KGW

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KGW
Portland, Oregon
Branding	KGW NewsChannel 8
Slogan	Where the News Comes First
Channels	Analog: 8 (VHF) Digital: 46 (UHF)
Translators	see list below
Affiliations	NBC NBC Weather Plus (DT2)
Owner	Belo Corporation (King Broadcasting Company)
First air date	December 15, 1956
Call letters’ meaning	Knights of the Golden West
Former callsigns	KGW-TV (1956-1994)
Former affiliations	ABC (1956-1959)
Transmitter Power	316 kW (analog) 1000 kW (digital)
Height	524 m (analog) 509 m (digital)
Facility ID	34874
Transmitter Coordinates	45°31′20.5″N, 122°44′49.5″W
Website	www.kgw.com

KGW is an NBC affiliate serving the Portland, Oregon area. The station broadcasts its analog signal on VHF channel 8, and its digital signal on UHF channel 46. Its transmitter is located in Portland. It also produces segments and serves as the Portland bureau for Northwest Cable News (NWCN), which is also owned by KGW's corporate parent, Belo Corp. Along with NBC's lineup, the station also airs some local programming, including telecasts of a select amount of Portland Trail Blazers games.

KGW broadcasts NBC Weather Plus on DTV 8.2 and on Comcast Cable channel 308, with its own First Alert Storm Team providing the local forecasts.

[edit] History

The station was an extension of radio station KGW (620 AM). The Oregonian newspaper created KGW-AM by purchasing an existing transmitter from the Shipowners Radio Service. The U.S. Department of Commerce licensed the station, and it began broadcasting on March 21, 1922.

The Oregonian applied for and received an FCC permit for a television station in 1947, but later returned it in order to focus on its core newspaper business. It later bought KOIN-AM and used it to start KOIN-TV.

North Pacific Television, Inc. acquired KGW and KGW-FM on November 1, 1953. The group was owned by a group of five Portland businessmen and Seattle businesswoman Dorothy Bullitt. Bullit's King Broadcasting Company owned a 40 percent stake in the venture. Bullitt eventually gained full control of the stations, and KGW-TV signed on the air on December 15, 1956 on channel 8 as an ABC affiliate. On April 26, 1959, it swapped affiliations with KPTV, becoming an NBC affiliate. (KGW's sister station, KING-TV in Seattle, also switched from ABC to NBC at the same time.)

KGW's logo used from September, 1999 - January 21, 2008

The KGW-TV tower was a prominent victim of the Northwest's historic, violent Columbus Day Storm on Friday, October 12, 1962. KGW was back on the air Tuesday night, October 16, using a temporary tower, plus an antenna on loan from KTNT-TV of Tacoma, Wash.. A new antenna and tower were placed into service on January 28, 1963. In 1964 KGW became the first station in Portland to broadcast in color.

KGW-TV's original evening-news team remained intact for more than seven years - a rarity in the broadcast industry. Anchors Richard Ross and Ivan Smith, commentator Tom McCall, sportscaster Doug LaMear and meteorologist Jack Capell were the faces of KGW's "News Beat" from sign-on in December 1956 until early 1964, when McCall left the air to run for Oregon secretary of state. McCall won election that fall, and was elected governor two years later. Ross anchored KGW's nightly news "Northwest Tonight" until 1975, and LaMear and Capell remained on Channel 8 for at least another two decades after Ross' departure for rival KATU.

In 1992, the Bullitt family sold KING Broadcasting (which also included KING-TV in Seattle, KREM-TV in Spokane, Washington, KTVB-TV in Boise, Idaho and KHNL-TV in Honolulu, Hawaii) to the Providence Journal Corporation. Belo Corp purchased "ProJo" in 1998, gaining control of all the former KING Broadcasting stations.

KGW aired a Portland Trail Blazers game in high-definition (HD) on October 24, 2007. On January 21, 2008 the station became the first in the Portland metropolitan market to broadcast newscasts in HD. Along with a newly-renovated studio, the station also rebranded from "Northwest Newschannel 8" to "KGW Newschannel 8", updated its logo/graphics, and debuted the latest version of 615 Music's "The Tower" music package. KGW also plans to retrofit its news chopper with an HD camera by April 2008.^[1]

The station announced on January 29, 2008 that it will build a high-definition news studio in the heart of Downtown Portland at Pioneer Courthouse Square. This studio will utilize a space previously occupied by Powell's Books. Once completed (tentatively scheduled for summer 2008), KGW's morning and noon newscasts will originate from this new location.^[2]

[edit] KGW NewsChannel 8 anchors/reporters

KGW NewsChannel 8 Anchors

• Russ Lewis: KGW NewsChannel 8 @ Sunrise, KGW NewsChannel 8 @ Noon Anchor
• Stephanie Stricklen: KGW NewsChannel 8 @ Sunrise Anchor (4:30 AM - 5:00 AM)
• Brenda Braxton: KGW NewsChannel 8 @ Sunrise (5:00 AM - 7:00 AM), KGW NewsChannel 8 @ Noon Anchor
• Tracy Barry: KGW NewsChannel 8 @ 5, 6, 6:30 Anchor
• Joe Donlon: KGW NewsChannel 8 @ 5, 6, 10 (KRCW), 11 Anchor
• Laural Porter: KGW NewsChannel 8 @ 6:30, 10 (KRCW), 11 Anchor
• Wayne Havrelly: KGW NewsChannel 8 @ Sunrise (weekend) Anchor
• Amy Troy: KGW NewsChannel 8 @ 5, 5:30, 6:30, 10 (KRCW), 11 (weekend) Anchor

KGW NewsChannel 8 Reporters

• Scott Burton: General Assignment Reporter
• Mike Benner General Assignment Reporter
• Drew Carney: Out & About
• Keely Chalmers: General Assignment Reporter
• Katherine Cook: General Assignment Reporter
• Pat Dooris: General Assignment Reporter
• Wayne Havrelly: General Assignment Reporter, Consumer Fraud Reporter
• Erica Hearquist General Assignment Reporter
• Kyle Iboshi: General Assignment Reporter
• Jennifer Iveson: KGW NewsChannel 8 @ Sunrise Reporter
• Joe Michaels: General Assignment Reporter
• Randy Neves: City Beat Reporter
• Dave Northfield: General Assignment Reporter
• Jack Penning: General Assignment Reporter, Aviation Reporter
• Jane Smith: General Assignment Reporter
• Joe Smith: Business Reporter
• Stephanie Stricklen: Health Reporter, KGW NewsChannel 8 @ Sunrise Reporter

KGW NewsChannel 8 First Alert Storm Team

• Matt Zaffino: KGW NewsChannel 8 @ 5, 6, 6:30, 10 (KRCW), 11 Chief Meteorologist
• Dave Salesky: KGW NewsChannel 8 @ Sunrise, KGW NewsChannel 8 @ Noon Meteorologist
• Jim Donovan: KGW NewsChannel 8 @ Sunrise (weekend) Weather Anchor
• Joe Michaels: KGW NewsChannel 8 @ 5, 5:30, 6:30, 10 (KRCW), 11 (weekend) Meteorologist
• Ron Pederson: Fill-in Weather Anchor

KGW NewsChannel 8 Sports

• Joe Becker: Sports Director
• Adam Bjaranson: Sports Reporter

[edit] KGW NewsChannel 8 alumni

• Colin Cowherd: Now Host of The Herd with Colin Cowherd on ESPN Radio
• Ann Curry: Now Anchor of NBC's Today Show
• Bill Lagattuta: Now with CBS news' 48 Hours
• Tom McCall: Former Oregon Governor
• John Stossel: Now Anchor of ABC's 20/20

[edit] Digital television

The station's digital channel:

Digital channels

In 2009, KGW will remain on channel 8 when the analog to digital conversion is complete.^[3]

[edit] Translators

KGW is rebroadcast on the following translator stations.

Low power translators in La Pine, Sunriver and Terrebonne has been discontinued.

[edit] External links

• KGW official website
• Query the FCC's TV station database for KGW
• BIAfn's Media Web Database -- Information on KGW-TV
• Program Information for KGW at TitanTV.com

[edit] References

• Station History Page
• HistoryLink essay on Ancil Payne
• Oregonian Article on Portland Radio History