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founded = [[September 17]], [[1949]]|
founded = [[September 17]], [[1949]]|
location = WFAA: [[Dallas, Texas|Dallas]] / [[Fort Worth, Texas|Fort Worth]] / [[Keira]], [[Texas]]<br>WFAT: [[Arlington, Texas]]|
location = WFAA: [[Dallas, Texas|Dallas]] / [[Fort Worth, Texas|Fort Worth]] / [[Keira]], [[Texas]]<br>WFAT: [[Arlington, Texas]]|
callsign_meaning = Although the call sign was [http://earlyradiohistory.us/recap.htm#four sequentially assigned] by the federal government to the AM sister station, the callsign stood for "'''W'''orking '''F'''or '''A'''ll '''A'''like" when the station [http://www.knus99.com/tvlist first aired].<br>'''WFAA'' varation with a T|
callsign_meaning = Although the call sign was [http://earlyradiohistory.us/recap.htm#four sequentially assigned] by the federal government to the AM sister station, the callsign stood for "'''W'''orking '''F'''or '''A'''ll '''A'''like" when the station [http://www.knus99.com/tvlist first aired].<br>'''WFAA''' varation with a T|
former_callsigns = KBTV (1949-50)|
former_callsigns = KBTV (1949-50)|
owner = [[Belo Corporation]]|
owner = [[Belo Corporation]]|

Revision as of 05:55, 29 September 2007

{{Infobox broadcast}} may refer to:

{{Template disambiguation}} should never be transcluded in the main namespace.

WFAA-TV ("WFAA 8") is the ABC television affiliate serving the Dallas/Fort Worth, Texas DMA (5th largest nationwide). Its transmitter is located in Cedar Hill, Texas. The station is the flagship of Belo Corporation, which also owns the Dallas Morning News daily newspaper. WFAA-TV is currently the largest ABC affiliate not owned and operated by the network (through Disney rather), and the largest "Big 4" affiliate not to be owned and operated by any network. They also operate satellite station WFAT-TV channel 14 in Arlington.

WFAA-TV also serves as one of four default ABC affiliates for the Sherman, Texas/Ada, Oklahoma market (along with KSWO-TV in Lawton, KTUL-TV in Tulsa and KOCO-TV in Oklahoma City) since that market currently lacks a ABC affiliate of its own, as the market's former ABC affiliate KTEN became an NBC affiliate in 1998. WFAA is carried as the "local" ABC affiliate to Dish Network subscribers within that market and the sole ABC affiliate carried by cable operators in several of the largest cities in the Sherman-Ada market including Sherman and Denison in Texas; as well as Ardmore, Durant and Hugo in Oklahoma.

History

WFAA signed on as DuMont affiliate KBTV on September 17, 1949, owned by Texas oil magnate Tom Potter. (Note: The callsign KBTV was used for years by Channel 9, the ABC (now NBC) affiliate in Denver, but now belongs to Channel 4, the Beaumont, Texas NBC station.) WFAA was the third TV station in Texas (behind Fort Worth's WBAP-TV, now KXAS-TV, and Houston's KLEE-TV, now KPRC-TV), the second in the Metroplex, and the first licensed to Dallas. The station became WFAA (after sister radio station WFAA-AM) on March 21, 1950, not long after the station was purchased by Belo in the midst of a FCC television license freeze from 1948 to 1952. Later in 1950, it switched its primary affiliation to NBC, and also took on a secondary ABC affiliation. DuMont shut down in 1956, and NBC disappeared from the schedule in 1957 when WBAP-TV boosted its signal to cover Dallas, leaving WFAA-TV with just ABC.

WFAA was the first station to break the news that President Kennedy was shot to death on November 22, 1963. The station conducted the first live television interview with Abraham Zapruder, who shot the famous Zapruder film, about an hour and a half after the President's death. WFAA and its live remote unit fed much coverage of the assassination and its aftermath to the ABC network over the next four days. The shocking and unexpected shooting of accused assassin Lee Harvey Oswald by Jack Ruby in the basement of Dallas Police Headquarters, however, was not broadcast live (as on NBC) or on tape (as on CBS a minute later) by WFAA/ABC as their live truck was positioned elsewhere at the time. ABC was thus only able to show delayed newsreel footage of the historic event.

WFAA dominated the market ratings for local news from the mid 1970s until the late 1990s, with talent such as Tracy Rowlett, Iola Johnson, Bob Gooding, Judi Hanna, John Criswell, Chip Moody, John McCaa, Gloria Campos, Scott Sams, Verne Lundquist, Dale Hansen, and Troy Dungan. Former News Director turned Belo executive Marty Haag is credited for leading the station to ratings dominance and national prominence.

WFAA also does major outside work with cities and small "town hall" meetings through its Family First program. Family First first started back in 1993.

WFAA became the first TV station in the nation to broadcast a digital signal on a VHF channel in February 1997 at 2:17 p.m. The station is one of the only ABC affiliates to broadcast HDTV in 1080i format; other ABC affiliates broadcast in 720p. The programming is broadcasted from their new Victory Park studios (News 8 Daybreak, News 8 Midday, News 8 at Five, and also when a major event is being held at Victory Park).[1][2]

The WFAA calls reportedly stood for "Working For All Alike", and also "World's Finest Air Attraction."

Radio

WFAA-AM was the radio counterpart to the TV station. It signed on June 26, 1922, and used the WFAA calls through July 2, 1983. (Thereafter, it was known as "KRQX" until Belo sold it, along with sister station KZEW-FM {the former WFAA-FM,} on January 1, 1987.) WFAA-AM has a rich history of service to the Dallas area. Moving around the AM dial, as most stations did in the 1920s and 1930s, the station settled into a permanent stay at 570 AM by 1938, while splitting time with WBAP-AM at their clear-channel frequency of 820. This was the longest timeshare agreement in the US, starting in 1929 and concluding on April 27, 1970.

WFAA-AM was the first network-affiliated station in Texas (initially with NBC beginning April 2, 1923; later with Texas Quality Network, then ABC [to August 1, 1975] and CBS thereafter,) the first US station to carry educational programs, the first to produce a serious radio drama series, the first to air a state championship football game, and the first to air presidential inaugural ceremonies. WFAA-AM was home to the long-running morning program, "The Early Birds", hosted by John Allen; "Hymns We Love", "Saturday Night Shindig", "The Big D Jamboree", "Murray Cox RFD", "Slo-and-Ezy", and later, "57 Nostalgia Place."

After many years of an entertainment/variety format, the station flipped to Middle of the Road in 1970, followed by Top 40. On Election Day, 1976, the station made its final format change to News/Talk (As "Newstalk 570.")

WFAA-AM was initially located in a 9' x 9' tent on the roof of the Dallas Morning News; to the Morning News library thereafter; to the Baker Hotel on October 1, 1925; atop the Santa Fe Railroad Warehouse on Jackson St. from June 20, 1941 to April 4, 1961 (the building today still has "WFAA" clearly painted on the top) and to Communications Center thereafter.

Sister station WFAA-FM was the first FM to sign on in Texas, beginning October 5, 1946 as "KERA-FM" (no relation to the current radio and TV station known under the same call letters,) although its roots go back to an experimental FM station "W5X1C" that signed on October 15, 1945, and another experimental trial dating back to 1939. By 1947, it had moved from its original home at 94.3 FM to a preferred location in the center of the dial at 97.9 FM. With FM broadcasting in its infancy, WFAA-FM signed on and off the air for months and even two years at a time before settling on a permanent broadcast schedule by 1965. Initially a simulcast of the AM side, it programmed Middle-of-the-Road and Beautiful Music until 1973, then flipped to Album Rock as KZEW-FM "The Zoo" on September 16, 1973. Featuring talent such as John LaBella and John Rody ("LaBella and Rody,") George Gimarc, Charley Jones, Dave Lee Austin, Nancy Johnson, John Dew, John Dillon, Doc Morgan and Tempie Lindsey, the station's concept and programming were initially under the direction of Ira Lipson. The FM station shared studio locations with WFAA-AM.

File:Victorypark.gif
WFAA/NEWS 8's New Victory Park Studios in Downtown Dallas

News Ratings

Channel 8 dominated the February and May 2007 ratings period for both afternoon and evening newscasts, and claimed the top spot in both overall households and each of the demographic groups. Tom Maurstad, media critic, attributed part of that success to strong lead-in programming from the ABC network. Kathy Clements, president and general manager, credited part of the success to homegrown initiatives. Clements said "I think the Victory Park studio and the switch to a high-definition broadcast created some buzz, some energy." [3]

Digital Television

The station's digital channel is multiplexed:

Digital channels
Channel Programming
8.1 / 9.1 Main WFAA programming
8.2 / 9.2 Xpress 8.2 (Weather radar, news headlines on a crawl, occasional live programming)
8.3 / 9.3 Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport Towercam

In 2009, WFAA-TV/News 8 will move to digital channel 8 and KFWD will move from digital channel 51 to digital channel 9 in order to complete the analog to digital conversion.[4]

Saturday Mornings

WFAA airs the ABC Kids children's programming block significantly out of pattern compared to most other ABC stations. Currently, a double run of Power Rangers: Operation Overdrive airs on a one-week delay from 5-6am, instead of the recommended time of 11am to 12 Noon, when the ABC network feeds the show to its affiliates "live". Also, The Emperor's New School and The Replacements airs on same-day delay from 11-12pm, instead of the recommended 8am-9am timeslot for both shows. The remaining two hours air in pattern "live" from the ABC feed.

WFAA airs the Saturday edition of News 8 Daybreak on Saturday mornings from 7-8:30am and the Saturday edition of Hot On! Homes at 8:30am.

News Operations

WFAA started producing their local newscasts in high-definition on February 2, 2007.

Notable Personalities

Current On-Air Talent

News 8 Anchors

(In Alphabetical Order)

Personality Position WFAA Since
Jeff Brady News 8 at Five Anchor/Reporter Early 2000s
Gloria Campos News 8 at Six, The News 8 Update, Wednesday's Child Anchor/Reporter 1980s
Gary Cogill Good Morning Texas Co-Host, WFAA Movie Critic 1980s
Alexa Conomos News 8 Daybreak Traffic Reporter, News 8 Midday Anchor (on maternal leave) 2003
Debbie Denmon News 8 Daybreak Saturday/Sunday Anchor/General Assignment Reporter 2000
Justin Farmer News 8 Daybreak Anchor/Reporter 2005
Brad Hawkins News 8 at Six (Saturdays), News 8 at 5:30 (Sundays), The News 8 Update (weekend) Anchor/General Assignment Reporter 2003
Jackie Hyland News 8 Daybreak Anchor/Reporter 2006
Macie Jepson News 8 at Five Anchor/Reporter Early 2000s
John McCaa News 8 at Six, The News 8 Update, Metro Anchor/Reporter 1980s
Shelly Slater News 8 at Six (Saturdays), News 8 at 5:30 (Sundays), The News 8 Update (weekend) Anchor/General Assignment Reporter 2006
Brenda Teele Good Morning Texas Host 2006
Amy Vanderoef Good Morning Texas Co-Host 2006

News 8 Reporters/Other

(In Alphabetical Order)

Personality Position WFAA Since
Mike Castellucci Why Guy Reporter 2005
Aaron Chimbel MoJo (mobile journalist) Reporter 2006
Craig Civale General Assignment Reporter 2007
Jim Douglas General Assignment Reporter 1995
Marjorie Ford Metro: Executive Producer/Reporter
Bob Greene General Assignment Reporter 2006
Henry Guerrero La Vida Host 2000
Byron Harris Senior Reporter, Investigative Reporter 1990s
Chris Hawes General Assignment Reporter/Fort Worth Bureau 2006
Laura Houston Airborne Traffic Reporter 2003
Rebecca Lopez Senior Reporter, Dallas Bureau 1998
Ben Martin Traffic Reporter 2005
Darla Miles General Assignment Reporter 2006
Gary Reaves Senior Reporter 1982-1986; 1991-
Dan Ronan General Assignment Reporter 2000
David Schechter Senior Reporter 2005
Michael Scott Airborne Traffic Reporter
Mike Shannon Traffic Reporter 2003
Janet St. James Health Reporter 1996
Steve Stoler Collin County Reporter 2002
Angelique Tégé Metro 2000s
Cynthia Vega News 8 Daybreak Reporter 2000
Brad Watson Dallas City Hall Reporter 1978
Walt Zwirko Computer Corner 1984

News 8 Investigates

(In Alphabetical Order)

Personality Position WFAA Since
Byron Harris Senior Reporter, Investigative Reporter 1970s
Brett Shipp Investigative Reporter 1992

News 8 Weather

(In order of rank)

Personality Position WFAA Since
Pete Delkus News 8 at Five, News 8 at Six, The News 8 Update Chief Meteorologist 2005
Greg Fields News 8 Daybreak, Good Morning Texas, News 8 Midday Meteorologist 1998
Steve McCauley News 8 at Six (Saturdays), News 8 at 5:30 (Sundays), The News 8 Update (weekend) Meteorologist 2000
Meghan Danahey News 8 Daybreak Saturday/Sunday Meteorologist 2007

News 8 Sports

(In order of rank)

Personality Position WFAA Since
Dale Hansen News 8 at Six, The News 8 at Update Sports Director/Host of: Dale Hansen's Sports Special 1983
Joe Trahan News 8 at Six, The News 8 Update (Saturdays), Host of: High School Sports Special (Sundays) 2003
George Riba Senior Sports Reporter 1977
Ted Madden Sports Reporter/Photographer 2002
Erin Hawksworth Sports Reporter 2006

News 8 Alumni

  • Neal Barton: Meteorologist (1989-1994, now at KETK in Tyler/Longview, Texas)
  • Alan Berg: Austin Bureau Chief (1992-2000, now managing partner at Arts+Labor in Austin, Texas)
  • Jan Bridgman: Consumer Reporter/Weekend Anchor (late 1970s-1984, deceased)
  • Bill Brown: Reporter (1980-2004, now in public relations)
  • Bob Brown: Reporter/Anchor (1975-1977, now at ABC News)
  • Arch Campbell: Reporter (1971-1974, now at WJLA-TV in Washington, DC)
  • David Cassidy (not to be confused with the actor/singer: Reporter (1974-1988; early 2000s-present)
  • Mark Clegg: Anchor/Reporter (1990-1992, now at KSHB-TV in Kansas City)
  • Lin Sue Cooney: Anchor/Reporter (1980-1984, now at KPNX-TV in Phoenix)
  • John Criswell: Anchor (1973-1990, left for KDFW before retiring, now a Dallas Media Consultant)
  • Deanna Dewberry: Anchor (1998-2005), now Anchor/Reporter at WISH-TV 8 in Indianapolis
  • Deborah Duncan: Good Morning Texas Host (1994-1997, now at KHOU-TV in Houston)
  • Troy Dungan: Chief Weather Anchor (1976-2007, will be given 25 days a year for on-air specials)
  • Bill Evans: Meteorologist (1987-1989, now at WABC-TV in New York)
  • Dave Evans: Senior Reporter (1989-1999, now at WABC-TV in New York)
  • Doug Fox: Anchor/Reporter/Urban Affairs Unit manager (1974-2003)
  • Jim Fry: Washington Correspondent/City Hall Reporter (1982-2006)
  • Chris Gailus: Daybreak Co-host (2000-2003), now at CHAN-TV in Vancouver
  • David Garcia: Weekend Anchor/Reporter (1965-1968, later with ABC and most recently with KPSP-TV in Riverside County, CA, now deceased)
  • Bob Gooding: Anchor (1961-1979, retired in east Texas and in poor health)
  • Judi Hanna: Anchor/Reporter (1969-1974, later with KVIL-FM)
  • Charles Hadlock: Anchor/Reporter (1980-1982, went to Houston and eventually to NBC News)
  • Chris Heinbaugh: Dallas City Hall Reporter (2000-2007; now with the City of Dallas)
  • Michael Hill: Reporter (1988-1993, now at WGNO-TV in New Orleans)
  • Midge Hill: Anchor/Reporter (1984-1989, left for KTVT, does occasional community theatre in Garland)
  • Brian Jensen: Sports Anchor/Reporter (1988-1997, currently radio voice for Texas Tech Football)
  • Iola Johnson: Anchor (1973-1985, now host of Positively Texas on KTXA)
  • Andrea Joyce: Sports Reporter (1987-1988)
  • Kristine Kahanek: Meteorolgist (1997-2001, now Chief Meteorologist at KTVT)
  • Karin Kelly: Reporter (1979-2006)
  • Shelley Kofler: Capitol Bureau Reporter (2000-2004, now at KERA-TV)
  • Mike Landess: Anchor/Reporter (1967-1971 as Malcolm Landess, now at KMGH-TV in Denver)
  • Ed Lavandera: Reporter (1991-1998, now at CNN's Dallas bureau)
  • Mike Lee: Reporter (1966-1968, now at ABC News in London)
  • Bert Lozano: Reporter (2004-2006, now in public relations)
  • Verne Lundquist: Sports Anchor (1967-1983, now at CBS Sports)
  • Mark Mathis: Meteorologist (now at KREX in Grand Junction, Colorado)
  • David Margulies: Anchor/Reporter (1980s-1986, now a public relations consultant)
  • Anna Martinez: Reporter/Host of La Vida (1991-2002), now working at Southern Methodist University
  • Tony Martinez: Sports Anchor/Reporter (1983-1987 and 1996-2000, now working for The Coaching Company [1])
  • Lisa McRee: Anchor/Reporter (1989-1991)
  • Stan Miller: Anchor/Reporter (1983-1985)
  • Russ Mitchell: Anchor (1983-1985)
  • Chip Moody: Anchor (1987-1999, deceased)
  • Steve Newman: Weekend Weather Anchor/Meteorologist (1976-1980), later moved to KRON-TV (1980-1985; 1989-1993), KGO (1985-1989) and KPIX (1996-2001). Now writes Earthweek, distributed by Universal Press Syndicate.
  • Vince Patton: Reporter (1989-2000, now at KGW-TV in Portland, Oregon)
  • Scott Pelley: Reporter (1982-1989, now at CBS News)
  • Pablo Pereira: Meteorologist (1990-1997, now at KNBC in Los Angeles)
  • Mary Ann Razzuk: Reporter (2001-2006)
  • Bill Ratliff: Anchor/Reporter/PM Magazine Host (1980-1982, now at WFLA-TV in Tampa)
  • Gina Redmond: Midday Anchor (1995-2001)
  • Michael Rey: Anchor/Reporter (to 2005)
  • Elisa Robin: Meteorologist
  • Robyne Robinson: Reporter (1985-1987, now at KMSP-TV in Minneapolis)
  • Rebecca Rodriguez: Anchor/Reporter (1999-2006)
  • Tracy Rowlett: Anchor (1974-1999, now at KTVT)
  • Scott Sams: News, Weather, Sports Anchor/Reporter (1985-2004, fired, went to KTEN, now at KTVT)
  • Nancy Snell: Meteorologist (to 2006)
  • Mary Stewart: Reporter (1986-2000, now at KTVT)
  • Rene Syler: Anchor/Reporter (1992-1997, left for KTVT, last with CBS Morning Show)
  • Susan Taylor: Anchor/Reporter (1980-1982, now at KNSD-TV in San Diego)
  • Jack Van Roy: Chief Weather Anchor (1970s-1977, deceased)
  • Sonya Van Sickle: Reporter/Anchor (1986-1999, now an actor/spokesperson with the Mary Collins Agency [2])
  • Anita Vanetti: Daybreak Reporter (1990-2001, now a confidence coach [3])
  • Don Wall: Environmental Reporter (1989-2006)
  • Uze Brown Washington:Reporter (1984-1991)
  • Penny Wehmeyer: Reporter (1981-1993)
  • Yolanda Walker: Reporter (2001-2006)
  • Jay Watson: Program Director/Anchor (?-1966, first to break the news of John F. Kennedy assassination, now deceased)
  • Phyllis Watson: Anchor (1983-1991)
  • Sherry Williams: Reporter (1992-1995, now at KHCW in Houston)
  • Valeri Williams: Reporter (1992-1994 and 2000-2003)
  • Doug Wilson: Education Reporter (1994-2001, currently working at Richland College)
  • Paula Zahn: Reporter (1978-1979, now at CNN)

News/Station Presentation

Newscast Titles

  • News8, News 8 (1974-2007) (Was shown in newscast as 'News8' in the past.)
  • News 8, News 8 HD (2007-present)

Station Slogans

  • The Spirit of Texas (1984-present)
    • Variations: Working In The Spirit of Texas, In The Spirit of Texas
  • Trust Troy, Trust News 8 Weather (used in promotion of former chief weather anchor, Troy Dungan
  • First in News, First in HDTV (2007-present; new sub-slogan is unofficial)
    • Variation: First in HDTV

News Music Packages

The "Spirit" news music package that was used on WFAA's newscasts was written by James R. Kirk of TM Productions in 1984 for the Texas Sesquicentennial, which actually took place in 1986. The "Spirit" news music package was used from 1984 until 1991. All of WFAA's news music packages since dropping TM Productions' package in 1991 have carried the "Spirit" motif, including the "WFAA 1992 News Theme" from 1992-1996. WFAA also used McKinney, TX-based Stephen Arnold Music's"The Spirit" from 1996-2004, a customized "News Matrix" package from 2004-2005 and the "Evolution" package from 2004-2007 (which all carry the same signature that TM Productions' package used). They recently switched to a brand new 615 Music package called "Propulsion" (which is also based on the Spirit signature). This package is also being rolled out to several other Belo owned stations. Other former packages used by WFAA include Tuesday Productions"TuesdayC" from 1978-1980, and TM Productions' "Newsbeat" from 1980-1984.

Trivia

  • WFAA-TV is one of the few television stations west of the Mississippi River with a callsign beginning with a W. The FCC normally assigns stations west of the Mississippi callsigns that begin with K; W is only used east of the Mississippi. The reason WFAA-TV is different is that its callsign came from its sibling WFAA-AM, whose callsign predates this FCC policy.
  • WFAA had a FM radio station in Dallas. It was 97.9, but now WFAA does not own it and it is currently an urban radio station called KBFB-FM, 97.9 The Beat.
  • WFAA (along with KDAF) are the only network-affiliate stations in the market not to be owned and operated by any major network.
  • WFAA is the largest "big three" (ABC, NBC, CBS) affiliate not to be owned and operated by the network in terms of DMA market size.
  • In 1998, the digital variant of the station went online. Its frequency was already in use by Dallas hospitals and there was interference with the medical equipment.[5]
  • WFAA's "Spirit" theme is also used at sister stations: KHOU-TV, WVEC-TV, and at WCNC-TV.
  • WFAA's HD Chopper 8 still has the 1984-1996 logo on the underside of the helicopter and reads: N8TV.

Logos

References

  1. ^ http://www.wfaa.com/hdtv/
  2. ^ http://www.wfaa.com/sharedcontent/dws/spe/2002/wfaafifty/sets4.html
  3. ^ http://www.guidelive.com/sharedcontent/dws/ent/stories/DN-tvratings_0525gl.ART.State.Edition1.44728fa.html
  4. ^ http://hraunfoss.fcc.gov/edocs_public/attachmatch/DA-06-1082A2.pdf
  5. ^ http://www.tvtechnology.com/features/news/n_the_last_empty_channel.shtml

Template:Belo Corporation

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