KTUL

'KTUL', referred to on air as 'NewsChannel 8', is the ABC affiliate in Tulsa, Oklahoma. KTUL broadcasts from its studios on Lookout Mountain in west Tulsa. KTUL transmits from a 581.86 metre high guy-wired aerial mast (antenna tower) in Coweta, Oklahoma, USA (geographical coordinates: , which was completed in 1988.
The station broadcasts its analog signal on VHF channel 8, and its digital signal on VHF channel 10. On cable, KTUL-TV can be seen on channel 8 on Cox Tulsa.
KTUL-TV also serves as one of four default ABC affiliates for the Sherman-Ada market (along with KSWO, Lawton-Wichita Falls, KOCO, Oklahoma City and WFAA, Dallas-Fort Worth) since that market currently lacks an ABC affiliate of its own, as the market's former ABC affiliate KTEN became an NBC affiliate in 1998. In addition, when atmospheric conditions are right, KTUL's signal can be picked up as far as Oklahoma City.

Contents

History

Don Woods and Gusty

Waiting Child

Ratings

Personalities

Current On-Air Talent

Former Talent

Logos

News/Station Presentation

Newscast Titles

Station Slogans

Trivia

External links

History

Channel 8 signed on September 18, 1954 as 'KTVX', licensed to Muskogee. It was owned by Oklahoma grocery magnate and broadcast pioneer John Griffin, who also owned KTUL radio (1430 AM, now KTBZ). The station had been licensed in Muskogee because the third VHF frequency originally allocated to Tulsa itself, channel 11, had been reserved for educational use. The Griffins thus decided to seek the channel 8 allocation in Muskogee, the nearest city in the Tulsa market with a VHF license. UHF was not considered viable at the time.
It broadcast from a converted grocery store in Muskogee. It took the ABC affiliation from Tulsa's second television station, KCEB-TV (channel 23). The station's first broadcast was a football game between Oklahoma and California, which Oklahoma won. The first two personalities at the station were news anchor Jack Morris and meteorologist Don Woods. Sports director Hal O'Halloran would come later.
In 1955, KCEB sold its studios on Lookout Mountain to Griffin, and KTVX moved there in November; KTUL-AM had been there since April. The Lookout Mountain facility was used as an auxiliary studio until 1957, when the station won FCC permission to move all operations, as well as the station's license, to Tulsa. On September 12 1957--the day the move took effect--the station changed its calls to 'KTUL-TV' to match its radio sister.
In 1965, KTUL built a new 1,909-foot tower--the second-tallest transmitting tower in the country at the time. Combined with a heavy emphasis on local programming, KTUL soon became one of the strongest ABC affiliates in the country, and the top-rated station in Tulsa for many years.
Griffin sold KTUL-AM-TV and sister station KATV in Little Rock, Arkansas to his brother-in-law, James C. "Jimmy" Leake, in the early 1970s; Griffin retained control of KWTV in Oklahoma City. The two had shared ownership of the stations for many years. Leake sold off the radio station a few years later, but kept channel 8 until selling it to current owner Allbritton in 1982.
In 1987, KTUL's broadcast tower was knocked over by an ice storm, and a new one was constructed in 1988. And in 1999, KTUL built new broadcast facilities on Lookout Mountain to accommodate station growth.
The KTVX call letters are now used by channel 4 in Salt Lake City, another ABC affiliate.
In 2005, KTUL introduced First Alert Weather 24/7, a digital/cable channel devoted to 24-hour-a-day weather information.

Don Woods and Gusty

When KTUL signed on as KTVX in Muskogee, the station was looking for a weatherman who could draw a cartoon character. Don Woods was chosen, and his cartoon character became Gusty. From 1954 until his retirement in 1989, Woods drew Gusty live on TV, and every day, people sent in requests for a Gusty. Gusty always told what the weather was going to be like. He could be drawn waving flags and smiling for fair weather, or he could be drawn holding an umbrella for rainy days, or jumping in his fraidy hole for thunderstorms. After Woods' retirement from KTUL in 1989, Woods continued to draw Gusty from time to time, and he even authored a book entitled The Gospel According to Gusty. In 2005, Gusty was made Oklahoma's State Cartoon Character by the Oklahoma Legislature, and there's even a drawing of Gusty at the Smithsonian Instution in Washington, D.C.

Waiting Child

Since 1980, KTUL has featured its Waiting Child segment, which highlights children who are in state custody and looking for an adoptive family. Then-anchor Bob Hower began Waiting Child in October of 1980, and did the segment until his retirement in 1986. Former anchor Rea Blakey and then sports director John Walls followed in Hower's footsteps. Anchor Carole Lambert has hosted the segment since 1990, and it has resulted in more than 4000 children being adopted. The segment airs Wednesdays at 4:00 and Saturdays at 10:00.
The song "(I'm a) Waiting Child," which plays during the Waiting Child news segment, was composed by former anchor Bob Hower and is sung by Oleta Adams.

Ratings

For many years, KTUL reigned as Tulsa's leading source for news, mainly because of its consistency at the newsdesk. As of February 2007, ''NewsChannel 8'' ranks second in the morning news race (5:00 to 7:00am weekdays), and second at 5:00, 6:00, and 10:00pm behind KOTV and ahead of KOKI and KJRH.

Personalities

Current On-Air Talent

'NEWSCHANNEL 8 ANCHORS'

★ 'Mark Bradshaw', Weekday 4 & 5PM Anchor/Reporter

★ 'Charles Ely', Weekday Evening Anchor/Managing Editor/Reporter

★ 'Jerry Giordano', Weekend Evening Anchor/Reporter

★ 'Yvonne Harris', Weekend Evening Anchor/Reporter

★ 'Carole Lambert', Weekday 4, 6 & 10PM Anchor/"Waiting Child" Anchor/Reporter

★ 'Cindy Morrison', Weekday 5PM Anchor/"8 on Your Side" Investigator/Reporter

★ 'D.C. Roberts', Weekday Morning Anchor

★ 'Keith Taylor', Weekday Morning Anchor
'NEWSCHANNEL 8 REPORTERS'

★ 'Kristin Dickerson', Morning Reporter

★ 'Kim Jackson', General Assignment Reporter

★ 'Elizabeth Kinney', General Assignment Reporter

★ 'Bill Mitchell', Senior News Reporter

★ 'Burt Mummolo', General Assignment Reporter

★ 'Abby Ross', General Assignment Reporter

★ 'Diana Zoga', General Assignment Reporter
'FIRST ALERT WEATHER TEAM'

★ 'Frank Mitchell (AMS/NWA Certified)', Chief Meteorologist

★ 'Clint Boone (NWA Certified)', 4PM Meteorologist

★ 'Mike Collier', Morning Meteorologist

★ 'Taft Price (AMS Certified)', Weekend Meteorologist

★ 'Phil Price', Staff Meteorologist
'SPORTS ANCHORS/REPORTERS'

★ 'Chris Lincoln', Sports Director/Anchor (Formerly Sports Director 1974-1981)

★ 'Ruben Diaz', Weekend Sports Anchor

★ 'Rick Pendergraft', Sports Reporter/Fill-in Anchor

Former Talent

★ 'John Anderson',Sports, (Now with ESPN)

★ 'Teri Bowers', Morning/4PM Anchor (Now with the Oklahoma Aquarium)

★ 'Denise Brewer', Medical Reporter (Now spokesperson for Hillcrest Healthcare System)

★ 'Jack Bunds', Sports Director

★ 'Nicole Burgin', News Reporter (Now at KRMG-AM)

★ 'Becky Dixon', Sports Anchor

★ 'Bob Healey', Sports Director (Now at WGBA Green Bay, Wisconsin)

★ 'Bob Hower', News Anchor 1970-1986 (Retired)

★ 'Don Woods', Meteorologist 1954-1989 (Retired)

★ 'Jack Morris', News Anchor 1954-1970 (Retired)

★ 'Guy Atchley', News Anchor 1976-1983 (now at KGUN-TV)

★ 'Rea Blakey', News Co-Anchor (Now at CNN)

★ 'Karen Larsen', Morning Anchor (Now at KJRH in Tulsa)

★ 'Jeff Lea', Reporter

★ 'Tami Marler', Medical Reporter (Now with Tulsa Public Schools)

★ 'Travis Meyer', Meteorologist 1981-2005 (Now at KOTV)

★ 'Russell Motley', Reporter (Later at WTEV in Jacksonville, Florida)

★ 'David Payne', Meteorologist (Now at KFOR Oklahoma City)

★ 'Gail Pennybacher', Reporter (Now at co-owned News Channel 8 in Washington, D.C.)

★ 'Beth Rengel', News Anchor (Now with McGraw Davisson Stewart)

★ 'Jon Slater', Weekend Meteorologist (Now at KOKI-TV)

★ 'Bill Spencer', Morning Anchor (Now at WXYZ in Detroit)

★ 'Kevin Steincross', Weekend Anchor (Now at KTVI St. Louis)

★ 'LeAnne Taylor', 5pm Anchor (Now at KOTV in Tulsa)

★ 'Aaron Tuttle', Weekend Meteorologist (Now at KOCO Oklahoma City)

★ 'Michael Warren', Morning Anchor (Now at KTBC in Austin, Texas)

★ 'Mike Ziegenhorn', Sports Director (Now with The Holmes Organisation)

Logos

News/Station Presentation

Newscast Titles

★ ''News 8'' (1971-1975 and 1982-1992)

★ ''Total 8 Tulsa'' (1975-1982)

★ ''Oklahoma's News 8'' (1992-1999)

★ ''Oklahoma's NewsChannel 8'' (1999-2006)

★ ''NewsChannel 8'' (2006-present)

Station Slogans

★ ''8's The Place'' (1977-1983)

★ ''Celebrate Oklahoma with 8'' (1988-1989)

★ ''8 On Your Side'' (2006-2007) (Currently only the title for Consumer reports)

★ ''Coverage You Can Count On'' (1992-2006; 2007-Present)

Trivia

★ In 1996, Frank Mitchell made a surprise wedding proposal to his co-host, Teri Bowers during a live broadcast of "Good Morning Oklahoma". The proposal made national news and was featured on programs such as American Journal, Geraldo and Maury.

★ The current studios on Lookout Mountain were built for television station KCEB. Former owner James C. Leake moved the KTVX operation to Tulsa from Muskogee.

★ Frank Mitchell was promoted to Chief Meteorologist in February 2005, succeeding Travis Meyer, who left KTUL after 23 years to go to competing station KOTV.

External links

★ KTUL Homepage

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