WANE-TV

WANE-TV is the CBS-affiliated television station for Northern Indiana that is licensed to Fort Wayne. The station broadcasts a high definition digital signal on UHF channel 31 from a transmitter at its studios on West State Boulevard in the city. It can also be seen on Comcast and Verizon FiOS channel 2 with high definition on Comcast digital channel 203 and Verizon FiOS digital channel 502. Syndicated programming on WANE includes: Jeopardy!, Wheel of Fortune, Inside Edition, and The Dr. Oz Show.

Digital programming
On WANE-DT3, Comcast digital channel 251, and Verizon FiOS digital channel 462 is a 24-hour local weather channel. Programming consists of a live feed of "Live Doppler 15 FURY", current conditions, and severe weather updates when occurring. Prior to the formation of The CW, this aired UPN programming as well as syndicated programs, newscast repeats from the main channel, and Indiana University-Purdue University Fort Wayne basketball games.

History
The station signed-on September 26, 1954 as WINT-TV, licensed to Angola with studios in Waterloo, Indiana and transmitter in Auburn. The station's original owners took advantage of peculiarities in Federal Communications Commission (FCC) rules to direct the signal to Fort Wayne. Although Fort Wayne was big enough to support three full network affiliates, the FCC had originally allocated one station--channel 33, occupied by NBC affiliate WKJG-TV (now WISE-TV--to the city. This circumstance that attracted the attention of Congress and led to changes in how licenses were assigned.

Indiana Broadcasting Company, owner of WISH-TV in Indianapolis, bought WINT in 1956. The new owners changed the call letters to the current WANE-TV and moved the station's entire operation to Fort Wayne. The transmitter remained at its rural Auburn location until 1957. Indiana Broadcasting became known as the Corinthian Broadcasting Company in 1957. During the late-1950s, the station was also briefly affiliated with the NTA Film Network. [2] Corinthian was sold to Dun & Bradstreet in 1970, who in turn sold it to Belo in 1983. However, the purchase left Belo two stations over the limit at the time, so it sold WANE and WISH to LIN TV.

From September 1990 until September 1999, Jeopardy! and Wheel of Fortune aired on NBC affiliate WKJG-TV (now WISE-TV). In 1999, WANE bought the usage rights of those shows from that station. On September 15, 2008, WANE announced that LIN TV and Time Warner Cable/Bright House Networks had not been able to reach an agreement for carriage of this channel on those cable services. LIN TV was seeking compensation for carriage as other cable networks receive. The company reached agreements with all television service providers in the Fort Wayne area except Time Warner/Bright House. The current agreement with Time Warner/Bright House expired on October 2, 2008. At 12:35 in the morning on October 3, 2008, LIN TV-owned stations were removed from Time Warner/Bright House. October 29, WANE programming was restored on Time Warner Cable in Northwestern Ohio. However, it did not reappear on Bright House Networks systems in Grant County.[3]

News operation
When ABC affiliate WPTA took over production of newscasts on NBC affiliate WISE-TV in 2005, those channels initially saw a significant decrease in ratings. WANE was the market's news leader for several years after that according to Nielsen Media Research. Many viewers were unhappy about the breakup of WISE-TV's news team especially the firing of meteorologist Greg Shoup. He was quickly hired by WANE and became the weekday morning and noon meteorologist on this station. In the November 2007 sweeps period, WPTA and WANE were nearly neck-and-neck in the Fort Wayne television news ratings race with this station continuing to show a slight lead.

Its news department has won several awards. This includes the Jack R. Howard Award in 1998 for reporting on drug abuse, the Peabody Award in 1999 for reporting on organ donation, and the Edward R. Murrow Award in 2003 for flooding and sports coverage. Unlike most CBS affiliates in the Eastern Time Zone, WANE does not air local news weeknight at 5:30. The station does broadcast the only local weekend morning show. It operates a weather radar known as "Live Doppler 15 FURY" on its facilities.

Newscast titles

 * Richard Hickox Reporting the News
 * Big News (1960s-1970s)
 * Kurtz News (1970s)
 * News 15 (19??–1992)
 * NewsChannel 15 (1992–2018)
 * WANE 15 News (2018–present)

Station slogans

 * "When You Want to Know More, It's Smart to Watch News 15"
 * "Making a Difference"
 * "We Know Fort Wayne" (1992–1997)
 * "Coverage You Can Count On" (1997–present)

News team
Anchors Live Doppler 15 Storm Team Meteorologists Sports Reporters
 * Pat Hoffmann - weekday mornings and noon
 * Terra Brantley - weekday mornings and noon
 * Heather Herron - weeknights
 * Mark Mellinger - weeknights and Focus 15 host
 * heard on WFCV-AM 1090
 * Drew Blair - weekend mornings and reporter
 * Alyssa Ivanson - weekend evenings and health reporter
 * Johnathon Conder - Chief seen weeknights (AMS Seal of Approval)
 * Greg Shoup (AMS Seal of Approval) - weekday mornings and noon
 * Nicholas Ferreri - (AMS Seal of Approval) - weekend mornings
 * Kelly Greene (NWA Seal of Approval) - weekend evenings
 * Glenn Marini - Director seen weeknights at 6 and 11
 * Ross Kinsey - weekend evenings
 * Don Austin - videojournalist
 * Elizabeth Fields - videojournalist
 * Adam Widener - videojournalist
 * Aishah Hasnie - investigative
 * Chris Hopper - education

Former staff

 * Bill Aylward 1962-64 Later anchor WISH-TV, Indianapolis, WJZ-TV Baltimore, WABC-TV New York, WRC-TV (NBC) Washington DC (Emmy Award winner). Retired and an independent producer.
 * Paul Barys, former meteorologist in the 1970s, (now chief meteorologist at WRCB in Chattanooga, Tennessee)
 * Mitch Blacher, former investigative reporter, (now investigative reporter at KGTV in San Diego)
 * Brad Brown, former sports anchor and reporter, (now at WRTV in Indianapolis)
 * Niccole Caan, former education reporter, (now at WLFI in Lafayette, Indiana)
 * Jennifer Cross, former Weekend Report anchor, (now in Providence, Rhode Island)
 * Matt DeBolt, fill-in sports anchor/reporter
 * Katherine Dorsett, morning news producer from 1995–1996, (CNN news producer since 2000)
 * Mike Dowling, former sports director from 1981 to 1984, (now at WCVB in Boston)
 * Larry Ell, former sports anchor and reporter from 1992–1999 (now a freelance TV writer, reporter, and producer for Write Ideas in the Orlando, Florida area)
 * Joe Gregory (now known as Joe Pagonakis), former main anchor, (now at WEWS in Cleveland)
 * Karen Hensel, National Peabody Award winner and former main anchor, (now at WISH-TV in Indianapolis)
 * Lee Kelso, former main anchor from 1978–1996, (now a free-lance reporter for competitor Indiana's NewsCenter)
 * Scott Kline (now known as Scott Jones), former co-anchor for Midday Report and First at 5 newscasts, (now morning & midday anchor at WXIN in Indianapolis)
 * Kelly Koh, former reporter, fill-in anchor, and meteorologist (now out of the television business)
 * Judi Krall-Loomis, former weekend anchor and weekday reporter from 1981-1984 (now president of Creative Writing-Marketing Concepts/Fort Wayne)
 * Nicole Manske, former reporter, (now co-host of NASCAR Now on ESPN)
 * Doug Moats, former Weekend Report meteorologist from 2001–2008, (now chief meteorologist at sister-station WUPW-TV in Toledo, Ohio)
 * Julia Moffit, former co-anchor for Midday Report and First at 5 newscasts, (now morning anchor at WTHR in Indianapolis)
 * Rick Moll, former news director from 1995-2004 (now at WMBD in Peoria, Illinois)
 * Meghan Mongillo, former reporter, (now at WXIX in Cincinnati)
 * Brian Mylar, former main anchor from 1997–1999, (now at KSAT in San Antonio)
 * Anthony Ponce, former reporter, (now at WMAQ in Chicago)
 * Steve Roggie, former anchor and reporter (now out of TV and living in the Washington, D.C. area)
 * Steve Rudin, former weather anchor, (now at WJLA in Washington, D.C.)
 * Rafael Sanchez, former reporter, 1993-1994 (left to become producer at WRTV; left in 1997, but came back a year later in 1998 as a reporter/anchor and has beencthere ever since then)
 * Randy Schiffman, former sports anchor and director from 1987-2008 (now retired)
 * David Scott, former main anchor from 1999–2007, (now at WDRB in Louisville)
 * Sam Shriver, former assignment manager from 1997–2006, (now reporter/videographer at WLIO in Lima, Ohio)
 * Angelica Christine Schultz ("Angelica St. John"), former Weekend Report anchor
 * Megan Stembol, former reporter, (now at WOOD in Grand Rapids, Michigan)
 * Sandy Thomson, former chief weather specialist from 1987-2010 (now out of the television business, having not had her contract renewed by WANE)
 * Matt McCutcheon, former reporter, (now at WAVE (TV) in Louisville, Kentucky)
 * Janice Allen, former reporter, (now at WXMI in Grand Rapids, Michigan)
 * Ann Colone, longtime women's director "Ann Colone Show" (deceased)
 * Jack Powell, Announcer "Cactus Jack", Jack Powell Dance Show" (deceased)(
 * Bob Hill Announcer