"Ladies and gentlemen, welcome live, to the campus of Eastern Illinois University." With that introduction, Daniel Thornburgh, then the director of University Relations, christened WEIU-TV during its live on-air dedication on July 1, 1986.
WEIU-TV 51 began operation on July 1, 1986, offering basic programming, including local news, public affairs, and instructional programming to the people of east-central Illinois for the first time. Things were a little rough in the beginning as dollars were tight and staff members were inexperienced.
WEIU struggled at first to get picked up on local cable systems in the area. Eventually this goal was accomplished as WEIU began building a presence in the east-central Illinois region.
WEIU has always focused on local programming for a region that is underserved by its commercial stations. Being a public television station, WEIU has many advantages over other stations when it comes to local programming. Some of the first local programs that aired on WEIU included Time Out for Trivia, EIU Connection, and Coach's Corner.
WEIU's news program at the time, News Scan (now News Watch), aired on the campus cable system before the launch of WEIU and later made the transition to channel 51. On Sept. 1, 1986, News Scan aired on WEIU for the first time. At the time, about 50 students produced two live newscasts airing daily at 5 p.m. and 9:30 p.m. The news was put on hold in 1990 when the amount of staffing for News Scan experienced a dramatic decrease. The news returned to WEIU, however, on Feb. 13, 1990, airing a half-hour show at 6 p.m. and getting rid of the 9:30 p.m. newscast. Today, the newscast airs daily at 5:30 p.m. news Watch has won numerous national, regional and statewide broadcasting awards.
Sports programming has also been a strong part of the history of WEIU. Shows like Panther Country (now Panther Sports Talk) have virtually been with the station from the start. The first episode of Panther Country aired in August 1987 with host David Kidwell. WEIU has also tried whenever possible to air live as many EIU sporting events as possible. From Fall 2003 thru fall 2014, WEIU carried home games of EIU football, basketball and baseball, live on TV with the use of the WEIU Digital Production Truck.
On Jan. 30, 1992, WEIU officially joined the PBS network, airing 10 hours of PBS children's programming weekly. Shows included Captain Kangaroo, Mr. Rogers, and Reading Rainbow. The station later took on more PBS programming as it continued growing into the station you watch today. Local shows produced in the 2000’s till now… Heartland Highways ran for 10 seasons, traveling across Illinois, Indiana, and Missouri, and chronicling unique and historical stories.
Since the 2010’s… locally produced programs like Being Well, The Paw Report, City Spotlight, and This is Our Story, which are still airing as of 2022, sharing local information from local experts in the Central and East Central Illinois area.
Other locally produced programs throughout the 2000’s on WEIU TV include, Monster Beast Theatre, The Lynch Colloquium, Hobbies, Crafts & Collectibles, Season’s Greetings, Veterans Matters, Hootenanny Country Music Show with Jim Allen and the Country Classics and Tumbleweed Theatre along with many specials and documentaries.
WEIU Kids Day became an annual tradition, offering families a free, fun event surrounding PBS Kids activities and education while partnering with community businesses and organizations.
WEIU TV continued educational services thru the mid 2000’s providing books and resources to children ages 2-8 through Ready To Learn later changing to Raising Readers.
WEIU TV began broadcasting 24/7.
WEIU-FM became the home to Charleston High School football, boys basketball and girls basketball. Home games were also recorded for video and aired on Your 13. The games left WEIU-FM after the Coles County Clash on September 21, 2012 after an NCAA ruling prohibited high school sports from airing on college radio stations.
The new station Hit-Mix 88.9 WEIU was launched with a remote at Morton Park in Charleston. Hit-Mix is a wide variety of music from Oldies through today. On September 13th, the new morning show began with “Wake Up Charleston with Rob and Jenn”. The morning show changed names in May of 2005 to “Wake Up Live”. The rebranding of the show was due to putting the morning show on TV on Consolidated Communications Your 13. The show changed names again in January 2000. The new show was call “The EIU Morning Mix”, which it remains called today. Issues & Attitudes also began in 2004 on Mondays at 12:00 noon with host Jeff Owens. This is a live, 30-minute public affairs program that tackles and dissects the issues affecting people in our area.
Eastern Illinois University athletics and WEIU-TV/FM signed a multi-year contract to produce radio and television coverage of six intercollegiate athletic teams. The joint announcement for coverage effective in the 2003-2004 seasons. The original agreement was for six sports. Radio is still the home for EIU football, men’s basketball, and women’s basketball. TV coverage ended in 2016.
WEIU and Consolidated Communications partnered to program and deliver video content via channel YOUR 13.
New transmitter site for Digital TV built, ch 50
Analog TV signal shut off, ch 51
WEIU celebrated the 40th Anniversary of Sesame Street by partnering with the City of Charleston to name the street running through Kiwanis Park “Sesame Street” while adding street signs to both park entrance light poles.
WEIU TV & Radio 25th Anniversary Celebration during EIU Homecoming
Hit-Mix 88.9 Adopt A Watt Annual Fundraiser began
TV Studio Facility upgraded to HD
WEIU-TV's This is Our Story began as a way for us to connect with the communities we serve as well as a way to allow those communities to tell their stories! We got off to a great start in Fall 2014 with Effingham: This is Our Story and have followed up with 15 more installments.
WEIU TV partnering with the City of Charleston to win the Governor’s hometown Award.
Digital OTA channel moved from 50 to 30 due to nationwide repack
Throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, WEIU continued to bring viewers valuable news, health, and local information through our locally produced programs like WEIU News Watch, Being Well, City Spotlight, Issues & Attitudes, and EIU Moving Forward: A COVID-19 Response. WEIU also stepped in to provide online streaming services to the EIU Board of Trustees, Charleston School Board, and area schools for virtual graduation ceremonies.
WEIU-TV launched a new, local outdoor show called, Take a Hike: The Mini-Series. This 6-part series gives an outdoor tour of area parks and natural areas in Central Illinois, and shares why viewers should “take a hike” to each episode’s location. The show is on-track for another new season in 2023.
To date, WEIU TV serves 1 million plus households in 22 counties over-the-air, on cable and satellite systems. WEIU began streaming online in the mid 2000’s and has expanded to social media audiences across the world.