KNBC
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| KNBC | |
|---|---|
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| Los Angeles, California | |
| Branding | NBC 4 (general) The Channel 4 News (newscasts) |
| Slogan | Trust Experience We're 4 LA |
| Channels | Analog: 4 (VHF) |
| Subchannels | (see article) |
| Translators | (see article) |
| Affiliations | NBC |
| Owner | NBC Universal (NBC Telemundo License Company) |
| Founded | January 16, 1949 |
| Call letters’ meaning | K National Broadcasting Company |
| Sister station(s) | KVEA, KWHY-TV |
| Former callsigns | KNBH (1949-1954) KRCA-TV (1954-1960) |
| Transmitter Power | 43.7 kW (analog) 380 kW (digital) |
| Height | 984 m (analog) 991 m (digital) |
| Facility ID | 47906 |
| Transmitter Coordinates | |
| Website | www.knbc.com |
KNBC, channel 4, is an owned-and-operated television station of the NBC Television Network, located in Los Angeles, California. Its studios and offices are located within the NBC Studios complex in Burbank, California, and its transmitter is based on Mount Wilson. In the few areas of the western United States where viewers cannot receive NBC programs over-the-air, KNBC is available on satellite to subscribers of Dish Network and DirecTV.
KNBC is one of three NBC Universal-owned television stations in Los Angeles; the other two are Telemundo outlet KVEA (channel 52), and Spanish-language independent KWHY-TV (channel 22).
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[edit] History
Channel 4 first went on the air on January 16, 1949, as KNBH (for NBC Hollywood). It was the second-to-last of Los Angeles' VHF stations to debut, and the last of the five original NBC-owned stations to sign on. Unlike the other four, KNBH was the only NBC-owned television station which did not benefit from having a sister station on radio. NBC Radio was affiliated with KFI in Los Angeles, and that relationship extended into television in August 1948 when KFI-TV (channel 9, now KCAL-TV) aligned with NBC television. When KNBH signed on, KFI-TV was forced to relinquish its rights to NBC programming, though KFI radio retained its relationship with the network.
The station changed its call letters KRCA-TV (for NBC's then-parent company, the Radio Corporation of America) in 1954. The call sign was changed again in 1960, when NBC moved the KNBC identity from its San Francisco radio station (which became KNBR) and applied it to channel 4 in Los Angeles.
Channel 4 originally broadcast from the NBC Radio City Studios on Sunset Boulevard and Vine Street in Hollywood. In November 1962, after over 13 years broadcasting from Hollywood, the station relocated to the network's color broadcast studio facility in suburban Burbank. NBC Color City, as it was then known, was already in operation since March 1955, and was at least four to five times larger than Radio City, and could easily accommodate KRCA-TV's locally-produced studio programming. NBC Radio's West Coast operations eventually followed channel 4 to Burbank not too long after.
[edit] Leaving "Beautiful Downtown Burbank"
On October 11, 2007, NBC Universal announced that it will sell its Burbank studios and construct a new, all-digital facility near the Universal Studios backlot, in an effort to merge all of NBC Universal's West Coast operations into one area. As a result, KNBC, KVEA, KWHY-TV, and NBC News' Los Angeles bureau will move to a new digital facility adjacent to the Universal City Metro Red Line Station. The Tonight Show and other studio productions will move to the studios backlot. Construction plans to take place over the next four years.
[edit] Digital television
The station's digital signal is multiplexed:
Digital channels
| Channel | Programming |
|---|---|
| 4.1 / 36.1 | main KNBC/NBC programming |
| 4.2 / 36.2 | NBC Weather Plus |
| 4.4 / 36.4 | KNBC News Raw |
[edit] Analog-to-digital conversion
After the analog television shutdown and digital conversion, which is tentatively scheduled to take place on February 17, 2009[1], KNBC will remain on its current pre-transition channel number, 36. [2] However, through the use of PSIP, digital television receivers will display KNBC's virtual channel as 4.
[edit] News operation
For over the last 30 years, it has battled fellow network stations, KCBS-TV (channel 2) and KABC-TV (channel 7), for the top position for the number-one news operation in greater Los Angeles, although KCBS-TV hasn’t been more of a factor until 2006. Throughout the late 1980s and into the early 2000s, KNBC's newscasts were top-ranked in the region, beating out every other station for news ratings and coinciding with the network's ratings. Currently, channel 4's 11:00 p.m. newscast sits in third place. However, most of the station's other newscasts, including its popular morning news program, Today in L.A., the area's first local morning newscast (starting in 1986), rates at or near the top of the local news ratings.
The newscasts generally take a more "serious" tone covering the issues, including politics, government, education, and the economy, than other Los Angeles newscasts. On election nights, KNBC runs a special extended edition of their 11 p.m. newscast to show early election results. KNBC is notable in the Los Angeles area for not showing car chases. Thus, when direct competitors KCBS-TV and KABC-TV switch to police chase coverage, channel 4 continues on its regularly scheduled newscast, while staffers prepare a regular news story on the pursuit for airing on a later newscast.
In 2006 KNBC embarked on an all-news channel called News Raw, hosted by Mekahlo Medina. The news channel, on digital channel 4.4 and also on many local digital cable systems, provides news updates every hour, teases news stories in future newscasts on standard channel 4, and provides additional information about breaking news stories. News Raw only runs Monday through Friday, and coverage occurs between 10 a.m. and 5 p.m. weekdays. During off hours, previous broadcasts repeat. [1] Another program, The Local Story, began in July 2006, taking an in-depth look at one major local story in the news. It was hosted by veteran television journalist Ross Becker, and was canceled to make way for The Ellen DeGeneres Show but continued to be shown online. In October 2006, the program returned to the airwaves, airing at 4:30 p.m, but was removed again in mid-November for good.
In September 2006, a new program called YourLA TV began. The program featured videos about interesting things happening in the Southern California area. User-submitted videos and comments via MySpace are mixed with profiles of ordinary people similar to PM Magazine.
For many years, KNBC had a 4 p.m. newscast. It was dropped in 2002, in favor of Dr. Phil which moved to KCBS-TV in 2005, and was replaced by The Ellen DeGeneres Show.
As of January 2008, KNBC is one of the three television stations in Los Angeles that has yet to start broadcasting local news and programming in High Definition (the other two being KTTV and KCOP). Currently, KNBC broadcasts its news in the 4:3 aspect ratio in standard definition. On March 29, 2008, the station announced that they will begin producing its newscasts in High Definition, following in the footsteps of other NBC owned-and-operated stations in New York City, Chicago, Dallas-Fort Worth, and Miami. Since the announcement, KNBC has been broadcasting its newscasts from the newsroom as opposed to the studio which in a few months will house a new High Definition set. The new set debuted on April 27, 2008. The conversion to High-Definition will take a few months, with KNBC expected to produce news in HD during or before the 2008 Olympics which will air on NBC.
Current KNBC personalities include news anchors Paul Moyer, Colleen Williams, and Chuck Henry, chief weathercaster Fritz Coleman, and sports director Fred Roggin. Moyer, Williams, Coleman, and Roggin make up the station's 5 and 11 p.m. Monday-Friday news team, while Henry co-anchors the 6 p.m. weeknight newscasts with Ana Garcia. Roggin and Coleman are KNBC's most notable current personalities. Roggin is nationally known because of his work with NBC Sports and for his appearances on the Tonight Show. Roggin also hosted a syndicated program, Roggin's Heroes and can also be seen on Early Today. Roggin also is a sports announcer for the Olympic Games. Coleman also makes occasional appearances on the Tonight Show, and once hosted a locally-produced late night variety "It's Fritz" which aired on KNBC from 1989 and into the early 1990s. Colleen Williams also sometimes appears nationally as she does occasional reports for MSNBC and NBC News.
KNBC has had a very stable news team, over the years. Williams, Roggin, and Coleman have been at the station for at least 20 years each, while Moyer arrived from rival KABC-TV in July 1992, replacing John Beard, who had been at channel 4 since 1981. Moyer started his Los Angeles broadcasting career at KNBC in 1972, as an anchor and reporter, before beginning a 13-year stint at KABC-TV in 1979. Much like Moyer, Chuck Henry was also a mainstay at KABC-TV, before making the move to Burbank in January 1994. He currently produces (through his self-titled production company) the travelouge series, Travel Cafe, which airs weekends on KNBC.
Former Today Show co-host and NBC Nightly News anchor Tom Brokaw began his NBC career as an anchor and reporter for KNBC, starting in 1966. He left the station to work exclusively for the network in 1973. Others that have worked at KNBC early in their careers include Bryant Gumbel, Pat Sajak, Kent Shocknek, Tom Snyder, and consumer reporter David Horowitz, whose long-running syndicated series, Fight Back!, originated from channel 4 and was produced and distributed by NBC and Westinghouse Broadcasting. In 1987 during an afternoon newscast, a gun-wielding mental patient gained access to NBC Studios, and took Horowitz hostage live on the air. With the gun pressed on his side, Horowitz calmly read the gunman's statements on camera. The unidentified man was caught with a toy gun, and was arrested by local police. It led Horowitz to start a successful campaign to ban "look-alike" toy guns in several states, including California and New York. ([2])
The most controversial departure was that of longtime weather reporter Christopher Nance. In 2002 Nance was fired from KNBC after years of what some say was "menacing and profane off-air behavior" contrary to Nance's on-air flamboyant and cheerful nature. Shortly after he was fired, Los Angeles magazine published an article on Nance and KNBC, further detailing his behavioral problems, including allegations that he had been involved with an intern at the station, and had been in altercations with many staff members. He alleges that the station fired him because of his Christian beliefs, according to his website and the article on Los Angeles magazine. In 2004 Nance sued his former employer citing he was dismissed due to racial and religious discrimination (Nance is African-American). ([3], [4])
[edit] Current personalities
- Anchors
- Kim Baldonado - weekend evenings
- Jennifer Bjorklund - weekdays, Today in L.A. and 11:00 a.m.
- Furnell Chatman - weekend evenings
- Ted Chen - weekends, Today in L.A.
- Ana Garcia - weeknights 6:00 p.m. (also investigative reporter)
- Chuck Henry - weeknights 6:00 p.m.
- Paul Moyer - weeknights 5:00 and 11:00 p.m.
- Chris Schauble - weekdays, Today in L.A. and 11:00 a.m.
- Beverly White - weekends, Today in L.A.
- Colleen Williams - weeknights 5:00 and 11:00 p.m.
- Weather
- Carl Bell - weekend mornings
- Fritz Coleman - chief meteorologist/weeknights
- Elita Loresca - weekdays, Today in L.A. and 11:00 a.m.
- Pablo Pereira - weekend evenings
- Sports
- Fred Roggin - sports director/weeknights(also host of GSN Live)
- Mario Solis - weekends
- Bill Seward - sports reporter/fill-in anchor
- Reporters
- Cary Berglund
- Laurel Erickson (senior correspondent; also co-anchor, KNBC News Conference)
- Joel Grover (investigative)
- Patrick Healy
- Dr. Bruce Hensel (health and science)
- Paul Johnson - traffic, Today in L.A.
- John Cadiz Klemack
- Robert Kovacik
- Doug Kriegel
- Mekahlo Medina - News Raw
- Conan Nolan (senior correspondent; also co-anchor, KNBC News Conference)
- Mary Parks (Inland Empire bureau)
- Gordon Tokumatsu
- Vikki Vargas (Orange County bureau)
[edit] Notable alumni
(a partial listing)
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[edit] Newscast titles
- Coca-Cola News (1949-1950)
- Ford News (1950-1954)
- Jack Latham and The News (1954-1960)
- Fifth Hour/Sixth Hour/Eleventh Hour Report (1960-1971)
- News 4 (1966-1971)
- KNBC News Service (1971-1975)
- NewsCenter 4 (1975-1982)
- News 4 L.A. (1982-1985)
- The Channel 4 News (1985-present)
[edit] Logos
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Image:NBC Channel 4 Logo 1963.jpg |  |
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| c. mid 1950s First logo, as KNBH (K NBC Hollywood) |
c. mid 1950s-1960s Second logo as KNBH |
c. 1960s First logo as KNBC from around the 1960s |
c. 1971 Generic logo from the 1970s. Note line combination of "N" and "B" similar to the then-current NBC snake logo. |
c. 1973 Stylized logo from 1973, with a stylized font, modification of previous logo |
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| 1976 - 1979 First logo with a generic "4" |
1979 - 1981 Second logo with a generic "4". The 4 in this logo would return in 1994 |
1981 - 1985 Logo with futuristic 4 and LA |
1985 - 1986 First logo with a custom, stylized font |
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| 1986 - 1994 Second logo with a custom, stylized font. Only difference is substitution of "Proud N" with the current logo. |
1994 - 1998 First "modern" logo with a generic 4, very similar to cross-country sister station WNBC-TV in New York City, New York |
1994 - 1998 Second "modern" logo, with a taller "4" |
1996 - present Current logo, with a golden 4 |
[edit] Other programming
KNBC has been long active in community events, including airing the annual Kingdom Day Parade (honoring Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.'s birthday) in South Los Angeles, sponsoring an annual two-day Health & Fitness Expo Fair at the Los Angeles Convention Center every summer, and since 2001 has been the exclusive local English-language carrier of the annual Los Angeles Marathon (sister station KVEA carries a Spanish-language version of the event). Sports director and lead sports anchor Fred Roggin's production company, in conjunction with KNBC/KVEA, produces coverage of the Marathon.
[edit] Rebroadcasters
KNBC is rebroadcast on the following translator stations:
- K04HX 4 Ridgecrest
- K12JI 12 Newberry Springs
- K15FC 15 Joshua Tree
- K19BS 19 Daggett
- K30GU 30 Morongo Valley
- K35HO-D 35 Ridgecrest
- K41CB 41 Lucerne Valley
- K47IB 47 Twentynine Palms
[edit] See also
[edit] References
[edit] External links
- KNBC Website
- Query the FCC's TV station database for KNBC
- KNBC-TV logos and screenshots from 1950s to the present day
- KNBC Station Information from NBC Universal Media Village
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