Watch a nostalgic 1980 Rockford newscast for historic coverage

The local television news landscape in Rockford, Illinois during 1980 delivered essential news along with weather information and community stories to its residents. The region was served by several main stations which allowed viewers to watch both local broadcasts and national network news programs.

WREX-TV: Rockford’s NBC Affiliate

WREX commenced broadcasting operations on October 1, 1953 while serving as a primary CBS affiliate. The station partnered with NBC affiliate WTVO, channel 17 which started broadcasting five months prior, for ABC programming and broadcast DuMont Television Network shows. Greater Rockford Television which consisted of local businesspeople owned the station. WREX named its call letters to commemorate Rex N. Caster who was the son of its station president L. E. Caster. First Lieutenant Rex Caster served in the United States Army and lost his life in France during World War II.

WTVO-TV: Rockford's ABC Affiliate

Since its launch on May 3, 1953, this station became the market's initial television station and holds the record as the northern Illinois region's oldest still-operating UHF station. This station started broadcasting its analog signal on UHF channel 39 before moving to channel 17 in 1967. Since its initial broadcast in November 1978 WQRF has maintained its operations on channel 39. WTVO functioned as an NBC primary affiliate while sharing ABC secondary status alongside WREX-TV on channel 13.

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WIFR-TV: Rockford's CBS Affiliate

WCEE-TV began broadcasting operations on September 12, 1965. As the third station to operate in the Rockford market, this station began its operations under local ownership by Rock River Television Corporation. WREX-TV became an ABC full-time affiliate which resulted in CBS programming moving to WCEE-TV that adopted calls and branding based on the CBS Eyemark logo. The station has been affiliated with CBS continuously since then and remains the single station that has never changed its network affiliation in this market. The station adopted its current call letters WIFR on June 1, 1977. Worrell Newspapers of Charlottesville, Virginia took ownership of the station from General Media in September of that year. Worrell Newspapers of Charlottesville transferred ownership of WIFR and WHSV-TV in Harrisonburg along with WBNB-TV in the U.S. Virgin Islands to Benedek Broadcasting in 1986. Gray Television became the owner of WIFR and WHSV after Benedek declared bankruptcy in 2002.

WQRF-TV: Rockford's Fox Affiliate

On November 27, 1978, the station became the fourth television outlet in the market and started broadcasting from Kishwaukee Street studios located between State Street and 1st Street in downtown Rockford. This station marked the final full-power analog television station to launch in Rockford as every subsequent station established in the area operated at low power, exclusively through cable or digital subchannels. Marvin Palmquist established WQRF to broadcast an analog signal on UHF channel 39. WTVO held the channel position from when it began broadcasting in 1953 until 1967. Marketing for the station positioned it as an independent channel that focused on family-friendly content distinct from the region's major network affiliates. Orion Broadcasting purchased the station from Marvin Palmquist in 1984.

The Role of Local News in 1980
Before internet access and continuous cable news networks existed local TV stations served as the main source of information for Rockford residents. These stations provided essential connections between Rockford residents and global events through their broadcasts of severe weather alerts and political election coverage along with human-interest stories. Their dedication to truthful reporting established them as dependable information providers and influenced public opinion.

In 1980 Rockford residents relied on competitive local TV news broadcasts as an essential component of their daily lives to receive trusted news that established community connections.