KGAN
Encyclopedia
KGAN is the CBS
-affiliated television station
for Eastern Iowa
licensed to Cedar Rapids
. It broadcasts a high definition
digital signal on UHF channel 51 (or virtual channel
channel 2.1 via PSIP) from a transmitter in Rowley
near the junction of Buchanan
, Benton
and Linn
Counties. The station can also be seen on Mediacom
channel 2 and in high definition on digital channel 802. Owned by the Sinclair Broadcast Group
, KGAN operates Fox affiliate KFXA
that is owned by Second Generation of Iowa, Ltd. The two outlets share studios at Broadcast Park on Old Marion Road Northeast (along IA 100) in Cedar Rapids. Syndicated
programming on KGAN includes Entertainment Tonight
, Judge Judy
, The Dr. Oz Show
and Anderson
among others.
as Eastern Iowa's first television station. It aired an analog signal on VHF channel 2 and used WMT-TV as its call sign. General Manager
William B. Quarton made some remarks which were then followed by Game 1 of the 1953 World Series
between the New York Yankees
and Brooklyn Dodgers. The station was primarily a CBS
affiliate but also carried DuMont
programs in a secondary nature. With the November 29, 1953 launch of NBC
outlet KWWL-TV in Waterloo
, DuMont began to be shared between that station and WMT. This station was authorized to transmit at 100,000 watt
s and became the very first to transmit at full-power.
It was licensed to serve the Cedar Rapids, Waterlo and Dubuque
areas making it the first station to be given split-market
status by the Federal Communications Commission
(FCC). Initially, the station was owned by a group consisting of American
Broadcasting Stations, Quarton and several others. WMT television was sister to WMT-AM
600 which had been broadcasting in the area since 1922. The call sign stood for the now-defunct Waterloo Morning Tribune which owned WMT radio from 1928 until 1934.
WMT-AM-TV were based at what came to be known as Broadcast Park. When the facility was first built, the surrounding area was still mainly rural. A 702 foot (214 m) high broadcast tower was built to transmit the signal. This served as the primary tower for the next four years. In 1956, a taller tower in Rowley was built to transmit the signal but a storm
on December 10 blew the tower down. This was soon rebuilt and remains in service today. In 1968, WMT-AM-FM
-TV were sold to the Morton family of Louisville, Kentucky
. The family's holdings eventually became known as Orion Broadcasting. The television station added the -TV suffix to its call letters on October 24, 1979.
All three of the WMT stations would remain under Orion's ownership until 1981 when the company merged with Cosmos Broadcasting, a subsidiary of insurance and broadcasting conglomerate Liberty Corporation. However, the two companies owned more television stations than the FCC allowed at the time. As a condition of the sale, Cosmos had to sell WMT-TV and found a buyer in Guy Gannett Publishing of Portland, Maine
. On October 29, 1981, the station changed its callsign to KGAN-TV (the "-TV" suffix would later be dropped on Semptember 13, 1984). KGAN, along with most of Guy Gannett's broadcasting holdings, was purchased by the Sinclair Broadcast Group in 1999.
Later that same year, Sinclair announced the sale of KGAN and the Springfield
/Champaign, Illinois
duo of WICS
and semi-satellite
WICD to Sunrise Television. The FCC, however, did not allow the Sunrise purchase due to the company's ownership structure. A large block of Sunrise stock was owned by the investment firm Hicks, Muse, Tate & Furst which was also majority stockholder of the LIN TV Corporation (then owner of WAND
in Decatur, Illinois
a WICS/WICD competitor). The FCC ruled that HMTF held enough stock in Sunrise that an acquisition of WICS/WICD would have resulted in a duopoly
between two of the four highest-rated stations in the Central Illinois
market which is forbidden under current FCC duopoly rules. WICS and WICD simulcast much of the same programming and the two outlet's ratings
are combined by Nielsen Media Research
and considered to be a single station for counting purposes. Since KGAN was part of the package deal and would not have been sold to Sunrise without WICS/WICD, the sale fell through and Sinclair retained ownership of all three stations.
On January 5, 2007, KGAN was pulled from Mediacom systems as part of an ongoing retransmission dispute between Mediacom and Sinclair. The move threatened to leave many Eastern Iowa cable viewers without coverage of Super Bowl XLI
until the two sides reached an agreement on February 2 that restored KGAN to Mediacom systems. The retransmission agreement expired at the end of 2009 and again Eastern Iowa viewers risked losing CBS' coverage of Super Bowl XLIV
. After a short-term extension to January 8, 2010, Mediacom and Sinclair reached a one year retransmission agreement on January 7 that ran through the end of the year.
In early-2008, Sinclair announced its intent to purchase of KFXA from Second Generation of Iowa. Normally, the FCC's duopoly rules forbid common ownership of two of the four largest stations in a single media market. Sinclair, which had already acquired the non-license assets of KFXA, is expected to seek a "failing station" waiver from the FCC to acquire the license. During late-Summer 2008, KGAN filed a lawsuit against the city of Cedar Rapids
for failing to give the station full access to e-mail messages related to the Iowa Flood of 2008
. The lawsuit has yet to be decided. On February 17, 2009, its digital signal remained on UHF channel 51 when the analog to digital conversion was completed. It has frequently pre-empted shows from CBS including CBS Kids
in favor of movies, sports, and paid programs
. Today, the station pre-empts programming from the network in favor of special paid programs such as Billy Graham
.
Although they'd been airing network programming in HD for years prior, on October 19th, 2011, KGAN updated their local master control system to an HD-capable system. This allowed them to air syndicated programming and local advertising in the HD format. As a part of this transition, they moved from 1080i output (which their network programming originates in) to 720p, to keep with the rest of the Sinclair Broadcast Group family's HD formatting.
of that year. It would began airing a midday show weekdays at noon in late-1956. Early on, the station's weather department was highly revered by Eastern Iowans for many decades under the direction of Conrad Johnson in the 1960s and 1970s. Shortly after his retirement, longtime meteorologist Dave Towne continued that tradition for another decade. Dave was joined briefly by Andre Bernier who was the weekday morning and noon meteorologist in 1981.
Andre left KGAN in March 1982 when he became part of the launch team for The Weather Channel. In 1984, Dave Towne brought Doppler
weather radar
to the station and it became the first in the area to utilize the system's images for weathercasts and severe weather
coverage. He took a sabbatical from television to pursue other interests and returned briefly to KGAN on weekends but has since retired from Cedar Rapids television altogether. Tim Heller was another popular weather anchor in the early-1990s who grew up not too far away from Cedar Rapids but left for sunnier weather and a larger market in Texas
. While the station's local radar is still erect, it no longer pulls data from the device.
The station's news department has won two George Foster Peabody
awards. The first Peabody Award
was in 1956 for its role in developing The Secret of Flight television programs. These shows, focusing on aeronautical education, were made possible with the assistance of Doctor Alexander Lippisch
who was the Director of the Collins Aeronautical Research Laboratory
. In 1994, KGAN won another Peabody award for the work investigative reporter
Sandy Riesgraf performed in helping to expose a sewer solvent scandal. Compared with the market's other news departments operated by KWWL and KCRG, KGAN traditionally focuses on the greater Cedar Rapids area. Dubuque has coverage provided though bureaus operated by KWWL and KCRG but ultimately the former captures a majority of the local news demographic in that area.
It is unknown exactly when KFXA's separate news department in Cedar Rapids was shut down with that outlet's consolidation with KGAN. On March 4, 2001, KGAN began producing a nightly prime time newscast on sister station and fellow Fox affiliate KDSM-TV
in Des Moines
. Known as Fox 17 News at 9, this half-hour show originated live from KGAN's studios and featured its own on-air personnel. There was regional news coverage and statewide weather forecasts provided since there were no locally-based personnel in Des Moines. In 2002 for the convenience of Eastern Iowa viewers, the thirty minute program was added to KFXA through a simulcast and renamed Fox News at 9. For the most part, the broadcast's format remained the same although Eastern Iowa reports from KGAN reporters were added.
On September 2, 2008, NBC
affiliate WHO-DT (owned by Local TV
) in Des Moines entered into a news share agreement with KDSM. As a result, the big three outlet
began producing a Central Iowa-focused prime time newscast on that station from WHO's studios. Today, KGAN contunues to produce an hour-long prime time newscast at 9 seen every night on KFXA. The station did not participate in the wider implementation of Sinclair's now-defunct, controversial News Central
format for its newscasts but did air "The Point" (a one-minute conservative political commentary
) that was also controversial and a requirement of all Sinclair-owned stations with local news until the series was discontinued in December 2006.
In Fall 2005 despite having no weekday morning show of its own, KGAN began producing Good Day Iowa on KFXA. This was seen for two hours from 7 until 9 and competed against national morning shows on Eastern Iowa's big three affiliates. Due to inconsistent viewership and low ratings, the newscast was canceled in July 2007. Due in part to the Iowa flood of 2008 that was still ongoing at the time, KGAN finally debuted a weekday morning newscast of its own called CBS 2 This Morning. To make room for this new program, it moved The Early Show
to the 7-9 a.m. time slot. On that same day, the station also added a newscast weeknights at 5 before the CBS Evening News
.
On September 19th, 2011, KGAN brought back a weekday morning show to KFXA, adding the Fox News at Seven AM which is seen for an hour until 8.
Weather forecasts from this station can also heard on KCRR
-FM 97.7, KKHQ-FM
92.3, KOEL-FM
98.5 and KCJJ
-AM 1630.
CBS 2 First Warning Weather Team
Sports
Reporters
CBS
CBS Broadcasting Inc. is a major US commercial broadcasting television network, which started as a radio network. The name is derived from the initials of the network's former name, Columbia Broadcasting System. The network is sometimes referred to as the "Eye Network" in reference to the shape of...
-affiliated television station
Television station
A television station is a business, organisation or other such as an amateur television operator that transmits content over terrestrial television. A television transmission can be by analog television signals or, more recently, by digital television. Broadcast television systems standards are...
for Eastern Iowa
Iowa
Iowa is a state located in the Midwestern United States, an area often referred to as the "American Heartland". It derives its name from the Ioway people, one of the many American Indian tribes that occupied the state at the time of European exploration. Iowa was a part of the French colony of New...
licensed to Cedar Rapids
Cedar Rapids, Iowa
Cedar Rapids is the second largest city in Iowa and is the county seat of Linn County. The city lies on both banks of the Cedar River, north of Iowa City and east of Des Moines, the state's capital and largest city...
. It broadcasts a high definition
High-definition television
High-definition television is video that has resolution substantially higher than that of traditional television systems . HDTV has one or two million pixels per frame, roughly five times that of SD...
digital signal on UHF channel 51 (or virtual channel
Virtual channel
In telecommunications, a logical channel number , also known as virtual channel, is a channel designation which differs from that of the actual radio channel on which the signal travels....
channel 2.1 via PSIP) from a transmitter in Rowley
Rowley, Iowa
Rowley is a city in Buchanan County, Iowa, United States. The population was 290 at the 2000 census.-Geography:Rowley is located at .According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of , all of it land....
near the junction of Buchanan
Buchanan County, Iowa
-2010 census:The 2010 census recorded a population of 20,958 in the county, with a population density of . There were 8,968 housing units, of which 8,161 were occupied.-2000 census:...
, Benton
Benton County, Iowa
-2010 census:The 2010 census recorded a population of 26,076 in the county, with a population density of . There were 11,095 housing units, of which 10,302 were occupied.-2000 census:...
and Linn
Linn County, Iowa
-2010 census:The 2010 census recorded a population of 211,226 in the county, with a population density of . There were 92,251 housing units, of which 86,134 were occupied.-2000 census:...
Counties. The station can also be seen on Mediacom
Mediacom
Mediacom is a cable television and communications provider in the United States. Founded in July 1995, it serves primarily smaller markets in the Midwest and Southern United States. Formerly a publicly traded firm, it went private in a $600.0 million transaction in March 2011 and is, as of 2011,...
channel 2 and in high definition on digital channel 802. Owned by the Sinclair Broadcast Group
Sinclair Broadcast Group
The Sinclair Broadcast Group is an American telecommunications company that operates the largest number of local television stations in the United States. Headquartered in Hunt Valley, Maryland, it owns a total of 57 stations across the country in 35 primarily small and medium markets, many of...
, KGAN operates Fox affiliate KFXA
KFXA
KFXA is the Fox-affiliated television station for Eastern Iowa licensed to Cedar Rapids. It broadcasts a high definition digital signal on UHF channel 27 from a transmitter in Van Horne. The station can also be seen on Mediacom channel 6 and in high definition on digital channel 828...
that is owned by Second Generation of Iowa, Ltd. The two outlets share studios at Broadcast Park on Old Marion Road Northeast (along IA 100) in Cedar Rapids. Syndicated
Television syndication
In broadcasting, syndication is the sale of the right to broadcast radio shows and television shows by multiple radio stations and television stations, without going through a broadcast network, though the process of syndication may conjure up structures like those of a network itself, by its very...
programming on KGAN includes Entertainment Tonight
Entertainment Tonight
Entertainment Tonight is a daily tabloid television entertainment television news show that is syndicated by CBS Television Distribution throughout the United States, Canada and in many countries around the world. Linda Bell Blue is currently the program's executive producer...
, Judge Judy
Judge Judy
Judge Judy is an American court show featuring former family court judge Judith Sheindlin arbitrating over small claims cases in small claims court...
, The Dr. Oz Show
The Dr. Oz Show
The Dr. Oz Show is an American syndicated television talk show, hosted by Dr. Mehmet Oz, a cardiothoracic surgeon and teaching professor at Columbia University who became famous for his appearances on The Oprah Winfrey Show from 2004 until 2009....
and Anderson
Anderson (TV series)
Anderson is an American first-run syndicated talk show that is hosted by CNN anchorman Anderson Cooper, who also serves as co-producer in his first foray into daytime talk television. The show debuted on September 12, 2011, and is distributed by Warner Bros...
among others.
Digital programming
On KGAN-DT2 and Mediacom digital channel 102 is TheCoolTVTheCoolTV
THECOOLTV is a United States over-the-air digital subchannel launched in March 2009. The network's current program schedule consists of an all-music video lineup that can be customized to meet an affiliate's preference, along with the three hours per week of E/I programming as required by the...
| Channels (virtual/physical) | Name | Video | Aspect Aspect ratio The aspect ratio of a shape is the ratio of its longer dimension to its shorter dimension. It may be applied to two characteristic dimensions of a three-dimensional shape, such as the ratio of the longest and shortest axis, or for symmetrical objects that are described by just two measurements,... |
Programming |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2.1/51.1 | KGAN-HD | 720p 720p 720p is the shorthand name for 1280x720, a category of High-definition television video modes having a resolution of 1080 or 720p and a progressive scan... |
16:9 16:9 16:9 is an aspect ratio with a width of 16 units and height of 9. Since 2009, it has become the most common aspect ratio for sold televisions and computer monitors and is also the international standard format of HDTV, Full HD, non-HD digital television and analog widescreen television ... |
main KGAN programming/CBS (HD) |
| 2.2/51.2 | KGAN-DT2 | 480i 480i 480i is the shorthand name for a video mode, namely the US NTSC television system or digital television systems with the same characteristics. The i, which is sometimes uppercase, stands for interlaced, the 480 for a vertical frame resolution of 480 lines containing picture information; while NTSC... |
4:3 | TheCoolTV (SD) |
History
The station signed-on September 30, 19531953 in television
The year 1953 in television involved some significant events.Below is a list of television-related events in 1953.-Events:*January 19 – 68% of all US television sets were tuned in to I Love Lucy to watch Lucy give birth to little Ricky....
as Eastern Iowa's first television station. It aired an analog signal on VHF channel 2 and used WMT-TV as its call sign. General Manager
General manager
General manager is a descriptive term for certain executives in a business operation. It is also a formal title held by some business executives, most commonly in the hospitality industry.-Generic usage:...
William B. Quarton made some remarks which were then followed by Game 1 of the 1953 World Series
1953 World Series
The 1953 World Series matched the four-time defending champion New York Yankees against the Brooklyn Dodgers in a rematch of the 1952 Series. The Yankees won in six games for their fifth straight title—a mark which has not been equalled—and their sixteenth overall...
between the New York Yankees
New York Yankees
The New York Yankees are a professional baseball team based in the The Bronx, New York. They compete in Major League Baseball in the American League's East Division...
and Brooklyn Dodgers. The station was primarily a CBS
CBS
CBS Broadcasting Inc. is a major US commercial broadcasting television network, which started as a radio network. The name is derived from the initials of the network's former name, Columbia Broadcasting System. The network is sometimes referred to as the "Eye Network" in reference to the shape of...
affiliate but also carried DuMont
DuMont Television Network
The DuMont Television Network, also known as the DuMont Network, DuMont, Du Mont, or Dumont was one of the world's pioneer commercial television networks, rivalling NBC for the distinction of being first overall. It began operation in the United States in 1946. It was owned by DuMont...
programs in a secondary nature. With the November 29, 1953 launch of NBC
NBC
The National Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network and former radio network headquartered in the GE Building in New York City's Rockefeller Center with additional major offices near Los Angeles and in Chicago...
outlet KWWL-TV in Waterloo
Waterloo, Iowa
Waterloo is a city in and the county seat of Black Hawk County, Iowa, United States. As of the 2010 United States Census the population decreased by 0.5% to 68,406. Waterloo is part of the Waterloo – Cedar Falls Metropolitan Statistical Area, and is the more populous of the two...
, DuMont began to be shared between that station and WMT. This station was authorized to transmit at 100,000 watt
Watt
The watt is a derived unit of power in the International System of Units , named after the Scottish engineer James Watt . The unit, defined as one joule per second, measures the rate of energy conversion.-Definition:...
s and became the very first to transmit at full-power.
It was licensed to serve the Cedar Rapids, Waterlo and Dubuque
Dubuque, Iowa
Dubuque is a city in and the county seat of Dubuque County, Iowa, United States, located along the Mississippi River. In 2010 its population was 57,637, making it the ninth-largest city in the state and the county's population was 93,653....
areas making it the first station to be given split-market
Media market
A media market, broadcast market, media region, designated market area , Television Market Area , or simply market is a region where the population can receive the same television and radio station offerings, and may also include other types of media including newspapers and Internet content...
status by the Federal Communications Commission
Federal Communications Commission
The Federal Communications Commission is an independent agency of the United States government, created, Congressional statute , and with the majority of its commissioners appointed by the current President. The FCC works towards six goals in the areas of broadband, competition, the spectrum, the...
(FCC). Initially, the station was owned by a group consisting of American
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
Broadcasting Stations, Quarton and several others. WMT television was sister to WMT-AM
WMT (AM)
WMT is a news/talk radio station broadcasting in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, in the United States. It is owned by Clear Channel Communications. The station's signal reaches most of Iowa and portions of neighboring states during daylight hours. -History:...
600 which had been broadcasting in the area since 1922. The call sign stood for the now-defunct Waterloo Morning Tribune which owned WMT radio from 1928 until 1934.
WMT-AM-TV were based at what came to be known as Broadcast Park. When the facility was first built, the surrounding area was still mainly rural. A 702 foot (214 m) high broadcast tower was built to transmit the signal. This served as the primary tower for the next four years. In 1956, a taller tower in Rowley was built to transmit the signal but a storm
Storm
A storm is any disturbed state of an astronomical body's atmosphere, especially affecting its surface, and strongly implying severe weather...
on December 10 blew the tower down. This was soon rebuilt and remains in service today. In 1968, WMT-AM-FM
WMT-FM
WMT-FM is a 100,000 watt radio station in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. It is a Hot Adult Contemporary music formatted station owned by Clear Channel Communications...
-TV were sold to the Morton family of Louisville, Kentucky
Louisville, Kentucky
Louisville is the largest city in the U.S. state of Kentucky, and the county seat of Jefferson County. Since 2003, the city's borders have been coterminous with those of the county because of a city-county merger. The city's population at the 2010 census was 741,096...
. The family's holdings eventually became known as Orion Broadcasting. The television station added the -TV suffix to its call letters on October 24, 1979.
All three of the WMT stations would remain under Orion's ownership until 1981 when the company merged with Cosmos Broadcasting, a subsidiary of insurance and broadcasting conglomerate Liberty Corporation. However, the two companies owned more television stations than the FCC allowed at the time. As a condition of the sale, Cosmos had to sell WMT-TV and found a buyer in Guy Gannett Publishing of Portland, Maine
Portland, Maine
Portland is the largest city in Maine and is the county seat of Cumberland County. The 2010 city population was 66,194, growing 3 percent since the census of 2000...
. On October 29, 1981, the station changed its callsign to KGAN-TV (the "-TV" suffix would later be dropped on Semptember 13, 1984). KGAN, along with most of Guy Gannett's broadcasting holdings, was purchased by the Sinclair Broadcast Group in 1999.
Later that same year, Sinclair announced the sale of KGAN and the Springfield
Springfield, Illinois
Springfield is the third and current capital of the US state of Illinois and the county seat of Sangamon County with a population of 117,400 , making it the sixth most populated city in the state and the second most populated Illinois city outside of the Chicago Metropolitan Area...
/Champaign, Illinois
Champaign, Illinois
Champaign is a city in Champaign County, Illinois, in the United States. The city is located south of Chicago, west of Indianapolis, Indiana, and 178 miles northeast of St. Louis, Missouri. Though surrounded by farm communities, Champaign is notable for sharing the campus of the University of...
duo of WICS
WICS
WICS is the ABC-affiliated television station for Springfield and Decatur, Illinois. It broadcasts a high definition digital signal on UHF channel 42 from a transmitter south of Dawson and I-72/US 36. The station can also be seen on Comcast channel 2 and Suddenlink channel 10...
and semi-satellite
Broadcast relay station
A broadcast relay station, relay transmitter, broadcast translator , rebroadcaster , or repeater is a broadcast transmitter which relays, repeats, or reflects the signal of another radio station or television station, usually to an area not covered by the signal of the originating station...
WICD to Sunrise Television. The FCC, however, did not allow the Sunrise purchase due to the company's ownership structure. A large block of Sunrise stock was owned by the investment firm Hicks, Muse, Tate & Furst which was also majority stockholder of the LIN TV Corporation (then owner of WAND
WAND
WAND, virtual channel 17, is an NBC-affiliated television station serving the Decatur–Springfield–Champaign area. It is owned by Block Communications...
in Decatur, Illinois
Decatur, Illinois
Decatur is the largest city and the county seat of Macon County in the U.S. state of Illinois. The city, sometimes called "the Soybean Capital of the World", was founded in 1823 and is located along the Sangamon River and Lake Decatur in Central Illinois. In 2000 the city population was 81,500,...
a WICS/WICD competitor). The FCC ruled that HMTF held enough stock in Sunrise that an acquisition of WICS/WICD would have resulted in a duopoly
Duopoly (broadcasting)
In United States broadcast television and radio, duopoly is a term used to describe a single company which owns two or more stations in the same city or community....
between two of the four highest-rated stations in the Central Illinois
Central Illinois
Central Illinois is a region of the U.S. state of Illinois that consists of the entire central section of the state, divided in thirds from north to south. It is an area of mostly flat prairie. The western section was originally part of the Military Tract of 1812 and forms the distinctive western...
market which is forbidden under current FCC duopoly rules. WICS and WICD simulcast much of the same programming and the two outlet's ratings
Nielsen Ratings
Nielsen ratings are the audience measurement systems developed by Nielsen Media Research, in an effort to determine the audience size and composition of television programming in the United States...
are combined by Nielsen Media Research
Nielsen Media Research
Nielsen Media Research is an American firm that measures media audiences, including television, radio, theatre films and newspapers...
and considered to be a single station for counting purposes. Since KGAN was part of the package deal and would not have been sold to Sunrise without WICS/WICD, the sale fell through and Sinclair retained ownership of all three stations.
On January 5, 2007, KGAN was pulled from Mediacom systems as part of an ongoing retransmission dispute between Mediacom and Sinclair. The move threatened to leave many Eastern Iowa cable viewers without coverage of Super Bowl XLI
Super Bowl XLI
Super Bowl XLI was an American football game that featured the American Football Conference champion Indianapolis Colts and the National Football Conference champion Chicago Bears to decide the National Football League champion for the 2006 season...
until the two sides reached an agreement on February 2 that restored KGAN to Mediacom systems. The retransmission agreement expired at the end of 2009 and again Eastern Iowa viewers risked losing CBS' coverage of Super Bowl XLIV
Super Bowl XLIV
Super Bowl XLIV was an American football game between the American Football Conference champion Indianapolis Colts and the National Football Conference champion New Orleans Saints to decide the National Football League champion for the 2009 season. The Saints defeated the Colts by a score of...
. After a short-term extension to January 8, 2010, Mediacom and Sinclair reached a one year retransmission agreement on January 7 that ran through the end of the year.
In early-2008, Sinclair announced its intent to purchase of KFXA from Second Generation of Iowa. Normally, the FCC's duopoly rules forbid common ownership of two of the four largest stations in a single media market. Sinclair, which had already acquired the non-license assets of KFXA, is expected to seek a "failing station" waiver from the FCC to acquire the license. During late-Summer 2008, KGAN filed a lawsuit against the city of Cedar Rapids
Veterans Memorial Building (Cedar Rapids, Iowa)
The Veteran’s Memorial Building is located on May’s Island in the middle of the Cedar River in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, United States. It, along with the Linn County Courthouse, is a contributing property to the May's Island Historic District that was listed on the National Register of Historic Places...
for failing to give the station full access to e-mail messages related to the Iowa Flood of 2008
Iowa flood of 2008
The Iowa flood of 2008 was a hydrological event involving most of the rivers in eastern Iowa beginning around June 8, 2008 and ending about July 1. Flooding continued on the Upper Mississippi River in the southeastern portion of the state for several more days...
. The lawsuit has yet to be decided. On February 17, 2009, its digital signal remained on UHF channel 51 when the analog to digital conversion was completed. It has frequently pre-empted shows from CBS including CBS Kids
CBS Kids
CBS Kidshow was a Saturday morning children's programming block on CBS. In 2000, CBS Kidshow was replaced by Nick Jr...
in favor of movies, sports, and paid programs
Infomercial
Infomercials are direct response television commercials which generally include a phone number or website. There are long-form infomercials, which are typically between 15 and 30 minutes in length, and short-form infomercials, which are typically 30 seconds to 120 seconds in length. Infomercials...
. Today, the station pre-empts programming from the network in favor of special paid programs such as Billy Graham
Billy Graham
William Franklin "Billy" Graham, Jr. is an American evangelical Christian evangelist. As of April 25, 2010, when he met with Barack Obama, Graham has spent personal time with twelve United States Presidents dating back to Harry S. Truman, and is number seven on Gallup's list of admired people for...
.
Although they'd been airing network programming in HD for years prior, on October 19th, 2011, KGAN updated their local master control system to an HD-capable system. This allowed them to air syndicated programming and local advertising in the HD format. As a part of this transition, they moved from 1080i output (which their network programming originates in) to 720p, to keep with the rest of the Sinclair Broadcast Group family's HD formatting.
News operation
The station established a local news department in early-1954 and immediately launched a weeknight newscast at 6. A local broadcast seen weeknights at 10 was added to the schedule in the FallAutumn
Autumn is one of the four temperate seasons. Autumn marks the transition from summer into winter usually in September or March when the arrival of night becomes noticeably earlier....
of that year. It would began airing a midday show weekdays at noon in late-1956. Early on, the station's weather department was highly revered by Eastern Iowans for many decades under the direction of Conrad Johnson in the 1960s and 1970s. Shortly after his retirement, longtime meteorologist Dave Towne continued that tradition for another decade. Dave was joined briefly by Andre Bernier who was the weekday morning and noon meteorologist in 1981.
Andre left KGAN in March 1982 when he became part of the launch team for The Weather Channel. In 1984, Dave Towne brought Doppler
Pulse-doppler radar
Pulse-Doppler is a 4D radar system capable of detecting both target 3D location as well as measuring radial velocity . It uses the Doppler effect to avoid overloading computers and operators as well as to reduce power consumption...
weather radar
Weather radar
Weather radar, also called weather surveillance radar and Doppler weather radar, is a type of radar used to locate precipitation, calculate its motion, estimate its type . Modern weather radars are mostly pulse-Doppler radars, capable of detecting the motion of rain droplets in addition to the...
to the station and it became the first in the area to utilize the system's images for weathercasts and severe weather
Severe weather
Severe weather phenomena are weather conditions that are hazardous to human life and property.- Examples Include :Severe weather can occur under a variety of situations, but three characteristics are generally needed: a temperature or moisture boundary, moisture, and , instability in the...
coverage. He took a sabbatical from television to pursue other interests and returned briefly to KGAN on weekends but has since retired from Cedar Rapids television altogether. Tim Heller was another popular weather anchor in the early-1990s who grew up not too far away from Cedar Rapids but left for sunnier weather and a larger market in Texas
Texas
Texas is the second largest U.S. state by both area and population, and the largest state by area in the contiguous United States.The name, based on the Caddo word "Tejas" meaning "friends" or "allies", was applied by the Spanish to the Caddo themselves and to the region of their settlement in...
. While the station's local radar is still erect, it no longer pulls data from the device.
The station's news department has won two George Foster Peabody
George Foster Peabody
George Foster Peabody was a banker and philanthropist.-Early life:...
awards. The first Peabody Award
Peabody Award
The George Foster Peabody Awards recognize distinguished and meritorious public service by radio and television stations, networks, producing organizations and individuals. In 1939, the National Association of Broadcasters formed a committee to recognize outstanding achievement in radio broadcasting...
was in 1956 for its role in developing The Secret of Flight television programs. These shows, focusing on aeronautical education, were made possible with the assistance of Doctor Alexander Lippisch
Alexander Lippisch
Alexander Martin Lippisch was a German pioneer of aerodynamics. He made important contributions to the understanding of flying wings, delta wings and the ground effect. His most famous design is the Messerschmitt Me 163 rocket-powered interceptor.Lippisch was born in Munich, Kingdom of Bavaria...
who was the Director of the Collins Aeronautical Research Laboratory
Rockwell Collins
Rockwell Collins, Inc. is a large United States-based international company headquartered in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, primarily providing aviation and information technology systems and services to governmental agencies and aircraft manufacturers.- History :...
. In 1994, KGAN won another Peabody award for the work investigative reporter
Investigative journalism
Investigative journalism is a form of journalism in which reporters deeply investigate a single topic of interest, often involving crime, political corruption, or corporate wrongdoing. An investigative journalist may spend months or years researching and preparing a report. Investigative journalism...
Sandy Riesgraf performed in helping to expose a sewer solvent scandal. Compared with the market's other news departments operated by KWWL and KCRG, KGAN traditionally focuses on the greater Cedar Rapids area. Dubuque has coverage provided though bureaus operated by KWWL and KCRG but ultimately the former captures a majority of the local news demographic in that area.
It is unknown exactly when KFXA's separate news department in Cedar Rapids was shut down with that outlet's consolidation with KGAN. On March 4, 2001, KGAN began producing a nightly prime time newscast on sister station and fellow Fox affiliate KDSM-TV
KDSM-TV
KDSM-TV is the Fox-affiliated television station for Central Iowa licensed to Des Moines. It broadcasts a high definition digital signal on UHF channel 16 from a transmitter in Alleman. The station can also be seen on Mediacom channel 6 and in high definition on digital channel 817. Owned by the...
in Des Moines
Des Moines, Iowa
Des Moines is the capital and the most populous city in the US state of Iowa. It is also the county seat of Polk County. A small portion of the city extends into Warren County. It was incorporated on September 22, 1851, as Fort Des Moines which was shortened to "Des Moines" in 1857...
. Known as Fox 17 News at 9, this half-hour show originated live from KGAN's studios and featured its own on-air personnel. There was regional news coverage and statewide weather forecasts provided since there were no locally-based personnel in Des Moines. In 2002 for the convenience of Eastern Iowa viewers, the thirty minute program was added to KFXA through a simulcast and renamed Fox News at 9. For the most part, the broadcast's format remained the same although Eastern Iowa reports from KGAN reporters were added.
On September 2, 2008, NBC
NBC
The National Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network and former radio network headquartered in the GE Building in New York City's Rockefeller Center with additional major offices near Los Angeles and in Chicago...
affiliate WHO-DT (owned by Local TV
Local TV
Local TV LLC is a limited liability corporation, owned by Oak Hill Capital Partners , which operates 18 local network-affiliated television stations in the United States.-History:...
) in Des Moines entered into a news share agreement with KDSM. As a result, the big three outlet
Big Three Television Networks
The Big Three Television Networks are the three traditional commercial broadcast television networks in the United States: ABC, CBS and NBC...
began producing a Central Iowa-focused prime time newscast on that station from WHO's studios. Today, KGAN contunues to produce an hour-long prime time newscast at 9 seen every night on KFXA. The station did not participate in the wider implementation of Sinclair's now-defunct, controversial News Central
News Central
News Central was a primetime newscast on Sinclair television stations in the United States, mixing locally produced news with nationally produced news and an opinion segment from Sinclair's Hunt Valley, Maryland studios...
format for its newscasts but did air "The Point" (a one-minute conservative political commentary
Political criticism
Political criticism is criticism that is specific of or relevant to politics, including policies, politicians, political parties, and types of government.-Controversy:...
) that was also controversial and a requirement of all Sinclair-owned stations with local news until the series was discontinued in December 2006.
In Fall 2005 despite having no weekday morning show of its own, KGAN began producing Good Day Iowa on KFXA. This was seen for two hours from 7 until 9 and competed against national morning shows on Eastern Iowa's big three affiliates. Due to inconsistent viewership and low ratings, the newscast was canceled in July 2007. Due in part to the Iowa flood of 2008 that was still ongoing at the time, KGAN finally debuted a weekday morning newscast of its own called CBS 2 This Morning. To make room for this new program, it moved The Early Show
The Early Show
The Early Show is an American television morning news talk show broadcast by CBS from New York City. The program airs live from 7 to 9 a.m. Eastern Time Monday through Friday; most affiliates in the Central, Mountain, and Pacific time zones air the show on tape-delay from 7 to 9 a.m. local time. ...
to the 7-9 a.m. time slot. On that same day, the station also added a newscast weeknights at 5 before the CBS Evening News
CBS Evening News
CBS Evening News is the flagship nightly television news program of the American television network CBS. The network has broadcast this program since 1948, and has used the CBS Evening News title since 1963....
.
On September 19th, 2011, KGAN brought back a weekday morning show to KFXA, adding the Fox News at Seven AM which is seen for an hour until 8.
Weather forecasts from this station can also heard on KCRR
KCRR
KCRR is a radio station serving Waterloo, Cedar Falls, and surrounding cities with a classic rock format. This station broadcasts on FM frequency 97.7 MHz and is under ownership of Cumulus Media. Cory Ford is program director for KCRR and Elwin "Jim" Huffman serves as morning news host...
-FM 97.7, KKHQ-FM
KKHQ-FM
KKHQ-FM is a radio station serving Waterloo, Cedar Falls, and the surrounding area known as the Cedar Valley with a Top 40 format. This station broadcasts on FM frequency 92.3 MHz and is under ownership of Cumulus Media...
92.3, KOEL-FM
KOEL-FM
KOEL-FM is a radio station serving Waterloo, Cedar Falls, and surrounding cities with a modern country format. This station broadcasts on FM frequency 98.5 MHz and is under ownership of Cumulus Media. KOEL used to be broadcast on the FM frequency of 92.3 while 98.5 was then known as KKCV "The Hog"...
98.5 and KCJJ
KCJJ
KCJJ is a radio station licensed to serve Iowa City, Iowa, USA. The station is owned by Steve Bridges' River City Radio. The station was assigned the KCJJ call sign by the Federal Communications Commission in 1982.-Programming:...
-AM 1630.
Newscast titles
- Bob Bruner and the News (1954-1958)
- Report To Iowa (1958-1965)
- WMT News (1965-1976)
- WMT 2 Newswatch (1976-1981)
- Action NewsAction NewsAction News is a local television newscast format in the United States. It was conceived in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, at WFIL-TV by then-news director Mel Kampmann in 1970 as a response to the "Eyewitness News" format used on rival station KYW-TV...
(1981-1986) - Channel 2 News (1986-1996)
- KGAN NewsChannel 2 (1996-2001)
- KGAN News (2001-2004)
- CBS 2 News (2004-present)
Station slogans
- "Hello, Iowa" (1983-1987, used with Frank GariFrank GariFrank Gari is a popular singer and songwriter from the late 1950s and early 1960s. His best known songs as a performer are "Utopia" , "Lullaby of Love" and "Princess" , all of which hit the U.S. Top 40 in 1961. He co-wrote with Roger McGuinn the song Beach Ball for Bobby Darin...
's "Hello News") - "We Know What Matters" (1987-1993)
- "NewsChannel 2, KGAN Says Hello" (1993-1996, used with Frank Gari's "Hello News")
- "Your News Station for Eastern Iowa" (1996-2004)
- "Eastern Iowa's News Source" (2004-2008, unofficial)
- "Built For Breaking News" (2008-2010)
- "Covering the Corridor" (2011-present)
News team
Anchors- Tim Seymour - weekday mornings and morning Executive Producer
- Kelly O'Connell - weekday mornings and noon
- Tiffany O'Donnell - weeknights
- Jack Miller - weeknights
- Sadie Hughes - weekends
- Gabe Erickson - weekends
CBS 2 First Warning Weather Team
- Mace Michaels (AMSAmerican Meteorological SocietyThe American Meteorological Society promotes the development and dissemination of information and education on the atmospheric and related oceanic and hydrologic sciences and the advancement of their professional applications. Founded in 1919, the American Meteorological Society has a membership...
Seal of Approval) - Chief Meteorologist / weeknights - Justin Roberts - weekday mornings and noon
- Gabe Erickson - weekends/fill-in
Sports
- Jared Aarons - DirectorSports DirectorA sports director is an individual at a television or radio station who is in charge of the sports department. In local news, the sports director is typically the station's primary sportscaster, and often anchors the primetime newscasts on weekdays. They are in charge of sports programming and...
- Heather Gilchrist - weekends and sports reporter
- Mitch Fick - sports reporter
Reporters
- Brian Scott - multimedia journalist
- Kelsey Minor
- Alice Barr
- Kim Wynne