WTMJ-TV Schedule, Week of Sunday, April 4th, 1948

Here’s the schedule for station WTMJ-TV in Milwaukee, Wisconsin for the week starting Sunday, April 4th, 1948, straight from the weekly television listings printed in The Milwaukee Journal [1]. Although typically the station was off the air on Monday and Tuesday, this week it was on the air every day of the week. An advertisement for WTMJ-TV, published in The Milwaukee Journal on Sunday, April 4th, explained that the station would be on the air on Monday, April 5th to broadcast a special pro boxing match [2]. New programs launching this week included Look at Louise!, with Louise Faville and Barbara Becker Sings!, both of which featured high school students who had earlier appeared on Keen Teens. Both ran for five minutes, Look at Louise! on Wednesdays from 7:55-8PM and Barbara Becker Sings! on Fridays from 7:55-8PM.

Other notes: Elvita Clementi was the special guest singer on Paul Skinner’s Music Room; Jake Flowers, president of the Milwaukee Brewers, was the guest on The Sportsman; guests on variety show Man About Town included the Milwaukee Civic Light Opera Company and a woman displaying her collection of small figurines of famous Wisconsin women.

The station was also on the air on Tuesday, April 6th to broadcast election results. Said The Milwaukee Journal, “Cameras will be set up in the news room of The Journal. They will show Journal newsmen at work as well as some of the out of town correspondents and Western Union operators assigned here for this election. A large blackboard listing the candidates will be shown” [3]. The station planned to stay on the air until major races had been called; winning candidates would be asked to speak on camera. The day after the election, the paper declared in an editorial that “even a Hollywood director would have approved The Milwaukee Journal city room Tuesday night. It throbbed to a furious activity rarely seen in a real life newspaper office” [4].

Sunday, April 4th, 1948
3:00PM – News and Views.
3:10PM – Last of the Mohicans, film.
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.

Monday, April 5th, 1948
7:45PM – News and Views.
7:55PM – Musical Film.
8:00PM – Film Features.
8:25PM – Pro Boxing from Auditorium.

Tuesday, April 6th, 1948 [5]
8:45PM – Test Pattern.
9:00PM – Election Night at The Milwaukee Journal.

Wednesday, April 7th, 1948
3:00PM – Meet Your Neighbor.
3:30PM – News.
3:40PM – Movie Matinee.
4:00PM – Children’s Corner.
4:15PM – Cyclops Club, with Norm Clayton.
7:45PM – News and Views
7:55PM – Look at Louise!
8:00PM – 1948 Baseball Preview–Detroit Tigers.
8:15PM – Movie Makers.
8:30PM – Musical Gems.
8:40PM – Paul Skinner’s Music Room.
9:00PM – Let’s Look at Television.

Thursday, April 8th, 1948
3:00PM – Meet Your Neighbor.
3:30PM – 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 – Look at Louise!
8:00PM – How to Do It.
8:20PM – Film Featurette.
8:30PM – Wrestling from South Side Armory.

Friday, April 9th, 1948
3:00PM – Meet Your Neighbor.
3:30PM – News.
3:40PM – Movie Matinee.
4:00PM – Children’s Corner.
4:15PM – Hi, Kids.
4:30PM – Animal Adventures, film.
7:45PM – News and Views
7:55PM – Barbara Becker Sings.
8:00PM – 1948 Baseball Preview.
8:15PM – Reel Fun.
8:30PM – Spelling Bee.
9:00PM – Bowling Like Sixty.

Saturday, April 10th, 1948
3:00PM – Keen Teens.
3:30PM – Baseball Clinic.
4:00PM – Wild West Theater.
7:45PM – News and Views.
7:55PM – Golden Wedding Greetings.
8:00PM – Gay Nineties.
8:20PM – Film Featurettes.
9:00PM – A Look at America.

Works Cited:
1 “Television on WTMJ-TV.” Milwaukee Journal Screen Radio. 4 Apr. 1948: 12.
2 “Hear and See WTMJ-TV.” Milwaukee Journal Screen Radio. 4 Apr. 1948: 5.
3 “Television to Show News Gathering, Election Results.” Milwaukee Journal. 4 Apr. 1948: 14.
4 “Television Radiates Election Excitement; ‘Twas a Very Busy Night at The Journal.” Milwaukee Journal. 7 Apr. 1948: 15.
5 “Television–WTMJ-TV.” Milwaukee Journal Green Sheet. 6 Apr. 1948: 2.