KGUN-TV

KGUN-TV
Kgun 2012.png
Tucson, Arizona
Branding KGUN 9 (general)
KGUN 9 News (newscasts)
(pronounced "K-GUN")
Slogan On Your Side
Channels Digital: 9 (VHF)
DirecTV (Southern Arizona only): 11
Cox (Tucson): 11
Subchannels (see article)
Translators K16EO Oro Valley
K65DM Duncan
Affiliations ABC
Antenna TV
Owner Journal Broadcast Group
(Journal Broadcast Corporation)
First air date June 3, 1956
Call letters' meaning former owner's interest in GUN collecting and the Westerns that were filmed in Tucson
Sister station(s) KWBA-TV
Former callsigns KDWI-TV (1956-1957)
KGUN-TV (1957-1987)
KGUN (1987-2009)
Former channel number(s) Analog:
9 (VHF, 1956-2009)
Digital:
35 (UHF, 2005-2009)
Transmitter power 10.3 kw
Height 1140 m
Facility ID 36918
Transmitter coordinates 32°24′55.7″N 110°42′53.2″W / 32.415472°N 110.714778°W / 32.415472; -110.714778
Website www.kgun9.com

KGUN-TV, channel 9, is the ABC-affiliated television station serving Tucson, Arizona, owned by Journal Broadcast Group, Inc.. It broadcasts its digital signal on VHF channel 9 from Mount Bigelow, located northeast of Tucson. It is known locally as "K-GUN".

History

The station was founded in 1955 by rancher D.W. Ingram, who gave the station his initials, KDWI-TV. It began broadcasting June 3, 1956.[1] Shortly afterward, Ingram sold it to H. U. Garrett, who changed the station's call sign to KGUN on March 14, 1957.[1] Garrett sold the station to Henry S. Hilberg in 1960, and Hilberg sold it to Gilmore Broadcasting in 1964. The station came under the ownership of May Broadcasting in 1968.[2] May would sell its television holdings (KGUN and KMTV in Omaha, Nebraska) to Lee Enterprises in 1986, which, in turn, sold both stations to Emmis Communications in 2000. In 2005, Emmis liquidated all of its television properties, sending KGUN and control of KMTV to the Milwaukee based Journal Broadcast Group, which already owned four radio stations in Tucson.[3] The sale was finalized in December 2005.

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Digital television

Channel Video Aspect Programming
9.1 720p 16:9 Main KGUN-TV programming / ABC
9.2 480i 4:3 Antenna TV [4]
9.3 Live Well Network

The station's digital signal is multiplexed. In January 2009, KGUN added Mexicanal, on its digital channel 9.2. It also carried TheCoolTV until the stations parent company filed a lawsuit against TheCoolTV for non-payment, and dropped the networks from all of its stations. KGUN-TV soon replaced it with Live Well Network. In October 2012, Antenna TV replaced Mexicanal.

Analog-to-digital conversion

In 1997, the Federal Communications Commission assigned UHF channel 35 to KGUN for digital operations. The station was granted an application to build its digital operations in October 2001 and, after several extensions, brought KGUN-DT to air in August 2005.

KGUN has selected channel 9 for its post-transition digital operations, and since the analog television shutdown, on June 12, 2009, KGUN broadcasts in digital from channel 9.[5] As with all of Journal's television stations, following the digital transition, as of June 19, 2009, KGUN added the -TV suffix to its callsign (the station had previously used the KGUN-TV callsign from 1957 to 1987, when it dropped the suffix).

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Programming

An ABC affiliate, KGUN broadcasts the network's schedule, supplemented by syndicated and local programming, most of which is local news. Syndicated programming currently featured on KGUN-TV includes: Wheel of Fortune, The Ellen DeGeneres Show, Jeopardy!, Law & Order, Live! with Kelly and Michael and Inside Edition.

On April 26, 2010, KGUN began producing a lifestyle and entertainment magazine program called The Morning Blend,[6] a program which was adapted from Journal flagship station WTMJ-TV. The program airs weekdays from 11 a.m. to noon and is hosted by Ann Lauricello and Alex Miranda; the show replaced KGUN's 11 a.m. newscast.

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News operation

In 1997, KGUN added a 5:30 p.m. newscast, moving ABC's World News Tonight to 6 p.m. and expanding its news department.[7] On April 23, 2011, KGUN became the third station in Tucson to begin airing local newscasts in high definition.

News/station presentation

Newscast titles

  • Big News
  • News in Action (1960s-1970s)
  • NewsCenter 9 (1970s–1980s)
  • KGUN 9 News (1980s–present)[8]

Station slogans

  • In Touch with Tucson (1994–2003)
  • Clear. Accurate. To the Point (2003–2006)
  • On Your Side (2006–present)
Television.svg This film, television or video-related list is incomplete; you can help by expanding it with reliably sourced additions.

News team[9]

Anchors

  • Guy Atchley - weeknights at 5, 6, 9 (on KWBA) and 10 p.m.
  • Valerie Cavazos - weekends at 5 and 10 p.m.; also weeknight reporter
  • Greg Gurulé - weekday mornings Good Morning Tucson (5-7 a.m.)
  • Corinne Hautala - weekday mornings Good Morning Tucson (5-7 a.m.)
  • Jennifer Waddell - weeknights at 5, 6 and 10 p.m.

First Warning Weather

Sports team

  • Jason Barr - sports director; weeknights at 6 and 10 p.m.
  • Kayla Anderson - sports anchor/reporter; weekends at 5 and 10 p.m.

Reporters

  • Marcelino Benito - general assignment reporter
  • Claire Doan - general assignment reporter
  • Alexis Fernandez - general assignment reporter
  • Allen "Big Al" Kath - weekday morning traffic reporter
  • Kevin Keen - general assignment reporter
  • Cory Marshall - general assignment reporter
  • Stephani Ruiz - general assignment reporter
  • Craig Smith - general assignment reporter

Management

  • Jim Arnold - general manager
  • Forrest Carr - news director
  • Martha Serda - assistant news director
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References

  1. ^ a b "Journal of Wis. to purchase KGUN-TV". Arizona Daily Star. 2005-08-23. Retrieved 2009-01-12. 
  2. ^ "TV Transfers". 1972 Broadcasting Yearbook. Retrieved 2009-01-12. 
  3. ^ "Emmis Announces Sale of Nine Television Stations". Emmis Press Release. 2005-08-22. Retrieved 2009-01-12. 
  4. ^ Antenna TV Affiliates
  5. ^ "DTV Tentative Channel Designations for the First and Second Rounds". FCC CDBS database. Retrieved 2009-01-12. 
  6. ^ http://www.tucsonmorningblend.com/
  7. ^ Rademacher, Kevin. "KGUN to introduce hour-long newscast tonight." Inside Tucson Business 6 Jan. 1997: 9-10.
  8. ^ KGUN Tucson - 2006 Late Night Open
  9. ^ The KGUN 9 Team
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External links

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Last modified on 20 May 2013, at 15:12