On Oct. 4, Tucker posted on Twitter: "We had productive conversations with @WeAreSinclair CEO and upper management. Sullivan won several awards, including an Emmy Award and the Associated Press First Place Award for Breaking News. [39][40][41][42] The sale's regulatory process was held up for nearly a year, however, as Sinclair attempted to address ownership issues involving stations it already operated in three markets (WTTO/WDBB and WABM in Birmingham, Alabama, WMMP in Charleston, South Carolina, and WHP-TV and WLYH-TV in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania) and Albritton-owned stations that placed Sinclair in conflict with FCC regulations on local station ownership (WBMA/WCFT/WJSU, WCIV and WHTM, respectively), specifically with regard to LMAs that were grandfathered following a 1999 ruling by the Commission that such agreements made after November 5, 1996, covering the programming of more than 15% of a station's broadcast day would count toward the ownership limits for the brokering station's parent licensee. Customer Service: (501) 455-9333 or email, Monday, Apr. Levi White, 32, and Zackary King, 27, face up to 10 years in prison for using excessive force. This document may not be reprinted without the express written permission of Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, Inc. Material from the Associated Press is Copyright 2023, Associated Press and may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. She was born in Beaufort, South Carolina and grew up in Greenville. An Arkansas native, Beth grew up. She is the co-host of "Daybreak" and "Good Morning Arkansas" for KATV. The morning anchor announced the news on social media that last Friday would be his last day. Jean was born and raised in Memphis, TN, which isn't too far from the Natural State. I apologize deeply for my actions. This story has been updated. KATV presently broadcasts 31 hours of locally produced newscasts each week (with 5 hours each weekday, three hours on Saturdays and one hour on Sundays); in addition, the station produces the Sunday morning business and political discussion program Talk Business and Politics, hosted by Roby Brock (the program previously aired on Fox affiliate KLRT-TV (channel 16) from its debut in 2000 until its move to KATV on March 2, 2014). The AP will not be held liable for any delays, inaccuracies, errors or omissions therefrom or in the transmission or delivery of all or any part thereof or for any damages arising from any of the foregoing. KATV's analog signal remained on Comcast in the Little Rock area after the collapse as it received the station through a direct feed from KATV's Main Street studios, although the HD feed was initially interrupted; Comcast also delivered KATV's signal to other cable and satellite providers. She has been a part of the. Copyright 2023, Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, Inc. For nearly eight years, the donated footage remained untouched until the Tyson family donated $1.5million to the Pryor Center to digitize the footage. Nearly eight years later, in 2007, the FCC levied a $8,000 fine against KATV for violating the "host-selling" provision in the Children's Television Act that classifies the broadcast of a commercial that features characters from a children's program being televised (thus classified as the 'hosts') as a program-length commercial. "I want to take a moment to apologize and be accountable for a terrible decision I made when I last appeared on this newscast back on Sept. 16," said Chris May, evening news anchor. pic.twitter.com/EpF4qwMJwX. She leaves her position after 14 years, she said. [10][11][12] The studios were damaged in a fire that occurred on the morning of November 1, 1957. Kaila Lafferty started at KATV in 2018 as a reporter but also worked during her two years on and as a podcast. She serves as an evening anchor at KATV anchoring News at 6 and 10. Beth has also taken viewers behind the scenes of Good Morning America in New York City with in-depth interviews with Diane Sawyer, Charlie Gibson as well as Robin Roberts. They promise to investigate past and current racist complaints and 'reform' the culture @KATVNews. Associated Press text, photo, graphic, audio and/or video material shall not be published, broadcast, rewritten for broadcast or publication or redistributed directly or indirectly in any medium. 2 min read, Arkansas Bar Association Legal Hall of Fame, East Village Brewery Seeks $4.5M Planning Permit, 2024 Eclipse Seen as Historic Tourism Opportunity, PCME Receives $766,100 Judgment in Federal Court, New Heights Restaurant George's Hints at Summer Opening, Outdoor Recreation is 'Big Business,' With Room to Grow, 5 CTEH Employees Killed in Little Rock Plane Crash, Supreme Court Won't Upset Arkansas Anti-Israel Boycott Law, Car-Mart Profit Plummets 92% in Fiscal Q3. The station first signed on the air on December 19, 1953. KATV local news anchor Chris May and meteorologist Barry Brandt wore the wigs during a segment announcing that a cold front was approaching Little Rock, Arkansas, bringing the city's record-high summer temperatures down into the 70s. From 2001 to June 30, 2005, KATV rebroadcast its weeknight 6:00 and 10:00p.m. newscasts on Pax TV affiliate KYPX (channel 49, now Me-TV affiliate KMYA-DT) under a news share agreement, which was discontinued as a result of a decision by Paxson Communications (now Ion Media) to terminate news share agreements with major network affiliates in the markets it had a Pax station, due to financial troubles as well as its rebranding as i: Independent Television (now Ion Television). KWCH is owned by the Gray Television chain of Atlanta; KTHV belongs to the Tegna chain of Tysons Corner, Virginia. KATV also first placed the Circle 7 inside a square in the 1990s; WJLA now uses this version as well, though neither station uses it consistently (KATV stopped placing the Circle 7 logo inside the square in September 2008). While at KATV, Kate reported on 9/11 from Ground Zero in New York and presented stories about Arkansans who had lost loved ones during the tragedy. She earns a satisfying amount from her work as an evening anchor at KATV Channel 7. (Photo by Cary Jenkins, Arkansas Democrat-Gazette). News cameramen included Bob Donaldson and Lou Oberste. She said she has a job at a station there but cannot yet announce which one. Tucker said a member from the local chapter notified the national organization. She serves as an evening anchor at KATV anchoring News at 6 and 10. In her previous job as an ABC News producer, Dover was always a plane ride from the next breaking story, from Hurricane Sandy to Sandy Hook. KATV anchor Chris May and meteorologist Barry Brandt donned the wigs on camera last Thursday as they spoke of a cold front moving through their area. City is 42% Black," Tucker said in a Tweet on Sept. 22. [63] Through the use of PSIP, digital television receivers display the station's virtual channel as its former VHF analog channel 7. Leake who had moved from being a 3.5% minority partner in KATV to half-owner as a result of the earlier investor divestitures retained ownership of KATV, KTUL, Ponca City, Oklahoma-based cable television operator Cable TV Co. and a controlling 80% interest in the construction permit for Fajardo, Puerto Rico television station WSTE (now WORO-DT), while Griffin retained ownership of KWTV under the licensee Century Communications Co. (Griffin's company would eventually return to Arkansas in September 1985, when it purchased NBC affiliate KPOM-TV [now Fox affiliate KFTA-TV] in Fort Smith from the Ozark Broadcasting Company; Griffin would sell KPOM and the Rogers-based satellite station it signed on in October 1989, KFAA-TV [now KNWA-TV], to the Nexstar Broadcasting Group owner of KATV rival KARK-TV in September 2003. Jaeger praised her news colleagues and shared some funny TV memories, including a moment when she was reporting at a shopping mall and a fan approached and touched her abdomen, asking when the baby was due. The station's digital signal is multiplexed: KATV shut down its analog signal, over VHF channel 7, on June 12, 2009, the official date in which full-power television stations in the United States transitioned from analog to digital broadcasts under federal mandate. She moved to Little Rock during her high school junior year when her mother remarried. Associated Press text, photo, graphic, audio and/or video material shall not be published, broadcast, rewritten for broadcast or publication or redistributed directly or indirectly in any medium. [citation needed]. In addition, she has also been honored several times by the readers of the Arkansas Times, as Best of Arkansas in the category of Best TV News Person most recently in 2014. KATV's parent company is Sinclair Broadcast Group of Maryland. Beth Hunt is a popular American journalist. Get TVSpy delivered straight to your inbox, Chris Kane Leaves KATV Little Rock After 12 Years, KATV Morning Anchor Alyson Courtney Leaves Station, Little Rock Anchors Return From Suspension, Apologize for Offensive Decision to Wear Afro Wigs On-Air, News Director at Sinclairs Little Rock Station Fired After Racist Incidents, Local Journalists Social Media Updates Show Sweep of Winter Storm, KATV Names Midday Meteorologist as New Chief, Arkansas Station Launches States First Drone, Little Rock Reporters Feud Over Courtroom Tweeting. Beth joined Channel 7 as a General Assignment Reporter in November 2002. When it comes down to it, Im a wife and a mom who just happens to be on TV.. Beth serves as an evening anchor at KATV Channel 7. Prior to that, Beth anchored live shows from Heifer International, Riverfest, Toadsuck, and just about each other major festival or event in the state. Sullivan is married to Michael Tillman. ", May told listeners that the incident has led him to "more closely examine myself and the station to more closely examine its mission and purpose in covering our entire community. After ten months, she came back to central Arkansas and her Channel 7 family. Griffin and the Leakes would own approximately all of the common voting stock and collectively own 84% of nonvoting common shares in KATV Inc. post-merger, with 10% of the remaining nonvoting interest held by Edgar Bell (who would remain executive vice president and general manager at KWTV). I wouldnt be afraid to let any one of them handle the anchoring duties if need be. He said viewers should expect to see a mix of faces over the next few months. ", "In both cases we can and we must do better," he said. She is a woman of above-average stature. KATV buys Riverdale site for $4.4M Arkansas Online. Brian serves as an insurance agent. KATV is Little Rock's oldest continually operating television station, beating NBC affiliate KARK-TV (channel 4) by almost five months. Hunt says shes basically another working mother. Main line: (501) 372-1443 A native of Columbia, Missouri, and graduate of the University of Central Missouri, Jaeger joined KTHV after two years at KWCH in the Wichita, Kansas, market. KATV was one of a few television stations affiliated with a network other than NBC to participate in a news share agreement with a Pax TV station. All rights reserved. ", Arkansas Business Publishing Group She came to Channel 7 in November 2002 working as a General Assignment Reporter. But she longed for home, and Genty welcomed her with open arms in 2013. Originally licensed to Pine Bluff, the station was a CBS affiliate with a secondary ABC affiliation. She has also anchored live shows from Heifer International, Riverfest, Toadsuck, and just about each other major festival or event in the state. KATV's use of the Circle 7 logo predates even the variant Circle 7 used by Allbritton flagship station WJLA-TV in Washington, D.C. from 1977 until it switched to the standard version in 2001. Little Rock, AR 72201, Toll free: (888) 322-6397 The station was criticized after a white anchor appeared on air wearing an Afro wig to "celebrate" 70-degree weather, according to a Twitter post from Dorothy Tucker, president of the National Association of Black Journalists. Courtney started working at the Little Rock ABC affiliate in 2011. Rusley Heads to BeaumontOne face you wont be seeing on Channel 7 is Kimberly Rusleys. Courtney praised Chris Kane and Melinda Mayo as stalwart co-workers and best friends, and she saluted her loyal viewers, saying they'd helped her change for the better. During the analog era, many sections of the state as well as western sections of Bolivar and Coahoma counties in west-central Mississippi were able to receive KATV's signal. The AP will not be held liable for any delays, inaccuracies, errors or omissions therefrom or in the transmission or delivery of all or any part thereof or for any damages arising from any of the foregoing. "My intentions were irrelevant. Steve Sullivan - sports director; weeknights at 5, 6 and 10 p.m. Robert Burton - sports anchor; Saturdays at 6, Sundays at 5 and weekends at 10 p.m., also sports reporter, Joan Early - "Family First" feature reporter, Matt Johnson - general assignment reporter, Michael Knight - weekday morning traffic reporter, Justin Lewis - general assignment reporter, Scott Munsell - "Chopper 7" pilot/reporter, Jannette Reyes - general assignment reporter, Roger Susanin - general assignment reporter; also, Katherina-Marie Yancey - general assignment reporter. Former KATV anchor returning to work at Little Rock station Arkansas Online. The station's studios are located on Riverfront Drive in the Riverdale section northwest of downtown Little Rock, and its transmitter is located at the Shinall Mountain antenna farm in the Chenal Valley area (itself a developer-created corruption of "Shinall"). Genty said he doesnt expect all the maternity leave to disrupt his team severely. One of her grandmothers worked as a nurse and the other as a homemaker, so beth had great examples of how to work and how to run a home. KATV began transmitting its digital signal from the new facility located on Shinall Mountain on February 1, 2009. She also reported a series of stories from Honduras on the charitable work of the Arkansas-based non-profit Heifer International. The couple has three sons including Cameron. She initially joined the station in April 2014 as a reporter and multimedia journalist, however, two years and three months she left the station. Jean Franseen is excited to join the KATV family as the Weekend Anchor/Reporter. She came to Channel 7 in November 2002 working as a General Assignment Reporter. Main line: (501) 372-1443 Melinda Mayo is a Pine Bluff native who enjoys delivering the weather for her home state. Evening anchors Marina Marraco and Angie Goff are both pregnant - at the same time! In 2000, she joined KATV, the Allbritton Communications Company owned ABC-affiliated television station in Little Rock, Arkansas, as a general assignment reporter. [37][38], On July 29, 2013, Allbritton announced that it would sell its seven television stations, including KATV, to the Hunt Valley, Maryland-based Sinclair Broadcast Group for $985million, to concentrate the company's operations exclusively around its political news website, Politico. [53][54] KATV originally planned to move to the Riverdale facility in early 2020; however, the relocation was delayed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. 2 min read, Arkansas Bar Association Legal Hall of Fame, East Village Brewery Seeks $4.5M Planning Permit, 2024 Eclipse Seen as Historic Tourism Opportunity, PCME Receives $766,100 Judgment in Federal Court, New Heights Restaurant George's Hints at Summer Opening, Outdoor Recreation is 'Big Business,' With Room to Grow, 5 CTEH Employees Killed in Little Rock Plane Crash, Supreme Court Won't Upset Arkansas Anti-Israel Boycott Law, Car-Mart Profit Plummets 92% in Fiscal Q3. Brian serves as an insurance agent. 8lbs. Franseen is a graduate from Middle Tennessee State University and has previously worked as a morning . Donaldson would later lead the film department at the University of Arkansas Medical School for many years, and Oberste would work at the Arkansas Department of Tourism. "My intentions were irrelevant. Beths mother served as a teacher, so they did lots of reading and Beth was always with them. Facts Buddy Fast, Factual, Free! On the heels of Amanda Jaeger's declaration that she was leaving KTHV's early-morning anchor slot for a senior job at Walmart Inc., KATV morning anchor Alyson Courtney has announced that she is leaving Channel 7 to help her two daughters with acting opportunities. In 2009, KATV donated approximately 300 hours of film and 26,000 hours of video tape to the University of Arkansas David and Barbara Pryor Center for Arkansas Oral and Visual History. KATV will soon welcome a new weekend anchor to its team: Memphis native Jean Franseen. Neither these AP materials nor any portion thereof may be stored in a computer except for personal and noncommercial use. First-time dad. She graduated Cum Laude. She was appointed by Governor Mike Beebe to serve on the AR Governors Council on Fitness in 2010. [27][28][29][30][31][32], In February 1999, KATV aired commercials for the Walt Disney Pictures animated film Doug's 1st Movie during an ABC network broadcast of Disney's Doug. All that matters was how I made people feel, and it is clear that I caused many people, many African-Americans in particular, to feel pain. . Beth Hunt is an evening anchor for KATV. Anne Pressly (August 28, 1982 - October 25, 2008) was an American news anchor for KATV Channel 7 in Little Rock, Arkansas. The AP will not be held liable for any delays, inaccuracies, errors or omissions therefrom or in the transmission or delivery of all or any part thereof or for any damages arising from any of the foregoing. IT'S OFFICIAL: My last day at @KATVNews is done " Thanks for the love and the stories! This document may not be reprinted without the express written permission of Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, Inc. Material from the Associated Press is Copyright 2023, Associated Press and may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. They fear that to get involved with housework would send them hurtling into the bottomless pit of self-sacrifice that is womens current caring roles.Debbie Taylor (20th century). She is 45 years old. )[23][24][25][26], On November 3, 1982, Leake Industries sold KATV and KTUL to Washington, D.C.-based Allbritton Communications in an all-cash transaction for $80million; the sale received FCC approval on February 14, 1983. [3], In 2018, Sullivan became the executive producer and host of "To Dine For with Kate Sullivan" on American Public Television, PBS and Create. Barh is part of the anchor team that won an Emmy due to their Best Newscast and has also won Associated Press awards due to her news reporting. A KATV reporter since September 2016, the Louisiana native and former Miss Bossier City will be a news anchor at KFDM in Beaumont, Texas. Sullivan joined the CBS team in 2006 and anchored CBS 2 News This Morning at WCBS-TV in New York. Dad is Brian Cress, a North Little Rock Shelter Insurance agent. Beth married her husband Brian who serves as an insurance agent. Griffin and James C. "Jimmy" Leake (who also founded sister station KTUL in Tulsa and original sister station KWTV in Oklahoma City, the company founded by the former of the two founders would later become the present-day Griffin Communications). [58] KATV is currently one of only two television stations in the Little Rock market (alongside CBS affiliate KTHV, which debuted a Saturday morning newscast in April 2010) that carries a newscast on weekend mornings, the station has produced a Saturday edition of Channel 7 News Daybreak since 1992; KATV does not currently air news programming on Sunday mornings. In addition to anchoring CBS 2 News This Morning with Maurice DuBois and CBS 2 News at Noon, she co-hosted and filled in as the newsreader at CBS' The Saturday Early Show with Chris Wragge, Lonnie Quinn, and Erica Hill. Under Doubleday, KATV became a major competitor in the Little Rock market. [14][15] In 1959, Robert Doubleday became one of the youngest television station managers in the country at the age of 26. Jan 24. [16][17][18][19][20][21], KATV has used the Circle 7 logo since 1965, a logo that had traditionally been associated at the time with ABC owned-and-operated stations, and was one of the network's first affiliates to have used the logo (as designed by G. Dean Smith in 1962). [7] It was the second station in central Arkansas behind KRTV, channel 17 in Little Rock, which had gone on the air on April 4. [48][49][50][51], On February 20, 2019, KATV announced that it would relocate to a renovated facility in the city's Riverdale district in a building Sinclair purchased for $4.36 million. "This incident has taught me to be more aware of cliches and stereotypes and the damage they can cause. Beth is happily married to her lovely husband named Brian. Beths estimated net worth is $689,171. [13], KATV subsequently moved to a two-story building at 310 West 3rd Street; the first floor had been occupied by a furniture store, while the second floor served as studio facilities for a local radio station and also housed the offices of an insurance agency. And for that I could not be more sorry. The station's transmitter tower in Redfield collapsed on January 11, 2008, while workers were adjusting guy wires[34] (the tower was also used by the Arkansas Educational Television Network for the analog signal of flagship station KETS (channel 2), whose analog signal remained off-air until June 13, 2008, when a temporary analog antenna was installed at the Clear Channel Broadcasting Tower Redfield, where its digital transmitter had already originated). Print Headline: KATV reporter to leave station next week. KATV news director terminated, company confirms nwaonline.com. May said he was grateful for a second chance to earn the trust of viewers and to continue serving Little Rock and Arkansas. A recent Twitter post celebrated her newfound ability to sleep in, displaying her 2:55 a.m. alarm, then backups at 2:57, 3 and 3:07. In one clip, viewed more than 2 million times, Jaeger intones "this is my real voice, like all the time, not just at work." Beth is happily married to her lovely husband named Brian. She is leaving Little Rock to return to Seattle, where she grew up, so she can be closer to family. [4] Shaw's applicationfiled as business colleague Estes withdrew his, with duplicate engineering data included in both applicationswas accused of being a "strike" bid, purposely intended to delay the grant of the channel 7 permit. The station's digital signal remained on its pre-transition UHF channel 22. "After 14 years of getting up at 2:30 in the morning, I'm stepping away from the anchor desk," Courtney wrote. On December 9, 1952, the Central South Sales Co. (owned by John T. Griffin and James C. Leake) applied for a construction permit to build a new channel 7 TV station in Pine Bluff;[2] it was later joined by competing applications from the Pine Bluff Television Co. (owned by Dallas construction executive Burnett Estes) on December 27, 1952,[3] and the Arkansas Television Company, owned by construction and real estate executive Gaylord Shaw, and unrelated to the company of the same name that founded KTHV [channel 11]) on January 28, 1953. Anchors Alyson Courtney - weekday mornings Daybreak Chris Kane - weekday mornings Daybreak Erin Hawley - Saturdays at 6, Sundays at 5, and weekends at 10 p.m.; also investigative reporter Beth Hunt - weekdays at 11:30 a.m. ( Mid-Day Arkansas ), and weeknights at 5 p.m.; also reporter and fill-in 6 and 10 p.m. anchor Sinclair Group Manager John Seabers said Nick Genty was suspended Sept. 17, but Seabers. Ned Perme (NWA Seal of Appoval) - chief meteorologist; weeknights at 6 and 10 p.m. Barry Brandt (AMS Seal of Appoval) - meteorologist and co-host; weekday mornings, Melinda Mayo (AMS Seal of Appoval) - meteorologist and co-host; weekday mornings, Todd Yakoubian (AMS Seal of Appoval) - meteorologist; Saturday mornings. All rights reserved. Beth followed Gen. Wesley Clark on the campaign trail to Iowa and beyond in 2004 as he sought the Democratic nomination for President. During this time, in July 1958, KATV successfully filed to change its city of license from Pine Bluff to Little Rock, completing the move that October. However, it lost the appeal in April 2010.[33]. On July 6, 2004, a spectacular intense high MUF Sporadic-E opening allowed Mike Bugaj[64] to receive KATV[65] in Enfield, Connecticut, 1,176 miles (1,893km) from Little Rock. Arkansas really helped shape who I am becoming as a person.. Sullivan was a co-anchor of the evening news for WBBM-TV in Chicago with Rob Johnson from September 2010 to September 2015. She added that her daughters are both actresses, whose careers are expanding, and she will be helping to manage their careers. KATV anchor Alyson Courtney is stepping away from the anchor's desk, she announced on her Facebook Monday. She came to Channel 7 in November 2002 working as a General Assignment Reporter. Beth gets her wealth from her work as an evening anchor at KATV Channel 7. All rights reserved. She anchors Channel 7 News at 6 and 10. USA. Thanks for the love and the stories!. Neither these AP materials nor any portion thereof may be stored in a computer except for personal and noncommercial use. 40+ employees, only 8 Blacks. FILE A KATV sign is shown in this undated file photo. In turn, the three Griffin-Leake stations would be folded into a single corporate umbrella under KATV parent licensee KATV Inc. (subsequently rechristened as Griffin-Leake TV), which would enter into a ten-year equipment leasing agreement with Voss and Kite for a total of $4.5million (or $37,500 per month). 114 Scott St. The station moved its operations to the Worthen Bank Building in downtown Little Rock in October 1970, after Worthen vacated it and moved into a new downtown skyscraper. She will be helping manage their careers. Marina Marraco & Angie Goff break some personal news! Sullivan won several awards, including an Emmy Award and the Associated Press First Place Award for Breaking News. Franseen is a graduate from Middle Tennessee State University and has previously worked as a morning reporter for Local 24 in Memphis, she said. The station gained some national attention in 1969 when they had to air Turn-On, which among viewers, "jam[med] the station's switchboard" with complaints. Customer Service: (501) 455-9333 or email, Monday, Apr. ", "Please know that it was never ever my intention to offend or cause any harm," he said. 4 oz. Theres a family feel at the station, they are culturally aware of issues going on locally and nationally, and they are focused on integrity with storytelling..