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(Redirected from WFXT-TV)
'WFXT' is the Fox owned and operated television station for Eastern Massachusetts and Southern New Hampshire. Licensed to Boston, the station broadcasts an analog signal on UHF channel 25 and a digital signal on UHF channel 31. WFXT's transmitter is located east of I-95 / Route 128 in in Needham. The station has studios located on Fox Drive in Dedham. WFXT is one of six Boston television stations seen in Canada to subscribers of the Bell ExpressVu satellite service. The station is owned by Fox Television Stations and calls itself '''"Fox 25"'''.
Channel 25 signed on as 'WXNE-TV' (for "Christ ('X') in 'N'ew 'E'ngland") on October 10, 1977. The station was originally owned by the Christian Broadcasting Network. The early format consisted of older syndicated reruns which were deemed to be "family-friendly" as well as a healthy dose of religious programming such as CBN's own ''700 Club'' and programs of many other televangelists. Religious programming ran for about six hours a day during the week and all day on Sundays. Secular programming on WXNE consisted of westerns, old movies, family type drama shows, old film shorts, and classic television shows. By 1980, the religious programming was cut back on Sundays to air 6:00 to 11:00 A.M. and 7:00 P.M. to 12:00 midnight. It also aired about four to five hours a day during the week.
The station began adding more cartoons, made-for-television movies, and off network sitcoms in the early 1980s. At the same time, the station rebranded itself "Boston 25", in the conversion to being a true independent. While the station was only on cable systems in the Greater Boston market, WXNE was a solid third among independent stations, behind WSBK-TV and WLVI-TV, and sixth among commercial television stations.
In October of 1986 WXNE became Boston's affiliate for the new Fox network. It was a precursor to a sale of the station to Fox which would be complete in a matter of months. Prior to the sale to Fox, WXNE did not air ''The Late Show Starring Joan Rivers'', Fox's inaugural program and a weeknight show which aired opposite Johnny Carson's ''Tonight Show'' on NBC. The outgoing CBN ownership believed that the program did not fit its strict content guidelines. Fox instead contracted Boston radio station WMRE 1510 AM (now WWZN) to carry the audio portion of the ''Late Show'' until its purchase of WXNE was completed. Joan Rivers actually mentioned the ban of the show in Boston on her opening night (October 9, 1986). She poked fun at the fact by letting her WMRE radio listeners know a description of what she looked like, which was sort of exaggerated (she concluded her physical description by saying she had a Red Sox hat on, which she did not.
When the sale of Channel 25 to Fox was finalized on January 19, 1987, Fox changed the station's call letters to 'WFXT' and made a few on-air changes. Besides adding the ''Late Show'' to the schedule, the ''700 Club'' was demoted to a once-a-day airing and the daily broadcast of a Roman Catholic Mass was moved to an earlier timeslot. Fox programmed aggressively, purchasing popular off network sitcoms and syndicated fare. In April of 1987, the Sunday evening religious programming block was replaced with Fox programming.
In purchasing channel 25, Fox was granted a temporary waiver of a FCC rule prohibiting the common ownership of a television station and a newspaper in the same market. Fox's parent company, News Corporation, also published the ''Boston Herald''. In 1990, Fox placed WFXT in a trust company, and in 1991, sold the station outright to the Boston Celtics. The team would maintain the network relationship while making WFXT the basketball team's flagship. The Celtics, however, did not have the financial means to compete as a broadcaster. By 1992, WFXT was on many more cable systems in areas of New England where Fox programming was not available. Locally, however, the station was a distant third behind WSBK and WLVI. For a while under the Celtics' watch, WFXT was in danger of losing its Fox affiliation.
However, one of the few productive moves (ratings-wise) WFXT made under the Celtics tenure was commissioning the young regional cable channel NECN to produce a 10:00 P.M. newscast for them which launched in early 1993. ''Fox 25 News at 10'' was a half-hour newscast initially anchored by NECN's Heather Kahn with Tim Kelley on weather. Kahn lasted a year and a half in this role before transferring to WCVB-TV where she became a well-known member of their ''NewsCenter 5'' team. NECN's Lila Orbach replaced Kahn on the WFXT newscast and went with the 10:00 P.M. news when it moved to WSBK in October of 1995 as it became ''UPN 38 Prime News''.
News Corporation sold the ''Boston Herald'' in 1994, opening the door for its Fox subsidiary to purchase WFXT for a second time in mid-1995. Although the network was pushing for more news-intensive formats for its stations, channel 25 moved slowly in building its own news department. After the station did not renew its contract with NECN, there were no newscasts on WFXT from 1995 to 1996 except for national Fox News updates aired during the day. During this time, WFXT was the second-to-last Fox owned-and-operated station left without any local news as well as the last such station running a morning kids block. The station did not produce its own primetime 10 PM newscast until September of 1996. From that point, the station established its news operation ever so gradually. WFXT was the television flagship of the Boston Red Sox for the baseball team's 2000, 2001, and 2002 seasons. In 2002, WFXT actually carried more Red Sox games than NESN, the team-owned regional sports network. Also that season, WFXT briefly experimented with a 4:30 PM newscast with Jodi Applegate. By the fall of 2002, this became a half-hour 5:00 P.M. newscast. In 2003, the station added a morning newscast and the 5:00 P.M. news was expanded to an hour.
Today, channel 25 runs about 30 hours a week of local news along with first-run syndicated talk, reality, and court shows. The station also airs some off-network sitcoms. WFXT's 10:00 P.M. news is currently the #1 rated "late newscast" in Boston. WFXT is the only Boston television station that has never changed its network affiliation, having always been a Fox affiliate since the network's inception.
The station launched a new website based on Fox Television Stations's internet division's new ''My Fox'' interface as of May 23, 2006. It became standard on all Fox owned-and-operated station websites in the next few months. However, the new site did not become WFXT's official website until July 12, 2006. WFXT began using new music and graphics and the new "Fox 25" logo designed after Fox News in all newscasts on September 3, 2006.
At one point, the station was "tentatively planning" to air News Corporation-owned and Fox sister network MyNetworkTV from 1:00 to 3:00 P.M. on the weekdays if the new network could not find an affiliate in the Boston market. On July 21, 2006, Derry, New Hampshire-based WZMY-TV was announced as Boston's affiliate of MyNetworkTV, which began operations on September 5, 2006. Although MyNetworkTV does not air on WFXT, the station has promoted programming for the network during its newscasts. Cast members from MyNetworkTV's programs have been interviewed by WFXT-TV's anchors. Viewers are then encouraged to tune in to WZMY to see the primetime programs.
In addition to its main studios, WFXT operates a bureau on Beacon Hill near the state house in Downtown Boston. The bureau serves as an interview location for Massachusetts law makers as well as a main location for weekday morning commentator Doug "V.B." Goudie. WFXT currently airs three newscasts during the week, one on Saturdays, and two on Sundays. The weekday morning newscast premiered on September 22, 2003 as a three-hour long newscast. As of 2006, it is now four hours long. The station operates a helicopter called ''Sky Fox.''
WFXT is one of seven Fox O&Os with a 5PM newscast, but no 6PM newscast (along with WTTG in Washington, D.C., WHBQ in Memphis, KSTU in Salt Lake City, KTBC in Austin, WTXF in Philadelphia and WOFL in Orlando).
July 10, 2007 was the last day that former weeknight co-anchor David Wade was seen on WFXT. He left amidst rumors that he is replacing Scott Wahle on WBZ-TV. His wife , weekend anchor / weekday reporter Bianca de la Garza is expected to also leave the station. [1] Rumors are now circulating that the two will be new anchors on WBZ.
'Anchors'
★ Gene Lavanchy - weekday mornings
★ Kim Carrigan - weekday mornings
★ Anqunette Jamison - weekday morning headline reader
★ Doug "V.B." Goudie - weekday morning commentator
★ Mark Ockerbloom - weeknights and Sunday evenings
★ Maria Stephanos - weeknights and Sunday evenings
★ Frank Mallicoat - Saturday evenings and Sunday Mornings (also reporter)
'Meteorologists'
★ Kevin Lemanowicz - Chief seen weeknights and Sunday evenings
★ Cindy Fitzgibbon - weekday mornings
★ A.J. Burnett - Saturdays (also fill in)
★ Mark Dixon - fill in (based at WFSB in Hartford)
'Sports'
★ Butch Stearns - Director seen daily
★ Ryan Asselta - sports reporter (also fill in sports anchor)
'Reporters'
★ Joe Battenfeld - Political Editor
★ Mike Beaudet - investigative reporter
★ Doug Luzader - FOX Television Stations Washington DC Correspondent
★ Bob Ward - also fill in anchor and host of "New England's Unsolved" segment
★ Shirley Chan - also fill in anchor
★ Doug Meehan - weekday morning traffic reporter
★ Keba Arnold
★ Alison Bologna
★ Ted Daniel
★ John Monahan
★ Martin Morenz
★ Debbi Rodman
★ Sharman Sacchetti
★ Margie O'Brien
★ Gregg Kelley - Vice President / General Manager
★ Lisa Hall - Vice Presedent / News Director
★ Paul McGonagle - Assistant News Director
★ Tom Luft - Managing Editor
★ Jack Auresto - Planning Editor
★ Linda DiStefano - Director of Human Resources
★ Steve Harrington - Vice President of Engineering
★ Chris Tzianabos - General Sales Manager
★ Mike Troiano - Local Sales Manager
★ Keith MacPherson - Local Sales Manager
★ Robb Willinger - National Sales Manager
★ Taylor Kimbrell - Web Sales Manager
★ Kezia Lamoreaux - General Sales Assistant
★ Noelle Barbosa - National Sales Assistant
★ Debby Pellerin - Traffic Director
★ Tricia Maloney - Director of Research and Programming
'Account Executives'
★ Carrie Benabou
★ David Kipp
★ Joe Whalen
★ Marcy Poole
★ Gary Gibson
WFXT's newscasts and reports were commonly seen in a fictional sense on David E. Kelley's Boston-set shows ''Ally McBeal'', ''Boston Public'', and ''The Practice'' which were both produced by Fox's syndicated division Twentieth Television. This was despite ''The Practice'' airing on ABC.
WFXT is the news station featured in the 2006 film ''Deck the Halls'' which was distributed by News Corporation subsidiary 20th Century-Fox.
★ WFXT-TV (3-27-2005). ''The Boston TV Dial''.
★ Station Website
★ Fox Website
★
'WFXT' is the Fox owned and operated television station for Eastern Massachusetts and Southern New Hampshire. Licensed to Boston, the station broadcasts an analog signal on UHF channel 25 and a digital signal on UHF channel 31. WFXT's transmitter is located east of I-95 / Route 128 in in Needham. The station has studios located on Fox Drive in Dedham. WFXT is one of six Boston television stations seen in Canada to subscribers of the Bell ExpressVu satellite service. The station is owned by Fox Television Stations and calls itself '''"Fox 25"'''.
| Contents |
| History |
| Newscasts |
| News Team |
| Administration |
| Trivia |
| References |
| External links |
History
Channel 25 signed on as 'WXNE-TV' (for "Christ ('X') in 'N'ew 'E'ngland") on October 10, 1977. The station was originally owned by the Christian Broadcasting Network. The early format consisted of older syndicated reruns which were deemed to be "family-friendly" as well as a healthy dose of religious programming such as CBN's own ''700 Club'' and programs of many other televangelists. Religious programming ran for about six hours a day during the week and all day on Sundays. Secular programming on WXNE consisted of westerns, old movies, family type drama shows, old film shorts, and classic television shows. By 1980, the religious programming was cut back on Sundays to air 6:00 to 11:00 A.M. and 7:00 P.M. to 12:00 midnight. It also aired about four to five hours a day during the week.
The station began adding more cartoons, made-for-television movies, and off network sitcoms in the early 1980s. At the same time, the station rebranded itself "Boston 25", in the conversion to being a true independent. While the station was only on cable systems in the Greater Boston market, WXNE was a solid third among independent stations, behind WSBK-TV and WLVI-TV, and sixth among commercial television stations.
In October of 1986 WXNE became Boston's affiliate for the new Fox network. It was a precursor to a sale of the station to Fox which would be complete in a matter of months. Prior to the sale to Fox, WXNE did not air ''The Late Show Starring Joan Rivers'', Fox's inaugural program and a weeknight show which aired opposite Johnny Carson's ''Tonight Show'' on NBC. The outgoing CBN ownership believed that the program did not fit its strict content guidelines. Fox instead contracted Boston radio station WMRE 1510 AM (now WWZN) to carry the audio portion of the ''Late Show'' until its purchase of WXNE was completed. Joan Rivers actually mentioned the ban of the show in Boston on her opening night (October 9, 1986). She poked fun at the fact by letting her WMRE radio listeners know a description of what she looked like, which was sort of exaggerated (she concluded her physical description by saying she had a Red Sox hat on, which she did not.
When the sale of Channel 25 to Fox was finalized on January 19, 1987, Fox changed the station's call letters to 'WFXT' and made a few on-air changes. Besides adding the ''Late Show'' to the schedule, the ''700 Club'' was demoted to a once-a-day airing and the daily broadcast of a Roman Catholic Mass was moved to an earlier timeslot. Fox programmed aggressively, purchasing popular off network sitcoms and syndicated fare. In April of 1987, the Sunday evening religious programming block was replaced with Fox programming.
In purchasing channel 25, Fox was granted a temporary waiver of a FCC rule prohibiting the common ownership of a television station and a newspaper in the same market. Fox's parent company, News Corporation, also published the ''Boston Herald''. In 1990, Fox placed WFXT in a trust company, and in 1991, sold the station outright to the Boston Celtics. The team would maintain the network relationship while making WFXT the basketball team's flagship. The Celtics, however, did not have the financial means to compete as a broadcaster. By 1992, WFXT was on many more cable systems in areas of New England where Fox programming was not available. Locally, however, the station was a distant third behind WSBK and WLVI. For a while under the Celtics' watch, WFXT was in danger of losing its Fox affiliation.
Heather Kahn anchoring the ''Fox 25 News at 10'' out of NECN in 1993.
However, one of the few productive moves (ratings-wise) WFXT made under the Celtics tenure was commissioning the young regional cable channel NECN to produce a 10:00 P.M. newscast for them which launched in early 1993. ''Fox 25 News at 10'' was a half-hour newscast initially anchored by NECN's Heather Kahn with Tim Kelley on weather. Kahn lasted a year and a half in this role before transferring to WCVB-TV where she became a well-known member of their ''NewsCenter 5'' team. NECN's Lila Orbach replaced Kahn on the WFXT newscast and went with the 10:00 P.M. news when it moved to WSBK in October of 1995 as it became ''UPN 38 Prime News''.
News Corporation sold the ''Boston Herald'' in 1994, opening the door for its Fox subsidiary to purchase WFXT for a second time in mid-1995. Although the network was pushing for more news-intensive formats for its stations, channel 25 moved slowly in building its own news department. After the station did not renew its contract with NECN, there were no newscasts on WFXT from 1995 to 1996 except for national Fox News updates aired during the day. During this time, WFXT was the second-to-last Fox owned-and-operated station left without any local news as well as the last such station running a morning kids block. The station did not produce its own primetime 10 PM newscast until September of 1996. From that point, the station established its news operation ever so gradually. WFXT was the television flagship of the Boston Red Sox for the baseball team's 2000, 2001, and 2002 seasons. In 2002, WFXT actually carried more Red Sox games than NESN, the team-owned regional sports network. Also that season, WFXT briefly experimented with a 4:30 PM newscast with Jodi Applegate. By the fall of 2002, this became a half-hour 5:00 P.M. newscast. In 2003, the station added a morning newscast and the 5:00 P.M. news was expanded to an hour.
Today, channel 25 runs about 30 hours a week of local news along with first-run syndicated talk, reality, and court shows. The station also airs some off-network sitcoms. WFXT's 10:00 P.M. news is currently the #1 rated "late newscast" in Boston. WFXT is the only Boston television station that has never changed its network affiliation, having always been a Fox affiliate since the network's inception.
The station launched a new website based on Fox Television Stations's internet division's new ''My Fox'' interface as of May 23, 2006. It became standard on all Fox owned-and-operated station websites in the next few months. However, the new site did not become WFXT's official website until July 12, 2006. WFXT began using new music and graphics and the new "Fox 25" logo designed after Fox News in all newscasts on September 3, 2006.
At one point, the station was "tentatively planning" to air News Corporation-owned and Fox sister network MyNetworkTV from 1:00 to 3:00 P.M. on the weekdays if the new network could not find an affiliate in the Boston market. On July 21, 2006, Derry, New Hampshire-based WZMY-TV was announced as Boston's affiliate of MyNetworkTV, which began operations on September 5, 2006. Although MyNetworkTV does not air on WFXT, the station has promoted programming for the network during its newscasts. Cast members from MyNetworkTV's programs have been interviewed by WFXT-TV's anchors. Viewers are then encouraged to tune in to WZMY to see the primetime programs.
Newscasts
In addition to its main studios, WFXT operates a bureau on Beacon Hill near the state house in Downtown Boston. The bureau serves as an interview location for Massachusetts law makers as well as a main location for weekday morning commentator Doug "V.B." Goudie. WFXT currently airs three newscasts during the week, one on Saturdays, and two on Sundays. The weekday morning newscast premiered on September 22, 2003 as a three-hour long newscast. As of 2006, it is now four hours long. The station operates a helicopter called ''Sky Fox.''
WFXT is one of seven Fox O&Os with a 5PM newscast, but no 6PM newscast (along with WTTG in Washington, D.C., WHBQ in Memphis, KSTU in Salt Lake City, KTBC in Austin, WTXF in Philadelphia and WOFL in Orlando).
July 10, 2007 was the last day that former weeknight co-anchor David Wade was seen on WFXT. He left amidst rumors that he is replacing Scott Wahle on WBZ-TV. His wife , weekend anchor / weekday reporter Bianca de la Garza is expected to also leave the station. [1] Rumors are now circulating that the two will be new anchors on WBZ.
News Team
Mark Ockerbloom and Maria Stephanos anchor weeknights and Sunday evenings.
Chief Meteorologist Kevin Lemanowicz.
'Anchors'
★ Gene Lavanchy - weekday mornings
★ Kim Carrigan - weekday mornings
★ Anqunette Jamison - weekday morning headline reader
★ Doug "V.B." Goudie - weekday morning commentator
★ Mark Ockerbloom - weeknights and Sunday evenings
★ Maria Stephanos - weeknights and Sunday evenings
★ Frank Mallicoat - Saturday evenings and Sunday Mornings (also reporter)
'Meteorologists'
★ Kevin Lemanowicz - Chief seen weeknights and Sunday evenings
★ Cindy Fitzgibbon - weekday mornings
★ A.J. Burnett - Saturdays (also fill in)
★ Mark Dixon - fill in (based at WFSB in Hartford)
'Sports'
★ Butch Stearns - Director seen daily
★ Ryan Asselta - sports reporter (also fill in sports anchor)
'Reporters'
★ Joe Battenfeld - Political Editor
★ Mike Beaudet - investigative reporter
★ Doug Luzader - FOX Television Stations Washington DC Correspondent
★ Bob Ward - also fill in anchor and host of "New England's Unsolved" segment
★ Shirley Chan - also fill in anchor
★ Doug Meehan - weekday morning traffic reporter
★ Keba Arnold
★ Alison Bologna
★ Ted Daniel
★ John Monahan
★ Martin Morenz
★ Debbi Rodman
★ Sharman Sacchetti
★ Margie O'Brien
Administration
★ Gregg Kelley - Vice President / General Manager
★ Lisa Hall - Vice Presedent / News Director
★ Paul McGonagle - Assistant News Director
★ Tom Luft - Managing Editor
★ Jack Auresto - Planning Editor
★ Linda DiStefano - Director of Human Resources
★ Steve Harrington - Vice President of Engineering
★ Chris Tzianabos - General Sales Manager
★ Mike Troiano - Local Sales Manager
★ Keith MacPherson - Local Sales Manager
★ Robb Willinger - National Sales Manager
★ Taylor Kimbrell - Web Sales Manager
★ Kezia Lamoreaux - General Sales Assistant
★ Noelle Barbosa - National Sales Assistant
★ Debby Pellerin - Traffic Director
★ Tricia Maloney - Director of Research and Programming
'Account Executives'
★ Carrie Benabou
★ David Kipp
★ Joe Whalen
★ Marcy Poole
★ Gary Gibson
Trivia
WFXT's newscasts and reports were commonly seen in a fictional sense on David E. Kelley's Boston-set shows ''Ally McBeal'', ''Boston Public'', and ''The Practice'' which were both produced by Fox's syndicated division Twentieth Television. This was despite ''The Practice'' airing on ABC.
WFXT is the news station featured in the 2006 film ''Deck the Halls'' which was distributed by News Corporation subsidiary 20th Century-Fox.
References
★ WFXT-TV (3-27-2005). ''The Boston TV Dial''.
External links
★ Station Website
★ Fox Website
★
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