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KATU (TV)

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KATU is a television station in Portland, Oregon, USA. An ABC affiliate, it broadcasts its analog signal on VHF channel 2 and its digital signal on UHF channel 43. Its transmitter is located in Portland. It is currently owned by Fisher Communications of Seattle, Washington, owner of the Seattle ABC affiliate KOMO-TV. KATU also owns and operates local Univision affiliate KUNP-LP channel 47.

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, to Portland's west hills (Skyline) to improve coverage. The site had previously been on Livingston Mountain, 6 miles north of Camas, Washington.[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-serving ABC affiliate to date, having been with the network for 43 years.

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. This distinction will likely end with the conversion to digital-only television broadcasting in February 2009, as KATU elected to use its current digital channel number (channel 43) at the end of the conversion period.

In the November 2006 and February 2007 sweeps periods, KATU finished in third place overall in the local newscast ratings, behind KGW and KPTV.

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.

Microsoft spokesman and communications director Lou Gellos was a former Sports Director at KATU in the early 1990s. Prior to joining KATU, he also held that position briefly at Seattle's KING-TV.

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. Incidentally, Gianola and Emry were back anchoring the news together on rival TV station KOIN-TV Channel 6 from September 2002 until late 2005, when she left the station (also for family reasons). Gianola appeared as himself in the film The Hunted starring Tommy Lee Jones and Benicio Del Toro.

Jeffrey Babcock appeared regularly in the early 1990s as a commentator on capital markets and personal finance. He left to become an investment manager. Formerly he was a correspondent at WABC-TV's Good Morning New York, as well as a reporter at KIRO-TV in Seattle and WBNS-TV in Columbus, Ohio.

Newscasts

Weekdays

  • KATU News This Morning - 5 AM-7 AM
  • AM Northwest - 9 AM-10 AM
  • KATU News at Midday - Noon-12:30 PM
  • KATU News at 4:30 - 4:30 PM-5 PM
  • KATU News at Five - 5 PM-6 PM
  • KATU News at 6:30 - 6:30 PM-7 PM
  • KATU News at Eleven - 11 PM-11:35 PM

Saturdays

  • KATU Saturday Morning News - 7 AM-9 AM
  • KATU News at Five - 5 PM-6 PM
  • KATU News at Eleven - 11 PM-11:35 PM

Sundays

  • KATU Sunday Morning News - 7 AM-9 AM
  • KATU News at Five - 5 PM-6 PM
  • KATU News at 6:30 - 6:30 PM-7 PM
  • KATU News at Eleven - 11 PM-11:35 PM

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 produce by KATU from 1971-1985.
  1. ^ Topozone map of Livingston Mountain
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