KGUN-TV
 | |
| Tucson, Arizona | |
|---|---|
| Branding |
KGUN 9 (general) KGUN 9 News (newscasts) (pronounced "K-GUN") |
| Slogan | On Your Side |
| Channels |
Digital: 9 (VHF) DirecTV (Southern Arizona only): 11 Cox (Tucson): 11 |
| Subchannels | (see article) |
| Translators |
K16EO Oro Valley K65DM Duncan |
| Affiliations |
ABC Antenna TV |
| Owner |
Journal Broadcast Group (Journal Broadcast Corporation) |
| First air date | June 3, 1956 |
| Call letters' meaning | former owner's interest in GUN collecting and the Westerns that were filmed in Tucson |
| Sister station(s) | KWBA-TV |
| Former callsigns |
KDWI-TV (1956-1957) KGUN-TV (1957-1987) KGUN (1987-2009) |
| Former channel number(s) |
Analog: 9 (VHF, 1956-2009) Digital: 35 (UHF, 2005-2009) |
| Transmitter power | 10.3 kw |
| Height | 1140 m |
| Facility ID | 36918 |
| Transmitter coordinates | 32°24′55.7″N 110°42′53.2″W / 32.415472°N 110.714778°W |
| Website | www.kgun9.com |
KGUN-TV, channel 9, is the ABC-affiliated television station serving Tucson, Arizona, owned by Journal Broadcast Group, Inc.. It broadcasts its digital signal on VHF channel 9 from Mount Bigelow, located northeast of Tucson. It is known locally as "K-GUN".
History
The station was founded in 1955 by rancher D.W. Ingram, who gave the station his initials, KDWI-TV. It began broadcasting June 3, 1956.[1] Shortly afterward, Ingram sold it to H. U. Garrett, who changed the station's call sign to KGUN on March 14, 1957.[1] The change came in part because Garrett was concerned about possible negative connotations with the letters "DWI."[2] Garrett was also an avid Western fan and gun collector, and thought having "gun" in the station's calls would be apropos.
Garrett sold the station to Cincinnati meatpacker Henry S. Hilberg in 1960, and Hilberg sold it to Gilmore Broadcasting in 1964. The station came under the ownership of May Broadcasting in 1968.[3] May would sell KGUN and sister station KMTV in Omaha, Nebraska) to Lee Enterprises in 1986, which, in turn, sold both stations to Emmis Communications in 2000. In 2005, Emmis liquidated all of its television properties, sending KGUN and control of KMTV to the Milwaukee based Journal Broadcast Group, which already owned four radio stations in Tucson.[4] The sale was finalized in December 2005.
Digital television
| Channel | Video | Aspect | Programming |
|---|---|---|---|
| 9.1 | 720p | 16:9 | Main KGUN-TV programming / ABC |
| 9.2 | 480i | 4:3 | Antenna TV [5] |
| 9.3 | Live Well Network |
The station's digital signal is multiplexed. In January 2009, KGUN added Mexicanal, on its digital channel 9.2. It also carried TheCoolTV until the stations parent company filed a lawsuit against TheCoolTV for non-payment, and dropped the networks from all of its stations. KGUN-TV soon replaced it with Live Well Network. In October 2012, Antenna TV replaced Mexicanal.
Analog-to-digital conversion
In 1997, the Federal Communications Commission assigned UHF channel 35 to KGUN for digital operations. The station was granted an application to build its digital operations in October 2001 and, after several extensions, brought KGUN-DT to air in August 2005.
KGUN has selected channel 9 for its post-transition digital operations, and since the analog television shutdown, on June 12, 2009, KGUN broadcasts in digital from channel 9.[6] As with all of Journal's television stations, following the digital transition, as of June 19, 2009, KGUN added the -TV suffix to its callsign (the station had previously used the KGUN-TV callsign from 1957 to 1987, when it dropped the suffix).
Programming
An ABC affiliate, KGUN broadcasts the network's schedule, supplemented by syndicated and local programming, most of which is local news. Syndicated programming currently featured on KGUN-TV includes: Wheel of Fortune, The Ellen DeGeneres Show, The World's Funniest Moments, Jeopardy!, Law & Order, Live! with Kelly and Michael and Inside Edition.
On April 26, 2010, KGUN began producing a lifestyle and entertainment magazine program called The Morning Blend,[7] a program which was adapted from Journal flagship station WTMJ-TV. The program airs weekdays from 11 a.m. to noon; the show replaced KGUN's 11 a.m. newscast.
KGUN aired Who Wants To Be A Millionaire? aired from the start of syndication in 2002 until September 2, 2013.
News operation
In 1997, KGUN added a 5:30 p.m. newscast, moving ABC's World News Tonight to 6 p.m. and expanding its news department.[8] On April 23, 2011, KGUN became the third station in Tucson to begin airing local newscasts in high definition.
News/station presentation
Newscast titles
- Big News
- News in Action (1960s-1970s)
- NewsCenter 9 (1970s–1980s)
- KGUN 9 News (1980s–present)[9]
Station slogans
- In Touch with Tucson (1994–2003)
- Clear. Accurate. To the Point (2003–2006)
- On Your Side (2006–present)
This film, television or video-related list is incomplete; you can help by expanding it with reliably sourced additions.News team[10]
Anchors
- Guy Atchley - weeknights at 5:00, 6:00, and 10:00 p.m.
- Valerie Cavazos - weekends at 5:00 and 10:00 p.m.; also weeknight reporter
- Greg Gurulé - weekday mornings on Good Morning Tucson (5:00-7:00 a.m.)
- Corinne Hautala - weekday mornings on Good Morning Tucson (5:00-7:00 a.m.)
- Stella Inger - weeknights at 5:00, 6:00, and 10:00 p.m.
- Maggie Vespa - weeknights at 9:00 p.m. (KWBA); also reporter and fill-in weather anchor
First Warning Weather
- Erin Christiansen (AMS Certified Broadcast Meteorologist Seal of Approval; member, NWA) - chief meteorologist; weeknights at 5:00, 6:00, 9:00 (KWBA) and 10:00 p.m.
- April Madison - meteorologist; weekday mornings on Good Morning Tucson (5:00-7:00 a.m.)
- Cuyler Diggs - (member, NWA) meteorologist; weekends at 5:00 and 10:00 p.m.
Sports team
- Jason Barr - sports director; weeknights at 6:00 and 10:00 p.m.
- Kayla Anderson - sports anchor/reporter; weekends at 5:00 and 10:00 p.m.
Reporters
- Marcelino Benito - general assignment reporter
- Simone Del Rosario - general assignment reporter
- Allen "Big Al" Kath - weekday morning traffic reporter (5:00-7:00 a.m.)
- Liz Kotalik - general assignment reporter
- Cory Marshall - general assignment reporter
- Rikki Mitchell - video journalist
- Justin Schecker - general assignment reporter
- Craig Smith - general assignment reporter
- Krystin Sorich - general assignment reporter
The Morning Blend[11]
- Amanda Guralski - co-host
- Sally Shamrell - co-host
Management
- Jim Arnold - general manager
- Tom Burke - news director
- Martha Serda - assistant news director
Former staff
- Jennifer Waddell (evening news anchor from 2005-September 6, 2013; now morning anchor with WZTV in Nashville.)
- Michael Goodrich (weathercaster in the early 2000's)
- Norma Cancio (evening news anchor in the 1980's and early 90's)
- David Gregory (reporter)
- Dave Silver (Sports Anchor 1983-2009)
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 "Journal of Wis. to purchase KGUN-TV". Arizona Daily Star. 2005-08-23. Retrieved 2009-01-12.
- ↑ Archive of station history page
- ↑ "TV Transfers". 1972 Broadcasting Yearbook. Retrieved 2009-01-12.
- ↑ "Emmis Announces Sale of Nine Television Stations". Emmis Press Release. 2005-08-22. Retrieved 2009-01-12.
- ↑ Antenna TV Affiliates
- ↑ "DTV Tentative Channel Designations for the First and Second Rounds". FCC CDBS database. Retrieved 2009-01-12.
- ↑ http://www.tucsonmorningblend.com/
- ↑ Rademacher, Kevin. "KGUN to introduce hour-long newscast tonight." Inside Tucson Business 6 Jan. 1997: 9-10.
- ↑ KGUN Tucson - 2006 Late Night Open
- ↑ The KGUN 9 Team
- ↑ http://www.tucsonmorningblend.com
External links
- KGUN Website
- Query the FCC's TV station database for KGUN
- Query TV Fool's coverage map for KGUN
- BIAfn's Media Web Database -- Information on KGUN-TV
| ||||||||||||||
| ||||||||
| ||||||||||||||