Max Headroom broadcast signal intrusion incident
Encyclopedia
The Max Headroom broadcast signal intrusion was a television signal hijacking in Chicago, Illinois, on the evening of November 22, 1987. It is an example of what is known in the television business as broadcast signal intrusion
. The intruder was successful in interrupting two television stations within three hours. Neither the hijacker nor the accomplices have ever been found or identified.
(channel 9)'s live telecast of its primetime newscast, The Nine O'Clock News. During Chicago Bears
highlights in the sports report, the station's signal was interrupted for about half a minute by a video of a person wearing a Max Headroom
mask, standing in front of a swaying sheet of corrugated metal, which imitated the background effect in the Max Headroom TV and movie appearances. There was no audio, only a buzzing noise. The hijack was stopped after engineers at WGN switched the frequency
of their studio link to the John Hancock Center
transmitter.
The incident left sports anchor Dan Roan
flustered, saying, "Well, if you're wondering what happened, so am I."
serial Horror of Fang Rock
, PBS
station WTTW
(channel 11)'s signal was hijacked using the same video that was broadcast during the WGN-TV hijack, this time with distorted audio. The person in the Max Headroom mask appeared, as before, this time saying, "That does it. He's a freakin' nerd," before laughing and jeering, "Yeah, I think I'm better than Chuck Swirsky
. Freakin' liberal."
The unidentified man continued to utter various phrases, including New Coke
's advertising slogan "Catch the Wave" while holding a Pepsi
can (Max Headroom was a Coca-Cola
spokesperson at the time), then tossing the can down, and making an obscene gesture
with a rubber extension over his middle finger (the gesture was cut off at the bottom of the screen due to the close-up of the camera) then retrieving the Pepsi
can, and saying "Your love is fading," before removing the rubber extension, then began humming the theme song to Clutch Cargo
, and stating that he had "made a giant masterpiece for all the greatest world newspaper nerds" (the call letters WGN are an abbreviation for "World's Greatest Newspaper," in reference to the Tribune Company
's Chicago Tribune
). He then held up a glove, said "my brother is wearing the other one," and put the glove on. He then took the glove off, adding that it was "dirty."
The picture suddenly cut over to a shot of the man's lower torso. His buttocks
were exposed, and he was holding the now-removed mask up to the camera while being spanked with a flyswatter
by an unidentified accomplice wearing a dress, as the man exclaimed "They're coming to get me!". The transmission then blacked out and cut off, and the hijack was over after about 90 seconds.
WTTW, which maintains its transmitter atop the then-Sears Tower, found that its engineers were unable to stop the hijacker. According to station spokesman Anders Yocom, technicians monitoring the transmission "attempted to take corrective measures, but couldn't." "By the time our people began looking into what was going on, it was over," he told the Chicago Tribune. WTTW was able to find copies of the hijacker's telecast with the help of Doctor Who fans who had been taping the show.
. The Max Headroom incident made national headlines and was reported on the CBS Evening News
the next day.
Not long after the incident, WMAQ-TV
humorously inserted clips of the hijacking into a newscast during Mark Giangreco
's sports highlights. "A lot of people thought it was for real - the pirate cutting into our broadcast. We got all kinds of calls about it," said Giangreco.
Broadcast signal intrusion
Broadcast signal intrusion is a term given to the act of hijacking broadcast signals of radio and television stations. Hijacking incidents have involved local TV and radio stations as well as cable and national networks.- Method of intrusion :...
. The intruder was successful in interrupting two television stations within three hours. Neither the hijacker nor the accomplices have ever been found or identified.
WGN-TV
The first occurrence of the signal intrusion took place during WGN-TVWGN-TV
WGN-TV, virtual channel 9 , is the CW-affiliated television station in Chicago, Illinois built, signed on, and owned by the Tribune Company. WGN-TV's studios and offices are located at 2501 W...
(channel 9)'s live telecast of its primetime newscast, The Nine O'Clock News. During Chicago Bears
Chicago Bears
The Chicago Bears are a professional American football team based in Chicago, Illinois. They are members of the North Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League...
highlights in the sports report, the station's signal was interrupted for about half a minute by a video of a person wearing a Max Headroom
Max Headroom (character)
Max Headroom is a fictional British artificial intelligence, known for his wit and stuttering, distorted, electronically sampled voice. The character was created by George Stone, Annabel Jankel, and Rocky Morton in the mid nineteen eighties, and portrayed by Matt Frewer as "The World's first...
mask, standing in front of a swaying sheet of corrugated metal, which imitated the background effect in the Max Headroom TV and movie appearances. There was no audio, only a buzzing noise. The hijack was stopped after engineers at WGN switched the frequency
Frequency
Frequency is the number of occurrences of a repeating event per unit time. It is also referred to as temporal frequency.The period is the duration of one cycle in a repeating event, so the period is the reciprocal of the frequency...
of their studio link to the John Hancock Center
John Hancock Center
John Hancock Center at 875 North Michigan Avenue in the Streeterville area of Chicago, Illinois, is a 100-story, 1,127-foot tall skyscraper, constructed under the supervision of Skidmore, Owings and Merrill, with chief designer Bruce Graham and structural engineer Fazlur Khan...
transmitter.
The incident left sports anchor Dan Roan
Dan Roan
Daniel Roan is the sports director for WGN, a Chicago television station. He is also the host of WGN's Instant Replay.- Career :Dan's career began in 1977 at WCIA in Champaign, Illinois, where he was sports director for seven years....
flustered, saying, "Well, if you're wondering what happened, so am I."
WTTW
Later that night, around 11:15 p.m., during a broadcast of the Doctor WhoDoctor Who
Doctor Who is a British science fiction television programme produced by the BBC. The programme depicts the adventures of a time-travelling humanoid alien known as the Doctor who explores the universe in a sentient time machine called the TARDIS that flies through time and space, whose exterior...
serial Horror of Fang Rock
Horror of Fang Rock
Horror of Fang Rock is a serial in the British science fiction television series Doctor Who, which was first broadcast in four weekly parts from 3 September to 24 September 1977.-Synopsis:...
, PBS
Public Broadcasting Service
The Public Broadcasting Service is an American non-profit public broadcasting television network with 354 member TV stations in the United States which hold collective ownership. Its headquarters is in Arlington, Virginia....
station WTTW
WTTW
WTTW channel 11 is one of three Public Broadcasting Service member public television stations serving the Chicago, Illinois market; the others are WYCC and WYIN. WTTW began broadcasting on September 6, 1955 and it is owned and operated by Window to the World Communications, Inc., a not-for-profit...
(channel 11)'s signal was hijacked using the same video that was broadcast during the WGN-TV hijack, this time with distorted audio. The person in the Max Headroom mask appeared, as before, this time saying, "That does it. He's a freakin' nerd," before laughing and jeering, "Yeah, I think I'm better than Chuck Swirsky
Chuck Swirsky
Chuck Swirsky is the radio play-by-play voice of the Chicago Bulls of the NBA. He was formerly the longtime play-by-play voice of the Toronto Raptors....
. Freakin' liberal."
The unidentified man continued to utter various phrases, including New Coke
New Coke
New Coke was the reformulation of Coca-Cola introduced in 1985 by The Coca-Cola Company to replace the original formula of its flagship soft drink, Coca-Cola...
's advertising slogan "Catch the Wave" while holding a Pepsi
Pepsi
Pepsi is a carbonated soft drink that is produced and manufactured by PepsiCo...
can (Max Headroom was a Coca-Cola
Coca-Cola
Coca-Cola is a carbonated soft drink sold in stores, restaurants, and vending machines in more than 200 countries. It is produced by The Coca-Cola Company of Atlanta, Georgia, and is often referred to simply as Coke...
spokesperson at the time), then tossing the can down, and making an obscene gesture
Finger (gesture)
In Western culture, the finger , also known as the middle finger, is an obscene hand gesture, often meaning the phrases "fuck off" , "fuck you" or "up yours"...
with a rubber extension over his middle finger (the gesture was cut off at the bottom of the screen due to the close-up of the camera) then retrieving the Pepsi
Pepsi
Pepsi is a carbonated soft drink that is produced and manufactured by PepsiCo...
can, and saying "Your love is fading," before removing the rubber extension, then began humming the theme song to Clutch Cargo
Clutch Cargo
Clutch Cargo is an animated television series produced by Cambria Productions and syndicated beginning on March 9, 1959. Notable for its very limited animation, yet imaginative stories, the series was a surprise hit at the time, and could be seen on 65 stations nationwide in 1960.- Plot :The...
, and stating that he had "made a giant masterpiece for all the greatest world newspaper nerds" (the call letters WGN are an abbreviation for "World's Greatest Newspaper," in reference to the Tribune Company
Tribune Company
The Tribune Company is a large American multimedia corporation based in Chicago, Illinois. It is the nation's second-largest newspaper publisher, with ten daily newspapers and commuter tabloids including Chicago Tribune, Los Angeles Times, Hartford Courant, Orlando Sentinel, South Florida...
's Chicago Tribune
Chicago Tribune
The Chicago Tribune is a major daily newspaper based in Chicago, Illinois, and the flagship publication of the Tribune Company. Formerly self-styled as the "World's Greatest Newspaper" , it remains the most read daily newspaper of the Chicago metropolitan area and the Great Lakes region and is...
). He then held up a glove, said "my brother is wearing the other one," and put the glove on. He then took the glove off, adding that it was "dirty."
The picture suddenly cut over to a shot of the man's lower torso. His buttocks
Buttocks
The buttocks are two rounded portions of the anatomy, located on the posterior of the pelvic region of apes and humans, and many other bipeds or quadrupeds, and comprise a layer of fat superimposed on the gluteus maximus and gluteus medius muscles. Physiologically, the buttocks enable weight to...
were exposed, and he was holding the now-removed mask up to the camera while being spanked with a flyswatter
Flyswatter
A flyswatter is a hand-held device for killing flies and other insects. A flyswatter usually consists of a small rectangular sheet of lightweight, flexible, vented material, usually thin metallic, rubber, or plastic mesh, attached to a lightweight wire or plastic handle about long...
by an unidentified accomplice wearing a dress, as the man exclaimed "They're coming to get me!". The transmission then blacked out and cut off, and the hijack was over after about 90 seconds.
WTTW, which maintains its transmitter atop the then-Sears Tower, found that its engineers were unable to stop the hijacker. According to station spokesman Anders Yocom, technicians monitoring the transmission "attempted to take corrective measures, but couldn't." "By the time our people began looking into what was going on, it was over," he told the Chicago Tribune. WTTW was able to find copies of the hijacker's telecast with the help of Doctor Who fans who had been taping the show.
Reaction
WTTW and WGN-TV joined HBO as victims of broadcast signal intrusionBroadcast signal intrusion
Broadcast signal intrusion is a term given to the act of hijacking broadcast signals of radio and television stations. Hijacking incidents have involved local TV and radio stations as well as cable and national networks.- Method of intrusion :...
. The Max Headroom incident made national headlines and was reported on the CBS Evening News
CBS Evening News
CBS Evening News is the flagship nightly television news program of the American television network CBS. The network has broadcast this program since 1948, and has used the CBS Evening News title since 1963....
the next day.
Not long after the incident, WMAQ-TV
WMAQ-TV
WMAQ-TV, channel 5, is an owned-and-operated television station of the NBC Television Network, located in Chicago, Illinois. WMAQ-TV's main studios and offices are located within the NBC Tower in the Streeterville neighborhood, with an auxiliary street-level studio on the Magnificent Mile at 401...
humorously inserted clips of the hijacking into a newscast during Mark Giangreco
Mark Giangreco
Mark Giangreco is the sports director and lead sports anchor for WLS-TV in Chicago, Illinois. Giangreco currently anchors the sports segment on ABC7 during the 5pm and 10pm newscasts. -Education and career:...
's sports highlights. "A lot of people thought it was for real - the pirate cutting into our broadcast. We got all kinds of calls about it," said Giangreco.
See also
- Southern Television broadcast interruption hoax (1977)
- Captain MidnightCaptain Midnight (HBO)John R. MacDougall also known as Captain Midnight, is a Florida electronic engineer and business owner who jammed HBO's satellite signal in 1986 to broadcast a message protesting their rates for satellite dish owners.- Scrambling :...
- Culture jammingCulture jammingCulture jamming, coined in 1984, denotes a tactic used by many anti-consumerist social movements to disrupt or subvert mainstream cultural institutions, including corporate advertising. Guerrilla semiotics and night discourse are sometimes used synonymously with the term culture jamming.Culture...
External links
- "Reproduction" of the WGN intrusion
- Video of the intrusion with cleaned up audio
- Max Headroom Video Pirate Incident in Chicago on 11/22/1987 (YouTubeYouTubeYouTube is a video-sharing website, created by three former PayPal employees in February 2005, on which users can upload, view and share videos....
video) - The Infamous "Max Headroom" Incident
- Video signal piracy hits WGN/WTTW