09 Aug WGN-TV Celebrates 40 Years With Chief Meteorologist Tom Skilling
CHICAGO, August 9, 2018 – August 13, 1978 is an important date in the history of WGN-TV. It’s the day WGN viewers were introduced to meteorologist Tom Skilling. Today, Skilling appears weekdays on WGN Evening News from 5-7pm, WGN News at Nine and WGN News at Ten, as well as CLTV, WGN Radio, the Chicago Tribune weather page, and via many social media platforms. Throughout his career, Tom has established himself as a respected meteorologist both locally and nationally, known for his in-depth reports, enthusiasm, and use of state-of-the-art technology.
WGN-TV will celebrate Tom’s decades-long legacy all day this Monday, August 13. Tributes will be featured both on-air and on social media, and the day will culminate in a very special career retrospective video on WGN News at Nine. WGN-TV’s various social media outlets will have special bonus content all-day long under the hashtag #Skilling40. Likewise, viewers will be encouraged to use that same hashtag on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram to send their own wishes. This celebratory promo will be airing on WGN-TV over the next several weeks: https://www.facebook.com/WGNTV/videos/10155744775722411/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/p/BmPcRYvg0cJ/?taken-by=wgnnews
Twitter: https://twitter.com/WGNTV/status/1027380326211964928
Skilling’s successful career started in high school at the unheard-of age of 14-years-old, when Tom was hired by WKKD Radio in Aurora, Illinois. Tom’s first television job was at age 18 at WLXT-TV Aurora. From there, he moved to Madison, Wisconsin to study both meteorology and journalism at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Then, on to WKOW-TV (ABC) and WTSO Radio in Madison, before going to work for WITI-TV in Milwaukee from 1975-1978, where he was rated the city’s #1 meteorologist.
Since 1978, Tom has made his mark in Chicago. Tom also became the driving force behind the Chicago Tribune’s weather page and created a column based on WGN-TV’s “Ask Tom Why” weekly feature on WGN News at Nine, where Tom answered viewers’ weather questions. He helped to coordinate the WGN Weather Center, which combines the meteorology resources and expertise of WGN-TV, CLTV, WGN Radio and the Chicago Tribune in one location. In the 1990’s Tom developed a series of documentaries which explained extreme weather events. The first documentary, Emmy Award-winning “It Sounded Like a Freight Train,” was groundbreaking for its time in talking about tornado safety. Additionally, Tom hosted the Tornado and Severe Storms Seminar at Fermilab for nearly four decades, which featured a ‘who’s who’ in the severe weather research community. Currently, Tom is giving lectures throughout the Chicago area about the dangers of climate change, alongside renowned experts, including Nobel Prize-winning scientists.
WGN-TV is Chicago’s Very Own source for news, sports and entertainment. WGN News programs more local news than any other Chicago TV station and can be seen on WGN-TV, CLTV, WGNTV.com and the WGN-TV News app. Get local weather on WGN-TV, CLTV, WGNTV.com and the WGN Weather app. WGN 9.2 is Chicago’s home of Tribune Broadcasting’s classic TV network Antenna TV and WGN 9.3 is Chicago’s This TV movie network affiliate. WGN 9.4 carries TBD, bringing the world of internet video to the TV screen. WGN-TV is a Tribune Broadcasting station. For more information on Chicago’s Very Own WGN-TV, go to WGNTV.com
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CONTACT: Diana Dionisio
www.wgntv.com/pressreleases
773-883-3412
ddionisio@wgntv.com