WCSH

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WCSH
Portland, Maine
Branding	WCSH 6 (normal) WCSH News Center 6 (newscasts)
Slogan	People You Know, News You Trust
Channels	6 (VHF) analog, 44 (UHF) digital
Affiliations	NBC WX+ (on DT2)
Owner	Gannett
Founded	December 20, 1953
Call letters meaning	Congress Square Hotel
Former affiliations	none
Website	wcsh6.com

WCSH is the NBC affiliate serving Southern Maine and Northern New Hampshire. Licensed to Portland, the station broadcasts its analog signal on VHF channel 6 and its digital signal on UHF channel 44 from a transmitter located in East Sebago. Known on-air as "WCSH 6", the station's studios are located at One Congress Square in Downtown Portland. WCSH is owned by Gannett and is a sister station to Bangor's NBC affiliate WLBZ.

Contents 1 History 2 Programming 3 Newscasts 4 News Team 5 Station Alumni 6 External Links

[edit] History

This station signed on December 20, 1953 from the Congress Square Hotel in Downtown Portland, from which the station took its call letters. It was owned by the Rines family, who had built the hotel in 1896 and started WCSH-AM 970 (now WZAN) on the top floor of the hotel in 1925. In 1977, WCSH-TV moved across the street to One Congress Square, where it is today.

WCSH was the flagship station in the Maine Broadcasting System, which included WLBZ-AM-TV in Bangor. In 1998, the Maine Broadcasting System was acquired by Gannett, which invested money into the station for cosmetic and equipment renovations.

[edit] Programming

WCSH has led the Portland news ratings since the late 1980s often attracting more viewers than WGME and WMTW combined. Most of the station's key news personalities have been there for over ten years. Its newscast, which uses the popular "News Center" title, is the highest-rated local newscast in Maine. While sister station WLBZ in Bangor also uses the News Center title, the station simulcasts most of WCSH's newscasts. However, WLBZ does airs its own weekday newscasts at 5 and 6 PM from its studios in Bangor.

The station co-produces with WLBZ a daily 10 PM newscast called News Center at 10 on The CW Portland on WPXT, the area's CW affiliate. During the weekdays, the newscast is hosted by WCSH anchor Shannon Moss and WLBZ chief meteorologist Steve McKay. The newscast is aired from the WCSH studios in Portland with weather originating from WLBZ in Bangor. On the weekends, Jennifer Rooks anchors and meteorologist Todd Gutner provides weather forcasts. The program is broadcasted entirely from Portland. The look of the newscasts on WPXT are similar to the regular News Center programs on WCSH and WLBZ, except that transitions are flashier. The newscasts take on a regional feel with news coverage from Portland and Bangor. Until February 5, 2007, this was the only 10 PM newscast in the Portland market. On that date, WGME began to produce a daily :35 minute newscast at 10 PM on WPFO, the area's FOX affiliate. When the WPFO newscast began airing, WCSH stepped up its online and on-air promotions of the WPXT newscast.

An outdoors and human-interest program called Bill Green's Maine airs on Saturday nights at 7 PM. In 2003, WCSH launched 207, a local magazine show, which airs weeknights 7 PM and the preceeding evening's broadcast airs the next day at 4:30 PM, branded at 207 at 4:30. The name "207" comes from the state of Maine's area code.

In October of 2005, WCSH began airing NBC Weather Plus on its DT2 digital subchannel and Time Warner digital cable. The 24-hour weather service includes local forecasts from the WCSH weather team and WLBZ Chief Meteorologist Steve McKay as well as national updates from NBC. Known as News Center Weather Plus, the channel is simlucasted in Bangor on WLBZ's DT2 digital subchannel as well as digital cable.

[edit] Newscasts

Unlike most NBC affiliates, WCSH airs a weekend newscast at Noon. All weekend newscasts on WCSH including weather are simulcasted on WLBZ.

Weekdays

• WCSH News Center 6 Morning Report (5 to 7 AM)
• WCSH News Center 6 at Noon (12 to 12:30 PM)
• 207 at 4:30 (4:30 to 5 PM)
• WCSH News Center 6 at 5 (5 to 5:30 PM)
• WCSH News Center 6 at 5:30 (5:30 to 6 PM)
• WCSH News Center 6 at 6 (6 to 6:30 PM)
• 207 (7 to 7:30 PM)
• News Center at 10 on The CW Portland (10 to 10:35 PM on WPXT)
• WCSH News Center 6 at 11 (11 to 11:35 PM)

Weekends

• WCSH News Center 6 Morning Report (6 to 7 AM Saturdays, 6 to 8 AM Sundays)
• WCSH News Center 6 at Noon (12 to 12:30 PM)
• WCSH News Center 6 at 6 (6 to 6:30 PM)
• Bill Green's Maine (7 to 7:30 PM Saturdays)
• News Center at 10 on The CW Portland (10 to 10:30 on WPXT)
• WCSH News Center 6 at 11 (11 to 11:30 PM)

[edit] News Team

Anchors

• Rob Caldwell - weekdays at 5:30 PM, also anchor of "207"
• Pat Callaghan - weekdays at 5 PM, 6 PM, and 11 PM
• Kara Matuszewski - weekend mornings and Noon, also reporter
• Shannon Moss - weekdays at 10 PM on WPXT and 11 PM on WCSH
• Lee Nelson - weekday mornings
• Jennifer Rooks - weekend evenings
• Sharon Rose - weekend mornings
• Kathleen Shannon - anchor of "207"
• Cindy Williams - weekdays at 5 PM, 5:30 PM, and 6 PM

News Center Meteorologists

• Joe Cupo - weekdays at 5 PM, 5:30 PM, 6 PM, and 11 PM
• Roger Griswold
• Todd Gutner - weekdays at Noon, weekend evenings
• Kelly LaBrecque - weekend mornings and Noon
• Kevin Mannix - weekday mornings

Sports

• Bruce Glasier - Sports Director weekdays at 6 PM and 11 PM
• Lee Goldberg - based at WLBZ as Sports Director

Reporters

• Caroline Cornish
• Don Carrigan - Midcoast reporter based at WLBZ
• Chris Facchini
• Miranda Grossman
• Susan Kimball
• Vivien Leigh
• Aaron Roberts
• Chris Rose - Producer

[edit] Station Alumni

• Diane Atwood, former reporter, now community affairs chief at Mercy Hospital.
• John Dougherty, former anchor/reporter, to WBZ Boston, WMTW Portland, ???
• Bob Elliott, former features reporter '88-96, to WMTW, deceased 1997 heart attack.
• Jan Fox, former co-anchor '86-'90, now reporter WUSA Washington D.C.
• Michele Gillen, former co-anchor, to WPLG, NBC News, now investigative reporter WFOR Miami.
• Dick Gosselin, former reporter, to WCVB Boston, MPTV, now reporter WMTW Portland.
• Dan Harris, former reporter/wkend anchor, now reporter/anchor ABC News NY.
• Bruce McGorrill, former CEO Miane Broadcasting, deceased 2006.
• Don McWilliams, former sports anchor,
• Cliff Michaelson, former sports anchor,
• Anne Murray Paige, former reporter/anchor, producer/subject of docu'The Breast Cancer Diaries'
• Richard Rose, former co-anchor late '80's, now anchor/news director, WLNY Long Island NY.
• Mary Rines Thompson,
• Robert 'Sid' Whitaker, former reporter, now with Univ. of New Hampshire.
• Bill Yates, former producer/editor, now professor at St.Josephs College.

[edit] External Links

• WCSH Website
• WCSH Wireless
• WLBZ Website
• WPXT Website
• Query the FCC's TV station database for WCSH