KDFW
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| KDFW | |
|---|---|
 |
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| Dallas/Fort Worth, Texas | |
| Branding | Fox 4 |
| Slogan | The News Station Just You Watch |
| Channels | Analog: 4 (VHF) |
| Affiliations | Fox |
| Owner | Fox Television Stations, Inc. (KDFW License, Inc.) |
| First air date | December 3, 1949 |
| Call letters’ meaning | Dallas-Fort Worth |
| Sister station(s) | KDFI |
| Former callsigns | KRLD-TV (1949-1970) |
| Former affiliations | CBS (1949-1995) |
| Transmitter Power | 100 kW (analog) 857 kW (digital) |
| Height | 511 m (analog) 510 m (digital) |
| Facility ID | 33770 |
| Transmitter Coordinates | |
| Website | www.myfoxdfw.com |
- KDFW is also the ICAO airport code for the Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport
KDFW, channel 4, is the Fox owned and operated television station in the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex designated market area. The station is licensed to Dallas and the main business offices and studios are located downtown. The station's transmitter is located in Cedar Hill. It is co-owned with KDFI digital channel 27 as well as Fox Sports-Southwest.
KDFW is a slightly more news based Fox station than the norm with 44 hours (most average about 40 hours a week) a week of news.
Contents |
[edit] History
The station signed on as CBS affiliate KRLD-TV on December 3, 1949 (the third television station in the Metroplex), and was owned by the now-defunct Dallas Times Herald newspaper; the two were located next to each other. KRLD served as the headquarters of the CBS network's coverage of the assassination of President John F. Kennedy, led by Dan Rather, on November 22, 1963. The Times Herald and the station remained neighbors until the paper shut down in December 1991.
KRLD's transmission tower in Cedar Hill, which was 586 feet tall and was considered the highest television transmission tower in the world, was hit by a military helicopter doing training exercises in 1968. The two passengers survived, but the tower had to be reconstructed.
The station changed its call letters to KDFW on July 2, 1970, now broadcasting on its new transmission tower. That year, the Times-Mirror Company acquired KDFW through its purchase of the Times Herald. FCC rules at the time prevented common ownership of a newspaper, radio and television station in the same market and KRLD radio was divested by Times-Mirror. The newspaper was sold off in 1986, and was shut down five years later. In 1993, KDFW and the other Times-Mirror stations were sold to Argyle in a group deal. Early in 1994, KDFW began managing a struggling station, KDFI, which was rebroadcasting KDFW's newscasts in different time slots.
In late 1993, when Fox gained the contract from CBS to carry the NFC package of the National Football League, New World Communications reached an agreement to make for its stations to make the big switch to the network. Afterwards, New World bought out Argyle, which owned KDFW along with sister stations KTVI in St Louis, WVTM in Birmingham, Alabama, and KTBC in Austin. When that buyout was final, KDFW, along with KTBC and KTVI switched affiliations to Fox on July 1, 1995 -- while WVTM remained affiliated with NBC because former ABC affiliate WBRC in the same market was sold directly to Fox (WVTM was subsequently sold to NBC Universal before being purchased by current owner Media General). Upon the network switch, the Cowboys football games moved back to KDFW after a one year absence; KDFW as a CBS affiliate carried the Cowboys through 1993, after which the NFC package moved from CBS to Fox. The CBS affiliation moved to KTVT, and former Fox O&O station KDAF (which Fox sold to Renaissance, later Tribune Company) took The WB affiliation from KXTX. News Corporation purchased KDFW and its LMA with KDFI in a group deal in early 1997. Like most New World-owned stations, KDFW did not pick up Fox Kids; it stayed with KDAF until 1997 when Fox Kids moved to KDFI. (Fox/NewsCorp eventually bought KDFI outright in 2000.) KDFW is not the only Fox O&O to replace a previous Fox O&O (KDAF); sister station WAGA in Atlanta replaced WATL during the Fox/New World agreement in 1994. KDFW and KDFI are the only network O&O's (albeit a duopoly) based in Dallas.
KDFW broadcasts close to 50 hours of local news a week along with prime time Fox programming, sports, syndicated talk, court and reality shows. By the very late 1990s, the station also began to broadcast a few off-network sitcoms. When the station switched networks in 1995, it was known as Fox 4 TEXAS. It is now known as Fox 4: The News Station.
Under Fox ownership, KDFW is the alternate flagship of Texas Rangers baseball as KDFI is the official flagship; Fox Sports Net also broadcasts some games as well.
[edit] Digital Television
The station's digital channel is multiplexed:
Digital channels
| Channel | Programming |
|---|---|
| 4 / 35.1 | Main KDFW programming / Fox HD |
| 35.2 | 4 Warn Weather Radar |
KDFW will leave channel 4 and stay on channel 35 in 2009 when the analog to digital conversion is complete. [1] However, through the use of PSIP, digital television receivers will display KDFW-TV's virtual channel as 4
[edit] News Operations
KDFW was one of the few Fox O&O stations with a newscast in the traditional "late" newscast timeslot of 10 p.m. central. (or 11 p.m. eastern) In 2006, the group started to push expansion into that time slot. (KTBC in Austin had a 10 p.m. newscast for years after switching to Fox, which has since been scaled back to 9 p.m.). It is possible Fox will have all of its O&O stations add these later newscasts.
In 2006, the Fox stations revamped their sets and graphics to be more closely aligned with Fox News Channel. The stations now have Fox News standardized logos and have all switched to the myfox(city).com websites. KDFW debuted the new logo, set and graphics on Wednesday, September 20, 2006 on their 9pm show. It was the biggest change in the station's look since it became a Fox affiliate in 1995.
[edit] Notable personalities
[edit] Current on-air talent
[edit] Fox 4 anchors
- Lari Barager: Good Day Saturday Anchor
- Steve Eagar: Fox 4 News at 5:30, 6, Fox 4 News: First at 9 Anchor
- Dan Godwin: Fox 4 News at Noon, Good Day Saturday Anchor
- Heather Hays: Fox 4 News at 6, Fox 4 News: First at 9 Anchor
- Megan Henderson Good Day Anchor
- Baron James: Fox 4 News at 5, Fox 4 News at 10
- Richard Ray: Fox 4 News at 6 (Saturday), Fox 4 News at 5 (Sunday), Fox 4 News: First at 9 (weekend) Anchor
- Tim Ryan: Good Day Anchor
- Natalie Solis: Fox 4 News at 6 (Saturday), Fox 4 News at 5 (Sunday), Fox 4 News: First at 9 (weekend) Anchor
- Clarice Tinsley: Fox 4 News at 5, Fox 4 News at 10 Anchor
[edit] Fox 4 reporters
- Paul Adrian: Investigative Reporter
- Fil Alvarado: Senior Reporter
- Dionne Anglin: General Assignment Reporter
- Adrian Arambulo: General Assignment Reporter
- Melissa Cutler: General Assignment Reporter
- Saul Garza: General Assignment Reporter, What's Buggin' You Reporter
- Krystle Gutierrez: General Assignment Reporter
- John Hammarley: Medical Reporter
- Lynn Kawano: General Assignment Reporter
- Emily Lopez: General Assignment Reporter
- Steve Noviello: Fox 4 On Your Side Reporter
- Becky Oliver: Investigative Reporter
- Shawn Rabb: General Assignment Reporter
- James Rose: General Assignment Reporter, Street Squad Reporter
- Scott Sayres: Business News Reporter
- Brandon Todd: General Assignment Reporter
Team Traffic
- Chip Waggoner - 6 to 9 a.m., 5 & 5:30 p.m.
[edit] 4Warn Weather
- Dan Henry (AMS Certified): Fox 4 News at 5, 5:30, 6, Fox 4 News: First at 9, Fox 4 News at 10 Chief Meteorologist
- Ron Jackson (AMS Seal of Approval): Good Day Saturday, Fox 4 News at 6 (Saturday), Fox 4 News at 5 (Sunday), Fox 4 News: First at 9 (weekend) Meteorologist
- Evan Andrews (AMS Seal of Approval): Good Day Meteorologist
[edit] Sports team
- Mike Doocy: Fox 4 News at 6, Fox 4 News at 9, Fox 4 News at 10 Sports Director, Host: Sports Sunday
- Max Morgan: Fox 4 News at 6 (Saturday), Fox 4 News at 9 (weekend) Sports Anchor
- Nita Wiggins: Sports Reporter
[edit] KDFW alumni
- Rebecca Aguilar - Reporter (1994-2008)
- Ashleigh Banfield - anchor (1995-1999, now at TruTV)
- Eddie Barker - newscaster (1949-1972)
- Gary Bazner - weather anchor (1978-1982, deceased)
- Steve Bosh - anchor (1984-1990, now a reporter at KUSI-TV in San Diego)
- Bill Brown - reporter (1970s, now in public relations)
- Jack Brown - "Jack Brown's Texas" feature reporter (1980-1998, deceased)
- Mike Burger - meteorologist (1989-1996, now at KTVT)
- Todd Carruth - Team Traffic
- Bill Ceverha - anchor/reporter (1962-1972, served as Republican member of Texas House from 1977-1989)
- Bill Clarke - consumer reporter (1974-1975, now at KMGH-TV in Denver)
- Paul Crane - sports anchor (1983-1992, now at Cox Sports Television in New Orleans)
- Katherine Creag - reporter (2002-2005, now at WNYW-TV in New York)
- Jeff Crilley: General Assignment Reporter
- John Criswell - anchor (1990-1997)
- Steve Crocker - anchor (1995-1998, now at WBRC-TV in Birmingham)
- Warren Culbertson - meteorologist (1963-1984)
- Steve Dawson - anchor (1984-1986)
- Ted Dawson - sports anchor (1987-1995, now a sports anchor at KIDK-TV in Idaho Falls, ID)
- Sam Donaldson - announcer (1959-1960, now with ABC News in Washington, D.C.)
- Linda Edwards - anchor/reporter (1990-1997, now a communications consultant)
- Bobby Estill - sports anchor (1992)
- Walter Evans - anchor (1963-1993)
- Wayne Freedman - reporter (1980-1981, now at KGO-TV in San Francisco)
- John Gilbert - Capitol Bureau reporter (now at KCEN-TV in Waco)
- Bud Gillett - reporter (1978-2000, now at KTVT)
- Eric Glasser - anchor (1995-2005, now at WPTV in West Palm Beach)
- Sylvia Gomez - reporter/anchor (1990-1992)
- Cynthia Gouw - weekend anchor/reporter (1993-1994)
- Judd Hambrick - anchor (1972-1973)
- Dale Hansen - sports anchor (1980-1983, now at WFAA-TV)
- Barbara Harrison - anchor/reporter (1979-1980, now at WRC-TV in Washington, DC)
- Tim Heller - chief meteorologist (1994-2002, now at KTRK-TV in Houston)
- Craig James - sports anchor (1992-1993)
- Dick Johnson - anchor (1976-1982, now at WMAQ-TV in Chicago)
- Judy Jordan Greene - anchor (1966-1980, now at KYTX-TV in Tyler)
- Kim Keelor - anchor (mid 1990s)
- Su Keenan - reporter (1980s)
- Kimberly Kennedy - anchor (1992, now at WSB-TV in Atlanta)
- Bill Mercer - sportscaster/wrestling announcer (1953-1964)
- Kevin McCarthy - sports reporter (1981-1986)
- Marlene McClinton - anchor/reporter (1980-1984)
- Stan Miller - anchor/reporter (1985-1986)
- Chip Moody - anchor (1980-1984, deceased)
- Jason Overstreet: Metro North Bureau
- George Riba - sports reporter (1975-1977, now at WFAA-TV)
- Dick Risenhoover - sports anchor (1970-1973, deceased)
- Erika Ruiz - reporter (1999-2004, now at KRQE in Albuquerque)
- Cameron Sanders - reporter (?-1988)
- Hosea Sanders - weekend anchor/reporter (1981-1986, now at WLS-TV in Chicago)
- Dale Schornack - anchor/reporter (1991-1995, now at KXTV in Sacramento)
- Wayne Shattuck - meteorologist (1981-1984, now at WFTS-TV in Tampa)
- Brett Shipp - investigative reporter (1990-1992, now at WFAA-TV)
- Sara Sidner - reporter (was at KTVU in San Francisco 2004-2007, now at CNN in the New Dehli, India bureau)
- James Spann - meteorologist in mid 1980's, now at ABC 33/40 in Birmingham
- Steve Stoler - reporter (1985-2002, now at WFAA-TV)
- Maria Sotolongo: Noon Weather Anchor (2003-2008)
- Bill Swanbeck - sports anchor (1986-1987)
- Julia Jackson-Somers - morning anchor/reporter (1992-2003, now Julie Sommers and at WPLG-TV in Miami)
- Roger Twibell - sports reporter (1975-1976, now at ABC Sports and ESPN)
- Phyllis Watson - anchor (1995-1998)
- Ray Walker - anchor (1973-1978)
- Barbara White - reporter (1981-2005)
- Charlie Wilson - reporter (1968-1991, deceased)
- Wes Wise - sports anchor (1961-1968)
- Casey Stegall - reporter (2005-2007, now correspondent at Fox News Channel in Los Angeles)
[edit] News/Station Presentation
[edit] Newscast Titles
- The Esso Reporter (1949-1963)
- Big City News (1963-1968, 5:30 p.m. newscast)
- Nightly News (1963-1968, 10 p.m. newscast)
- NewsScene (1968-1975, 5 p.m. newscast)
- 24 Hours (1968-1978, 10 p.m. newscast)
- Eyewitness News (1975-1978)
- Channel 4 News (1978-1980)
- News 4 Dallas-Fort Worth (1980-1984)
- Channel 4 News (1984-1990)
- News 4 Texas (1990-1997; KDFW kept this news title after switch to Fox in 1995)
- Fox 4 News (1997-present)
[edit] Station Slogans
- Hello Dallas (1980s-1989, when used Frank Gari's Hello News)
- Reach for the Stars on Channel 4 (1981-1982, local version of CBS campaign)
- Channel 4 News, Working For You (1989)
- Believing in Texas (1989)
- Your 24 Hour News Source (1990-1995)
- Fox 4 Texas (1995-1997)
- Fox 4: The News Station (1997-present)
[edit] See also
[edit] Video samples
[edit] References
- Shannon, Mike (January, 2004). Dallas-Fort Worth TV Station History. The History of Dallas-Fort Worth Radio and Television.
- KDFW Fox 4 -- 50 Years and Counting! (1999) KDFWFox4.com.
[edit] External links
- Official site
- Query the FCC's TV station database for KDFW
- BIAfn's Media Web Database -- Information on KDFW-TV
- Very old pictures from KRLD Radio and TV
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