GRANITE CITY HIGH SCHOOL
CLASS OF 1967

In June of 1980, most television critics and experts said there was no chance of success for a 24-hour news network. A few broadcasters rejected the pundits and jointed Ted Turner in Atlanta to form the Cable News Network. Flip Spiceland was one of those pioneers.

He was at CNN for 21 years, where his forecasts were broadcast in more than 211 countries and territories. He has covered every major hurricane in the last 25 years. He also received recognition for the weather forecasting during the first Gulf War.

Flip Spiceland jointed WXIA, 11 Alive, in Atlanta, on March 5, 2001.

Spiceland anchors the station’s morning and noon newscasts with two others from the St. Louis metro area. They are Jill Becker and Ken Watts.

In March of 1996 he was named by TV Guide as one of the 50 best things about television. He was number 41, right behind “Oprah.” Spiceland was again “honored” by TV Guide in March of 2005. He was 8-down in their crossword puzzle.

Before joining CNN, Spiceland was a weather forecaster for the nightly news at KNTV in San Jose, California. Prior to that, he was at WICS in Springfield, Illinois.

Flip Spiceland was born and reared in Granite City where he attended Nameoki Elementary School and Coolidge Junior High School. He graduated from Granite City Senior High School in 1967, where he was active in Speech and Athletics.

He graduated from Illinois State University in 1971 with a Bachelors’ Degree. Armed with teaching requirements and a major in Communications, he worked for the State Superintendent of Schools in Springfield, Illinois, in the Department of Radio, Television and Film.

Flip Spiceland is the son of Mr. and Mrs. Walter Spiceland, who still live in Granite City. He is married to Ellen, and they have two children--Ty, who attends Troy University in Troy, Alabama, and Jill, who is a senior in high school and will attend Kennesaw State University in the autumn of 2006. Jill, an excellent writer, was recently published.