WFAA-TV

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WFAA-TV
Dallas / Fort Worth, Texas
Branding	WFAA 8 (general) News8 HD (newscasts)
Slogan	The Spirit of Texas
Channels	8 (VHF) analog, 9 (VHF) digital
Affiliations	ABC
Owner	Belo Corporation (WFAA, L.P.)
Founded	September 17, 1949
Call letters meaning	Station history says WFAA stands for: Working For All Alike. This was even used in a station ad campaign in the 80s and 90s. However, some say call sign was sequentially assigned by the federal government to the AM sister station. [1]
Former callsigns	KBTV (1949-1950)
Former affiliations	DuMont (1949-1955) NBC (1951-1957) Secondary only
Transmitter Power	316 kW/512 m (analog) 18.6 kW/527 m (digital)
Website	WFAA.com

WFAA-TV ("WFAA 8") is the ABC television affiliate serving the Dallas/Fort Worth, Texas DMA (6th largest nationwide). Its transmitter is located in Cedar Hill. The station is the flagship of Belo Corporation, which also owns the Dallas Morning News daily newspaper. WFAA-TV is currently the largest ABC affillate not to be owned and operated by ABC.

Contents 1 History 2 Digital Television 3 Ratings 4 Saturday Mornings 5 Newscasts 5.1 Anchor Lineups 6 Notable Personalities 6.1 Current On-Air Talent 7 Newscast Titles 8 Station Slogans 9 News Music Packages 10 Trivia 11 References 12 External links

[edit] History

WFAA signed on as DuMont affiliate KBTV on September 17, 1949. (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 first TV station in Dallas and the second in the Metroplex behind WBAP-TV (now KXAS). 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. It became a dual affiliate of ABC and NBC in its inception in 1949 before becoming a full ABC affiliate in 1957.

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 became the first TV station in the market to broadcast a digital signal in February 1997. 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).^[1]

[edit] 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	DFW Airport Towercam

[edit] Ratings

WFAA has traditionally been one of the highest-rated local news operations in the country and was dominant in the market for many years. As of the February 2007, Nielsen ratings period, WFAA-TV finds itself in first place at 5, 6 and 10PM. However, WFAA is still in third place at 6 a.m. but placed number one in key demographic categories during this important time period.

[edit] 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: Space Patrol Delta 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.

[edit] Newscasts

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

[edit] Anchor Lineups

Monday-Friday

• NEWS 8 Daybreak: 5 a.m.-7 a.m.
  • Justin Farmer, Jackie Hyland, Greg Fields (weather), Alexa Conomos (traffic)
• Good Morning Texas: 9 a.m.-10 a.m. (Entertainment/talk show)
  • Gary Cogill, Brenda Teele, Amy Vanderoef, Greg Fields (weather)
• NEWS 8 Midday: Noon-1 p.m.
  • Alexa Conomos, Greg Fields (weather)
• NEWS 8 at Five: 5 p.m.-5:30 p.m.
  • Jeff Brady, Macie Jepson, Pete Delkus (weather)
• NEWS 8 at Six: 6 p.m.-6:30 p.m.
  • John McCaa, Gloria Campos, Troy Dungan (weather), Dale Hansen (sports)
• The NEWS 8 Update: 10 p.m.-10:35 p.m.
  • John McCaa, Gloria Campos, Pete Delkus (weather), Dale Hansen (sports)

Saturday

• NEWS 8 Daybreak Saturday: 7 a.m.-8:30 a.m.
  • Debbie Denmon, Meghan Danahey (weather)
• NEWS 8 at Six: 6 p.m.-6:30 p.m.
  • Brad Hawkins, Shelly Slater, Steve McCauley (weather), Joe Trahan (sports)
• The NEWS 8 Update: 10 p.m.-10:35 p.m.
  • Brad Hawkins, Shelly Slater, Steve McCauley (weather), Joe Trahan (sports)

Sunday

• NEWS 8 Daybreak Sunday: 8 a.m.-9:30 a.m.
  • Debbie Denmon, Meghan Danahey (weather), Chris Heinbaugh (politics), Brad Watson (politics), John McCaa (at-issue) Politics and "At-issue with John McCaa" will vary from week to week.
• NEWS 8 at 5:30 : 5:30 p.m.-6 p.m.
  • Brad Hawkins, Shelly Slater, Steve McCauley (weather), Joe Trahan (sports)
• The NEWS 8 Update: 10 p.m.-10:20 p.m.
  • Brad Hawkins, Shelly Slater, Steve McCauley (weather), Joe Trahan (sports)
• Dale Hansen's Sports Special: 10:20 p.m.-10:45 p.m.
• Dodge High School Sports Special: 10:45 p.m.-11 p.m.

[edit] Notable Personalities

[edit] Current On-Air Talent

NEWS 8 ANCHORS

• Jeff Brady: NEWS 8 at Five Anchor/Reporter
• Gloria Campos: NEWS 8 at Six, The NEWS 8 Update (10PM) Anchor/Reporter
• Gary Cogill: "Good Morning Texas" Host, WFAA-TV Movie Critic
• Alexa Conomos: NEWS 8 Midday Anchor/Traffic Reporter
• Debbie Denmon: NEWS 8 Daybreak Saturday, Sunday Anchor/Reporter
• Justin Farmer: NEWS 8 Daybreak Anchor/Reporter
• Brad Hawkins: NEWS 8 at Six (Saturday), NEWS 8 at 5:30 (Sunday), The NEWS 8 Update (10PM, Weekend) Anchor/Reporter
• Jackie Hyland: NEWS 8 Daybreak Anchor/Reporter
• Macie Jepson: NEWS 8 at Five Anchor/Reporter
• John McCaa: NEWS 8 at Six, The NEWS 8 Update (10PM) Anchor/Reporter
• Shelly Slater: NEWS 8 at Six (Saturday), NEWS 8 at 5:30 (Sundayy), The NEWS 8 Update (10PM, Weekend) Anchor/Reporter
• Brenda Teele: "Good Morning Texas" Host
• Amy Vanderoef: "Good Morning Texas" Host

NEWS 8 REPORTERS

• Mike Castellucci: Why Guy
• Aaron Chimbel: MoJo (Mobile Journalist)
• Craig Civale: General Assignment Reporter
• Gary Cogill: Film Critic
• Jim Douglas: General Assignment Reporter
• Marjorie Ford: Metro reporter
• Bob Greene: General Assignment Reporter
• Henry Guerrero: La Vida host
• Chris Hawes: General Assignment Reporter
• Chris Heinbaugh: Political Reporter and Downtown Correspondent
• Rebecca Lopez: General Assignment Reporter: Dallas Bureau
• Darla Miles: General Assignment Reporter
• John Pronk: "Texas Tales" Feature Reporter
• Gary Reaves: Senior Reporter
• Dan Ronan: General Assignment Reporter
• David Schechter: Senior Reporter
• Janet St. James: Health Reporter
• Steve Stoler: Collin County Reporter
• Angelique Tege: Metro Reporter
• Cynthia Vega: Daybreak reporter
• Brad Watson: General Assignment, Breaking News Reporter
• Walt Zwirko: Computer Corner

NEWS 8 INVESTIGATES

• Byron Harris: Investigative Reporter, Senior Reporter
• Brett Shipp: Investigative Reporter

NEWS 8 WEATHER

• Troy Dungan: NEWS 8 at Six, Chief Weather Anchor
• Pete Delkus (AMS, NWA Seal of Approval): NEWS 8 at Five, The NEWS 8 Update (10PM) Meteorologist
• Greg Fields (AMS Seal of Approval): NEWS 8 Daybreak, Good Morning Texas, NEWS 8 Midday Meteorologist
• Steve McCauley (AMS Seal of Approval): NEWS 8 at Six (Saturday), NEWS 8 at 5:30 (Sunday), The NEWS 8 Update (10PM) (Weekend) Meteorologist
• Meghan Danahey (AMS, NWA Seal of Approval): NEWS 8 Daybreak Saturday/Sunday

SPORTS ANCHORS/REPORTERS

• Dale Hansen: NEWS 8 at Six, The NEWS 8 Update Sports Director/ Host of "Dale Hansen's Sports Special"
• Joe Trahan: NEWS 8 at Six (Saturday), NEWS 8 at 5:30 (Sunday), The NEWS 8 Update (Weekend) Sports Anchor/ Host of "Dodge High School Sports Special"
• George Riba: Senior Sports Reporter
• Erin Hawksworth: Sports Reporter
• Ted Madden: Sports Reporter

[edit] Newscast Titles

• NEWS8, NEWS 8 (1974-2007) (Was shown in newscast as 'NEWS8' in the past.)
• NEWS 8 HD (2007-present)

[edit] Station Slogans

• The Spirit of Texas (1984-present)
  • Variations: Working In The Spirit of Texas, In The Spirit of Texas

[edit] News Music Packages

The "Spirit" news music package 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.

[edit] 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, CBS, NBC) affiliate not to be owned and operated by the network in terms of DMA market size.

[edit] References

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• Shannon, Mike (January, 2004). Dallas-Fort Worth TV Station History. The History of Dallas-Fort Worth Radio and Television.

[edit] External links

• WFAA-TV Website
• Query the FCC's TV station database for WFAA-TV

v • d • e

Broadcast television in the Dallas / Fort Worth market (Nielsen DMA #6)

KDTN 2 (DS) - KDFW 4 (Fox/4 Warn Weather Radar on DT 2) - KXAS 5 (NBC/WX+ on DT 2) - WFAA 8 (ABC/Xpress 8.2 on DT 2/DFW Airport Towercam on DT 3) - KTVT 11 (CBS) - KERA 13 (PBS) - KTXA 21 (Ind) - KNAV 22 (Genesis) - KUVN 23 (UNI) - K25FW 25 (HSN) - KODF 26 / KLEG 44 (AZA) - KDFI 27 (MNTV) - KHPK 28 (Genesis) - KMPX 29 (Ind) - K31GL 31 (Ind) - KDAF 33 (The CW/The Tube on DT 2) - KJJM 34 (LAT TV) - KVFW 38 (Religious) - KXTX 39 (TEL) - KTAQ 47 (Religious) - KSTR 49 (TFU) - KATA 50 (Multimedios) - KFWD 52 (Ind) - KSEX 57 (Ind) - KDTX 58 (TBN) - KPXD 68 (ION/qubo on DT 2/ION Life on DT 3/Worship on DT 4)

Local digital television channels KLDT 54 (Gems TV)