KFSM-TV

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KFSM-TV
Fort Smith, Arkansas
Branding	5 News
Slogan	Trust 5 News
Channels	5 (VHF) analog, 18 (UHF) digital
Translators	K62DQ Fayetteville
Affiliations	CBS (secondary 1953-71, sole affiliate since 1980)
Owner	The New York Times Company (sale planned [1])
Founded	July 22, 1953
Call letters meaning	K Fort SMith; also, FSM is the airport designation for Fort Smith Regional Airport
Former callsigns	KFSA-TV (1953-73)
Former affiliations	NBC (1953-80), ABC (secondary, 1953-78)
Website	www.5newsonline.com

KFSM-TV, Channel 5, is the CBS affiliate for the Fort Smith and Northwest Arkansas area. The station's transmitter is located in Van Buren, Arkansas, and it broadcasts digitally on UHF channel 18. The station's main business offices and studios are in Ft. Smith, with a second office and studio at the Northwest Arkansas Mall in Fayetteville. It is currently owned by The New York Times Company, however, the company has indicated that it will be sold along with its sister stations[2]. The station also operates low-power translator K62DQ in Fayetteville.

Contents 1 History 2 News/Station Presentation 2.1 Newscast Titles 2.2 Station Slogans 3 Reference 4 External links

[edit] History

KFSM originally signed on the air as KFSA-TV on July 22, 1953; it was the first television station in the Fort Smith market, and is now the oldest television station in Arkansas. (KRTV in Little Rock launched earlier in 1953, but folded a year later; Little Rock's oldest station today, KATV, started later in 1953.) It was co-owned with KFSA-AM 950. In 1959, Donald W. Reynolds, publisher of the Southwest Times Record, bought KFSA-AM-TV. The stations remained a part of Reynolds' Donrey Media Group until 1973, when they were sold to separate owners due to new FCC rules. KFSA-TV was sold to Buford Television, Inc. and renamed KFSM-TV (after the airport designation for Fort Smith Regional Airport). The station was purchased by the New York Times Company in 1979, which remains its owner to this day.

The station originally carried programming from all three networks, but was a primary NBC affiliate. CBS disappeared from the schedule when KFPW (now KHBS) signed on in 1971, with ABC disappearing when KLMN-TV signed on in 1978. KFSM swapped affiliations with KLMN in 1980 and became a CBS affiliate, which it remains today. [3]

KFSM currently provides five newscasts everyday during the week, and three newscasts on each day of the weekend. It also provides a 24-hour local newscast seven days a week on Cable Channel 16 in Springdale and Cable Channel 53 in Fort Smith. The station launched its website in 2001.

Over the years, KFSM has been the ratings leader in the Fort Smith/Fayetteville/Rogers DMA. It is the only full-powered commercial station on VHF in the market. Also, it is the only "Big Three" affiliate that doesn't need a second full-power station to reach the entire market.

[edit] News/Station Presentation

[edit] Newscast Titles

• The Newspeople (1979-1989)
• TV5 First Team (1989-1997)
• 5 News (1997-2005)
• KFSM 5 News (2005-present)

[edit] Station Slogans

• Trust 5 News (2000-present)

[edit] Reference

• About 5News 5NewsOnline.com, retrieved January 14, 2006

[edit] External links

• KFSM Homepage
• Query the FCC's TV station database for KFSM