WKRC-TV
Encyclopedia
WKRC-TV is the CBS
-affiliated television station
for the Tri-State area of Southern Ohio
, Northern
Kentucky
, and Southeastern Indiana
that is licensed to Cincinnati
. It broadcasts a high definition
digital signal on VHF channel 12 from a transmitter at its studios on Highland Avenue in the Mount Auburn section of the city. Owned by Newport Television
, syndicated
programming on the station includes: Entertainment Tonight
and Inside Edition
.
The station's digital signal is multiplexed:>
Virtual
channel
Video
Format
Name
Programming
12.1
1080i
16:9
WKRC-DT
Main WKRC programming / CBS (HD)
12.2
480i
16:9
CinCW
The CW Cincinnati
WKRC operates the area's CW affiliate on a second digital subchannel. Known on-air as The CW Cincinnati
, this can also be seen in Ohio on Time Warner
channel 20 with high definition on digital
channel 913, in Kentucky on Insight
channel 25, in Indiana on Comcast
digital channel 253, and part of DirecTV
's local package on channel 25. Syndicated programming on WKRC-DT2 includes: Two and a Half Men
, Tyler Perry's House of Payne
, and The Dr. Oz Show
.
With WCPO-TV's channel change to a UHF frequency, which occurred on December 8, 2010, WKRC is the only television station in the Cincinnati area that's operating on the VHF dial.
announced that they would end broadcasting and merge. The new combined network would be called The CW. The letters would represent the first initial of its corporate parents, CBS (the parent company of UPN) and the Warner Bros.
unit of Time Warner
. WKRC picked up affiliation with the new network on a new second digital subchannel resulting in UPN affiliate WBQC-CA
going independent
. Meanwhile, WB affiliate WSTR-TV
joined the other new network, News Corporation
-owned MyNetworkTV
which launched on September 5.
Cincinnati cable viewers feared that WKRC-DT2
would face the same problems as WBQC. For years, Time Warner Cable
had refused to carry that station full-time eventually airing its prime time programming on a low-profile channel. However, Time Warner Cable was a division of Time Warner at the time (who would be half-owner of The CW) so it was in the company's best interest to air WKRC-DT2 over its systems. By late in the day on September 17, Time Warner Cable agreed to carry the new station only hours before the network's launch on September 18. The new station launched on Time Warner channel 2 in prime time only to start out with and 24/7 on digital cable
channel 913 before earning a full-time broadcast basic berth on channel 20 as of October 18 displacing WBQC and a commercial access channel. The station also debuted on Insight Communications
and DirecTV
under WBQC's former channel slots.
As a result, the channel can be viewed by 66% of the local population due to carriage by Time Warner Cable in Ohio
, Insight in Northern Kentucky
, and DirecTV
. The subchannel originally broke from the network's usual station branding and called itself "The CinCW", a portmanteau with "Cincy". It currently airs the entire CW schedule in-pattern while outside of network hours airs classic sitcoms, dramas, films, and second runs of WKRC's syndicated programming along with regional wrestling
programming on Saturday afternoons and evenings. Repeats of WKRC's local DIY show Homeworx can also be seen.
and FM 101.9, now WKRQ
). In 1958, the Tafts sold the Times-Star to Scripps-Howard
, owner of the The Cincinnati Post
and rival WCPO-AM
-FM-TV
. The Tafts' broadcasting interests were then reorganized as Taft Broadcasting
, with WKRC-AM-FM-TV as the flagship stations. Originally broadcasting on VHF channel 11, it moved to channel 12 on October 12, 1952.
Originally, WKRC-TV was a CBS affiliate, owing to its radio sister's long affiliation with CBS Radio
; in fact, WKRC-AM had been one of CBS Radio's original 16 affiliates. However, it switched affiliations with WCPO-TV in 1961 and became an ABC
affiliate. This came after that network's founder Leonard Goldenson
persuaded Taft's president, a longtime friend, to switch several of the company's stations to ABC. During the late 1950s, the station was also briefly affiliated with the NTA Film Network
. WKRC's nickname in the 1960s was "Tall 12", a reference to the station's transmitter tower which was the tallest in Cincinnati at the time. Like WCPO-TV, channel 12 used a distinctive jingle ID at the top of the hour in the 1960s. The upbeat, orchestrated "Channel 12" jingle was followed by children's show host Glenn Ryle announcing: "This is WKRC-TV Cincinnati". In 1975, it began airing movies on late night Saturdays in a program called The Past Prime Playhouse. Hosted live by local personality Bob Shreve
, the show would air until 1988.
Over the years, as an ABC affiliate, WKRC-TV preempted moderate amounts of weekday programming and the Sunday morning cartoon reruns from ABC. When ABC offered late night programming from 11:30 pm to about 2:00 am, WKRC, like many other affiliates chose not to air it. It did air Nightline
once that began in 1979. Occasionally, WKRC preempted a lower rated prime time program or movie from ABC to air either a stronger movie or a locally based special. Most programs not shown on WKRC were widely preempted by many affiliates. Also, most every show not shown on WKRC-TV was aired on the ABC station in nearby Dayton
, WKEF
until 1980 and WDTN
after 1980. WKEF provided grade B coverage to most of the market, while WDTN provided city-grade coverage to nearly the entire market. Locally, WKRC aired news, talk shows, movies, and a few off network sitcoms at some points. Beginning in 1992, WKRC-TV ran only 3 hours of the ABC Saturday morning cartoons in favor of a local Saturday morning newscast.
In 1987, Taft was dissolved in a hostile takeover of its board and all of its stations (except WSYX-TV in Columbus, Ohio
and WGHP-TV in High Point, North Carolina
) were absorbed into Great American Broadcasting, which became Citicasters in 1993. WKRC was subsequently acquired by Jacor
in September 1996 after most of Citicasters' other television stations were sold to New World Communications
and Fox
. The Jacor deal reunited channel 12 with its AM sister, which had been bought by Jacor in 1993 during Great American Broadcasting's bankruptcy reorganization. Jacor merged with Clear Channel Communications
in 1998.
The station switched affiliations with WCPO on June 3, 1996 after WCPO's owner, Scripps, demanded that ABC switch its Cincinnati affiliation there as a condition of keeping ABC programming on its two biggest stations, WXYZ-TV
in Detroit and WEWS-TV
in Cleveland. ABC actually agreed to Scripps' demands in 1994, but WKRC's contract with ABC still had two years to go. As a CBS affiliate, WKRC-TV ran the entire schedule except for several hours of the CBS Saturday morning cartoon lineup which would soon be pulled back to only a few hours anyway. Once that was pulled back, WKRC-TV was then running the entire CBS schedule with an occasional exception. Although owned by Clear Channel at the time, the station changed its branding to "Local 12" in 2003. This was inspired by the "Local Mandate", a station standardization branding adopted by Post-Newsweek for its own television stations. There are at least six other known non Post-Newsweek stations to have used the "Local" branding. KFMB-TV
in San Diego, California
used "Local 8" from 2001 to 2005). KPSP in Palm Springs, California
, KOIN
in Portland, Oregon
, and WPSD-TV
in Paducah, Kentucky
have used "KPSP Local 2", "KOIN Local 6" and "WPSD Local 6" respectively, since 2008. WPMI in Mobile, Alabama
has recently re-branded as "Local 15" as of August 2009 while KDBC
in El Paso, Texas
rebraded their newscasts as "Local 4 News" the following year.
In 2006, Clear Channel ranked WKRC as the top CBS affiliate in the United States
. On November 16 of that year, Clear Channel announced that it would sell its entire television division, including WKRC, after being bought by private equity firms. On April 20, 2007, the company entered into an agreement to sell its entire television station group to Providence Equity Partners
. Providence Equity teamed up with Sandy DiPasquale
to form a new holding company, Newport Television, for the station group. Concurrently, Clear Channel applied to place WKRC and several other stations to the Aloha Station Trust just in case Newport Television failed to close on the group. However as a result of Newport Television closing on the purchase of WKRC and the other stations on March 14, 2008, Aloha Station Trust and the would-be new owners of Clear Channel opted not to consummate on the acquisition of this station. As a result, Newport Television became WKRC's fourth owner in just over twenty years. As a result of the sale, the Citicasters name disappeared from WKRC's license, dissolving channel 12's last link to Taft Broadcasting; the Citicasters name is still alive as a holding company within the Clear Channel structure.
On June 18, 2008, the company announced that it was eliminating 7.5% of the jobs at its 56 stations. It attributed the firings to a weak economy. As a result, WKRC fired eighteen staff members. WKRC-TV ended programming on its analog signal, on VHF channel 12, on June 12, 2009, as part of the DTV transition in the United States
. The station then moved back to channel 12 for its post-transition operations.
, a moniker that WLWT-TV would reuse in 1998. Afterwords, the station was usually announced as 12 News. With the arrival of chief meteorologist Tim Hedrick in 1988, WKRC began using the top of the Chiquita
Center as its Weather Beacon
. In 1994, WKRC began displaying "Texta" (an on-screen banner
) consisting of the current story's headline for the duration of the station's newscasts. Later, most Cincinnati stations would add news ticker
s to their weekday morning shows. WKRC added its ticker below the texta headline. For a few years, the station aired its weekday Good Morning Cincinnati broadcast live from the ground floor of Fifth Third Bank
's headquarters in downtown with Fountain Square
as the backdrop. In 1996, WKRC began airing 12 News First at 4, a half-hour newscast on weekday afternoons.
From March 2004 to 2008, WKRC aired Nuestro Rincón, a twice-weekly Spanish-language
news program hosted by Sasha Rionda
.
On April 26, 2006, the station announced a news share agreement with WSTR to produce a nightly prime time show known as Local 12 News at 10 on My 64 which began airing on August 21. This resulted, once MyNetworkTV began, in a CBS affiliate's newscast being carried on a station affiliated with a Fox sister network. On January 7, 2008, WKRC began simulcasting Good Morning Cincinnati on WKRC-DT2. It had been aired on the main channel from 5 to 8 in the morning but the third hour was dropped when CBS reclaimed the 7 o'clock hour for The Early Show
. The network now requires all of its affiliates to air the show in its entirety after receiving a makeover hoping to better compete against its rivals, NBC
's Today and ABC's Good Morning America
. The 7-8 a.m. hour of Good Morning Cincinnati can now be only seen on WKRC-DT2. WKRC announced its intent to move the prime time newscast on WSTR to WKRC-DT2 in August 2008. On August 4, it began a brief simulcast of this program on WKRC-DT2 with it eventually being dropped from WSTR on August 22. The program then became known as CW News at 10.
Newport released a statement in October 2008 saying that WKRC would eventually begin broadcasting its newscasts in 1080i
high definition
. The company used the channel as a pilot station before investing in HD equipment for its other television stations. On October 30, it debuted a new set on its First at 4 broadcast in preparation for the HD debut. After nearly a year of delay, the station launched its high definition newscasts along with new logo and graphics on September 27, 2009 during its 11 o'clock show. It became the third in the Cincinnati area after WCPO and WXIX-TV
and the second in the Newport group after WOAI-TV
to make the upgrade. WKRC currently use JVC ProHD
250 Series cameras in its studios. The shows on The CW Cincinnati were included in the upgrade; however, it is seen in downscaled 4:3 on WKRC-DT2 (which serves as The CW Cincinnati's over-the-air signal).
For most of its history, WKRC has been a solid runner-up to WCPO in the local newscast ratings. However, in the past decade or so it has exchanged first and second place with WCPO. WKRC usually wins on weekday mornings and at 11 p.m. while WCPO leads in the 5 to 7 p.m. block. However since the May 2010 Nielsen ratings period, WKRC dominated its competition in all newscast time slots with WCPO slipping to second. The May 2011 sweeps period marked the one-year anniversary of WKRC's news dominance.
At one point all three of Cincinnati's "Big Three" network affiliates were locally-owned (and WCPO is now the only one of the three to remain under locally-based ownership). However, WLWT began falling behind in the ratings after it became the first of the three to be sold to outside interests.
WKRC's newscasts and reports can be seen on the Ohio News Network cable channel. During weather segments, it uses regional weather radar
data in a system called "Precision Doppler 12 Network".
Weather Authority
Sports team
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 the Tri-State area of Southern Ohio
Ohio
Ohio is a Midwestern state in the United States. The 34th largest state by area in the U.S.,it is the 7th‑most populous with over 11.5 million residents, containing several major American cities and seven metropolitan areas with populations of 500,000 or more.The state's capital is Columbus...
, Northern
Northern Kentucky
Northern Kentucky is the name often given to the northernmost counties in Kentucky...
Kentucky
Kentucky
The Commonwealth of Kentucky is a state located in the East Central United States of America. As classified by the United States Census Bureau, Kentucky is a Southern state, more specifically in the East South Central region. Kentucky is one of four U.S. states constituted as a commonwealth...
, and Southeastern Indiana
Indiana
Indiana is a US state, admitted to the United States as the 19th on December 11, 1816. It is located in the Midwestern United States and Great Lakes Region. With 6,483,802 residents, the state is ranked 15th in population and 16th in population density. Indiana is ranked 38th in land area and is...
that is licensed to Cincinnati
Cincinnati, Ohio
Cincinnati is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio. Cincinnati is the county seat of Hamilton County. Settled in 1788, the city is located to north of the Ohio River at the Ohio-Kentucky border, near Indiana. The population within city limits is 296,943 according to the 2010 census, making it Ohio's...
. 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 VHF channel 12 from a transmitter at its studios on Highland Avenue in the Mount Auburn section of the city. Owned by Newport Television
Newport Television
Newport Television, LLC is a television station holding company founded by Providence Equity Partners and Sandy DiPasquale in 2007 to acquire the television stations owned by Clear Channel Communications. In September 2007, Newport agreed to sell KFTY and KVOS-TV to LK Station Group LLC for $26.6...
, 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 the station 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...
and Inside Edition
Inside Edition
Inside Edition is a thirty-minute American television syndicated news program, first aired on CBS on October 9, 1988. It was originally similar to the programs Hard Copy and A Current Affair, but now more closely resembles a condensed version of breakfast television, exclusively with pre-recorded...
.
Digital programming
WKRC-DT broadcasts its digital signal on VHF digital channel 12.channel
1080i
1080i is the shorthand name for a high-definition television mode. The i means interlaced video; 1080i differs from 1080p, in which the p stands for progressive scan. The term 1080i assumes a widescreen aspect ratio of 16:9, implying a frame size of 1920×1080 pixels...
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 ...
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...
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 ...
WKRC operates the area's CW affiliate on a second digital subchannel. Known on-air as The CW Cincinnati
WKRC-DT2
WKRC-DT2 is the CW-affiliated television station for the Tri-State area of Southern Ohio, Northern Kentucky, and Southeastern Indiana. It is a second digital subchannel of CBS affiliate WKRC-TV that is owned by Newport Television. Over-the-air, the station broadcasts a digital signal on VHF channel...
, this can also be seen in Ohio on Time Warner
Time Warner Cable
Time Warner Cable is an American cable television company that operates in 28 states and has 31 operating divisions...
channel 20 with high definition on digital
Digital cable
Digital cable is a generic term for any type of cable television distribution using digital video compression or distribution. The technology was originally developed by Motorola.-Background:...
channel 913, in Kentucky on Insight
Insight Communications
Insight Communications is the 13th largest multiple system operator in the United States with approximately 692,000 customers in the three contiguous states of Kentucky, Indiana and Ohio...
channel 25, in Indiana on Comcast
Comcast
Comcast Corporation is the largest cable operator, home Internet service provider, and fourth largest home telephone service provider in the United States, providing cable television, broadband Internet, and telephone service to both residential and commercial customers in 39 states and the...
digital channel 253, and part of DirecTV
DirecTV
DirecTV is an American direct broadcast satellite service provider and broadcaster based in El Segundo, California. Its satellite service, launched on June 17, 1994, transmits digital satellite television and audio to households in the United States, Latin America, and the Anglophone Caribbean. ...
's local package on channel 25. Syndicated programming on WKRC-DT2 includes: Two and a Half Men
Two and a Half Men
Two and a Half Men is an American television sitcom that premiered on CBS on September 22, 2003. Starring Charlie Sheen, Jon Cryer, and Angus T. Jones, the show was originally about a hedonistic jingle writer, Charlie Harper; his uptight brother, Alan; and Alan's growing son, Jake...
, Tyler Perry's House of Payne
Tyler Perry's House of Payne
Tyler Perry's House of Payne is an American comedy-drama television series created and produced by playwright, director, and producer Tyler Perry. The show revolves around a multi-generational family living under one roof in Atlanta, Georgia led by patriarch Curtis Payne and his wife Ella...
, and 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....
.
With WCPO-TV's channel change to a UHF frequency, which occurred on December 8, 2010, WKRC is the only television station in the Cincinnati area that's operating on the VHF dial.
WKRC-DT2 "The CW Cincinnati"
On January 24, 2006, The WB and UPNUPN
United Paramount Network was a television network that was broadcast in over 200 markets in the United States from 1995 to 2006. UPN was originally owned by Viacom/Paramount and Chris-Craft Industries, the former of which, through the Paramount Television Group, produced most of the network's...
announced that they would end broadcasting and merge. The new combined network would be called The CW. The letters would represent the first initial of its corporate parents, CBS (the parent company of UPN) and the Warner Bros.
Warner Bros.
Warner Bros. Entertainment, Inc., also known as Warner Bros. Pictures or simply Warner Bros. , is an American producer of film and television entertainment.One of the major film studios, it is a subsidiary of Time Warner, with its headquarters in Burbank,...
unit of Time Warner
Time Warner
Time Warner is one of the world's largest media companies, headquartered in the Time Warner Center in New York City. Formerly two separate companies, Warner Communications, Inc...
. WKRC picked up affiliation with the new network on a new second digital subchannel resulting in UPN affiliate WBQC-CA
WBQC-CA
WBQC-LD is an independent television station in Cincinnati, Ohio, United States. WBQC's studios are located in a complex in the Roselawn neighborhood of Cincinnati, while the station broadcasts from WCPO's tower. According to its website, WBQC was the first television station to be fully automated...
going independent
Independent station
An independent station is in the category of television terminology used to describe a television station broadcasting in the United States or Canada that is not affiliated with any television network....
. Meanwhile, WB affiliate WSTR-TV
WSTR-TV
WSTR-TV is the MyNetworkTV-affiliated television station for the Tri-State area of Southwestern Ohio, Southeastern Indiana, and Northern Kentucky. Licensed to Cincinnati, the station broadcasts a high definition digital signal on UHF channel 33 from a transmitter in the College Hill section of the...
joined the other new network, News Corporation
News Corporation
News Corporation or News Corp. is an American multinational media conglomerate. It is the world's second-largest media conglomerate as of 2011 in terms of revenue, and the world's third largest in entertainment as of 2009, although the BBC remains the world's largest broadcaster...
-owned MyNetworkTV
MyNetworkTV
MyNetworkTV is a television broadcast syndication service in the United States, owned by the Fox Entertainment Group, a division of News Corporation...
which launched on September 5.
Cincinnati cable viewers feared that WKRC-DT2
WKRC-DT2
WKRC-DT2 is the CW-affiliated television station for the Tri-State area of Southern Ohio, Northern Kentucky, and Southeastern Indiana. It is a second digital subchannel of CBS affiliate WKRC-TV that is owned by Newport Television. Over-the-air, the station broadcasts a digital signal on VHF channel...
would face the same problems as WBQC. For years, Time Warner Cable
Time Warner Cable
Time Warner Cable is an American cable television company that operates in 28 states and has 31 operating divisions...
had refused to carry that station full-time eventually airing its prime time programming on a low-profile channel. However, Time Warner Cable was a division of Time Warner at the time (who would be half-owner of The CW) so it was in the company's best interest to air WKRC-DT2 over its systems. By late in the day on September 17, Time Warner Cable agreed to carry the new station only hours before the network's launch on September 18. The new station launched on Time Warner channel 2 in prime time only to start out with and 24/7 on digital cable
Digital cable
Digital cable is a generic term for any type of cable television distribution using digital video compression or distribution. The technology was originally developed by Motorola.-Background:...
channel 913 before earning a full-time broadcast basic berth on channel 20 as of October 18 displacing WBQC and a commercial access channel. The station also debuted on Insight Communications
Insight Communications
Insight Communications is the 13th largest multiple system operator in the United States with approximately 692,000 customers in the three contiguous states of Kentucky, Indiana and Ohio...
and DirecTV
DirecTV
DirecTV is an American direct broadcast satellite service provider and broadcaster based in El Segundo, California. Its satellite service, launched on June 17, 1994, transmits digital satellite television and audio to households in the United States, Latin America, and the Anglophone Caribbean. ...
under WBQC's former channel slots.
As a result, the channel can be viewed by 66% of the local population due to carriage by Time Warner Cable in Ohio
Ohio
Ohio is a Midwestern state in the United States. The 34th largest state by area in the U.S.,it is the 7th‑most populous with over 11.5 million residents, containing several major American cities and seven metropolitan areas with populations of 500,000 or more.The state's capital is Columbus...
, Insight in Northern Kentucky
Northern Kentucky
Northern Kentucky is the name often given to the northernmost counties in Kentucky...
, and DirecTV
DirecTV
DirecTV is an American direct broadcast satellite service provider and broadcaster based in El Segundo, California. Its satellite service, launched on June 17, 1994, transmits digital satellite television and audio to households in the United States, Latin America, and the Anglophone Caribbean. ...
. The subchannel originally broke from the network's usual station branding and called itself "The CinCW", a portmanteau with "Cincy". It currently airs the entire CW schedule in-pattern while outside of network hours airs classic sitcoms, dramas, films, and second runs of WKRC's syndicated programming along with regional wrestling
Professional wrestling
Professional wrestling is a mode of spectacle, combining athletics and theatrical performance.Roland Barthes, "The World of Wrestling", Mythologies, 1957 It takes the form of events, held by touring companies, which mimic a title match combat sport...
programming on Saturday afternoons and evenings. Repeats of WKRC's local DIY show Homeworx can also be seen.
History
The station signed on-air April 4, 1949 making it Cincinnati's second-oldest television station. The "KRC" of its call sign stood for its radio counterpart's original owner, Clarence Ogden of the Kodel Radio Company ("Ko" for Clarence and "dell" for Della his wife). It was owned by the Taft family, publishers of the Cincinnati Times-Star, along with WKRC radio (AM 550WKRC (AM)
WKRC is a radio station based in Cincinnati, Ohio that is owned by Clear Channel Communications and broadcasts at 550 kHz. Broadcasting under the branding of 55KRC, the station is a news/talk outlet featuring a local morning show and national hosts like Glenn Beck, Rush Limbaugh, Sean...
and FM 101.9, now WKRQ
WKRQ
WKRQ, known on-air as Q102, is a radio station located in the Cincinnati, Ohio area and broadcasts at 101.9 FM. Its transmitter is located in Cincinnati. It carries an adult top 40 format and is owned by Hubbard Broadcasting.-History:...
). In 1958, the Tafts sold the Times-Star to Scripps-Howard
E. W. Scripps Company
The E. W. Scripps Company is an American media conglomerate founded by Edward W. Scripps on November 2, 1878. The company is headquartered inside the Scripps Center in Cincinnati, Ohio. Its corporate motto is "Give light and the people will find their own way."On October 16, 2007, the company...
, owner of the The Cincinnati Post
The Cincinnati Post
The Cincinnati Post is a discontinued afternoon daily newspaper that was published in Cincinnati, Ohio. Distributed in Northern Kentucky as The Kentucky Post, it was owned by the E. W. Scripps Company. Since the 1980s, its editorial stance was usually conservative. The Post published its final...
and rival WCPO-AM
WDBZ
WDBZ is an Urban Talk and Urban Gospel hybrid formatted radio station serving Cincinnati, Ohio broadcasting on 1230 AM. WDBZ is branded as "Your Community & Inspiration Station." The station plays Gospel music except for weekdays between 10:00 am and 2:00 pm, during which time The Lincoln Ware...
-FM-TV
WCPO-TV
WCPO-TV, virtual channel 9 , is an ABC-affiliated television station in Cincinnati, Ohio. WCPO's studio is located in the Mount Adams neighborhood of Cincinnati, just outside of Eden Park. Its transmitter is located along Symmes Street, just south of East McMillan Street in Cincinnati.The station...
. The Tafts' broadcasting interests were then reorganized as Taft Broadcasting
Taft Broadcasting
The Taft Broadcasting Company, also known as Taft Television and Radio Company, Incorporated, was an American media conglomerate based in Cincinnati, Ohio....
, with WKRC-AM-FM-TV as the flagship stations. Originally broadcasting on VHF channel 11, it moved to channel 12 on October 12, 1952.
Originally, WKRC-TV was a CBS affiliate, owing to its radio sister's long affiliation with CBS Radio
CBS Radio
CBS Radio, Inc., formerly known as Infinity Broadcasting Corporation, is one of the largest owners and operators of radio stations in the United States, third behind main rival Clear Channel Communications and Cumulus Media. CBS Radio owns around 130 radio stations across the country...
; in fact, WKRC-AM had been one of CBS Radio's original 16 affiliates. However, it switched affiliations with WCPO-TV in 1961 and became an 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...
affiliate. This came after that network's founder Leonard Goldenson
Leonard Goldenson
Leonard H. Goldenson was President of the U.S. television and radio broadcaster ABC.-Early life and career:...
persuaded Taft's president, a longtime friend, to switch several of the company's stations to ABC. During the late 1950s, the station was also briefly affiliated with the NTA Film Network
NTA Film Network
The NTA Film Network was an early American television network founded by Ely Landau in 1956. The network was not a full-time television network like CBS, NBC, or ABC. Rather, it operated on a part-time basis, broadcasting films and several first-run television programs from major Hollywood studios...
. WKRC's nickname in the 1960s was "Tall 12", a reference to the station's transmitter tower which was the tallest in Cincinnati at the time. Like WCPO-TV, channel 12 used a distinctive jingle ID at the top of the hour in the 1960s. The upbeat, orchestrated "Channel 12" jingle was followed by children's show host Glenn Ryle announcing: "This is WKRC-TV Cincinnati". In 1975, it began airing movies on late night Saturdays in a program called The Past Prime Playhouse. Hosted live by local personality Bob Shreve
Bob Shreve
Bob Shreve was a first-generation television broadcasting personality based in Cincinnati, Ohio.-Biography:...
, the show would air until 1988.
Over the years, as an ABC affiliate, WKRC-TV preempted moderate amounts of weekday programming and the Sunday morning cartoon reruns from ABC. When ABC offered late night programming from 11:30 pm to about 2:00 am, WKRC, like many other affiliates chose not to air it. It did air Nightline
Nightline
Nightline, or ABC News Nightline is a late-night news program broadcast by ABC in the United States, and has a franchised formula to other networks and stations elsewhere in the world. It airs weeknights, usually for 31 minutes. Created by Roone Arledge, the program featured Ted Koppel as its main...
once that began in 1979. Occasionally, WKRC preempted a lower rated prime time program or movie from ABC to air either a stronger movie or a locally based special. Most programs not shown on WKRC were widely preempted by many affiliates. Also, most every show not shown on WKRC-TV was aired on the ABC station in nearby Dayton
Dayton, Ohio
Dayton is the 6th largest city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Montgomery County, the fifth most populous county in the state. The population was 141,527 at the 2010 census. The Dayton Metropolitan Statistical Area had a population of 841,502 in the 2010 census...
, WKEF
WKEF
WKEF, virtual channel 22, is the ABC-affiliated television station for the Miami Valley area of Ohio, which is licensed to Dayton. It broadcasts a high definition digital signal on UHF channel 51 from a transmitter at their Broadcast Plaza studios near the New Chicago section of the city...
until 1980 and WDTN
WDTN
WDTN, virtual channel 2, is the NBC-affiliated television station for Ohio's Miami Valley. Licensed to Dayton, it broadcasts a high definition digital signal on UHF channel 50 from a transmitter in the Frytown section of the city. The station can also be seen on Time Warner Cable channel 2 and in...
after 1980. WKEF provided grade B coverage to most of the market, while WDTN provided city-grade coverage to nearly the entire market. Locally, WKRC aired news, talk shows, movies, and a few off network sitcoms at some points. Beginning in 1992, WKRC-TV ran only 3 hours of the ABC Saturday morning cartoons in favor of a local Saturday morning newscast.
Columbus, Ohio
Columbus is the capital of and the largest city in the U.S. state of Ohio. The broader metropolitan area encompasses several counties and is the third largest in Ohio behind those of Cleveland and Cincinnati. Columbus is the third largest city in the American Midwest, and the fifteenth largest city...
and WGHP-TV in High Point, North Carolina
High Point, North Carolina
High Point is a city located in the Piedmont Triad region of North Carolina. As of 2010 the city had a total population of 104,371, according to the US Census Bureau. High Point is currently the eighth-largest municipality in North Carolina....
) were absorbed into Great American Broadcasting, which became Citicasters in 1993. WKRC was subsequently acquired by Jacor
Jacor
Jacor Communications was a media corporation which owned a large number of radio stations in the United States. Inside the radio industry, Jacor was seen as one of the most competitive broadcast companies in history. Jacor's re-image in 1996 created the slogan "The Noise You Can't Ignore".Jacor was...
in September 1996 after most of Citicasters' other television stations were sold to New World Communications
New World Communications
New World Pictures was an independent motion picture and television production company, and later television station owner in the United States from the late 1980s to the mid-1990s...
and Fox
Fox Television Stations Group
Fox Television Stations, Inc. is a group of television stations located within the United States which are owned-and-operated by the Fox Broadcasting Company, a subsidiary of the Fox Entertainment Group, part of News Corporation...
. The Jacor deal reunited channel 12 with its AM sister, which had been bought by Jacor in 1993 during Great American Broadcasting's bankruptcy reorganization. Jacor merged with Clear Channel Communications
Clear Channel Communications
Clear Channel Communications, Inc. is an American media conglomerate company headquartered in San Antonio, Texas. It was founded in 1972 by Lowry Mays and Red McCombs, and was taken private by Bain Capital LLC and Thomas H. Lee Partners LP in a leveraged buyout in 2008...
in 1998.
The station switched affiliations with WCPO on June 3, 1996 after WCPO's owner, Scripps, demanded that ABC switch its Cincinnati affiliation there as a condition of keeping ABC programming on its two biggest stations, WXYZ-TV
WXYZ-TV
WXYZ-TV, channel 7, is an ABC-affiliated television station in Detroit, Michigan, USA. WXYZ-TV is owned by the E.W. Scripps Company, and is the media company's largest-market TV station property...
in Detroit and WEWS-TV
WEWS-TV
WEWS-TV, virtual channel 5 , is a television station in Cleveland, Ohio. WEWS has been owned by the E. W. Scripps Company since its inception, and is an affiliate of the ABC television network...
in Cleveland. ABC actually agreed to Scripps' demands in 1994, but WKRC's contract with ABC still had two years to go. As a CBS affiliate, WKRC-TV ran the entire schedule except for several hours of the CBS Saturday morning cartoon lineup which would soon be pulled back to only a few hours anyway. Once that was pulled back, WKRC-TV was then running the entire CBS schedule with an occasional exception. Although owned by Clear Channel at the time, the station changed its branding to "Local 12" in 2003. This was inspired by the "Local Mandate", a station standardization branding adopted by Post-Newsweek for its own television stations. There are at least six other known non Post-Newsweek stations to have used the "Local" branding. KFMB-TV
KFMB-TV
KFMB-TV is the local CBS television affiliate in San Diego, California. Its studios are located on Engineer Road in the Kearny Mesa area of San Diego along with its sister radio stations, AM 760 and FM 100.7...
in San Diego, California
San Diego, California
San Diego is the eighth-largest city in the United States and second-largest city in California. The city is located on the coast of the Pacific Ocean in Southern California, immediately adjacent to the Mexican border. The birthplace of California, San Diego is known for its mild year-round...
used "Local 8" from 2001 to 2005). KPSP in Palm Springs, California
Palm Springs, California
Palm Springs is a desert city in Riverside County, California, within the Coachella Valley. It is located approximately 37 miles east of San Bernardino, 111 miles east of Los Angeles and 136 miles northeast of San Diego...
, KOIN
KOIN
KOIN is the CBS affiliate television station serving the Portland metropolitan area. Its transmitter is located in Portland, Oregon, United States; it broadcasts its digital signal on UHF channel 40...
in Portland, Oregon
Portland, Oregon
Portland is a city located in the Pacific Northwest, near the confluence of the Willamette and Columbia rivers in the U.S. state of Oregon. As of the 2010 Census, it had a population of 583,776, making it the 29th most populous city in the United States...
, and WPSD-TV
WPSD-TV
WPSD-TV is the NBC-affiliated television station for Western Kentucky's Jackson Purchase, Southern Illinois, and the Missouri Bootheel. Licensed to Paducah, Kentucky, the station broadcasts a high definition digital signal on UHF channel 32 from a transmitter in Monkeys Eyebrow, Kentucky...
in Paducah, Kentucky
Paducah, Kentucky
Paducah is the largest city in Kentucky's Jackson Purchase Region and the county seat of McCracken County, Kentucky, United States. It is located at the confluence of the Tennessee River and the Ohio River, halfway between the metropolitan areas of St. Louis, Missouri, to the west and Nashville,...
have used "KPSP Local 2", "KOIN Local 6" and "WPSD Local 6" respectively, since 2008. WPMI in Mobile, Alabama
Mobile, Alabama
Mobile is the third most populous city in the Southern US state of Alabama and is the county seat of Mobile County. It is located on the Mobile River and the central Gulf Coast of the United States. The population within the city limits was 195,111 during the 2010 census. It is the largest...
has recently re-branded as "Local 15" as of August 2009 while KDBC
KDBC-TV
KDBC-TV is the CBS affiliate in El Paso, Texas. The station is owned by the Titan TV Broadcast Group. It broadcasts its digital signal on UHF channel 18. Its new digital subchannel carries My Network TV...
in El Paso, Texas
El Paso, Texas
El Paso, is a city in and the county seat of El Paso County, Texas, United States, and lies in far West Texas. In the 2010 census, the city had a population of 649,121. It is the sixth largest city in Texas and the 19th largest city in the United States...
rebraded their newscasts as "Local 4 News" the following year.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. On November 16 of that year, Clear Channel announced that it would sell its entire television division, including WKRC, after being bought by private equity firms. On April 20, 2007, the company entered into an agreement to sell its entire television station group to Providence Equity Partners
Providence Equity Partners
Providence Equity Partners is a global private equity investment firm focused on media, entertainment, communications and information investments...
. Providence Equity teamed up with Sandy DiPasquale
Sandy DiPasquale
Sandy DiPasquale is the owner of Newport Television. DiPasquale has also held ownership positions in such broadcast companies as WGRZ Acquisition Group, Smith Broadcasting , Sunrise Television and BlueStone Television. A native of Buffalo, New York, DiPasquale spent almost 20 years in Wichita,...
to form a new holding company, Newport Television, for the station group. Concurrently, Clear Channel applied to place WKRC and several other stations to the Aloha Station Trust just in case Newport Television failed to close on the group. However as a result of Newport Television closing on the purchase of WKRC and the other stations on March 14, 2008, Aloha Station Trust and the would-be new owners of Clear Channel opted not to consummate on the acquisition of this station. As a result, Newport Television became WKRC's fourth owner in just over twenty years. As a result of the sale, the Citicasters name disappeared from WKRC's license, dissolving channel 12's last link to Taft Broadcasting; the Citicasters name is still alive as a holding company within the Clear Channel structure.
On June 18, 2008, the company announced that it was eliminating 7.5% of the jobs at its 56 stations. It attributed the firings to a weak economy. As a result, WKRC fired eighteen staff members. WKRC-TV ended programming on its analog signal, on VHF channel 12, on June 12, 2009, as part of the DTV transition in the United States
DTV transition in the United States
The DTV transition in the United States was the switchover from analog to exclusively digital broadcasting of free over-the-air television programming...
. The station then moved back to channel 12 for its post-transition operations.
News operation
From 1977 to 1992, its news division was branded Eyewitness 12 NewsEyewitness News
Eyewitness News is a style of news broadcasting used by local television stations in different markets across the United States. It refers to a particular style of television newscast with an emphasis on visual elements and action video...
, a moniker that WLWT-TV would reuse in 1998. Afterwords, the station was usually announced as 12 News. With the arrival of chief meteorologist Tim Hedrick in 1988, WKRC began using the top of the Chiquita
Chiquita Brands International
Chiquita Brands International Inc. is an American producer and distributor of bananas and other produce, under a variety of subsidiary brand names, collectively known as Chiquita. Other brands include Fresh Express salads, which it purchased from Performance Food Group in 2005...
Center as its Weather Beacon
Weather beacon
A weather beacon is a beacon that indicates the local weather forecast in a code of colored or flashing lights. Often, a short poem or jingle accompanies the code to make it easier to remember....
. In 1994, WKRC began displaying "Texta" (an on-screen banner
Digital on-screen graphic
A digital on-screen graphic is a watermark-like station logo that many television broadcasters overlay over a portion of the screen-area of their programs to identify the channel...
) consisting of the current story's headline for the duration of the station's newscasts. Later, most Cincinnati stations would add news ticker
News ticker
A news ticker resides in the lower third of the television screen space on television news networks dedicated to presenting headlines or minor pieces of news. It may also refer to a long, thin scoreboard-style display seen around the front of some offices or public buildings...
s to their weekday morning shows. WKRC added its ticker below the texta headline. For a few years, the station aired its weekday Good Morning Cincinnati broadcast live from the ground floor of Fifth Third Bank
Fifth Third Bank
Fifth Third Bank is a U.S. regional banking corporation, headquartered in Cincinnati, Ohio and is the principal subsidiary of holding company Fifth Third Bancorp ....
's headquarters in downtown with Fountain Square
Fountain Square, Cincinnati
Fountain Square is a city square in Cincinnati. Founded in 1871, it was renovated in 1971 and 2005 and currently features many shops, restaurants, hotels, and offices.- History :...
as the backdrop. In 1996, WKRC began airing 12 News First at 4, a half-hour newscast on weekday afternoons.
From March 2004 to 2008, WKRC aired Nuestro Rincón, a twice-weekly Spanish-language
Spanish language
Spanish , also known as Castilian , is a Romance language in the Ibero-Romance group that evolved from several languages and dialects in central-northern Iberia around the 9th century and gradually spread with the expansion of the Kingdom of Castile into central and southern Iberia during the...
news program hosted by Sasha Rionda
Sasha Rionda
Sasha Sybille Rionda Hogger is an actress and television hostess.Rionda currently resides in Atlanta, Georgia...
.
On April 26, 2006, the station announced a news share agreement with WSTR to produce a nightly prime time show known as Local 12 News at 10 on My 64 which began airing on August 21. This resulted, once MyNetworkTV began, in a CBS affiliate's newscast being carried on a station affiliated with a Fox sister network. On January 7, 2008, WKRC began simulcasting Good Morning Cincinnati on WKRC-DT2. It had been aired on the main channel from 5 to 8 in the morning but the third hour was dropped when CBS reclaimed the 7 o'clock hour for 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. ...
. The network now requires all of its affiliates to air the show in its entirety after receiving a makeover hoping to better compete against its rivals, 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...
's Today and ABC's Good Morning America
Good Morning America
Good Morning America is an American morning news and talk show that is broadcast on the ABC television network; it debuted on November 3, 1975. The weekday program airs for two hours; a third hour aired between 2007 and 2008 exclusively on ABC News Now...
. The 7-8 a.m. hour of Good Morning Cincinnati can now be only seen on WKRC-DT2. WKRC announced its intent to move the prime time newscast on WSTR to WKRC-DT2 in August 2008. On August 4, it began a brief simulcast of this program on WKRC-DT2 with it eventually being dropped from WSTR on August 22. The program then became known as CW News at 10.
Newport released a statement in October 2008 saying that WKRC would eventually begin broadcasting its newscasts in 1080i
1080i
1080i is the shorthand name for a high-definition television mode. The i means interlaced video; 1080i differs from 1080p, in which the p stands for progressive scan. The term 1080i assumes a widescreen aspect ratio of 16:9, implying a frame size of 1920×1080 pixels...
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...
. The company used the channel as a pilot station before investing in HD equipment for its other television stations. On October 30, it debuted a new set on its First at 4 broadcast in preparation for the HD debut. After nearly a year of delay, the station launched its high definition newscasts along with new logo and graphics on September 27, 2009 during its 11 o'clock show. It became the third in the Cincinnati area after WCPO and WXIX-TV
WXIX-TV
WXIX-TV channel 19 is the Fox Broadcasting Company affiliate in Cincinnati, Ohio. The station's city of license is Newport, Kentucky, across the Ohio River...
and the second in the Newport group after WOAI-TV
WOAI-TV
WOAI-TV, virtual channel 4 , is the NBC affiliate television station serving the San Antonio, Texas metropolitan area. Its transmitter is located in Elmendorf, Texas, with its studios located in downtown San Antonio....
to make the upgrade. WKRC currently use JVC ProHD
ProHD
ProHD is a name used by JVC for its MPEG-2-based professional camcorders. ProHD is not a video recording format, but rather "an approach for delivering affordable HD products" and a common name for "bandwidth efficient professional HD models"....
250 Series cameras in its studios. The shows on The CW Cincinnati were included in the upgrade; however, it is seen in downscaled 4:3 on WKRC-DT2 (which serves as The CW Cincinnati's over-the-air signal).
For most of its history, WKRC has been a solid runner-up to WCPO in the local newscast ratings. However, in the past decade or so it has exchanged first and second place with WCPO. WKRC usually wins on weekday mornings and at 11 p.m. while WCPO leads in the 5 to 7 p.m. block. However since the May 2010 Nielsen ratings period, WKRC dominated its competition in all newscast time slots with WCPO slipping to second. The May 2011 sweeps period marked the one-year anniversary of WKRC's news dominance.
At one point all three of Cincinnati's "Big Three" network affiliates were locally-owned (and WCPO is now the only one of the three to remain under locally-based ownership). However, WLWT began falling behind in the ratings after it became the first of the three to be sold to outside interests.
WKRC's newscasts and reports can be seen on the Ohio News Network cable channel. During weather segments, it uses regional 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...
data in a system called "Precision Doppler 12 Network".
Newscast titles
- Tall 12 News (1960s–mid 1970s)
- EDGEEdge- Aviation :* Leading edge, a line connecting the forward-most points of a wing's profile* Trailing edge, the rear edge of the wing* Zivko Edge 540, an aerobatic aircraft- Mathematics, science and technology :...
(mid 1970s–1977) - Eyewitness 12 News (1977–1992)
- 12 News (1992–2004)
- Local 12 News (2004–present)
Station slogans
- "Tall 12" (mid-late 1960s, used when WKRC upgraded its transmitter tower)
- "The Edge" (late 1970s)
- "Your Local News Source" (1992–1994)
- "A New Generation of News" (1994–2004)
- "Live. Local. Latebreaking." (2000–2004, secondary)
- "So Committed to Local Coverage, We've Made It Part of our Name." (2004, secondary)
- "Coverage Where You Live" (2004–2007, secondary 2007–present)
- "Get it Right Now" (2007–present)
- "The Weather Authority" (secondary for news, 1988–present)
News team
Anchors- Kit Andrews - weekdays at noon, 4, 4:30 and 5:30 p.m.
- Liz Bonis - weekday mornings; also weeknight reporter
- Rob Braun - weeknights at 5, 6 and 11 p.m.
- Cammy Dierking - weeknights at 5, 6 and 11 p.m.
- Bob Herzog - Saturday mornings; also weekday morning traffic reporter, BengalsCincinnati BengalsThe Cincinnati Bengals are a professional football team based in Cincinnati, Ohio. They are members of the AFC's North Division in the National Football League . The Bengals began play in 1968 as an expansion team in the American Football League , and joined the NFL in 1970 in the AFL-NFL...
Nation host and "The Cooler" segment producer - Curtis Jackson - weeknights at 5:30 and 10 p.m.
- John Lomax - weekday mornings and noon
- Paula Toti - weekend evenings; also weeknight reporter
Weather Authority
- Tim Hedrick (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 at 5, 5:30, 6 and 11 p.m. - Michelle Boutilette (AMS Certified Broadcast MeteorologistCertified Broadcast MeteorologistCertified Broadcast Meteorologist is a rating for meteorologists given by the American Meteorological Society.The Certified Broadcast Meteorologist program was established to raise the professional standard in broadcast meteorology and encourage a broader range of scientific understanding,...
Seal of Approval) - meteorologist; weekdays at 4 and 4:30, and weeknights at 10 p.m. - John Gumm (AMS Certified Broadcast MeteorologistCertified Broadcast MeteorologistCertified Broadcast Meteorologist is a rating for meteorologists given by the American Meteorological Society.The Certified Broadcast Meteorologist program was established to raise the professional standard in broadcast meteorology and encourage a broader range of scientific understanding,...
Seal of Approval) - meteorologist; weekday mornings and noon - Scott Dimmich (AMS Certified Broadcast MeteorologistCertified Broadcast MeteorologistCertified Broadcast Meteorologist is a rating for meteorologists given by the American Meteorological Society.The Certified Broadcast Meteorologist program was established to raise the professional standard in broadcast meteorology and encourage a broader range of scientific understanding,...
Seal of Approval) - meteorologist; weekend mornings and evenings
Sports team
- Brad JohansenBrad JohansenBrad Johansen is the former radio play-by-play announcer for the Cincinnati Bengals, He is the current play-by-play TV announcer for Bengals preseason games along with, being the current play-by-play announcer for the Xavier University men's basketball telecasts and High School Football broadcasts...
- sports director; weeknights at 6, 10 and 11 p.m.; also Sports Authority host - Zach Wells - sports anchor; weekend evenings
Reporters
- Howard Ain - investigative reporter
- Jen Dalton - general assignment reporter
- Larry Davis - general assignment reporter
- Deborah Dixon - "Crimestoppers" segment producer
- Jeff Hirsh - general assignment reporter
- Dan Hurley - 12 Newsmakers host
- Angela Ingram - general assignment reporter
- Rich Jaffe - general assignment reporter
- Angenette Levy - general assignment reporter
- Perry Schiable - general assignment reporter
- Dan Spehler - general assignment reporter
- Joe Webb - general assignment reporter
- Tiffany Wilson - general assignment reporter
Notable former staff
- Nick ClooneyNick ClooneyNicholas Joseph "Nick" Clooney is an American journalist, anchorman, and television host. He is the brother of the late singer Rosemary Clooney, and father of actor and film director George Clooney.-Early life:...
, father of George ClooneyGeorge ClooneyGeorge Timothy Clooney is an American actor, film director, producer, and screenwriter. For his work as an actor, he has received two Golden Globe Awards and an Academy Award...
, hosted his own talk show on WKRC in the early-mid 1970s, and later became a news anchor from 1975 to 1984. - Ira Joe FisherIra Joe FisherIra Joe Fisher is an American meteorologist and poet. He was the weather reporter for CBS's The Saturday Early Show, a position he held from 1999 until 2006...
, weather reporter from 1981 to 1990 and known for writing backwards on plexiglass and now he's was the weather reporter for The Saturday Early ShowThe Early ShowThe 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. ...
on CBSCBSCBS 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...
. - Sasha RiondaSasha RiondaSasha Sybille Rionda Hogger is an actress and television hostess.Rionda currently resides in Atlanta, Georgia...
- reporter/host Nuestro Rincón. Currently works for CNN International - Glenn RyleGlenn RyleGlenn Ryle Schnitker was a long-time television personality, announcer and children's show host in Cincinnati, Ohio.-Early life:Ryle attended Western Hills High School in Cincinnati during World War II. He left high school at age 17 to enter military service with the United States Marines...
, a staff announcer from 1954 through the late 80s, was also a children's show host, taking the on-air name "Skipper Ryle" until 1973. His program was second only to WCPO's "Uncle Al" show in popularity. - Rod SerlingRod SerlingRodman Edward "Rod" Serling was an American screenwriter, novelist, television producer, and narrator best known for his live television dramas of the 1950s and his science fiction anthology TV series, The Twilight Zone. Serling was active in politics, both on and off the screen and helped form...
worked for WKRC-TV between 1948 and 1953, writing a regular weekly series of live dramas for the anthology show The Storm. - Bob ShreveBob ShreveBob Shreve was a first-generation television broadcasting personality based in Cincinnati, Ohio.-Biography:...
hosted The Past Prime Playhouse, a show that aired movies on late night Saturdays from 1975 to 1985. - Linda VesterLinda VesterLinda Vester is an American TV news host. She was the host of Dayside with Linda Vester on the Fox News Channel, first joining the channel in 1999. She later left the channel to look after her children....
- station intern. Went on to work as reporter/anchor for Fox News ChannelFox News ChannelFox News Channel , often called Fox News, is a cable and satellite television news channel owned by the Fox Entertainment Group, a subsidiary of News Corporation...
, NBC NewsNBC NewsNBC News is the news division of American television network NBC. It first started broadcasting in February 21, 1940. NBC Nightly News has aired from Studio 3B, located on floors 3 of the NBC Studios is the headquarters of the GE Building forms the centerpiece of 30th Rockefeller Center it is...
& MSNBCMSNBCMSNBC is a cable news channel based in the United States available in the US, Germany , South Africa, the Middle East and Canada...