KARK-TV
Encyclopedia
KARK, virtual channel 4, is the NBC
NBC
The National Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network and former radio network headquartered in the GE Building in New York City's Rockefeller Center with additional major offices near Los Angeles and in Chicago...

-affiliated television station for Central Arkansas that is licensed to Little Rock
Little Rock, Arkansas
Little Rock is the capital and the largest city of the U.S. state of Arkansas. The Metropolitan Statistical Area had a population of 699,757 people in the 2010 census...

. Owned by the Nexstar Broadcasting Group
Nexstar Broadcasting Group
Nexstar Broadcasting Group, Inc., is an entity of broadcast television stations headquartered in Irving, Texas. The company consists of 50 television stations across the U.S., ranging from market sizes 9 to 201 . 43 of the stations are broadcasting at full power, with the other 4 broadcasting at...

, the station is sister to MyNetworkTV
MyNetworkTV
MyNetworkTV is a television broadcast syndication service in the United States, owned by the Fox Entertainment Group, a division of News Corporation...

 affiliate KARZ-TV
KARZ-TV
KARZ-TV is the MyNetworkTV-affiliated television station for Central Arkansas. It is licensed to Little Rock. It broadcasts a high definition digital signal on UHF channel 42 from a transmitter on Shinall Mountain near the Chenal Valley section of Little Rock...

 (channel 42) and the two share studios on West Capitol Avenue in Downtown Little Rock one block east of the Arkansas State Capitol
Arkansas State Capitol
The Arkansas State Capitol Building, located in Little Rock, is the main house of government of the state of Arkansas.-History:In 1899, the St. Louis architect George R. Mann visited the governor of Arkansas Daniel W. Jones, and presented his drawings of his winning competition design for the...

.

It broadcasts a high definition
High-definition television
High-definition television is video that has resolution substantially higher than that of traditional television systems . HDTV has one or two million pixels per frame, roughly five times that of SD...

 digital signal on UHF channel 32, using its former analog channel assignment of 4 as its virtual channel
Virtual channel
In telecommunications, a logical channel number , also known as virtual channel, is a channel designation which differs from that of the actual radio channel on which the signal travels....

 via PSIP, from a transmitter on Shinall Mountain
Shinall Mountain
Shinall Mountain, elevation , is located near the Chenal Valley neighborhood of Little Rock, Arkansas, in the foothills of the Ouachita Mountains...

 near the Chenal Valley
Chenal Valley, Little Rock, Arkansas
A sizable and more recently developed section of the city, Chenal Valley is in the west-central section of Little Rock, Arkansas, known as West Little Rock...

 section of the city. On cable, the station is available on Comcast
Comcast
Comcast Corporation is the largest cable operator, home Internet service provider, and fourth largest home telephone service provider in the United States, providing cable television, broadband Internet, and telephone service to both residential and commercial customers in 39 states and the...

 channel 5 in standard definition and digital channel 232 in high definition.

KARK-DT

KARK-DT broadcasts on UHF digital channel 32.
Virtual
channel
Physical
channel
Aspect
ratio
Aspect ratio
The aspect ratio of a shape is the ratio of its longer dimension to its shorter dimension. It may be applied to two characteristic dimensions of a three-dimensional shape, such as the ratio of the longest and shortest axis, or for symmetrical objects that are described by just two measurements,...

Picture
format
Programming
4.1 32.1 16:9
16:9
16:9 is an aspect ratio with a width of 16 units and height of 9. Since 2009, it has become the most common aspect ratio for sold televisions and computer monitors and is also the international standard format of HDTV, Full HD, non-HD digital television and analog widescreen television ...

 
1080i
1080i
1080i is the shorthand name for a high-definition television mode. The i means interlaced video; 1080i differs from 1080p, in which the p stands for progressive scan. The term 1080i assumes a widescreen aspect ratio of 16:9, implying a frame size of 1920×1080 pixels...

 
Main KARK programming / NBC HD


KARK-TV requested to transmit in digital only, effective February 17, 2009. After it shut down its analog signal on that date, the original scheduled completion date of the nationwide analog television shutdown
Digital television transition
The digital television transition is the process in which analog television broadcasting is converted to and replaced by digital television. This primarily involves both TV stations and over-the-air viewers; however it also involves content providers like TV networks, and cable television...

, which Congress had moved the previous month to June 12, 2009, KARK-DT remained on its pre-transition digital channel number, 32, using PSIP to display its virtual channel as 4.

History

This station is Little Rock's second oldest having started on April 15, 1954. KATV
KATV
KATV, channel 7, is an ABC affiliated television station serving the Little Rock television market and central Arkansas. The station is owned by Allbritton Communications Company....

 was the first beating KARK to the airwaves by almost five months. In 1966, its original owners sold the station to Mullins Broadcasting, the owner of KBTV (now KUSA-TV
KUSA-TV
KUSA, channel 9, is an NBC-affiliated television station in Denver, Colorado. KUSA is owned by the Gannett Company, and is a sister station to MyNetworkTV affiliate KTVD...

) in Denver. When John C. Mullins (owner of the company) died in 1970, the Mullins estate sold both stations in 1972 to Combined Communications which merged with the Gannett Company
Gannett Company
Gannett Company, Inc. is a publicly-traded media holding company headquartered in Tysons Corner, Virginia, United States, near McLean. It is the largest U.S. newspaper publisher as measured by total daily circulation. Its assets include the national newspaper USA Today and the weekly USA Weekend...

 (which, ironically, currently owns rival station KTHV
KTHV
KTHV , is the CBS network affiliate television station serving the Little Rock/Pine Bluff television market and central Arkansas. The station is owned by Gannett Company, which purchased the station in 1994...

) seven years later. In 1983, Gannett sold KARK to Southwest Media, a subsidiary of United Broadcasting, a one-time owner of WMUR-TV
WMUR-TV
WMUR-TV is the ABC-affiliated television station for the state of New Hampshire that is licensed to Manchester. It broadcasts a high definition digital signal on VHF channel 9 from a transmitter on the south peak of Mount Uncanoonuc in Goffstown. Owned by Hearst Television, the station has studios...

 in Manchester, New Hampshire
Manchester, New Hampshire
Manchester is the largest city in the U.S. state of New Hampshire, the tenth largest city in New England, and the largest city in northern New England, an area comprising the states of Maine, New Hampshire, and Vermont. It is in Hillsborough County along the banks of the Merrimack River, which...

 which also owned KDBC-TV
KDBC-TV
KDBC-TV is the CBS affiliate in El Paso, Texas. The station is owned by the Titan TV Broadcast Group. It broadcasts its digital signal on UHF channel 18. Its new digital subchannel carries My Network TV...

 in El Paso, Texas
El Paso, Texas
El Paso, is a city in and the county seat of El Paso County, Texas, United States, and lies in far West Texas. In the 2010 census, the city had a population of 649,121. It is the sixth largest city in Texas and the 19th largest city in the United States...

 and WTOK-TV
WTOK-TV
WTOK-TV is the ABC-affiliated television station for Meridian, Mississippi. It broadcasts a high definition digital signal on VHF channel 11 from a transmitter south of the city along MS 145 . The station can also be seen on Comcast channel 6 and in high definition on digital channel 431. Owned by...

 in Meridian, Mississippi
Meridian, Mississippi
Meridian is the county seat of Lauderdale County, Mississippi. It is the sixth largest city in the state and the principal city of the Meridian, Mississippi Micropolitan Statistical Area...

.

In 1988, United Broadcasting sold off all of its stations with KARK going to Morris Multimedia
Morris Multimedia
Morris Multimedia, Inc. is a media company based in Savannah, Georgia, founded in 1970 by Charles H. Morris. Morris Multimedia, among the largest privately held media companies in the United States, is the parent company of Morris Newspaper Corporation and Morris Network.- Newspapers :The Morris...

. In 2003, Morris Multimedia sold KARK and WDHN
WDHN
WDHN is the ABC-affiliated television station for Southeastern Alabama's Wiregrass Region. Owned by the Nexstar Broadcasting Group and licensed to Dothan, it broadcasts a high definition digital signal on UHF channel 21 from a transmitter at its studios on AL 52 in Webb. The station can also be...

 in Dothan, Alabama
Dothan, Alabama
Dothan is a city located in the southeastern corner of the US state of Alabama, situated approximately west of the Georgia state line and north of Florida. It is the seat of Houston County, with portions extending into nearby Dale County and Henry County...

 to Nexstar who eventually consolidated most sports operations from KARK with those of its sister stations in Northwest Arkansas: NBC affiliate KNWA-TV
KNWA-TV
KNWA-TV, virtual channel 51, is the NBC-affiliated television station for Northwest Arkansas and the Arkansas River Valley. It broadcasts a high definition digital signal on UHF channel 50 from a transmitter southeast of Garfield...

 and Fox affiliate KFTA-TV
KFTA-TV
KFTA-TV, virtual channel 24, is the Fox-affiliated television station for the Arkansas River Valley and Northwest Arkansas that is licensed to Fort Smith. It broadcasts a high definition digital signal on UHF channel 27 from a transmitter south of Artist Point...

. The two NBC affiliates additionally share certain news resources with some reports filed by KNWA personnel occasionally used during KARK broadcasts. Since 2007, the two stations have also co-produced a daily newscast at Noon Monday through Friday, Arkansas at Noon, with news anchors in Little Rock and Fayetteville
Fayetteville, Arkansas
Fayetteville is the county seat of Washington County, and the third largest city in Arkansas. The city is centrally located within the county and is home to the University of Arkansas. Fayetteville is also deep in the Boston Mountains, a subset of The Ozarks...

.

In October 2008, Nexstar announced that it would purchase MyNetworkTV affiliate KWBF from Equity Media Holdings for $4 million. This purchase was granted Federal Communications Commission
Federal Communications Commission
The Federal Communications Commission is an independent agency of the United States government, created, Congressional statute , and with the majority of its commissioners appointed by the current President. The FCC works towards six goals in the areas of broadband, competition, the spectrum, the...

 (FCC) approval on December 23 of that year. However, although the purchase was to have been completed at the end of January 2009, its consummation was ultimately delayed nearly a month and a half until March 12. In the interim, Nexstar took over the operations of KWBF through a time brokerage agreement
Local marketing agreement
In U.S. and Canadian broadcasting, a local marketing agreement is an agreement in which one company agrees to operate a radio or television station owned by another licensee...

.

As of February 1, KWBF changed its calls to KARZ-TV and began airing an hour-long prime time newscast at 7 pm that is produced by KARK. MyNetworkTV programming airs one hour later (from 8 to 10 pm) than most other Central Time Zone
Central Time zone
In North America, the Central Time Zone refers to national time zones which observe standard time by subtracting six hours from UTC , and daylight saving, or summer time by subtracting five hours...

 affiliates. KARZ may also take on the responsibility as an alternate NBC affiliate by airing that network's programs when KARK cannot do so such as during a breaking news emergency.

During Labor Day weekend in 2011, KARK Meteorologist Brett Cummins was at the Maumelle, Arkansas
Maumelle, Arkansas
Maumelle is a city in Pulaski County, Arkansas, United States and a suburb of Little Rock. Founded by Jess Odom with federal assistance from the Urban Growth and New Community Development Act, it is a master-planned community....

, home of 24-year-old Dexter Williams who was found dead that Labor Day morning. Reports say that Brett Cummins woke up in the hot tub next to the man that died. It is still not known at this time if he was involved with his death. Local police authorities continue to investigate if alcohol or drugs played a role. Other local and national media outlets reacted to this event. The meteorologist was not on the air the next few days following. As of September 9, 2011, Cummins no longer works at KARK.

Programming

KARK broadcasts all of NBC's schedule except for the Sunday edition of NBC Nightly News
NBC Nightly News
NBC Nightly News is the flagship daily evening television news program for NBC News and broadcasts. NBC Nightly News has aired from Studio 3B, located on floors 3 of the NBC Studios is the headquarters of the GE Building forms the centerpiece of 30th Rockefeller Center it is located in the center...

during football
American football
American football is a sport played between two teams of eleven with the objective of scoring points by advancing the ball into the opposing team's end zone. Known in the United States simply as football, it may also be referred to informally as gridiron football. The ball can be advanced by...

 season. Syndicated
Television syndication
In broadcasting, syndication is the sale of the right to broadcast radio shows and television shows by multiple radio stations and television stations, without going through a broadcast network, though the process of syndication may conjure up structures like those of a network itself, by its very...

 programming on KARK includes: Entertainment Tonight
Entertainment Tonight
Entertainment Tonight is a daily tabloid television entertainment television news show that is syndicated by CBS Television Distribution throughout the United States, Canada and in many countries around the world. Linda Bell Blue is currently the program's executive producer...

, Judge Joe Brown, The Doctors
The Doctors (2008 TV series)
The Doctors is an American syndicated talk show airing daily in the U.S., Canada, Mexico, Ireland, Sweden and Finland. It debuted on September 8, 2008. The hour-long daytime program is produced by Phil McGraw and his son Jay McGraw and is distributed domestically and globally by CBS Television...

, and Rachael Ray
Rachael Ray (TV series)
Rachael Ray, also known as The Rachael Ray Show, is a talk show starring Rachael Ray that debuted in syndication in the United States and Canada on September 18, 2006....

.

Outside of local newscasts, the station produces Talkin' Outdoors at the Corner Café, which airs immediately after Today on Saturday mornings, is produced by KARK and is a special interest program showcasing outdoor recreation in cooperation with the Arkansas Game & Fish Commission.

Programming controversies

KARK made national news in early 2006 by declining to air the NBC program The Book of Daniel. The station's General Manager Rick Rogala at the time issued two statements regarding the issue. The first issued January 4, 2006 stated: "Our relationship with NBC always provided for the right to reject programming. I am reaffirming that right to let them know I will not allow them to make unilateral decisions affecting our viewers." The statement continued: "If my action causes people in our community to pay more attention to what they watch on television, I have accomplished my mission."

Two days later a second statement was released citing concerns about FCC rules regarding obscenity: "My first obligation to my station is to protect the license granted by the FCC. Current regulations could subject this station to severe punishment, up to and including revocation of our license if even a single person's objection to the FCC found material broadcast by our station to be indecent or obscene. Subsequent viewing of the material within The Book of Daniel leaves me no choice but to do my job and uphold the standards of our community." In part because of KARK's pre-emption of the series, along with other affiliates, combined with low ratings in general for the series, the program was cancelled after three episodes and finished its run streaming on NBC.com. KWBF (the future KARZ) instead aired the series after The WB
The WB Television Network
The WB Television Network is a former television network in the United States that was launched on January 11, 1995 as a joint venture between Warner Bros. and Tribune Broadcasting. On January 24, 2006, CBS Corporation and Warner Bros...

's Friday night schedule.

News operation

KARK broadcasts a total of 25 hours of local news and sports programming per week. They also broadcast 12.5 hours of news programming on sister station KARZ. Between the two stations, the news operation broadcasts about 37.5 hours of news programming a week. Monday through Fridays, a two-hour weekday morning news program known as KARK 4 News HD Today broadcasts from 5 until 7 a.m. They air additional two-hour morning news show on sister station KARZ from 7-9 a.m. The midday newscast airs from 12-12:50 p.m. Monday through Friday (from 12:50-1:00 p.m., KARK airs Tracey & Company). During the evening KARK broadcasts newscasts at 5 p.m. Sunday through Friday, at 6 p.m. Monday through Saturdays, and every night at 10 p.m. The station also produces a half-hour primetime newscast at 7 pm on sister station KARZ. Sunday programming also includes the weekly sports program Razorback
Arkansas Razorbacks
The Razorbacks, also known as the Hogs, are the names of college sports teams at the University of Arkansas in Fayetteville, Arkansas. The term Arkansas Razorbacks properly applies to any of the sports teams at the university. The Razorbacks take their name from the feral pig of the same name...

 Nation Pig Trail
(produced in conjunction with KNWA).

For many years, KARK was the top-rated station for news in Little Rock. However, its newscast ratings plummeted in the mid-1990s as ABC
American Broadcasting Company
The American Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network. Created in 1943 from the former NBC Blue radio network, ABC is owned by The Walt Disney Company and is part of Disney-ABC Television Group. Its first broadcast on television was in 1948...

 affiliate KATV took the lead in the market. Even with the decrease, KARK remained in second place through most of the latter half of the 1990s then fell to third for a brief period in the early-2000s. This station has since regained many of its viewers and is a very competitive television station today. A significant aspect of its broadcasts today is emphasis of Arkansas
Arkansas
Arkansas is a state located in the southern region of the United States. Its name is an Algonquian name of the Quapaw Indians. Arkansas shares borders with six states , and its eastern border is largely defined by the Mississippi River...

-oriented content over national stories. As mentioned above, both KARK and KARZ converted to a high definition news presentation as of April 20, 2011.

In recent years, due to NBC's prime-time struggles in the Nielsen Ratings
Nielsen Ratings
Nielsen ratings are the audience measurement systems developed by Nielsen Media Research, in an effort to determine the audience size and composition of television programming in the United States...

, KARK's newscasts have remained in third place for the most part although close enough to remain competitive with KATV, KLRT, and KTHV.

At the beginning of the 2010–11 television season, Nexstar took the first step of preparing the station for high definition news broadcasting through the purchase of JVC
JVC
, usually referred to as JVC, is a Japanese international consumer and professional electronics corporation based in Yokohama, Japan which was founded in 1927...

 HD cameras for studio broadcasting, and then the build-out of a new set in early April. On April 20, 2011, KARK became the third station in the market, and the first Nexstar-owned station to broadcast its newscast in high definition. The station's former logo, which was reminiscent of that currently used by Nashville NBC affiliate WSMV since 1994, was also changed at the same time.

Newscast titles

  • The Night Report (1950s)
  • Report to Arkansas (early 1960s)
  • The Sixth Hour Report/The Eleventh Hour Report (mid 1960s–1970s)
  • (Channel) 4 Eyewitness News
    Eyewitness News
    Eyewitness News is a style of news broadcasting used by local television stations in different markets across the United States. It refers to a particular style of television newscast with an emphasis on visual elements and action video...

    (1970s–1993; during the mid-1980s the station was branded as NewsCenter 4 but kept Eyewitness News as its newscast title)
  • News 4 (1993–2001)
  • News 4 Arkansas (2001–2004)
  • KARK 4 News (2004–present)
  • KARK 4 News HD (2011–present)

Station slogans

  • We're 4 Arkansas (1978–1981)
  • The NewsCenter of Arkansas (mid 1980s–1988)
  • Say Hello (1984–1986; during period station used Frank Gari's "Hello News")
  • NewsCenter 4, Arkansas's Choice (1984–1986; used on news promos)
  • Straight from the Heart (late 1980s)
  • 4 The People (general) / Your 24-Hour News and Weather Source
    24 Hour News Source
    The 24 Hour News Source brand was a common name used by American television stations starting in the early 1990s for brief hourly news updates, usually running 30 seconds to a minute in length. At its peak, dozens of stations across the U.S. were producing these brief news updates...

    (news, 1990–1993)
  • Arkansas' 24-Hour News and Weather Channel
    24 Hour News Source
    The 24 Hour News Source brand was a common name used by American television stations starting in the early 1990s for brief hourly news updates, usually running 30 seconds to a minute in length. At its peak, dozens of stations across the U.S. were producing these brief news updates...

    (1993–1997)
  • Where The News Comes First (1997–2001)
  • Updated, Local, Relevant (2007–2011; news slogan)
  • Still the One (2008–2011; general slogan)
  • Count on KARK 4 (2011–present)
  • Your Weather Authority (weather slogan)

Current on-air staff

Anchors
  • Bob Clausen - weeknights at 6 and 10 p.m.; also weeknight 5 p.m. reporter
  • Jessica Dean - weeknights at 6 and 10 p.m.; also reporter
  • Mallory Hardin - weekday mornings (5–7 a.m.) and noon
  • Matt Mosler - weekday mornings (5–7 a.m. on KARK, and 7–8 a.m. on KARZ)
  • Melissa Simas - weeknights at 5 p.m.; also reporter
  • Wendy Suares - weekday mornings (5–7 a.m. on KARK, and 7–8 a.m. on KARZ)
  • Lauren Trager - Saturdays at 6, Sundays at 5 and weekends at 10 p.m.


4WARN Weather
  • Keith Monahan (AMS
    American Meteorological Society
    The American Meteorological Society promotes the development and dissemination of information and education on the atmospheric and related oceanic and hydrologic sciences and the advancement of their professional applications. Founded in 1919, the American Meteorological Society has a membership...

     Certified Broadcast Meteorologist
    Certified Broadcast Meteorologist
    Certified Broadcast Meteorologist is a rating for meteorologists given by the American Meteorological Society.The Certified Broadcast Meteorologist program was established to raise the professional standard in broadcast meteorology and encourage a broader range of scientific understanding,...

     Seal of Approval) - chief meteorologist; weeknights at 5, 6 and 10 p.m.
  • Darby Bybee - meteorologist; Saturdays at 6, Sundays at 5 and weekends at 10 p.m.
  • Greg Dee (AMS
    American Meteorological Society
    The American Meteorological Society promotes the development and dissemination of information and education on the atmospheric and related oceanic and hydrologic sciences and the advancement of their professional applications. Founded in 1919, the American Meteorological Society has a membership...

     Certified Broadcast Meteorologist
    Certified Broadcast Meteorologist
    Certified Broadcast Meteorologist is a rating for meteorologists given by the American Meteorological Society.The Certified Broadcast Meteorologist program was established to raise the professional standard in broadcast meteorology and encourage a broader range of scientific understanding,...

     Seal of Approval; member, NWA
    National Weather Association
    The National Weather Association is an American professional association with a mission to support and promote excellence in operational meteorology and related activities...

    ) - meteorologist; weekday mornings (5–7 a.m. on KARK, and 7–8 a.m. on KARZ)
  • Tracy Douglass - weather anchor; fill-in


Sports team (based at KARK)
  • Kerri O'Hara - sports director; weeknights at 6, 7 (on KARZ) and 10 p.m.
  • Jason Snavely - sports anchor; Saturdays at 6, Sundays at 5 and weekends at 10 p.m., also sports reporter


Razorback Nation (based at KNWA
KNWA-TV
KNWA-TV, virtual channel 51, is the NBC-affiliated television station for Northwest Arkansas and the Arkansas River Valley. It broadcasts a high definition digital signal on UHF channel 50 from a transmitter southeast of Garfield...

/KFTA
KFTA-TV
KFTA-TV, virtual channel 24, is the Fox-affiliated television station for the Arkansas River Valley and Northwest Arkansas that is licensed to Fort Smith. It broadcasts a high definition digital signal on UHF channel 27 from a transmitter south of Artist Point...

)
  • Aaron Peters - Razorback Nation host and KNWA main sports anchor
  • Adam Alter - Razorback Nation sports anchor/reporter
  • Trey Daerr - Razorback Nation sports anchor/reporter


Reporters
  • Brittney Johnson - general assignment reporter
  • Adam Rodriguez - general assignment reporter
  • Bakari Savage - general assignment reporter
  • Lauren Trager - general assignment reporter

Notable former on-air staff

  • Isiah Carey
    Isiah Carey
    Isiah Carey is an American television broadcast journalist and reporter who has worked for television and radio stations throughout the southeast portion of the United States and whose reporting videos have been seen by millions of people around the world.-Background:Carey was born in Baton Rouge,...

     - reporter (now at KRIV
    KRIV
    KRIV, channel 26, is an owned-and-operated television station of the News Corporation-owned Fox, located in Houston, Texas. KRIV is co-owned with MyNetworkTV affiliate KTXH...

     in Houston)
  • Brett Cummins - chief meteorologist (resigned after personal incident)
  • Mike Francis - chief meteorologist (now chief meteorologist at WXIA-TV
    WXIA-TV
    WXIA-TV, virtual channel 11.1 , is the NBC-affiliated television station in Atlanta, Georgia. Popularly known by its 11 Alive moniker, WXIA is owned by the Gannett Company in a duopoly with MyNetworkTV affiliate WATL...

     in Atlanta, Georgia
    Atlanta, Georgia
    Atlanta is the capital and most populous city in the U.S. state of Georgia. According to the 2010 census, Atlanta's population is 420,003. Atlanta is the cultural and economic center of the Atlanta metropolitan area, which is home to 5,268,860 people and is the ninth largest metropolitan area in...

    )

External links

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