WRTV

WRTV, virtual channel 6 (UHF digital channel 25), is an ABC-affiliated television station licensed to Indianapolis, Indiana, United States. The station is owned by the E. W. Scripps Company. WRTV's primary studios are located on Meridian Street in northwestern Indianapolis (in the middle of Indianapolis' Television Row), with a secondary studio at Monument Circle in downtown Indianapolis; its transmitter is located on the city's northwest side near Meridian Hills, Indiana.WRTV, channel 6, is the ABC television affiliate in Indianapolis, Indiana owned by McGraw Hill. Its transmitter is located on the northwest side of Indianapolis at 8001 Township Line Road. Its studios are found at 1330 N. Meridian Street, in the middle of Indianapolis' Television Row.

On cable, the station is available on Comcast Xfinity channel 6, on Charter Spectrum channel 7 and on AT&T U-Verse channel 6.

WRTV

Indianapolis, Indiana
Branding	WRTV (general) WRTV News (News branding)
Slogan	Working For You
Channels	Digital: 25 (UHF) Virtual: 6 (PSIP)
Subchannels	6.1 ABC 6.2 Hometown Sports Indiana 6.3 Live Well Network (until Jan. 2015
Affiliations	American Broadcasting Company
Owner	E. W. Scripps Company (Scripps Media, Inc.)
First air date	May 30, 1949
Call letters' meaning	We aRe TeleVision
Former callsigns	WFBM-TV (1949-1972)
Former channel number(s)	Analog: Channel 6 (1949-2009)
Former affiliations	Primary: CBS (1949-1956) NBC (1956-1979) Secondary: DuMont (1949-1955)[1] ABC (1954-1956)
Transmitter power	1000 kW
Height	294 m (HAAT) 296 m (AGL)
Class	DT
Facility ID	40877
Transmitter coordinates	39°53′56.6″N 86°12′3.7″W
Website	www.theINDYchannel.com

History

WFBM-TV

The station signed on the air on May 30, 1949 under the call sign WFBM-TV with a documentary entitled Crucible of Speed covering the history of the Indianapolis 500, followed by the inaugural live television broadcast of the event. It is Indiana's oldest television station. It was owned by the Bitner Group along with WFBM-AM 1260 (now WNDE).

It was originally a CBS affiliate with secondary ABC and DuMont affiliations. When WTTV signed on a few months later, WFBM shared ABC programming until 1954, when WISH-TV signed on and took over the ABC affiliation. WFBM-TV also aired programs from the short-lived Paramount Television Network, among them Time For Beany, Dixie Showboat, Hollywood Reel,Cowboy G-Men, and Hollywood Wrestling. In 1956, WFBM took the NBC affiliation from WTTV. During the late 1950s, WFBM was also briefly affiliated with the NTA Film Network.

Bitner merged with Time-Life in 1957. As part of a sale mandated by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), WFBM-TV was sold to McGraw-Hill in 1972 along with sister station KLZ-TV (now KMGH-TV) in Denver, Colorado, KOGO-TV (now KGTV) in San Diegoand KERO-TV in Bakersfield, California. The purchase price for the four stations in 1972 was 50 million dollars. At that time, the station assumed its current calls, WRTV. In 1979, WRTV traded affiliations with WTHR and became an ABC affiliate. NBC was the lowest rated network in the late 1970s while ABC rose to the ranks of the highest rated network that same time and was seeking out stronger local stations in many markets, thus motivating this affiliation switch in Indianapolis. WRTV is one of the few stations in the country to have been a primary affiliate of all three original networks.

As ABC carries the Indianapolis 500, in order to encourage attendance of the race among locals, WRTV has continued to tape-delay coverage of the race since coming back to ABC in 1979 rather than airing it live as it does throughout the nation, and airs it in primetime to assuage the concerns of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. In 1999, WRTV did televise the Indianapolis 500 live, in addition to primetime.

WRTV

By the late 1970s, NBC's national ratings crashed to third place, becoming the lowest-rated of the three major U.S. broadcast networks, while ABC rose to the ranks of first place around that same time; as a result, it sought stronger stations to serve as its affiliates in several markets. The two networks swapped affiliations in Indianapolis on June 1, 1979, with WRTV becoming the market's new ABC affiliate, and WTHR (channel 13) becoming an NBC affiliate. As a result, WRTV became the third television station in the Indianapolis market to affiliate with ABC. In the process, it became the first television station in the Indianapolis market (WTTV would become the second Indianapolis station 35 years later when that station became a CBS affiliate), and of the few television stations in the United States to have served as a primary affiliate of all three heritage broadcast networks.

On January 31, 1995, WBAK-TV in Terre Haute (which changed its call letters to WFXW in 2005) ended its 22-year affiliation with ABC to become that market's original Fox affiliate, citing the low viewership it had suffered due to the then-overabundance of higher-rated ABC stations in adjacent markets (including WRTV) that were receivable in the area. This left viewers with only fringe access from WRTV (which can be received in Terre Haute via an outdoor antenna and became the default ABC affiliate on cable providers on the Indiana side of the market), and other out-of-market ABC stations from Evansville, Indiana and Champaign, Illinois (both of which were carried on cable on the Illinois side of the market) as Terre Haute did not have enough stations to support full-time affiliations from four networks (only three commercial full-power stations—WTWO, WTHI-TV and WBAK—are licensed to the market, and ABC opted not to relegate itself to a secondary affiliation). On September 1, 2011, WFXW (which changed its callsign to WAWV-TV) voluntarily disaffiliated from Fox and rejoined ABC as part of a long-term affiliation renewal between ABC and the Nexstar Broadcasting Group (which manages the station through owner Mission Broadcasting) involving the company's existing ABC stations in nine other markets; WRTV was dropped from most Terre Haute area cable providers by May 28, 2012.

WRTV became the first television station in the Indianapolis market to launch its own website (theindychannel.com) in the late 1990s; it later became the first to offer a mobile website (6News OnTheGo) the following decade. In 1998, the station changed its on-air branding to "RTV6," however its newscasts were instead branded as 6 News until 2001 and again from 2006 to 2012. On October 3, 2011, The McGraw-Hill Companies announced that it would sell its seven-station broadcasting division, including WRTV, to the E. W. Scripps Company for $212 million. The sale received FCC approval on November 29, 2011, and was formally consummated on December 30.

In June 2012, WRTV opened a secondary facility at the studios of news/talk radio station WIBC (93.1 FM) in downtown Indianapolis; most of the station's newscasts are produced out of the Monument Circle studio, which underwent renovations to house production facilities. This resulted from a multi-year agreement with WIBC's owner Emmis Communications that was signed that April, in which WRTV also provides news content for WIBC with some staff appearing on both stations.

In May 2014, Scripps announced that WRTV's North Meridian Street studios would begin handling the master control operations of the company's 19 television stations as early as July of that year, expanding upon an existing regional centralcasting hub built under McGraw-Hill ownership. The expanded operations created 10 new jobs. Scripps renewed ABC affiliations for WRTV and nine other stations through 2019 on December 10, 2014.

On August 17, 2020, WRTV dropped its longtime "RTV6" moniker, and began branding itself as simply "WRTV: Working for You". Concurrent with the move, the station introduced a new logo. For the first time in WRTV's 71-year history, the station's analog/virtual channel number wasn't shown. The station's newscast was rebranded from RTV6 News to basically WRTV News, and its graphic design was updated to match the new logo.

Digital television

Channel	Programming
6.1	WRTV
6.2	6 News 24/7

WRTV signed-off its analog signal on June 12, 2009, and continued to broadcast on its pre-transition digital channel 25. Most receivers display WRTV's virtual channel as 6 through the use of PSIP.

Until the government-mandated digital transition on June 12, 2009, WRTV had to provide two call signs (legal IDs) in on-air spots, "WRTV/WRTV-DT Indianapolis". This allowed the station to identify both its analog and digital broadcast signals in the same message. On June 3, 2009, the FCC announced that following the digital transition stations would be allowed to revert to their analog call signs. Since the call letters "WRTV" are only in use by a television station, the station elected to use only "WRTV INDIANAPOLIS" as its official call sign for the station currently broadcasting on RF channel 25.

Programming

Syndicated programs seen on WRTV include Live with Kelly and Ryan, Right This Minute (which is co-produced by Scripps), and Judge Judy. WRTV clears the entirety of ABC's network schedule and typically airs all network programs in pattern, except during instances where the station carries breaking news or severe weather coverage, or special programming.

Sports Programming

For most of the time since ABC began airing live, flag-to-flag coverage of the Indianapolis 500 in 1986, WRTV aired the race in prime time on a tape delay rather than airing it live. The Indianapolis Motor Speedway insisted on this arrangement to encourage residents and tourists in the Indianapolis metropolitan area to attend the race. During the time slot in which the race aired live, that day's ABC prime time schedule aired early under special dispensation from the network. In 1999, WRTV televised the Indianapolis 500 live, in addition to the tape-delayed prime time broadcast, as part of WRTV's 50th anniversary. On May 25, 2016, with the 100th anniversary event sold out, IMS and WRTV announced that channel 6 would air the Indianapolis 500 live in the market for the first time since it carried the 1949 and 1950 races as WFBM. WRTV lost its role as the local broadcaster of the Indianapolis 500 after the 2018 race, when ABC lost the rights to air the race after 54 years (WRTV had aired each race since 1980, a year after it became an ABC station); beginning in 2019, with the broadcast rights to the race going to NBC, WTHR (which previously aired the race between 1958 and 1979) serves as the local broadcaster. The blackout policy, however, has continued.

The station once carried select Indianapolis Colts NFL games broadcast by ABC as part of the network's Monday Night Footballpackage from the 1984 season until the 2005 season. The station acquired the local rights to two Colts regular season games during the 2014 season between the Philadelphia Eagles (on September 15) and between the New York Giants (on November 3), both of which aired on ESPN's Monday Night Football—whose Colts broadcasts are normally carried over-the-air by WNDY-TV (channel 23). In both situations, the station rescheduled ABC's Monday lineup: Dancing with the Stars aired the following Tuesday afternoon before the station's 5 p.m. newscast on the night of its original broadcast, but did not open a separate voting window for the Indianapolis market, while it aired Castle after ABC's late night programming. In addition, all Indiana Pacers games aired through ABC's NBA coverage are aired on Channel 6.

News operations

WRTV presently broadcasts 29½ hours of locally produced newscasts each week (with 5½ hours on weekdays and one hour each on Saturdays and Sundays).

For most of its first four decades on the air, WFBM/WRTV was Indianapolis' dominant news station. As late as the early 1980s, WRTV's news viewership often exceeded the combined audience of WISH and WTHR. WISH surged into first place in the mid-1980s, although WRTV managed to remain at a solid second place even after the retirement of longtime anchor Howard Caldwell in 1994. However, channel 6's ratings flatlined after a botched format revamp in 1996, coinciding with WTHR's surge to first place. It fell to last place for the first time in its history, and for most of the time from then until 2013, it finished third behind WTHR and WISH-TV. On some occasions, it fell to fourth behind Fox affiliate WXIN (channel 59). Since 2014, the station has been part of a spirited four-way battle for second place along with WISH, WXIN, and WTTV.

WRTV 6 News logo used from 2006 to 2012. The HD part of the logo was added in 2008. The numeric "6" had been used in various forms since 1989.

Former primary weeknight anchors, Todd Wallace and Trisha Shepherd, taken in 2007; Wallace and Shepherd respectively left WRTV in 2010 and 2011.

As Indiana's oldest television station, WRTV has brought forth several technological innovations over the years. It was the first television station in Indiana to record local programming on videotape and to use mini-cams for newsgathering purposes. Channel 6 was also the first in the state to use microwave relays (years prior to the use of satellite transmissions for newsgathering) to provide live remote footage from the field ("Insta-Cam"), the first to use a mobile satellite uplink vehicle (NewStar 6) to provide live video from remote locations, the first to convert to non-linear digital editing for news content, the first to use digital news cameras and the first to provide VODcasting. In 1988, the station debuted a half-hour 5:00 p.m. newscast, becoming the first station in the market to carry an early evening news program in that timeslot. In the mid-1990s, the station launched a 24-hour cable news channel NewsChannel 64, which later evolved into "6 News 24/7" and began to be carried on digital subchannel 6.2 by the late 2000s.

On September 10, 2007, WRTV expanded its 5:00 p.m. newscast to one hour (replacing syndicated programming in the 5:30 p.m. timeslot) and debuted a half-hour early evening newscast at 7:00 p.m., the first such newscast in the Indianapolis market in that timeslot. Station vice president and general manager Don Lundy stated that it launched the latter program in order to reach viewers whose longer workdays and commutes prevented them from arriving home in time to watch a 5:00 or 6:00 p.m. newscast. The station's weekend morning newscasts were cancelled around this time, as a cost-saving measure imposed by McGraw-Hill.

On October 12, 2008, WRTV became the third television station in the state of Indiana to begin broadcasting its local newscasts in high definition. With the upgrade, the station unveiled a new graphics package (replacing one based on Denver sister station KMGH-TV's graphics of that time) and updated music from Gari Media Group's "Eyewitness News: New Generation" package, along with a refresh of its news set and a revised logo for all newscasts. In September 2012, WRTV implemented a standardized graphics package and news theme ("Inergy" by Stephen Arnold Music) for Scripps' stations that originated on West Palm Beach sister station WPTV-TV the previous month. The station also began broadcasting its newscasts from its Monument Circle studio facility that month.

On September 7, 2013, WRTV debuted weekend morning newscasts (a one-hour block running from 6:00 to 7:00 a.m., and an additional two-hour block at 8:00 a.m. on Saturdays and for a half-hour on Sundays), restoring morning newscasts to its weekend schedule. The expansion resulted in the hires of eight on-air and behind-the-scenes employees to the station. As a result, WRTV moved the weekend edition of Good Morning America to 7:00 a.m. (the network's recommended timeslot for the program in all time zones) on both days.

News/station presentation

Newscast titles

• TeleNews (1949–?)
• TV-6 News (1960s)
• Channel 6 Early/Final Report (1960s–1970s)
• The News (1970s–1985)
• Channel 6 News (1985–1989)
• WRTV 6 News (1989–1998)
• 6 News (1998–2001 & 2006–2012)
• The News on RTV6 (2001–2006)
• Nightcast (11 p.m. newscast; 2001–2012)
• The News At x:xx (2002-2006)
• RTV 6 News (2012–2020)
• WRTV News (2020-present)

News Packages

• “TuesdayA” by Tuesday Productions (1976-1979)
• WRTV 1979 News Theme (unknown) (1979-1984)
• WRTV 1984 News Theme (unknown) (1984-1986)
• Station Style News by Michael Karp Music (1986-1990)
• WRTV 1990 News Theme (unknown) (1990-1992)
• WRTV 1992 News Theme (unknown) (1992-1994)
• Primetime News by Non-Stop Music (1994-1998)
• ABC News Affiliate Music Package by Score Productions (1998-2001)
• News One by 615 Music (2001-2004)
• Eyewitness News by Frank Gari (2004-2012)
• Ingergy by Stephen Arnold Music (2012-2020)
• Scripps Custom News Package by Stephen Arnold Music (2020-present)

Station slogans

• Channel 6`s The One You Can Turn To (1978–1979; localized version of ABC ad campaign)
• The News Leader (1979–1985)
• You and Me and Channel 6 (1980–1981; localized version of ABC ad campaign)
• Now is the Time, Channel 6 is the Place (1981–1982; localized version of ABC ad campaign)
• Come on Along with Channel 6 (1982–1983; localized version of ABC ad campaign)
• That Special Feeling on Channel 6 (1983–1984; localized version of ABC ad campaign)
• We`re With You on Channel 6 (1984–1985; localized version of ABC ad campaign)
• Your Exclusive Newsstar Station (1985–1989)
• Together On Channel 6 (1986–1987; localized version of ABC ad campaign)
• Making a Difference for Indiana (1989–1996)
• Indiana's Watching Channel 6 (1990–1991; localized version of ABC "America's Watching ABC" ad campaign)
• Coverage Making A Difference For Indiana (1994-1996)
• Live, Local, Latebreaking (1996–1998)
• TV is Good, on WRTV-6 (1997–1998; localized version of ABC ad campaign)
• We Love TV, on WRTV-6 (1998–1999; localized version of ABC ad campaign)
• Standing Up for You (1998–2001)
• On Your Side (2006–2011)
• The Indy Channel (2012-2020)
• Working For You (2020-present)

On-air staff

(Year joined WRTV indicated through parenthesis)

Current on-air staff

• Lauren Casey - weekdays on Good Morning Indiana (4:30-7AM) and weekdays at noon (2013)
• Marc Mullins - weeknights at 5, 6, and 11pm (2012)
• Nicole Griffin - weekends at 5, 6, 7, and 11pm; also an reporter (2017)
• Amber Grigley - weekend/fill-in anchor and reporter (2021)
  

Storm Team 6

• Kevin Gregory (AMS Certified Broadcast Meteorologist Seal of Approval; NWA Member) - Chief Meteorologist; weeknights at 5, 6, 7 and 11 p.m. (1989)
• Todd Klaassen- Meteorologist; weekdays on Good Morning Indiana (4:30-7AM) and weekdays at noon (2009)
• Kyle Mounce- meteorologist; fill-in (2013)

Sports Team

• Brad Brown - sports anchor; weekends at 6 and 11 p.m., also sports reporter (2007)

Reporters

• Jessica Gruenling - general assignment reporter (2023)
• Meredith Hackler - general assignment reporter (2022)
• Kaitlyn Kendall - general assignment reporter/MMJ (2021)
• Kara Kenney - general assignment reporter (2009)
• Nico Penisi - general assignment reporter (2022)
• Adam Schumes - general assignment reporter (2021)
• Taj Simmons - general assignment reporter (2023)
• Rachael Wilkerson - general assignment reporter (2021)

Notable former staff

• Linda Allen (reporter, later went to WTHR)
• Tom Alvarez - former WRTV Personality/Director (1972-1986; now the blogger on "On The Isle")
• Don Baker - Director/Producer (1974-2002; now teaches broadcasting at Columbus East High School; later retired)
• Dick Baldwin - former longtime Photographer (1957-1994; retired)
• Chris Bavender - reporter (1999-2003; later went to WTHR and currently is Communications Director for the Indiana Attorney General)
• Ken Beckley (former news anchor, 1967-1976; recently retired as Vice President of Advertising for the H. H. Gregg appliance store chain)
• Barbara Boyd - longtime consumer reporter (1969-1994; now retired)
• Ray Bredemann - former longtime assignment editor (1977-2011)
• Phil Bremen (former weekend anchor, 1990-1997; currently Telecommunications Professor at Ball State University)
• Jeremy Brilliant (reporter, 2003-2007; left to join WTHR)
• Cullen Browder (reporter/anchor 1996-1998; now at WRAL-TV in Raleigh, NC)
• Ashley Brown - former meteorologist (2012-2017; left to head to WLWT in Cincinnati, came back to Indy a year later to work at WISH-TV, and has been there ever since)
• Angela Cain (weekend anchor - 1986-1993; later served Community Affairs Director at WTHR; now president of Angela Cain Communications)
• Howard Caldwell - legendary anchor (1959-1994; later retired; deceased)
• Eldon Campbell - General Manager (1957-1973; retired; died in 1991)
• Jennifer Carmack - reporter (2003-2011; went to competitor WTHR)
• Tom Carnegie (former longtime Sports Director, 1953-1985; was also the public address announcer at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway; died in 2011)
• Marilyn Carter (reporter; 1985-2001)
• Paul Chiodo - former longtime photographer (1987-2022; retired)
• Todd Connor - former anchor (2010-2016; now at WSBT in South Bend)
• Susan Conner - former Editorial Editor (1979-1985)
• Ray Cortopassi - anchor (2001-2008; later at WTHR and WXIN; now at WGN-TV)
• Norman Cox - State House reporter (1976-2013; now retired)
• Bill Crawford - first weatherman (1950-1964; died in '64)
• Chris Denari (former sports reporter; now Indiana Pacers play-by-play announcer for FSN Indiana)
• Gerry Dick - longtime reporter (1983-1997; now host of Inside Indiana Business)
• Denise Dillon (reporter, 1993-1995; later became an overnight anchor at CNN, now at WAGA in Atlanta, GA)
• Kevin Doran - anchor/reporter (now at KSTP-TV)
• Reid Duffy (feature reporter, critic, and pundit, 1971-1995; now correspondent for "Across Indiana" on WFYI)
• Paul Emmick (weekend meteorologist, 2003-2005; now evening meteorologist at WDRB in Louisville, KY) (died in 2021)
• Dave Erickson - Weekend Anchor/Reporter (1998-99) (Currently Main Anchor at KXLY-TV, Spokane, WA; now is the owner of Dave Erickson media)
• Frances Farmer (former actress, hosted Frances Farmer Presents afternoon movie show, 1957-1964; died in 1970)
• Ericka Flye - former longtime anchor (2000-2018)
• Gilbert Forbes - first news anchor (1949-1961; died in 1961)
• Hal Fryar (aka "Harlow Hickenlooper"; host of the Three Stooges show, now with a Senior Relations firm in Indianapolis)
• Dave Furst - former longtime sports director; weeknights at 6, 7 and 11 p.m. (1997-2020; left the station to become sports director for IndyCar PR position)
• Bob Gamble - longtime news director/editorial commentator (1959-1986; later retired. Passed away in 2015)
• Jim Gerard (midday talk show host, 1962-1976; later retired; passed away in 2020)
• Emily Gimmel (morning reporter; currently starring in SOAPnet series Southern Belles: Louisville)
• Ralph Grant - former longtime photographer (1964-2002; retired)
• Brian Hammons (sports anchor, 1979-1988; now with The Golf Channel)
• Katie Heinz - former Statehouse Reporter (2013-2018; currently a Public Relations Manager at The Salvation Army Chicago Metropolitan Division)
• Scott Hoke (former sports anchor, 1989-1997; currently at WFYI-FM 90.1 and WFYI-TV 20)
• Shane Hollett (meteorologist/reporter; now Associate Director of the National College Access Network)
• Tracey Horth - reporter/anchor (1979-1998; now with the Domestic Violence Network of Greater Indianapolis)
• David James - former longtime meteorologist (1980-2000; later retired))
• Durward Kirby (sidekick of Garry Moore and Allen Funt)
• Karen Layton (investigative reporter; current status unknown)
• Clyde Lee - anchor (1976-2001 now married to former co-anchor Diane Willis)
• Barbara Lewis (anchor - 1987-1998; now health reporter for Inside Indiana Business)
• Kip Lewis (weekend sports anchor)
• Linda Lupear (reporter, 1973-1997)
• Elissa Lynn (weather anchor) later Chief Weather anchor at KXTV 1996-2006, now forecaster for the California Dept. of Water Resources.
• Henry Martin - former longtime farm news reporter/broadcaster (1949-1975; later retired; passed away in 2005)
• Stacia Matthews - former longtime anchor/health reporter (1989-2012)
• Dave McGhee (former longtime reporter/assignment editor; 1962-1975; died 7-23-07)
• Bob McLain - longtime chief meteorologist (1972–2001; now retired)
• Don Menke - former general manager (1959-1969; retired)
• Mindy Mintz (reporter, 1982-1986; currently the President of the Esophageal Cancer Action Network)
• Marilyn Mitzel (reporter - 1978-1985; now Adjunct Professor at Florida International University)
• Ben Morriston - former longtime reporter (1979-2009)
• Gerald "Curley" Myers (personality/performer; still performs with Hal Fryar, among others, on occasion)
• Ken Nelson - field news anchor (1978-1984; owner of Ken Nelson Ministries)
• dan O'Rourke (anchor/reporter, 1976–1979; video and film producer/director, Twin Lion Communications Houston)
• Ken Owen (morning/weeknight co-anchor, 1999–2002; now director of media relations at DePauw University)
• Jim Parsons (reporter, now at WTAE in Pittsburgh, PA)
• Julie Pershley - anchor/reporter (2001-2018)
• Joe Pickett (former booth announcer and personality, now retired)
• Dave Piontek (former NBA star later sports anchor, died in 2004)
• Phil Ponce (reporter, now at WTTW in Chicago, IL)
• Paul Poteet - meteorologist (1997-2009)
• Rob Powers (sports reporter; now Sports Director at WTVG in Toledo, OH)
• Myrt Price - reporter (2010-2012; later went to WFTV (2012-2020);now a Communications Assistant at State Attorney’s Office, in the 9th Judicial Circuit in Orlando, FL)
• Jake Query (sports producer,reporter and anchor; later hosted at WIBC radio)
• Vytas Reid (Meteorologist, now at WBFF in Baltimore, MD)
• Jack Rinehart - former longtime reporter (1975-2016; retired)
• Craig Roberts (1970s sports anchor, 1975-1980; a popular sportscaster in Houston, TX for decades; now a host on iHeart Radio)
• Karen Rowe (Anchor/Reporter, Good Morning Indiana, 1995–1997)
• Rick Sallinger (reporter, now at KCNC in Denver, CO)
• Rafael Sanchez - former longtime anchor on weekdays on Good Morning Indiana/consumer reporter (1998-2024)
• Lou Sherman - booth announcer/personality (1963-1992; died in 1998)
• Ed Sorenson - former sports director (1985-2001) (now at KWTX)
• Dan Spehler - former anchor/reporter (2005-2010; now at Fox 59)
• Amanda Starrantino - former anchor/reporter (2016-2021; now morning and noon anchor at KPIX-TV in San Francisco)
• Carl Stubblefield - reporter/co-anchor; first African-American reporter in Indianapolis (1968-1998; retired; passed away in 2003)
• Hendrik Sybrandy (reporter, now with KMGH in Denver)
• Caroline Thau (weekend anchor, formerly at WXIN)
• Derrik Thomas - former longtime reporter (1979-2019; retired)
• Greg Todd (weekend anchor 1980-1994 now Managing Editor at "San Diego 6 News" XETV in San Diego, CA)
• John Totten (former sports anchor, deceased)
• Grace Trahan - reporter/morning/noon anchor (1994-2012)
• Brian Trauring (reporter, 1979-1981; went to be the News Director at WTVG in Toledo, Ohio; now Executive Vice-President of Lily Broadcasting)
• Jerry Vance (aka Captain Starr, co-star of local children's show "All Hands On Deck"; died in 1975)
• Beth Vaughn - former anchor (2013-2018; now a Public Relations Consultant at IU Health)
• Todd Wallace (weeknight anchor)
• Chance Walser - reporter (2011-2017; now a Visual/Social Media Journalist at IU Health)
• Terri Cope-Walton - former longtime news director (1998-2021; many years as assistant news director - was named news director in 2013; now serving as the vice president/general manager of both WJXT and WCWJ)
• Judy Waugh (public affairs director)
• Martha Weaver - anchor (1995-2007; moved home to Minneapolis, MN with her husband and their daughter)
• Eric Weisfeld - morning news anchor (now morning anchor at WZVN in Fort Myers, FL)
• Crystal Wicker (morning & noon meteorologist; now account executive with rival WXIN)
• Diane Willis - anchor (1987-2001, now married to former co-anchor Clyde Lee)
• Danny Wills - former longtime photographer for WRTV (1973-2016; retired)
• John Young - longtime voiceover for WRTV (1989-2012)

Former Programming on WRTV

• Judge Joe Brown
• The People’s Court
• Hollywood Squares
• The Oprah Winfrey Show
• The Sally Jesse Raphael Show
• Inside Edition

Gallery

WFBM Channel 6 ident from late Spring 1949

WFBM Channel 6 - A Time Life Broadcasting Inc. Station ident from 1964

WFBM Channel 6 - An NBC Station ident from 1966

WRTV Channel 6 logo from early June 1972

WRTV Channel 6 ident from early June 1972

WRTV Channel 6 ident from 1979

WRTV Channel 6 promo from Fall 1979

WRTV Channel 6 ident from Fall 1983

WRTV Channel 6 - Taking Pride For Indiana ident - 1984

WRTV The News Tonight open from 1984

WRTV Channel 6 ident from 1987

WRTV Channel 6 logo from 1989

ABC Network - NYPD Blue: The Final Season - Tonight promo w/WRTV-TV Indianapolis id bug from Fall 2004

WRTV RTV6 ident from Fall 2005

WRTV RTV6 ident from Early 2006

WRTV RTV6 ident from Fall 2007

WRTV RTV6 ident #2 from Fall 2007

WRTV RTV6 - Tonight Line-Up (8PM-11:35PM) - Wednesday - Tonight promo from the end of February 2008

WRTV 6 News HD logo from Mid-Fall 2008

WRTV RTV6 ident from 2010

WRTV RTV6 ident from Early 2012

WRTV RTV6 ident from Mid-Spring 2012

WRTV RTV6 ident #2 from Mid-Spring 2012

WRTV logo from late Summer 2020

WRTV News 11PM open from late Summer 2020

WRTV News - WRTV Investigates open from late Summer 2020

WRTV News - Coronavirus In Indiana open from late Summer 2020

WRTV News 11PM Weeknight open from August 13, 2020

WRTV - Judge Jerry - Weekdays ident from late Summer 2020

WRTV - Red logo from late Summer 2021

WRTV News 4:30AM Weekday open from March 4, 2022

WRTV News Good Morning Indiana 5AM Weekday open from March 4, 2022

WRTV News Good Morning Indiana Weekday close from March 4, 2022

WRTV News 12PM Weekday open from March 4, 2022

WRTV - ABC News: Good Morning America - Weekdays ident from Spring 2022

WRTV News 6PM Weeknight open from April 25, 2022

WRTV News 11PM Weeknight open from July 1, 2022

Trivia

• In 1993, local video of hockey game and the station logo is used in the movie Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles III.
• Hal Fryar (aka "Harlow Hickenlooper") was one of nine local Three Stooges show hosts from across the country cast as villains in the Three Stooges full-length feature "The Outlaws Are Coming! The Outlaws Are Coming!"
• Harlow Hickenlooper's famous rendition of "Happy Birthday", which always resulted in his getting a pie in the face, was patterned after Jerry Colonna who always exaggerated certain songs. It can be heard on Hal Fryar's website www.harlowhickenlooper.com.
• Emily Gimmel, former reporter for WRTV, went on to star in the SOAPnet series Southern Belles: Louisville.
• Dan O'Rourke, after news internship became WRTV's youngest reporter at age 21, and youngest anchor at 22.
• Kevin Gregory (the chief meteorologist) is the son of former WTHR chief meteorologist Bob Gregory.
• Bill Crawford, weatherman during the 1950s and early 1960s, was really a dentist by profession. Meteorology was only his hobby.
• Bob McLain, who still appears occasionally, was the station's primary meteorologist from 1972 to 2002; he covered the Super Outbreak of 1974 and the Great Blizzard of 1978.

External links

• TheIndyChannel.com (Official Website)
• WRTV History at TheIndyChannel.com
• Query the FCC's TV station database for WRTV
• Listing 1029312 in the U.S. Federal Communications Commission (FCC) Antenna Structure Registration database
• BIAfn's Media Web Database -- Information on WRTV-TV
• HarlowHickenlooper.com (Hal Fryar's website)

References

1. ^ FCC Antenna Structure Registration
2. ^ "Monday Afternoon TV Programs". Logansport Press (Logansport, IN): pp. 6. 1951-05-20.
3. ^ Kokomo Tribune (Kokomo, IN): pp. 14. 1950-10-21.
4. ^ "Friday Evening TV Programs". Logansport Press (Logansport, IN): pp. 6. 1951-05-04.
5. ^ "Syndicated Pix ARB Multi-City Ratings". Billboard: 6. 1954-04-03.
6. ^ "Television Schedule". Anderson Daily Bulletin (Anderson, IN): pp. 17. 1955-03-21.
7. ^ "Require Prime Evening Time for NTA Films". Boxoffice: 13. November 10, 1956
8. ^ FCC Form 387
9. ^ FCC Form DA-09-1253
10. ^ http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f6WFDxhVE00
11. ^ http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Is0gwbcjgGU
12. ^ http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_SMmTaWRrq4
13. ^ Indianapolis Star, Jan. 26, 2010