WGN Morning News
Encyclopedia
The WGN Morning News is a popular morning television
news program airing on CW affiliate and national cable
superstation
WGN-TV
in Chicago, Illinois. The newscast airs Monday through Friday mornings from 4:00-9 a.m. Central Time
.
Formatted as a newscast with a somewhat less serious tone than WGN-TV's other local news programming and known for its fun and rambunctious attitude, the anchors and reporters are often silly and funny on-air pulling on-air pranks and practical jokes.
The newscast debuted on September 6, 1994 as an hour-long newscast from 7-8 a.m.; in the following years, the morning newscast gradually expanded in length: first to two hours (remaining with its initial start time) in January 1996, and then added an additional hour at 6 a.m. eight months later in August 1996. In January 2001, the newscast expanded to 3½ hours, adding a half-hour at 5:30 a.m. and in January 2004, expanded to four hours starting at 5 a.m. On August 16, 2010, WGN-TV added an additional half-hour to the newscast, which expanded to 4:30-9 a.m.; WGN-TV is the third Chicago station to begin its morning newscast at 4:30 a.m., along with NBC
-owned WMAQ-TV
(which debuted in its current form in 2009), and ABC
-owned WLS-TV
(which debuted a newscast in that timeslot two weeks earlier).
rules (the weekend morning editions of the newscast, as well as the 11 a.m.-noon hour of the midday newscast and the weeknight 5 p.m. newscast, also do not air on the superstation feed, though for unknown reasons); although the newscast did air nationally on September 12, 2001 as part of special coverage of the September 11th terror attacks on New York City
and Washington, D.C.
All of WGN's news programming, including the SyndEx-restricted segments, is streamed over the station's website and through WGN's smartphone
applications.
Breakfast television
Breakfast television or morning show , is a type of infotainment television program, broadcast live in the morning...
news program airing on CW affiliate and national cable
Cable television in the United States
Cable television in the United States is a common form of television delivery, generally by subscription. Cable television first became available in the United States in 1948, with subscription services in 1949. Data by SNL Kagan shows that as of 2006 about 58.4% of all American homes subscribe to...
superstation
Superstation
Superstation in United States television can have several meanings. In its most precise meaning, a superstation is defined by the Federal Communications Commission as "A television broadcast station, other than a network station, licensed by the FCC that is secondarily transmitted by a satellite...
WGN-TV
WGN-TV
WGN-TV, virtual channel 9 , is the CW-affiliated television station in Chicago, Illinois built, signed on, and owned by the Tribune Company. WGN-TV's studios and offices are located at 2501 W...
in Chicago, Illinois. The newscast airs Monday through Friday mornings from 4:00-9 a.m. Central Time
Central Time zone
In North America, the Central Time Zone refers to national time zones which observe standard time by subtracting six hours from UTC , and daylight saving, or summer time by subtracting five hours...
.
Formatted as a newscast with a somewhat less serious tone than WGN-TV's other local news programming and known for its fun and rambunctious attitude, the anchors and reporters are often silly and funny on-air pulling on-air pranks and practical jokes.
The newscast debuted on September 6, 1994 as an hour-long newscast from 7-8 a.m.; in the following years, the morning newscast gradually expanded in length: first to two hours (remaining with its initial start time) in January 1996, and then added an additional hour at 6 a.m. eight months later in August 1996. In January 2001, the newscast expanded to 3½ hours, adding a half-hour at 5:30 a.m. and in January 2004, expanded to four hours starting at 5 a.m. On August 16, 2010, WGN-TV added an additional half-hour to the newscast, which expanded to 4:30-9 a.m.; WGN-TV is the third Chicago station to begin its morning newscast at 4:30 a.m., along with 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...
-owned WMAQ-TV
WMAQ-TV
WMAQ-TV, channel 5, is an owned-and-operated television station of the NBC Television Network, located in Chicago, Illinois. WMAQ-TV's main studios and offices are located within the NBC Tower in the Streeterville neighborhood, with an auxiliary street-level studio on the Magnificent Mile at 401...
(which debuted in its current form in 2009), and ABC
American Broadcasting Company
The American Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network. Created in 1943 from the former NBC Blue radio network, ABC is owned by The Walt Disney Company and is part of Disney-ABC Television Group. Its first broadcast on television was in 1948...
-owned WLS-TV
WLS-TV
WLS-TV, virtual channel 7, is an owned-and-operated television station of the Walt Disney Company-owned American Broadcasting Company, located in Chicago, Illinois, USA. The station operates their full power digital operations on UHF channel 44, with their digital fill-in translator on VHF channel...
(which debuted a newscast in that timeslot two weeks earlier).
National carriage
The newscast does not currently air on WGN-TV's national superstation feed WGN America and has not aired on the national feed regularly since 1996, reportedly because certain segments of the newscast were not allowed to air outside of Chicago due to SyndExSyndication exclusivity
Syndication exclusivity is a federal law in the United States designed to protect a local television station's rights to syndicated television programs by granting exclusive rights to the station for that program in the local market, usually defined by a station's Nielsen DMA...
rules (the weekend morning editions of the newscast, as well as the 11 a.m.-noon hour of the midday newscast and the weeknight 5 p.m. newscast, also do not air on the superstation feed, though for unknown reasons); although the newscast did air nationally on September 12, 2001 as part of special coverage of the September 11th terror attacks on New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
and Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....
All of WGN's news programming, including the SyndEx-restricted segments, is streamed over the station's website and through WGN's smartphone
Smartphone
A smartphone is a high-end mobile phone built on a mobile computing platform, with more advanced computing ability and connectivity than a contemporary feature phone. The first smartphones were devices that mainly combined the functions of a personal digital assistant and a mobile phone or camera...
applications.
Current on-air staff
- Larry Potash – 5:30-9 a.m. anchor
- Robin Baumgarten – 5:30-9 a.m. anchor
- Erin McElroy (Mendez) – 4-5:30 a.m. anchor and 5-9 a.m. traffic reporter
- Frank Holland - 4-5:30 a.m. anchor; also reporter
- Paul Konrad – weather anchor
- Pat Tomasulo – sports anchor
- Dean RichardsDean Richards (reporter)Dean Richards is a Chicago film critic and entertainment reporter for WGN-TV and a longtime radio host for WGN in Chicago.- Early life and education :...
– entertainment reporter - Ana Belaval – "Around Town" feature reporter
- Kurt Knutsson – "Cyber Guy" technology reporter; based out of sister station KTLAKTLAKTLA, virtual channel 5, is a television station in Los Angeles, California, USA. Owned by the Tribune Company, KTLA is an affiliate of the CW Television Network. KTLA's studios are on Sunset Boulevard in Hollywood, and its transmitter is located atop Mount Wilson...
in Los AngelesLos ÁngelesLos Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
Former on-air staff
- Mike BarzMike BarzMike Barz is an American broadcaster and weekday morning news anchor at WAWS-TV and WTEV-TV in Jacksonville, Florida. He was a morning news anchor at WFLD-TV, the Fox affiliate in Chicago, Illinois from 2007-2009....
– sports anchor - Randy SalernoRandy SalernoRandall Salerno was an American news anchor for CBS news in Chicago at WBBM-TV. Salerno had previously worked at WGN-TV.-Biography:...
– reporter/substitute anchor (deceased) - Roseanne TellezRoseanne TellezRoseanne Tellez is an American television reporter and anchor who has been working since 1988. Since December 2004, she has been the morning and midday anchor for WBBM-TV, the CBS affiliate in Chicago, Illinois...
– anchor - Valerie Warner - traffic reporter
- Bill WeirBill WeirWilliam Francis Weir is an American television journalist and co-anchor of Nightline on ABC. Before Nightline, he was a co-host of the weekend edition of Good Morning America from 2004 to 2010.-Career:...
– sports anchor
See also
- KTLA Morning News - a morning news and entertainment program on sister station KTLAKTLAKTLA, virtual channel 5, is a television station in Los Angeles, California, USA. Owned by the Tribune Company, KTLA is an affiliate of the CW Television Network. KTLA's studios are on Sunset Boulevard in Hollywood, and its transmitter is located atop Mount Wilson...
in Los AngelesLos ÁngelesLos Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
.