Exploring a News Broadcasting Station WKEF | Abandoned Ohio
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 7 ก.ย. 2024
- This WKEF-TV building in Dayton, Ohio now sits abandoned since closing around 2010. Exploring this abandoned news studio provided a glimpse into how the news is produced and the number of people, space, and hardware required. Exploring this abandoned news studio provided a glimpse into how the news is produced and the number of people, space, and hardware required.
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Warning: Always be respectful of others property. Urban exploring comes with risks and we do not encourage exploring by anyone that does not have a good understanding of building structures and risks. EXPLORE AT YOUR OWN RISK.
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Worked there from about 2007-2010. This was really entertaining to watch. Thanks guys!
You worked at that tv station seen in the video before, Dustin?
Well thats what he said…
It disturbs me that lots of great tv content has been lost because it was never archived, archived improperly or the syndicated cuts sent to local stations were thrown away.
Don’t cry
@@southwestxnorthwest shut up, dude
What if we can change all that for good and have them restored to working conditions?
...If only the person who bought this building was also into (or knew someone who was into) media preservation...
@@Justin-Hill-1987 There's always a first.
The last broadcast from that building was the 11pm newscast on Jan. 27, 2013. We went on the air the following morning from the new building. The only equipment taken from the old building to the new was the field cameras, everything else was new. Some of the old equipment may have found it's way to other stations within the ownership group, buy most of it was SD gear, past it's prime and sold with the building, probably sold for scrap.
Actually Lee, the 1st show from the new building was the 10pm on Sunday the 27th. I kept the rundown since I directed it. I have it hanging in my house. #nerd. Hahaha
i stand corrected!
thanks for the reply and bit of background on the station I wonder who owns it now(the building) It looks like some great office space and I have a company who works on off grid lighting systems and other equipment and we need a bujilding and office space to work on projects I would like to rent or lease this location it has good potential and spaces
Ya should've saved the video tapes. Who knows what classic-ness were in them.
We never take things while exploring but after the video went live several people tried to purchase them from the owner. I am not sure if anyone was successful.
I was there in 1971 for Clubhouse 22 and 22 Kidoo and also worked there in 1989-91 Lots of memories and sad to see this is gone.
This was my first internship and job in broadcasting. I worked there from '04-'05 and remember almost everything vividly. The biggest one I remember is during the winter the tower would have icicles form on it and would break off and careen down wildly onto the roof of the newsroom. Sounded like a bomb going off every time
Is this in Miamisburg?
It was on Gettysburg in Dayton and has been demolished 😫
Once Occupied Good old radio hill i’ve been in Dayton good chunk of my life I would drive past that place every day on my way home from work when the ramp at 35 and 75 would be all messed up
I had a dent in my car as a memory of that ice 😂
@@cynthiahadley8639
Cynthia,
Did you by chance go to BGSU or work for a cellular company at one time? Your name sounded very familiar and I am trying to place where I may have possibly known you from. 'Just curious. Thanks!
So sad to watch. I worked there in the late 90’s. Saw my empty office in the video 😢
I remember watching WKEF in the late 1960s and early 1970s. IIRC they were one of the last area stations to get their Quad tape machines converted to hi-band color, and the difference was immediately apparent.
Quad Tape. One hour tape reel that weighed -/+ 35 pounds and the machine, which I was first introduced to in 1974, was an Ampex VTR-2000/2500. The machine cost around $85K and could only play one tape at a time. It was fun back then!
It wasn't just a news studio... they produced a lot of local programs from that studio in the 1970s, long before they established their news department. "Clubhouse 22" and "Shock Theatre" were the two most watched.
Dr. Creep
thank you! Because I can't stand filmmakers reducing local media as if they just are "news stations" they lack media literacy.
This building wasn’t abandoned until the early 2010s. Sales was at the WRGT building, news at the WKEF building until they moved to their new building in Miamisburg sometime between 2011-12. I interned here in 2003-04 and remember the old WKEF studios well.
It was hard to figure out the date but there were a couple articles Saying it closed in 1998-1999. If you don’t mind I will put this information into the blog post at onceoccupied.com/newsstation/
Once Occupied that’s cool!
kg8485 Thanks! I’m glad everybody is enjoying it. Was definitely a cool place to explore.
I used to work at this station, they station moved out of that building in 2013.
I worked in the radio business for many years, & yeah, when broadcasters move out of an old building and into a new one, they often leave tons of stuff behind in the old building, because typically they are getting a lot of new equipment in their new building.
It’s not ok to just leave a trashy building behind for the taxpayers to clean up though….
I workrd for KSBW Radio& TV in Salinas Calif. In the 60s. Learned a lot. Lots of offices. Another great job. Thanks so much. So interesting. KSBW also had cable. Cali
I remember being at that building for 6 years! It smelled so bad in the summers being across from the dump!
Tell me about it. The dump isn’t that bad just driving by but living or working there would be a little rough.
Not to mention the ice that would fall from the tower. I remember when we were actually issued hard hats as a safety precaution.
I remember clubhouse 22 with Malcom and Duffy with the pick-a-door contest. Back when cable tv was new and you had to flip from A to B on the cable box. If it wasn't for malcom & duffy i might've done my homework on time.
Joe Smith
Thanks for sharing. I interned there 1990-92 and worked there from 1992-94 as a news producer.
We would have worked there at the same time. I was there 1992-1994 in the Photo Dept.
@@alanguile6622 I remember you!! Are you on FB? I will send a friend request.
Pretty cool explore. Good to be able to see the studio areas.
No doubt. We totally underestimated how cool those areas would be
I remember Clubhouse 22, with Malcolm and Duffy the Dog!
Makes me wonder if they digitized those tapes? or if they cancelled their newscasts ,donated those tapes to a local museum.
Sad to learn that the tapes may have been destroyed. In the UK we no longer have regional or small town tv stations like you have in the States and those tapes would have been a wonderful resource of social history of the town and state.
We don’t in the US anymore either. The small and medium TV stations are usually satellites of a nearby larger station now, with just a sales department left in the original town.
You guys should got all of the videotapes
They would've made great TH-cam footage for die-hard nostalgics...
behind this tv station used to be Dayton Speedway it was a half mile oval track, but I believe it is mostly buried now under a landfill
What intrigues me is “mostly,” MISSION ACCEPTED. Never knew that. PrisonEarth you rock!
If you google "Dayton Speedway" there is info about the location and history of it. I have always wanted to go there and try to look around. I cant think of the name of the company that owns the landfill, I imagine you would have to contact them to get permission. If I find it I will post it here.
Found it. It's Rauch Trucking on Soilders Home West Carrolton Road and it is southwest of that old tv station
OK I found where it says it’s Rauch Trucking like you said. It doesn’t look like any of it is left. It’s interest in looking at the pictures from that track and it literally looks exactly the same as the track from Cars the movie. It might be a kid movie but it’s still amazing. I want to go there one weekend and wander around and see if there’s any remnants.
yeah it's too bad it's been covered up, you might find some guard rail around the top
This is awesome. I remember being a kid and driving past it and always wondering what it looked like inside. Very cool video. Thank.
I’m so glad you liked it. That’s the biggest reason we make the videos is because these places mean a lot to people. Don’t forget to subscribe and share.
Save.Those.Tapes.
The building was demolished just a couple weeks after our visit. Sadly it seams the tapes have been lost.
Once Occupied That is a shame. Analog archivists wouldve loved to comb through those.
No doubt.
Amen
Loved Shock Theater with Dr Creep from the 70s and 80s on channel 22
I love this explore! I'm glad I subbed! This is now the 4th video I've watched on your channel and I've liked them all so far. Keep up the awesome work guys
Thanks Rick! Hopefully the video editing is getting better i a make more.
I think you're doing a great job!! Better than I could do, that's for sure lol.
1715 Soldiers Home-West Carrollton Rd
It was demolished about a week after we posted the video and we believe all the tapes were left inside
Great video, just SLOWWW down the camera movement. We cannot see what you are seeing.
Protip: Live studios do indeed do occasional recording. But the vast majority of news shows go out 'live'.
Interesting. I guess it probably does save them substantial editing time and management of data. But there’s the whole it’s alive that probably is a little nerve-racking and has some risk
Looks like more fallout from station consolidation, although citadel is less-bad than some network owners. I would make a bad explorer, as I'd want to slide office CDs into my pocket and see what data is on them. Usually boring stuff like A.R. and P-L statements, but sometimes something interesting comes up. Again, that disqualifies me..
It is definitely really hard sometimes to resist the temptation but I always felt like it was a slippery slope.
It is crazy how quick everything deteriorates in 9 years. I wonder when they were about to move, the building was already falling apart. That usually happens a lot with buildings. They just try to make the most out of it, then they take whatever they need and leave to a new location.
Makes me want to breakout in a chorus of Station Fascination...22Alive, That ain't no jive...
One thing is certain...it closed a fey years after WDTN 2 and WKEF 22 switched affiliations, with NBC returning to 2 and ABC returning to 22.
iwould have taken some tapes just to keep thanks for shaing
Of course, if they were beta, they would be useless except to maybe the state historical society, which should have been the repository of all of these tapes. The home version of beta used a 0.5 inch tape and the pro stuff used a 19mm (IIRC) and were not interchangeable.
10:32 it was Dayton’s News Source not Dayton’s Number One News Source. And that room you were in was the news room. I use to work for these stations at their current location in Miamisburg
Man I’d keep all those tapes, lots of lost moments on those.
I agree. We didn’t know they were going to demo the building just a couple weeks after our visit 😩
It’s so sad how this TV station didn’t care enough about its own history to preserve those tapes.
There's very few people around now who care about the historical aspects of radio and TV broadcasting. Those who do usually find those who don't will get in the way of trying to save stuff. I know from experience. Have tried to save a lot of radio stuff from my country but when I ask they say "We'll call you". After the place has been demolished they say "If you'd called us two weeks ago ... "
Super Exploring job guys really enjoyed this one keep up the great work was very entertaining to watch much enjoyed it
Thanks🙏
WTF, they left old tapes. Those need to be collected and digitized.
I still heartbroked when NBC 4 in Port Arthur,Texas burned down in a fire back in 2009
the outside looks better than the new building, it looks more like an office they converted
The new building use to be the old WBDT building that was home to the Daily Syndicated show The Daily Buzz.
I just found a Betamax tape with the news recorded from this station and I searched it up and found this.
Yeah it was a nice explore I would love to have check this place out but when me and some friends went there last Saturday all we found was a pile of rubble pretty much and a big backhoe Park to the right of what's left of the building :-(
My God. So much Shock Theatre must be in those tapes
That place is a gold mine with all those old tapes left behind there might be some good stuff an old news stories that made head lines there on those
Wow that’s a big place
I worked for WKEF in 1977. Really liked working with Barry Hobart. Got to drive his hearse once.
Did he really just drive a hearse? 😳
@@OnceOccupied He did have a regular car but for public events as Dr. Creep he drove a tricked out hearse. He was a gentle soul. Miss him.
@@marksherman540 Loved Dr. Creep. Think of him every Saturday when Svengoolie runs. Must have been really cool to know him and work with him.
@@williamcollins2051 Yes, I think about Barry often. He was a very kind person with a huge heart. He spent many hours helping raise money for Muscular Dystrophy.
Absolutely sick place! I was looking for a vid like this
Thanks! It just got demolished in the last couple weeks.
Once Occupied aw that’s terrible
Yes, the mold could make you sick.
That oven is where the station owners cooked the books! 😂
Great video!!!!
Thanks 🙏
I want to own that studio.
I worked in that building in the late 90's.
They taped a kids show in that studio too clubhouse 22i remember going in there
I wish people had some pictures from back in the day that would be pretty awesome.
for the longest time while I worked there the head of duff the dog was hanging from the rafters in the news room. the news room shot would line up just below the hanging head. we used it as a marker.
#SavetheWKEFTapes
Shared on other social media sites and #savethewkeftapes Could go viral!
It should go viral
Abandoned hospitals with medical records strewn throughout the structure. This former news station with news tapes strewn about the building. I seriously wonder about standards, of any kind, in America??? Both incidences would cause serious questions within Canada or in Europe. In Canada broadcasting is regulated, CRTC & Industry Canada. America please take note, regulation exists to protect both the broadcaster and the public. Strict regulation is in the interest of all parties. This is an example of unregulated abandonment of a news facility.
Pretty neat.
Was this site an integrated studio/office/transmitter site (probably in Trotwood), or just the studio and office?
The original studio was an integrated studio/office/transmitter on the outskirts of West Carrollton (Soldiers Home-West Carrollton Road). Nearly all the other area stations had their transmitters a short distance away on Frytown Road.
Great video!
Luis Rodriguez Thanks. Now I just need to get a stabilizer so it’s not as shaky
DAM GOOD FIND BROTHER HAVE YOU EVER THOUGHT OF TAKING A SPIRIT BOX WITH YOU WHEN YOU GO EXORING
We don’t generally believe or not believe in that stuff. I think I’d rather not know. 😜😱
I was hoping there would be some cool sound gear like an old mixing board or something.
Us too!
Very rare and unique for an abandoned building in the USA seeing that it hasn't been neither vandalised nor covered in graffiti by wild kids.
You couldn't read a couple of tape titles??? I've noticed to do not pick up anything to read or show what you find, no history to show us???
I actually think I have a lot more footage but I have to dig it up or I pick up some and get close-ups. I didn’t think that so many people would find that stuff interesting. I was wrong. I will do some digging.
@@OnceOccupied thx pickup & read a couple tapes is fine.
I remember Johnny Walker and Duffy. Would have been cool to find that old duffy costume in some box. Was this the station where Dr. Creep filmed Shock Theatre?
Yes...this is where Barry Hobart worked. He also had other jobs at the station besides being Creep. I think he worked in Master Control where they monitor what's going out over the air.
ABC and FOX stations in one building. Damn that is awesome.
more common then you think.
How sad. I believe I visited there once years ago with a girl scout troop. Why didn't they take all of those tapes with them?
Dope
Great video! What about the mclin funeral home next?
When it becomes open It would definitely be in our wheel house. We did another Dayton funeral home a while back th-cam.com/video/ewc8XRIDMeE/w-d-xo.html
I know the owner of the McClin Funeral Home building.
Mike. Email me at OnceOccupied@gmail.com
Cool place to check out.
Definitely a unique find.
Hope those tapes weren't lost
They were people trying to save them after we posted the video but from what I hear they did not have good luck. Very sad.
5:20 Curious what is recorded on those tapes and CDs/ DVDs. Bummer there were no digital video player machines.
in the late 40's wone tv was the original ch 22. the studios were on w. 1st st in dayton, close to the river. wone am, 980 is still on the air & wone fm became wtue. at one time wkef, dayton 22 was the most powerful uhf station on the air. things sure have changed! i had friends that worked there. most are retired or passed away.
The WONE-FM call letters are now on a station in Akron, OH, at 97.5 on the FM dial.
@@mbclev was the akron station, formerly wakr, wone's sister station in the 1960's ?
@@garybrown7044 Yes, it was, in fact (WAKR-1590's call letters still exist in Akron, by the way), from 1965 until 1986.
@@mbclev i worked for the dj's @ wone from 1964 thru '67. i worked for rick stevens, jerry "shadoe"jackson & douglas drake, a newsman from across the pond. people at venues loved him. he always showed up in a 3 piece suite. wone was above the post office on wilkinson st. after vietnam, they all had moved on.
Bear mace in Ohio…. What are you, Canadian? I’d be packing doing that shit over there…
I know its illegal. But how do you not grab those tapes
The WKEF building is being renovated
I should use that Building for the episode of The Walking Dead it looks like some of the buildings they use on The Walking Dead series for filming
Absolutely! You should see it after the tornado. I have a video I need to post of it. It’s pretty wild.
I wanna rescue those tapes
3:09 didn't show the wiring on the left?
6:22 the most dad thing he could have possibly done
With over 7,000 abandoned, homes and businesses in the Dayton area, there is much to prowl through....Just be careful, druggies, tweakers and homeless abound in the empty homes!!
It’s always a constant concern. We avoid houses as much as possible for that reason. :)
I've read the same thing from other channels. Is the entire state of Ohio like this?
Dayton is mostly abandoned houses while other cities like Detroit and Gary Indiana have a lot more commercial properties.
I have videos on my page where I have went inside of abandoned houses in East Dayton on my page and filmed them
Terrie Tackett
According to mayor Nan Whaley, Dayton is thriving and in a economic recovery, LOL😂
Great video
did that tv station move lacation or go off the air?
Nice explore but hard to watch, slowwww down, light up the room better and move the camera slower.
You should check out some of the later videos. They’re still not perfect but I’ll say they’re definitely a lot better than some of the older ones.
would be funny to figure out how to turn it all on and broadcast
From what i heard they were not able to save the tapes. Supposedly the owner of the company that was contracted to tear down the building was a real dick and refused to let anyone obtain the tapes.
Does anyone know if this is still there? I would love to have the dimmers and lighting grid from that studio for the theater we are restoring in Newberry SC. And we could give them a donation receipt for a tax write off. Anyone know who owns the building now? Or if gone?
It was demoed a week after we visited sadly. Everything was left inside.
Bear mace, 38 special revolver its all good.
I would hav had to get a couple of tapes for a souvnere
The "huge mirror" at 9:14 was actually a teleprompter screen for the news anchors.
Very cool who would’ve thought
Good guess, but it was actually positioned over the kitchen set. The mirror was angled so we could get shots looking straight down on what was being cooked.
@@sgray001 So it wasn't a news broadcasting station, but a cooking show set?
@@mikeroamsreddeer4858 Oh no, it _was_ a news station. We had evening shows that were straight news, and our morning show had a daily cooking segment. We'd have local bars and restaurants come in as promotion for them and content for us.
@@sgray001 Interesting, thanks for the clarification.
This is an odd place to find abandoned. I wonder how chaotic it was during filming. What happened to the equipment?
No equipment at all. That would’ve been cool though
All the equipment was either moved to the new building or sold, destroyed/thrown away or donated elsewhere. I know ICB has/had one of the old news desks.
where exactly is the location? I would love to explore it my self.
awesome explore guys I just subscribed to your channel. I explore on the east side of PA but I plan on making a trip out to ohio one day to do some exploring. maybe we can find something and collab together.
Lot of info on the history of the station. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/WKEF
Why in the world would they leave all the tapes behind?
Typical news station: like a prison, none of the tapes are stored properly.
Speaking of backups upon backups upon backups; when I started in news, we usually recorded to two BetaCam SX decks at the same time for safety. When we went "tapeless" using Blackmagic SSD recorders, we had at least two, sometimes three running, plus a direct record into our server. I can't tell you how many times all three BMs failed while recording and one caught fire in the control room during a session. Ah, "progress". Thankfully, the direct ingest on the server almost never went South but the capture quality wasn't as good.
Did you find Ron Burgundy's Office?
Hopefully, some local.historical group salvaged the tapes.
The overarching question is who is paying the property taxes on these abandoned Pieces of real estate question mark Oh
How do you find these spots man ?!
The transmitter ?
Would have been nice to have salvaged the equipment an videotape
I agree. We never take anything but the tapes were hard to leave just so they could be demoed. Sadly I don't think they were saved. Please consider subscribing for more videos. I need to find another abandoned news station!
You know Lynn?
Have you gone to the one mary Tyler Moore was recorded
Those video cassettes looke like 3/4" Umatic.