WISC-TV, Channel 3, has established a long list of firsts since it went on air June 24, 1956. WISC-TV, Channel 3, was:

• The first television station in the state to offer local news online on a daily basis.
• Wisconsin's first stereo and closed-captioned local TV station.
• The first VHF television station in what is now the 84th television market in the United States.
• Operates Madison's first Rock County bureau since 1982.

WISC-TV has had a huge impact on south-central Wisconsin since the very beginning.

It opened the world of television to many homes in outlying rural areas that weren't able to get any other stations back in 1956.

When WISC-TV first went on the air, there were three other stations in Madison. But only WISC-TV had a VHF signal that could be picked up by most TV sets. In some areas it still is.

Not only did WISC-TV bring top-rated CBS programs, such as "Andy Griffith," "Dick Van Dyke" and "Candid Camera," to viewers, but it also began a tradition of bringing "Wisconsin-minded" news to viewers. Do you remember which years these shows got top-five rating status?

A lot of things have changed in the 44 years since WISC-TV first aired. But the commitment to hometown issues throughout southern Wisconsin has stayed the same as it was in the days of Cliff Conohan and Jerry Deane, two of the most popular TV personalities in "WISC-TV Land."

In its early years, WISC-TV broadcast from a Quonset-type building now used for storage at the current site at 7025 Raymond Road. The old building had an galvanized-tin roof so during storms, viewers could hear the sound of rain hitting the rooftop. Then it was transmitting from the existing tower located on Raymond Road. It's been transmitting from the Madison Community Tower Site (Candelabra Tower) since July 31, 1995, with power of 24KW (Visual) at 426 meters. The Raymond Road tower was 1107 feet tall, but has been reduced to 323 feet and now serves as a WISC-TV backup transmission site.

Transmission area covers nearly 30 counties in southern Wisconsin and even reaches into Illinois and Iowa. And when atmospheric conditions are "just right," the WISC-TV signal can bounce far from the usual boundaries. From time to time it's been received as far west as the state of Washington and as far south as Louisiana. WISC-TV has -- in its archives -- a letter from George Brenner of West Palm Beach, Fla., who received the signal in June, 1966.

WISC-TV also spent some time on Hammersley Road in the building now occupied by MEG Communications.

Moving an entire station is no easy feat. Ask Kevin Ruppert. He was there.

There are only a handful of us left that were here when we moved into this building in 1981. We moved much of the station overnight between sign off and sign on! (What a night!)
We tore out most of the distribution amplifiers, the camera controls, and other essential gear from the old studios on Hammersley Road and moved them up here. The "type C" tape decks were moved ahead of time and spots reels made so that we would have something to air when we got the gear moved and turned on.
All night long, the engineering staff plugged pre-made cables while keeping one eye on the clock as sign on came closer.
It was the first time that we had a "computer floor" with removable tiles.
One of the engineers at the time, Glenn Gundlach, was kind of a wacky guy and liked to play tricks on the master control operators. One day, shortly after we moved in to this new, palatial facility, Glenn hid under the floor. (He was a skinny guy, too.) Glenn waited until the right moment after everyone else was gone, and popped out of the floor yelling! I do not remember who the MC operator was, but know that it scarred the heck out of him! -- Kevin Ruppert

Growth has, again, prompted the station to plan to renovate and expand its current building. Construction will begin this summer.

The CBS affiliate station is a member of the family of Morgan Murphy Stations, the broadcast division of the Evening Telegram Company of Superior, Wisc. The Morgan Murphy Stations are named after the son of the founder of the Evening Telegram Company.

In the 1890s, John T. Murphy left Boston to establish a newspaper in Superior, Wisconsin, and his son, Morgan, carried that pioneering spirit into the electronic media.

The Evening Telegram company and related companies currently publish one weekly and four daily newspapers, as well as operating television stations in Madison and three cities in the state of Washington. In addition to television stations in Yakima (KAPP-TV), Kennewick (KVEW-TV), and Spokane (KXLY-TV). the company operates four radio outlets in the Spokane area including KXLY NewsTalk 920, KZZU 93 FM, Classy 99.9, and SportsRadio 970, The Score.

In the early years, there wasn't a lot of network programming. WISC-TV filled the void by producing its own local shows, such as "The Farm Hour," hosted by Jerry Deane.

The "Farm Hour" was an agricultural news program, which aired daily and featured regular segments, including Joan Hood's "Country Cupboard."

It didn't take Hood very long to establish a loyal viewer base as she hosted her 10-minute portion of cooking tips, making her one of the first female, local on-air television personalities.

WISC-TV also locally produced "Circus 3," a cartoon show which aired 4:30-6:30 p.m. weekdays in the 1950s.

Some viewers may remember making a habit of watching the antics of veteran ventriloquist and puppet maker Howie Olson and his dummy, Cowboy Eddie, who entertained between cartoons.

They also might remember how hard it was to get tickets. ("Circus 3" was so popular it rated even higher than Sesame Street some years.) Tickets for the show were in such high demand, the audience was usually booked six months in advance.

But if they were lucky, they may have gotten a chance to be a part of "Circus 3" live studio audience.

Although now there's plenty of network programming available from CBS, WISC-TV still produces several of its own programs, such as "Live at 5," hosted by Katy Sai and Mark Koehn.

WISC-TV's personalities are very popular because they are very involved in Madison-area communities beyond their news reporting roles.

John Karcher began featuring children in need of mentors for Big Brothers and Big Sisters since in 1983. (Karcher left the station in spring, 2005.)

Since then, WISC-TV has been a tremendous aid in the recruitment of adult volunteers for the Dane County Big Brother/Big Sister Agency.

As WISC-TV continues to evolve into the premier news source for the 21st century, it will continue to make improvements and additions. But those changes will always keep a steadfast commitment to local issues and how they affect its loyal viewers.