Headline Chasers

Headline Chasers is a syndicated game show that ran daily from September 9, 1985, to May 23, 1986, with reruns airing until September 5. The series was hosted by Wink Martindale, who also created the series and was its executive producer, with Johnny Gilbert serving as announcer. The show was a co-production of Wink Martindale Enterprises and Merv Griffin Enterprises with King World Productions, Griffin's partner for his other syndicated game show offerings, as distributor. Headline Chasers was recorded at TAV Celebrity Theater in Hollywood, the same studio which housed The Merv Griffin Show (which, at the time Headline Chasers premiered, was still in production). This show pitted two couples against each other solving Hangman-style word puzzles designed to look like newspaper headlines, as well as answering questions about the subjects of these puzzles, in an attempt to win money. Conception Wink Martindale claimed he came up with the idea for the show while reading the Los Angeles Times. Martindale’s conception was originally known as Front Page, and he submitted it to Merv Griffin to see what he thought. Griffin was receptive to the idea, and he and Martindale struck a deal to try to sell the concept into syndication. Martindale would serve as executive producer and host of the series with his production company, Wink Martindale Enterprises, and Griffin’s as co-packagers and King World, who was partnering with Griffin to distribute Wheel of Fortune and Jeopardy! in syndication at the time, serving the same role for what eventually would become Headline Chasers. In order to take over the roles of host and executive producer of the new series, Martindale left his previous long-term role as the host of one of Griffin’s syndicated game show competitors in Tic Tac Dough, which he had hosted since 1978. He was replaced by Jim Caldwell, who like Martindale would be out of a hosting position as both of their game shows would be cancelled at the end of the 1985-86 television season.