WKBN-TV

'WKBN' Channel 27 is the CBS affiliate in Youngstown, Ohio.
Channel 27's headquarters are located in Boardman Township. WKBN also owns and operates WYFX-LP Channel 62, the local Fox affiliate. WKBN-TV's transmitter is located in Youngstown.
On November 15, 2006, Piedmont Television announced the sale of WKBN-TV and WYFX to New Vision Television, based in Atlanta. [1] The sale closed in early March 2007.
On April 19, 2006, WKBN-TV began airing its digital signal on UHF channel 41. The WKBN digital broadcast features CBS programming in high definition when available, and also carries a standard definition simulcast of sister station WYFX.

Contents

Timeline

News

Tom Holden (1938–2005)

WKBN Radio

Trivia

References

External links

Timeline

★ January 6, 1953 [2]: station signs on, airs programming from, CBS, ABC, and DuMont

★ 1956: DuMont signs off the air, leaving WKBN with CBS and ABC

★ 1957: WKST-TV in New Castle, Pennsylvania (now WYTV in Youngstown) signs on as an ABC affiliate, leaving WKBN as a sole CBS affiliate

★ 1997: Family owners, the Williamsons, sell the station to Gocom. Gocom later becomes Piedmont Television.

★ November 15, 2006: Piedmont announces sale of station to New Vision Television.

News

WKBN has 5 daily newscasts from Monday to Friday:

★ 'First News This Morning' (5:00–7:00 a.m.) A morning news show, featuring local news and weather, as well as traffic updates and stories from around the world. It is anchored by Amber Nicotra, with weather from Rich Morgan, and live reports from Niki Weirich. First News This Morning is re-played on WKBN's sister station, WYFX, from 7–9:00 a.m..

★ 'First News At Noon' (12:00–12:30 p.m.) A mid-day news report, showing updates of local and national news. It also features Mr. Food, a nationally syndicated chef, who shows viewers a recipe. This newscast was until recently anchored by Jim Cvetkovic, and is usually now anchored by Amber Nicotra since Cvetkovic's departure, with Rich Morgan on weather reports.

★ 'First News At Five' (5:00–5:30 p.m.) The five o'clock edition of First News features local news throughout the day, as well as previews of stories they will report on at the next newscast. In addition, studio guests will appear frequently. It is anchored by Whitney Ward, with weather by Don Guthrie, as well as a replay of the Mr. Food segment from the noon news.

★ 'First News At Six' (6:00–6:30 p.m.) The six o'clock news reports on the biggest stories of the day in the Youngstown area, as well as coverage of weather, sports, and community happenings. The news is anchored by Dave Sess and Whitney Ward, with weather by Don Guthrie, sports by Ryan Allison, and "neighborhood news." Also on the show frequently is Joe Bell, First News's investigative reporter.

★ 'First News At Eleven' (11:00–11:35 p.m.) A final recap of the day's news and sports highlights, hosted by Dave Sess, Whitney Ward, Don Guthrie, and Ryan Allison.
On the weekends, First News airs at 6 p.m. and 11 p.m.. This newscast is anchored by Christin Severence, who is also a field reporter. The weekend news also features Paul Wetzl on weather, and Chad Krispinsky at the sports desk. In addition to newscasts, there is also a talk show on Sunday mornings, hosted by long time reporter Ode Aduma, who interviews various people from the area.
Ratings-wise, the channel is normally a competitive no. 2 with locally-owned rival WFMJ, frequently taking the no. 1 spot.

Tom Holden (1938–2005)

For more than 30 years, Tom Holden was the face of Youngstown television news. Holden joined the WKBN-TV news team in march of 1972 as a reporter and sportscaster. He was made anchor of the evening newscast in 1974, a position he would hold until shortly before his death.
Known as "Hootie" to his friends, Holden was born in Youngstown in 1938. He graduated from Woodrow Wilson High School in Youngstown and received a bachelor of science in journalism from Kent State University.
Co-Anchor Gina Marinelli once said "We estimate Tom anchored more than 15,000 newscasts, raising an entire generation of Valley news watchers on his no-nonsense brand of journalism."^[1]
Holden stepped down from his late news anchor duties on April 15, 2005. Suffering from emphysema, Tom Holden died on June 11, 2005.

WKBN Radio

WKBN (AM) also broadcasts in the Youngstown Area. WKBN-TV was originally owned by this radio station, along with WKBN-FM. However, the television station is now independent from either radio station.
Today, though, WKBN-TV retains a news and weather sharing partnership with Clear Channel Communications, which owns WKBN radio.

Trivia

★ WKBN-TV came under fire in 2004 after Catherine Bosley resigned after she appeared stripping and dancing nude onstage at a wet t-shirt contest in an Internet circulated video.

★ Former WKBN-TV news anchor Robb Schmidt now works at Youngstown State as the assistant athletic director. Robb also is the play-by-play announcer for YSU Basketball.

References

1. http://www.empyraweb.com/bjpreview/archives/20050613HoldenDies.asp

External links

★ History from WKBN-TV Website

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