KATU
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| Portland, Oregon | |
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| Branding | KATU (general) KATU News (newscasts) (pronounced "K-2") |
| Slogan | On Your Side. |
| Channels | Digital: 43 (UHF) Virtual: 2 (PSIP) |
| Subchannels | 2.1 ABC 2.2 This TV |
| Affiliations | ABC |
| Owner | Fisher Communications, Inc. (Fisher Broadcasting - Portland TV, LLC) |
| First air date | March 15, 1962 |
| Call letters' meaning | Pronounced "K-2" |
| Sister station(s) | KUNP |
| Former channel number(s) | Analog: 2 (VHF, 1962-2009) |
| Former affiliations | Independent (3/15/1962 - 2/29/1964) |
| Transmitter power | 1000 kW |
| Height | 524 m |
| Facility ID | 21649 |
| Transmitter coordinates | 45°30′57″N 122°44′3″W / 45.51583°N 122.73417°W |
| Website | www.katu.com |
KATU, virtual channel 2, also known as K2, is an ABC-affiliated television station broadcasting on digital channel 43 in Portland, Oregon, USA. It has been owned by Fisher Communications of Seattle, Washington, which has been the owner of the Seattle's ABC affiliate KOMO-TV, ever since it began broadcasting. Its transmitter is located in Portland.
KATU has also owned and operated the local Univision-TV affiliate KUNP-LP, channel 47, since 2007.
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[edit] History
A construction permit for Channel 2 was issued to Fisher's Blend Station, Inc., (now Fisher Communications) as early as 1958. It was assigned the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) call sign KATU. However, the station did not begin broadcasting until March 15, 1962, at first as an independent station. Its transmitter was originally located atop Livingston Mountain, about 7 miles (11 km) NNE of Camas, Washington.
On January 19, 1964, this TV station moved its transmitter site 21 miles (34 km), to Portland's West Hills to improve its broadcasting coverage. Just over a month later, it took over the American Broadcasting Company affiliation in Portland away from KPTV on March 1, 1964. This made KATU the new fourth station in the Portland market in less than a decade to have affiliated with ABC full-time (after KLOR, KGW and KPTV). It is also Portland's longest-lasting ABC affiliate to date. KATU is the only one of the first five television stations in Portland to have operated out of the same studio (at 2153 N.E. Sandy Blvd.) since it went on the air, although the building had earlier been used as a laundry for many years.
KATU is also one of the few television stations in the country (not counting owned-and-operated stations) that has had the same call letters, the same owner, and the same channel number throughout its history.
In 2002, KATU-TV celebrated its 40th anniversary. To mark the occasion, it updated its on-air graphics, and added a new news set. It also aired stories from past newscasts.
In the November 2006 and February 2007 sweeps periods, KATU finished in third place overall in the local newscast ratings, behind KGW and KPTV. In 2006, KATU won two Edward R. Murrow Awards, including an investigative piece reported by Anna Song on a newborn baby that was left severely brain damaged by OHSU hospital. Song also won dual 1st place (2006) Associated Press Awards in Best Writing, and Best Investigative Reporting.
From December 2008 to June 11, 2009, KATU (and the other Fisher-owned stations) was not carried by Dish Network due to a transmission dispute.[1]
[edit] News operation
On October 11, 2007 KATU became the third Portland TV station to broadcast its daily newscasts in 16x9 widescreen. In April 2008, KATU introduced a revamped set that expanded to the entire studio, to prepare for HD in 2009. Previously, the studio was divided in half ,with one side the news set and the other the AM Northwest set. The new set was one of the most expensive projects in KATU history.[citation needed]
KATU started testing HD newscasts on Saturday August 8, 2009. The full rollout premiered during their 4pm newscast on August 17, 2009, making it the second station in the Portland market to broadcast newscasts in HD.
[edit] News/station presentation
[edit] Newscast titles
- The Big News (1962–1967)
- Eyewitness News (1967–1973)
- NewsScene (1973–1975)
- Channel Two News (1975–1990)
- Channel 2 News (1990–1998)
- KATU 2 News (1998–present; pronounced as "K2 News")
[edit] Newscast slogans
- Eyewitness News, In Color (1967–1970)
- Eyewitness News: Oregon's First Television News Team (1970–1973)
- NewsScene: Get the Whole Story (1973–1975)
- We're Still the One, on Channel 2 (1977–1980; localized version of ABC ad campaign)
- Channel 2`s The One You Can Turn To (1978-1979; localized version of ABC ad campaign)
- You and Me and Channel 2 (1980–1981; localized version of ABC ad campaign)
- Turn To The Channel Two News (1981–1984)
- Now is the Time, Channel 2 is the Place (1981–1982; localized version of ABC ad campaign)
- Come on Along with Channel 2 (1982–1983; localized version of ABC ad campaign)
- That Special Feeling on Channel 2 (1983–1984; localized version of ABC ad campaign)
- We're With You on Channel 2 (1984–1985; localized version of ABC ad campaign)
- You'll Love It on Channel 2 (1985–1986; localized version of ABC ad campaign)
- Together on Channel 2 (1986–1987; localized version of ABC ad campaign)
- Something's Happening on Channel 2 (1987–1990; localized version of ABC ad campaign)
- The Spirit Of The Northwest (1990–1996 and 2003–2007)
- TV is Good, on Channel 2 (1997-1998; localized version of ABC ad campaign)
- We Love TV, on KATU-2 (1998-1999; localized version of ABC ad campaign)
- On Your Side (2007–present)
[edit] On-air staff
[edit] Current
- Current anchors
- Anna Canzano - weekend mornings and evenings; also investigative reporter
- Carl Click - weekday mornings KATU News This Morning
- Steve Dunn - weeknights at 5, 6 and 11 p.m.
- Debora Knapp - weeknights at 5, 6 and 11 p.m.
- Natali Marmion - weekday mornings KATU News This Morning
- Angelica Thornton - weekdays at 4 p.m.
- Brian Wood - weekdays at 4 p.m.
- Weather team
- Dave Salesky (AMS Seal of Approval) - chief meteorologist; weeknights at 5, 6 and 11 p.m.
- Joe English - meteorologist; weekend evenings
- Joe Raineri - meteorologist; weekend mornings
- Rhonda Shelby - meteorologist; weekday mornings KATU News This Morning
- Sports team
- Katy Brown - sports director; weeknights at 6 and 11 p.m.
- Craig Birnbach - sports anchor; weekend evenings
- Reporters
- Shellie Bailey-Shah - investigative reporter
- Michael Convery - traffic reporter
- Bob Heye - general assignment reporter
- Valerie Hurst - general assignment reporter
- Thom Jensen - general assignment reporter
- Meghan Kalkstein - general assignment reporter
- Anita Kissee - general assignment reporter
- Dan Tilkin - general assignment reporter
- Kerry Tomlinson - investigative reporter
- Melanie Wingo - general assignment reporter
[edit] Notable former on-air staff
This film, television or video-related list is incomplete; you can help by expanding it with reliably sourced additions.- Bill O'Reilly, one of the original anchors of Inside Edition and now of Fox News, came to KATU in 1984 as an anchor and reporter. He left the station in 1986 to join ABC News, and was replaced by reporter and weekend weathercaster Jeff Gianola.
- Tom Rinaldi ESPN lead reporter. Also contributes to ESPN College Football.
- Jack Faust hosted the weekly Town Hall public affairs show for 13 years.[citation needed]
- Victor Ives, host of Sinister Cinema, KATU's version of the Creature Features 1970s late night film show.
[edit] Digital television
| Channel | Programming | Cable Channel |
|---|---|---|
| 2.1 | Main KATU programming / ABC | Comcast 702 Frontier 502 |
| 2.2 | This TV | Comcast 302 Frontier 464 |
On July 17, 2008 at 6:15 PM, KATU turned off its analog signal for 10 seconds to test if viewers' TV sets were ready for DTV. Later on KATU did similar tests to make sure its viewers were ready for the 2009 DTV switch.
KATU-DT remains on its pre-transition channel number, 43 [2] and will continue to display KATU's virtual channel as 2.
On June 12, 2009, KATU was the last station in the Portland market to carry regularly scheduled programming over its analog transmitter. During the last segment of the 11:00 p.m. newscast, anchorman Steve Dunn was in the station's master control room giving last-minute information on where to find information on the DTV transition. Then, at 11:35 p.m., he pushed the button that ended KATU's analog service.
[edit] Translators
KATU is rebroadcast on the following translator stations.
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Low power translator in Mitchell has been discontinued.
[edit] Heliport
KATU Heliport (FAA LID: 21OR) is a private heliport on the roof of KATU TV's building in Portland, Oregon.[3]
[edit] See also
- Exploding whale - KATU's claim to fame as the station that aired footages of the Oregon Highway Division's attempt to dispose of a dead whale. Longtime KATU Anchor (and current KEX Morning Host) Paul Linnman is the face of the report.
- Bumpity - A local children program produced by KATU from 1971-1985.
[edit] References
[edit] External links
- KATU Channel 2 Official website
- Query the FCC's TV station database for KATU
- BIAfn's Media Web Database -- Information on KATU-TV
- Resources for this airport:
- AirNav airport information for 21OR
- FlightAware airport information and live flight tracker
- SkyVector aeronautical chart for 21OR
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