WGME-TV
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| WGME-TV | |
|---|---|
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| Portland, Maine | |
| Branding | WGME 13 (general) News 13 (newscasts) |
| Slogan | Breaking News. Breaking Weather. Breaking Stories. |
| Channels | |
| Affiliations | 13.1 CBS HD 13.2 CBS SD |
| Owner | Sinclair Broadcast Group (WGME Licensee, LLC) |
| First air date | May 16, 1954 |
| Call letters’ meaning | We're Gannett of MainE (for former owner Guy Gannett) |
| Former callsigns | WGAN-TV (1954-1983) |
| Former channel number(s) | 13 (VHF analog, 1954-2009) |
| Former affiliations | The Tube (on DT2, 2006-2007) |
| Transmitter Power | 1,000 kW |
| Height | 465 m |
| Facility ID | 25683 |
| Transmitter Coordinates | 43°55′28.5″N 70°29′26.7″W / 43.924583°N 70.49075°W |
| Website | wgme.com |
WGME-TV is the CBS-affiliated television station for southern Maine and northern New Hampshire that is licensed to Portland. The station broadcasts a high definition digital signal on UHF channel 38 from a transmitter on Brown Hill west of Raymond. Owned by the Sinclair Broadcast Group, the station has studios on the corner of Washington Avenue and Northport Drive in the North Deering section of Portland. Syndicated programming on WGME includes: Entertainment Tonight, The Insider, Oprah, and Judge Judy.
Contents |
[edit] Digital television
The station's digital signal is multiplexed.
| Channel | Video | Aspect | Programming |
|---|---|---|---|
| 13.1 | 1080i | 16:9 | CBS HD |
| 13.2 | 480i | 4:3 | CBS SD |
[edit] History
Channel 13's first broadcast was on May 16, 1954 under the call sign of WGAN-TV. It was owned by Guy Gannett Communications along with WGAN radio (560 AM and 103 FM) and the Portland Press-Herald. When the radio stations were sold in 1984, the WGAN call letters went with them. WGAN-TV then changed its call sign to the current WGME-TV. It remained the flagship station of Guy Gannett Communications until the company sold most of its television stations, including WGME, to the Sinclair Broadcast Group in 1998. The 493.5-meter (1,619 ft) tall transmission tower of WGME, situated in Raymond, was built in 1959. It was, according to the 1999 Guinness Book of World Records, the world's tallest architectural structure in those days. It was surpassed by KFVS-TV's tower in Cape Girardeau, Missouri in 1960. However, it remained the tallest structure in Maine until the erection of WMTW's tower in 2002. From 2006 until 2007, WGME broadcast The Tube (a 24-hour digital music channel) on its second digital subchannel. The station ceased airing on analog channel 13 on February 17, 2009 and broadcasts digitally-only on channel 38.
[edit] Newscasts
Channel 13's newscasts dominated the ratings in Portland for many years. In the late-1980s, WCSH overtook WGME until November 2007. Today's ratings show a resurgence in favor of the station in the weeknight 5, 5:30, and 11 o'clock time slots. Sinclair's investment in the latest technology and state of the art weather system was instrumental in improving their ratings. Starting on February 5, 2007, WGME began producing a nightly 10 o'clock newscast on FOX affiliate WPFO. Known on-air as News 13 on FOX, it had competed with the 10 o'clock news that aired on CW affiliate WPXT (produced by WCSH and WLBZ). From September 2, 2008 until January 2, 2009, WGME broadcast a weeknight 7 o'clock newscast. Known as News 13 at 7: The Political Edge, it focused on the 2008 Presidential election and issues of public interest. "The Political Edge" has since become a featured segment on the weeknight 5:30 o'clock news. In addition to their main studios, WGME operates a Lewiston / Auburn Bureau on Main Street. A second bureau is in Augusta near the Maine State House. When covering news that happens between Portland and Bangor, WGME and ABC affiliate WVII-TV share content.
Anchors
- Kate Barker - weekday mornings and reporter
- Jeff Peterson - weekday mornings, 5, and 5:30
- weeknight 6 o'clock reporter
- Doug Ray - weekdays at Noon and reporter
- "The Political Edge" segment producer fill-in
- Kim Block - weekdays at Noon, 5, and 6
- "Healthy Living" segment producer
- Kiley Bennett - weeknights at 5:30, 10, and 11
- Gregg Lagerquist - weeknights at 6 and 11
- "The Political Edge" segment producer and reporter
- Erin Ovalle - weekends and weeknight reporter
Storm Team 13
- Charlie Lopresti (AMS Seal of Approval) - Chief seen weeknights
- Sarah Long (AMS Seal of Approval) - weekday mornings and Monday through Wednesday at Noon
- "Thursday's Child" segment producer
- Craig Miller - weekends
- Thursday and Friday at Noon
- Jeff Derosa - fill-in
Sports
- Dave Eid - Director seen weeknights at 6, 10, and 11
- Evans Boston - weekends and reporter
Reporters
- Doug Rafferty - "Doug's Discovery" segment producer
- Diana Ichton - fill-in anchor
- Jim Cyr
- Giovanna Bechard
- Catherine Parrotta
[edit] Past personalities
- Steve Adamson: Former Weeknight Meteorologist, now Weekend Meteorologist at WXIA in Atlanta, GA
- Emily Apel: former reporter, now anchor/reporter KION-TV in Salinas, CA
- Jeff Barnd: former co-anchor, to WLVI Boston, now anchor WBFF Baltimore. He also hosted "American Crossroads", a now-defunct news magazine shown Sunday nights on Sinclair-owned stations including WGME.
- Barbara Barr: former weekend sports anchor/reporter (1998-2004), now reporter at WGAL, Harrisburg, PA
- Vivian Bean: former weekday morning co-anchor, now in marketing and public relations at Mercy Hospital in Portland, ME
- Bruce Berlinger: former Chief Co-Anchor 1978-1989, also did kids interest features
- Julene Britt: former general assignment and sports reporter, late 1990s/early 2000s
- Crystal Canney: former reporter, now Spokeswoman for Maine Governor John Baldacci
- Tom Caron: former sports anchor/reporter, to NESN
- Tom Chisolm: former metorologist, now Chief Meteorologist at WMTW
- Lucas Colavecchio: former reporter, now reporter at WPBF
- Lisa Colbert: former weathercaster, now weathercaster at WSYX
- Doug Cook: former reporter, later an anchor & reporter at WMTW, and currently director of communications at Bowdoin College
- Paul Cousins: meteorologist, now director AtmosForecast Portland and provides recorded forecasts for several radio & television outlets throughout Maine.
- Kathy Curran: former investigative reporter late 1990s, now a reporter at WBZ (1999-)
- Brad Day: weekend meteorologist, late 1990s
- Paul Dellegatto: former meteorologist, 1985-86, now chief meteorologist at WTVT in Tampa
- Frank Fixaris: former sports anchor 1967-1992, was a sports radio talk co-host; deceased 2006.
- Dianna Fletcher: former Daybreak anchor/reporter, now media/p.r. consultant Fletcher Media.
- Chris Francis: former sports anchor/reporter (1996-1998)
- Lisa Gilbert: former sports anchor/reporter (1993-1996)
- Thom Hallock: former reporter, now an anchor at WPTZ in Plattsburgh, NY
- Gordie Hershiser: former sports director, mid 1990s
- John Hopperstad - weekdays at Noon and 7, now working in Seattle
- Felicia Knight: former Anchor, worked at WABI-TV (Bangor, ME) during the 1980s, now director of communications for the National Endowment for the Arts
- Marnie MacLean: former anchor & reporter, now a reporter at WMTW
- Thom McGair: former reporter/substitute anchor was last at WLVI-TV Boston
- Jennifer Miller: former Weekend/Fill-in anchor & reporter, now reporter for CBS News.
- Sayoko Murase: former Daybreak anchor, now with ShawTV, Vancouver, BC
- Bob O'Wril: former weatherman & longtime host of the MDA telethon. Deceased
- Adam Pellerin: former weekend sports anchor/reporter, now a reporter at WFXT in Boston.
- Barbara Quill: former reporter & anchor (1973-1984)
- Max Riseman: former weekend meteorologist (2005-2007), now providing radio forecasts on WHOM and the Maine Public Broadcasting Network.
- Mark Rosenthal: former chief meteorologist (2005-2006)
- Josh Judge: former weekend meteorologist, now meteorologist for WMUR-TV in Manchester, NH.
- Jennifer Sabih: former reporter/weekend anchor, now a reporter for KCAL & KCBS in Los Angeles.
- Steve Schwaid: former news director, now Sr. V.P. news & programming NBC Universal Stations NY.
- Dave Silverbrand: former anchor & "Dave's People" reporter, now living in Eureka, CA
- Amy Sinclair—former reporter who mainly did light feature and interest stories (1995-05/24/2007); now at New England Cable News
- Mindi Ramsey: former anchor/reporter, now weekday morning/noon anchor for WNEP in Scranton, PA.
- Jeremy Reiner: former meteorologist, now a meteorologist at WHDH in Boston.
- Dave Santoro: former weekend/Daybreak meteorologist who became Chief Meteorologist in 1999, now a math teacher in the Portland, ME, public school system
- Joe Venuti: former meteorologist, now part-time meteorologist at WCVB in Boston.
- Ron Wolfe: former news director,
- Matt Zidle: former Daybreak & Noon meteorologist, now at WMTW in a similar capacity
[edit] Logos
 WGME logo used from mid-1980s until April 14, 1991. |
 WGME "NewsChannel 13" logo used from April 15, 1991 until late-1999. It is similar to the logo used by KSAZ in the late-1980s. |
WGME logo used from April 3, 2006 to the present. |
[edit] External links
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| Records | ||
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| Preceded by KOBR-TV Tower |
World's tallest structure 1,619 ft (493.5 m) |
Succeeded by KFVS TV Mast |
