WLWT
Encyclopedia
WLWT, 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....

 5 (digital channel 35), is an 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
Television station
A television station is a business, organisation or other such as an amateur television operator that transmits content over terrestrial television. A television transmission can be by analog television signals or, more recently, by digital television. Broadcast television systems standards are...

 in Cincinnati, Ohio
Cincinnati, Ohio
Cincinnati is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio. Cincinnati is the county seat of Hamilton County. Settled in 1788, the city is located to north of the Ohio River at the Ohio-Kentucky border, near Indiana. The population within city limits is 296,943 according to the 2010 census, making it Ohio's...

, the station is owned by Hearst Television. Its studios are located in the Mount Auburn neighborhood, with its transmitter is located on Chickasaw Street.

Digital programming

WLWT-DT broadcasts its digital signal on UHF digital channel 35.
The station's digital signal is multiplexed:>
Virtual
channel
Video Format Programming
5.1 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...

 
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 ...

 
Main WLWT programming / NBC (HD)
5.2 480i
480i
480i is the shorthand name for a video mode, namely the US NTSC television system or digital television systems with the same characteristics. The i, which is sometimes uppercase, stands for interlaced, the 480 for a vertical frame resolution of 480 lines containing picture information; while NTSC...

 
4:3  Me-TV; classic television series


NBC Weather Plus
NBC Weather Plus
NBC Weather Plus was a 24-hour, commercially sponsored, weather-oriented broadcast/cable television network jointly owned by NBC Universal and the local affiliates of the NBC network. It debuted on November 15, 2004 and shut down on December 31, 2008...

 ceased network operations in late 2008, but WLWT continued to broadcast local weather programming as News 5 Weather Plus on its digital subchannel until June 30, 2011. The subchannel was replaced by classic television programming from Me-TV on July 1, 2011. Me-TV competes with Retro Television Network
Retro Television Network
The Retro Television Network is a system of television stations that airs classic television shows as well as more recently produced programs...

, which is shown on WBQC-LD subchannel 25.3.

Post-analog shutdown

WLWT ended programming on its analog signal, on VHF channel 5, on June 12, 2009, as part of the DTV transition in the United States
DTV transition in the United States
The DTV transition in the United States was the switchover from analog to exclusively digital broadcasting of free over-the-air television programming...

, and remained on its pre-transition digital channel 35 PSIP is used to display WLWT's 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....

 as 5. WLWT broadcast a nightlight message
Short-term Analog Flash and Emergency Readiness Act
The Short-term Analog Flash and Emergency Readiness Act, or SAFER Act, is a U.S. law to require the Federal Communications Commission to allow the continuation of full-power analog TV transmissions in 2009 for 30 more days, for the purpose of broadcasting public service announcements regarding the...

 on its analog channel for one month following the DTV transition deadline.

History

WLWT was established by the Crosley Broadcasting Corporation
Crosley Broadcasting Corporation
The Crosley Broadcasting Corporation was a radio and television broadcaster founded by radio manufacturing pioneer Powel Crosley, Jr.. The company was an early operator of radio stations in the United States. Based in Cincinnati, Ohio, Crosley's flagship station was WLW...

, owners of WLW
WLW
WLW is a clear channel talk radio station located in Cincinnati, Ohio, run by Clear Channel Communications. The station broadcasts locally on 700 kHz AM...

 radio, one of America
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

's most powerful radio stations. Crosley Broadcasting Corporation was a subsidiary of the Crosley Corporation, which became a subsidiary of the Aviation Corporation (later Avco
Avco
Avco Corporation is a subsidiary of Textron which operates Textron Systems Corporation and Lycoming.-Brief history:The Embry-Riddle Company created the Aviation Corporation in 1928 as a holding company tasked with acquiring small airlines...

) in 1945. After airing experimentally from 1946 as W8XCT on channel 1, the station began commercial broadcasts on February 9, 1948. Its studios were housed with WLW in the Crosley Square building, a converted Elks
Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks
The Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks is an American fraternal order and social club founded in 1868...

 Lodge No. 5 in downtown Cincinnati.

WLWT counts itself as the first station outside the eastern U.S. (other than network-owned stations) to join the NBC television network as a primary affiliate, but originally carried programming from all the major television networks of the time: NBC, 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...

, CBS
CBS
CBS Broadcasting Inc. is a major US commercial broadcasting television network, which started as a radio network. The name is derived from the initials of the network's former name, Columbia Broadcasting System. The network is sometimes referred to as the "Eye Network" in reference to the shape of...

 and DuMont
DuMont Television Network
The DuMont Television Network, also known as the DuMont Network, DuMont, Du Mont, or Dumont was one of the world's pioneer commercial television networks, rivalling NBC for the distinction of being first overall. It began operation in the United States in 1946. It was owned by DuMont...

. It later affiliated solely with NBC in 1949, after WKRC-TV and WCPO-TV signed on.

For many years, the station's IDs and advertising used a hyphen in its callsign ("WLW-T"), but that was dropped in the mid-1960s. The hypenated "T" referred to Television, as it did in WLW-C (now WCMH-TV
WCMH-TV
WCMH-TV, channel 4, is a television station in Columbus, Ohio, affiliated with the NBC television network and owned by Media General. The station's studios and transmitter are located in Columbus. NBC-4 broadcasts from its studio and office complex near the Ohio State University on Olentangy River...

, Columbus), WLW-D (now WDTN
WDTN
WDTN, virtual channel 2, is the NBC-affiliated television station for Ohio's Miami Valley. Licensed to Dayton, it broadcasts a high definition digital signal on UHF channel 50 from a transmitter in the Frytown section of the city. The station can also be seen on Time Warner Cable channel 2 and in...

, Dayton) and WLW-I (now WTHR
WTHR
WTHR, channel 13, is a full-service television station serving the Indianapolis, Indiana metropolitan area. An affiliate of the NBC television network, its studios at 1000 N. Meridian Street anchor the south end of Indy's Television Row...

, Indianapolis), making up the Tri-State's only interconnected network. Crosley also owned WLW-A (now 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 and WOAI-TV
WOAI-TV
WOAI-TV, virtual channel 4 , is the NBC affiliate television station serving the San Antonio, Texas metropolitan area. Its transmitter is located in Elmendorf, Texas, with its studios located in downtown San Antonio....

 in San Antonio, Texas. "WLW
WLW
WLW is a clear channel talk radio station located in Cincinnati, Ohio, run by Clear Channel Communications. The station broadcasts locally on 700 kHz AM...

 Television" boasted a million dollars worth of talent resulting in such programs as The Ruth Lyons
Ruth Lyons (broadcaster)
Ruth Lyons, was a pioneer radio and television broadcaster in Cincinnati, Ohio. It is said Ruth Lyons accidentally invented the daytime TV talk show...

 50-50 Club
(later hosted by Bob Braun
Bob Braun
Bob Braun was a local television and radio personality in Cincinnati, Ohio. He was born in Ludlow, Kentucky....

 after Lyons' retirement in 1967), the Paul Dixon Show
Paul Dixon Show
The Paul Dixon Show was an American television variety program originating in Cincinnati on WLWT Television beginning in 1955 and ending in January 1975, one month after Dixon's death in December 1974...

, and Midwestern Hayride
Midwestern Hayride
Midwestern Hayride, sometimes known as Midwest Hayride, was an American country music show originating in the 1930s from WLW-AM and later from WLWT-TV in Cincinnati, Ohio. During the 1950s it was carried nationally by NBC and then ABC television...

. For a period during the 1970s, the station's slogan was, "5, The Originator" in reference to all of the local programming that was produced by the station.

In 1957, WLWT introduced color television
Color television
Color television is part of the history of television, the technology of television and practices associated with television's transmission of moving images in color video....

 broadcasts to the Cincinnati market. It later became the first station in the nation to broadcast entirely in color, giving the Cincinnati the nickname "Colortown U.S.A." by 1962.

In 1968, WLWT became the primary station for the newly-established Cincinnati Bengals
Cincinnati Bengals
The Cincinnati Bengals are a professional football team based in Cincinnati, Ohio. They are members of the AFC's North Division in the National Football League . The Bengals began play in 1968 as an expansion team in the American Football League , and joined the NFL in 1970 in the AFL-NFL...

 of the American Football League
American Football League
The American Football League was a major American Professional Football league that operated from 1960 until 1969, when the established National Football League merged with it. The upstart AFL operated in direct competition with the more established NFL throughout its existence...

, which had its games broadcast on NBC
NFL on NBC
NFL on NBC is the brand given to NBC Sports coverage of National Football League games until 1998, when NBC lost the NFL American Football Conference rights to CBS...

. With the merger of the AFL with the National Football League
National Football League
The National Football League is the highest level of professional American football in the United States, and is considered the top professional American football league in the world. It was formed by eleven teams in 1920 as the American Professional Football Association, with the league changing...

, NBC's AFL contract became the American Football Conference
American Football Conference
The American Football Conference is one of the two conferences of the National Football League . This conference and its counterpart, the National Football Conference , currently contain 16 teams each, making up the 32 teams of the NFL....

 package. WLWT would air Bengals games through the end of the 1997 season. Beginning in 1998, WKRC-TV
WKRC-TV
WKRC-TV is the CBS-affiliated television station for the Tri-State area of Southern Ohio, Northern Kentucky, and Southeastern Indiana that is licensed to Cincinnati. It broadcasts a high definition digital signal on VHF channel 12 from a transmitter at its studios on Highland Avenue in the Mount...

 became the primary station as the AFC package moved to CBS
NFL on CBS
The NFL on CBS is the brand name of the CBS television network's coverage of the National Football League's American Football Conference games, produced by CBS Sports.-Market coverage and television policies:...

. WLWT now airs any NBC Sunday Night Football
NBC Sunday Night Football
NBC Sunday Night Football is a weekly television broadcast of Sunday evening National Football League games on NBC that began airing on Sunday, August 6, 2006 with the pre-season opening Hall of Fame Game. Al Michaels serves as the play-by-play announcer, with Cris Collinsworth as the color...

games involving the Bengals, and also simulcasts ESPN
ESPN
Entertainment and Sports Programming Network, commonly known as ESPN, is an American global cable television network focusing on sports-related programming including live and pre-taped event telecasts, sports talk shows, and other original programming....

-aired Monday Night Football
Monday Night Football
Monday Night Football is a live broadcast of the National Football League on ESPN. From to it aired on ABC. Monday Night Football was, along with Hallmark Hall of Fame, and the Walt Disney anthology television series, one of the longest running prime time commercial network television series...

games for the Cincinnati market (ESPN is 20% owned by Hearst).

The broadcast division continued to operate as the Crosley Broadcasting Corporation
Crosley Broadcasting Corporation
The Crosley Broadcasting Corporation was a radio and television broadcaster founded by radio manufacturing pioneer Powel Crosley, Jr.. The company was an early operator of radio stations in the United States. Based in Cincinnati, Ohio, Crosley's flagship station was WLW...

, until it took the name of its parent company in 1968, becoming Avco Broadcasting Corporation. When the 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) enacted in 1969 its "one-to-a-market" rule, which enforced the ban on common ownership of two or more television stations with overlapping coverage areas while grandfathering
Grandfather clause
Grandfather clause is a legal term used to describe a situation in which an old rule continues to apply to some existing situations, while a new rule will apply to all future situations. It is often used as a verb: to grandfather means to grant such an exemption...

 some already existing instances, the common ownership of WLWT, WLWC, WLWD and WLWI was among those combinations which were grandfathered under the new rule. WLWT provided city-grade coverage of Dayton itself and grade B coverage to most of the Dayton and Columbus markets. But in the mid-1970s, Avco decided to leave broadcasting and sold all of its stations to separate buyers. WLWT was among the last to be sold, going to Multimedia, Inc.
Multimedia (media company)
Multimedia, Inc. was a media company that owned 10 daily newspapers, three weekly newspapers, two radio stations, five television stations, and a cable television system division...

 (along with Avco-Embassy Television, Avco's production division) in 1976. As a result, the stations all lost their grandfathered protection, which led to an ownership conflict situation which Hearst-Argyle (predecessor to today's Hearst Television) would encounter two decades later (see next paragraph). The FCC has since relaxed its adjacent-market ownership rules.

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...

 bought the Multimedia group in 1995. As Gannett had owned The Cincinnati Enquirer
The Cincinnati Enquirer
The Cincinnati Enquirer, a daily morning newspaper, is the highest-circulation print publication in Greater Cincinnati and Northern Kentucky. The Cincinnati Enquirer, a daily morning newspaper, is the highest-circulation print publication in Greater Cincinnati (Ohio) and Northern Kentucky. The...

since 1979 (and remains the newspaper's owner to this day), the company had to obtain a temporary waiver of an FCC cross-ownership
Concentration of media ownership
Concentration of media ownership refers to a process whereby progressively fewer individuals or organizations control increasing shares of the mass media...

 rule which prohibited common ownership of a television station and a newspaper in the same market in order for Gannett to close on the Multimedia group. When the waiver expired in December 1996, Gannett opted to keep the Enquirer and swap WLWT and KOCO-TV
KOCO-TV
KOCO-TV, virtual channel 5 , is the ABC affiliate in the Oklahoma City television market. The station is owned by Hearst Television, Inc., but uses "Ohio/Oklahoma Hearst Television, Inc." as their end tag during their newscasts, the same licensing purpose corporation as sister Cincinnati, Ohio...

 in Oklahoma City
Oklahoma city
Oklahoma City is the capital and largest city of the U.S. state of Oklahoma.Oklahoma City may also refer to:*Oklahoma City metropolitan area*Downtown Oklahoma City*Uptown Oklahoma City*Oklahoma City bombing*Oklahoma City National Memorial...

 to Argyle Television Holdings II in exchange for WGRZ in Buffalo, New York
Buffalo, New York
Buffalo is the second most populous city in the state of New York, after New York City. Located in Western New York on the eastern shores of Lake Erie and at the head of the Niagara River across from Fort Erie, Ontario, Buffalo is the seat of Erie County and the principal city of the...

 and WZZM in Grand Rapids, Michigan
Grand Rapids, Michigan
Grand Rapids is a city in the U.S. state of Michigan. The city is located on the Grand River about 40 miles east of Lake Michigan. As of the 2010 census, the city population was 188,040. In 2010, the Grand Rapids metropolitan area had a population of 774,160 and a combined statistical area, Grand...

, a deal which was finalized in January 1997. Argyle merged with the broadcasting unit of the Hearst Corporation
Hearst Corporation
The Hearst Corporation is an American media conglomerate based in the Hearst Tower, Manhattan in New York City, New York, United States. Founded by William Randolph Hearst as an owner of newspapers, the company's holdings now include a wide variety of media...

 to form Hearst-Argyle Television in August 1997. Hearst had owned WDTN (the former WLWD) since 1981, but the merged company opted to keep the larger WLWT and sell WDTN the next year. WLWT's licensee name under Multimedia and Gannett ownership, Multimedia Entertainment, Inc., survives to this day as the licensee name for WGRZ.

WLWT briefly aired UPN
UPN
United Paramount Network was a television network that was broadcast in over 200 markets in the United States from 1995 to 2006. UPN was originally owned by Viacom/Paramount and Chris-Craft Industries, the former of which, through the Paramount Television Group, produced most of the network's...

 programming in the early morning hours on weekends during parts of 1998 and 1999 after that netlet was displaced from its previous affiliate WSTR-TV
WSTR-TV
WSTR-TV is the MyNetworkTV-affiliated television station for the Tri-State area of Southwestern Ohio, Southeastern Indiana, and Northern Kentucky. Licensed to Cincinnati, the station broadcasts a high definition digital signal on UHF channel 33 from a transmitter in the College Hill section of the...

 by 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...

 programming, before UPN finally affiliated with the former WB affiliate WBQC-CA
WBQC-CA
WBQC-LD is an independent television station in Cincinnati, Ohio, United States. WBQC's studios are located in a complex in the Roselawn neighborhood of Cincinnati, while the station broadcasts from WCPO's tower. According to its website, WBQC was the first television station to be fully automated...

 later in 1999.

In June 1999, WLWT moved its studios to Taft Broadcasting
Taft Broadcasting
The Taft Broadcasting Company, also known as Taft Television and Radio Company, Incorporated, was an American media conglomerate based in Cincinnati, Ohio....

's former headquarters in the Mount Auburn neighborhood (coincidentally, Taft once owned WGRZ as WGR-TV). The station found it necessary to move because Crosley Square, with its two-story ballrooms and basement newsroom, was built more for live entertainment broadcasts than a news operation.

In June 2007, WLWT announced that it would partner with WLW (AM) to provide news and weather for the radio station. As a consequence, WLWT's news and weather was heard nationwide on WLW's XM Satellite Radio
XM Satellite Radio
XM Satellite Radio is one of two satellite radio services in the United States and Canada, operated by Sirius XM Radio. It provides pay-for-service radio, analogous to cable television. Its service includes 73 different music channels, 39 news, sports, talk and entertainment channels, 21 regional...

 channel, at channel 173. The agreement with XM ended in the summer of 2008. WLWT and WLW shared news and weather operations for years when they were both owned by Crosley Broadcasting, but eventual separate ownerships of the two stations (WLWT Argyle then Hearst Television - WLW Clear Channel) led to WLW radio using the resources of WKRC-TV for several years until the renewed partnership with its former television sister. The modern WLW-WLWT partnership ended March 31, 2010. As of April 1, 2010, this partnership moved to WXIX-TV
WXIX-TV
WXIX-TV channel 19 is the Fox Broadcasting Company affiliate in Cincinnati, Ohio. The station's city of license is Newport, Kentucky, across the Ohio River...

.

The transmission tower seen at the beginning of CBS
CBS
CBS Broadcasting Inc. is a major US commercial broadcasting television network, which started as a radio network. The name is derived from the initials of the network's former name, Columbia Broadcasting System. The network is sometimes referred to as the "Eye Network" in reference to the shape of...

's popular sitcom, WKRP in Cincinnati
WKRP in Cincinnati
WKRP in Cincinnati is an American situation comedy that featured the misadventures of the staff of a struggling fictional radio station in Cincinnati, Ohio. The show was created by Hugh Wilson and was based upon his experiences working in advertising sales at Top 40 radio station WQXI in Atlanta...

, actually belonged to WLWT — it was located at the WLWT transmitter on 2222 Chickasaw Street. That red and white tower stood side-by-side with WLWT's current strobed tower until 2005, when it was dismantled. http://www.fybush.com/site-030130.html WLWT sponsors an annual race in the Automobile Racing Club of America
Automobile Racing Club of America
Automobile Racing Club of America is an auto racing sanctioning body in the United States, founded in 1953 by John Marcum. The current president of ARCA is Ron Drager. The ARCA RE/MAX Series races stock cars similar to those seen in past years in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series, and indeed most cars...

, a stock car racing
Stock car racing
Stock car racing is a form of automobile racing found mainly in the United States, Canada, New Zealand, Great Britain, Brazil and Argentina. Traditionally, races are run on oval tracks measuring approximately in length...

 series similar to NASCAR
NASCAR
The National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing is a family-owned and -operated business venture that sanctions and governs multiple auto racing sports events. It was founded by Bill France Sr. in 1947–48. As of 2009, the CEO for the company is Brian France, grandson of the late Bill France Sr...

, at Kentucky Speedway
Kentucky Speedway
Kentucky Speedway is a tri-oval speedway in Sparta, Kentucky, which has hosted ARCA, NASCAR and Indy Racing League racing annually since it opened in 2000. The track is currently owned and operated by Speedway Motorsports, Inc. and Jerry Carroll, who, along with four other investors, owned...

. The station simulcasts the live coverage from the Speed Channel. WLWT and WXIX-TV
WXIX-TV
WXIX-TV channel 19 is the Fox Broadcasting Company affiliate in Cincinnati, Ohio. The station's city of license is Newport, Kentucky, across the Ohio River...

 are the only Cincinnati stations to remain with their primary affiliations (NBC and FOX) since this station's sign-on and Fox's October 9th, 1986 launch, respectfully.

Cincinnati Reds on WLWT

The first Cincinnati Reds was broadcast in 1947 on W8XCT, which in February 1948 became WLWT-TV. WLWT was the flagship station of the 5 state Reds Television Network from 1948 through 1995, long after most "Big Three" stations dropped sports programming. After 47 years of broadcasting Reds games, WLWT did not renew its contract, citing economic reasons along with pressure from 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...

 http://search.everyzing.com/viewMedia.jsp?res=0&dedupe=1&index=47&num=16&col=en-all-public-ep&e=19562204&start=32&ci=28&expand=true&match=none&channel=132&filter=1.
Waite Hoyt
Waite Hoyt
Waite Charles Hoyt was an American right-handed pitcher in Major League Baseball, one of the dominant pitchers of the 1920s, and the winningest pitcher for the New York Yankees during that decade...

 was the original announcer on WLWT, a simulcast with WLW Radio. George Bryson, Sr.
George Bryson, Sr.
George Bryson was a Scottish-born businessman and political figure in Quebec.He was born in Paisley, the son of James Bryson and Jane Cochrane, and came to Upper Canada with his parents in 1821. In 1835, he moved to the area near Fort-Coulonge in Lower Canada, where he entered the timber trade. In...

 replaced him in 1956. When Ed Kennedy became the play by play announcer in 1961, he would remain for 11 seasons, working with Frank McCormick
Frank McCormick
Frank Andrew McCormick was a first baseman in Major League Baseball who played for the Cincinnati Reds , Philadelphia Phillies and Boston Braves . McCormick batted and threw right-handed...

 for 8 seasons. Also calling games on WLWT included: Ken Wilson, Charlie Jones
Charlie Jones (sportscaster)
Charlie Jones was an American Emmy Award-winning sportscaster for NBC and ABC.-Education:Born in Fort Smith, Arkansas, Jones earned an undergraduate degree at the University of Southern California and a law degree at the University of Arkansas.-American Football League/National Football...

, Bill Brown
Bill Brown (broadcaster)
Bill Brown is an American baseball announcer who has been with the Houston Astros since 1987. He is often called "Brownie" by his play by play partner Jim Deshaies. He has developed a reputation for being a solid broadcaster that often plays the part of the straight man to Deshaies' humorous asides...

,
Ray Lane
Ray Lane
Ray Lane is a sports broadcasting figure in Detroit, Michigan. During the late 1940s, Ray played baseball and basketball for the Stags of Mackenzie High School...

, Johnny Bench
Johnny Bench
Johnny Lee Bench is a former professional baseball catcher who played in the Major Leagues for the Cincinnati Reds from 1967 to 1983 and is a member of the National Baseball Hall of Fame...

, and Joe Morgan
Joe Morgan
Joe Leonard Morgan is a former Major League Baseball second baseman who played for the Houston Astros, Cincinnati Reds, San Francisco Giants, Philadelphia Phillies, and Oakland Athletics from 1963 to 1984. He won two World Series championships with the Reds in 1975 and 1976 and was also named the...

.http://cincinnati.reds.mlb.com/pressbox/downloads/y2008/cin/media.pdf

News operations

Despite often having been the highest-rated news station in the Cincinnati area in the past, WLWT has been lagging behind rivals WKRC-TV
WKRC-TV
WKRC-TV is the CBS-affiliated television station for the Tri-State area of Southern Ohio, Northern Kentucky, and Southeastern Indiana that is licensed to Cincinnati. It broadcasts a high definition digital signal on VHF channel 12 from a transmitter at its studios on Highland Avenue in the Mount...

 and WCPO-TV
WCPO-TV
WCPO-TV, virtual channel 9 , is an ABC-affiliated television station in Cincinnati, Ohio. WCPO's studio is located in the Mount Adams neighborhood of Cincinnati, just outside of Eden Park. Its transmitter is located along Symmes Street, just south of East McMillan Street in Cincinnati.The station...

 in recent years. This can possibly be attributed to the lack of stability among its anchors and meteorologists, as the station as seen a high number of anchor and meteorologist turnover since the 1990s. The team is led by Jack Atherton, Sheree Paolello, and Kevin Robinson. Newscasts consist of News 5 Today, News 5 at Noon (weedays) and News 5 at 5, 5:30 (weedays), 6 and 11pm. Sports Rock is a sports segment focusing mainly on Tri-State professional and college sports and is hosted by sportscasters Ken Broo and George Vogel. It airs on Sunday nights.

WLWT is well-known in the area for its delivery of news based on gimmicks, some of which have been quite popular and successful including "Target 5", "News 5 Nation" and "The Top 5".Several former and current members of WLWT's news staff have been associated with politics, including Jerry Springer
Jerry Springer
Gerald Norman "Jerry" Springer is a British-born American television presenter, best known as host of the tabloid talk show The Jerry Springer Show since its debut in 1991...

, Charlie Luken
Charlie Luken
Charles J. Luken is an American politician of the Democratic party who was mayor of Cincinnati, Ohio and served in the Ohio's 1st congressional district in the United States House of Representatives. Luken's uncle, labor leader James T. Luken, also served as mayor of Cincinnati...

, Tom Atkins, J. D. Hayworth
J. D. Hayworth
John David Hayworth, Jr. , usually known as J. D. Hayworth, is an American politician who served as a Republican member of the United States House of Representatives from 1995 to 2007 from Arizona's 5th congressional district...

 and Courtis Fuller
Courtis Fuller
Courtis John Fuller is a news broadcaster in Cincinnati, Ohio, who is active in politics and in local community affairs. Fuller is an on-air personality at WLWT-TV. He was named "Cincinnati's Favorite TV Personality" by the Broadcast Hall of Fame.In 2001, Fuller, a lifelong Democrat, ran as a...

.

On January 20, 2010, WLWT started broadcasting its newscasts in widescreen 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 ...

 standard definition
Standard-definition television
Sorete-definition television is a television system that uses a resolution that is not considered to be either enhanced-definition television or high-definition television . The term is usually used in reference to digital television, in particular when broadcasting at the same resolution as...

. Neither Hearst Television nor WLWT has the necessary budget to go 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...

 at this time (possibly due to low ratings leading to poor ad revenue and less capital), but is planned within the next couple of years. As a result, although all of the major news stations in Cincinnati now broadcast their newscasts in widescreen, WLWT remains the only one which has yet to begin airing them in full high definition.

As of September 1, 2011, WLWT's newscasts remain in enhanced definition widescreen
Widescreen
Widescreen images are a variety of aspect ratios used in film, television and computer screens. In film, a widescreen film is any film image with a width-to-height aspect ratio greater than the standard 1.37:1 Academy aspect ratio provided by 35mm film....

, even after three other Hearst stations upgraded the in-studio segments of their newscasts from enhanced definition widescreen to full high definition.

The Power of 5 Weather Team

WLWT's team of meteorologists consist of meteorologists Kevin Robinson (AMS), Valerie Abati (AMS), Randi Rico (AMS/NWA), and Erik Zarnitz (CBM). WLWT bills its radar as the Power of 5 Radar Network. WLWT has access to five radar sites from Fort Wayne, IN, Indianapolis, IN, Louisville, KY, Cincinnati, OH, and Wilmington, OH, which are all NEXRAD
NEXRAD
NEXRAD or Nexrad is a network of 159 high-resolution Doppler weather radars operated by the National Weather Service, an agency of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration within the United States Department of Commerce...

 Doppler radars from the National Weather Service, with the exception of its Cincinnati radar which is a live radar manufactured by RadTech. WLWT uses Baron Services FasTrac Millennium and VIPIR radar software. In 2008, then-Chief Meteorologist Derek Beasley obtained exclusive rights to use Gibson Ridge Software's GR2Analyst
Grlevelx
Grlevelx is a data processing and display program developed by Gibson Ridge Software, LLC , to view weather radar data. It was put on the market in March 2005. It comes in three versions : GRLevel2 and GRLevel2Analyst for viewing Level II data of the National Weather Service raw data, GRLevel3 for...

 radar software for on-air use, which provides 3D volumetric presentations of National Weather Service Nexrad Level II Data. Doing this allowed WLWT to become one of only a select few television stations in the entire nation to use this software on-air. WLWT bills this radar as the Power of Five XP. The station maintains a weather beacon
Weather beacon
A weather beacon is a beacon that indicates the local weather forecast in a code of colored or flashing lights. Often, a short poem or jingle accompanies the code to make it easier to remember....

 atop the Radisson Hotel
Radisson Hotels
Radisson Hotels is one of the leading, full-service global hotel companies with more than 420 locations in 73 countries. The first Radisson Hotel was built in Minneapolis, Minnesota in 1909, and was named after the 17th-century French explorer Pierre-Esprit Radisson...

 in Covington
Covington, Kentucky
-Demographics:As of the census of 2000, there were 43,370 people, 18,257 households, and 10,132 families residing in the city. The population density was 3,301.3 people per square mile . There were 20,448 housing units at an average density of 1,556.5 per square mile...

 dubbed the "Weather Lights".

In the past 13 years there have been seven chief meteorologists including Tom Burse, Dave Fraser, Angelique Frame, Byron Webre, Jim O’Brien, Derek Beasley and Kevin Robinson. Its longest tenure of meteorologists included Tony Sands and Frank Pierce whose careers dated back to WLWT's early years. The average length of stay of a chief meteorologist at WLWT has been 2 to 2.5 years.

Newscast titles

  • TV-5 News (1960s–early 1970s)
  • The News (early-mid 1970s)
  • TV-5 Action News
    Action News
    Action News is a local television newscast format in the United States. It was conceived in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, at WFIL-TV by then-news director Mel Kampmann in 1970 as a response to the "Eyewitness News" format used on rival station KYW-TV...

    (mid 1970s–1981)
  • Action 5 News (1981–1986)
  • News 5 (1986–1989, 1991–1998 and 2004–present)
  • NewsChannel 5 (1989–1991)
  • (WLWT) 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...

     5
    (1998–2004; also currently used by sister station KOCO-TV in Oklahoma City)

Station slogans

  • "We're The Team" (1980–1983)
  • "First. Fast. Accurate." (1998–2004)
  • "Where The News Comes First" (2004–2008)
  • "Straight to the Point" (2008–present)


News team

Anchors
  • Jack Atherton - weeknights at 5:30, 6 and 11 p.m.
  • Lisa Cooney - weekday mornings News 5 Today, weekdays at noon and weeknights at 5 p.m.
  • Todd Dykes - weekday mornings News 5 Today
  • Courtis Fuller - weekends at 6 and 11 p.m.; also weeknight reporter
  • Jonathan Hawgood - weekend mornings News 5 Today
  • Sheree Paolello - weeknights at 5, 5:30, 6 and 11 p.m.


Power of 5 Weather Team
  • Kevin Robinson (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...

     Seal of Approval) - chief meteorologist; weeknights at 5, 5:30, 6 and 11 p.m.
  • Valerie Abati (AMS Seal of Approval) - meteorologist; weekend mornings, also weekday weather producer
  • Randi Rico (AMS and 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...

     Seals of Approval) - meteorologist; weekday mornings and noon
  • Erik Zarnitz (AMS 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) - meteorologist; weekend evenings


Sports team
  • Ken Broo - sports director; weeknights at 6 and 11 p.m.
  • George Vogel - sports anchor; weekends at 6 and 11 p.m.


Reporters
  • Laura Borchers - general assignment reporter
  • Terry Daniels - general assignment reporter (part-time)
  • Brandon Hamilton - weekday morning traffic reporter
  • Brian Hamrick - general assignment reporter
  • Karin Johnson - Warren
    Warren County, Ohio
    Warren County is a county located in the state of Ohio, United States. The population was 212,693 at the 2010 census. Its county seat is Lebanon. Warren County was erected May 1, 1803, from Hamilton County, and named for Dr...

     and Butler County
    Butler County, Ohio
    Butler County is a county located in the state of Ohio, United States. As of 2010, the population was 368,130. Its county seat is Hamilton. It is named for General Richard Butler, who died in 1791 fighting Indians in northern Ohio. Butler's army marched out of Fort Hamilton, where the city of...

     reporter
  • John London - general assignment reporter
  • Alison Montoya - general assignment reporter
  • Cheryl Parker - general assignment reporter
  • Andrew Setters - general assignment reporter
  • Stephanie Stone - general assignment reporter


Hearst Television Washington Bureau
  • Sally Kidd - Washington Bureau reporter
  • Nikole Killion - Washington Bureau reporter
  • Laurie Kinney - Washington Bureau reporter

Notable former on-air staff

  • J. D. Hayworth
    J. D. Hayworth
    John David Hayworth, Jr. , usually known as J. D. Hayworth, is an American politician who served as a Republican member of the United States House of Representatives from 1995 to 2007 from Arizona's 5th congressional district...

     - sports (1986-1987;http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/15392044/ went to KTSP-TV (now KSAZ-TV
    KSAZ-TV
    KSAZ-TV, virtual channel 10.1, is the Fox owned-and-operated station in Phoenix, Arizona. It is owned by Fox Television Stations in a duopoly with MyNetworkTV station KUTP ....

    ), Phoenix
    Phoenix, Arizona
    Phoenix is the capital, and largest city, of the U.S. state of Arizona, as well as the sixth most populated city in the United States. Phoenix is home to 1,445,632 people according to the official 2010 U.S. Census Bureau data...

    , then Congress
    United States House of Representatives
    The United States House of Representatives is one of the two Houses of the United States Congress, the bicameral legislature which also includes the Senate.The composition and powers of the House are established in Article One of the Constitution...

    ; currently talk show host at KFYI
    KFYI
    KFYI is an American news/talk radio station broadcasting in Phoenix, Arizona. KFYI is owned by Clear Channel Communications. KFYI transmits in both analog AM and digital HD Radio.The digital signal is also rebroadcast on KNIX-FM's HD2 channel....

     radio in Phoenix)
  • Bill Hemmer
    Bill Hemmer
    Bill Hemmer is an American television-news anchor. He is a co-host of America's Newsroom on the Fox News Channel.-Early life and education:...

     - sports anchor (1980s; later hosted CNN Mornings, now co-host of "America's Newsroom" at Fox News Channel
    Fox News Channel
    Fox News Channel , often called Fox News, is a cable and satellite television news channel owned by the Fox Entertainment Group, a subsidiary of News Corporation...

    )
  • Greg Hoard
    Greg Hoard
    Greg Hoard is a former newspaper journalist and television sports broadcaster and the author of the Joe Nuxhall biography, JOE: Rounding Third And Heading For Home ....

     - sports journalist and commentator
  • Charlie Luken
    Charlie Luken
    Charles J. Luken is an American politician of the Democratic party who was mayor of Cincinnati, Ohio and served in the Ohio's 1st congressional district in the United States House of Representatives. Luken's uncle, labor leader James T. Luken, also served as mayor of Cincinnati...

  • Steve Physioc - sports anchor (early 1980s; now sports announcer for Fox Sports Net
    Fox Sports Net
    The Fox Sports Regional Networks, or simply Fox Sports Net , are a collection of cable TV regional sports networks in the United States owned and operated by News Corporation.- Beginnings :...

    )
  • Jerry Springer
    Jerry Springer
    Gerald Norman "Jerry" Springer is a British-born American television presenter, best known as host of the tabloid talk show The Jerry Springer Show since its debut in 1991...

     - anchor (now host of his own talk show
    The Jerry Springer Show
    The Jerry Springer Show is a syndicated television tabloid talk show hosted by Jerry Springer, a former politician, broadcast in the United States and other countries...

     and the game show "Baggage" on GSN, former host of "America's Got Talent" on NBC, and the British version of "The Moment of Truth")
  • Anne Marie Tiernon
    Anne Marie Tiernon
    Anne Marie Tiernon is an American journalist. She currently anchors at NBC affiliate WTHR in Indianapolis, Indiana, alongside Scott Swan at 5:30 p.m.; and with John Stehr at 6 p.m.-Career:...

     - anchor (2000–2004; now evening anchor at WTHR
    WTHR
    WTHR, channel 13, is a full-service television station serving the Indianapolis, Indiana metropolitan area. An affiliate of the NBC television network, its studios at 1000 N. Meridian Street anchor the south end of Indy's Television Row...

     in Indianapolis
    Indianapolis
    Indianapolis is the capital of the U.S. state of Indiana, and the county seat of Marion County, Indiana. As of the 2010 United States Census, the city's population is 839,489. It is by far Indiana's largest city and, as of the 2010 U.S...

    )
  • Solomon Wilcots
    Solomon Wilcots
    Solomon Wilcots is a former American football defensive back in the NFL. Wilcots played sixs in the league for the Cincinnati Bengals, Minnesota Vikings, and Pittsburgh Steelers.-Broadcasting:...

    - sports anchor (1990s)

External links

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