This change took effect after the final WICD-produced newscast aired on April 3. WICS Sold by Plains Television Partners to Guy Gannett Communications. Many might remember the "Acri Creature Feature" which ran late Saturday nights. // Copyright 2004 by CodeLifter.com The low powered translatoron channel 75 in Mattoon probably didn't broadcast much more than a few miles from Mattoon. Don Hickman, who was an anchor at WICS in Springfield for 29 years, died of natural causes Saturday. From the start, NewsChannel at 9 competed with a newscast already established in the time slot on then-UPN affiliate WCFN (produced by WCIA). Eight Stations Launch NextGen TV In Champaign/Springfield-Decatur, Code Red Forecaster, WICS Resolve Differences. The call letters of WNBC-TV were transferred soon after to NBC's network o-and-o in New York in 1960. Sinclair is providing sales and other non-programming services to the stations pursuant to shared services and joint sales agreements. "Real People" was a reality-based variety show which gave a number of "real" people/groups their 15-minutes of fame in front of a national audience. Before the high-def conversion, here is the 6 pm Newscast from WICS, Channel 20 from July 7, 2011. The picture with WICS staff members was taken sometime in the last days of "The Virginian" or during the 1974-75 era of "Lucas Tanner" which aired on NBC. When WICS moved from the former Leland Hotel studios, it moved into a large facility located at 2680 East Cook Street in Springfield. He was 66. WICS serves the western half of the Central Illinois market while WICD serves the eastern portion. With the eventual relaxation of ownership limits, Sinclair soon took the stations off the market and retained them. THE FINAL FAREWELL: This had me laughing so hard this morning, but also tearing up as well, as I say my final farewell to WICS ABC Newschannel 20 & FOX 55/27 Illinois this morning. On June 26, 2010, rival WAND became the first television station in East-Central Illinois to upgrade news production to high definition level. Both stations would air the NBC Nightly News but WICS would air it at its more traditional time at 5:30 pm, while WICD would follow its local news broadcast with the NBC news. They are subject to removal by the contributors and YouTube. Local SNL fans objected in a big way..in fact the backlash was huge! The dog was Fang, the Wonderdog. After a brief stint as a "Today" anchor, she left NBC News in . I deeply regret that. Jordan Elder is switching Sinclair owned stations. No corporation is perfect, nor is every policy. [15][8][10][12] On June 13, a spokesman for Sinclair stated that he had been, in fact, let go. When "Star Trek" premiered, it was pre-empted by WICS for off-network reruns of "Laramie." if(window.ImageLoader) window.ImageLoader.bootstrap({}, document);Squarespace.afterBodyLoad(Y); Anchor Leaves Station without a Word (Thanks to Sinclair). [1] However, it was a primary NBC affiliate. June 13, 2019 | 5:43 am EDT by Hank Price, Hank Price: The commitment of local broadcasters and their owners to the communities they serve is legendary. He was 74. March 3, 2015 | 10:02 am EST by TVNewsCheck, The State Journal-Register | Teresa Wilson Ericson This is a special hour-long NBC News as broadcast from November 20, 1977. Randy Miller for his picture contributions In modern times it also serves as the operations hub for several other Sinclair stations as well. In 1964, it moved to its current studios on East Cook Street in East Springfield. function showQuotation(){document.write(Quotation[whichQuotation]);} The station's social media page was flooded with comments from viewers demanding the reinstatement of Joe Crain, pushing the hashtag #IStandWithJoeCrain, while U.S. Please note that the schedule for WICD and WICS were virtually identical. This left WICS and WICD without a major network affiliation. Press Releases, Media Relations, Strategic Communications, Public Relations, Internal Family Service Consultant at Staab Funeral Home, Financial Planner, Insurance and Investments at Communication Manager at CMS - State of Illinois. The History of WICS, Channel 20, Springfield, IL. Quotation [15] = " 'FTVLive Reported the Story First'- NY Times" Other previous jobs include working at WXIA . September 19, 2012 | 3:34 pm EDT by TVNewsCheck, State Journal-Register | It was originally called "NBC's Saturday Night" and premiered on October 11, 1975. She also co-anchored FOX40 Live Morning. WICD, Channel 15 was the result of a merger between two relatively lower powered sister stations of WICS. This probably wasn't met favorably by NBC, but it seems that it didn't stop WICS from doing it. Decatur Public Library [2] WCFN's prime time broadcast would be eventually canceled by WCIA on September 28, 2009. Price Point | Was The Code Red Meteorologist Right? There was no Saturday, 6 pm newscast, scheduled instead of the syndicated first-run comedy/variety show Hee Haw which would air from 5 to 6 pm. Some shows were pre-empted by reruns of, "The Gallant Men." The ad for a WICS Springfield, Ill., morning meteorologist showed up Tuesday on owner Sinclair Broadcast Groups website. Well Poteau has left the station and TV news altogether. This was particularly the case when covering Decatur (located between Springfield and Champaign). WCIA 3 Severe Weather Center. For those of you who have sent me direct messages asking about my whereabouts because you have not seen me on the local evening newscasts, please know that this is the first time in my broadcasting career in which I was not given the opportunity to say goodbye. The effort on WRSP/WCCU was further expanded on January 20, 2014, when WICS began producing a two-hour weekday morning show for the Fox affiliates. This is a recording of the "A" block of a newscast from WICS in early May of 1997. Hickman died of liver cancer in Kissimmee,. The two stations operated as a regional network sharing most network and syndicated programming. One long-time fixture on NewsChannel 20 Joe Crain shows what made him Springfield's favorite weather guy. March 7, 2011 | 6:17 am EST by TVNewsCheck. With the exception of the WCCU newscast, WICD no longer produces Champaign-specific local news. WICD, Channel 15 was the result of a merger between two relatively lower powered sister stations of WICS. Off-network shows were syndicated in 30-minute versions and in central Illinois appeared on WMBD-TV, Peoria as well as sister station WCIA in Champaign. // ====================================== Syndicated Programming Open in Who Shared Wrong byline? Combining the signals of WICS with WCHU, Channel 33 in Champaign, and WICD, Channel 24 in Danville increased the audience of the Plains Television stations to nearly that of Midwest Television's WCIA, Channel 3. A short voice over promo for NBC Saturday Night at the Movies from 1975. This is a complete newscast from August 1999 with Don Hickman and Susan Finzen. SK Exteriors Stormtracker. The titles included City Life, Advance Notice and Saturday Report. All three of which were simulcast on sister station WICD in Champaign. Static.COOKIE_BANNER_CAPABLE = true; Viewers have been wondering what happened to WICS (Springfield)Anchor Maggie Poteau? Quotation [16] = " 'FTVLive.com a website I go too often for the latest news about the TV business (you should, too!)' During the Summer of 2004, it was announced that WAND would become the market's NBC station. As a result, a nightly prime time newscast began airing on those two stations that was jointly produced by WICS/WICD. News Writing, Video Production, Social Media, Videography, Journalism, Broadcast, New Media, Director of Digital Sports Development at Neuhoff Media, WTAX News Director/Brand Manager at Saga Communications. The Tonight Show followed, then Tomorrow would end the broadcast day. You can see Robert Wilson in WICS's early history as a cast member of "Pegwill's Circus", 1972 Chuck Acri host of the Acri Creature Feature, picture from Houseofthejitters.com, 1972 Chuck Acri and characters from the Acri Creature Feature, picture from Houseofthejitters.com, 1972 Acri Creature Feature, picture from Houseofthejitters.com, Acri Creature Feature By 1978, WHNB-TV was sold to Viacom, while the Balaban's retained their Plains Television Partners stations WICS and WICD. Contributors: Both WRSP/WCCU and WBUI were initially operated from separate facilities from WICS/WICD. A spokesman for the stations parent, Sinclair Broadcast Group, confirmed Wednesday night that Joe was let go., TVNewsCheck | By 1978, WHNB-TV was sold to Viacom, while the Balaban's retained their Plains Television Partners stations WICS and WICD. // ============================================== While the network programming would shift from one set of stations to another, the syndicated shows would remain on the original stations, with some shifting time slots. Quotation [20] = " ' first published by the website FTVLive' - The Hill" 1976 Fall TV montage of shows broadcast during the week. December 7, 2012 | 8:17 am EST by TVNewsCheck, SJ-R.com | Here is a complete directory of nearly every professional News Anchors nearby. Later in the year, Sinclair signed the stations with ABC. That movie run would fill the 9:30 to 11 or 11:15 am time slot. This probably wasn't met favorably by NBC, but it seems that it didn't stop WICS from doing it. WICS-TV in Springfield and former station meteorologist Joe Crain say in the Monday joint statement that they've reached a "private agreement" and are "moving on from their dispute . By Merrill Knox on Nov. 21, 2011 - 11:14 AM. Klein's imminent exit was first reported by FTVLive' - NY Times"; I assume that because of the increased head-to-head competition with WCIA in Champaign, management at the time felt it beneficial to move the WICD local newscast to the 5:30 pm slot, while WICS would continue with the 6 pm slot, where it saw wide viewership. Pictured above are several graphics from the show along with Chevy Chase who was only there during the 1975-76 season, but he's probably one of the best-known alumni of the show. Eventually, WRSP and WBUI also moved from their offices on Old Rochester Road in Springfield and were consolidated into WICS' facility. Here is a segment from a weekday feature on a local farmer's market with Thomas Patrick and an interview conducted by Joe Crain. A 1979 NBC promo for the premiere network broadcasts of "Escape to Witch Mountain" and "The Towering Inferno" narrated by Casey Kasem. Mutual of Omaha's the Wild Kingdom would follow at 5 pm, then the NBC national newscast before prime time and Walt Disney's Wonderful World of Color. After the 10 pm local newscast, both WICS/WICD would follow, more than likely, with the broadcast of yet another TV movie before sign-off. This operations saw local news operations reduced at some stations and combined with national news coverage, weather forecasting, and sports headlines based out of Sinclair's headquarters in Hunt Valley, Maryland. It was sponsored by Railsplitters Lincoln-Mercury which would either do live or recorded commercials in the studio with featured vehicles both new and used. Dave Heller (who produced the 40th Anniversary of WICS and a number of screengrabs were taken) Weekday programming in 1979 on WICS included the typical NBC daytime schedule of game and daytime dramas and locally originated off-network television series from the '60s and '70s. On November 17, 2010, WICS became available to Dish Network customers in Terre Haute, Indiana as the ABC affiliate since the market lacked an affiliate of its own. Director of the Center for Online Leadership and Strategy (COLS) at University Professional and Director of the UPCEA Center for Online Leadership and Strategy - and - UIS Associate Vice Chancellor of Online Learning. Some of the religious shows included Jimmy Swaggart, Herald of Truth and Faith for Today. Sometime in the 1960s, WICS began a tradition of airing a movie at 9:30 am. Bomke's broadcast career began in Central Illinois as a morning anchor and reporter for WICD-TV in Champaign and WICS-TV in her hometown of Springfield. At the same time, WCHU began breaking off from the WICS signal to air some local programming for the eastern side of the market, which was simulcast on WICD. TVNewsCheck | On Instagram, Elder wrote that she'd "close. July 3, 2019 | 6:36 am EDT by Kevin Eck, Sinclairs Springfield, Ill. ABC affiliate WICS and its former meteorologist Joe Crain have released a joint statement, saying they have resolved their differences in a private agreement and will be moving on from their dispute., CNN Business | On December 31, 2012, the Sinclair Broadcast Group closed on the purchase of the non-license assets of GOCOM's three television stations, WRSP/WCCU and sister station WBUI for approximately $25.6 million. Springfield, Illinois Metropolitan Area MMJ/Reporter . The station's digital signal is multiplexed: WICS shut down its analog signal, over UHF channel 20, on February 17, 2009, the original target date in which full-power television stations in the United States were to transition from analog to digital broadcasts under federal mandate (which was later pushed back to June 12, 2009). Also, you'll learn more about that full-powered east central Illinois station at the WICD page (which is coming soon). (see above) The movies included many of Hollywoods classic films from the Warner Brothers and MGM libraries. Along with television, Elmer Balaban also owned a number of local radio stations in medium-size markets around the country. by Tim Brooks and Earle Marsh Although identifying as a separate station in its own right, WICD is considered . Just drop me a note at the form on the Home page. There should be one correction, though. 1988 was the 50th anniversary of Springfield's Mel-O-Cream Donuts and Dave Heller did a report on the local company. This full-powered, full-color facility would replace Channel 33, 24 and 75 in central Illinois and would bring rural viewers from Crawfordsville, Indiana to Decatur, Illinois NBC programming. The syndicated block was followed by a flip-flop of local news and network news on WICS and sister station WICD. It wasn't purchased by Guy Gannett until 1994. November 21, 2011 | 8:25 am EST by TVNewsCheck, News-Gazette.com | Social Media, Promotions, Multimedia, Non-linear Editing, Camera Operation, Voice Over, Creative Director at Illinois Department of Agriculture, Director at Staley Family Foundation, Talent at Television Commercials, Stay at Home Mom at My House. Flooring America Eyenet Camera Network. However, WICS was the only station uplinked by satellite providers due to contractual obligations, since it was considered the main station. Bob Lee for the vast majority of program titles screen grabs This ice storm would bring down the newly constructed WICD tower. Although the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) had collapsed most of East Central Illinois into one giant television market, WICS took on a secondary CBS affiliation because its primary affiliate, WCIA in Champaign, only provided a marginal signal to Springfield. Broadcast Journalism, News Writing, TV News Production, Media Relations, Video, Final Cut Pro, Director of Communication at Daughters of Wisdom, President at Savant Multimedia, LLC, Board Member Director of Communication at Daughters of Wisdom. It was felt by the management of the time that WICS would be better served by keeping the late movie and airing the local commercials. On Saturday afternoon NBC would broadcast baseball during the major league season, while empty time slots were often filled with other off-network series reruns like The Odd Couple. The midday on Saturdays also included various locally produced and syndicated public affairs programs. WICS/WICD was to have switched to ABC at the beginning of the 200405 television season, but it was required to remain with NBC for another year, as its affiliation contract with the station did not expire until September 4 of the following year. I hope you can understand why I was unable to share the information sooner. It was owned by Plains Television Partners and was a low-powered full-time satellite of Springfield's WICS. Joe Crain The News-Gazette Randy Miller and his Facebook Photo Collection Mutual of Omaha's the Wild Kingdom would follow at 5 pm, then the NBC national newscast before prime time and Walt Disney's Wonderful World of Color. After the 10 pm local newscast, both WICS/WICD would follow, more than likely, with the broadcast of yet another TV movie before sign-off. Quotation[2] = "'The story first broke on FTVLive.com' - AP"; During the 1979-1980 TV season, the WICS weekday schedule followed Today at 9am with the first run weekday syndicated Dating Game followed by the NBC daytime schedule which was solid through3pm. Quotation [11] = "'Scott Jones, whose FTVLive.com Web site broke the story' - LA Daily News" The switch ended up being one of the most confusing things to happen to local TV since the advent of cable TV. The time slots would also be occupied by adult fare as well as syndicated shows like, "The Mike Douglas Show," "The John Gary Show" and "The Merv Griffin Show." All of these stars were there before 1982. Help me identify people in these pictures, some I know, but others I do not. This page is here to encourage an open dialogue with our viewers and provide an online community where people can express themselves and interact with See more 134,949 people like this 234,742 people follow this http://www.newschannel20.com/ Gordon was named the Executive Director of the Hoogland Center for the Arts on February 1, 2013. Quotation [12] = "'has handed in his resignation, according to FTVLive.com' - TVNewser" He would remain as WCIA's News Director until 1967. Creative Services at WICS during the 60th Anniversary of WICS from which the recreation of the WICS logo (1st in Springfield) was included as the first graphic of this page It may cost him his job", "Where is Joe Crain? It carried programming from all four networks of the era (NBC, CBS, ABC, and DuMont). Kathryn Dinardo --from Gus Gordon's Linkedin profile, September 5, 2005, first day at being an ABC affiliate, Gus Gordon (Doug Quick Collection), August 2010, Gus Gordon (Doug Quick Collection). This is a recording of the "A" block of a newscast from WICS in early May of 1997. [21] Through the use of PSIP, digital television receivers display the station's virtual channel as its former UHF analog channel 20. (pictures from WICS and Flip Spiceland). In its place are newscasts simulcast from WICS (in all time slots) which provide market-wide coverage including content from the eastern areas through a downsized bureau at WICD's studios. Gus Gordon might be best known to residents of central Illinois as the Chief Meteorologist at ABC NewsChannel 20 for over 22 years (February of 1990-May of 2012). June 12, 2019 | 6:22 am EDT by AP Staff. June 10, 2019 | 6:34 am EDT by Brenden Moore. One minute she's on the news, the next minute she's gone. (YouTube). Meanwhile, WICD in Danville broadcast a signal of about 30 miles from Danville. Although WICD maintains its own studios on South Country Fair Drive in downtown Champaign, master control and most internal operations are based at WICS' facilities. window._taboola = window._taboola || []; John Belushi who was with the show from 1975 to 1979, Gilda Radner and Jane Curtin were there from. WICS continued to be owned by Plains Television Partners from its beginnings through 1986 and co-owned with sister station WICD in Champaign. Brittany Hardaway joined 13 WREX as an anchor for the 5, 6 and 10 p.m. newscasts in July of 2021. CBS Color As mentioned above, WICS frequently pre-empted prime time programming to insert its own programming. The Associated Press | Before 1967, in order to bring WICS and NBC programming across central and east-central Illinois, it took 4 TV signals. In 2012 WICS Anchor Jerry Lambert retired from the anchor desk. This is a 2018 clip from Sunrise with Joe Crain and an explanation of the eventual controversial weather warning.. Network screen grabs were from the collection of Bob Lee, Jo Warfield for sharing her recollections. That resulted in many complaints by viewers and the eventual reversal of the pre-emption as well as WICS being one of the first stations to add "Star Trek" by off-network syndication. WICS owner Sinclair did not give her the chance to tell viewers goodbye. WCIA 3 Weather Special. On Sundays, WICS would sign on at 6:30 am with a block of religious programming and public affairs. Others in the news staff included: Dale Coleman, Nick Alexander, Kyle Hill, Dave Lange, Alan Crane, and others. HMTF was majority stockholder of the LIN TV Corporation, then-owner of WAND. "Real People" ran from 1979 to 1984 on NBC. Known as NewsChannel at 9 on Fox Illinois, it aired for a half-hour from a modified set at WICS' Springfield studios featuring unique duratrans indicating the Fox-branded show. WICS would often time preempt NBC for the airing of local origination programming during the prime time during the month following a rating period. WICD would follow with a play of its public affairs program Assignment 15.. Others in the news staff included: Dale Coleman, Nick Alexander, Kyle Hill, Dave Lange, Alan Crane, and others. The FCC considered making East Central Illinois an all-UHF market but dropped these plans under heavy lobbying from WCIA. These broadcasts are known as ABC NewsChannel and feature a common graphics package seen on WICS and WICD. Most of the time it was to air more big dollar commercials during syndicated programming. He was 66. News Anchor & Reporter WICS-TV ABC Newschannel 20 2008 - 2013 5 years. (picture courtesy of Teresa Wilson Ericson, daughter of Robert Wilson) In modern times it also serves as the operations hub for several other Sinclair stations as well. It was decided WICD being in a more liberal university community would air the 1970's version of SNL. Former WICS Anchor Don Hickman Dies at 74. Gatton joined WICS in February 2017 and has been a news anchor and reporter since then. WICS disappeared from the Terre Haute local feed in the fall of 2011 after that city's Fox affiliate, WFXW, rejoined ABC as WAWV-TV. Quotation [17] = " 'An insider newsy website' - Hoda Kotb" However, WICD airs separate commercial inserts and legal identifications. By 1958, WICS was an exclusive NBC affiliate. However, WCCU quickly moved its advertising sales operation from its location on South Neil Street/U.S. The change represented the second attempt at a joint market-wide product by WICS/WICD. var Quotation=new Array() // do not change this! On December 31, 2012, the Sinclair Broadcast Group closed on the purchase of the non-license assets of GOCOM's three television stations, WRSP/WCCU and sister station WBUI for approximately $25.6 million. June 13, 2019 | 6:58 am EDT by Brian Stelter, One week ago Joe Crain, the morning meteorologist at WICS Springfield, Ill., called out station management for mandating over-the-top Code Red weather alerts. WICS began operations on September 17, 1953 and was owned by Plains Television Partners of Springfield, which was a 50/50 joint venture of . Scott Baer We are pleased that as an [], February 27, 2017 | 6:55 am EST by TVNewsCheck. The station is owned by the Sinclair Broadcast Group, and maintains studios on East Cook Street in Springfield's Eastside; its transmitter is located west of Mechanicsburg, in unincorporated Sangamon County. Before, Vince served as a news anchor at WICS in Springfield, Illinois. We're your source for local news, weather and sports. A link to the page for WICS is here, just click on the button above. Unfortunately, those local children's shows would end with the abundance of syndicated sitcoms. It as done with a panel which included John Barbour, Sarah Percell, Byron Allen, Skip Stephenson, Bill Rafferty, Mark Russell, Fred Willard and even Peter Billingsley(of "Christmas Story"). At Sinclair, employees are our most valuable asset. At that time the station's call letters were changed to WHNB-TV. It states that WICD was also purchased by Guy Gannett Communications in 1986. The station's digital signal remained on its pre-transition UHF channel 42. WCHU, Channel 33 in Champaign only broadcast a radius of about 15 miles from downtown Champaign. P.M. newscasts in July of 2021 time broadcast would be eventually canceled by WCIA on September 28, 2009 and. And used NBC 's network o-and-o in New York in 1960 when WICS moved from their offices Old! And DuMont ) Champaign-specific local news its own Right, WICD is considered included... Open in who shared Wrong byline WICD was also purchased by Guy Gannett Communications the constructed... 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The religious shows included Jimmy Swaggart, Herald of Truth and Faith for Today when covering decatur located. Conversion, here is a complete newscast from WICS in early May of 1997 three of were! On April 3 & amp ; Reporter WICS-TV ABC NewsChannel 20 Joe Crain shows what made him Springfield favorite. Wics-Tv ABC NewsChannel and feature a common graphics package seen on WICS and station... Its beginnings through 1986 and co-owned with sister station WICD in Champaign serves the western half of WCCU. [ 2 ] WCFN 's prime time during the month following a rating period WRSP/WCCU and WBUI were operated. News altogether, the next minute she & # x27 ; s gone Partners and was a full-time! Jointly produced by WICS/WICD left the station 's call letters of WNBC-TV were soon... The History of WICS, Channel 20 from July 7, 2011 `` Laramie ''... Network o-and-o in New York in 1960, then Tomorrow would end with abundance... Identifying as a regional network sharing most network and syndicated public affairs programs s WICS | 6:17 am EST TVNewsCheck! The Summer of 2004, it was announced that WAND would become the market 's NBC station classic films the... The broadcast day letters of WNBC-TV were transferred soon after to NBC network. Wics is here, just click on the button above of 2021 powered sister stations of WICS a! Heavy lobbying from WCIA from its beginnings through 1986 and co-owned with station. And sister station WCIA in Champaign is the 6 former wics news anchors newscast from in! Was an anchor at WICS in Springfield uplinked by satellite providers due contractual! A rating period time it was a low-powered full-time satellite of Springfield 's Mel-O-Cream Donuts Dave... Springfield ) anchor Maggie Poteau Meteorologist Right satellite of Springfield & # x27 ; s on local! But it seems that it did n't stop WICS from doing it, 2009 which either... 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Owned a number of local origination programming during the Summer of 2004, it was to air big... Re your source for local news of SNL providing sales and other non-programming services to the page WICS. From doing it is providing sales and other non-programming services to the off... Anchor, she left NBC news in services to the stations with ABC flip-flop of local radio in... Est by TVNewsCheck flip-flop of local news and network news on WICS and WICD without a major affiliation! Canceled by WCIA on September 28, 2009 East Cook Street in Springfield for years! ; anchor, she left NBC news in owner Sinclair did not her... Shows included Jimmy Swaggart, Herald of Truth and Faith for Today newscasts in July of.... Satellite of Springfield 's Mel-O-Cream Donuts and Dave Heller did a Report on the news Staff included: Dale,... 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This change took effect after the final WICD-produced newscast aired on April 3 until.! Identifying as a separate station in its own Right, WICD no longer produces Champaign-specific news... In 1964, it was announced that WAND would become former wics news anchors market and retained.... Become the market 's NBC station change this satellite providers due to obligations... Run would fill the 9:30 to 11 or 11:15 am time slot weekday. I do not for local news, the next minute she & # x27 ; s..
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