WKRG-TV

WKRG-TV has been the CBS television station for Mobile, Alabama, Pensacola, Florida, and Pascagoula/Biloxi, Mississippi since its inception on August 29, 1955. The station was founded by the architect and movie theater owner Kenneth R. Giddens, who also put the WKRG AM and FM radio stations on the air.

History
The television and radio stations were located on St. Louis Street in downtown Mobile until around 1980, when they were relocated to an area near the Bel Air Mall, which Giddens also had a hand in developing. The television station operates on the bottom floor and the radio stations operate on the second and third floors of the building.

For years, WKRG-TV was the only locally owned station in the Mobile-Pensacola-Pascagoula area. This changed after the death of Giddens in 1993. First, the radio stations were sold, yet they still operated in the same building (and still do today under current owner Clear Channel). Spartan Communications purchased WKRG-TV in 1998, and Media General purchased Spartan in 2000.

In 2002, the focus of the station switched to weather and news, and the channel's slogan was changed to reflect it: WKRG 5 became WKRG News 5 (based on the station's NewsCenter branding in the 1980s and 1990s), and it was touted as Mobile's "Weather Authority".

The station debuted a new slogan in July 2004: News 5, Coverage You Can Count On, in conjunction with WKRG's 50th year in broadcasting.

In 2007, WKRG developed a radio partnership with Clear Channel Communications reuniting the television station with its formerly owned stations WMXC Lite Mix 99.9 (formerly WKRG-FM) and WNTM News Radio 710 (formerly WKRG-AM), as well as WKSJ 95KSJ and WRKH 96.1 The Rocket. Ironically, these stations were co-owned with competing station WPMI until Clear Channel divested its television stations in 2008 to Newport Television.

On October 18, 2010, WKRG became the second television station in the Mobile-Pensacola market and the first Mobile-based station to launch local newscasts in High Definition starting with their 6pm show.

WKRG is also available to cable subscribers in Biloxi and Gulfport, Mississippi, and is usually the area's "B" CBS station behind WWL in New Orleans.

Digital television
The station's digital channel (UHF 27) is multiplexed:

Digital channel On June 12, 2009, WKRG-TV has left channel 5 and moved to channel 27 when the analog to digital conversion completed.[1]

Shows
Past shows that aired on WKRG include Woman's World,[2] [3] [4] [5] The Popeye Show,[6] Rosie's Place and Small Fry News, a show featuring local fifth graders.[2] WKRG-TV was also the longtime home of Congressional Report from 1973 to 2006, billed as the longest running program of its kind in the nation, featuring local congressmen giving viewers a local perspective of Washington, D.C. and the central Gulf Coast from their congressman’s standpoint.

Current shows that WKRG-TV airs in addition to CBS programming include
 * The Real Housewives (3:00p.m. weekdays)
 * Family Feud (4:00 and 4:30 p.m. weekdays)
 * The Andy Griffith Show (6:30 p.m. weekdays)
 * Cold Case Files
 * Heartland
 * Without A Trace
 * Cold Case
 * Today's Homeowner
 * The Unit (11:05 p.m. Sundays)

Awards

 * National Edward R. Murrow Continuing Coverage "Mobile's Makeover", the changing economic landscape of Mobile.
 * Crash of the Sunset Limited: 10 Years Later-Associated Press Large Market Best Documentary [2]
 * Rosie Seaman -Press Club of Mobile John Harris Lifetime Achievement Award [2]
 * Alan Sealls -Associated Press Large Market Best Meteorologist [2]

Current staff
Main anchors Meteorologists/weather anchors Sports Reporters and other fill-in anchors
 * Mel Showers, 5, 6 & 10pm weeknight anchor
 * Rose Ann Haven, 6 & 10pm weeknight anchor
 * Peter Albrecht, 5pm weeknight anchor and investigative reporter
 * Bill Riales, morning anchor
 * Devon Walsh, morning/noon anchor
 * Avery Cotton, weekend anchor
 * Alan Sealls, chief meteorologist (AMS Certified / NWA)
 * John Nodar, morning/noon meteorologist (AMS Certified / NWA)
 * Johnathan Owens, weekend meteorologist (AMS / NWA)
 * Randy Patrick, sports director
 * Blake Brown
 * Tiffany McCall
 * Allen Carter
 * Ashley Knight
 * Pat Peterson (Baldwin County)
 * Chad Petri
 * Bill Riales
 * Debbie Williams (Baldwin County)

Former staff
Former newscasters Former Weathercasters Former sportscasters
 * Kesshia Peyton
 * Kellie Jones
 * Andy Pearson
 * Brian Wilson
 * Curt Fonger
 * Rob Sumner
 * Leana Orsua
 * Paul Martino
 * Cynthia Williams
 * Clay Loney
 * Glenn Austin
 * Jennifer Abney
 * Andrew Findley
 * Jennifer Mayerle
 * Bob Grip
 * Peter Albrecht
 * Drexel Gilbert
 * Holly Ames
 * Darwin Singleton
 * Kathy King
 * Janet Hall
 * Jim Douglas
 * Gabe Caggiano
 * Jonathan Carter
 * Leon Petite
 * Jason Wheeler
 * Michael Sullivan
 * Debbie Denechaud
 * Bob Brazier
 * Brad Davis
 * Jack Kendrick
 * Francie Murphy
 * Ted Wesley
 * Bruce Cramer
 * Linda Powell
 * Diana Lucio
 * Angela Russell
 * Ray White
 * Tiffany Craig
 * Randy Wood
 * Gina Gregory
 * Meris Norman
 * Leo Alexander
 * Chris Kalkoff
 * Brian Henry
 * Melanie Sanders
 * Tim Smith
 * Kathy Times
 * Sharon Lord
 * Gloria Maggio
 * Scott Harrison
 * Trey Thomas
 * Annie Ludgood
 * Keith Brunson
 * Max Goodman
 * Jere Hough
 * Stu Kellogg
 * Bob Stuart
 * John Edd Thompson
 * Chad Watson
 * Jene' Young
 * Tommy Young
 * Jack Drees
 * Kevin Hunt
 * Bruce Cunningham
 * Dan Faber
 * Bob Lowry
 * Chris Frye
 * Dennis Hudson
 * Scott Hunter

Newscast titles

 * Home Edition (6pm; 1955–1963)
 * Five Star Final (1955–?)
 * First Edition/Home Edition (5:30pm and 6:15pm; 1963–?)
 * Total News (1973-1970s)
 * News Center Five (1970s–1990s)
 * NewsCenter 5 (1990s–1997)
 * WKRG 5 News (1997–2002)
 * WKRG News 5 (2002–present)

Station slogans

 * The Gulf Coast's Leading News Station (1974–1990)
 * Taken Pride In Mobile (1993)
 * The Gulf Coast News Channel (1997–2000)
 * Coverage You Can Count On (1997–2002 and 2004–present)
 * Your Weather Authority (2002–2004)
 * The Gulf Coast's News Leader (2010–present)