WEHT
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| WEHT | |
|---|---|
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| Evansville, Indiana | |
| Branding | News 25 |
| Slogan | Always Tracking. Always Watching. Always Alerting. |
| Channels | Analog: 25 (UHF) |
| Affiliations | ABC |
| Owner | Gilmore Broadcasting Corporation |
| First air date | September 27, 1953 |
| Call letters’ meaning | Watch Evansville- Henderson Television |
| Former channel number(s) | 50 (1953-1964) |
| Former affiliations | Primary: CBS (1953-1995) Secondary: ABC (1953-1956) |
| Transmitter Power | 1200 kW (analog) 59 kW (digital) 2600 watts (after 2009) |
| Height | 314 m (analog) 301.1 m (digital) |
| Facility ID | 24215 |
| Transmitter Coordinates | |
| Website | www.news25.us |
WEHT is an ABC affiliate in Evansville, Indiana. The station is owned by Gilmore Broadcasting Company, a subsidiary of Gilmore Enterprises. It is the last remaining broadcasting property under Gilmore ownership, which, at its peak, included five television stations, nine radio stations and nineteen cable TV systems in nine states, including WEHT.
While it is licensed to Evansville, its studios and transmitter are co-located across the Ohio River in Henderson, Kentucky. The station uses the branding "News 25".
The station, the tri-state area's first television station, went on the air on Channel 50 on September 27, 1953, as a CBS affiliate with a secondary ABC affiliation. It was owned by the Malco Theater Corporation of Memphis, Tennessee; minority interest was held by several Henderson businessmen for the first year. Hilberg Packing of Cincinnati bought the station in 1957, and Gilmore bought it in 1964.
It dropped ABC in 1956 after WTVW signed on. With FCC approval, it switched to channel 25 in 1964 soon after Gilmore bought the station. When WTVW moved to the Fox network in late 1995, WEHT took over the market's ABC affiliation.
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[edit] Notable Personalities
- Brad Byrd - WEHT's lead news anchor has been with the station since 1978, when he became one of the youngest TV news anchors in Indiana at the age of 26. During his tenure at News 25, Byrd has won several awards for his work, including two regional Emmy awards and two Edward R. Murrow awards. Byrd was inducted into the Indiana Journalism Hall of Fame and the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences Silver Circle Hall of Fame. In addition to his on-air duties at News 25, he has written a column entitled "Second Thoughts" in the Evansville Courier & Press newspaper.
- Shelley Kirk - Shelley joined NEWS 25 in 1989 and reported for several years before being promoted to anchor in 1994. She currently co-anchors the weekday 5, 6, and 10 pm newscasts. Highlights of her years at NEWS 25 include reporting from the White House Oval Office, covering a local case before the U.S. Supreme Court, and following the Habitat for Humanity housing blitzes of '92 and '95. Shelley also serves as co-host of the annual Easter Seals and Santa Clothes Club telethons. She stays active in several local causes, including Habitat of Evansville, Easter Seals, and the American Cancer Society.
- Wayne Hart - Wayne Hart has been the station's Chief Meteorologist since 1993 (succeeding Mike Maguire). In 2005 he became the first television meteorologist in the Evansville market to become a Certified Broadcast Meteorologist (CBM), a designation given by the American Meteorological Society. Prior to becoming a CBM, Hart had held the AMS' Seal of Approval since 1987. Like Brad Byrd, Hart has won a regional Emmy Award. Hart received his Emmy in 1998 for "First Warning to Severe Weather," a prime-time special on the subject of severe weather preparedness.
- Lance Wilkerson - Lance is the only television sportscaster that can call the Tri-State his home. He was born and raised in Newburgh and attended Castle High School. He then moved on to Ball State University, where he graduated with a major in telecommunications. After working at the station as an intern out of college, he became a news photographer in August of 1993. A year later he became the weekend sports anchor. In July of 1998, Lance was named Sports Director of NEWS 25. Lance has won numerous awards, including the Distinguished Service Award from the Indiana Interscholastic Athletic Administration Association and the Indiana High School Baseball Coaches' Association Outstanding Media Award. NEWS 25's Home Team Friday sports show won the honor of Best Sports Segment from the Associated Press.
[edit] Newscasts
At one point, in early 2000's WEHT produced a 9 PM newscast for then-WB affiliate WAZE-TV. The program was cancelled due to low ratings.
In 2007, WEHT discontinued its Midday (11:30 AM) newscast in favor of paid programming (infomercials), leaving the station without a competitor against WFIE's hourlong "Midday with Mike" newscast and WTVW's "Fox 7 News at Noon." However, WEHT began airing a newscast at 4:30 P.M. on September 10th. WEHT also rebroadcasts its 6:00 P.M. newscast at 7:00 P.M. on its digital sub-channel 25-2. None of the other Evansville-area stations have chosen to follow suit as of September 2007.
[edit] First Warning Doppler Upgrade
On August 1, 2007, Chief Meteorologist Wayne Hart introduced a major update to the software that controls the station's First Warning Doppler system. New satellite-based maps, three-dimensional views of storms, and a host of other improvements deliver added clarity and understandability.
Live First Warning Doppler radar may be viewed on WEHT's digital subchannel, 25-2, whenever news or other programming is not being broadcast.
[edit] Notable WEHT Alumni
- Jacqui Jeras - CNN Meteorologist
- Allison Hatcher - WKRN Nashville
- Jonathan Weaver - Vanderburgh County Assessor
- Bill Weber - NBC Sports
- Nischelle Turner - KTTV Los Angeles
- Paul Emmick - The Weather Channel Meteorologist, WRTV, WDRB
[edit] Logo Gallery
 WEHT's first logo as an ABC affiliate. Used from December 1995 until early 2000's |
 WEHT's Current News Logo. |
[edit] External links
- WEHT home page
- Gilmore Enterprises, parent company of WEHT
- Query the FCC's TV station database for WEHT
- BIAfn's Media Web Database -- Information on WEHT-TV
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