WHO-TV

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WHO-TV
Des Moines, Iowa
Branding	Channel 13
Slogan	See the Difference
Channels	13 (VHF) analog, 19 (UHF) digital
Affiliations	NBC
Owner	The New York Times Company (sale to Oak Hill Capital Partners pending)
Founded	April 26, 1954
Call letters meaning	derived from WHO radio
Former affiliations	UPN (secondary until 9/06)
Website	www.whotv.com

WHO-TV is a television station that broadcasts on channel 13 in Des Moines, Iowa and channel 27 in Ottumwa, Iowa. It is affiliated with the NBC television network and serves most of central Iowa. The station transmits from the WOI-Tower in Alleman, Iowa.

Contents 1 History 2 Personalities and programming 3 See also 4 References 5 External links

[edit] History

WHO-TV signed on the air on April 26, 1954 as the eighth television station in Iowa and the second in Des Moines. It was owned by the Palmer family, owners of WHO-AM 1040. The Palmers had competed with KIOA for the channel 13 license and won it after reaching a settlement.^[1] It has always been an NBC affiliate.

In 1996, WHO-TV was acquired by The New York Times Company; up to that time it had been the last locally owned commercial station in Des Moines. WHO-AM, which was eventually acquired by Clear Channel Communications, continued to occupy the same building until it moved to another building in 2005.

WHO-DT began broadcasting in high-definition television during the 2002 Winter Olympics. One channel carries NBC HDTV programming while another channel carries an image of the station's "Mega Doppler" radar.

WHO's main anchor since 1987, John Bachman, was one of three reporters who interviewed Ronald Reagan, announcer for WHO-AM in the 1930s, at the end of his presidential term. The other two were Larry King and Barbara Walters.

While WHO-TV was co-owned with WHO-AM, it used an owl as its mascot, as WHO-AM still does today.[[1]]

On January 4, 2007, the New York Times Company entered into an agreement to sell its entire television stations group to affiliates of the private equity group Oak Hill Capital Partners. WHO-TV will be operated as part of Local TV LLC.

[edit] Personalities and programming

WHO-TV's Channel 13 News broadcasts perennially rank second to KCCI in ratings. They have the first weekend morning newscast in the Des Moines area, as their Today in Iowa morning news airs seven days a week. WHO-TV also provides aerial coverage of stories with its "Chopper 13" helicopter, making it one of only two stations in Iowa (KCRG-TV in Cedar Rapids is the other) to have its own helicopter.

Current on-air news personalities (as of September 2006) include:

• John Bachman, news anchor of 5, 6, and 10 p.m. newscasts
• Patrick Dix, reporter and Today in Iowa co-anchor
• Brad Ehrlich, Today in Iowa traffic reporter
• Andy Fales, weekend sports anchor
• Courtney Greene, Today in Iowa Saturday news anchor
• Sonya Heitshusen, reporter/noon news anchor
• Erin Kiernan, co-anchor, 5, 6, and 10 p.m. newscasts
• Lynn Melling, reporter/weekend anchor
• Keith Murphy, sports director, 6 and 10 p.m. newscasts
• Jeriann Ritter, Today in Iowa meteorologist
• Justin Sacher, noon and weekend weekend meteorologist
• Megan Salois, Today in Iowa Saturday and Today in Iowa Sunday meteorologist
• Trisha Shepherd, Today in Iowa co-anchor
• Ed Wilson, chief meteorologist of 5, 6, and 10 p.m. newscasts
• Dan Winters, reporter and anchor of Today in Iowa Saturday and Today in Iowa Sunday

Syndicated programs carried on WHO-TV include the game shows Wheel of Fortune, Jeopardy!, and Who Wants to Be a Millionaire, as well as the talk shows The Ellen DeGeneres Show, The Montel Williams Show, and Rachael Ray. Local programs include The Insiders, a Sunday-morning political talk show moderated by John Bachman, and Sound Off, a Sunday-night sports talk show hosted by Keith Murphy and Andy Fales. WHO-TV also aired selected UPN programs during late-night weekend hours until The WB and UPN networks merged in September 2006. KCWI, formerly the local WB affiliate, now carries The CW, while KDMI-DT carries My Network TV.

[edit] See also

• The Floppy Show, a long-running children's television series on WHO-TV

[edit] References

[edit] External links

• WHO-TV web site
• WHO-TV historical artifacts from DesMoinesBroadcasting.com
• Query the FCC's TV station database for WHO-TV
• Query the FCC's TV station database for K66AL