KERO-TV

KERO-TV is a television station serving Bakersfield, California. It is an ABC affiliate owned by McGraw-Hill, and transmits its digital signal on VHF channel 10. Syndicated programming on KERO includes: Wheel of Fortune, ''[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jeopardy! Jeopardy!], Ellen, and Degrassi: The Next Generation''.

History
KERO went on the air on September 26, 1953, on VHF channel 10 (now home to KERO's digital signal) as an NBC affiliate. During the late 1950s, the station was also briefly affiliated with the NTA Film Network.[1] KERO was first owned by a local interest, who sold it to Marietta Broadcasting in 1957. Marietta was absorbed by Transcontinent Broadcasting of Buffalo, New York in 1959.

One of KERO's best remembered shows was Cousin Herb's Trading Post, a local variety series in the 1950s. The show's host, Herb Henson (d.1963), was a country musician, and often featured budding country artists like Buck Owens and Tommy Collins, who would come to popularize the "Bakersfield Sound". Another local favorite was The Uncle Woody Show in the 60s and 70s. Radio and TV personality Casey Kasem also used the KERO studios to tape a weekly musical TV variety show entitled SheBang in the mid to late 1960s, while a disc jockey at KRLA in Los Angeles.

As a result of the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) making both the Bakersfield and Fresno television markets all-UHF, KERO moved to channel 23 on July 1, 1963 and simulcasted on channels 10 and 23 for two months, channel 10 being shut off at the end of August of the same year.

Transcontinent's merger with Taft Television and Radio Co., Inc. in 1964 left the newly-merged company two television stations over the FCC's ownership limit of the time. As a result, Taft divested both of Transcontinent's California stations to separate owners, with KERO going to Time-Life Broadcasting. McGraw-Hill acquired KERO in 1972 along with three other Time-Life stations (which were KLZ-TV in Denver, KOGO-TV in San Diego and WFBM-TV in Indianapolis. Of the four, KERO-TV is the only one that retains its pre-1972 callsign). The TV station, along with KERO radio (1230AM) originally broadcast from the lobby of the El Tejon Hotel, which was located at the corner of Truxtun Avenue and Chester Avenue. KERO later moved to its current studios at 321 21st St.

KERO remained as an NBC affiliate until March 1984, when it switched to CBS. In March 1996, as part of a corporate affiliation deal between McGraw-Hill and ABC, KERO picked up the ABC affiliation from cross-town rival KBAK-TV, and in the process became the second television station in the Bakersfield market (after KGET), and one of a handful of television stations in the United States, to have been an affiliate of all three big networks (NBC, CBS, and ABC).

In August 2006 KERO-TV officially became a duopoly with KZKC-LP, an Azteca America affiliate. At this time, KERO-TV does not plan on airing any local Spanish language news on this channel.

In May 2007, KERO along with its sister stations began to use the same news music of the ABC O&O's Eyewitness News New Generation package and branded themselves as ABC 23, however KERO is not owned or operated by ABC. It is in plans to broadcast their news in high definition for the Bakersfield market soon, but that has yet to be determined.

KERO is the Bakersfield home for Oakland Raiders and San Francisco 49ers pre-season games.

News operations
KERO news anchors Jackie Parks and Todd Karli, a husband and wife team, currently anchor KERO 23 News at 6.

Former news anchor Burleigh Smith (d.1990) is considered by many to be the father of television news in Bakersfield. Smith produced and anchored at KERO from 1954-1960, and again from 1973-1990.

Other longtime KERO news personalilties include Don Rodewald (who hosted the afternoon movie), George Day, and Sunny Scofield. MSNBC "Live & Direct" host Rita Cosby, was a KERO reporter in the 1980s.

Lloyd Lindsay Young joined the station in 2005, as chief weathercaster. His trademark intro is "Hellooooo (insert city name)". He is also known for his outrageous weather pointers which are sent in by viewers. Submissions are usually outrageous & have ranged from a mannequin leg, to a dildo. On September 17, 2008, the Bakersfield Californian reported that Young has departed KERO-TV after more than three years there. No reason was given for his departure, which followed the broadcasts of September 16, 2008. Rusty Shoop, who is known throughout Bakersfield, and was a former KERO weather anchor, replaced Young. Shoop earlier suffered a brain aneurysm and this was his first TV appearance since the illness. Shoop started on October 27, 2008. After being at KERO-TV for a year, Rusty Shoop retired from broadcasting on December 9, 2009 for medical reasons from his brain aneurysm he suffered back in January 2007.[2] On January 18, 2010, Jack Church, who was chief metorologist from 1999-2001 has replaced Rusty Shoop as the chief meteorologist.

KERO News Team

 * Anchors
 * Mike Hart - "Good Morning Kern County" / 5:30pm anchor
 * Crystal Figueroa - "Good Morning Kern County/11am anchor"
 * Erin Briscoe - 5p/11pm anchor
 * Jackie Parks - 5p/5:30pm anchor
 * Chris Van Horne - 6p/11p weekend anchor
 * Weather
 * Melissa Vreeman - "Good Morning Kern County" / 11am weather anchor
 * Jack Church - 5p/5:30p/11p chief metorologist
 * Elaina Rusk - 6pm/11pm weekend weather anchor
 * Sports
 * Pep Fernandez - 5p/5:30p/11p sports director


 * Reporters
 * Erin Briscoe - Southwest Bakersfield reporter
 * Camila Bastidias - North County reporter
 * Mark Christian - North of the River reporter
 * Felix Rodrigues Lima - South County reporter
 * Christine Dinh - East Bakersfield reporter
 * Kimberly Foley - Mountain/weekend reporter
 * Elaina Rusk - Morning live reporter
 * Chris Van Horne - Central Bakersfield reporter

Notable former staff

 * Al Gast - reporter
 * Andrew Amador- morning anchor/reporter (2005-2007)
 * Angela Wang - 6/11 PM weekend anchor (1997-2000)
 * Barry Zoeller - 10 /11 PM anchor/news director (until 2000)
 * Rich Greenhalgh
 * Betsy Raverby
 * Bill Manders (Currently At KKOH In Reno)
 * Bob Hughes
 * Brian Nordquist
 * Bryce Anslinger - Weekend Sportscaster/Reporter/Fill-in anchor
 * Burleigh Smith
 * Carlos Vergara - 5/6/11 Pm anchor (1998-1999)
 * Charmaine Wilkerson
 * Christina Loren-Morning weather
 * Connie Adams - Former "23 Firstnews" Morning Anchor And Reporter
 * Clint Olivier - Currently With KMPH-TV In Fresno
 * Cynthia Goode
 * Dan Thesman - Producer (1999-2004)
 * Daniella Lopez
 * Dave Branch
 * Dave Halyman
 * Dave Hovde- Weathercaster (1996-1998)
 * Deanna Smith
 * Don Rodewald
 * Doug Deroo - Traffic Reporter (Currently With KVMX Radio)
 * Doug Iverson - Meteorologist 2001-2005
 * Ed Lopez
 * Elaine [Dawn] Long
 * Elizabeth Leamy - Weekend Anchor C. 1993 With Lance West (Currently With Abc-Tv As A Correspondent On Good Morning America)
 * Emily Moore - Morning Anchor (Currently Reporter At KGET-TV)
 * Emily Valdez
 * Erin Smith - Weathercaster/Reporter (1998-1999)
 * Frank Gifford
 * Gail Asayama - 5/6 Pm Anchor/Reporter (Until 1996)
 * Gay Yee
 * Gerard Ramalho
 * Gil Reyes
 * Heather Trees - 5/6/11 Pm Anchor (1995-1997)
 * Holly Lindahl - Reporter/Fill-In Anchor (Until 1997)
 * Janet Zappalla
 * Jerry Foust - Afternoon Show Host, Telethon Host, Weather, Also Producer, Writer, Director.
 * Jim Scott & Robin Mangarin - Husband & Wife Anchor Team (C. 1985-1994; Currentlt Anchors At KGET-TV)
 * Juanita Stevenson (Currently With Kjwl-Fm In Fresno)
 * Joe Riddle (Currently E.P At Kusi-Tv San Diego)
 * John Hernandez- News Reporter (1978), Sports Anchor (1979-1981)
 * Jonathon Mumm
 * Judy Storch
 * Karl Schweitzer
 * Kate Lurie - 5/6/11 Pm Anchor (1997-1998)
 * Kim Stephens (Currently Morning Anchor At KMPH-TV In Fresno)
 * Kurt Rivera(Currently With KBAK-TV As 5/6/11 Pm Weeknight Anchor and KBFX-CA As 10 Pm Weeknight Anchor)
 * Kurt Sandoval
 * Lance West
 * Lanie Lockwood- 5/6/11 Pm Anchor/Reporter (1997-2000)
 * Leanne Kozak
 * Leticia Juarez - Morning Reporter/Fill-In Anchor (2005-2007; currently reporter at KHOU-TV in Houston, Tx)
 * Lisa Kimble
 * Lisa Mcree (Former host Of Good Morning America from 1997-1999)
 * Lloyd Lindsay Young - Chief Weathercaster (2005-2008)
 * Louie Vega - sportscaster
 * Lynn Noel
 * Lynn Sage - (1984; Now Lynn Espinoza and currently President Of Speak! Communications in Seattle)
 * Marianne Kushi
 * Mark Matthews
 * Mark Olesh- 5/6/11 Pm Anchor Until 1998
 * Miles Muzio- Chief Meteorlogist (Until 1996; currently with KBAK-TV And KBFX-CA)
 * Monica Banks
 * Nina Radetich - 10/11 Pm Weekenight Anchor (Until 1996; Currently Weeknight Anchor At KTNV In Las Vegas, Nv)
 * Pablo Periera - Weathercaster (Mid 1980s; Currently Weekend Weather Anchor At Knbc-Tv In Los Angeles, Ca)
 * Pete Cirivelari
 * Phil Gomez
 * Ralph Bailey- Weekend Anchor/Reporter (Until 1997)
 * Randy Price (Currently With Wcvb-Tv In Boston)
 * Rita Cosby
 * Roberta Piazza
 * Robin Mangarin (currently with KGET-TV as 5 pm weeknight anchor)
 * Rusty Shoop - Chief weathercaster (1984 and 2008-2009)
 * Sean Boyd
 * Steve Talbot
 * Steven Kaye
 * Steven Luke
 * Sunny Scofield
 * Tami Mlcoch (Currently With KGET-TV As 6/11 Pm Weeknight Anchor)
 * Toi Kupchin
 * Victoria Houchin - Weekend Weathercaster (1992-2008)
 * Walt Brown

Newscast titles

 * 23 News (1981-present)

Station slogans

 * We're the One the Sun Shines On (1970s)
 * We're the One (1970s)
 * The News People, In Touch with People (late 1970s-early 1980s)
 * The Golden Empire Turns Us On! (early 1980s)
 * The Place to Be! (1983)
 * Get the Touch of 23 (1985; localized version of CBS ad campaign)
 * Stand Up We're Proud of Bakersfield! (Late 1980s; used during period station used Frank Gari's "Turn To News")
 * Get Ready for 23! (1990-1991; localized version of CBS ad campaign)
 * We're There When You Need Us (Late 1980s-early 1990s)
 * Bakersfield's News Channel (early 1990s)
 * 23 abc (1996)
 * Rediscover Your World, Rediscover 23 News (1997)
 * Because We Live Here Too (mid 1990s)
 * Your 23, Standing Up For You (1999-2005)
 * Turn to 23, the Right Choice (2005-2008)
 * We Cover Kern County (2008-present)

[edit] See also

 * KZKC-LP

[edit] References

 * 1) ^ "Require Prime Evening Time for NTA Films", Boxoffice: 13, November 10, 1956, http://issuu.com/boxoffice/docs/boxoffice_111056-1
 * 2) ^ http://www.turnto23.com/newsteam/21914337/detail.html

[edit] External links

 * turnto23.com
 * Query the FCC's TV station database for KERO
 * BIAfn's Media Web Database -- Information on KERO-TV
 * Program Information for KERO at TitanTV.com