1970 saw the first episodes of All My Children, the last studio performance of the Beatles and President Nixon signing into law the Public Health Cigarette Smoking Act, permanently banning cigarette advertisements from the television airwaves.

In Chicago the first appearance of horror host Svengoolie, AKA Jerry G. Bishop on WFLD in Chicago also took place in 1970.

And although Bishop himself gave up the character in 1973, it was reincarnated as Son of Svengoolie six years later by Rich Koz, one of the show's writers. Koz has been playing Svengoolie off and on ever since.

Today Svengoolie still graces Chicago television every Saturday night on WCIU (The U) as host of a weekly horror movie.

The horror franchise is also a major content component on WCIU's station website. WCIU.com is strictly a non-news "entertainment" destination, and as such Svengoolie represents one of the primary reasons people log on.

Elements of the Svengoolie secton include a history of Svengoolie, a few Svengoolie webisodes including some produced exclusively for the site, background information on several famous movie monsters, Svengoolie merchandise, and even an FAQ section.

The site also has a sponsor, Horrorbles, a horror and sci-fi movie memorabilia retailer.

THE ONLINE SPIN

It's often a challenge for non-news TV stations to sustain a substantial online effort.

WCIU does a great job of milking the Svengoolie franchise for all its worth. In a city the size of Chicago, a campy movie host can attract a sizeable audience and a rabid following.

The made-only-for-the-web video segments give users a reason to return to the site often.

In the process Horrorbles gains great exposure as the exclusive online sponsor for Svengoolie.