Indiana Broadcast History Archive

Jack Hanes led a successful 37-year career in commercial and educational broadcasting. Born in 1953 in Auburn, Indiana, Hanes began his career in broadcasting after he graduated from Vincennes University in 1974. Hanes spent seven years working at Terre Haute’s local television station, WTHI-TV in a variety of on-air and behind-the-scenes roles. When asked to create a children’s television show, he put on a sea captain’s hat and got to work hosting “The Captain Jack Show.” When basketball legend Larry Bird rose to fame at Indiana State, Hanes was producing the Sycamore basketball game broadcasts for WTHI-TV.

Hanes left WTHI and returned to Vincennes University for a successful later half of his career in educational broadcasting. Hanes worked as faculty and later Chairman of Vincennes’ Broadcasting Department. Hanes concluded his broadcast career at Western Kentucky University where he worked as Director of Educational Telecommunications and managed the university’s radio and TV stations until he retired in 2012.  

Early Life

Hanes describes his childhood in Auburn, Indiana, as a typical American “Leave It to Beaver” childhood. He remembers staying up late tuning into distant radio stations and feeling amazed when his older brother bought his first transistor radio. These early experiences with technology sparked a fascination with radio and television.  

After a childhood tinkering with radios, Hanes made his television debut when he joined his high school’s Audio-Visual Club. With two portable black and white TV cameras and a 1-inch video tape recorder, Hanes produced his first ever telecasts for DeKalb High School’s morning announcements. 

Hanes initially went to college studying mechanical engineering, but realized it wasn’t the right fit after his first semester. He dropped out of school, worked for a year, then went back to college at Vincennes University for broadcasting. After graduating with his broadcast degree, Hanes briefly worked on staff at Vincennes University’s PBS member station.  

WTHI-TV, Terre Haute

After a year at Vincennes, Hanes found a spot at WTHI-TV in Terre Haute as a writer, producer, and director in 1976.  

When WTHI launched in 1954, it was the region’s first local television station to go on air. The station, which still broadcasts today, was founded by Terre Haute's famous businessman, Anton Hulman Jr., who bought and revived the Indianapolis Motor Speedway in 1945. Hulman’s company sold WTHI-TV in 1999.  

While working at the Terre Haute station with a small staff, Hanes quickly learned to be adaptable and fulfill multiple roles. He produced many local television commercials, directed TV newscasts, and frequently got placed on special projects. After just one year at WTHI-TV, Hanes was promoted to Production Manager.  

When the station felt national political pressure to air a children's television program, Hanes came up with the “The Captain Jack Show.” Every Monday through Friday, he’d dress up as a sea captain and host the live kid’s show. Hanes would host and produce about 1,000 hour-long shows between 1978 and 1982. During its entire four years on air, Hanes said “Captain Jack” remained number one in its time slot. This popularity came with a personal toll for Captain Jack.  

Captain Jack Hosts Larry Bird during Magical 1979 Season

Hanes chose a good time in history to move to Terre Haute. In 1976, the same year Hanes joined WTHI, a man from French Lick named Larry Bird transferred to Indiana State University to play basketball. The station quickly decided to televise the games and Hanes was put in charge of production. 

By 1979, the town of Terre Haute was in uproar as rising star Larry Bird led Indiana State on a near perfect season before losing to Michigan State in the NCAA Tournament championship game.  

WTHI-TV coverage of Larry Bird and ISU Basketball, 1979

During the middle of the 1979 season, the team made a special appearance on The Captain Jack Show. 

Captain Jack hosts Larry Bird and 1979 ISU basketball team

The team had requested to appear on their local kid’s show after watching The Captain Jack Show after practice in the locker room. Hanes found out about his locker room fan club from Bob Forbes, WTHI sports director who traveled to Indiana State games with Hanes. 

Jack Hanes donated his copy of the famous Captain Jack-Larry Bird broadcast to the IBHA. The players' appearance on the kids show happened in the middle of Indiana State's undefeated regular season.

Vincennes University

After seven years at WTHI, Hanes decided to leave the station and start a new chapter in educational broadcasting at his alma mater, Vincennes University.  

Hanes would remain at Vincennes University for 21 years. After a few years on faculty, he took over as Chairman of the Broadcasting Department in 1984. He also managed the university’s student-run stations, WVUT-TV and WVUB-FM (the NPR radio station). 

Hanes led Vincennes’ broadcasting department during a turning point for broadcasting. Computers were introduced to television production for the first time after IBM released the IBM 5150 Personal Computer in 1981. Vincennes University installed its first broadcast computer newsroom in 1982 while Hanes was a faculty member. Hanes said it was the nation’s first broadcast computer installed in a university.  

Western Kentucky University

Hanes ended his broadcast career with another educational position at Western Kentucky University. He managed the university’s broadcast facilities, including an NPR radio station and a PBS TV station that reached 80% of Kentucky’s population. Hanes said he spent much of his time at Western Kentucky University trying to secure more funding for public broadcasting, which was often a challenge for educational broadcasting.  

Hanes retired from Western Kentucky University in 2012 

Lauren Ulrich interviewed Jack Hanes for the IBHA Oral History Collection in 2024.

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Written by Lauren Ulrich, edited by Katherine Maners

March 2025

Bibliography 

About Vincennes PBS. Vincennes PBS. Retrieved March 29, 2024, from https://www.vincennespbs.org/about-wvut/ 

Horner, S. Everything you wanted to know about Indiana legend Larry Bird. The Indianapolis Star. Retrieved March 29, 2024, from https://www.indystar.com/story/sports/nba/pacers/2022/06/06/larry-bird-everything-you-wanted-know-indiana-legend/7534570001/ 

Indiana University. Anton “Tony” Hulman, Jr.. The Polis Center. Retrieved March 29, 2024, from https://polis.iupui.edu/anton-tony-hulman-jr/ 

The IBM PC. IBM. Retrieved March 29, 2024, from https://www.ibm.com/history/personal-computer 

WKU Public Media. Western Kentucky University. Retrieved March 29, 2024, from https://www.wku.edu/public-media/ 

WTHI-TV. About Us. WTHI-TV. Retrieved March 29, 2024, from  https://www.wthitv.com/contact/about/  

WTHI-TV. WTHI-TV at 70: Indiana State's Larry Bird on the Captain Jack show 

WTHI-TV. Retrieved March 29, 2024, from https://www.wthitv.com/video/wthi-tv-at-70-indiana-states-larry-bird-on-the-captain-jack-show/video_efa9a3f7-12f3-5eec-92d7-d863bb3a7199.html  

WTHI-TV. WTHI-TV at 70: Larry Bird's Sycamores take the court WTHI-TV. Retrieved March 29, 2024, from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gymhQhbbW9k&t=1s