WTMJ-TV Schedule, Week of Sunday, April 18th, 1948

Here’s the schedule for station WTMJ-TV in Milwaukee, Wisconsin for the week starting Sunday, April 18th, 1948, straight from the weekly television listings printed in The Milwaukee Journal. It was a big week for the station because on Tuesday, April 20th, it broadcast the inauguration of Frank P. Zeidler as mayor of Milwaukee, as well as a variety of other Milwaukee political appointments, including comptroller, treasurer and 27 aldermen. Zeidler, who won an election held two weeks earlier on Tuesday, April 6th (which WTMJ-TV also broadcast), would ultimately serve as mayor of Milwaukee until 1960, or for three terms. The broadcast, said a WTMJ-TV spokesman, was “one of the first in the country of an actual session of a municipal governing body” [1]. The station would be on the air from 2:30-3:30PM.

According to an article about the inaugural broadcast in The Milwaukee Journal, the number of television sets in the city was now 2,000 [2]. Aside from this broadcast, the week’s schedule was more or less stable. 1948 Baseball Preview with Stan Baumgartner, which had been introduced on a bi-weekly basis on March 24th, had ended the previous week. Note that the schedule for Sunday, April 18th is an assumption based on previous programming.

Sunday, April 18th, 1948
3:00PM – News and Views.
3:10PM – Last of the Mohicans, film. [Or another serial installment.]
3:30PM – Movie Matinee.
7:45PM – Choral Concert.
8:00PM – Telenews Digest.
8:20PM – Films Featurette.
8:30PM – The Sportsman.
8:45PM – Armchair Travels.
9:00PM – Man About Town.

Tuesday, April 20th, 1948 [3]
2:30PM – Inaugural of Mayor-Elect Frank P. Zeidler from the city hall.

Wednesday, April 21st, 1948 [4, 5]
3:00PM – Meet Your Neighbor.
3:30PM – Let’s Look at the News.
3:40PM – Movie Matinee.
4:00PM – Children’s Corner.
4:15PM – Cyclops Club.
7:45PM – News and Views.
7:55PM – Look at Louise!
8:00PM – Sports Thrills.
8:15PM – Movie Makers.
8:30PM – Musical Gems.
8:40PM – Paul Skinner’s Music Room.
9:00PM – Let’s Look at Television.

Thursday, April 22nd, 1948 [6, 7]
3:00PM – Meet Your Neighbor.
3:30PM – Let’s Look at the News.
3:40PM – Movie Matinee.
4:00PM – Children’s Corner.
4:15PM – Little Amateurs.
4:30PM – Cartoon Fun.
7:45PM – News and Views.
7:55PM – Musical Film.
8:00PM – How To Do It.
8:20PM – Film Featurette.
8:30PM – Wrestling.

Friday, April 23rd, 1948 [8, 9]
3:00PM – Meet Your Neighbor.
3:30PM – Let’s Look at the News.
3:40PM – Movie Matinee.
4:00PM – The Children’s Corner.
4:15PM – Hi, Kids!
4:30PM – Animal Adventures, film.
7:45PM – Barbara Becker Sings.
8:00PM – Sports Thrills.
8:15PM – Reel Fun.
8:30PM – Spelling Bee.
9:00PM – Bowling Like Sixty.

Saturday, April 24th, 1948 [10, 11]
3:00PM – Keen Teens.
3:30PM – Play Ball!
4:00PM – Wild West Theater.
7:45PM – News and Views.
7:55PM – Golden Wedding.
8:00PM – Gay Nineties.
8:20PM – Intramural Boxing.

Works Cited:

1 “Set Television for City Event.” Milwaukee Journal. 15 Apr. 1948: Section 2, Page 2.
2 Ibid.
3 “Television–WMTJ-TV.” Milwaukee Journal Green Screen. 19 Apr. 1948: 2.
4 “Television–WMTJ-TV.” Milwaukee Journal Green Screen. 20 Apr. 1948: 2.
5 “Television–WMTJ-TV.” Milwaukee Journal Green Screen. 21 Apr. 1948: 2.
6 Ibid.
7 “Television–WMTJ-TV.” Milwaukee Journal Green Screen. 22 Apr. 1948: 2.
8 Ibid.
9 “Television–WMTJ-TV.” Milwaukee Journal Green Screen. 23 Apr. 1948: 2.
10 Ibid.
11 “Television–WMTJ-TV.” Milwaukee Journal Green Screen. 24 Apr. 1948: 2.


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One Reply to “WTMJ-TV Schedule, Week of Sunday, April 18th, 1948”

  1. FWIW, the “Bowling Like Sixty” program on Friday undoubtedly featured Journal writer Billy Sixty who covered the sport and was a nationally-known bowler.

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