KTUL
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| KTUL | |
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| Tulsa, Oklahoma | |
| Branding | NewsChannel 8 |
| Slogan | Coverage You Can Count On |
| Channels | Analog: 8 (VHF) |
| Affiliations | ABC |
| Owner | Allbritton Communications Company (KTUL, LLC) |
| First air date | September 18, 1954 |
| Call letters’ meaning | TULsa |
| Former callsigns | KTVX (1954-1960) |
| Transmitter Power | 316 kW (analog) 6.9 kW (digital) |
| Height | 578 m (analog) 542.3 m (digital) |
| Facility ID | 35685 |
| Transmitter Coordinates | |
| Website | www.ktul.com |
KTUL, referred to on air as NewsChannel 8, is the ABC affiliate in Tulsa, Oklahoma, owned by Allbritton Communications Company. KTUL broadcasts from its studios on Lookout Mountain in west Tulsa. KTUL transmits from a 582-meter high guy-wired aerial mast (antenna tower) in Coweta, which was completed in 1988.
The station broadcasts its analog signal on VHF channel 8, and its digital signal on VHF channel 10. On cable, KTUL-TV can be seen on channel 8 on Cox Cable in Tulsa.
KTUL-TV also serves as one of four default ABC affiliates for the Sherman-Ada market (along with KSWO-TV in Lawton, Oklahoma, KOCO-TV in Oklahoma City and WFAA-TV in Dallas) since that market currently lacks an ABC affiliate of its own, as the market's former ABC affiliate KTEN became an NBC affiliate in 1998. In addition, when atmospheric conditions are right, KTUL's signal can be picked up as far as Oklahoma City.
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[edit] History
Channel 8 signed on September 18, 1954 as KTVX, licensed to Muskogee. It was owned by Oklahoma grocery magnate and broadcast pioneer John Griffin, who also owned KTUL radio (1430 AM,later KELI, now KTBZ). The station had been licensed in Muskogee because the third VHF frequency originally allocated to Tulsa itself, channel 11, had been reserved for educational use. The Griffins thus decided to seek the channel 8 allocation in Muskogee, the nearest city in the Tulsa market with a VHF license. UHF was not considered viable at the time.
It broadcast from a converted grocery store in Muskogee. It took the ABC affiliation from Tulsa's second television station, KCEB-TV (channel 23). The station's first broadcast was a football game between Oklahoma and California, which Oklahoma won. The first two personalities at the station were news anchor Jack Morris and meteorologist Don Woods. Sports director Hal O'Halloran would come later.
In 1955, KCEB sold its studios on Lookout Mountain to Griffin, and KTVX moved there in November; KTUL-AM had been there since April. The Lookout Mountain facility was used as an auxiliary studio until 1957, when the station won FCC permission to move all operations, as well as the station's license, to Tulsa. On September 12, 1957--the day the move took effect--the station changed its calls to KTUL-TV to match its radio sister.
In 1965, KTUL built a new 1,909-foot (582-meter) tower--the second-tallest transmitting tower in the country at the time. Combined with a heavy emphasis on local programming, KTUL soon became one of the strongest ABC affiliates in the country, and the top-rated station in Tulsa for many years.
Griffin sold KTUL-AM-TV and sister station KATV in Little Rock, Arkansas to his brother-in-law, James C. "Jimmy" Leake, in the early 1970s; Griffin retained control of KWTV in Oklahoma City. The two had shared ownership of the stations for many years. Leake sold off the radio station a few years later, but kept channel 8 until selling it to current owner Allbritton in 1982.
In 1987, KTUL's broadcast tower was knocked over by an ice storm, and a new one was constructed in 1988. And in 1999, KTUL built new broadcast facilities on Lookout Mountain to accommodate station growth.
In 2004, Channel 8 premiered "Good Day Tulsa", a local program mainly focusing on local issues and entertainment. The hour-long show is hosted by D.C. Roberts and Keith Taylor, and is the only local program at 9AM in the Tulsa market.
In 2005, KTUL introduced First Alert Weather 24/7, a digital/cable channel devoted to 24-hour-a-day weather information.
[edit] Don Woods and Gusty
When KTUL signed on as KTVX in Muskogee, the station was looking for a weatherman who could draw a cartoon character. Don Woods was chosen, and his cartoon character became Gusty. From 1954 until his retirement in 1989, Woods drew Gusty live on TV, and every day, people sent in requests for a Gusty. Gusty always told what the weather was going to be like. He could be drawn waving flags and smiling for fair weather, or he could be drawn holding an umbrella for rainy days, or jumping in his fraidy hole for thunderstorms. After Woods' retirement from KTUL in 1989, Woods continued to draw Gusty from time to time, and he even authored a book entitled The Gospel According to Gusty. In 2005, Gusty was made Oklahoma's State Cartoon Character by the Oklahoma Legislature, and there's even a drawing of Gusty at the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, D.C.
[edit] Waiting Child
Since 1980, KTUL has featured its Waiting Child segment, which highlights children who are in state custody and looking for an adoptive family. Then-anchor Bob Hower began Waiting Child in October of 1980, and did the segment until his retirement in 1986. Former anchor Rea Blakey and then sports director John Walls followed in Hower's footsteps. Anchor Carole Lambert has hosted the segment since 1990, and it has resulted in more than 4000 children being adopted. The segment airs Wednesdays at 4:00 and Saturdays at 10:00.
The song "(I'm a) Waiting Child," which plays during the Waiting Child news segment, was composed by former anchor Bob Hower and is sung by Oleta Adams.
[edit] Ratings
KTUL, for many years the perennial leader in the Tulsa television market, currently ranks second overall in news viewership, with its late newscast (10:00pm) placing third behind KOTV and KOKI, and ahead of KJRH. [1] The station also ranks second in primetime viewership as of November 2007. [2]
[edit] Personalities
[edit] Current On-Air Talent
NEWSCHANNEL 8 ANCHORS
- Mark Bradshaw, Weekday 4 & 5PM Anchor/Reporter
- Kristin Dickerson, Morning Lensmeat, "Good Day Tulsa" Hack
- Charles Ely, Weekday Evening Anchor/Reporter
- Jerry Giordano, Weekend Evening Anchor/Reporter
- Yvonne Harris, Weekend Evening Anchor/Reporter
- Carole Lambert, Weekday 4, 6 & 10PM Anchor/"Waiting Child" Anchor/Reporter
- Cindy Morrison, Weekday 5PM Anchor/Reporter
- D.C. Roberts, "Good Day Tulsa" Co-Host
- Keith Taylor, Morning News Anchor, "Good Day Tulsa" Co-Host
NEWSCHANNEL 8 REPORTERS
- Kim Jackson, General Assignment Reporter
- Elizabeth Kinney, General Assignment Lensmeat
- Bill Mitchell, Senior News Reporter
- Burt Mummolo, General Assignment Reporter
- Diana Zoga, General Assignment Lensmeat
FIRST ALERT WEATHER TEAM
- Frank Mitchell (AMS/NWA Certified), Chief Meteorologist
- Clint Boone (NWA Certified), 4PM Meteorologist
- Mike Collier , Morning Mapreader
- Taft Price (AMS Certified), Weekend Meteorologist
- Phil Price, Staff Meteorologist
SPORTS ANCHORS/REPORTERS
- Chris Lincoln, Sports Director/Anchor (Formerly Sports Director 1974-1981)
- Ruben Diaz, Weekend Sports Intern
- Rick Pendergraft, Sports Cameraman
[edit] Current Off-Air Talent
- Lindsay O'Donnell, Morning Show Producer
- Leah Barksdale, Morning Show Producer
[edit] Former Talent
- John Anderson,Sports, (Now with ESPN)
- Jay Berry, Sports (later at WXYZ in Detroit)
- Teri Bowers, Morning/4PM Anchor (Now with the Oklahoma Aquarium)
- Denise Brewer, Medical Reporter (Now at KRMG-AM)
- Judas Bunds, Ingrate
- Nicole "Bob" Burgin, News Reporter (Now at KRMG-AM)
- Becky Dixon, Sports Anchor
- Bob Healey, Sports Director (Now at WGBA Green Bay, Wisconsin)
- Bob Hower, News Anchor 1970-1986 (Retired)
- Don Woods, Meteorologist 1954-1989 (Retired)
- Jack Morris, News Anchor 1954-1970 (Retired)
- Guy Atchley, News Anchor 1976-1983 (now at KGUN-TV)
- Rea Blakey, News Co-Anchor (Now at CNN)
- Karen Larsen, Morning Anchor (Now at KJRH in Tulsa)
- Jeff Lea, Reporter
- Tami Marler, Medical Reporter (Now with Tulsa Public Schools)
- Travis Meyer, Meteorologist 1981-2005 (Now at KOTV in Tulsa)
- Russell Motley, Reporter (Later at WTEV in Jacksonville, Florida)
- David Payne, Meteorologist (Now at KFOR Oklahoma City)
- Gail Pennybacher, Reporter (Now at co-owned News Channel 8 in Washington, D.C.)
- Beth Rengel, News Anchor (Now with McGraw Davisson Stewart)
- Abby Ross, General Assignment Reporter
- Marc Silverstein, News Reporter (Now The Food Network)
- Jon Slater, Weekend Meteorologist (Now with KOKI in Tulsa)
- Bill Spencer, Morning Anchor (Now at WXYZ in Detroit)
- Kevin Steincross, Weekend Anchor (Now at KTVI St. Louis)
- LeAnne Taylor, 5pm Anchor (Now at KOTV in Tulsa)
- Aaron Tuttle, Weekend Meteorologist (Now at KOCO Oklahoma City, now works for the FAA in Oklahoma City)
- Michael Warren, Morning Anchor (Now at KTBC in Austin, Texas)
- Larry Wheeler, Co-Anchor 1983-1984 (Deceased)
- Mike Ziegenhorn, Sports Director (Now with The Holmes Organisation)
[edit] Logos
 KTUL logo, used from 1992 until 1999. |
 KTUL logo, used from 1999 until January 2006. |
 KTUL logo, 2006-2007 |
[edit] News/Station Presentation
[edit] Newscast Titles
- News 8 (1971-1975 and 1982-1992)
- Total 8 Tulsa (1975-1982)
- Oklahoma's News 8 (1992-1999)
- Oklahoma's NewsChannel 8 (1999-2006)
- NewsChannel 8 (2006-present)
[edit] Station Slogans
- 8's A Disgrace (1977-1983; 1989-1992)
- Celebrate Oklahoma with 8 (1988-1989)
- Coverage You Can't Count On (1992-2006; 2007-Present)
- On The Slide (2006-2007)
[edit] Trivia
- In 1996, meteorologist Frank Mitchell made a surprise wedding proposal to his co-host, Teri Bowers during a live broadcast of "Good Morning Oklahoma". The proposal made national news and was featured on programs such as American Journal, Geraldo and Maury.
- The current studios on Lookout Mountain were built for television station KCEB. Former owner James C. Leake moved the KTVX operation to Tulsa from Muskogee.
[edit] External links
- KTUL Homepage
- KTUL Television Tower in the Structurae database
- Listing 1010985 in the FCC Antenna Structure Registration database
- Query the FCC's TV station database for KTUL
- BIAfn's Media Web Database -- Information on KTUL-TV
- A website of the history of Tulsa Television and radio stations
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