KXAS-TV

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KXAS-TV
Fort Worth / Dallas, Texas
Branding	NBC5
Slogan	Not Just What Happens, What Matters
Channels	5 (VHF) analog, 41 (UHF), 5.2 (WeatherPlus) digital
Affiliations	NBC
Owner	NBC-Universal (76%) / LIN Television (24%)
Founded	September 28, 1948
Call letters meaning	K TeXAS
Former callsigns	WBAP-TV (1948-1974)
Former affiliations	None
Transmitter Power	100 kW/514 m (analog) 891 kW/506 m (digital)
Website	www.nbc5i.com

KXAS-TV (NBC5) is a television station based in Fort Worth, Texas. With its transmitter located in Cedar Hill, the station's analog broadcasts are on channel 5 while its HDTV broadcasts are on channel 41. The station is one of two joint ventures of NBC Universal (76%) and LIN Television (24%) - its only other sister station under this co-ownership is KNSD in San Diego.

Contents 1 History 2 Newscasts 2.1 Anchor Lineups 2.2 Reporters 3 Trivia 4 Newscast Titles 5 Station Slogans 6 Logos 7 References 8 External links

[edit] History

The station was launched on September 28, 1948, by Amon G. Carter, owner of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram. He named the station WBAP-TV after WBAP-AM. It was the first television station in Texas.

Even though it was clear Dallas and Fort Worth would be a single television market, Carter didn't care whether people in Dallas saw WBAP. The station reportedly moved its transmitter to Cedar Hill with the other Metroplex stations only after NBC threatened to yank its affiliation.

The station was owned by the Star-Telegram until 1974, when the FCC barred common ownership of newspapers and TV stations in all but a few cases. WBAP-TV was then sold to LIN Television, who changed the calls to KXAS. (The Star-Telegram and WBAP-AM were sold to Capital Cities Communications at that time; the newspaper is now owned by the McClatchy Company, while the radio station is now part of ABC Radio.) LIN wholly owned the station until 1997, when it sold 76% of KXAS to NBC, in exchange for 24% of KNSD in San Diego (which NBC had recently purchased from New World Communications, who had also owned channel 5's rival KDFW until it and the other Fox affiliates owned by New World were sold to Fox) and cash.

KXAS is locally known for its weather coverage. It claims to be the first station to have hired only full-time meteorologists. One of its first, Harold Taft, broadcast for over 40 years.

[edit] Newscasts

[edit] Anchor Lineups

Weekdays

• NBC5 Today - 5:00 - 7:00AM
  • Deborah Ferguson, Brendan Higgins, Rebecca Miller (weather), Tammy Dombeck (Gridlock Buster traffic)
• NBC5 DFW Today - 10:00 - 11:00AM
  • Deborah Ferguson, Brendan Higgins, Rebecca Miller (weather)
• NBC5 First at Four - 4:00 - 5:00PM
  • Brian Curtis, Kristi Nelson, David Finfrock (weather)
• NBC5 News at 5 - 5:00 - 5:30PM
  • Mike Snyder, Meredith Land (co-anchor and Pay it Off reporter), David Finfrock (weather)
• NBC5 News at 6 - 6:00 - 6:30PM
  • Jane McGarry, Mike Snyder, David Finfrock (weather), Newy Scruggs (sports)
• NBC5 News at 10 - 10:00 - 10:35PM
  • Jane McGarry, Mike Snyder, David Finfrock (weather), Newy Scruggs (sports)

Saturday

• NBC5 Saturday Today - 6:00-7:00AM & 9:00-10:00AM
  • Todd D. Wallace, James Aydelott (weather)
• NBC5 News at 6 - 6:00-7:00PM
  • Kevin Cokely, Steve MacLaughlin (weather), Derek Castillo (sports)
• NBC5 News at 10 - 10:00-10:30PM
  • Kevin Cokely, Steve MacLaughlin (weather), Derek Castillo (sports)

Sunday

• NBC5 Sunday Today - 6:00-7:00AM & 8:00-9:00AM
  • Todd D. Wallace, James Aydelott (weather)
• NBC5 News at 5 - 5:00-5:30PM
  • Kevin Cokely, Steve MacLaughlin (weather), Derek Castillo (sports)
• NBC5 News at 10 - 10:00-10:20PM
  • Kevin Cokely, Steve MacLaughlin (weather), Derek Castillo (sports)
• NBC5 Sports Extra - 10:20-11:00PM
  • hosted by Newy Scruggs

[edit] Reporters

• Andrea Burnett, seen weekday mornings (*Last day will be December 31st as part of NBC 2.0 restructuring)
• Scott Gordon
• Brett Johnson
• Ken Kalthoff, also fill-in anchor
• Randy McIlwain
• David Quinlan
• Susan Risdon
• Cash Sirois, Sports
• Grant Stinchfield, Investigative Reporter
• Carol Wang, Health Reporter
• Nigel Wheeler

[edit] Trivia

On November 24, 1963, a WBAP-TV remote unit set up at Dallas Police Headquarters fed the live images of accused Presidential assassin Lee Harvey Oswald being gunned down by Jack Ruby to the NBC network. It was the first time a murder had been witnessed live on network television in the United States. It was also notable that, during NBC's network coverage of the assassination, news reports from WBAP-TV's studios were transmitted in color, with NBC broadcasting the coverage in New York from a black and white studio. (WBAP-TV was one of the earliest local stations to convert its local programming to color.)

In the late 1960s, Fort Worth native Bob Schieffer began his broadcast career at WBAP-TV as a reporter and anchor of the 10 p.m. news. Schieffer then went on to Washington, D.C. as a reporter for the now-defunct Metromedia news service and WTTG-TV, then embarked on a long career with CBS News.

On March 28, 2000, while an F2 tornado was ripping through Downtown Fort Worth, the 6 pm newscast caught the tornado on air live as NBC 5 Weather Team Chief Meteorologist David Finfrock was explaining to the NBC 5 viewers at home as well as Jane McGarry and Mike Snyder about the Tornado Warning for Fort Worth, Texas.

[edit] Newscast Titles

The Texas News (1970s)

Area Five Texas News (1970s)

Action News (1970s-1980s)

Channel 5 News (1980s)

Texas News 5 (1990s)

NBC5 News (1999-present)

[edit] Station Slogans

Five Keeps Bringing It Home To You (1970s)

Channel Five News, The Team to Watch for News (1980s)

Building a Better Texas (1990s)

The Texas News Channel

Not Just What Happens, What Matters

[edit] Logos

KXAS has used its "Star 5" logo since 1974--the longest-used numeric logo in the market and one of the longest-used numeric logos in the country.

[edit] References

• Shannon, Mike (January, 2004). Dallas-Fort Worth TV Station History. The History of Dallas-Fort Worth Radio and Television.
• A DFW Historical Icon (2002). NBC5i.com.

[edit] External links

• Query the FCC's TV station database for KXAS-TV
• NBC 5 website