WGNO

Last updated

WGNO
WGNO (2020).svg
Channels
BrandingWGNO ABC 26; WGNO News
Programming
Affiliations
Ownership
Owner
WNOL-TV
History
First air date
October 14, 1967
(56 years ago) (1967-10-14)
Former call signs
  • WWOM-TV (1967–1972)
  • WGNO-TV (1972–1988)
Former channel number(s)
  • Analog: 26 (UHF, 1967–2009)
  • Digital: 15 (UHF, 2002–2009)
Call sign meaning
"Greater New Orleans" [1]
Technical information [2]
Licensing authority
 FCC
Facility ID 72119
ERP 1,000 kW
HAAT 286 m (938 ft)
Transmitter coordinates 29°57′0″N89°57′28.0″W / 29.95000°N 89.957778°W / 29.95000; -89.957778
Links
Public license information
Website wgno.com

WGNO (channel 26) is a television station in New Orleans, Louisiana, United States, affiliated with ABC. It is owned by Nexstar Media Group alongside CW owned-and-operated station WNOL-TV (channel 38). Both stations share studios at The Galleria in Metairie, while WGNO's transmitter is located in Chalmette, Louisiana.

Contents

Channel 26 went on the air October 14, 1967, as WWOM-TV, the first independent station in New Orleans. After being sold in bankruptcy in 1971, the station was renamed WGNO-TV in 1972. For most of its first 16 years on air, the station was known for airing old movies, programs turned down by the local network affiliates, and a series of low-budget local shows. This changed in 1983, when Tribune Broadcasting acquired WGNO-TV; Tribune brought stronger programming purchases, improved local programming, and the resources needed to contend in a market that gained a second major independent station. It was a charter affiliate of The WB in 1995.

The purchase of New Orleans's previous ABC affiliate, WVUE, by a group linked to the Fox network led to an affiliation switch in New Orleans on January 1, 1996, in which ABC programming moved to WGNO. The station also began producing local newscasts, which found some viewers but generally were in fourth-place in the market. Tribune acquired WNOL-TV in 2000, but the stations' operations were not integrated in one facility until July 2005—a month before Hurricane Katrina evicted them from the New Orleans Centre.

In the wake of the hurricane, WGNO lacked permanent studios for two years; it produced local newscasts from a compound of trailers and with anchors reporting from outside for months, but there was little ratings movement. The station changed the format of its evening news programs in 2011 to News with a Twist, mixing news and entertainment features. This lasted until 2020, in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic and Nexstar's purchase of Tribune.

History

When the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) lifted its four-year freeze on TV station grants in 1952, channel 26 was one of the channels in the new ultra high frequency (UHF) band allotted to the city. [3] There was some initial interest around the channel, such as by the Community Television Corporation (connected with New Orleans radio station WBOK) [4] and by the CKG Television Corporation, an affiliate of radio station WMRY. [5] CKG obtained the construction permit, but it was never built and deleted in 1960. [6]

WWOM-TV: Early years

WWOM-TV's logo from 1969, showing its attempt to broadcast 24 hours a day, from The Times-Picayune. WWOM logo.jpg
WWOM-TV's logo from 1969, showing its attempt to broadcast 24 hours a day, from The Times-Picayune.

After applying in March 1964, [7] Channel 26, Inc., an affiliate of WWOM-AM-FM radio, received a construction permit in July 1965 for channel 26, with studios and transmitter in the International Trade Mart Building. [8] During 1966, some details of WWOM-TV's programming were published: bullfighting from Mexico City, all-night programming on weekends, music programming, and a steady diet of movies, turning the WWOM call letters of "Wonderful World of Music" into "Wonderful World of Movies". [9] [10]

Test patterns were broadcast for the first time on September 27, 1967, [11] and WWOM-TV began programming on October 14, 1967. [12] The first program aired was the 1927 film The Jazz Singer . [11] The debut of an independent station in the market immediately provided flexibility and allowed shows not aired by the network affiliates to be seen in the market. Months after going on the air, WWOM-TV aired the 1968 Winter Olympics after ABC affiliate WVUE was told it had to air them live. [13] It experimented with all-night broadcasting, the first local station to do so, [14] and it also featured the local program Nite People, a late night variety show that turned into the local equivalent of The Gong Show and gained a cult following; after its original run from 1968 to 1970, a revival special was aired in 1987. [15]

WGNO-TV: Communications Corporation of the South ownership

After three years of operation, in November 1970, Channel 26, Inc. filed for bankruptcy. A trustee was appointed for WWOM-TV, which remained on the air; a representative of United Artists told bankruptcy court that his company was supplying films to channel 26 "to keep the station on the air more or less on faith at this time". [16] and a process began in July 1971 to sell the station's assets. [17] Two bids were initially received for $151,000, but neither were satisfactory to the trustee, who wanted to offer more money to the creditors whose liabilities totaled $1.4 million. [16] One of the original bidders, a consortium of New Orleans investors known as Communications Corporation of the South (CCSI), increased its offer to $300,000 and was accepted; the new owners also announced their intention to repair transmission equipment damaged in a fire and expressed their admiration for the staff's ability to keep channel 26 going "with essentially nothing more than gum and baling wire technique and inadequate equipment". [18] [19] The new owners changed the call sign to WGNO-TV, for "Greater New Orleans", on March 9, 1972. [7] [1]

Mark Lorando, television columnist for The Times-Picayune , described WWOM-TV/WGNO-TV from 1967 to 1983 as "an artfully bad independent station", [12] while one of his predecessors, Benjamin Morrison, noted that its local programming "offered levels of amateurishness previously undreamed of". [20] Local programming during this period included such shows as the music program Homegrown; monthly teen magazine Hey Kids, It's For You; Black Is..., a discussion show about issues in the local Black community; and the Groovy Guru, future WDSU weathercaster and former radio DJ Dan Milham hosting movies. [12] [20] In 1977–78, the station aired twelve road games of the New Orleans Jazz of the NBA; [21] the schedule increased to 25 games in the 1978–79 season, the team's last in New Orleans before moving to Utah. [22]

In 1978, WGNO-TV was purchased by Greater New Orleans Television, a subsidiary of General Media Corporation of Rockford, Illinois, for $4.9 million. [23] (CCSI then invested in New Orleans radio station WWIW. [24] ) Under General Media, the station moved its transmitter to a new, purpose-built tower that offered greater height than the International Trade Mart building and provided for a power increase from 500,000 to 2.5 million watts. The station's programming continued to be a mix of local shows of secondary interest, older sitcoms and movies, and religious programs. [20]

From 1982 to 1987, WGNO aired a series of public service announcements featuring a local mime known as Tom Foote; Foote was seen in area schools and in the French Quarter. For a time, the station produced an hour-long program called Tom Foote's Video Clubhouse. [25] [26] [27]

Tribune Broadcasting ownership

General Media Corporation began to liquidate its assets in late 1982, beginning with its cable system and TV station in Rockford and continuing in April 1983 with the announced sale of WGNO-TV to Tribune Broadcasting for $21 million, a significant return on the $4.9 million General had paid for it five years prior. [28] [29] The new ownership came in time for WGNO-TV to meet its first head-on independent competition in station history. A group led by Hal Protter, Channel 38 Associates, built WNOL-TV, which began broadcasting in March 1984 and immediately had an impact on the market with credible ratings. [30] Protter had bought into the New Orleans market because WGNO-TV had been a comparatively weak station, not anticipating that Tribune would end up being his competitor in the market. [31] [32]

Tribune brought to WGNO its considerable clout as a buyer of programming on the syndication market and its other resources as a company, [14] which it would need to overcome the "shoestring" management style of General Media and face its new competition at WNOL-TV. [33] [34] Stronger programming and equipment were acquired. The company also used its muscle to consolidate WGNO operations within the International Trade Mart. With operations on the 20th, 24th, 28th, and 29th floors, its employees called themselves "elevator people", a moniker brought to an end in 1985 when Tribune consolidated operations on the 28th and 29th floors. As WNOL-TV's ratings swooned, WGNO established itself as the leading independent in the market; its early evening syndicated shows were beating WVUE in the ratings. [33] [35] It took until 1989 for WNOL-TV, bolstered by Fox prime-time programming, to tie WGNO again in total-day ratings, a situation that persisted into the early 1990s. [36] [37]

Local programming continued to play a role at channel 26. Real New Orleans, a weekly and later monthly program aired in late nights, debuted in 1990, and the station also had sports programs (Saints Sideline, Hometown Sports Page, Friday Night Football) and a cooking program, Cookin' with Soul. [38] In 1993, the station debuted a new local game show: N.O. It Alls, which was produced by Brandon Tartikoff. Tartikoff, the former head of programming at NBC, had relocated to New Orleans because his daughter was rehabilitating after a car accident. [39] The program continued in production through November 1996 and aired on WGNO through the end of that year. [40] From 1993 (when the team relocated to New Orleans from Denver) through 1995, WGNO served as the over-the-air broadcaster of the American Association's New Orleans Zephyrs (now a member of the Pacific Coast League), carrying a handful of games a year from the minor league baseball franchise. [41] [42]

In November 1993, Tribune committed to the new The WB Television Network, a new service to be launched by Warner Bros. Television in January 1995. Tribune would hold an ownership stake, and six of the company's seven independent stations, including WGNO, would join at launch. [43]

Becoming an ABC affiliate

Former WGNO logo, used from 2005 to 2011. WGNO 2008 Logo.png
Former WGNO logo, used from 2005 to 2011.

On August 25, 1994, it was announced that SF Broadcasting—a partnership with minority-owned communications firm Savoy Pictures in which Fox held a minority stake [44] —would acquire three Burnham stations, including WVUE. This immediately set up an affiliation switch in the New Orleans market and left two stations—WNOL and WGNO—seeking the ABC affiliation. [45] [46] While WNOL-TV owner Quincy Jones met with leaders of Capital Cities/ABC in Los Angeles at the start of September, talks reached an impasse, reportedly over the fact that Warner Bros. parent Time Warner was an equity investor in his company. After Jones returned, several WNOL advertising staffers applied for jobs at WGNO, already under the impression that their station would not be the ABC affiliate. In a September 18 article, Lorando told ABC that it need not bother announcing WGNO as its new affiliate because "everybody already knows". [47] Tribune's involvement with WNOL deepened in November, when Jones and other minority investors formed a new company, Qwest Broadcasting; Tribune would own up to 45 percent of the company and provide back-office management services to its stations in New Orleans and Atlanta, both markets where Tribune already owned stations. [48] [49]

WWOM-TV, later WGNO-TV, occupied the 29th and other floors of the International Trade Mart/World Trade Center building in New Orleans from 1967 to 2005 and 2006 to 2007. 2 Canal Street World Trade Center New Orleans 2.JPG
WWOM-TV, later WGNO-TV, occupied the 29th and other floors of the International Trade Mart/World Trade Center building in New Orleans from 1967 to 2005 and 2006 to 2007.

As FCC approval of the SF Broadcasting purchase was delayed by more than a year because of a commission inquiry as to whether Fox was a foreign-owned company as a result of Rupert Murdoch's interest, ABC opted to strike first. On August 10, 1995, WGNO was finally announced as the new ABC affiliate in New Orleans beginning in 1996. [50] That set up an affiliation switch on January 1, 1996. WGNO became the new ABC affiliate, while WB shows moved to WNOL-TV and Fox moved to WVUE. [51] The switch, however, caused overall ratings to fall at channel 26. [52]

WGNO and Atlanta's new CBS affiliate, WGNX, were the only two Big Three affiliates the company owned at the time and outliers in Tribune's portfolio of Fox and WB affiliates; in 1998, Tribune began actively seeking trades for the two outlets in exchange for WB and Fox stations elsewhere. [53] While such a trade was arranged for WGNX, Tribune took WGNO off the market after the legalization of duopolies in November 1999; this allowed it to acquire WNOL-TV outright and create the first such pairing in New Orleans. [54] [55] [56] The stations were combined under WGNO's general manager; WNOL began to air prime time news breaks promoting channel 26's late newscasts. [57] Despite being commonly owned, WNOL and WGNO did not operate from the same facility until July 2005, when channel 26 moved from the 28th and 29th floors of the World Trade Center (the former International Trade Mart) to the New Orleans Centre, where WNOL had been operating since 2000. The relocation and installation of new transmitters at Chalmette were an investment of nearly $10 million. [58]

Hurricane Katrina

The Galleria in Metairie has housed WGNO and WNOL since 2007. Metarie Galleria Glass & Sky.jpg
The Galleria in Metairie has housed WGNO and WNOL since 2007.

Hurricane Katrina devastated the New Orleans area in August 2005 and led to years of operational challenges for WGNO and WNOL. Even though the New Orleans Centre was only flooded on the first floor, [59] its owner canceled all leases, [60] and it never reopened. [61] Both stations' transmitters were a loss, submerged by six feet (1.8 m) of flooding and with a small alligator found stuck in a fence; a digital transmitter from Tribune-owned WTIC-TV in Hartford, Connecticut, was converted to analog use and shipped to New Orleans, and WGNO was temporarily broadcast in digital form by WPXL-TV. [62] Tribune had already restored a signal for satellite viewers by moving master control for the stations to Indianapolis and Chicago. [63] WGNO–WNOL set up facilities in two double-wide trailers, dubbed "The Compound", and moved its business operations to Covington. [64] The stations moved back to the World Trade Center in April 2006. [60]

The Trade Center was only a temporary solution. In August 2007, Tribune officially moved to The Galleria in Metairie. [65] Work also began on restoring digital broadcast facilities. WGNO had been assigned channel 15 for digital use and WNOL channel 40, but after Katrina, Tribune opted to rebuild WNOL on channel 15—broadcasting both stations—and convert WGNO to digital on channel 26 at the analog transition, sharing a site with WDSU. [66] [67]

Sale to Nexstar

After Sinclair Broadcast Group's attempt to purchase Tribune failed in 2018, [68] [69] Tribune was acquired by Nexstar Media Group of Irving, Texas, in 2019 for $6.4 billion in cash and debt. [70] [71]

During Hurricane Ida on August 29, 2021, The Galleria studio's ceiling was ripped by high winds at the control room forcing all staff, producers, and anchors to evacuate the studio, just minutes prior to a power outage being reported inside the studio. [72]

News operation

WGNO reporters conducting an interview in 2011 Jonathan shows WGNO the oil.jpg
WGNO reporters conducting an interview in 2011

Establishment

In becoming an ABC affiliate, WGNO committed to building the first new TV newsroom in New Orleans since WWL-TV signed on in 1957 and increase its overall staff from 65 to 110. [73] The station was also able to draw on the existing resources of its local production unit. Ed Daniels, the host of N.O. It Alls and several sports programs, became the sports anchor for the station's newscasts. [74] (Ronnie Virgets, the host of Real New Orleans, left for WWL-TV. [75] )

ABC 26 News launched with a 10 p.m. newscast on March 18, 1996. The program was anchored by Andre Trevigne, pulling double duty with a radio show on WWL radio; Brad Giffen, formerly of Toronto; meteorologist Bruce Katz; and Daniels. It featured a high story count and fast pace and was aimed toward a younger audience than the existing newscasts in New Orleans. [76] [77] While another newscast was not immediately planned, news ratings struggled, in part because the shift from an independent to an ABC affiliate was also a shift from a more urban to a more suburban audience. [78] With general manager Bill Ross believing that a second newscast was necessary for people to take the station seriously as a news source, [79] a 5 p.m. edition debuted in September 1996; Trevigne moved to that newscast only, citing her radio duties, [78] and eventually left in April 1997. [80] WGNO slowly carved out more of an audience for its evening newscasts than initially anticipated, adding a 6 p.m. half-hour in 1998 on the strength of beating WDSU and WVUE; though it was in third or fourth in most timeslots still, it was second at 5 p.m., and its audience was younger than that of the news offerings on channels 4, 6, or 8. [81] [82] However, the Project for Excellence in Journalism gave the station's news output one of the lowest grades in the country and criticized it for covering too many car accidents. [83]

While ratings had steadily increased in the late 1990s, they slipped badly in May 2002; the station posted year-over-year viewership declines of 20 percent or more for each of its three daily newscasts. [84] Daniels moved from anchoring sports to news later that year, [85] an experiment that accompanied an overhaul of the station's newscasts with new visual elements and weekly contributions from Virgets. [86] The experiment ended when veteran New Orleans anchor Susan Roesgen became the 10 p.m. anchor in November 2003. [87] Founding news director Paula Pendarvis departed in February 2004. [88]

Hurricane Katrina

Hurricane Katrina arrived only a month after WGNO and its news department moved into the New Orleans Centre. [58] As part of the evacuation plan, newscasts were aired from the studios of Baton Rouge ABC affiliate WBRZ-TV for six weeks; the two stations produced combined coverage seen by evacuees in Baton Rouge and elsewhere, with meteorologist Katz the first to leave New Orleans to cover the storm. [89] Dave Walker of The Times-Picayune, in a retrospective a year after Katrina, called Katz's commentary on the first helicopter footage of a flooded New Orleans "one of Katrina's most indelible moments". [90] After that, newscasts began originating from an outdoor set on a nightly basis, using an anchor desk salvaged from the New Orleans Centre studios and a variety of cobbled-together equipment in "The Compound" of double-wide trailers. [91] [61]

WGNO returned to the Trade Center on a temporary basis in April 2006 (remaining there until moving to The Galleria in August 2007 [65] ), though much of the equipment that had been left at the Trade Center had been damaged from being shut off and stored in hot, humid spaces. [60] During this time, WGNO began producing a half-hour prime time newscast at 9:00 p.m. for WNOL-TV on May 1, 2006; [92] news had been planned for a number of years under Tribune management. [57] The program lasted four years and was canceled on June 4, 2010, owing to low ratings and a desire to promote channel 38's sitcoms. [93]

After twelve and a half years, as part of a push by Tribune, WGNO debuted a morning newscast on September 29, 2008: Good Morning New Orleans, a two-hour conversational news and lifestyle program. [94] However, the station's ratings were still stuck in last place: new anchors were introduced to the morning and evening newscasts in 2009. [95]

News with a Twist

On January 31, 2011, WGNO reformatted the 6:00 p.m. newscast as News with a Twist, a newsmagazine format that focused on lighter stories and commentary and was mostly unscripted. [96] The set for the program doubled as a functional bar; guest anchors included New Orleans archbishop Gregory Michael Aymond, the chief of the New Orleans Police Department, and a lawyer who also was a station advertiser. [97] On December 12, 2011, the News with a Twist format was extended to the 5:00 p.m. newscast, concurrent with cancellation of the 6:30 p.m. newscast; the station's Saturday evening newscasts were replaced on December 17 with a weekend edition of News with a Twist that reviewed feature stories seen during that week's 5:00 and 6:00 p.m. broadcasts. The weekday morning, 11 a.m., 10 p.m., and Sunday evening newscasts retained a more traditional news format. [98] [97] Meteorologist Katz left in 2012 for WVUE. [99]

The News with a Twist format was abandoned in 2020 and consigned to occasional specials due to the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. [100]

Notable former on-air staff

Technical information

Subchannels

The station's signal is multiplexed:

Subchannels of WGNO [102]
Channel Res. Aspect Short nameProgramming
26.1 720p 16:9 WGNO-DTMain WGNO programming / ABC
26.2 480i 4:3 AntTV Antenna TV
26.316:9DABL Rewind TV
26.4TBD TBD
54.2 480i16:9Quest Quest (WUPL)
54.3 H&I Heroes & Icons (WUPL)
  Broadcast on behalf of another station

The 54.2 and 54.3 subchannels of WUPL is broadcast on WGNO as part of the market's ATSC 3.0 (NextGen TV) deployment plan. WUPL began broadcasting in ATSC 3.0 on December 15, 2022. [103]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">WALA-TV</span> Fox affiliate in Mobile, Alabama

WALA-TV is a television station licensed to Mobile, Alabama, United States, serving as the Fox affiliate for southwest Alabama and northwest Florida. Owned by Gray Television, the station maintains studios on Satchel Paige Drive in Mobile, with an additional studio and news bureau on Executive Plaza Drive in Pensacola, Florida; its transmitter is located in Spanish Fort, Alabama.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">KFMB-TV</span> CBS/CW/MyNetworkTV affiliate in San Diego

KFMB-TV is a television station in San Diego, California, United States, affiliated with CBS, The CW, and MyNetworkTV. Owned by Tegna Inc., it has studios on Engineer Road in the Kearny Mesa section of San Diego, and its transmitter is atop Mount Soledad in La Jolla.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">KNXV-TV</span> ABC/CW affiliate in Phoenix, Arizona

KNXV-TV is a television station in Phoenix, Arizona, United States, affiliated with ABC and The CW. It is owned by the E. W. Scripps Company alongside independent station KASW. The two stations share studios on 44th Street on the city's east side; KNXV-TV's transmitter is located atop South Mountain. KNXV-TV's signal is relayed across northern Arizona through a network of low-power translators.

WWL-TV is a television station in New Orleans, Louisiana, United States, affiliated with CBS. It is owned by Tegna Inc. alongside Slidell-licensed MyNetworkTV affiliate WUPL. The two stations share studios on Rampart Street in the historic French Quarter district; WWL-TV's transmitter is located on Cooper Road in Terrytown, Louisiana.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">WTTV</span> CBS affiliate in Bloomington, Indiana

WTTV, licensed to Bloomington, Indiana, United States, and WTTK, licensed to Kokomo, Indiana, are television stations affiliated with CBS and serving the Indianapolis area. They are owned by Nexstar Media Group alongside Fox affiliate WXIN. The stations share studios on Network Place in northwestern Indianapolis. WTTV's transmitter is located on State Road 252 in Trafalgar, while WTTK's transmitter sits on West 73rd Street on the northern outskirts of Indianapolis.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">WVUE-DT</span> Fox affiliate in New Orleans

WVUE-DT, branded on-air as Fox 8, is a television station in New Orleans, Louisiana, United States, affiliated with the Fox network. Owned by Gray Television, the station maintains primary studios on Norman C. Francis Parkway in the city's Gert Town section, with a secondary studio within the Benson Tower in downtown New Orleans; its transmitter is located on Magistrate Street in Chalmette, Louisiana.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">WDSU</span> NBC affiliate in New Orleans

WDSU is a television station in New Orleans, Louisiana, United States, affiliated with NBC and owned by Hearst Television. The station's studios are located on Howard Avenue in the city's Central Business District, and its transmitter is located on East Josephine Street in Chalmette.

WNOL-TV is a television station in New Orleans, Louisiana, United States, serving as the market's outlet for The CW network. It is owned and operated by network majority owner Nexstar Media Group alongside ABC affiliate WGNO. Both stations share studios at The Galleria in Metairie, while WNOL-TV's transmitter is located in Chalmette, Louisiana.

WUPL is a television station licensed to Slidell, Louisiana, United States, serving the New Orleans area as an affiliate of MyNetworkTV. It is owned by Tegna Inc. alongside CBS affiliate WWL-TV. The two stations share studios on Rampart Street in the historic French Quarter district; WUPL's transmitter is located on Cooper Road in Terrytown, Louisiana.

WYES-TV is a PBS member television station in New Orleans, Louisiana, United States, owned by the Greater New Orleans Educational Television Foundation. The station's studios are located on Navarre Avenue in the city's Navarre neighborhood, and its transmitter is located on Magistrate Street in Chalmette.

WPXL-TV is a television station in New Orleans, Louisiana, United States, broadcasting the Ion Television network. It is owned and operated by the Ion Media subsidiary of the E. W. Scripps Company, and maintains offices on Veterans Memorial Boulevard and Cleary Avenue in Metairie; its transmitter is located off Paris Road near the Orleans–St. Bernard parish line.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">WHNO</span> CTN TV station in New Orleans

WHNO is a religious television station in New Orleans, Louisiana, United States, owned and operated by the Christian Television Network (CTN). The station's studios are located on St. Charles Avenue in downtown New Orleans, and its transmitter is located off Behrman Highway in the city's Algiers neighborhood.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">WVLA-TV</span> NBC affiliate in Baton Rouge, Louisiana

WVLA-TV is a television station in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, United States, affiliated with NBC. It is owned by White Knight Broadcasting, which maintains joint sales and shared services agreements (JSA/SSA) with Nexstar Media Group, owner of Fox affiliate WGMB-TV, CW owned-and-operated station WBRL-CD and independent station KZUP-CD, for the provision of certain services. The stations share studios on Perkins Road in Baton Rouge, while WVLA-TV's transmitter is located near Addis, Louisiana.

Susan Roesgen is an American television reporter. She has worked in radio and television broadcasting for more than two decades, including prime time news anchor positions at several TV stations. She has worked as a general assignment correspondent for CNN from 2005 to 2009, and now works for New Orleans TV station WGNO, the local ABC television affiliate.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">KFSM-TV</span> CBS affiliate in Fort Smith, Arkansas

KFSM-TV is a television station licensed to Fort Smith, Arkansas, United States, serving the Arkansas River Valley and Northwest Arkansas as an affiliate of CBS. Owned by Tegna Inc., the station has studios on South 48th Street in Johnson, and its transmitter is located northwest of Winslow, Arkansas.

William Stanley Elder Jr. was an anchor and investigative reporter for WWL-TV, the CBS-affiliated television station in New Orleans, from July 1966 to February 2000, nicknamed the "Mike Wallace of Louisiana" because of his hard-hitting stories.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rob Nelson (reporter)</span> American television news anchor

Rob Nelson is an anchor on Morning Rush for Scripps News which is Scripps Television's all news channel. Previously, he was the weeknight news anchor for NewsNation’s primetime newscast NewsNation Prime and a weekend morning anchor and weekday reporter at WABC-TV.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mel Leavitt</span> American historian and journalist

Mel Leavitt was a local historian and broadcast journalist that served the New Orleans, Louisiana, market from 1949 until near the time of his death in 1997 at age 70. His 35-year broadcast career was primarily at WDSU-TV, a New Orleans television station. He was the first broadcaster of U.S. Senate Hearings, specifically the Kefauver Hearings, for which he earned the Raytheon Award.

David Bernard is a former American television meteorologist who worked for WVUE-TV in New Orleans, Louisiana. He previously worked for CBS News and television stations in Miami, Florida, and Tulsa, Oklahoma.

References

  1. 1 2 Perry, James A. (March 14, 1972). "Pat Arnell in 'King and I'". New Orleans States-Item. pp. 14, 15.
  2. ↑ "Facility Technical Data for WGNO". Licensing and Management System. Federal Communications Commission.
  3. ↑ Liuzza, Ted (April 29, 1952). "News Of Radio And Television: What UHF Means To Average TV Fan". New Orleans Item. p. 26.
  4. ↑ Brooks, Ed (July 17, 1952). "The Column On The Square: Visit to TV Cable Country Previews 'Live' Video". The Times-Picayune . p. 17.
  5. ↑ Liuzza, Ted (December 10, 1952). "News Of Radio And Television: Another N. O. Group Files For TV Permit". New Orleans Item. p. 38.
  6. ↑ "Permit for New TV Base Voided". The Times-Picayune. Associated Press. April 29, 1960. p. 3:13.
  7. 1 2 "FCC History Cards for WGNO". Federal Communications Commission.
  8. ↑ "New N.O. Video Station Okayed". The Times-Picayune. July 2, 1965. p. 3:19.
  9. ↑ Leinster, Colin (April 4, 1966). "Carolyn Jones Nobody's Ghoul". New Orleans States-Item. p. 19.
  10. ↑ Perry, James A. (August 24, 1966). "Another Video Station for N.O." New Orleans States-Item. p. 33.
  11. 1 2 Perry, James A. (September 28, 1967). "New Video, FM Station to Open". New Orleans States-Item. p. 51.
  12. 1 2 3 Lorando, Mark (December 31, 1995). "Feeling 'groovy' about their ABCs". The Times-Picayune. p. TV Focus 6.
  13. ↑ "Unhappy about time, WVUE drops Olympics" (PDF). Broadcasting. February 12, 1968. p. 54. ProQuest   1016844268.
  14. 1 2 Wisehart, Bob (October 9, 1983). "What's up at Ch. 26? Li'l indy gets big clout from Windy City". The Times-Picayune. p. TV Focus 3.
  15. ↑ Lorando, Mark (September 21, 1987). "A humble 'Nite People' will return as Ch. 26 special". The Times-Picayune. p. D-11.
  16. 1 2 Atkinson, Paul (August 7, 1971). "2 Bids Received On Channel 26: But Apparently Neither Will Be Accepted". The Times-Picayune. p. 1:13.
  17. ↑ "TV Channel 26 Assets Will Go on Sale Today: Purchase by Highest Bidder Arranged". The Times-Picayune. August 6, 1971. p. 4:2.
  18. ↑ "N.O. Investors Agree to Buy Channel 26". The States-Item. September 1, 1971. p. 8.
  19. ↑ "Sale Of WWOM Is Agreed Upon: Orleans Group Purchase Price $300,000". The Times-Picayune. September 1, 1971. p. 1:18.
  20. 1 2 3 Morrison, Benjamin (August 31, 1980). "'Little' Ch. 26 Has Big Plans". The Times-Picayune. pp. TV Focus 3, 5.
  21. ↑ "Twelve Jazz Games on Tube". The Times-Picayune. August 19, 1977. p. 4:4.
  22. ↑ "25 Jazz games on TV". The States-Item. September 1, 1978. p. C-2.
  23. ↑ "Focus Fine Tuning". The Times-Picayune. July 12, 1978. p. 2:7.
  24. ↑ Freeman, Wanda (December 10, 1978). "Sounding Board: Talk o' the Town". The Times-Picayune. p. TV Focus 34.
  25. ↑ Cuthbert, David (March 14, 1982). "Foote, do yo stuff!". The Times-Picayune. p. TV Focus 7.
  26. ↑ Morrison, Benjamin (April 15, 1984). "Tubing: Foote's 'Clubhouse'". The Times-Picayune. p. TV Focus 12.
  27. ↑ Lorando, Mark (April 14, 1987). "Football 'color' man's move to ABC is uncontestable". The Times-Picayune. p. C-9.
  28. ↑ "Local firm sells TV station". Rockford Register Star. April 8, 1983. p. 3A.
  29. ↑ Wisehart, Bob (April 9, 1983). "WGNO being sold to Tribune Broadcasting". The Times-Picayune/The States-Item. p. 4:13.
  30. ↑ Lorando, Mark (January 1, 1985). "The local small-screen scene in review..." Times-Picayune. p. E-5. Archived from the original on March 25, 2023. Retrieved March 24, 2023.
  31. ↑ Lorando, Mark (March 4, 1985). "Channel 38 pays the price for its success". The Times-Picayune/The States-Item. p. B-11. Archived from the original on March 25, 2023. Retrieved March 24, 2023.
  32. ↑ Landphair, Ted (December 9, 1985). "Real Independence Ends at Flashy, Cash-Thin WNOL-TV". New Orleans Business. p. 1A. ProQuest   208906743.
  33. 1 2 Landphair, Ted (September 16, 1985). "And Now: The End of the Elevator People". New Orleans Business. p. 6A. ProQuest   208901929.
  34. ↑ Lorando, Mark (April 10, 1985). "WGNO chief gears up for war of independents". The Times-Picayune/The States-Item. p. D-9. Archived from the original on March 25, 2023. Retrieved March 24, 2023.
  35. ↑ Lorando, Mark. "Channel 38 is up for 'adoption' by parent company". The Times-Picayune/The States-Item. p. D-19. Archived from the original on March 25, 2023. Retrieved March 24, 2023.
  36. ↑ Lorando, Mark (August 31, 1989). "Arsenio making huge rating haul". The Times-Picayune. p. E1.
  37. ↑ Lorando, Mark (July 10, 1991). "What we're watching". The Times-Picayune. p. E-1.
  38. ↑ Lorando, Mark (December 15, 1993). "WGNO gets 'Real' again". The Times-Picayune. p. E1.
  39. ↑ Gunther, Marc (October 6, 1993). "Tartikoff waves his magic television wand in New Orleans". Houston Chronicle . p. Houston 8.
  40. ↑ Lorando, Mark (November 4, 1996). "In the News". The Times-Picayune. p. C1.
  41. ↑ "'Secret game' may get exposure". The Times-Picayune. March 6, 1994. p. C2.
  42. ↑ Barrouquere, Peter (September 3, 1995). "Norman hits early, often: New Orleans falls short to Omaha, 6–4". The Times-Picayune. p. C5.
  43. ↑ Flint, Joe (November 8, 1993). "Warner details hybrid WB Network" (PDF). Broadcasting & Cable. pp. 26, 28. ProQuest   225349579. Archived (PDF) from the original on November 8, 2021. Retrieved August 9, 2022.
  44. ↑ Zier, Julie A. (March 21, 1994). "Fox, Savoy buying stations together; the network will have 58% interest in SF Broadcasting" (PDF). Broadcasting & Cable. p. 10. ProQuest   225341891. Archived (PDF) from the original on January 31, 2023. Retrieved March 24, 2023.
  45. ↑ Meitrodt, Jeffrey (August 26, 1994). "Fox plans to buy WVUE-TV". The Times-Picayune. p. A-1.
  46. ↑ Meisler, Andy (August 27, 1994). "Company News: Fox Adds 3 Network-Affiliated Stations". The New York Times. Archived from the original on June 3, 2021. Retrieved May 9, 2014.
  47. ↑ Lorando, Mark (September 18, 1994). "Rumors simple as ABC/WGNO". The Times-Picayune. pp. F-1, F-3. Archived from the original on March 25, 2023. Retrieved March 24, 2023.
  48. ↑ "Media group formed: Minority firm to buy stations". The Times-Picayune. November 17, 1994. p. C1.
  49. ↑ McClellan, Steve (November 21, 1994). "Tribune, minority group on TV station Qwest; new company's first buys are WATL-TV Atlanta and WNOL-TV New Orleans" (PDF). Broadcasting & Cable. p. 8. ProQuest   1014760622. Archived (PDF) from the original on January 31, 2023. Retrieved March 25, 2023.
  50. ↑ Lorando, Mark (August 11, 1995). "WGNO is new ABC affiliate: Changeover set for March". The Times-Picayune. p. A-1.
  51. ↑ Lorando, Mark (October 11, 1995). "Stations uncork plans for switch: Happy New Year: Network affiliations will change on Jan. 1". The Times-Picayune. p. E-1.
  52. ↑ Lorando, Mark (June 17, 1996). "Shuffle surprises". The Times-Picayune. p. D1.
  53. ↑ Larson, Megan (June 8, 1998). "Coveting Fox and WB affils, Tribune Co. seeks trades". Mediaweek. p. 4. Gale   A20829114.
  54. ↑ Rathbun, Elizabeth A. (November 15, 1999). "Tribune locks up New Orleans duopoly" (PDF). Broadcasting & Cable. ProQuest   1014783716. Archived (PDF) from the original on January 31, 2023. Retrieved March 25, 2023.
  55. ↑ Lorando, Mark (March 8, 2000). "Two stations, one owner". The Times-Picayune. p. F1.
  56. ↑ "Duopoly in the Delta". Electronic Media. March 13, 2000. p. 3. Gale   A60305820.
  57. 1 2 Davis Hudson, Eileen (May 7, 2001). "New Orleans". Mediaweek. pp. 48–54. ProQuest   213625293.
  58. 1 2 Thomas, Greg (July 30, 2005). "Studios switch spaces: Channel 26 just relocated to New Orleans Centre, and Channel 3 [sic] plans to build nearby in the CBD". The Times-Picayune. p. Money 1.
  59. ↑ Kerschbaumer, Ken; Higgins, John M. (September 2, 2005). "A Massive Rebuild for Television". Broadcasting & Cable. Archived from the original on October 17, 2021. Retrieved March 25, 2023.
  60. 1 2 3 Shaw, Russell (April 24, 2006). "It's N.O. Go". Broadcasting & Cable. Gale   A144964778.
  61. 1 2 Walker, Dave (April 15, 2006). "Gypsy TV". The Times-Picayune. p. Living 1.
  62. ↑ Kurz, Phil (December 2005). "Hurricane snapshots". Broadcast Engineering. pp. 72–77. ProQuest   204191417.
  63. ↑ Whitney, Daisy (September 12, 2005). "Stations Battle Their Way Back; Recovery Slow in New Orleans". TelevisionWeek. Gale   A136270604.
  64. ↑ Romano, Allison (December 12, 2005). "On the Air, but Bad Off". Broadcasting & Cable. p. 14. Gale   A139785929.
  65. 1 2 Walker, Dave (August 29, 2007). "A studio of their own - After two years of station-hopping, WGNO settles into the suburbs". The Times-Picayune. p. Living 1.
  66. ↑ "Technical Exhibit, Application for Construction Permit, Television Station WNOL-DT, New Orleans, Louisiana". Federal Communications Commission. February 4, 2008. Archived from the original on March 25, 2023. Retrieved March 25, 2023.
  67. ↑ "DTV Tentative Channel Designations for the First and Second Rounds" (PDF). Federal Communications Commission. May 23, 2006. Archived from the original (PDF) on August 29, 2013. Retrieved August 29, 2021.
  68. ↑ Battaglio, Stephen (May 8, 2017). "Sinclair Broadcast Group to buy Tribune Media for $3.9 billion plus debt". Los Angeles Times . Archived from the original on June 6, 2017. Retrieved June 6, 2017.
  69. ↑ "Tribune Terminates $3.9 Billion Sinclair Merger, Sues Broadcast Rival". The Wall Street Journal . News Corp. August 9, 2018. Archived from the original on April 5, 2019. Retrieved December 5, 2018.
  70. ↑ Lafayette, Jon (December 3, 2018). "Nexstar Announces Deal to Buy Tribune for $6.4B". Broadcasting & Cable. Archived from the original on April 5, 2019. Retrieved December 6, 2018.
  71. ↑ Miller, Mark K. (September 19, 2019). "Nexstar Closes On Tribune Merger". TVNewsCheck. Archived from the original on September 20, 2019. Retrieved July 20, 2021.
  72. ↑ "WGNO's studio forced to evacuate during Hurricane Ida after ceiling rips inside the studio". WWL-TV. August 29, 2021.
  73. ↑ Lorando, Mark (September 7, 1995). "Changing channels: Sometime next year WVUE, WGNO and WNOL will play network musical chairs. Are New Orleans viewers ready?". The Times-Picayune. p. E1.
  74. ↑ Lorando, Mark (August 15, 1995). "WGNO's news team won't be raw recruits". The Times-Picayune. p. C1.
  75. ↑ Lorando, Mark (September 12, 1995). "WWL news enhances its local flavor". The Times-Picayune. p. F1.
  76. ↑ Lorando, Mark (March 18, 1996). "ABC-26 promises new version of the news". The Times-Picayune. p. D1.
  77. ↑ Lorando, Mark (March 26, 1996). "A baby with lots of personality: Week-old ABC-26 News". The Times-Picayune. p. E1.
  78. 1 2 Lorando, Mark (September 16, 1996). "WGNO: Good news, bad news". The Times-Picayune. p. C1.
  79. ↑ Lorando, Mark (August 5, 1996). "WGNO news goes for the daily double". The Times-Picayune. p. C1.
  80. ↑ Lorando, Mark (April 10, 1997). "Trevigne will be heard but not seen: Radio is the wave of the future for the former TV anchor". The Times-Picayune. p. E1.
  81. ↑ Lorando, Mark (April 21, 1998). "Fringe benefits: Having Jerry Springer as a lead-in has served WGNO news well". The Times-Picayune. p. F1.
  82. ↑ Lorando, Mark (July 5, 1999). "The little station that could: Smallest news department with lowest budget makes great showing". The Times-Picayune.
  83. ↑ Lorando, Mark (November 1, 1999). "Not making the grade: A recent report about local newscasts is mostly bad news". The Times-Picayune. p. C1.
  84. ↑ Walker, Dave (May 27, 2002). "A Must-See May - NBC was the top-rated network for the month and the just-finished TV season". The Times-Picayune. p. Living 1.
  85. ↑ Walker, Dave (August 5, 2002). "Ed Daniels' new beat: Longtime WGNO sports director moves to news anchor chair". The Times-Picayune. p. Living 1.
  86. ↑ Walker, Dave (November 1, 2002). "Swept away - November sweeps brings a slew of TV movies for the networks, a new look for WGNO". The Times-Picayune. p. Living 1.
  87. ↑ Walker, Dave (October 24, 2003). "Roesgen returns to anchor desk - Former WDSU anchor will take over 10 o'clock news on WGNO". The Times-Picayune. p. Living 1.
  88. ↑ Walker, Dave (February 9, 2004). "Pendarvis departing WGNO - Longtime news director craves something new". The Times-Picayune. p. Living 1.
  89. ↑ Walker, Dave (October 22, 2005). "New newscast for a new New Orleans: Some of the changes WGNO made during Katrina are permanent". The Times-Picayune. p. Living 1.
  90. ↑ Walker, Dave (August 1, 2006). "In the spotlight of the storm". The Times-Picayune. p. Living 1.
  91. ↑ Romano, Allison (December 12, 2005). "On the Air, but Bad Off". Broadcasting & Cable. p. 14. Gale   A139785929.
  92. ↑ "Tribune Adds Newscast in New Orleans". Broadcasting & Cable. April 14, 2006. Archived from the original on May 13, 2014. Retrieved May 10, 2014.
  93. ↑ Walker, Dave (June 7, 2010). "WNOL drops 9 p.m. newscast, 'TMZ' moves to WGNO". The Times-Picayune. Archived from the original on June 8, 2010. Retrieved June 18, 2010.
  94. ↑ Walker, Dave (September 29, 2008). "The loose morning news - New WGNO show is 'not going to be a bunch of stiffs in the morning'". The Times-Picayune. p. Living 1.
  95. ↑ Walker, Dave (October 31, 2009). "New morning and evening anchors lead comeback strategy at WGNO". The Times-Picayune.
  96. ↑ Walker, Dave (January 31, 2011). "Susan Roesgen and LBJ deliver 'News with a Twist' for WGNO-TV". The Times-Picayune . Retrieved December 13, 2011.
  97. 1 2 3 Allman, Kevin (February 21, 2012). "Twistin' the News Away". Gambit . pp. 17–22.
  98. ↑ Walker, Dave (December 12, 2011). "WGNO lays off news anchor Jessica Holly and 7 others, expands 'News with a Twist'". The Times-Picayune. Retrieved December 13, 2011.
  99. ↑ Walker, Dave (October 24, 2012). "WVUE hires longtime WGNO meteorologist Bruce Katz". The Times-Picayune.
  100. ↑ Malone, Michael (November 28, 2022). "Local News Close-Up: Easy Does It in New Orleans". Broadcasting & Cable.
  101. ↑ Tsoflias Siegel, Stephanie (May 1, 2018). "WGNO Hires New Morning Anchor Team". TVSpy.
  102. ↑ "RabbitEars TV Query for WGNO". RabbitEars .
  103. ↑ "Six Stations Launch NextGen TV In New Orleans". TVNewsCheck. December 15, 2022. Archived from the original on December 24, 2022. Retrieved March 25, 2023.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.