of whom have worked at WGN-TV for more than ten years, including Jack Taylor (anchor/reporter, 1954–1984, whose run included a stint as primary weeknight anchor from 1970 to 1979),<ref>{{cite news |title=Jack Taylor Finds 'Freedom' |url=https://www.chicagotribune.com/news/ct-xpm-1989-07-18-8902180368-story.html |author=Rick Kogan |newspaper=Chicago Tribune |date=July 18, 1989 |access-date=March 25, 2019}}</ref> Carl Greyson (anchor, reporter and staff announcer, 1955–1980),<ref>{{cite news |title=WGN Announcer Carl Greyson |url=https://www.chicagotribune.com/news/ct-xpm-1989-08-01-8901010140-story.html |author=Kenan Heise |newspaper=Chicago Tribune |date=August 1, 1989 |access-date=March 25, 2019}}</ref> Marty McNeeley (anchor/reporter, 1969–1986),<ref>{{cite news |title=Marty McNeeley, 1926–2013 |url=https://www.chicagotribune.com/news/ct-xpm-2013-04-03-ct-met-mcneeley-obit-20130403-story.html |newspaper=Chicago Tribune |date=April 3, 2013 |access-date=March 25, 2019}}</ref> [[Robert Jordan (newscaster)|Robert Jordan]] (anchor/reporter, 1973–1978 and 1980–2016), Muriel Clair (assignment reporter, 1978–present, part-time since December 2011),<ref>{{cite news |title=Muriel Clair semi-retiring from WGN-Ch.9 after 33 years |url=https://www.chicagotribune.com/business/ct-xpm-2012-01-13-chi-muriel-clair-semiretiring-from-wgnch9-after-33-years-20120113-story.html |author=Robert Channick |newspaper=Chicago Tribune |date=January 13, 2012 |access-date=March 25, 2019}}</ref> and Steve Sanders (anchor/reporter, 1982–2020).<ref>{{cite web |title=Anchorman Steve Sanders to retire after 'amazing run' at WGN |url=https://www.robertfeder.com/2020/02/03/anchorman-steve-sanders-retire-amazing-run-wgn/ |author=Robert Feder |website=RobertFeder.com |date=February 3, 2020}}</ref> [[John Drury (television anchor)|John Drury]] joined WGN-TV in 1967 for what would be a three-year stint as anchor of its 10&nbsp;p.m. news as well as occasionally serving as anchor of ''Night Beat''. After working for WLS-TV for nine years, Drury returned to his former role at WGN in 1979, displacing Jack Taylor as 10&nbsp;p.m. ''NewsNine'' anchor. During his second stint at WGN, Drury took on an expanded role doing assignment and investigative reporting (often producing the reports with investigative reporter Alex Burkholder). In 1982, then-Mayor [[Jane Byrne]], accompanied by members of her public relations and cabinet staff, tried to talk Drury into shelving a report on Byrne's use of public funds towards city festivals designed to promote her administration in relation to her stint residing in the [[Cabrini-Green]] housing project. Drury went forward with the investigative report, which aided in Byrne's loss to [[Harold Washington]] in the 1983 Democratic mayoral primary and would help earn Drury a Chicago Emmy Award for Individual Excellence (the first of four Emmys during his career).<ref>{{cite news |title=Drury's verdict |url=https://www.chicagotribune.com/news/ct-xpm-2002-03-01-0203010119-story.html |author=Jon Anderson |newspaper=Chicago Tribune |date=March 1, 2002 |access-date=March 25, 2019}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |title=John Drury: 1927—2007 |url=https://www.chicagotribune.com/news/ct-xpm-2007-11-26-0711260130-story.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190321200718/https://www.chicagotribune.com/news/ct-xpm-2007-11-26-0711260130-story.html |archive-date=March 21, 2019 |author1=Karoun Demirjian |author2=William Presecky |newspaper=Chicago Tribune |date=November 26, 2007 |access-date=March 25, 2019}}</ref>

Another mainstay of WGN-TV has been [[Tom Skilling]], who joined WGN in August 1978 to succeed [[Harry Volkman]] (who had two stints at the station, first from 1967 until 1970 and again from 1974 until the summer of 1978) as the station's main evening meteorologist. Skilling—who is rumored to be the highest paid local television meteorologist in the United States—would become known for presenting his on-air forecasts with detailed but fairly easy-to-understand analysis and striking accuracy (most noted by his predictions of the [[Groundhog Day blizzard]] two weeks before it created paralyzing effects on the Chicago area in late January and early February 2011), and with routine usage of ensemble computer models to illustrate expected weather scenarios. Skilling has also occasionally hosted half-hour documentary specials explaining extreme weather phenomenon and advancements in forecasting technology (including 1991's ''It Sounded Like a Freight Train'', focusing on the science of the Chicago area's climatological history with tornadoes, and 1992's ''When Lightning Strikes'', centering on the science and dangers of lightning), which have earned several Chicago Emmy nominations and award wins, as well as a weekly feature on the 9&nbsp;p.m. newscast, ''Ask Tom Why'', in which Skilling answers viewer-submitted weather questions (and which served as the basis for a similarly formatted column featured in the ''Tribune''{{'}}s weather page). Under Skilling, WGN also coordinated the centralization of its weather operations to encompass WGN-TV, WGN Radio, CLTV, and the ''Tribune'', and, in May 2007, became a broadcast partner in the [[WeatherBug]] real-time [[Automated weather station|automated weather observation]] network (the largest station member by market size). Skilling holds the record as the longest-serving television meteorologist at a single station in the Chicago market, having served as chief meteorologist at WGN-TV for 45 years until he retired from the station and from broadcasting on February 28, 2024. (Volkman holds the record as Chicago's longest-serving television meteorologist overall, having worked in the market from 1959 until he retired from broadcasting in 2004, including other stints at WMAQ-TV and WFLD as well as an 18-year run as chief meteorologist at WBBM-TV.)<ref>{{cite web |title=The Cult of Tom |url=http://www.chicagomag.com/Chicago-Magazine/June-2008/The-Cult-of-Tom/ |periodical=[[Chicago Magazine]] |date=June 1, 2008 |access-date=March 25, 2019}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |title=WGN-TV Celebrates 40 Years with Chief Meteorologist Tom Skilling |url=https://wgntv.com/2018/08/09/wgn-tv-celebrates-40-years-with-chief-meteorologist-tom-skilling/ |website=WGN-TV |publisher=Tribune Broadcasting |date=August 9, 2018 |access-date=March 25, 2019 |archive-date=March 21, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190321200646/https://wgntv.com/2018/08/09/wgn-tv-celebrates-40-years-with-chief-meteorologist-tom-skilling/ |url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |title=For Skilling, There Is No Such Thing as Bad Weather |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2011/11/25/business/media/for-tom-skilling-no-such-thing-as-bad-weather.html |author=Dan McGrath |newspaper=The New York Times |date=November 24, 2011 |access-date=March 25, 2019}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |title=Tom Skilling |url=https://qctimes.com/tom-skilling/article_fc7eb39e-585d-11df-a522-001cc4c002e0.html |newspaper=[[Quad-City Times]] |publisher=[[Lee Enterprises]] |date=May 5, 2010 |access-date=March 25, 2019}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=WGN-TV and WeatherBug Partner to Offer Viewers Live, Neighborhood-Level Weather Reporting—On-air and Online Starting Tuesday |url=http://www.thefreelibrary.com/WGN-TV+and+WeatherBug+Partner+to+Offer+Viewers+Live%2c...-a0163701102/ |agency=PR Newswire |website=WGN-TV |publisher=Tribune Broadcasting |via=The Free Library |date=May 21, 2007 |access-date=December 10, 2010 |archive-date=October 22, 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121022044743/http://www.thefreelibrary.com/WGN-TV+and+WeatherBug+Partner+to+Offer+Viewers+Live,...-a0163701102/ |url-status=dead}}</ref>

The late newscast was moved into prime time on March 10, 1980, concurrently becoming known as ''The Nine O'Clock News'' (later retitled ''WGN News at Nine'' in May 1993, as part of a uniform retitling of its newscasts under the ''WGN News'' moniker used in some promotions and report sign-offs since 1981). The shift to the 9&nbsp;p.m. hour briefly made it the first hour-long prime time newscast in the Midwest and, for its first seven years in that slot, it was the Chicago market's only local television newscast at 9 p.m. Initially airing five nights a week for one hour, the revamped weeknight-only newscast was first anchored by the prior ''NewsNine'' team of Drury, Skilling, sports anchor Bill Frink and commentator Len O'Connor. On June 9 of that year, the program switched to a hybrid local-national format that incorporated the ''[[Independent Network News (TV program)|Independent Network News]]'' (''INN'')—a Tribune-syndicated nightly news program originating from New York sister station WPIX, which was later retitled ''INN: The Independent News'' in September 1984 and ''USA Tonight'' in January 1987—in place of the locally produced segments that had occupied the 9:30&nbsp;p.m. half-hour since the March format change. After briefly being relegated to weeknights following the shift to prime time, half-hour weekend editions of the 9&nbsp;p.m. broadcast were added on October 4, 1980, anchored originally by Larry Roderick and Robert Jordan.<ref>{{cite news |title=WGN trying to outdo Channel 32's challenge |url=https://www.newspaperarchive.com/us/illinois/arlington-heights/daily-herald-suburban-chicago/1980/02-26/page-32 |author=Diane Mermigas |newspaper=[[Daily Herald (Arlington Heights)|Daily Herald]] |via=Newspaper Archive |page=32 |date=February 26, 1980 |access-date=March 25, 2019}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |title=War only a subplot in seamy 'Eternity' |url=https://www.newspaperarchive.com/us/illinois/arlington-heights/daily-herald-suburban-chicago/1980/03-10/page-15 |author=Diane Mermigas |newspaper=Daily Herald |via=Newspaper Archive |page=15 |date=March 10, 1980 |access-date=March 25, 2019}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |title=Newscast to link 30 independent stations |url=https://www.newspaperarchive.com/us/illinois/arlington-heights/daily-herald-suburban-chicago/1980/05-02/page-27 |newspaper=Daily Herald |via=Newspaper Archive |page=27 |date=May 2, 1980 |access-date=March 25, 2019}}</ref><ref>{{cite magazine |title=INN is in business |periodical=Broadcasting |page=79 |date=June 16, 1980}}<br />{{cite magazine |title=INN is in business |periodical=Broadcasting |page=80 |date=June 16, 1980}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |title=WGN blazes new trail in battle for viewers |url=https://www.newspaperarchive.com/us/illinois/arlington-heights/daily-herald-suburban-chicago/1980/09-08/page-16 |author=Diane Mermigas |newspaper=Daily Herald |via=Newspaper Archive |page=16 |date=September 8, 1980 |access-date=March 25, 2019}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |title=WLS-TV gambles on boost in ratings from news facelift |url=https://www.newspaperarchive.com/us/illinois/arlington-heights/daily-herald-suburban-chicago/1980/07-21/page-32 |newspaper=Daily Herald |via=Newspaper Archive |page=32 |date=July 21, 1980 |access-date=March 25, 2019}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |title=INN to Feature a New Approach |author=Steve Daley |newspaper=Chicago Tribune |page=5 |date=January 9, 1987 |id={{ProQuest|290997656}}}}</ref> By 1985, Drury (who returned to his previous role as main co-anchor at WLS-TV in late 1984) and Denise Cannon (who became the former's co-anchor in 1981 and departed at the end of 1984) were succeeded as principal anchors by Rick Rosenthal and [[Pat Harvey]].

Since the reformatting as a prime time newscast, WGN-TV has been the ratings leader in the 9&nbsp;p.m. timeslot, with or without news competition in the arena and even at times when weaker-rated shows led into the newscast, and typically holds a larger audience than the 10&nbsp;p.m. newscast on WBBM-TV. The 9&nbsp;p.m. newscast's dominance was to such an extent that, from 1984 until 1989 (when it was unseated by KTVU in San Francisco), it had the largest viewership of any prime time local newscast in the United States. Legitimate competition sprang up for ''The Nine O'Clock News'' on November 16, 1987, when Fox O&O WFLD consolidated the half-hour 7 and 11&nbsp;p.m. newscasts that launched its full-scale news operation three months earlier into a single broadcast at 9 p.m.<ref name="tvra-wgnnews">{{cite magazine |title=News makes TV rating news |periodical=Television/Radio Age |publisher=Television Editorial Corp. |page=A34 |date=March 6, 1989}}<br />{{cite magazine |title=News makes TV rating news |periodical=Television/Radio Age |publisher=Television Editorial Corp. |page=A36 |date=March 6, 1989}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |title=WFLD-TV Rolls the Dice with its Nightly News Slot |url=http://articles.chicagotribune.com/1987-11-20/features/8703270435_1_newscast-cosby-show-competitive-time-period |author=Steve Daley |newspaper=Chicago Tribune |date=November 20, 1987 |access-date=September 5, 2015}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |title=Fox flashback: When Murdoch put his mark on local news |url=https://www.timeout.com/chicago/tv/fox-flashback-when-murdoch-put-his-mark-on-local-news |author=Robert Feder |website=[[Time Out Chicago]] |date=July 31, 2012 |access-date=September 3, 2015 |archive-date=October 5, 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151005061235/http://www.timeout.com/chicago/tv/fox-flashback-when-murdoch-put-his-mark-on-local-news |url-status=dead}}</ref> Although WFLD aggressively marketed its fledgling newscast towards younger audiences as having a fresher style compared to WGN's more traditional news format, viewer loyalty has continued to propel Channel 9 to No. 1 in the ratings at 9 p.m. to the present day (with one of the only exceptions being a tie with Channel 32 in the May 1996 sweeps period), even with the WFLD newscast having the Fox prime time lineup as its lead-in. For this reason, WFLD moved its newscast back to its original 7&nbsp;p.m. timeslot in September 1988, only to return it to 9 p.m. the following year to accommodate the planned expansion of Fox's prime time lineup. A sports highlight and interview program, ''Instant Replay'', which has been hosted since its debut by sports director Dan Roan, began accompanying the Sunday edition of the newscast in August 1987. WGN re-expanded its prime time newscast to one hour on June 4, 1990, after Tribune discontinued production of ''USA Tonight'' under a collaborative agreement between Tribune and Turner Broadcasting in which the Tribune stations were granted access to [[CNN Newsource]] content and began feeding video footage to the [[CNN]] video wire service.<ref>{{cite news |title=TV linkup for Tribune, Turner |author=James Warren |newspaper=Chicago Tribune |date=April 10, 1990 |id={{ProQuest|282641212}}}}</ref><ref>{{cite magazine |title=TBS-Tribune join hands for programing |periodical=Broadcasting |page=58 |date=May 28, 1990}}</ref><ref>{{cite magazine |title=Fox gets news edge in L.A., Chicago |author=Cynthia Littleton |periodical=Broadcasting & Cable |page=38 |date=June 3, 1996}}</ref>

WGN began programming long-form news outside its established 9&nbsp;p.m. slot on September 19, 1983, when it debuted ''Midday Newscope'', which grew out of the three-minute-long local news segments that had aired during the ''INN Midday Edition'' (which followed the newscast until that program's September 1985 cancellation) since January 1983. Originally anchored by Rick Rosenthal (who was replaced by Steve Sanders, after Rosenthal replaced Drury as 9&nbsp;p.m. co-anchor in 1984), the newscast—a local version of [[Telepictures]] and [[Gannett|Gannett Broadcasting]]'s short-lived syndicated format, ''Newscope''—featured a hybrid of local news headlines and weather forecasts and in-depth consumer, financial, entertainment and lifestyle features. The program was reformatted into a more traditional newscast, retitled ''Chicago's Midday News'', on September 17, 1984, and later expanded to an hour in September 1985.<ref name="tvra-wgnnews"/><ref>{{cite news |title=Channels 9 and 32 add original programming |url=https://www.newspaperarchive.com/us/illinois/arlington-heights/daily-herald-suburban-chicago/1983/09-18/page-50 |author=Gordon Walek |newspaper=Daily Herald |via=Newspaper Archive |page=50 |date=September 18, 1983 |access-date=March 25, 2019}}</ref><ref>{{cite magazine |title=Daily news series to be offered by Gannett/Telepictures |periodical=Broadcasting |page=30 |date=August 23, 1982}}</ref><ref>{{cite magazine |title='Newscope' service scheduled to be discontinued |periodical=Broadcasting |page=79 |date=June 11, 1984}}</ref> The midday newscast—which concurrently rebranded from ''WGN News at Noon'' to the ''WGN Midday News'' with the expansion—would eventually expand to 90 minutes (moving to an 11:30&nbsp;a.m. start) on September 15, 2008; it was subsequently expanded to two hours (moving to 11&nbsp;a.m.) on October 5, 2009.<ref name="tvnc-wgnmiddayeveningnews">{{cite web |title=WGN Launching 11:30 A.M., 5:30 P.M. News |url=http://www.tvnewscheck.com/article/25379/wgn-launching-1130-am-530-pm-news |website=TVNewsCheck |date=September 11, 2008}}</ref><ref name="b&c-wgnnewsboost">{{cite web |title=WGN Boosts News |url=https://www.broadcastingcable.com/news/wgn-boosts-news-27627 |author=Michael Malone |periodical=Broadcasting & Cable |date=July 7, 2008 |access-date=March 25, 2019}}</ref><ref name="trib-paynematerre">{{cite news |title=WGN's Allison Payne moves to expanded noon news; Micah Materre officially gets 9 p.m. slot |url=http://newsblogs.chicagotribune.com/towerticker/2009/09/wgns-allison-payne-moves-to-expanded-noon-news-micah-materre-officially-gets-takes-9-pm-slot.html#more |author=Phil Rosenthal |newspaper=Chicago Tribune |date=September 16, 2009}}</ref> On September 19, 1988, WGN became the first Chicago television station to [[closed caption]] its newscasts for the [[hearing impaired]].

On January 25, 1992, the station debuted hour-long 8&nbsp;a.m. newscasts on Saturdays and Sundays. To accommodate the launch of ''Chicago's Weekend Morning News'' (which marked the first major weekend morning news attempt in Chicago television and one of the only instances of a television station carrying a morning newscast on weekends without already having a weekday equivalent) and the concurring moves of ''Charlando'' and ''People to People'' to Sundays, WGN dropped three long-running religious programs—''What's Nu'' (produced by the Chicago Board of Rabbis), ''Heritage of Faith'' (produced by [[Protestant]] group Greater Chicago Broadcast Ministries) and ''Mass for Shut-ins'' (produced by the [[Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Chicago]])—from its Sunday morning lineup, a move that was criticized by the Council of Religious Leaders of Metropolitan Chicago and other religious groups on grounds that the programs catered to diverse religious audiences in fulfillment of the station's public service programming obligations. (The latter two programs were subsequently acquired by WGBO-TV, under an agreement which allowed them to continue to be produced out of the WGN-TV studios.) The Sunday edition was discontinued after the September 4, 1994, broadcast; the Saturday edition would follow suit four years later on December 19, 1998, with then-news director Steve Ramsey citing the need to provide more resources for its weekday morning newscasts. Weekend morning newscasts returned on October 2, 2010, with the debut of hour-long editions at 6&nbsp;a.m. (shifted to a two-hour block at 7&nbsp;a.m. on September 10, 2016, following Channel 9's disaffiliation from The CW, and expanded to a third hour on Saturdays until 10&nbsp;a.m. on January 11, 2020).<ref>{{cite news |title=WGN-church tie was boon to both |author=Michael Hirsley |newspaper=Chicago Tribune |date=January 10, 1992 |id={{ProQuest|283130772}}}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |title=Religious shows find new home |author=Michael Hirsley |newspaper=Chicago Tribune |date=February 26, 1992 |id={{ProQuest|283297012}}}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |title='Sports Writers' May Be Near Fox Finish |author=Jim Kirk |newspaper=Chicago Tribune |date=December 9, 1998 |id={{ProQuest|418616840}}}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |title=WGN-Ch. 9 plans new early morning weekend news |url=http://newsblogs.chicagotribune.com/towerticker/2010/08/wgn-ch-9-plans-new-early-morning-weekend-news.html |author=Phil Rosenthal |newspaper=Chicago Tribune |date=August 23, 2010}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=WGN will expand its weekend morning newscast once it becomes an Independent |url=https://changingnewscasts.wordpress.com/2016/08/22/wgn-expand-weekend-morning-news-once-becomes-independent/ |author=Roly Ortega |website=The Changing Newscasts Blog |date=August 22, 2016 |access-date=March 25, 2019}}</ref><ref name="cn-wgnmorenews"/>

Morning news programming was extended to weekdays on September 6, 1994, with the ''[[WGN Morning News]]'' debuting as a one-hour broadcast from 7 to 8&nbsp;a.m., anchored originally by Dave Eckert, Sonja Gantt and meteorologist Paul Huttner. In an effort to improve viewership, the program—which replaced children's programs (including ''The Bozo Show'', which displaced the Sunday edition of the morning newscast) that had previously aired in that time period—was soon reformatted from a more traditional newscast to feature a mix of straight news and entertainment and lifestyle features that use a looser style similar to morning radio programs. This reformatting helped the ''Morning News'' to eventually begin beating competing local and national morning news programs—including its closest initial competitor, WFLD's ''Fox Thing in the Morning'' (now ''Good Day Chicago'')—in the 25–54 age demographic and in total viewers. (The program would expand to two hours, extending until 9&nbsp;a.m., on January 8, 1996, with a later hour-long expansion [to 10&nbsp;a.m.] on September 3, 2013.) An hour-long 6&nbsp;a.m. "''Early Edition''" of the newscast debuted on August 5, 1996; this block of the newscast would gradually expand to three hours, beginning with the addition of a 5:30&nbsp;a.m. half-hour in January 2001 and ending with its July 11, 2011, extension to 4&nbsp;a.m.<ref>{{cite news |title=Dahl's Final Surprise Chills Departing Meier |author=Steve Nidetz |newspaper=Chicago Tribune |date=September 4, 1994 |id={{ProQuest|283943365}}}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Attention Early Birds! WGN Morning News Starts at 4:00AM Beginning July 11 |url=http://www.wgntv.com/about/station/pressrelease/wgntv-early-birds-wgn-morning-news-starts-at-4am-20110616,0,5721549.story |website=WGN-TV |publisher=Tribune Broadcasting |date=June 16, 2011 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110914071444/http://www.wgntv.com/about/station/pressrelease/wgntv-early-birds-wgn-morning-news-starts-at-4am-20110616,0,5721549.story |archive-date=September 14, 2011}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=WGN Morning News To Expand Starting September 3 |url=http://chicagoradioandmedia.com/news/5702-wgn-morning-news-to-expand-starting-september-3 |website=Chicagoland Radio and Media |date=June 24, 2013 |access-date=September 3, 2015}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=WGN Announces Morning Show Expansion and Changes to On-Air Lineup |url=http://www.adweek.com/tvspy/wgn-announces-morning-show-expansion-and-changes-to-on-air-lineup/102548 |author=Kevin Eck |website=[[AdWeek|TVSpy]] |publisher=[[Prometheus Global Media|Mediabistro Holdings]] |date=August 22, 2013 |access-date=September 3, 2015}}</ref> (The ''WGN Morning News'' became the first WGN-TV newscast to be denied clearance on the national feed in September 1996, with its forced removal reportedly being due to self-imposed exclusivity restrictions concerning the newscast's paid segments and rate charges that the station's sales department would have to pay if the segments aired nationally; simulcasts of the ''WGN Morning News'' temporarily returned to WGN America on February 3, 2014, when it began airing the 4&nbsp;a.m. hour.)

In July 1996, WGN-TV began using a [[Eurocopter AS350|Eurocopter AS350 B2]] helicopter for newsgathering, "Skycam 9", which is used for certain breaking news events and traffic reporting.<ref>{{cite magazine |title=WGN sends Skycam 9 aloft |periodical=Broadcasting & Cable |page=56 |date=July 15, 1996}}</ref> In October 1999, freelance reporter Jane Boal made headlines when she was hit from behind while trying to move away from a car attempting to drive away from an accident with another vehicle during a live midday report about a carbon monoxide leak that forced the evacuation of a school in the Rogers Park neighborhood; Boal (who was laid off by the station in May 2009) suffered cartilage and ligament injuries to both of her legs after being pinned between the car involved in the accident and a WGN live truck, but was able to resume work in early November.<ref>{{cite news |title=Disturbing Footage Thrusts a Reporter Into the News |url=https://www.chicagotribune.com/news/ct-xpm-1999-10-07-9910070134-story.html |author=Jim Kirk |newspaper=Chicago Tribune |date=October 7, 1999 |access-date=March 25, 2019}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |title=Reporter Hit by Car Returns to Work |url=https://www.chicagotribune.com/news/ct-xpm-1999-11-02-9911020267-story.html |author=Jim Kirk |newspaper=Chicago Tribune |date=November 2, 1999 |access-date=March 25, 2019}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |title=WGN-TV cuts Jane Boal, others |url=https://www.chicagotribune.com/news/ct-bn-xpm-2009-05-14-28525563-story.html |newspaper=Chicago Tribune |date=May 14, 2009 |access-date=March 25, 2019}}</ref> In 2000, WGN-TV constructed a new {{convert|26,000|sqft|m2|0|adj=on}} newsroom covering two floors on the eastern portion of its studio facility, increasing the building's size to approximately {{convert|131,000|sqft|m2|0}}; the original newsroom was renovated for use by the station's weather department.<ref name="WGN Studios">{{cite web |title=Chicago Architecture Info: WGN Television |url=http://www.chicagoarchitecture.info/Building/1334/WGN-Television.php |website=Chicago Architecture Info |publisher=Artefaqs Corporation |access-date=May 1, 2011 |archive-date=December 7, 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151207171144/http://www.chicagoarchitecture.info/Building/1334/WGN-Television.php |url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |title=New WGN Facility Leaves Room for Speculation |url=https://www.chicagotribune.com/news/ct-xpm-2000-03-08-0003080047-story.html |author=Jim Kirk |newspaper=Chicago Tribune |date=March 8, 2000 |access-date=March 25, 2019}}</ref>

WGN scored a major coup in April 2008, when it persuaded veteran WMAQ-TV and WFLD anchor [[Mark Suppelsa]]—who turned down a contract with the latter station due to a proposed salary cut—to take over as lead anchor of the 9&nbsp;p.m. newscast, replacing Steve Sanders (who was moved to the midday newscast and was later joined in September 2009 by his former co-anchor on the 9&nbsp;p.m. broadcast from 1993 until Suppelsa's appointment, [[Allison Payne]], after Micah Materre moved to the prime time newscasts full-time). Suppelsa remained a main co-anchor of the weeknight newscasts until his retirement from broadcasting in December 2017, and was replaced two months later by Joe Donlon (who served a similar role at [[KGW]] in [[Portland, Oregon]], and would himself depart WGN-TV in June 2020 to become main co-anchor of sister network WGN America{{'}}s fledgling prime time newscast ''[[NewsNation (WGN America)|NewsNation]]'').<ref>{{cite news |title=Suppelsa's hiring not the end for Sanders |url=https://www.chicagotribune.com/news/ct-xpm-2008-07-08-0807070508-story.html |author=Phil Rosenthal |newspaper=Chicago Tribune |date=July 8, 2008 |access-date=March 25, 2019}}</ref><ref name="trib-paynematerre"/><ref>{{cite web |title=It's official: WGN hires news anchor Joe Donlon |url=https://www.robertfeder.com/2018/02/13/official-wgn-hires-news-anchor-joe-donlon/ |author=Robert Feder |website=RobertFeder.com |date=February 13, 2018 |access-date=March 26, 2019}}</ref> On July 19, 2008, beginning with that night's edition of the 9&nbsp;p.m. newscast, WGN-TV became the third television station in the Chicago market to begin broadcasting its local newscasts in [[High-definition television|high definition]]. Video from remote and field equipment was initially broadcast in [[480p]] standard definition following the transition; high definition cameras began to be used for field reports in July 2010, a move which made WGN-TV the first station in the market to broadcast all locally originated portions of its newscasts (including live field reports) in HD.

Starting under the direction of now-former news director Greg Caputo, WGN-TV spearheaded a major expansion of its news programming. In addition to the expansions of its existing newscasts, WGN first launched an early-evening newscast on September 15, 2008, when the ''WGN Evening News'' premiered as a half-hour weeknight broadcast at 5:30&nbsp;p.m.<ref name="tvnc-wgnmiddayeveningnews"/><ref name="b&c-wgnnewsboost"/> The newscast expanded to one hour (starting at 5&nbsp;p.m.) on October 5, 2009, with Saturday and Sunday editions being added on July 12, 2014.<ref name="trib-paynematerre"/><ref>{{cite web |title=WGN adds 5 p.m. news on weekends |url=http://www.robertfeder.com/2014/06/23/wgn-adds-5-p-m-news-on-weekends/ |author=Robert Feder |author-link=Robert Feder |newspaper=Chicago Tribune |date=June 23, 2014}}</ref> The weekday editions of the newscast were later expanded to include a second hour (starting at 4&nbsp;p.m.) on September 8, 2014, and then to three hours (extending it to the 6&nbsp;p.m. hour) on April 4, 2017. (The superstation feed did not clear any of the expanded newscasts up until the conversion of WGN America into a conventional cable channel.)<ref>{{cite news |title=Tribune Co.'s WGN-Channel 9 to add more weekend newscasts |url=http://www.bizjournals.com/chicago/news/2014/06/24/tribune-co-s-wgn-channel-9-to-add-more-weekend.html |author=Lewis Lazare |newspaper=Chicago Business Journal |date=June 24, 2014 |access-date=September 3, 2015}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |title=WGN shuffles anchors as it expands evening news |url=https://www.chicagotribune.com/business/breaking/chi-wgn-shuffles-anchors-expands-evening-news-20140819-story.html |author=Robert Channick |newspaper=Chicago Tribune |date=August 19, 2014}}</ref><ref name="robfeder-wgn6pmnews">{{cite web |title=WGN adds 6 p.m. newscast; teams Bradley & Duarte at 4 p.m. |url=http://www.robertfeder.com/2017/03/02/wgn-adds-6-p-m-newscast-teams-bradley-duarte-4-p-m/ |author=Robert Feder |website=RobertFeder.com |date=March 2, 2017 |access-date=April 14, 2017}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |title=WGN-Channel 9 adding more local news as appetite for it diminishes in Chicago |url=http://www.bizjournals.com/chicago/news/2017/03/03/wgn-channel-9-adding-more-local-news-as-appetite.html |author=Lewis Lazare |newspaper=Chicago Business Journal |date=March 3, 2017 |access-date=April 14, 2017}}</ref> In 2009, WGN-TV began streaming its weekday midday and 5&nbsp;p.m. newscasts live on its website. On February 22, 2010, WGN-TV became the first television station in the Chicago market to allow [[iPhone]] users to watch live streams of its newscasts; the 6 to 9&nbsp;a.m. block of the ''WGN Morning News'', the midday and 5&nbsp;p.m. newscasts were initially available for streaming to iPhone users. (At present, all newscasts are streamed through the station's website and on [[Apple Inc.|Apple]] devices, though sports segments are blacked out—presented only with the audio feed—due to streaming restrictions on sports highlights imposed by the major sports leagues.)<ref>{{cite press release |title=WGN-TV First in Chicago to Stream Newscasts |url=http://corporate.tribune.com/pressroom/?p=1689/ |date=February 22, 2010 |access-date=December 9, 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110717101642/http://corporate.tribune.com/pressroom/?p=1689%2F |archive-date=July 17, 2011 |url-status=dead}}</ref>

On October 5, 2015, the station restored a 10&nbsp;p.m. newscast—originally only airing Monday through Friday nights—to its schedule after a 35-year absence; weekend editions of the 10 p.m. broadcast were added on January 11, 2020.<ref>{{cite news |title=WGN enters 10 p.m. news battle |url=http://www.robertfeder.com/2015/08/18/wgn-enters-10-p-m-news-battle/ |author=Robert Feder |newspaper=Chicago Tribune |date=August 18, 2015}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Tribune Media's WGN-Channel 9, in surprise move, adds 10 p.m. local newscast |url=http://www.bizjournals.com/chicago/news/2015/08/18/tribune-mediaswgn-channel-9-in-surprise-move-adds.html |author=Lewis Lazare |newspaper=Chicago Business Journal |date=August 18, 2015 |access-date=September 3, 2015}}</ref><ref name="cn-wgnmorenews"/> A secondary live sports news show, ''GN Sports'', premiered on January 28, 2020, as the lead-out program for the weeknight 10&nbsp;p.m. newscasts; co-hosted by Dan Roan and Jarrett Payton, the program focuses on sports news and highlights, feature segments and in-studio interviews in a similar format as ''Instant Replay'', as well as including sports gaming and fantasy sports analysis. (Payton formerly co-hosted the similar CLTV program ''Sports Feed''—alongside WGN sports reporter Josh Frydman, who serves as a ''GN Sports'' contributor—from 2015 until Nexstar shut down the cable news channel in December 2019.)<ref name="feder-gnsports"/><ref>{{cite news |title=WGN-TV is introducing 'GN Sports,' a weeknight sports show hosted by Dan Roan and Jarrett Payton |url=https://www.chicagotribune.com/sports/breaking/ct-wgn-tv-weeknight-sports-program-20200117-zkewckb6qrhwhmpcinashnxqtm-story.html |author=Phil Rosenthal |newspaper=Chicago Tribune |date=January 16, 2020 |access-date=January 29, 2020}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |title=WGN-TV to debut 'GN Sports'—new weeknight sports show |url=https://wgntv.com/2020/01/16/wgn-tv-to-debut-gn-sports-new-weeknight-sports-show/ |website=WGN-TV |publisher=Nexstar Media Group |date=January 16, 2020 |access-date=January 29, 2020}}</ref> Weekend editions of ''GN Sports'' were added on August 14, 2021, with the Sunday broadcast replacing the cuisine and tourism program ''Chicago's Best'' (which had aired on WGN for ten years from January 2011 until August 8, 2021).<ref>{{cite web |title=Robservations: WGN drops 'Chicago's Best,' expands 'GN Sports' to weekends |url=https://www.robertfeder.com/2021/07/16/robservations-wgn-drops-chicagos-best-expands-gn-sports-weekends/ |author=Robert Feder |website=Robert Feder.com |date=July 16, 2021 |access-date=August 26, 2021}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |title=Brittney Payton gets new co-host on 'Chicago's Best' |url=http://chicago.suntimes.com/news/7/71/792040/brittney-payton-gets-new-co-host-on-chicagos-best |newspaper=Chicago Sun-Times |date=November 15, 2013 |access-date=September 3, 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151017035638/http://chicago.suntimes.com/news/7/71/792040/brittney-payton-gets-new-co-host-on-chicagos-best |archive-date=October 17, 2015 |url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Robservations: Two new co-hosts join WGN's 'Chicago's Best' |url=https://www.robertfeder.com/2018/04/19/robservations-two-new-co-hosts-join-wgns-chicagos-best/ |author=Robert Feder |website=RobertFeder.com |date=April 19, 2018 |access-date=March 20, 2019}}</ref>

=== Notable on-air staff ===
;Current staff
* [[Jackie Bange]] – weekend evening anchor
* [[Lourdes Duarte]] – weekday afternoon anchor
* [[Tim Joyce]] – weekend morning meteorologist
* [[Paul M. Lisnek]] – political analyst
* [[Dan Ponce]] – weekday morning anchor
* [[Dean Richards (reporter)|Dean Richards]] – entertainment reporter and film critic

;Former staff
{{div col|colwidth=22em}}
* [[Fran Allison]]
* [[Mike Barz]]
* [[Brigid Bazlen]]
* [[Bob Bell (actor)|Bob Bell]]<ref name=WGN>{{cite web |title=Bob Bell, the first 'Bozo the Clown' on WGN-TV, Dies |url=http://wgntv.com/bell.html |website=WGN-TV |publisher=Tribune Broadcasting |date=December 8, 1997 |access-date=June 29, 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/19981205133533/http://www.wgntv.com/bell.html |url-status=dead |archive-date=December 5, 1998}}</ref>
* [[Steve Bell (news anchor)|Steve Bell]]
* [[Lou Boudreau]]
* [[Thom Brennaman]]<ref>{{cite web |title=Thom Brennaman |url=http://wgngold.com/people/brennaman-thom.htm |website=WGN Gold |access-date=January 20, 2014 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100205152612/http://wgngold.com/people/brennaman-thom.htm |archive-date=February 5, 2010}}</ref>
* [[Jack Brickhouse]]<ref>{{cite web |title=Jack Brickhouse |url=http://radiohof.org/sportscasters/jackbrickhouse.html |publisher=Radio Hall of Fame |access-date=January 20, 2014 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130123093647/http://www.radiohof.org/sportscasters/jackbrickhouse.html |archive-date=January 23, 2013}}</ref>
* [[Marshall Brodien]]<ref>{{cite news |title=Marshall Brodien, who played 'Wizzo the Wizard' on The Bozo Show, has died |url=https://wgntv.com/2019/03/08/marshall-brodien-who-played-wizzo-the-wizard-on-the-bozo-show-has-died/ |author=Dean Richards |website=WGN-TV |date=March 8, 2019 |access-date=March 8, 2019}}</ref>
* [[Lorn Brown]]<ref name=tribune2>{{cite news |title=Former Sox, Bulls announcer Lorn Brown dies |url=http://articles.chicagotribune.com/2010-06-26/features/ct-met-obit-lorn-brown-20100626_1_lorn-brown-elizabeth-brown-bill-veeck |author=Oscar Avila |newspaper=Chicago Tribune |date=June 26, 2010 |access-date=June 27, 2010}}</ref>
* [[Roy Brown (clown)|Roy Brown]]<ref name=WGN2>{{cite web |title=Roy Brown, who portrayed 'Cooky the Cook' on WGN-TV's 'Bozo Show' and was puppeteer for 'Garfield Goose and Friends', dies |url=http://wgntv.com/kids/bozo/cooky.html |website=WGN-TV |publisher=Tribune Broadcasting |date=January 22, 2001 |access-date=June 29, 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20010216065014/http://wgntv.com/kids/bozo/cooky.html |url-status=dead |archive-date=February 16, 2001}}</ref>
* [[Cheryl Burton]]<ref>{{cite web |title=Cheryl Burton Bio |url=http://abc7chicago.com/about/newsteam/cheryl-burton/ |website=[[WLS-TV]] |publisher=[[ABC Owned Television Stations]] |access-date=September 3, 2015}}</ref>
* [[Chip Caray]]<ref>{{cite news |title=TV SPORTS; Caray Family Is Touched by Fans Honoring Harry |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1998/03/03/sports/tv-sports-caray-family-is-touched-by-fans-honoring-harry.html |author=Richard Sandomir |author-link=Richard Sandomir |newspaper=The New York Times |date=March 3, 1998 |access-date=January 21, 2014}}</ref>
* [[Harry Caray]]<ref>{{cite web |title=Harry Caray |url=http://www.radiohof.org/sportscasters/harrycaray.html |publisher=Radio Hall of Fame |access-date=January 20, 2014 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130123093609/http://www.radiohof.org/sportscasters/harrycaray.html |archive-date=January 23, 2013}}</ref>
* [[Susan Carlson]]
* [[Bob Collins (broadcaster)|Bob Collins]]<ref>{{cite web |title=Bob Collins |url=http://wgngold.com/people/collins-bob.htm |website=WGN Gold |access-date=January 20, 2014 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120814024902/http://www.wgngold.com/people/collins-bob.htm |archive-date=August 14, 2012}}</ref>
* [[Bob Costas]]<ref>{{cite web |title=Bob Costas Bio |url=http://www.celebrityspeakersbureau.com/talent/bob-costas/ |publisher=Celebrity Speakers' Bureau |access-date=January 21, 2014}}</ref>
* [[Joey D'Auria]]<ref name=Timeline80>{{cite web |title=Bozo Timeline-1980s |url=http://wgntv.com/station/bozotime/tln1980s.htm |website=WGN-TV |publisher=Tribune Broadcasting |access-date=February 16, 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20010709002204/http://wgntv.com/station/bozotime/tln1980s.htm |archive-date=July 9, 2001}}</ref>
* [[Merri Dee]]<ref>{{cite news |title=Merri Dee leaving WGN after nearly four decades |url=http://www.chicagodefender.com/article-1667-merri-dee-leaving-wgn-after-nearly-four-decades.html |author=Theresa Fambro Hooks |newspaper=[[The Chicago Defender]] |date=August 27, 2008 |access-date=January 20, 2014 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120612132914/http://www.chicagodefender.com/article-1667-merri-dee-leaving-wgn-after-nearly-four-decades.html |archive-date=June 12, 2012}}</ref>
* [[Phil Donahue]]<ref>{{cite web |title=Station History |url=http://wgntv.com/station-history/ |website=WGN-TV |date=December 6, 2012 |publisher=Tribune Broadcasting |access-date=January 21, 2014}}</ref>
* [[Mike Douglas]]
* [[John Drury (television anchor)|John Drury]]<ref name=ABC7>{{cite web |title=John Drury's ABC7 Bio |url=http://abclocal.go.com/wls/story?section=bios&id=3397035 |website=WLS-TV |publisher=ABC Owned Television Stations |access-date=August 7, 2007 |archive-date=April 29, 2006 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060429094113/http://abclocal.go.com/wls/story?section=bios&id=3397035 |url-status=dead}}</ref>
* [[Jim Durham]]<ref>{{cite news |title=Jim Durham, N.B.A. Broadcaster, Is Dead at 65 |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2012/11/07/sports/basketball/jim-durham-nba-broadcaster-is-dead-at-65.html?_r=0 |newspaper=The New York Times |date=November 4, 2012 |access-date=January 20, 2014}}</ref>
* [[Judie Garcia]]
* [[Milo Hamilton]]<ref>{{cite web |title=Milo Hamilton Never Did Make Peace With Harry Caray |url=http://articles.chicagotribune.com/1998-02-22/sports/9802220200_1_chip-caray-mayor-of-rush-street-harry-caray |author=Phil Rogers |newspaper=Chicago Tribune |date=February 22, 1998 |access-date=January 21, 2014}}</ref>
* [[Pat Harvey]]<ref>{{cite web |title=Pat Harvey Bio |url=http://cbs2.com/bios/Pat.Harvey.cbs.9.538057.html |website=[[KCBS-TV]] |publisher=[[CBS Television Stations]] |access-date=January 21, 2014 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090208152452/http://cbs2.com/bios/Pat.Harvey.cbs.9.538057.html |archive-date=February 8, 2009}}</ref>
* [[Frances Horwich]]
* [[Bill Jackson (television personality)|Bill Jackson]]
* [[Bob Jordan (newscaster)|Bob Jordan]] (retired)
* [[Johnny "Red" Kerr]]<ref>{{cite web |title=Kerr, 76, dies of prostate cancer |url=http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/news/story?id=3938770 |website=[[ESPN]] |publisher=[[ESPN Inc.]] |date=February 27, 2009 |access-date=January 20, 2014}}</ref>
* [[Rich King (sportscaster)|Rich King]]
* [[Wayne Larrivee]]<ref>{{cite web |title=Wayne Larrivee |url=http://www.wgngold.com/people/larrivee-wayne.htm |website=WGN Gold |access-date=January 20, 2014 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110914101840/http://www.wgngold.com/people/larrivee-wayne.htm |archive-date=September 14, 2011}}</ref>
* [[Roy Leonard]]<ref>{{cite web |title=Roy Leonard |url=http://www.wgngold.com/people/leonard-roy.htm |website=WGN Gold |access-date=January 20, 2014 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121207002743/http://www.wgngold.com/people/leonard-roy.htm |archive-date=December 7, 2012}}</ref>
* [[Vince Lloyd]]<ref>{{cite web |title=Vince Lloyd |url=http://wgngold.com/people/lloyd-vince.htm |website=WGN Gold |access-date=January 20, 2014 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080705152228/http://wgngold.com/people/lloyd-vince.htm |archive-date=July 5, 2008}}</ref>
* [[Ned Locke]]<ref name=Obit>{{cite web |title=Ned Locke of Bozo's Circus |url=http://articles.chicagotribune.com/1992-02-05/news/9201110369_1_mr-locke-wgn-ringmaster |author=Jerry Crimmins |newspaper=Chicago Tribune |date=February 5, 1992 |access-date=February 6, 2011}}</ref>
* [[Nancy Loo]]
* [[Jim Lounsbury]]
* [[Joe McConnell]]<ref name=partners>{{cite news |title=Harry's Partners In The Broadcast Booth |url=http://articles.chicagotribune.com/1998-02-27/sports/9805010085_1_kmox-radio-knbr |newspaper=Chicago Tribune |date=February 27, 1998 |access-date=January 21, 2014}}</ref>
* [[Elaine Mulqueen]]
* [[Allison Payne]]<ref>{{cite web |title=Allison Payne returning to WGN-TV |url=http://newsblogs.chicagotribune.com/towerticker/2009/01/allison-payne-r.html |author=Phil Rosenthal |newspaper=Chicago Tribune |date=January 9, 2009 |access-date=January 21, 2014}}</ref>
* [[Lloyd Pettit]]<ref>{{cite news |title=Pettit found his calling in Blackhawks' booth |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1683&dat=20031114&id=GsQcAAAAIBAJ&pg=6595,1650379 |newspaper=[[Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel]] |date=November 14, 2003 |access-date=January 20, 2014}}{{Dead link |date=October 2022 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes}}</ref>
* [[Jimmy Piersall]]<ref name=partners/>
* [[Ray Rayner]]<ref name=Tribune>{{cite web |title=WGN personality Ray Rayner dead at 84 |url=https://www.chicagotribune.com/chi-040121rayner-story,0,4988558.story |author=William Hageman |newspaper=Chicago Tribune |date=January 21, 2004 |access-date=February 9, 2011}}</ref>
* [[Ron Rivera]]
* [[Randy Salerno]]
* [[Don Sandburg]]<ref name=Timeline60>{{cite web |title=Bozo Timeline-1960s |url=http://wgntv.com/station/bozotime/tln1960s.htm |website=WGN-TV |publisher=Tribune Broadcasting |access-date=February 16, 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20010709002133/http://wgntv.com/station/bozotime/tln1960s.htm |archive-date=July 9, 2001}}</ref>
* [[John Schubeck]]<ref>{{cite news |title=Paid Notice: Deaths SCHUBECK, JOHN |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1997/09/28/classified/paid-notice-deaths-schubeck-john.html |newspaper=The New York Times |date=September 28, 1997 |access-date=January 20, 2014}}</ref>
* [[Tom Skilling]] – chief meteorologist (retired February 28, 2024)
* [[Keenan Smith]]<ref>{{cite web |title=Keenan Smith Bio |url=https://www.wxyz.com/keenan-smith |website=[[WXYZ-TV]] |publisher=[[E. W. Scripps Company|Scripps Broadcasting]] |access-date=February 5, 2019}}</ref>
* [[Wendell Smith (sportswriter)|Wendell Smith]]<ref>{{cite web |title=Wendell Smith, a civic-minded writer |url=http://www.aaregistry.com/african_american_history/1444/Wendell_Smith_a_civic_minded_writer |website=African-American Registry |access-date=January 21, 2014 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100301081919/http://www.aaregistry.com/african_american_history/1444/Wendell_Smith_a_civic_minded_writer |archive-date=March 1, 2010}}</ref>
* [[Mark Suppelsa]] (retired)
* [[Chuck Swirsky]]
* [[Jack Taylor (journalist)|Jack Taylor]]<ref>{{cite web |title=Jack Taylor |url=http://www.wgngold.com/people/taylor-jack.htm |website=WGN Gold |access-date=January 20, 2014 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120722120013/http://www.wgngold.com/people/taylor-jack.htm |archive-date=July 22, 2012}}</ref>
* [[Roseanne Tellez]]<ref>{{cite web |title=Roseanne Tellez Bio |url=http://cbs2chicago.com/bios/roseanne.tellez.wbbm.9.291760.html |website=WBBM-TV |publisher=CBS Television Stations |access-date=January 21, 2014 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100302001319/http://cbs2chicago.com/bios/roseanne.tellez.wbbm.9.291760.html |archive-date=March 2, 2010}}</ref>
* [[Frazier Thomas]]<ref name=Frazier>{{cite web |title=Frazier Thomas, TV Kids' Pal For 35 years |url=http://articles.chicagotribune.com/1985-04-04/sports/8501190442_1_mr-thomas-wgn-circus-ringmaster |author=Kenan Heise |newspaper=Chicago Tribune |date=April 4, 1985 |access-date=February 18, 2011}}</ref>
* [[Bob Trendler]]
* [[Robert Urich]]<ref name="cnn">{{cite web |url=http://edition.cnn.com/2002/SHOWBIZ/TV/04/16/obit.urich/ |title=Actor Robert Urich dead at 55 |date=April 16, 2002 |work=CNN |access-date=January 4, 2013}}</ref>
* [[Harry Volkman]]<ref>{{cite web |title=Legendary Chicago TV Weatherman Harry Volkman Releases Autobiography |url=http://chicagoradioandmedia.com/news/1593-legendary-chicago-tv-weatherman-harry-volkman-releases-autobiography |website=Chicagoland Radio and Media |date=April 25, 2011 |access-date=January 21, 2014}}</ref>
* [[Jenniffer Weigel]]
* [[Jim Williams (news anchor)|Jim Williams]]<ref>{{cite web |title=Jim Williams Bio |url=http://chicago.cbslocal.com/personality/jim-williams/ |website=[[WBBM-TV]] |publisher=CBS Television Stations |access-date=January 21, 2014}}</ref>
* [[Bill Weir]]<ref>{{cite web |title=Bill Weir |url=https://www.cnn.com/profiles/bill-weir-profilel |website=CNN |publisher=[[WarnerMedia|WarnerMedia News and Sports]] |access-date=February 5, 2019}}</ref>
{{Div col end}}