On May 6, 1968, the John Hancock building’s final steel beam was installed, polling showed that Sen. Robert F. Kennedy, Sr. seemed to be ahead in the Indiana presidential primary and WBBM Newsradio began its all-news format.
“We can’t help but thank these gentlemen for launching us on our first feature story on our new News Radio 78 broadcasting technique here in Chicago,” said anchor Mal Bellairs after reporter Allan Crane followed the Hancock topping off ceremony live from the scene. “Because we think the addition of that tremendous building to the skyline of Chicago is a dominant feature, one that we’ll all remember all the rest of our lives, and our broadcasting techniques are changing as of this day, and we’re very impressed.”
WBBM’s report also included a mention of a time capsule sealed with the completion of the building. Bellairs’ family has provided the station with its own time capsule from 1968 – audio recordings of that first day of broadcast 58 years ago, including a report on that Indiana primary and commercials for cleaning supplies, salad toppings and fabric softener.
A lot has changed since that day. Journalists sadly covered Kennedy’s assassination just a month later and the 1968 Democratic Convention in Chicago would keep WBBM busy. There have been numerous elections, wars, scandals and crimes covered by station over nearly six decades, and in 2018, that Skystone Time capsule from the John Hancock was even opened, according to construction engineering company Skidmore, Owings & Merrill.
Some things have stayed the same since WBBM’s first all-news broadcast. The John Hancock building still stands tall over Michigan Avenue, and WBBM Newsradio is still Chicagoland’s go-to station for all-news.
Check out WBBM’s blast from-the-past May 6, 1968 reports here:
