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KATU
KATU 2news defaultimage.jpg
Portland, Oregon
Branding KATU (general)
KATU News (newscasts)
(pronounced "K-2")
Slogan On Your Side.
Channels Digital: 43 (UHF)
Virtual: 2 (PSIP)
Affiliations ABC
This TV (on DT2)
Owner Fisher Communications, Inc.
(Fisher Broadcasting - Portland TV, LLC)
Founded March 15, 1962
First air date March 15, 1962
Call letters’ meaning sounds like "K-2"
Sister station(s) KUNP
Former channel number(s) Analog:
2 (VHF, 1962-2009)
Former affiliations Independent
(3/15/1962 - 2/29/1964)
Transmitter Power 1000 kW
Height 524 m
Facility ID 21649
Transmitter Coordinates 45°30′57″N 122°44′3″W / 45.51583°N 122.73417°W / 45.51583; -122.73417
Website www.katu.com

KATU is a television station broadcasting on digital channel 43 in Portland, Oregon, USA. It has been owned by Fisher Communications of Seattle, Washington, owner of the Seattle ABC affiliate KOMO-TV, since its inception and is currently affiliated with the ABC Television Network. Its transmitter is located in Portland.

KATU also owns and operates local Univision affiliate KUNP-LP channel 47 since 2007.

Contents

History

A construction permit for Channel 2 was issued to Fisher's Blend Station, Inc. (now Fisher Communications) as early as 1958. It was assigned the call letters KATU. However, the station did not take to the airwaves until March 15, 1962, initially as an independent station.

On January 19, 1964 KATU moved its transmitter site 21 miles (34 km), to Portland's West Hills to improve coverage. The site had previously been on Livingston Mountain [1]. A little over a month later it took over the ABC affiliation from KPTV on March 1, 1964. This made KATU the fourth station in the Portland market in less than a decade to have affiliated with ABC full-time (after KLOR, KGW and KPTV). It is also Portland's longest-tenured ABC affiliate to date. KATU is the only one of the first five television stations in Portland to have operated out of the same studio (at 2153 N.E. Sandy Blvd.) since it went on the air, although the building had previously operated for many years as a laundry.

KATU is also one of the few television stations in the country (not counting owned-and-operated stations) that has had the same call letters, the same owner and the same channel number throughout its history.

In 2002, KATU cerebrated their 40th anniversary. To mark the occasion, they updated their graphics as well as a new set. They also aired stories from past newscasts.

In the November 2006 and February 2007 sweeps periods, KATU finished in third place overall in the local newscast ratings, behind KGW and KPTV. In 2006, KATU won two Edward R. Murrow Awards, including an investigative piece reported by Anna Song on a newborn that was left severely brain damaged by OHSU hospital. Song also won dual 1st place (2006) Associated Press Awards in Best Writing, and Best Investigative Reporting.

On October 11, 2007 KATU became the third Portland TV Station to broadcast its daily newscasts in 16x9 widescreen. In April 2008, KATU introduced a revamped set that expanded to the entire studio. This, was to prepare for HD in 2009. Previously, the studio was divided in half with one side the news set and the other the AM northwest set. The new set was one of the most expensive projects in KATU history.

From December 2008 to June 11, 2009, KATU (and the other Fisher-owned stations) was not carried by Dish Network due to a transmission dispute.[1]

KATU started testing HD newscasts on Saturday August 8, 2009. The full rollout premiered during their 4pm newscast on August 17, 2009, making it the second station in the Portland market to broadcast newscasts in HD.

On-air personalities

Current

Anchors
  • Carl Click - KATU News This Morning
  • Steve Dunn - KATU News @ 5, 6 and 11
  • Debora Knapp - KATU News @ 5, 6 and 11
  • Natali Marmion - KATU News This Morning
  • Anna Song - KATU News weekends (also investigative reporter)
  • Angelica Thornton - KATU News @ 4
  • Brian Wood - KATU News @ 4
Weather
  • Dave Salesky - KATU News @ 5, 6 and 11 chief meteorologist
  • Joe English - weekend meteorologist
  • Joe Raineri - weekend morning meteorologist
  • Rhonda Shelby - KATU News This Morning
Sports
  • Katy Brown - KATU News @ 6 and 11 sports director
  • Craig Birnbach - weekend sports anchor
Reporters
  • Shellie Bailey-Shah - investigative reporter
  • Adam Ghassemi - general assignment reporter
  • Susan Harding - general assignment reporter
  • Bob Heye - general assignment reporter
  • Valerie Hurst - general assignment reporter
  • Thom Jensen - general assignment reporter
  • Melica Johnson - general assignment reporter
  • Meghan Kalkstein - general assignment reporter
  • Anita Kissee - general assignment reporter
  • Margy Lynch - general assignment reporter
  • Dan Tilkin - general assignment reporter
  • Kerry Tomlinson - investigative reporter
  • Melanie Wingo - general assignment reporter

Notable former personalities

Bill O'Reilly, one of the original anchors of Inside Edition and now of Fox News, came to KATU in 1984 as an anchor and reporter. He left the station in 1986 to join ABC News, and was replaced by reporter and weekend weathercaster Jeff Gianola. At the time of O'Reilly's departure, KATU's "Channel 2 News" held the top spot in the Portland TV market ratings.

KATU's "Channel 2 News" was also the highest-rated news program in Portland under the anchor team of Jeff Gianola and Julie Emry. Julie Emry left in the mid-1990s for family reasons, and Gianola left in 1997 after being suspended for apparently getting into an argument with a female reporter.

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News/Station Presentation

Newscast Titles

  • The Big News (1962-1967)
  • Eyewitness News (1967-1973)
  • NewsScene (1973-1975)
  • Channel Two News (1975-1990)
  • Channel 2 News (1990-1998)
  • KATU 2 News (1998-present; pronounced as "K2 News")

Newscast Slogans

  • Eyewitness News, In Color (1967-1970)
  • Eyewitness News: Oregon's First Television News Team (1970-1973)
  • NewsScene: Get the Whole Story (1973-1975)
  • Now is the Time, Channel 2 is the Place (1981-1982; local version of ABC ad campaign)
  • Turn to the Channel Two News (1981-1984)
  • The Spirit Of The Northwest (1990-1996 and 2003-2007)
  • On Your Side (2007-present)

Digital Television

Digital channels

Channel Name Programming Cable Channel
2.1 KATU-DT Main KATU programming / ABC HD Comcast 702
Verizon 502
2.2 KATU-DT2 This TV Comcast 302
Verizon 464

On July 17, 2008 at 6:15 PM, KATU turned off its analog signal for 10 seconds to test if viewers' TV sets were ready for DTV. Later on KATU did similar tests to make sure its viewers were ready for the 2009 DTV switch.

KATU-DT remains on its pre-transition channel number, 43 [2] and will continue to display KATU's virtual channel as 2.

On June 12, 2009, KATU was the last station in the Portland market to carry regularly scheduled programming over its analog transmitter. During the last segment of the 11:00 p.m. newscast, anchorman Steve Dunn was in the station's master control room giving last-minute information on where to find information on the DTV transition. Then, at 11:35 p.m., he pushed the button that ended KATU's analog service.

Translators

KATU is rebroadcast on the following translator stations.

Low power translator in Mitchell has been discontinued.

Heliport

KATU Heliport (FAA LID: 21OR) is a private heliport on the roof of KATU TV's building in Portland, Oregon.[3]

See also

  • Exploding whale - KATU's claim to fame as the station that aired footages of the Oregon Highway Division's attempt to dispose of a dead whale. Longtime KATU Anchor (and current KEX Morning Host) Paul Linnman is the face of the report.
  • Bumpity - A local children program produced by KATU from 1971-1985.

References

  1. ^ http://www.oregonlive.com/business/index.ssf/2008/12/dish_drops_katu_from_its_lineu.html
  2. ^ CDBS Print
  3. ^ FAA 5010 for 21OR.

External links

Broadcast television in Portland/Salem, Oregon and Vancouver, Washington
Metro Portland

KATU (2.1 ABC, 2.2 This TV) • KRCW-LP 5 (The CW) • KOIN (6.1 CBS) • KGW (8.1 NBC, 8.2 Estrella TV) • KOPB-TV (PBS/OPB, 10.1 HD, 10.2 SD, 10.3 "Plus", 10.4 FM) • KPTV (12.1 Fox) • KOXI-CA 20 (A1) • KNMT (24.1 TBN, 24.2 TCC, 24.3 JCTV, 24.4 Enlace, 24.5 Smile) • K26GJ-D (26.1 religious) • KORK-CA 35 (HSN) • KEVE-LP 36 (Ind) • KKEI-CA 38 (TEL) • KPXG-LD (42.1 ION, 42.2 Qubo, 42.3 ION Life, 42.4 Worship) • KUNP-LP 47 (UNI) • KPDX (49.1 MNTV) • KOXO-CA 51 (TFR)
Metro Salem

KOAC (PBS/OPB, 7.1 HD, 7.2 SD, 7.3 "Plus", 7.4 FM) • KORS-CA (16.1 HSN/A1, 16.2 BVM, 16.3 A1, 16.4 Jewelry) • KWVT-LP 17 (17.1 A1/WSTV, 17.2 RTV) • K21GX 21 (religious) • KPXG (22.1 ION, 22.2 Qubo, 22.3 ION Life, 22.4 Worship) • KRCW-TV (32.1 The CW, 32.2 Universal Sports) • K50GG 50 (MNTV) • KXPD-LP 52 (AZA)
La Grande

KTVR (PBS/OPB, 13.1 HD, 13.2 SD, 13.3 "Plus", 13.4 FM) • KUNP (16.1 UNI) • K23DB 23 (MNTV) • K26FV 26 (NBC) • K29EL 29 (CBS) • K31GN 31 (The CW) • K33FS 33 (FOX) • K35GA 35 (ABC)
The Dalles

K06NI 6 (A1/WSTV) • K07YV 7 (CBS) • KRHP-LP 14 (FN/Worship/COR) • K18HH 18 (ABC) • K31HZ 31 (PBS) • K51EH 51 (FOX) • K59EK 59 (NBC) • K69AH 69 (MNTV)
Cable-only
See also Seattle, Eugene, Bend, Yakima/Tri-Cities and Boise TV
ABC Network Affiliates in the state of Oregon

KATU 2 (Portland) - KEZI 9 (Eugene) - KDRV 12 / KDKF-DT 31.1 (Medford / Klamath Falls) - KOHD 51 (Bend)
See also: ABC, CBS, CW, Fox, ION, MyNetworkTV, NBC, PBS and Other stations in Oregon







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