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KCTV

Coordinates: 39°4′14.37″N 94°34′57.53″W / 39.0706583°N 94.5826472°W / 39.0706583; -94.5826472
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For the North Korean TV channel, see Korean Central Television.

KCTV, channel 24 (received on channel 5 via PSIP) is the CBS-affiliated television station for the Kansas City metropolitan area. KCTV is owned by the Meredith Corporation as part of a duopoly with the area's MyNetworkTV affiliate KSMO-TV. The two stations share studios located on Shawnee Mission Parkway in Fairway, Kansas.

Licensed to Kansas City, Missouri, its digital signal broadcasts on UHF channel 24 using its former analog assignment of channel 5 as its virtual digital channel via PSIP.

KCTV's transmitter tower is a 317.6-meter-high (1,042 feet) free-standing steel framework tower for FM and television broadcasting that is located on Union Hill south of Downtown Kansas City, Missouri.

History

Channel 5 debuted on September 27, 1953 as KCMO-TV (for Kansas City, MissOuri). The station was owned by the KCMO Broadcasting Corporation along with KCMO-AM (then at 810 kHz, now at 710 kHz). It was originally an ABC affiliate with DuMont programming. A week after its launch, Meredith Broadcasting bought KCMO-AM-TV; this merger was completed less than two months later. [1] In 1955, it took the CBS affiliation from KMBC-TV.

Its call letters were changed to the current KCTV in 1983 when Meredith sold off KCMO-AM-FM. At the same time, the station moved from its studios (now occupied by KCPT) located next to its landmark tower (see below) to its current studios in Fairway, Kansas.

In 2005, Meredith Broadcasting purchased the area's WB affiliate KSMO-TV (channel 62, now a MyNetworkTV affiliate). That fall, KCTV began producing a daily 9PM newscast for KSMO to compete with WDAF-TV's nightly 9PM newscast. In May 2006, KCTV acquired a new helicopter called "Chopper 5".

During September 2008, it was announced that KCTV would get a new high definition set and become the third station in Kansas City to broadcast in high definition (after KSHB and KMBC). The station began broadcasting its newscasts in High Defitinion on October 20, 2008 beginning with their 4PM newscast.

Digital television

KCTV-DT broadcasts on digital channel 24.

Digital channels
Channel Name Programming
5.1 KCTV-DT main KCTV/CBS HD programming

Analog-to-digital conversion

On June 12, 2009 at 9:00 AM, KCTV abandoned its previous analog channel assignment of channel 5, and moved its digital channel assignment to channel 24. However, digital television receivers will continue to display KCTV's virtual digital channel as 5.[2]

Tower

KCTV's transmitter tower.

KCTV's 1042-foot transmitter tower, located at its former studios (now home to KCPT) on East 31st Street on Union Hill south of downtown Kansas City is a widely recognized Kansas City landmark. This is due largely in part to the string lights on the four corners of the tower that can be seen for miles around at night. It's so recognized that, for a time, it was the official logo of KCTV. For many years, KCTV flashed the lights on the tower due to inclement weather in Kansas City and the immediate surrounding communities in three sections:

  • top third flashing = thunderstorm watch / tornado watch / winter weather advisory
  • two thirds flashing = thunderstorm warning / winter weather warning
  • all lights flashing = tornado warning / highly threatening weather

After the September 11 attacks, KCTV changed the tower to red-white-blue, with the top third red and the bottom third blue.

KCTV's transmitter tower as seen from Liberty Memorial.

The lights on the tower went dark for a period, until all of the light bulbs could be changed. On July 1, 2006, KCTV turned the tower back on in all white lights, as it had originally been until the 1970s. It has stayed that way ever since. It is yet to be determined whether the tower will flash in the same manner it had before September 11, 2001.

After the end of KCTV's analog service on June 12, 2009, the analog antenna will be disassembled, allowing KCTV's sister station KSMO (Channel 62) to permanently locate their digital transmitter and antenna upon the landmark tower and combine Meredith's transmission operations into one site [3].

The tower is similar to the KQTV 750 foot (228.6 m) high tower in St. Joseph, Missouri. That station also began broadcasting on September 27, 1953.

Branding

As featured in news footage from the 1960s, KCMO branded itself as "Television 5". The branding was simplified to "TV 5" when the "Eyewitness News" format was adopted and continued into the 1980s. When Meredith separated KCMO radio from KCMO-TV, the "KCTV" calls were adopted based on the familiarity of the "TV 5" branding. A font similar to that of co-owned WNEM-TV was then adopted and a new slogan brought forth: "TV 5 Loves You".

The advertised "TV 5" branding ended in 1990 when a new logo was adopted and KCTV took on the "Kansas City's News" slogan, simply taking on the "KCTV Kansas City" branding. Its logo, however, continues to subtly advertise its commonly known former branding, "TV 5" by changing the font of "TV" (as done when the "TV 5" branding was dropped from 1990-1999), bolding the "TV" (as done from 1999-2002) or connecting "T" to "V" (as seen in the current logo).

In 1993, KCTV dropped "Kansas City's News" and adopted "In Kansas City, '5' stands for News" as its new slogan. Its newscasts were branded as "News 5". However, KCTV still branded itself as "KCTV Kansas City".

KCTV took on its current "KCTV 5" branding upon a logo redesign in September of 1999.

Programming

KCTV currently carries all CBS network programming (with the exception of The Saturday Early Show, which is preempts in favor of KCTV 5 News This Weekend, however, it has been shown in years past as a brief back-up in the event of technical difficulty). Syndicated programming on KCTV currently includes Live with Regis and Kelly, The Ellen DeGeneres Show, The Insider, Scrubs and Inside Edition, with Without a Trace and CSI: NY on weekends.

Over the years, KCTV would preempt moderate amounts of CBS programming such as some morning daytime shows, Sunday morning cartoons, a couple Saturday morning cartoons, an occasional primetime show and some late night shows prior to David Letterman's arrival to CBS in 1993. Today, KCTV still runs a large amount of local news along with most every CBS show.

One of the most common copies of The Star Wars Holiday Special comes from this station. It can be found as first generation copies all the way down to third generation. Also, during the 1970s into the 1980s, Channel 5 was very active in locally produced shows, such as Saturday Science Fiction Theatre. It was during The Hyatt Regency Tragedy that one of the station's most popular shows, Friday Fright Night, was preempted for the fear of further traumatizing viewers already in shock.

Friday Fright Night was known for its opening-sequence of a skull with an announcer giving the lead-in with both a spooky tone-of-voice and dialogue, only to leave the shot with a prolonged sequence of hysterical-sounding laughter. Although the famous skull shot has not emerged on the Internet, the station-logo with three frames of a film-strip of a close-up on a man's terrified-looking eyes for in-between commercials is readily available; however, the status for distribution is not known. At least, two other shows competed in the genre with Friday Fright Night by the early 1980s, which were Creature Feature with Crematia Mortem, All Night Live! with "Uncle Ed" & Caffeina the Cat and, later, Dick Wilson; however, "Uncle Ed" Muscari (sometimes, Muscare) had various spook-shows going back to the 1960s, albeit in different markets.

News Operation

KCTV broadcasts a total of 32½ hours of local news per week (with five hours on weekdays, 4½ hours on Saturdays and three hours on Sundays), second only to WDAF-TV in the most hours of local news in the Kansas City market. KCTV also produces 8½ hours of local news a week for sister station KSMO-TV with an hour-long extension of "More in the Morning" weekday mornings from 7-8 AM, and a half-hour primetime newscast at 9 PM, which competes against WDAF-TV's hour-long 9 PM newscast.

KCTV and its former News Director, Regent Ducas, came under fire in recent years for bringing what some call tabloid-style reporting to the market. "Live. Latebreaking. Investigative." became KCTV's new slogan in September of 2002 (also the slogan of sister KPHO), six months after Regent's hiring. A year later, the station's sports department was shut down and sports news was outsourced to Metro Sports, a local cable channel operated by Time Warner cable, with most of the KCTV former sports staff making the move.

As a result of the station's "new direction", several high profile anchors and reporters left the station including Anne Peterson, Russell Kinsaul (who is now working across the state in St. Louis), and Dave Helling.

A May 26, 2007 article in The Kansas City Star revealed the turbulence behind KCTV's move to become the #1 newscast producer in the market. A lawsuit, filed by a longtime newscast director, alleges that the station's owners engaged in systematic harassment and dismissal of older workers. The judge denied KCTV's move to dismiss the suit and the station settled with the plaintiff, according to an article in the newspaper. [4] [5]

Investigative programming

KCTV has not shied away from reporting on controversial topics, two of which were featured nationally by CBS. KCTV aired a seven-part series in February 2004 that exposed the dangers children can face in internet chat rooms. A group called "Perverted Justice" posed as minors in chat rooms and waited for adult men to proposition them for sex. The "minors" then invited the men to meet them at a house where KCTV was waiting. Dateline NBC later used "Perverted Justice" as the basis for its To Catch A Predator series.

After the series aired, local law enforcement made a new effort to police chat rooms and prosecute men who attempt to meet minors for sex through the internet. None of the people "stung" by KCTV could be charged in these cases because the operation was done without police involvement.

In June 2005, KCTV exposed a doctor's negligent handling of private medical records. A scavenger gave the station a computer found at the curb of a Mission Hills, Kansas plastic surgeon's home. The plastic surgeon claimed he erased the patients' information from the computer. However, only the computer's random access memory was removed. The computer's hard drive was intact and contained photos and files on many patients.

KCTV attempted to contact several of the patients whose information was found on the discarded computer. The surgeon sued, citing that interviewing the patients violated medical confidentiality. The judge ruled in favor of the doctor, though KCTV took the case to federal court in Kansas City, Kansas. The doctor withdrew his lawsuit, and the story aired on June 30.

As a result of this story, several of the surgeon's patients filed a class action lawsuit against him for negligent handling of their confidential records.

Awards and honors

KCTV's news team has been honored with the Mid-America Emmy award for overall news excellence, the Edward R. Murrow Award for overall news excellence, and multiple awards for its investigative reporting.

Ratings

In November 2004, KCTV won the coveted 10 PM news race, unseating KMBC-TV for the first time in a decade. However, in November 2006 KCTV dropped back to second place at 10 PM. The station remains in third place at 5 and 6 PM after KMBC-TV and WDAF-TV. KCTV continues to win the Noon newscast period (against WDAF-TV), but once again finishes third in the morning.

In February 2007, KCTV regained the top spot at 10 PM and most of its other newscasts made viewership gains as well. [1]

In November 2007, KCTV shared the #1 10 PM ranking[6], tied with KMBC.

Personalities

Current On-Air Talent

(as of October 2009)
Current Anchors

  • Amy Anderson - Saturdays at 5 and 6, Sundays at 5:30, and weekends at 9 (on KSMO) and 10PM (also reporter)
  • Shaun Broyls - Saturdays at 5 and 6, Sundays at 5:30, and weekends at 9 (on KSMO) and 10PM (also reporter)
  • Karen Fuller - weeknights at 5, 6, 9 (on KSMO), and 10PM
  • Carolyn Long - weekdays at noon and 4PM
  • Chris Pisano - weekday mornings "KCTV 5 More in the Morning", 7AM (on KSMO) and noon
  • Brad Stephens - weekdays at 4, weeknights at 5, 6, and 10PM (on KCTV) and at 9PM (on KSMO)
  • Matt Stewart - weekend mornings "KCTV5 This Weekend" (also reporter)
  • Dana Wright - weekday mornings "KCTV 5 More in the Morning", and 7AM (on KSMO) (also investigative reporter)

Reporters

  • Greg Adaline - general assignment reporter
  • Eric Chaloux - general assignment reporter
  • Amber Jenne - "Instant Traffic" reporter
  • Jeanene Kiesling - general assignment reporter
  • Christina Medina - morning and noon reporter
  • Sandra Olivas - general assignment reporter
  • Ash-har Quraishi - chief investigative reporter
  • Heather Staggers - general assignment reporter
  • Betsy Webster - 10PM reporter

StormTrack 5 Weather Team

  • Katie Horner (AMS Seal of Approval) - Chief Meteorologist; weeknights at 5, 6, and 10PM (on KCTV) and 9PM (on KSMO)
  • Gary Amble (AMS Seal of Approval) - Meteorologist; weekday mornings "KCTV5 More in the Morning", 7AM (on KSMO) and noon
  • Iris Hermosillo (AMS Seal of Approval) - Meterologist; weekend mornings "KCTV5 More in the Morning Weekend"
  • Tom Wachs (AMS Certified Broadcast Meteorologist Seal of Approval) - Meteorologist; weekend evenings

Sports Team

  • Sports is produced in-house with KCTV evening anchors, mainly Brad Stephens and Shaun Broyls; KCTV has no official sports department since the station shut theirs down in 2005, when the cable-only MetroSports began producing KCTV's sports segments, which continued until 2009.

Former On-Air Talent

  • Wendall Anchsutz - 5 and 10 PM anchor at time of retirement (1969-2001)Deceased, throat cancer at Kansas University Medical Center in Kansas City, Kansas, 01-07-10.
  • Fred Broski - "KCTV5 News This Weekend" morning meteorologist (1974-1986)
  • Surae Chinn - weekend morning anchor/reporter (2005-2009; now at WUSA-TV in Washington D.C.)
  • Stan Cramer - "Call For Action" consumer reporter (?-2001)
  • Brian Curtis - "KCTV5 News This Morning" weekday anchor (?-?; later at KXAS-TV in Dallas-Fort Worth)
  • Don Fortune - sports reporter (?-?; retired)
  • Karen Foss - 6 and 10 PM anchor (?-?; later at KSDK in St. Louis, now retired)
  • Ally Francis - "More in the Morning" traffic anchor (?-?; resigned after being indicted for federal wire fraud[2])
  • Dee Griffin - weekend 6 and 10PM anchor (?-?; later at WPTY-TV in Memphis)
  • Jack Harry - sports reporter (?-2001; now sports director at KSHB-TV)
  • Dave Helling - 4PM and weekend 6 and 10PM anchor (?-?; later at Kansas City Star)
  • William Jackson - sports director (?-2003; fired when the KCTV sports department was outsourced to MetroSports; now with Comcast Sportsnet Chicago)
  • Russell Kinsaul - 6 and 10PM anchor (Now 6pm & Weekends at 10pm at KMOV 4 CBS in St. Louis, MO)
  • Krista Klaus - reporter and anchor (?-?; later at KMBC-TV; now at WFLA-TV in Tampa Bay)
  • Randy Miller - "More in the Morning" traffic anchor (?-?; former Kansas City DJ)
  • David Motts - weekend meteorologist (now 11PM chief meteorologist at KNBC in Los Angeles)
  • Anne Peterson - 5 and 6PM anchor (1982?-2001; later at KSHB-TV)
  • Barbara Porter - weekend 6 and 10PM anchor (?-?)
  • Kathy Quinn - "KCTV5 News This Morning" traffic reporter (2008-2008; now at WDAF-TV)
  • Lili Shank - 5PM anchor (?-?)
  • Michael Scott - 5, 6, 9 (on KSMO), and 10PM anchor (2003-2006; later at WAAY-TV in Huntsville, AL; terminated from WAAY in May 2007)
  • Valissa Smith - "KCTV5 News This Weekend" morning anchor (?-?)
  • Bob Thill - "KCTV5 News This Weekend" morning anchor (?-?)
  • Cheryll Jones - weekday morning news and weather anchor, Noon weather anchor(?-?)
  • Dennis Douda - weekday morning and noon news anchor(now at WCCO-TV in Minneapolis)
  • Teisha Van de Kop - KCTV 5 News This Weekend anchor / reporter(?-?)
  • Ted Textor - weekend 6 & 10PM meteorologist (?-?) (most recently freelancing at WTSP)
  • Bruce Thomas - weekend 6 and 10 PM meteorologist (?-?)
  • Mike Thompson - chief meteorologist (?-?; now chief meteorologist at WDAF-TV)
  • Tracy Townsend - (?-?; later at WBBM-TV in Chicago, now at WBNS-TV in Columbus, Ohio)
  • Tim Vetscher - (?-?; later at KNXV-TV in Phoenix, AZ)

News/Station presentation

Newscast titles

  • The Ford News (1953-1956)
  • Your Esso Reporter (1956-1962)
  • National News (1962-1966)
  • Eyewitness News (1966-1985)
  • Kansas City's News (1985-1993)
  • News 5 (1993-1999)
  • KCTV 5 News (1999-present)

Station slogans

  • We're Part of Your Life (1974-1978)
  • Hello Kansas City, TV-5 Loves You (c. 1980-1982; used during period station used Frank Gari's "Hello News")
  • Gimme 5 (c. 1982-1983)
  • We've Got the Touch, KCTV5 (1983-1984; local version of CBS ad campaign)
  • The Team That Always Takes You One Step Further (1985-1989)
  • Kansas City's Television (1983-1993)
  • 5 Stands For News (1993-1997)
  • KCTV, The New Channel 5 (1997-1999)
  • News That Makes a Difference (1999-2002)
  • Live. Latebreaking. Investigative. (2002-present)

References

  1. ^ Chillicothe Constitution, October 3, 1953
  2. ^ KCTV5 Going Digital On June 12
  3. ^ http://blogs.kansascity.com/tvbarn/2009/06/dtv-update-all-aboard-pity-those-dish-users-thoughoh-and-what-the-heck-is-ingress.html#more
  4. ^ "Kansas City Star." 2007-05-26
  5. ^ "cached article." 2007-05-26
  6. ^ Nielsen Television Ratings

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39°4′14.37″N 94°34′57.53″W / 39.0706583°N 94.5826472°W / 39.0706583; -94.5826472

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