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PEORIA – At first, H Wayne Wilson didn’t need to be interviewed about his long career as a journalist in Peoria.
Wilson retired in August as host of At Issue, WTVP-TV’s in-depth news program. He created the show and hosted it for 35 years. After so many years of interviewing other people, Wilson was hesitant to be the subject.
“The exhibition is never about me, it’s about helping the community,” she said.
Over the years, Wilson has interviewed everyone from politicians to artists to the average citizen on the street, and has tackled topics that are debatable and funny. He has also created documentaries for WTVP, taking an in-depth look at the issues of the citizens of central Illinois and beyond.
Wilson’s career as a journalist began long before he came to WTVP. The son of an airline pilot, Wilson lived all over the United States before his circle of relatives moved to Libertyville. Because he was smart in math and science, Wilson began reading for civil engineering at the Illinois Institute of Technology until a volunteer position at a local radio station replaced his trajectory.
“I started working as a disc jockey and enjoyed it,” he said. “I liked it so much that I left school after three years. . . I spend my time reading for an engineering degree. “
Wilson’s career was hampered by the Vietnam War, but when he finished serving, he enrolled at Southern Illinois University. He earned a degree in broadcast control in 1974. Although Wilson didn’t send any resumes to Peoria stations, he called through WMBD radio about a month after starting, a professor who had recommended him.
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Wilson worked on production for the station until a position as a late-night disc jockey opened up: WMBD played pop music in 1974. Two years later, Wilson went to WCBU, Peoria’s public radio station.
“I enjoyed it. They left me alone and said, ‘Run the data department. ‘”
As chief information officer, Wilson had the opportunity to mentor scholars at Bradley University.
“I enjoy giving academics the opportunity to follow the path they have chosen,” he said. “I had very, very smart academics. It was very satisfying to exercise and expand those scholars. Some of them have gone into business permanently. “.
In 1982, Wilson made the leap to television. Channel 19, then called WRAU, was looking for a publisher.
“It’s a pay raise and an opportunity for me to watch TV,” Wilson said.
He was deputy editor and editor-in-chief until differences with control led him to resign in 1988.
At the age of 40, Wilson was at a crossroads in his career. Inspired by a talk show hosted by Celeste Kelly that aired on Channel 47, Wilson had an idea.
“I volunteered at Channel 47 since 1975, so I met there,” Wilson said. “I said I’d like to do a communication and documentary show, which they weren’t doing. “
Wilson was offered a full-time job the next day, but the offer was superseded when Wilson said he was looking to work as a freelancer.
This agreement has allowed Wilson to paint for clients such as Caterpillar, OSF HealthCare System, and Goodwill of Central Illinois. It also allowed him to make documentaries, something he had never done before.
Over the more than 35 years, Wilson has directed nearly 90 documentaries on a wide variety of topics, from the recovery of the Illinois River in Emiquon, to a look back at the 2013 tornado outbreak that hit Washington and East Peoria, broadcast on the Storm Channel. One-year anniversary.
Wilson is proud of the work he has done over the years. Of the many topics he explored, one of the most prominent is COVID-19.
“In 2020, there was a 15-week era where thirteen of the screens were about COVID,” Wilson said. “This is perhaps the most challenging time, in terms of locating new faces and other approaches, because COVID is the topic of the day and continues to be the subject. “
Wilson also enjoyed learning about topics that the audience didn’t know about.
“Clyde Tombaugh – have you ever heard of Clyde? He discovered Pluto in the 1930s. He’s from up by LaSalle-Peru. He came down to Peoria and did an interview with me. He was probably 80 years old, and he was wonderful, sharp, just a neat guy,” said Wilson.
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The craziest interview Wilson has ever done with musician Ray Stevens while in town for the Heart of Illinois Fair.
“His band came back from the restaurant, and they had a tater tot war in the RV while I was doing the interview,” said Wilson.
His list of the most memorable stories is endless, the legacy of a long and engaging career.
News has been Wilson’s life, and he’s deeply concerned about cuts that have happened at newsrooms all across central Illinois.
“It worries me a lot. With my involvement with the Illinois News Broadcasters Association, we talk about it a lot,” he said. “There aren’t enough reporters. The reporters who are still working, most of them are green, in their first job, so they don’t have anybody to come back to. So they either have fact errors in their story, or it’s a short, glossed-over story without any meat to it.”
Wilson also doesn’t like the fact that so many boards and meetings go unreported in the press.
“The result is a population and a network that is less informed than they deserve, and they rely on social media to get their data, and that, we know, is not a reliable source,” he said. “I don’t know how the news industry, radio, newspapers and television, will recover to provide them with essential wisdom about how their network works.
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Leslie Renken can be reached at (309) 370-5087 or lrenken@pjstar. com. Follow her on Facebook. com/leslie. renken.
This article gave the impression of being in Star Journal: H Wayne Wilson talks about his 49 years covering news in Peoria.
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