KMPH-TV

KMPH-TV is a television station in Fresno, California broadcasting digitally on television channel 28, and is licensed to nearby Visalia. It is the Fresno-area affiliate of the Fox Broadcasting Company. It is owned by Titan Broadcast Group and is sister station to KFRE-TV, theCentral Valley's CW affiliate. Prior to October 2009, KMPH was the flagship station of Pappas Telecasting Companies.

This station formerly operated KMPH-CA in Merced, California on channel 17. KMPH Fox 26 can also be picked up in and around the Bakersfield area. However, local Fox affiliate KBFX-CA has more exclusive rights in the Bakersfield television market. The television station's airwaves extend northward to Mariposa, California and the southern Sierra Nevada, and sometimes can be received to the south in Kern County for those who live about north of Bakersfield.

History
KMPH began broadcasting on October 11, 1971 as an independent station, the first television station founded by the Pappas brothers, Mike, Pete, and Harry. The funding for KMPH came from General Manager Harry Pappas' plan of having hundreds of investors each investing a small amount of money needed to construct the station, rather than having one investor providing all the capital; as a result, the Pappas brothers had a combined ownership stake of only 30.5%, with the other 69.5% controlled by other investors.[1] Throughout the early- to mid-1980s, KMPH was one of the top independent stations in the country. The TV station can be received 100 miles/150 km from Visalia before its move to an office in Fresno in the early 1990s.

Pappas signed an affiliation deal with Fox for KMPH and one of its two other UHF start-ups, KPTM in Omaha, Nebraska, in 1986. (The other Pappas-owned station, WHNS in Greenville, South Carolina, took the Fox affiliation from WAXA two years later.). KMPH and KSEE are the two stations in Fresno to keep the same network affiliation unaffected by the network swaps of ABC and CBS in 1985 and the network changes of The CW Television Network and My Network TV in 2006. The Fox affiliation remains on KMPH to this day.

On May 10, 2008, 13 of Pappas' stations, including KMPH, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. As a result of the bankruptcy, Pappas Telecasting had until February 15, 2009 to sell these stations.[2] On January 16, 2009, it was announced that most of these stations, including KMPH, would be sold to New World TV Group, after the sale received United States bankruptcy court approval.[3] On April 2, 2009, 22 station employees were laid off. Eventually, the New World TV Group formed a new holding company known as the Titan Broadcast Group (unrelated to the similarly named smaller-market radio station owner Titan Broadcasting), which completed its purchase of most of the Pappas stations involved in the bankruptcy on October 15, 2009.

Programming
KMPH also airs court/reality/talk shows, sitcom reruns, and movies in addition to news and the Fox broadcasting schedule. In recent years KMPH has discontinued cartoons, relocating the 4Kids TV schedule to KFRE, which aired the 4Kids TV lineup on Sunday mornings until December 28, 2008. (Under that technicality, since the mid-1990s, Fox allowed its affiliates (especially the newer ones formerly owned by New World) to preempt Fox Kids programming by sending it to another local station, a practice continued through the end of the 4Kids TV block.)

On October 2009 the station added the This TV Network to its digital subchannel, Channel 26.2.

News operation
KMPH airs 32 hours of local news each week, including the longest-running 10 p.m. newscast in the Fresno market, as well as the "Great Day" morning show which debuted October 6, 2003 featuring long-time anchor Kopi Sotiropolous and Bay Area native Anchor, Kim Stephens. In the spring[when?] of 2007, "Great Day" expanded to five hours; it now runs from 5-10 a.m. Newsreader Liz Gonzalez joined the morning newscast in 2007.

In January 2006, KMPH also produced a half-hour newscast for sister station KFRE that aired every night at 11 p.m., but due to low ratings, KMPH canceled that newscast in mid February 2007. A few months later, KFRE news anchor Allison Ruddell re-joined KMPH as the "Midday" anchor.

On September 30, 2009, KMPH became the second television station in Fresno (behind KFSN) to produce and broadcast its local newscasts in high definition, and the first to bring high definition live reporter shots. With the switch came new graphics (using elements of the FOX O&O HD Graphics) and new music. [1]

Newscast titles

 * The News (1978-1980)
 * The TV-26 Ten O'Clock News (1987–1988)
 * The Ten O'Clock News (1988–2000)
 * KMPH News (2000–present)

Station slogans

 * The Valley's Only Primetime News (1987–1988)
 * Don't Let Fox 26 Weekends Pass You By (1987-1988; localized version of Fox ad campaign)
 * Fox 26...This is The Year (1988-1990; localized version of Fox ad campaign)
 * Central California's Only Primetime Newscast (1988–1993)
 * It's On Fox 26 (1990-1992; localized version of Fox ad campaign)
 * We're your Station! (1992–present)
 * Dedicated to Keep Your Family Informed (1993–1998)

Current on-air staff
Current anchors


 * Nicole Garcia - weekends at 10 p.m.
 * Liz Gonzalez - weekday morning newsreader; also fill-in morning anchor and weeknight reporter
 * Anna Laurel - weeknights at 10 p.m.
 * Rich Rodriguez - weekends at 10 p.m.
 * Kim Stephens - weekday mornings Great Day and noon
 * Monty Torres - weeknights at 10 p.m.

Weather team


 * Kevan Ramer - chief meteorologist; weeknights at 10 p.m.
 * James DeLaVega - meteorologist; weekends at 10 p.m.
 * Kopi Sotiropolous - weather and news anchor; weekday mornings Great Day and noon

Sports team


 * Ralph Wood - sports director; weeknights at 10 p.m.
 * Jessob Reisbeck - sports anchor; weekends at 10 p.m.

<p style="margin-top: 0.4em; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0.5em; margin-left: 0px; line-height: 1.5em;">Reporters


 * Clayton Clark - morning reporter
 * Ashley Ritchie - general assignment reporter
 * Eric Rosales - general assignment reporter
 * Alysia Sofios - freelance reporter
 * Norma Yuriar - general assignment reporter

<p style="margin-top: 0.4em; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0.5em; margin-left: 0px; line-height: 1.5em;">Valley Life


 * Lesa Jennings - co-host
 * Rich Kreps - co-host

<p style="margin-top: 0.4em; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0.5em; margin-left: 0px; line-height: 1.5em;">Contributors


 * Bill Coate - Twists In Time historical contributor
 * Mike Gish - financial contributor
 * Don Larson - political contributor
 * Elizabeth Laval - Pop Laval Collection historical contributor
 * Mac and Maxine - 'Word of the Day' monkeys; seen on Great Day

[edit]Former staff

 * Barbara Rosedale - News Radio Anchor
 * Terry Adams - weathercaster/sportscaster
 * Tom Adams - anchor/reporter (now at KVAL-TV in Eugene, Oregon)
 * Eric Alvarez - 10 PM weekend, then Great Day and midday anchor/reporter (now freelancer at KNTV in San Francisco)
 * Andrew Amador - 10 PM weekend anchor/reporter (currently hosting a TV show in Los Angeles [2])
 * Andy Asher - reporter
 * Michael Bennett - radio newscaster/talk show host
 * Bill Bird - reporter
 * Mike Bryant - sportscaster
 * Gerrick Brener - reporter (2000–2002; now at WTVD in Raleigh, North Carolina)
 * Terry Bryant - anchor/weathercaster/sportscaster
 * Amy Carlisle - 10 PM anchor (1994–1995)
 * Dani Carlson - reporter (2006–2008) now at WOOD in Grand Rapids,Michigan
 * Dick Carr - anchor/news director
 * Brendan Conway - reporter (now at WISN in Milwaukee)
 * Mike Cully - reporter (United States Regional Manager, car2go N.A. - Daimler)
 * Denise Dador - 10PM anchor/reporter (now health reporter at KABC-TV in Los Angeles)
 * Carlos F. Delgado - reporter (1998–2000; now part-time reporter at XETV in San Diego and at Rady Children's Hospital in San Diego as Media Relations Officer)
 * Steve Diddy - reporter/KMPH Newsradio reporter
 * Rich Dixon - anchor/reporter (now a college professor)
 * Debbie Dorian - news subject
 * Rusty Dornin - anchor/reporter (now at CNN)
 * Ariana Durarte - 10 PM co-rotating anchor/reporter,now at KGTV ABC San Diego
 * Matt Evans - anchor/reporter (now at American City Business Journals)
 * Jim Fannin - radio news anchor-reporter (now at KKOH radio)
 * Joanne Feldman - weekend weather anchor (now at WAGA-TV in Atlanta in same position)
 * Liza Fernandez - Great Day newsreader (2006–2007; now weathercaster at KRON-TV in San Francisco)
 * Dana Greene - 10 PM weekend sportscaster (now at KTVX in Salt Lake City [3])
 * Elisa Hahn - reporter (now at KING in Seattle-Tacoma)
 * Silva Harapetian - reporter (now at WDIV in Detroit)
 * Tamara Henry - 10 PM weekend anchor (now at Santa Monica/Beverly Hills TV)
 * Brandi Hitt - Great Day newsreader/reporter/producer (now at KOVR/KMAX-TV in Sacramento)
 * Kristin Hoke - 10 PM weekend anchor/reporter (went to WPBF in Palm Beach FL, deceased June 9, 2010)
 * Cathy Isom - radio news anchor
 * Vic "The Brick" Jacobs - sportscaster (now at KLAC AM 570 in Los Angeles)
 * John Kessler - 10 PM anchor (now at KPIX in San Francisco)
 * Brian Loftus - Great Day live reporter (2006–2008; now at KLAS in Las Vegas)
 * Paul Lowe - anchor/reporter (now at KFWB radio in Los Angeles)
 * John Malos - 10 PM anchor/reporter (1996–2005; terminated by KMPH officials in 2005 after being booked at the Madera County Jail)
 * Josh McElveen - reporter (now at NECN in Boston)
 * Jadine MacLiver - 10 PM anchor (1997–2008; retired after 11 years with KMPH-TV)
 * Kye Martin - Great Day newsreader/reporter (now at WGN-TV in Chicago)
 * Marc Martinez - reporter (1995–1996; now weekend anchor/reporter at KSAZ-TV Phoenix)
 * George Mason - Valley Ag News anchor/weather/weekend weathercaster (retired in 2008)
 * Tom Maule - weathercaster
 * Steve Miles - 10 PM weekend anchor/reporter
 * Eric Mitchell - reporter
 * Bonnie Montevecchi - reporter
 * Kellie Morris - Great Day live reporter
 * Derrol Nail - 10 PM and KFRE 11 PM weekend anchor/reporter (2003–2008; now at WOFL in Orlando)
 * Leticia Ordaz - reporter (now at KCRA in Sacramento)
 * Laurie Penco - Great Day live reporter (Laurie Penco has worked at all four Fresno TV stations: KSEE, KMPH-TV, KFSN and KGPE)
 * Ken Pritchett - reporter (now at KTVU in Oakland/San Francisco)
 * Kim Quintero - reporter (2007–2008; now at WYFF NBC in Greenville,S.C.
 * Gary Radnich - sportscaster (now sports director at KRON-TV in San Francisco)
 * Evy Ramos - Great Day traffic safety advocate (now anchor at KGPE)
 * Erika Razo - reporter
 * Gil Reyes - reporter
 * Bill Rice - reporter
 * Larry Rice - reporter/weathercaster (now at KOB-TV in Alberquerque)
 * Robert Rodriguez - 10 PM weekend sportscaster
 * Allison Rudell - 10 PM weekend, then KFRE 11 PM weeknight and midday weekday anchor/reporter (2002–2007)
 * Nick Ryan - radio news anchor
 * Catalina Salmeron - reporter
 * Veronica Sanchez - reporter (now at KPNX in Phoenix)
 * Julie Sedenko - reporter
 * Richard Smoker - reporter
 * John Soderman - 10 PM anchor (now at KUSI-TV in San Diego)
 * Janet Stoll - 10 PM weeknight/weekend anchor/radio newscaster (now at Clovis, CA Police Department as Public Affairs Officer)
 * Mark Thomas - radio newscaster
 * Sean Michael Thomas reporter (now at Russia Today Moscow, Russia)
 * Angelic Urquijo - 10 PM anchor (1995–1997; now at University of Southern California: School of Dentistry as Director of Public Relations)
 * Heidi Watney - great day traffic safety advocate/10 PM weekend sportscaster (now at NESN)
 * William Wycliff - post newscast consultant
 * Cynthia Yip - Great Day newsreader/reporter
 * Kim Yonenaka - reporter (currently host of 49ers Total Access at KTVU in San Francisco)
 * Lloyd Lindsay Young - weathercaster
 * Don York - Valley Ag News anchor/reporter (1995–1998); KMPH-TV Marketing Department Commercial Producer (2001–2009); freelance video talent/producer 2009; rehired January 2009 as Marketing Department Commercial Producer/Director and Valley Life Producer
 * Karen Zarsadiaz - reporter (now at KNX-AM in Los Angeles)