A SIOUX CITY TV PIONEER WHO MANAGED BOTH CHANNEL 9 AND CHANNEL 4 IN THE PRE-CABLE DAYS OF TELEVISION HAS PASSED AWAY.
BILL TURNER DIED TUESDAY AT AGE 90 AT HIS HOME IN NAPLES FLORIDA.
TURNER MANAGED WHAT IS NOW KCAU TV FOR 20 YEARS BEGINNING IN 1960, AND THEN WAS HIRED BY KTIV FOLLOWING A CHANGE OF OWNERSHIP AT KCAU CHANNEL 9.
TURNER CAME TO SIOUX CITY FROM A RAPID CITY STATION TO MANAGE CHANNEL 9 AND HIRED GEORGE LINDBLADE TO CREATE THE STATION’S FIRST CREATIVE SERVICES DEPARTMENT:
OC………HOW IT STARTED. :20
DAVE NIXON WAS A NEWS ANCHOR FOR TURNER AT BOTH CHANNEL 9 AND 4 AND WAS FIRST HIRED BY TURNER TO FILL IN AS A TV WEATHERMAN AFTER NIXON HAD WORKED IN LOCAL RADIO:
OC…….. LEARNED FROM HIM. :25
Dave Nixon, Gene Sherman & Leon Pettersen
NIXON SAYS ONE OF TURNER’S BIGGEST DECISIONS WAS DROPPING CBS PROGRAMMING TO SWITCH COMPLETELY TO THE ABC NETWORK WHEN SIOUX CITY HAD ONLY TWO TV STATIONS AND CHANNEL 9 CARRIED SHOWS FROM BOTH NETWORKS:
OC……….INTO PLAY. :21
TURNER WOULD CLOSE THE BLOCK OF DOUGLAS STREET IN FRONT OF CHANNEL 9 LATE EACH SUMMER TO HOLD A BLOCK PARTY PREVIEW OF THE NEW FALL TV SHOWS.
HE HOSTED THE RIVER-CADE AUCTION AND JERRY LEWIS TELETHON EACH YEAR IN THE STUDIO AND SENT LINDBLADE AND A FILM CREW TO RAPID CITY AFTER DEVASTATING FLOODS CLAIMED OVER 200 LIVES IN HIS FORMER HOME.
TURNER THEN AIRED A TELETHON TO HELP THE FLOOD RAVAGED CITY:
OC………GO AHEAD AND DO IT.
LINDBLADE SAYS TURNER WAS INVOLVED IN THE COMMUNITY AT A NUMBER OF LEVELS:
OC…….100 EMPLOYEES. :11
Turner and a young Governor Terry Branstad
TURNER WON NUMEROUS AWARDS DURING HIS CAREER INCLUDING BROADCASTER OF THE YEAR FROM THE IOWA BROADCASTERS ASSOCIATION.
Photos by George Lindblade
