KCRG-TV

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"KCRG" redirects here. For the radio station at 1600 AM that had these call letters prior to 2006, see KGYM.

KCRG-TV is a television station based out of Cedar Rapids, Iowa. The station broadcasts on channel 9, and is the primary ABC affiliate for the northeast corner of Iowa, as well as the southwest corner of Wisconsin and the northwest corner of Illinois. Its transmitter is located in Walker, Iowa.

History

Prior to 1953, television as a communications medium was so new that there were hardly any television stations in the state of Iowa. At the time Davenport and Ames were the only Iowa cities with television stations. During the late 1940s, the Cedar Rapids Gazette, owners of KCRG-AM 1600, filed an application with the Federal Communications Commission for a TV station license. At the time, the FCC had a backlog of over 200 applications, and had decided not to proceed with action on further applications until the backlogged requests could be filled.

After the backlog was taken care of, many applications were filed for licenses. The Gazette Company didn't want to compete for a license, and decided to withdraw the initial application. It joined with a number of other investors as Cedar Rapids Television Company (CRTV), which was granted a license for channel 9. The station signed on in 1953.

Initially, the station was known as KCRI because the other investors didn't want to have the new television station so closely identified with the Gazette. The radio station also took the KCRI calls because one of the television station's managers suggested that every mention of "KCRG" on air was a promotion for the newspaper--one for which the Gazette would have to pay each time. After about a year of operation, the Gazette bought out the remaining investors in CRTV, and the station was renamed KCRG-TV.

Since that time the station has remained under the ownership of Gazette Communications. After the 1996 sale of WHO-TV in Des Moines, KCRG-TV has been the only locally owned and operated television station left in Iowa.

KCRG started broadcasting in high definition television in January 2003. They also have the first news helicopter, "NewsCopter 9," in Iowa. KCRG has a digital subchannel called "Local 9.2" at channel 9.2, which has a wheel of local news, weather and features on part of the screen. The remainder of the screen has a news ticker, current weather conditions, rotating weather images and program listings. This channel can also be seen on Mediacom channel 109 by digital cable subscribers in the Cedar Rapids-Waterloo-Dubuque-Iowa City DMA.

Personalities and programming

Current news personalities (as of January 2007) include:

• Bruce Aune, evening news anchor
• Liz Mathis, 5 and 6 p.m. news co-anchor
• Beth Malicki, reporter/10 p.m. news co-anchor
• Joe Winters, chief meteorologist, evening newscasts
• John Campbell, sports director, 6 and 10 p.m. newscasts
• Scott Sanborn, morning and midday news anchor
• Ashley Hinson, morning and midday news anchor
• Lance Ryan, meteorologist, morning and midday newscasts
• Claire Kellett, reporter/Saturday evening news anchor
• Josh Baynes,meteorologists weekend evening newscasts
• Scott Saville, weekend sports anchor
• Erin Leach, reporter/weekend morning news anchor
• Noel Williams, weekend morning meteorologist

Campbell and reporter Dave Franzman have also been with the station since the 1970's. Aune started anchoring at KCRG in 1986, and was joined by Mathis in 1998. Mathis previously worked at KWWL and WMT-TV (now KGAN).

Meteorologist Denny Frary was the station's longest-running on-air personality, working on KCRG from 1974 until he retired on November 17, 2006. Upon Frary's retirement, several pieces aired with friends and associates sharing a few words on Frary, and a roast ceremony was held the night prior to his retirement. On November 17th at 6:30pm, a Denny Frary Farewell Special aired that celebrated his many years with KCRG. The half-hour special included several pieces of old footage as well as interviews with Frary's friends and family.

Syndicated programs on KCRG's schedule include The Oprah Winfrey Show, Inside Edition, Live with Regis and Kelly, The Rachael Ray Show, and reruns of According to Jim.

References

• History Article from the KCRG web site. Date Accessed: July 29, 2005. Cedar Rapids, Iowa: Cedar Rapids Television Company.
• Stein, Jeff, Making Waves: The People and Places of Iowa Broadcasting (ISBN 0-9718323-1-5). Cedar Rapids, Iowa: WDG Communications, 2004.

External links

• The KCRG-TV Website
• Template:TVQ
• Google Map of the KCRG Broadcast Tower Location