KCRG-TV

KCRG-TV is a television station based out of Cedar Rapids, Iowa. The station broadcasts on channel 9, and is the primary ABC affiliate for the northeast quarter of the state of Iowa, as well as the southwest corner of Wisconsin and the northwest corner of Illinois. Its transmitter is located in Walker, Iowa. The station also has satellite newsrooms in Iowa City and Dubuque.

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[edit] History
During the late 1940s, the Cedar Rapids Gazette, previous owners of KCRG-AM 1600, filed an application with the Federal Communications Commission for a TV station license. At the time, the FCC had a backlog of over 200 applications, and had decided not to proceed with action on further applications until the backlogged requests could be filled.

After the backlog was taken care of, many applications were filed for licenses. The Gazette Company didn't want to compete for a license, and decided to withdraw the initial application. It joined with a number of other investors as Cedar Rapids Television Company (CRTV), which was granted a license for channel 9. The station signed on in 1953.

Initially, the station was known as KCRI because the other investors didn't want to have the new television station so closely identified with the Gazette. The radio station also took the KCRI calls because one of the television station's managers suggested that every mention of "KCRG" on air was a promotion for the newspaper—one for which the Gazette would have to pay each time. After about a year of operation, the Gazette bought out the remaining investors in CRTV, and the station was renamed KCRG-TV.

Since that time the station has remained under the ownership of Gazette Communications. After the 1996 sale of WHO-TV in Des Moines, KCRG-TV has been the only locally owned and operated television station left in Iowa.

KCRG started broadcasting in high definition television in January 2003. They also had the first news helicopter, "NewsCopter 9," in Iowa. KCRG has a digital subchannel called "Local 9.2" at channel 9.2, which has a wheel of local news, weather and features on part of the screen. The remainder of the screen has a news ticker, current weather conditions, rotating weather images and program listings. This channel can also be seen on Mediacom channel 109 by digital cable subscribers in the Cedar Rapids-Waterloo-Dubuque-Iowa City DMA.

KCRG aired wall-to-wall coverage of the Great Iowa Flood of 2008 from June 11 to 15, and continued to operate out of their downtown studios despite the flooding. Network coverage of the 2008 NBA Finals as a consequence was aired on 9.2 instead.

[edit] Programming
KCRG airs the entire ABC network schedule, although it delays Nightline by a half-hour, and also delays the ABC Kids program block by an hour due to the second hour of the weekend morning newscast. Syndicated programs on KCRG's schedule include The Oprah Winfrey Show, Inside Edition, Ellen, The Rachael Ray Show, and reruns of According to Jim. The station also produces PowerHouse TV, a program about energy efficiency and safety, for local utility Alliant Energy, which airs on KCRG and stations throughout Alliant's service area in Iowa, Wisconsin, Minnesota and small portions of Illinois and Missouri [1].

[edit] News operation
KCRG-TV has the distinction of being one of the last remaining broadcast television stations in the United States currently utilizing the 24 Hour News Source format, which it began using in 1990—the only other stations still using the format As of February 2010[update], are NBC affiliates WOOD-TV in Grand Rapids, Michigan and KFDX-TV in Wichita Falls, Texas, and CBS affiliate WISH-TV in Indianapolis.

[edit] Newscast titles

 * TV-9 Eyewitness News (early 1970s-1992)
 * KCRG TV-9 News (1992–present)

[edit] Station slogans
This film, television or video-related list is incomplete; you can help by expanding it with reliably sourced additions.===[edit] News team===
 * We're Still the One, on TV-9 (1979–1980; localized version of ABC ad campaign)
 * You and Me and TV-9 (1980–1981; localized version of ABC ad campaign)
 * Now is the Time, TV-9 is the Place (1981–1982; localized version of ABC ad campaign)
 * Come on Along to TV-9 (1982–1983; localized version of ABC ad campaign)
 * That Special Feeling on TV-9 (1983–1984; localized version of ABC ad campaign)
 * We're With You on TV-9 (1984–1985; localized version of ABC ad campaign)
 * You'll Love It on TV-9 (1985–1986; localized version of ABC ad campaign)
 * Together on TV-9 (1986–1987; localized version of ABC ad campaign)
 * Something's Happening on TV-9 (1987–1990; localized version of ABC ad campaign)
 * Cedar Rapids is Watching TV-9 (1990–1992; localized version of ABC ad campaign)
 * If It's TV-9, It Must Be ABC (1992–1993; localized version of ABC ad campaign)
 * Your 24-Hour News Source (1992–1998)
 * Your 24-Hour News (and Weather) Source (1998–present)

[edit] Current news personalities
(as of September 2010) Current Anchors First Alert Weather Team Sports Team Reporters
 * Nicole Agee - weekday mornings and 11 a.m.; also reporter
 * Bruce Aune - weeknights at 5, 6 and 10 p.m.
 * Nadia Crow - weekend mornings; also reporter
 * Chris Earl - weekend evenings; also reporter
 * Ashley Hinson - weekday mornings and 11 a.m.; also reporter
 * Beth Malicki - weeknights at 5, 6 and 10 p.m.
 * Joe Winters (AMS Seal of Approval; Member, NWA) - Chief Meteorologist; weeknights at 5, 6 and 10 p.m.
 * Josh Baynes (AMS/NWA Seals of Approval) - Meteorologist; Saturdays at 6, Sundays at 5:30 and weekends at 10 p.m.
 * Justin Gehrts - Meteorologist; weekend mornings
 * Kaj O'Mara (AMS Certified Broadcast Meteorologist Seal of Approval) - Meteorologist; weekday mornings and 11 a.m.
 * John Campbell - Sports Director; weeknights at 6 and 10 p.m.
 * Scott Saville - Sports Anchor; Saturdays at 6, Sundays at 5:30 and weekends at 10 p.m.
 * John Sears - sports reporter
 * Jami Brinton - Iowa City reporter
 * Justin Foss - general assignment reporter
 * Dave Franzman - general assignment reporter
 * Mark Geary - general assignment reporter
 * Katie Wiedemann - Dubuque reporter

[edit] Former on-air staff
This film, television or video-related list is incomplete; you can help by expanding it with reliably sourced additions.Sports Director John Campbell and reporter Dave Franzman have also been with the station since the 1970s. Bruce Aune started anchoring at KCRG in 1986.
 * Renee Chou - anchor/reporter (now at WRAL-TV in Raleigh, NC)
 * Dick Fletcher - (1960s?-1970s?; died in 2008)
 * Denny Frary - meteorlogist (1972–2006; retired)
 * Jeff Hardin - meteorologist (now director of communications with the NC Credit Union League)
 * Josh Hinkle - reporter (now at KXAN-TV in Austin, TX)
 * Mike LaPoint - meteorologist (now at WPXI in Pittsburgh, PA)
 * Liz Mathis - anchor (now at Horizons in Cedar Rapids)
 * Curt Menefee - sports reporter (now co-host of Fox NFL Sunday)
 * Scott Lind (Drzycimski) - meteorologist (1997–2003; Now Communications Manager with Alliant Energy)
 * Joe Coffey - news anchor (late 90s, early 00s; Now Editorial Director of Premiere Guitar Magazine)

Meteorologist Denny Frary was the station's longest-running on-air personality, working on KCRG from 1974 until he retired on November 17, 2006. Upon Frary's retirement, several pieces aired with friends and associates sharing a few words on Frary, and a roast ceremony was held the night prior to his retirement.

[edit] Digital television
On June 12, 2009, the station returned to channel 9 when the analog to digital conversion completed. The station had attempted to convert on February 17, 2009 with the majority of other Cedar Rapids stations, but the FCC requested they maintain one analog commercial network signal for the market for the remaining four months. Upon KCRG-TV's digital transition completion in June 2009, the "KCRG-TV" callsign was legally transferred from the now-defunct analog channel 9 to the new digital channel 9 with the "KCRG-DT" callsign being permanently discontinued.

[edit] References

 * History Article from the KCRG web site. Date Accessed: July 29, 2005. Cedar Rapids, Iowa: Cedar Rapids Television Company.
 * Stein, Jeff, Making Waves: The People and Places of Iowa Broadcasting (ISBN 0-9718323-1-5). Cedar Rapids, Iowa: WDG Communications, 2004.
 * 1) ^ http://powerhousetv.com/About/About

[edit] External links

 * The KCRG-TV Website
 * Mobile KCRG-TV Website
 * Query the FCC's TV station database for KCRG-TV
 * BIAfn's Media Web Database -- Information on KCRG-TV