PEORIA MAGAZINE November 2023

the show as a freelancer so he could do other work locally. For example, for years he created three-minute, in-house videos for the likes of Caterpillar Inc. and Ameren, enjoying the wide-ranging freedom of a contract employee. “That way I could do a little bit of everything,” he said. Yet he always avoided taking any work that would create a conflict of interest with subjects on At Issue . “I was very careful about that,” he said. POLITICIANS, ROBOTS, AND SOLID REPORTING As the producer of At Issue , H never ran out of weekly topics. His biggest challenge were guests who suddenly froze in front of the cameras, though he usually could get them to relax and chat. “I think one of my strengths has been to give people a sense of comfort,” he said. “Most of my guests were very forthcoming.” Well, except for one type, generally. “The toughest ones are politicians,” he said. “The politicians are robotic. They take a question, rephrase it and give a prepared answer.” Over the years, he often would be approached by people on the street with comments about At Issue . “It was a mixed bag,” he said. “Many said something like, ‘Thanks for bringing that topic to the forefront.’ And there were some who disagreed with the guests and wondered why I’d let them take their stance. “I think people were glad (WTVP) did a program like At Issue , even though they might not agree with a guest’s opinion.” Meantime, H produced and narrat ed more than 100 documentaries for WTVP. He long has wondered why Peo ria’s commercial TV newscasts don’t do long-form reports when warranted. He thinks audiences would appreciate meatier reporting rather than further footage on the latest car wreck. “I don’t mean half-hour documenta ries,” he said. “Maybe just five minutes. If a station were to do those kinds of

H conducting an interview with Peoria developer and philanthropist Kim Blickenstaff on the set of At Issue

stories, they would be of much more value than (reports on) mangled metal. “I think there is a thirst in this com munity for meaningful presentations that would help them understand what’s going on in their community.” ‘I KNOW I’LL MISS HIM’ H enjoyed providing meaningful presentations into this year, when he decided to retire at the end of August. Why? “I’m 75 years old!” he said with a laugh. He plans to finish some fixer-upper work on the Peoria home he shares with wife Michele, as well as spend time with nine grandchildren, who range in age from 5 to 17 years. Meanwhile, At Issue continues on WTVP with new host Mark Welp. Julie D. Sanders, WTVP’s interim station manager, called H “a legendary broadcaster, setting standards and protocols for generations of journalists. “We are lucky to have had him as an integral part of our WTVP team for over 30 years,” she said. “His talent and integrity are unmatched in this community.” Former Peoria Mayor Jim Ardis echoed those sentiments. He appeared on At Issue more than any other guest. “In a very complimentary way, H is a dinosaur. He’s old school,” Ardis said. “He comes to work prepared to discuss all sides of an issue. He doesn’t take sides. He challenges his guests to ex press their vision or point of view. He’s never afraid to ask the tough questions. At the end of the show, his dedicated listeners make up their own minds on

the topic discussed based on the infor mation presented. “I know I’ll miss him.” WHAT THE H? That leaves us with just one last question for the preeminent questioner: Will you finally reveal what the “H” stands for? “Hell, no!” he said, with fake outrage. He laughs, then explains the H – at least somewhat. He won’t say whether there was/is a name for which H stands. Official ly, various units of state and federal government identify him as “H Wayne Wilson.” That includes the Illinois Sec retary of State’s Office, which long has issued him a driver’s license in the name of “H Wayne Wilson.” As a child, H was known as Wayne, to his parents and everyone else, he said. But in his teens, he and his pals jokingly adopted an affectatious formality when addressing each other: They’d reduce a first name to an initial, followed by the middle name and surname. Thus, friends began calling him “H Wayne Wilson” – and it stuck. “This was not by design,” he said. “It was not my plan. I didn’t ask to be called H. “But it’s served me well as a broad caster.”

Phil Luciano is a senior writer/columnist for Peoria Magazine and content contributor to public television station WTVP. He can be reached at phil.luciano@wtvp.org

NOVEMBER 2023 PEORIA MAGAZINE 41