WPIX
Encyclopedia
WPIX, channel 11, is a television station in New York City
built, signed on, and owned by the Tribune Company
. WPIX also serves as the flagship station of The CW Television Network
. The station's signal covers the tri-state New York metropolitan area
and WPIX is also available as a regional superstation
via satellite and cable in the United States
and Canada
.
In January 2011, Tribune launched its new digital subnetwork, Antenna TV
, which airs on a new digital subchannel 11.4.
WPIX made its on-air debut on June 15, 1948 as New York's fifth television station and second independent outlet. It was also the second of three stations to start up in the New York market during 1948, one month after Newark
-based independent WATV (channel 13, now WNET
) and two months before ABC
-owned WJZ-TV (channel 7, now WABC-TV
).
Like its longtime sister station WGN-TV
in Chicago
(which first signed on in April 1948), WPIX's call letters come from the slogan of the newspaper that founded it—in this case, it was the New York Daily News
, whose tag was "New York's Picture Newspaper". Both the paper and the station were owned by the Tribune Company
. Since 1948, WPIX's studios and offices have been located in the landmark News Building
(which as of 1994 is no longer occupied by the Daily News), at Second Avenue
and East 42nd Street
(alternatively called "11 WPIX Plaza") in Midtown Manhattan
. In its earliest years, WPIX also had another studio (called "Studio Five") located at 110 Central Park South
, where programs with a studio audience
were produced.
Through the early 1990s, WPIX was operated separately from the other Tribune television and radio outlets through the News-owned license holder, WPIX, Incorporated, which in 1963 purchased New York radio station WBFM (101.9 MHz). The News soon changed that station's call letters to WPIX-FM, and in 1988, the station became WQCD. The two stations were separated from the Daily News in 1991, when British businessman Robert Maxwell
bought the newspaper. Tribune retained WPIX and WQCD, and the radio station was sold to Emmis Communications
in 1997 (it is now WEMP).
From the outset, WPIX featured programming that was standard among independents: cartoons (eg. Hanna-Barbera, The Disney Afternoon
, among others), old movies, syndicated reruns of network programs, public affairs programming, religious programs, and sports—specifically, the New York Yankees
baseball team, whom WPIX carried from 1951 to 1998. At various points, WPIX also aired the New York (baseball) Giants
, the New York Giants
and New York Jets
football
teams, the NHL
's New York Rangers
, and local college basketball
. But it was through its coverage of Yankees baseball that WPIX gained perhaps its greatest fame and identity.
To generations of New York children, channel 11 was also the home of memorable personalities. In 1955 Joe Bolton
, an original WPIX staffer who had been a weather forecaster in the station's news department, donned a policeman's uniform and became "Officer Joe", hosting several programs based around Little Rascals and Three Stooges
films, and later Popeye
animated shorts. Another early WPIX personality, Jack McCarthy
, also hosted Popeye and Dick Tracy
cartoons as "Captain Jack" in the early 1960s, though he was better known to adults as the longtime host of channel 11's St. Patrick's Day parade coverage, from 1949 to 1992. WPIX aired a local version of Bozo the Clown
(with Bill Britten in the role) from 1959 to 1964, and comic performers Chuck McCann
and Allen Swift
also hosted programs on WPIX during the mid-1960s before each moved to other entertainment work in Hollywood. Jazz singer Joya Sherrill
hosted a weekday children's show, Time for Joya, later known as Joya's Fun School. Channel 11 produced the Magic Garden series, which ran on the station from 1972 to 1984.
From its early years through the 1960s, WPIX, like the other two major independents in New York—RKO General
's WOR-TV (now WWOR-TV
) and Metromedia
's WNEW-TV (now WNYW
)—struggled to acquire other programming. By the mid 1970s, WPIX was the clear number-two independent station in the city, behind WNEW-TV. It identified on-air as 11 Alive from September 1976 to 1986, a slogan made popular by stations like Atlanta
's WXIA-TV
, which began using 11 Alive themselves from September 1976, and still do so as of 2011. In 1978, WPIX was launched on satellite and became a Superstation. Two years later, WPIX began 24 hour a day operations along with WOR-TV.
WPIX suffered from declining ratings in the late 1980s and early 1990s. During this time, now-Fox
-owned WNYW and a resurgent WWOR, then owned by MCA
–Universal
, relegated WPIX to sixth place among New York's VHF stations. After president Levitt Pope stepped down as general manager but remaining president and CEO of WPIX, a new general manager, Michael Eigner, was transferred to WPIX from Los Angeles
sister station KTLA
in 1989, the station engineered a slow turnaround that eventually resulted in WPIX becoming the leading independent station in the New York market. In 1994, the station became the exclusive home of the New York City Marathon
, carrying the five-borough running event for the next five years.
. Through Tribune's ownership interest in the WB (initially 12.5 percent in 1995, and later expanded to 22 percent), channel 11 could have been referred to as the WB's "flagship" station—though this is a designation in name only. The Warner Bros. Television
division of Time Warner
was the majority owner of the WB, and programming was distributed from the WB's facilities in Los Angeles.
Initially, WPIX continued with its usual programming. But due to industry changes, the station shifted directions beginning in 1996. As WB network and syndicated daytime programming (such as Maury
, Judge Mathis
, and The Jerry Springer Show
) became more prominent on channel 11's schedule, most of the station's local-interest programming began to disappear. WPIX was once home to the St. Patrick's Day, National Puerto Rican Day and Columbus Day
parades, and the Macy's
July 4th Independence Day
fireworks program. Along with the New York City Marathon these events moved to WNBC-TV, and the Marathon and the Macy's show are now carried on the NBC
network.
WPIX lost its over-the-air broadcast rights to the Yankees to WNYW following the 1998 baseball season, more a result of regional cable sports networks (in this case, the Madison Square Garden Network) gaining team broadcast rights, leaving broadcast stations with fewer games to air. In 1999 the station replaced them with the New York Mets
, which up until that point had spent their entire televised history with WOR/WWOR. Ironically, beginning in 2005, over-the-air Yankees broadcasts were aired by WWOR, which was as synonymous with the Mets as WPIX was with the Yankees.
In recent years, WPIX has revived The Yule Log
, a special holiday program that combines Christmas music with a film loop of logs burning inside a fireplace. The film was made early in the holiday season of 1966 and shows a fire burning in the fireplace at New York's official mayoral residence, Gracie Mansion
; it was done with the cooperation of then-Mayor John V. Lindsay. The Yule Log aired on Christmas Eve and/or Christmas morning, initially from 1966 until 1989, and viewer response brought it back in 2001. The revival of the Yule Log has proven to be just as popular, and several other Tribune-owned stations have carried the WPIX version, complete with its audio soundtrack, over the past several years. Channel 11 also airs a live broadcast of Midnight Mass from St. Patrick's Cathedral
every Christmas Eve.
As children's programming began to fade from broadcast television, The WB dropped its morning cartoon block in 2000, leaving the time for local stations to carry their own programming. On June 5 of that year, WPIX launched the WB 11 Morning News (now PIX Morning News), which has grown to challenge the established network morning programs as well as its more direct competitor, WNYW's Good Day New York. Its original newscast consisted of John Muller, Lynne White, Linda Church, Lynda Lopez, Melinda Murphy & Craig Treadway. The station continued to carry Saturday morning cartoons from Kids WB up to May 17, 2008 when it was bought by 4Kids Entertainment
, but the afternoon cartoon block was discontinued on January 6, 2006.
On September 11, 2001, the transmitter facilities of WPIX as well as eight other New York City television stations and several radio stations were destroyed when two hijacked airplanes crashed into and destroyed the World Trade Center
towers. The station's lead engineer, Steve Jacobson, was among those who were lost in the tragedy. WPIX's satellite feed froze on the last video frame received from the WTC mast, an image of the North Tower burning and the start of the impact of the South Tower; the image remained on the screen for much of the day until WPIX was able to set up alternate transmission facilities (the microwave relay for WPIX's satellite feed was also up there). Since then, WPIX has transmitted its signal from the Empire State Building
.
networks announced that they would merge into a new service, The CW Television Network
, named for its corporate parents CBS
(the parent company of UPN) and Warner Bros. Television. The new network signed a 10-year affiliation deal with most of Tribune's WB stations, including WPIX. Unlike in its relationship with the WB, Tribune does not have an ownership interest in The CW—meaning, once again, WPIX is the network's "flagship" station in name only. However, this does make WPIX, not only the largest CW affiliate that is not owned by the network, but also the largest English language network affiliated television station that is not an O&O of its respective network, as well as the only major New York City television station to be a non-O&O.
In the summer of 2006, WPIX began the transition to the new CW by unveiling its new branding, CW 11, with on-air promos, on-screen program bugs, and an outdoor advertising campaign. WPIX was officially re-branded as CW 11 on September 17, 2006, the day before The CW launched. The rebranding began with the 10 p.m. newscast, which aired at the conclusion of The WB's final night of programming. Prior to the newscast, the station aired a video montage of past WPIX logos, starting with a 1948 test pattern and concluding with the official unveiling of the new CW 11 logo.
On April 2, 2007, Chicago-based investor Sam Zell announced plans to purchase the Tribune Company, with intentions to take the firm private. The deal was completed on December 20, 2007. Prior to the close of the sale, WPIX had been the only New York City commercial television station to have never been involved in an ownership transaction. On April 26, 2008, WPIX began broadcasting its news in high-definition
, becoming the fourth television station in New York City to do so.
Beginning in 1948 through 1965 WPIX produced a 6:30 PM newscast entitled "Three Star News" so named because it featured three anchors, Kevin Kennedy reading the world and national news, John Tillman reporting local New York City news and Joe Bolton as the weatherman. Bolton was later replaced by Gloria Okon when Bolton was assigned to children's programming. The broadcast was eventually cancelled when the FCC complained that some of Tillman's "man on the street" interviews were staged with paid actors, most notable of which was the "pro-Castro sympathizer" who was "interviewed" with a copy of the Daily Worker newspaper conveniently tucked under his arm.
WPIX also produced many acclaimed news documentary films during the 1950s and early 1960s through its production arm, WPIX International. Among its productions included The Secret Life of Adolf Hitler
; Cuba, Castro and Communism; and The Most Powerful Woman of the Century, a profile of Eva Perón
. Channel 11's efforts first got attention when the station covered the collision, and later, sinking of the New York-bound oceanliner SS Andrea Doria
off the coast of Nantucket in 1956. From 1977 to early 1984, WPIX used the Action News
title and format for its local news programs. In 1977, the station commissioned "Move Closer to Your World
" as their theme music. A 30-minute newscast aired at 7:30 p.m., and a one-hour program (at some points it was also 30 minutes) ran at 10:00 p.m.
From June 1980 until June 1990, WPIX produced and syndicated Independent Network News
(INN), a national newscast for independent stations. The program featured the same talent that worked on WPIX's local newscasts and emanated from the same news studio, with INN logos covering the number 11's on various set pieces. WPIX transmitted the national show's live feed weeknights at 9:30 p.m. (ET).
In New York, WPIX paired a 10 p.m. replay of the national show with a live local newscast at 10:30 p.m., called the "Action News Metropolitan Report." As part of a midday expansion of INN starting in 1981, channel 11 also experimented with a newscast at 12:30 p.m. co-anchored by Marvin Scott
. During the decade, WPIX also offered INN affiliates The Wall Street Journal
Report, a business-oriented show; and From the Editor's Desk, a Sunday newsmaker show hosted by Richard D. Heffner
, host of the long-running public-affairs program The Open Mind
.
WPIX was also famous for the many post-news editorials from 1969 to 1995 that were delivered by Richard N. Hughes
, the station's vice president of news operations. His editorials ended with the legendary tagline, "What's your opinion? We'd like to know." Periodically, he would read excerpts from viewers' letters in response to the editorials, invariably closing each excerpt by saying, "And that ends that quote." The station dropped Action News in 1984 and renamed its programs as The Independent News. In 1986, the national INN newscast was renamed USA Tonight and aired from 10 p.m., while the 7:30 program retained the title Independent News and the 10:30 local newscast was renamed New York Tonight. When INN was cancelled, the 7:30 program ended as well, and WPIX focused its efforts on the 10:00 program.
Over the years, channel 11 has won many awards for news, and was the first independent station to win a New York-area Emmy Award
for outstanding newscast, first gaining the statuette in 1979 and earning it again in 1983. It was a significant comeback for a news operation that was accused of falsifying news reports broadcasts in the late 1960s, such as labeling stock footage as "via satellite", and saying a voice report was live from Prague
when, in actuality, it was made from a pay telephone in Manhattan. As a result, a group called Forum Communications — led by future PBS
and NBC News president Lawrence Grossman — approached the FCC
to challenge WPIX Inc.'s license to operate channel 11, but after years of litigation, WPIX and the Daily News prevailed in 1979.
On December 1, 2008, along with the revised circle 11 logo, WPIX's newscasts were also rebranded as PIX Morning News and PIX News at Ten. The PIX call letters are pronounced phonetically, similar to the word "picks". Nearly 19 years after its final INN early evening newscast aired, WPIX launched a new early evening newscast on September 14, 2009. The broadcast is called PIX News at 6:30 and airs seven nights a week. With the launch of the WPIX newscast all but one of the major New York area stations now aired a nightly news program before 10 p.m. at least five days a week (WWOR
, which airs their newscast weeknights at 10 p.m. and does not air weekend news, is the only one that does not). On June 16, 2010, it was announced that WPIX had cancelled the 6:30 p.m. newscast with the last broadcast airing on June 27, 2010; the newscast was replaced by syndicated reruns with its lead-in inside Edition moving to 4 a.m. before the morning newscast. On September 11, 2010 WPIX launched a weekend-only 6 p.m. newscast (making WPIX the only television station in the United States ever to carry an early-evening newscast on weekends, but not on weekdays). On September 20, 2010 WPIX expanded its morning newscast to five hours, with the start time moving to 4 a.m.
On October 11, 2010 changes for WPIX's weeknight 10:00 newscast took effect as Tong and Watkins were removed from the anchor desk, and were replaced by Jodi Applegate
as a solo anchor; Watkins now serves as solo anchor for the weekend 6 and 10 p.m. newscasts, while Tong was moved to a field anchor position. The revamped newscast's first week was not well-received by most viewers or critics; the station fielded numerous complaints via phone calls, emails, and Facebook
comments. The New York Daily News
called the show "....a mix of news and infotainment rivaling the junk VH1
churns out on a regular basis". A Facebook page has been created calling for the return of Tong and Watkins to the station's nightly news.
As of March 2011, WPIX has shut down the sports department. Lolita Lopez has returned to general assignment reporting, until her departure in October 2011 and Glenn Petraitis left the station upon the department's closure. On September 12, 2011, WPIX re-entered the early evening news competition with an hour-long weekday 5 p.m. newscast; the new newscast is aimed at women 18-49, and competes against 5 p.m. newscasts on WCBS, WNYW, WABC and WNBC which re-launched their 5 p.m. news in late August 2011.
Weather team
Reporters
magazine and hosted by the publication's chief editor, Susan L. Taylor
.
Editor's Desk host Richard D. Heffner
remains the host of The Open Mind
, which was produced by Channel 11 (and was concurrently aired on PBS
stations), before moving to other New York studios.
WPIX's famous Circle 11 logo—pre-dating the World Trade Center, which it closely resembled—was first unveiled in 1969. (A Yankee Stadium advertising billboard for WPIX with the Circle 11 logo appeared that year.)
The station dropped Circle 11 when it adopted the 11 Alive moniker in September 1976 (though it continued to appear during station editorials until around 1982), but re-incorporated the Circle 11 into the 11 Alive branding in 1984. The Circle 11 logo returned full-time in the fall of 1986. Its relaunch featured a series of humorous promos in which a fictitious station employee, "Henry Tillman", was searching for a "big idea", for something uniquely New York in nature to serve as the perfect symbol for WPIX. The running gag in these commercials was the fact that Tillman was constantly surrounded by—but never noticed—objects resembling a giant "11", most notably the Twin Towers of the World Trade Center.
The station revised its look when it unveiled a stylized 11 logo during WPIX's broadcast of the 1994 New York City Marathon. The new numerical look eventually became the full-time logo, augmented with the WB logo after the station became a WB affiliate in 1995. The station's CW 11 logo was first used for promos and teasers announcing the imminent change to The CW, and then first used as a full-time logo on the station's 10:00 newscast on September 17, 2006. The newscast was preceded by a graphic of all of WPIX's logos throughout the years, ending with the CW 11 logo.
The CW 11 logo has been replaced with a modernized version of WPIX's Circle 11 logo featuring the WB era "11" figure in a slimlined form within the circle. The station began a gradual on-air transition in mid-October 2008 by including the new look in program promos. The station featured the new logo in a half-hour New York Jets football pre-game show special on November 13, 2008. The transition was completed on December 1, 2008. The CW logo is sometimes used next to the circle 11 logo, primarily in local advertisements for CW network programming.
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
built, signed on, and owned by the Tribune Company
Tribune Company
The Tribune Company is a large American multimedia corporation based in Chicago, Illinois. It is the nation's second-largest newspaper publisher, with ten daily newspapers and commuter tabloids including Chicago Tribune, Los Angeles Times, Hartford Courant, Orlando Sentinel, South Florida...
. WPIX also serves as the flagship station of The CW Television Network
The CW Television Network
The CW Television Network is a television network in the United States launched at the beginning of the 2006–2007 television season. It is a joint venture between CBS Corporation, the former owners of United Paramount Network , and Time Warner's Warner Bros., former majority owner of The WB...
. The station's signal covers the tri-state New York metropolitan area
New York metropolitan area
The New York metropolitan area, also known as Greater New York, or the Tri-State area, is the region that composes of New York City and the surrounding region...
and WPIX is also available as a regional superstation
Superstation
Superstation in United States television can have several meanings. In its most precise meaning, a superstation is defined by the Federal Communications Commission as "A television broadcast station, other than a network station, licensed by the FCC that is secondarily transmitted by a satellite...
via satellite and cable in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
and Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
.
Digital television
The station's digital signal is multiplexed as follows:| Channel | Video | Aspect 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,... |
Programming |
|---|---|---|---|
| 11.1 | 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 WPIX programming / The CW |
| 11.2 | 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 | Estrella TV Estrella TV Estrella TV is a Spanish-language television network owned by Liberman Broadcasting. The network launched September 14, 2009.-Affiliates:-Former Affiliates:-Controversy:... |
| 11.3 | This TV This TV This TV is a United States general entertainment television network, with a large emphasis in its programming on movies.... |
||
| 11.4 | Antenna TV Antenna TV Antenna TV is an American digital broadcast television network, primarily featuring classic television series from the 1950s to the 1990s, along with some feature films. It is owned by Tribune Broadcasting, a division of the Chicago-based Tribune Company... |
In January 2011, Tribune launched its new digital subnetwork, Antenna TV
Antenna TV
Antenna TV is an American digital broadcast television network, primarily featuring classic television series from the 1950s to the 1990s, along with some feature films. It is owned by Tribune Broadcasting, a division of the Chicago-based Tribune Company...
, which airs on a new digital subchannel 11.4.
Analog-to-digital conversion
At 12:30 P.M. on June 12, 2009, WPIX discontinued regular analog programming on channel 11. The station returned from channel 33 to channel 11.Independent station
Newark, New Jersey
Newark is the largest city in the American state of New Jersey, and the seat of Essex County. As of the 2010 United States Census, Newark had a population of 277,140, maintaining its status as the largest municipality in New Jersey. It is the 68th largest city in the U.S...
-based independent WATV (channel 13, now WNET
WNET
WNET, channel 13 is a non-commercial educational public television station licensed to Newark, New Jersey. With its signal covering the New York metropolitan area, WNET is a primary station of the Public Broadcasting Service and a primary provider of PBS programming...
) and two months before 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...
-owned WJZ-TV (channel 7, now WABC-TV
WABC-TV
WABC-TV, channel 7, is the flagship station of the Disney-owned American Broadcasting Company located in New York City. The station's studios and offices are located on the Upper West Side section of Manhattan, adjacent to ABC's corporate headquarters, and its transmitter is atop the Empire State...
).
Like its longtime sister station WGN-TV
WGN-TV
WGN-TV, virtual channel 9 , is the CW-affiliated television station in Chicago, Illinois built, signed on, and owned by the Tribune Company. WGN-TV's studios and offices are located at 2501 W...
in Chicago
Chicago
Chicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...
(which first signed on in April 1948), WPIX's call letters come from the slogan of the newspaper that founded it—in this case, it was the New York Daily News
New York Daily News
The Daily News of New York City is the fourth most widely circulated daily newspaper in the United States with a daily circulation of 605,677, as of November 1, 2011....
, whose tag was "New York's Picture Newspaper". Both the paper and the station were owned by the Tribune Company
Tribune Company
The Tribune Company is a large American multimedia corporation based in Chicago, Illinois. It is the nation's second-largest newspaper publisher, with ten daily newspapers and commuter tabloids including Chicago Tribune, Los Angeles Times, Hartford Courant, Orlando Sentinel, South Florida...
. Since 1948, WPIX's studios and offices have been located in the landmark News Building
Daily News Building
The Daily News Building, also known as The News Building, is a Art-Deco skyscraper located at 220 East 42nd Street in Manhattan in New York City. Built in 1929, it was headquarters for the New York Daily News until the mid-1990s...
(which as of 1994 is no longer occupied by the Daily News), at Second Avenue
Second Avenue (Manhattan)
Second Avenue is an avenue on the East Side of the New York City borough of Manhattan extending from Houston Street at its south end to the Harlem River Drive at 128th Street at its north end. A one-way street, vehicular traffic runs only downtown. A bicycle lane in the left hand portion from 55th...
and East 42nd Street
42nd Street (Manhattan)
42nd Street is a major crosstown street in the New York City borough of Manhattan, known for its theaters, especially near the intersection with Broadway at Times Square. It is also the name of the region of the theater district near that intersection...
(alternatively called "11 WPIX Plaza") in Midtown Manhattan
Midtown Manhattan
Midtown Manhattan, or simply Midtown, is an area of Manhattan, New York City home to world-famous commercial zones such as Rockefeller Center, Broadway, and Times Square...
. In its earliest years, WPIX also had another studio (called "Studio Five") located at 110 Central Park South
Central Park South
Central Park South is the portion of 59th Street that forms the southern border of Central Park in the borough of Manhattan in New York City. It runs from Columbus Circle at Eighth Avenue on the west to Grand Army Plaza at Fifth Avenue on the east...
, where programs with a studio audience
Studio audience
A studio audience is an audience present for the taping of all or part of a television program. The primary purpose of the studio audience is to provide applause and/or laughter to the program's soundtrack . A studio audience can also provide volunteers, a visual backdrop and discussion participants...
were produced.
Robert Maxwell
Ian Robert Maxwell MC was a Czechoslovakian-born British media proprietor and former Member of Parliament , who rose from poverty to build an extensive publishing empire...
bought the newspaper. Tribune retained WPIX and WQCD, and the radio station was sold to Emmis Communications
Emmis Communications
Emmis Communications is a media conglomerate based in Indianapolis, Indiana. The company owns radio stations and magazines in the United States, Hungary, Slovakia and Bulgaria.-History:...
in 1997 (it is now WEMP).
From the outset, WPIX featured programming that was standard among independents: cartoons (eg. Hanna-Barbera, The Disney Afternoon
The Disney Afternoon
The Disney Afternoon was a created-for-syndication two-hour television programming block which aired from September 10, 1990, until Fall 1999. At that time, it was taken out of syndication, and a new Disney weekday afternoon block was started on UPN. The Disney Afternoon was produced by The Walt...
, among others), old movies, syndicated reruns of network programs, public affairs programming, religious programs, and sports—specifically, the New York Yankees
New York Yankees
The New York Yankees are a professional baseball team based in the The Bronx, New York. They compete in Major League Baseball in the American League's East Division...
baseball team, whom WPIX carried from 1951 to 1998. At various points, WPIX also aired the New York (baseball) Giants
San Francisco Giants
The San Francisco Giants are a Major League Baseball team based in San Francisco, California, playing in the National League West Division....
, the New York Giants
New York Giants
The New York Giants are a professional American football team based in East Rutherford, New Jersey, representing the New York City metropolitan area. The Giants are currently members of the Eastern Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League...
and New York Jets
New York Jets
The New York Jets are a professional football team headquartered in Florham Park, New Jersey, representing the New York metropolitan area. The team is a member of the Eastern Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League...
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...
teams, the NHL
National Hockey League
The National Hockey League is an unincorporated not-for-profit association which operates a major professional ice hockey league of 30 franchised member clubs, of which 7 are currently located in Canada and 23 in the United States...
's New York Rangers
New York Rangers
The New York Rangers are a professional ice hockey team based in the borough of Manhattan in New York, New York, USA. They are members of the Atlantic Division of the Eastern Conference of the National Hockey League . Playing their home games at Madison Square Garden, the Rangers are one of the...
, and local college basketball
College basketball
College basketball most often refers to the USA basketball competitive governance structure established by the National Collegiate Athletic Association . Basketball in the NCAA is divided into three divisions: Division I, Division II and Division III....
. But it was through its coverage of Yankees baseball that WPIX gained perhaps its greatest fame and identity.
To generations of New York children, channel 11 was also the home of memorable personalities. In 1955 Joe Bolton
Joseph Reeves Bolton III
Joe Bolton was the host of the WPIX show "The Clubhouse Gang" and "The Three Stooges Funhouse" as Officer Joe Bolton. Bolton was also The Police Chief host of "The Dick Tracy Show".-Biography:...
, an original WPIX staffer who had been a weather forecaster in the station's news department, donned a policeman's uniform and became "Officer Joe", hosting several programs based around Little Rascals and Three Stooges
Three Stooges
The Three Stooges were an American vaudeville and comedy act of the early to mid–20th century best known for their numerous short subject films. Their hallmark was physical farce and extreme slapstick. In films, the Stooges were commonly known by their first names: "Moe, Larry, and Curly" and "Moe,...
films, and later Popeye
Popeye
Popeye the Sailor is a cartoon fictional character created by Elzie Crisler Segar, who has appeared in comic strips and animated cartoons in the cinema as well as on television. He first appeared in the daily King Features comic strip Thimble Theatre on January 17, 1929...
animated shorts. Another early WPIX personality, Jack McCarthy
Jack McCarthy (television)
Jack McCarthy was an announcer and host at WPIX, Channel 11 in New York City. He is best known for hosting the St. Patrick's Day Parade for 42 years, and for hosting WPIX's block of Popeye cartoons in the sixties and early seventies....
, also hosted Popeye and Dick Tracy
Dick Tracy
Dick Tracy is a comic strip featuring Dick Tracy, a hard-hitting, fast-shooting and intelligent police detective. Created by Chester Gould, the strip made its debut on October 4, 1931, in the Detroit Mirror. It was distributed by the Chicago Tribune New York News Syndicate...
cartoons as "Captain Jack" in the early 1960s, though he was better known to adults as the longtime host of channel 11's St. Patrick's Day parade coverage, from 1949 to 1992. WPIX aired a local version of Bozo the Clown
Bozo the Clown
Bozo the Clown is a clown character very popular in the United States, peaking in the 1960s as a result of widespread franchising in early television.Originally created by Alan W...
(with Bill Britten in the role) from 1959 to 1964, and comic performers Chuck McCann
Chuck McCann
Chuck McCann is a film actor, television actor, stage actor, and a voice actor from Brooklyn, New York.-Early career:...
and Allen Swift
Allen Swift
Ira Stadlen , known professionally as Allen Swift, was an American voice actor, known for playing characters including Simon Bar Sinister and Riff-Raff on the Underdog cartoon show...
also hosted programs on WPIX during the mid-1960s before each moved to other entertainment work in Hollywood. Jazz singer Joya Sherrill
Joya Sherrill
Joya Sherrill was an American jazz vocalist and children's television show host....
hosted a weekday children's show, Time for Joya, later known as Joya's Fun School. Channel 11 produced the Magic Garden series, which ran on the station from 1972 to 1984.
RKO General
RKO General was the main holding company through 1991 for the noncore businesses of the General Tire and Rubber Company and, after General Tire's reorganization in the 1980s, GenCorp. The business was based around the consolidation of its parent company's broadcasting interests, dating to 1943, and...
's WOR-TV (now WWOR-TV
WWOR-TV
WWOR-TV, virtual channel 9 , is the flagship station of the MyNetworkTV programming service, licensed to Secaucus, New Jersey and serving the Tri-State metropolitan area. WWOR is owned by Fox Television Stations, a division of the News Corporation, and is a sister station to Fox network flagship...
) and Metromedia
Metromedia
Metromedia was a media company that owned radio and television stations in the United States from 1956 to 1986 and owned Orion Pictures from 1986-1997.- Overview :...
's WNEW-TV (now WNYW
WNYW
WNYW, virtual channel 5 , is the flagship television station of the News Corporation-owned Fox Broadcasting Company, located in New York City. The station's transmitter is atop the Empire State Building and its studio facilities are located in the Yorkville section of Manhattan...
)—struggled to acquire other programming. By the mid 1970s, WPIX was the clear number-two independent station in the city, behind WNEW-TV. It identified on-air as 11 Alive from September 1976 to 1986, a slogan made popular by stations like Atlanta
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...
's 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...
, which began using 11 Alive themselves from September 1976, and still do so as of 2011. In 1978, WPIX was launched on satellite and became a Superstation. Two years later, WPIX began 24 hour a day operations along with WOR-TV.
WPIX suffered from declining ratings in the late 1980s and early 1990s. During this time, now-Fox
Fox Broadcasting Company
Fox Broadcasting Company, commonly referred to as Fox Network or simply Fox , is an American commercial broadcasting television network owned by Fox Entertainment Group, part of Rupert Murdoch's News Corporation. Launched on October 9, 1986, Fox was the highest-rated broadcast network in the...
-owned WNYW and a resurgent WWOR, then owned by MCA
Music Corporation of America
MCA, Inc. was an American talent agency. Initially starting in the music business, they would next become a dominant force in the film business, and later expanded into the television business...
–Universal
Universal Pictures
-1920:* White Youth* The Flaming Disc* Am I Dreaming?* The Dragon's Net* The Adorable Savage* Putting It Over* The Line Runners-1921:* The Fire Eater* A Battle of Wits* Dream Girl* The Millionaire...
, relegated WPIX to sixth place among New York's VHF stations. After president Levitt Pope stepped down as general manager but remaining president and CEO of WPIX, a new general manager, Michael Eigner, was transferred to WPIX from Los Angeles
Los Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
sister station KTLA
KTLA
KTLA, virtual channel 5, is a television station in Los Angeles, California, USA. Owned by the Tribune Company, KTLA is an affiliate of the CW Television Network. KTLA's studios are on Sunset Boulevard in Hollywood, and its transmitter is located atop Mount Wilson...
in 1989, the station engineered a slow turnaround that eventually resulted in WPIX becoming the leading independent station in the New York market. In 1994, the station became the exclusive home of the New York City Marathon
New York City Marathon
The New York City Marathon is a major annual marathon that courses through the five boroughs of New York City. It is one of the largest marathons in the world, with 45,103 finishers in 2010...
, carrying the five-borough running event for the next five years.
WB affiliation
In January 1995, WPIX became an affiliate of the WB Television NetworkThe 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...
. Through Tribune's ownership interest in the WB (initially 12.5 percent in 1995, and later expanded to 22 percent), channel 11 could have been referred to as the WB's "flagship" station—though this is a designation in name only. The Warner Bros. Television
Warner Bros. Television
Warner Bros. Television is the television production arm of Warner Bros. Entertainment, itself part of Time Warner. Alongside CBS Television Studios, it serves as a television production arm of The CW Television Network , though it also produces shows for other networks, such as Shameless on...
division of Time Warner
Time Warner
Time Warner is one of the world's largest media companies, headquartered in the Time Warner Center in New York City. Formerly two separate companies, Warner Communications, Inc...
was the majority owner of the WB, and programming was distributed from the WB's facilities in Los Angeles.
Initially, WPIX continued with its usual programming. But due to industry changes, the station shifted directions beginning in 1996. As WB network and syndicated daytime programming (such as Maury
Maury (TV series)
Maury is a syndicated American tabloid talk show hosted by Maury Povich.When the series first aired in 1991, the show was called The Maury Povich Show and was produced by MoPo Productions in association with Paramount Domestic Television...
, Judge Mathis
Judge Mathis
Judge Mathis is a syndicated television legal reality show produced originally by Black Pearl Productions. In 2008, it entered its tenth season produced by AND Syndicated Productions and Telepictures. It is taped at NBC Tower in Chicago, but includes cases and litigants from other U.S....
, and The Jerry Springer 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...
) became more prominent on channel 11's schedule, most of the station's local-interest programming began to disappear. WPIX was once home to the St. Patrick's Day, National Puerto Rican Day and Columbus Day
Columbus Day
Many countries in the New World and elsewhere celebrate the anniversary of Christopher Columbus's arrival in the Americas, which occurred on October 12, 1492, as an official holiday...
parades, and the Macy's
Macy's
Macy's is a U.S. chain of mid-to-high range department stores. In addition to its flagship Herald Square location in New York City, the company operates over 800 stores in the United States...
July 4th Independence Day
Independence Day (United States)
Independence Day, commonly known as the Fourth of July, is a federal holiday in the United States commemorating the adoption of the Declaration of Independence on July 4, 1776, declaring independence from the Kingdom of Great Britain...
fireworks program. Along with the New York City Marathon these events moved to WNBC-TV, and the Marathon and the Macy's show are now carried on 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...
network.
New York Mets
The New York Mets are a professional baseball team based in the borough of Queens in New York City, New York. They belong to Major League Baseball's National League East Division. One of baseball's first expansion teams, the Mets were founded in 1962 to replace New York's departed National League...
, which up until that point had spent their entire televised history with WOR/WWOR. Ironically, beginning in 2005, over-the-air Yankees broadcasts were aired by WWOR, which was as synonymous with the Mets as WPIX was with the Yankees.
In recent years, WPIX has revived The Yule Log
Yule Log (TV program)
The Yule Log is a television program which is broadcast traditionally on Christmas Eve or Christmas morning , originally by New York City television station WPIX but now by many other Tribune Company-owned television stations, including WGN America, and by Antenna TV starting in 2011...
, a special holiday program that combines Christmas music with a film loop of logs burning inside a fireplace. The film was made early in the holiday season of 1966 and shows a fire burning in the fireplace at New York's official mayoral residence, Gracie Mansion
Gracie Mansion
thumb|250px|Western sideGracie Mansion is the official residence of the mayor of the City of New York. Built in 1799, it is located in Carl Schurz Park, at East End Avenue and Eighty-eighth Street in Manhattan...
; it was done with the cooperation of then-Mayor John V. Lindsay. The Yule Log aired on Christmas Eve and/or Christmas morning, initially from 1966 until 1989, and viewer response brought it back in 2001. The revival of the Yule Log has proven to be just as popular, and several other Tribune-owned stations have carried the WPIX version, complete with its audio soundtrack, over the past several years. Channel 11 also airs a live broadcast of Midnight Mass from St. Patrick's Cathedral
St. Patrick's Cathedral, New York
The Cathedral of St. Patrick is a decorated Neo-Gothic-style Roman Catholic cathedral church in the United States...
every Christmas Eve.
As children's programming began to fade from broadcast television, The WB dropped its morning cartoon block in 2000, leaving the time for local stations to carry their own programming. On June 5 of that year, WPIX launched the WB 11 Morning News (now PIX Morning News), which has grown to challenge the established network morning programs as well as its more direct competitor, WNYW's Good Day New York. Its original newscast consisted of John Muller, Lynne White, Linda Church, Lynda Lopez, Melinda Murphy & Craig Treadway. The station continued to carry Saturday morning cartoons from Kids WB up to May 17, 2008 when it was bought by 4Kids Entertainment
4Kids Entertainment
4Kids Entertainment is an American film and television production company in bankruptcy since April 2011. It is known for English-dubbing Japanese anime and specializing in the acquisition, production and licensing of children's entertainment around the United States...
, but the afternoon cartoon block was discontinued on January 6, 2006.
World Trade Center
The original World Trade Center was a complex with seven buildings featuring landmark twin towers in Lower Manhattan, New York City, United States. The complex opened on April 4, 1973, and was destroyed in 2001 during the September 11 attacks. The site is currently being rebuilt with five new...
towers. The station's lead engineer, Steve Jacobson, was among those who were lost in the tragedy. WPIX's satellite feed froze on the last video frame received from the WTC mast, an image of the North Tower burning and the start of the impact of the South Tower; the image remained on the screen for much of the day until WPIX was able to set up alternate transmission facilities (the microwave relay for WPIX's satellite feed was also up there). Since then, WPIX has transmitted its signal from the Empire State Building
Empire State Building
The Empire State Building is a 102-story landmark skyscraper and American cultural icon in New York City at the intersection of Fifth Avenue and West 34th Street. It has a roof height of 1,250 feet , and with its antenna spire included, it stands a total of 1,454 ft high. Its name is derived...
.
CW affiliation
On January 24, 2006, The WB and UPNUPN
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...
networks announced that they would merge into a new service, The CW Television Network
The CW Television Network
The CW Television Network is a television network in the United States launched at the beginning of the 2006–2007 television season. It is a joint venture between CBS Corporation, the former owners of United Paramount Network , and Time Warner's Warner Bros., former majority owner of The WB...
, named for its corporate parents 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...
(the parent company of UPN) and Warner Bros. Television. The new network signed a 10-year affiliation deal with most of Tribune's WB stations, including WPIX. Unlike in its relationship with the WB, Tribune does not have an ownership interest in The CW—meaning, once again, WPIX is the network's "flagship" station in name only. However, this does make WPIX, not only the largest CW affiliate that is not owned by the network, but also the largest English language network affiliated television station that is not an O&O of its respective network, as well as the only major New York City television station to be a non-O&O.
On April 2, 2007, Chicago-based investor Sam Zell announced plans to purchase the Tribune Company, with intentions to take the firm private. The deal was completed on December 20, 2007. Prior to the close of the sale, WPIX had been the only New York City commercial television station to have never been involved in an ownership transaction. On April 26, 2008, WPIX began broadcasting its news in 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...
, becoming the fourth television station in New York City to do so.
News operation
News has played an important role on channel 11 from the station's beginnings. As most stations did in the late 1940s and early 1950s, WPIX aired filmed coverage of news events. The station's first news program, TelePIX Newsreel, was the first in New York to consist entirely of filmed coverage.Beginning in 1948 through 1965 WPIX produced a 6:30 PM newscast entitled "Three Star News" so named because it featured three anchors, Kevin Kennedy reading the world and national news, John Tillman reporting local New York City news and Joe Bolton as the weatherman. Bolton was later replaced by Gloria Okon when Bolton was assigned to children's programming. The broadcast was eventually cancelled when the FCC complained that some of Tillman's "man on the street" interviews were staged with paid actors, most notable of which was the "pro-Castro sympathizer" who was "interviewed" with a copy of the Daily Worker newspaper conveniently tucked under his arm.
WPIX also produced many acclaimed news documentary films during the 1950s and early 1960s through its production arm, WPIX International. Among its productions included The Secret Life of Adolf Hitler
Adolf Hitler
Adolf Hitler was an Austrian-born German politician and the leader of the National Socialist German Workers Party , commonly referred to as the Nazi Party). He was Chancellor of Germany from 1933 to 1945, and head of state from 1934 to 1945...
; Cuba, Castro and Communism; and The Most Powerful Woman of the Century, a profile of Eva Perón
Eva Perón
María Eva Duarte de Perón was the second wife of President Juan Perón and served as the First Lady of Argentina from 1946 until her death in 1952. She is often referred to as simply Eva Perón, or by the affectionate Spanish language diminutive Evita.She was born in the village of Los Toldos in...
. Channel 11's efforts first got attention when the station covered the collision, and later, sinking of the New York-bound oceanliner SS Andrea Doria
SS Andrea Doria
SS Andrea Doria[p] was an ocean liner for the Italian Line home ported in Genoa, Italy, most famous for its sinking in 1956, when 46 people died. Named after the 16th-century Genoese admiral Andrea Doria, the ship had a gross register tonnage of 29,100 and a capacity of about 1,200 passengers and...
off the coast of Nantucket in 1956. From 1977 to early 1984, WPIX used the 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...
title and format for its local news programs. In 1977, the station commissioned "Move Closer to Your World
Move Closer to Your World
Move Closer to Your World is a television news music package composed by jingle writer Al Ham under his Mayoham Music label. In the 1970s it was considered an anthem for local television news, and is considered the anthem of WPVI-TV in Philadelphia for its Action News programs to the current day...
" as their theme music. A 30-minute newscast aired at 7:30 p.m., and a one-hour program (at some points it was also 30 minutes) ran at 10:00 p.m.
From June 1980 until June 1990, WPIX produced and syndicated Independent Network News
Independent Network News (US)
The Independent Network News was a nationally-syndicated nightly news program, seen from June 1980 until June 1990. The newscast was designed to serve the same purpose as the nightly network news programs, and was produced by Tribune Company-owned station WPIX in New York...
(INN), a national newscast for independent stations. The program featured the same talent that worked on WPIX's local newscasts and emanated from the same news studio, with INN logos covering the number 11's on various set pieces. WPIX transmitted the national show's live feed weeknights at 9:30 p.m. (ET).
In New York, WPIX paired a 10 p.m. replay of the national show with a live local newscast at 10:30 p.m., called the "Action News Metropolitan Report." As part of a midday expansion of INN starting in 1981, channel 11 also experimented with a newscast at 12:30 p.m. co-anchored by Marvin Scott
Marvin Scott
Marvin Scott is a politician in Indianapolis, and unsuccessful 2010 Republican candidate for election to the U.S. House of Representatives from Indiana's 7th Congressional District. He was previously the unsuccessful Republican candidate for U.S. Senator from Indiana in 2004 against incumbent...
. During the decade, WPIX also offered INN affiliates The Wall Street Journal
The Wall Street Journal
The Wall Street Journal is an American English-language international daily newspaper. It is published in New York City by Dow Jones & Company, a division of News Corporation, along with the Asian and European editions of the Journal....
Report, a business-oriented show; and From the Editor's Desk, a Sunday newsmaker show hosted by Richard D. Heffner
Richard Heffner
Richard Douglas Heffner is the creator and host of The Open Mind, a public affairs television show first broadcast in 1956. He is a University Professor of Communications and Public Policy at Rutgers University and also teaches an honors seminar at New York University...
, host of the long-running public-affairs program The Open Mind
The Open Mind
The Open Mind were a London-based psychedelic rock band active in the 1960s and 1970s.-Overview:The band was formed in the mid 1960s by four musicians from Putney, South London. Initially named The Apaches formed by Tim du Feu, Mike Brancaccio and Philip Fox and their friend Ray Nye. Nye left in...
.
WPIX was also famous for the many post-news editorials from 1969 to 1995 that were delivered by Richard N. Hughes
Richard N. Hughes
Richard Norman Hughes was an American television executive and television station editorialist.-Early career:...
, the station's vice president of news operations. His editorials ended with the legendary tagline, "What's your opinion? We'd like to know." Periodically, he would read excerpts from viewers' letters in response to the editorials, invariably closing each excerpt by saying, "And that ends that quote." The station dropped Action News in 1984 and renamed its programs as The Independent News. In 1986, the national INN newscast was renamed USA Tonight and aired from 10 p.m., while the 7:30 program retained the title Independent News and the 10:30 local newscast was renamed New York Tonight. When INN was cancelled, the 7:30 program ended as well, and WPIX focused its efforts on the 10:00 program.
Over the years, channel 11 has won many awards for news, and was the first independent station to win a New York-area Emmy Award
Emmy Award
An Emmy Award, often referred to simply as the Emmy, is a television production award, similar in nature to the Peabody Awards but more focused on entertainment, and is considered the television equivalent to the Academy Awards and the Grammy Awards .A majority of Emmys are presented in various...
for outstanding newscast, first gaining the statuette in 1979 and earning it again in 1983. It was a significant comeback for a news operation that was accused of falsifying news reports broadcasts in the late 1960s, such as labeling stock footage as "via satellite", and saying a voice report was live from Prague
Prague
Prague is the capital and largest city of the Czech Republic. Situated in the north-west of the country on the Vltava river, the city is home to about 1.3 million people, while its metropolitan area is estimated to have a population of over 2.3 million...
when, in actuality, it was made from a pay telephone in Manhattan. As a result, a group called Forum Communications — led by future PBS
Public Broadcasting Service
The Public Broadcasting Service is an American non-profit public broadcasting television network with 354 member TV stations in the United States which hold collective ownership. Its headquarters is in Arlington, Virginia....
and NBC News president Lawrence Grossman — approached the FCC
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...
to challenge WPIX Inc.'s license to operate channel 11, but after years of litigation, WPIX and the Daily News prevailed in 1979.
On December 1, 2008, along with the revised circle 11 logo, WPIX's newscasts were also rebranded as PIX Morning News and PIX News at Ten. The PIX call letters are pronounced phonetically, similar to the word "picks". Nearly 19 years after its final INN early evening newscast aired, WPIX launched a new early evening newscast on September 14, 2009. The broadcast is called PIX News at 6:30 and airs seven nights a week. With the launch of the WPIX newscast all but one of the major New York area stations now aired a nightly news program before 10 p.m. at least five days a week (WWOR
WWOR-TV
WWOR-TV, virtual channel 9 , is the flagship station of the MyNetworkTV programming service, licensed to Secaucus, New Jersey and serving the Tri-State metropolitan area. WWOR is owned by Fox Television Stations, a division of the News Corporation, and is a sister station to Fox network flagship...
, which airs their newscast weeknights at 10 p.m. and does not air weekend news, is the only one that does not). On June 16, 2010, it was announced that WPIX had cancelled the 6:30 p.m. newscast with the last broadcast airing on June 27, 2010; the newscast was replaced by syndicated reruns with its lead-in inside Edition moving to 4 a.m. before the morning newscast. On September 11, 2010 WPIX launched a weekend-only 6 p.m. newscast (making WPIX the only television station in the United States ever to carry an early-evening newscast on weekends, but not on weekdays). On September 20, 2010 WPIX expanded its morning newscast to five hours, with the start time moving to 4 a.m.
On October 11, 2010 changes for WPIX's weeknight 10:00 newscast took effect as Tong and Watkins were removed from the anchor desk, and were replaced by Jodi Applegate
Jodi Applegate
Jodi Applegate is an American news anchor for WPIX New York. She formerly anchored WNYW-TV's Good Day New York and News 12 Long Island.-Life and career:...
as a solo anchor; Watkins now serves as solo anchor for the weekend 6 and 10 p.m. newscasts, while Tong was moved to a field anchor position. The revamped newscast's first week was not well-received by most viewers or critics; the station fielded numerous complaints via phone calls, emails, and Facebook
Facebook
Facebook is a social networking service and website launched in February 2004, operated and privately owned by Facebook, Inc. , Facebook has more than 800 million active users. Users must register before using the site, after which they may create a personal profile, add other users as...
comments. The New York Daily News
New York Daily News
The Daily News of New York City is the fourth most widely circulated daily newspaper in the United States with a daily circulation of 605,677, as of November 1, 2011....
called the show "....a mix of news and infotainment rivaling the junk VH1
VH1
VH1 or Vh1 is an American cable television network based in New York City. Launched on January 1, 1985 in the old space of Turner Broadcasting's short-lived Cable Music Channel, the original purpose of the channel was to build on the success of MTV by playing music videos, but targeting a slightly...
churns out on a regular basis". A Facebook page has been created calling for the return of Tong and Watkins to the station's nightly news.
As of March 2011, WPIX has shut down the sports department. Lolita Lopez has returned to general assignment reporting, until her departure in October 2011 and Glenn Petraitis left the station upon the department's closure. On September 12, 2011, WPIX re-entered the early evening news competition with an hour-long weekday 5 p.m. newscast; the new newscast is aimed at women 18-49, and competes against 5 p.m. newscasts on WCBS, WNYW, WABC and WNBC which re-launched their 5 p.m. news in late August 2011.
Newscast titles
- TelePIX (1948–1962)
- Three Star News (1948–1955)
- Telepix: The Channel 11 Newsreel (1955–1962)
- Television 11/TV-11 News (1962–1974)
- Channel 11 News (1974–1977 and 1989–1997)
- Action NewsAction NewsAction 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...
(1977–1984) - Independent Network NewsIndependent Network NewsThe name Independent Network News can represent:* Independent Network News : Nationwide news service for independent radio stations in the Republic of Ireland...
(1980–1984, concurrent with Action News) - INN: The Independent News (1984–1990)
- USA Tonight (1986–1987)
- New York Tonight (1987–1989)
- WB11 News (1997–2006)
- CW11 News (2006–2008)
- PIX11 News (2008–present)
Station slogans
- "11 Alive" (1976–1986)
- "11's Alive with [next announced program]" (1982–1986, also used in promos)
- "It's Time for 11 Alive" (1984–1986)
- "New York's Movie Station" (1986–1997)
- "The Ones to Watch" (late 1990s; reference to their analog channel "11")
- "New York's Home of The CW" (2009–present)
- "News to Talk About" (2009–present; variation of CW network slogan)
Current On-Air Staff (as of November 2011)
Anchors- Tamsen FadalTamsen FadalTamsen Fadal is a Lebanse American journalist, author and media personality who is currently the morning anchor on the WPIX Morning News in New York City. Previously, she hosted Totally Tamsen segments for WPIX in New York City. Fadal also appears regularly on the syndicated television show Better...
- weekday mornings PIX Morning News (4-6 a.m.) - Craig TreadwayCraig TreadwayCraig Treadway is co-anchor of the early edition of the PIX 11 Morning News, which airs from 5 to 6 a.m on weekdays, opposite Tiffany McElroy. Treadway joined WPIX-TV on the program on its June 5, 2000 debut. He had previously been a reporter from WNYW, since 1997...
- weekday morning PIX Morning News (4-6 a.m.) - Sukanya KrishnanSukanya KrishnanSukanya Krishnan is an Indian-born American news anchor for the 6-9 am segments of the PIX Morning News on WPIX in New York City, paired with John Muller...
- weekday mornings PIX Morning News (6-9 a.m.) - Frances RiveraFrances RiveraFrances Rivera is a Filipino-American journalist and television news anchor. For ten years, until August 2011, she had been a television reporter and anchor for Boston's NBC affiliate WHDH. As of August 2011, she is a Morning News anchor for WPIX in New York City.- Early life and career :Rivera...
- weekday mornings PIX Morning News (6-9 a.m.) - Jodi ApplegateJodi ApplegateJodi Applegate is an American news anchor for WPIX New York. She formerly anchored WNYW-TV's Good Day New York and News 12 Long Island.-Life and career:...
- weeknights at 5 and 10 p.m. - Kaity TongKaity TongKaity Tong is a Chinese-born American broadcast journalist who has been a television news anchor in New York City since 1981.Born in Qingdao in the Peoples Republic of China to George and Anita Tong, Tong came to the United States with her family at age four. Growing up in Washington D.C., Tong was...
- weekends at 6 and 10 p.m.; also fill in for weeknights 5pm & 10pm
Weather team
- Irv "Mr.G" Gikofsky - chief meteorologist; weeknights at 5 and 10 p.m.
- Lisa Mateo - meteorologist; weekday mornings PIX Morning News (4-6 a.m.); also traffic & morning reporter
- Linda ChurchLinda ChurchLinda Church has been the morning weather anchor for the WPIX CW11, formerly WB11, Morning News since its debut in June 2000. She also leads the Wakeup Workout segment that airs on Monday mornings....
- meteorologist; weekday mornings PIX Morning News - Craig Allen - weekends at 6 and 10 p.m.
- John Marshall - Fill In
Reporters
- Debra Alfarone - morning reporter
- Sharon CarpenterSharon CarpenterSharon Carpenter is a broadcast journalist who is best known for her work as a news anchor and reporter for Black Entertainment Television and BET International. She was the first British TV personality to represent the networks. Before her on-air position at BET, Carpenter reported for the...
- morning correspondent - Arthur Chi'en - evening reporter
- Kristin Cole - evening reporter
- Rich DeMuro - technology reporter
- Mario Diaz - evening reporter
- Kerry Drew - morning reporter
- James FordJames FordJames Ford may refer to:*James A. Ford, American archaeologist*James Ford , benefactor of the Ford Lectures at Oxford University*James Ford , cricketer*James Ford , American newsreader and journalist for WPIX...
- evening reporter - Mike Gilliam - morning reporter
- Allison HaunssAllison HaunssAllison Haunss is a reporter for the CW11, New York. She previously worked as an anchor at News 12 Connecticut.- Nominations and awards :In 2004, Haunss received awards for 'Best Broadcast of the Year' and also 'Best Prepared Report - TV Feature of the Year' by the Connecticut Press Club for a...
- evening reporter - Magee HickeyMagee HickeyMagee Hickey is a reporter for WPIX in New York City.Hickey attended the Convent of the Sacred Heart, an elite, all-girls school in Manhattan, before graduating from Brown University in 1977....
- evening reporter - Rob Hoell - evening reporter
- Jennifer Jordan - evening reporter
- Dyrol Joyner- weekend evenings sports reporter
- Nathan Kamp- morning correspondent/traffic reporter
- Lionel - commentator
- Dan Mannarino - evening reporter
- Ellyn Marks - evening reporter
- Francesca Maxime - morning reporter
- Larry MendteLarry MendteLarry Mendte is an American commentator and American news anchor working at WPIX in New York City. Mendte was the first male host of the American syndicated television show Access Hollywood. His nightly commentaries are aired on TV stations across the country...
- commentator - Greg Mocker - commentator
- Monica Morales - evening reporter
- Mary MurphyMary Murphy (reporter)Mary Murphy is the weekend co-anchor of the PIX 11 News at Ten on WPIX-TV in New York City, and is a correspondent and substitute anchor for Kaity Tong on the station's weekday broadcasts....
- general assignment reporter - Erica Pitzi - evening reporter
- Dr. Steve Salvatore - Host of Dr. Steve on Sundays; also chief medical reporter
- Marvin Scott - senior correspondent
- Howard Thompson - chief investigative reporter
- Peter ThornePeter Thorne (reporter)Peter Thorne is a weekend news anchor for PIX 11 News at Ten, and a correspondent and substitute anchor for Jim Watkins on the station's weekday broadcasts....
- general assignment reporter - Stephanie Tsoflias - evening reporter
- Hilary Whittier- evening reporter
Notable former on-air staff
- Remy BlumenfeldRemy BlumenfeldRemy Blumenfeld is a British Television executive and content creator who co-founded the production company Brighter Pictures which was bought by Endemol in 2001...
- Joe BoltonJoseph Reeves Bolton IIIJoe Bolton was the host of the WPIX show "The Clubhouse Gang" and "The Three Stooges Funhouse" as Officer Joe Bolton. Bolton was also The Police Chief host of "The Dick Tracy Show".-Biography:...
- Jack CaffertyJack CaffertyJack Cafferty is a CNN commentator and occasional host of specials. In the summer of 2005, Cafferty joined The Situation Room.-Career:...
(now at CNNCNNCable News Network is a U.S. cable news channel founded in 1980 by Ted Turner. Upon its launch, CNN was the first channel to provide 24-hour television news coverage, and the first all-news television channel in the United States...
) - Jason CarrollJason CarrollJason Frederick Carroll is a national correspondent for CNN.Carroll began his broadcast career at KAKE-TV in Wichita, Kansas, where he served as a general assignment reporter...
(now at CNN) - Marysol CastroMarysol CastroMarysol Castro is a television journalist and was weather anchor for the The Early Show on CBS in 2011. Prior to that, she was the weather and features correspondent for the weekend edition of Good Morning America on ABC from 2004 to 2010.-Early life and career:Born to Puerto Rican parents in New...
- Pamela ChanPamela ChanPamela Chan Wong-shui, BBS, JP is a consumer rights activist and academic in Hong Kong. Originally a social worker, she was Chief Executive of the Hong Kong Consumer Council from 1985 to 2007...
- Julie ChangJulie ChangJulie Chang is the entertainment anchor for the 5PM/10PM news on FOX 5 . She joined the morning show Good Day New York in June, 2008, but changed over to the evening newscasts in October 2011. Previously, she was a feature reporter for CW11 Morning News, WPIX. Chang has been recognized for her...
(now at WNYWWNYWWNYW, virtual channel 5 , is the flagship television station of the News Corporation-owned Fox Broadcasting Company, located in New York City. The station's transmitter is atop the Empire State Building and its studio facilities are located in the Yorkville section of Manhattan...
) - Joe Cioffi
- Morton DeanMorton DeanMorton Dean is an American television news journalist who has worked for CBS News and ABC News since the mid-1960s....
(later at CBSCBSCBS 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 ABCAmerican Broadcasting CompanyThe 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...
) - Vince DeMentriVince DeMentriVince DeMentri was most recently a reporter for WPIX in New York, NY.DeMentri graduated from Temple University with a B.A. in broadcast journalism. He also played football for the Temple Owls as a linebacker from 1983 to 1985. He began his career as a Sports Producer for WPVI-TV in Philadelphia...
- Laurie DhueLaurie DhueLaurie Walker Dhue now working for CNN, is a former Fox News Channel anchor from 2000–2008, reporting for the television show Geraldo at Large, which airs Saturday and Sunday nights, and the host of Fox Report Weekend...
- Amber Lee EttingerAmber Lee EttingerAmber Lee Ettinger is an American actress, internet celebrity, and model. She first rose to fame as Obama Girl in her Internet video "I Got a Crush... on Obama", in which she expressed her admiration of then-U.S. Senator Barack Obama...
- Emily FrancesEmily FrancesEmily Frances is a former entertainment anchor for PIX News at Ten, the weeknight news program seen on Tribune Broadcasting's CW Television Network Affiliate, WPIX Channel 11.-Early life:...
- Shon GablesShon GablesShon Gables is the host of Black Enterprise Business Report.With more than 13 years in broadcast journalism, Shon Gables brings credibility and experience to her role as host of Black Enterprise Magazine’s new nationally syndicated program Black Enterprise Business Report...
(now at WFAA-TVWFAA-TVWFAA, channel 8, is an ABC-affiliated television station serving the Dallas–Fort Worth Metroplex, one of the top ten media markets in North America. The station is the flagship of Belo Corporation and the largest ABC affiliate not owned and operated by the network...
in Dallas/Fort Worth) - Jerry GirardJerry GirardJerry Girard was an American radio personality and sports anchor, most notably at WPIX in New York City.Born as Gerard Alfred Suglia in Chicago and raised in The Bronx, New York, where he attended Manhattan College, Jerry Girard went on to work as a radio disc jockey in places like Myrtle Beach,...
- Bob GrantBob Grant (radio)Bob Grant , is an American radio host whose real name is Robert Ciro Gigante. A veteran of broadcasting in New York City, Grant is considered a pioneer of the "conservative" and "confrontational" talk radio format.-Early work:...
- Pat HarperPat HarperPatricia "Pat" Harper was an American television news anchor and reporter, and a fixture for nearly two decades on two New York City television stations...
(deceased) - Cathy HobbsCathy HobbsCathy Hobbs is an American television host, interior designer and lifestyle expert based in New York City.-Broadcasting career:Hobbs began her broadcast career at KGET-TV in Bakersfield, California, while still a student at the University of Southern California. In 1991, she joined WOLO-TV in...
- Richard N. HughesRichard N. HughesRichard Norman Hughes was an American television executive and television station editorialist.-Early career:...
- Jackie HylandJackie HylandJackie Hyland, born in New York City, is a television anchor on WRAL-TV in Raleigh, NC.Hyland lived for 10 years in Drumshanbo, County Leitrim, Ireland as a child where she was proficient in Irish folk song and dance, appeared in several Irish magazines and newspapers and did runway work.. After...
- Bill JorgensenBill JorgensenBill Jorgensen was the founding and longtime anchor of New York City's WNEW-TV's Ten O'Clock News from its inception on March 13, 1967 until he left in the spring of 1979 Jorgensen moved to WPIX-TV, also in New York City, where he anchored the news until his retirement in 1987.-The Ten O'Clock...
- Allison KadenAllison KadenAllison Kaden is a general assignment reporter for the PIX11 WPIX-TV. Kaden joined WPIX in 2004, after working for News 12 The Bronx. She was hit by a car on March 4, 2010, but returned on May 10, 2010...
- Sean Kimerling (deceased)
- Shari LewisShari LewisShari Lewis was an American ventriloquist, puppeteer, and children's television show host, most popular during the 1960s and 1990s...
(deceased) - Lolita Lopez
- Lynda LopezLynda LopezLynda López is an Emmy Award-winning Puerto Rican American journalist and the youngest sister of actress and singer Jennifer Lopez.-Early years:...
- Patricia LopezPatricia LopezPatricia Lopez was a general assignment reporter for the CW11 Morning News on New York City's WPIX-TV.-References:...
- Jeffrey LyonsJeffrey Lyons (television critic)Jeffrey Lyons is an American television and film critic.-Life and career:Lyons was born in New York City, one of the four sons of Sylvia and Leonard Lyons...
- Sal MarchianoSal MarchianoSal Marchiano is a sportscaster who worked in New York radio and television for forty years. In December 2008 he retired from his position as sports director and anchor for the WPIX Channel 11 News At Ten....
- Chuck McCannChuck McCannChuck McCann is a film actor, television actor, stage actor, and a voice actor from Brooklyn, New York.-Early career:...
- Jack McCarthyJack McCarthy (television)Jack McCarthy was an announcer and host at WPIX, Channel 11 in New York City. He is best known for hosting the St. Patrick's Day Parade for 42 years, and for hosting WPIX's block of Popeye cartoons in the sixties and early seventies....
- Tiffany McElroyTiffany McElroyTiffany McElroy is a former news anchor and reporter. She co-anchored portions of the PIX Morning News on WPIX in New York City from August 2004 to August 2009, following two years at WCAU-TV in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania....
- Steve MacLaughlin
- John MullerJohn MullerJohn Muller is best known as the anchor/host of New York City's innovative and Emmy award winning PIX 11 Morning News. He is an Emmy Award-winning journalist who worked in Georgia and Florida before returning home to New York City as a reporter/anchor at WNBC-TV. Muller the founding male...
- Melinda MurphyMelinda MurphyMelinda Murphy has been a correspondent for CBS television news program The Early Show since October 2002.Prior to joining The Early Show, Murphy was a feature and traffic reporter for WPIX-TV in New York City ....
- Jill NicoliniJill NicoliniJill Nicolini is a reporter and former model, actress, and reality TV show participant. Currently, Nicolini is an entertainment reporter on Good Day New York on WNYW.- Early life :...
(now at WNYWWNYWWNYW, virtual channel 5 , is the flagship television station of the News Corporation-owned Fox Broadcasting Company, located in New York City. The station's transmitter is atop the Empire State Building and its studio facilities are located in the Yorkville section of Manhattan...
) - Bill O'ReillyBill O'Reilly (political commentator)William James "Bill" O'Reilly, Jr. is an American television host, author, syndicated columnist and political commentator. He is the host of the political commentary program The O'Reilly Factor on the Fox News Channel, which is the most watched cable news television program on American television...
(now at Fox News ChannelFox News ChannelFox 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...
) - Glenn Petraitis (former Sports Anchor)
- Julian PhillipsJulian PhillipsJulian Phillips was a co-host of Fox & Friends Weekend along with Alisyn Camerota, Kiran Chetry and other Fox News personalities.He currently works as a motivational speaker....
(later with Fox News Channel) - Sally Jessy RaphaelSally Jessy RaphaëlSally Lowenthal , better known as Sally Jessy Raphael, is an American talk show host, known for the eponymous Sally talk show she hosted for two decades.-Early years:...
(later had her own talk show; now retired) - Tim RyanTim Ryan (sportscaster)Tim Ryan is an American sportscaster, currently a resident of Ketchum, Idaho.-Early life and career:Raised in Canada, Ryan graduated from the University of Notre Dame in 1960, and took a job the newly-formed CFTO as an assistant sports director...
- sportscaster - Toni SenecalToni SenecalAntonia "Toni" Senecal is the producer and host of Toni On! television travel series which is broadcast on NYC Life on Wednesdays at 12:30am and 9pm, Fridays at 1:30pm, and Saturdays at 11am...
- Eric ShawnEric ShawnEric Shawn is an American television news reporter for the Fox News Channel.Shawn was born in New York City, the son of Gilbert Shawn, a former Army lieutenant colonel, and Melba Rae, a soap opera actress best known for her role on Search for Tomorrow.He currently co-hosts the Sunday morning...
(now with Fox News Channel) - Mike Sheehan
- Joya SherrillJoya SherrillJoya Sherrill was an American jazz vocalist and children's television show host....
(deceased) - Ed SullivanEd SullivanEdward Vincent "Ed" Sullivan was an American entertainment writer and television host, best known as the presenter of the TV variety show The Ed Sullivan Show. The show was broadcast from 1948 to 1971 , which made it one of the longest-running variety shows in U.S...
(deceased) - David SusskindDavid SusskindDavid Susskind was a producer of TV, movies, and stage plays and also a pioneer TV talk show host.-Personal:...
(deceased) - Allen SwiftAllen SwiftIra Stadlen , known professionally as Allen Swift, was an American voice actor, known for playing characters including Simon Bar Sinister and Riff-Raff on the Underdog cartoon show...
(deceased) - Jim WatkinsJim WatkinsJim Watkins was the anchor of the weekend editions of "PIX News at Six" and "PIX News at Ten" on WPIX-TV. He joined the station in 1998 where he co-anchored the weeknight news at 10 pm with Kaity Tong after three years working at WNBC-TV in New York. While at WNBC, Watkins anchored the weekend...
Public affairs and special events
In addition to its news-oriented broadcasts, WPIX was a leader in public-affairs and special events programming, inspired by its roots as the television station of the Daily News. Early on, it offered the first in-depth program to look at New York City government, called City Hall. WPIX children's show personality Jack McCarthy anchored the station's coverage of the St. Patrick's Day Parade, and the station later added the Columbus Day and National Puerto Rican Day Parade to its stable. Later on, the station produced Essence, a TV show inspired by EssenceEssence (magazine)
Essence is a monthly magazine for African-American women between the ages of 18 and 49. The magazine covers fashion, lifestyle and beauty with an intimate girlfriend-to-girlfriend tone.-History:...
magazine and hosted by the publication's chief editor, Susan L. Taylor
Susan L. Taylor
Susan L. Taylor is an American editor, writer, and journalist. She served as editor-in-chief of Essence from 1981 through 2000. In 1994, American Libraries referred to Taylor as "the most influential black woman in journalism today".-Early life:Taylor was born in the Harlem neighborhood of New...
.
Editor's Desk host Richard D. Heffner
Richard Heffner
Richard Douglas Heffner is the creator and host of The Open Mind, a public affairs television show first broadcast in 1956. He is a University Professor of Communications and Public Policy at Rutgers University and also teaches an honors seminar at New York University...
remains the host of The Open Mind
The Open Mind (talk show)
The Open Mind is a long-running half-hour public affairs interview show. First broadcast in May 1956 over WRCA television in New York City, it currently originates from the studios of the CUNY Graduate Center and airs on public broadcasting stations nationwide...
, which was produced by Channel 11 (and was concurrently aired on PBS
Public Broadcasting Service
The Public Broadcasting Service is an American non-profit public broadcasting television network with 354 member TV stations in the United States which hold collective ownership. Its headquarters is in Arlington, Virginia....
stations), before moving to other New York studios.
Logos
- "Circle 11 logo" redirects here.
The station dropped Circle 11 when it adopted the 11 Alive moniker in September 1976 (though it continued to appear during station editorials until around 1982), but re-incorporated the Circle 11 into the 11 Alive branding in 1984. The Circle 11 logo returned full-time in the fall of 1986. Its relaunch featured a series of humorous promos in which a fictitious station employee, "Henry Tillman", was searching for a "big idea", for something uniquely New York in nature to serve as the perfect symbol for WPIX. The running gag in these commercials was the fact that Tillman was constantly surrounded by—but never noticed—objects resembling a giant "11", most notably the Twin Towers of the World Trade Center.
The station revised its look when it unveiled a stylized 11 logo during WPIX's broadcast of the 1994 New York City Marathon. The new numerical look eventually became the full-time logo, augmented with the WB logo after the station became a WB affiliate in 1995. The station's CW 11 logo was first used for promos and teasers announcing the imminent change to The CW, and then first used as a full-time logo on the station's 10:00 newscast on September 17, 2006. The newscast was preceded by a graphic of all of WPIX's logos throughout the years, ending with the CW 11 logo.
The CW 11 logo has been replaced with a modernized version of WPIX's Circle 11 logo featuring the WB era "11" figure in a slimlined form within the circle. The station began a gradual on-air transition in mid-October 2008 by including the new look in program promos. The station featured the new logo in a half-hour New York Jets football pre-game show special on November 13, 2008. The transition was completed on December 1, 2008. The CW logo is sometimes used next to the circle 11 logo, primarily in local advertisements for CW network programming.