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A felony is a serious crime in the common law countries. The term originates from English common law where felonies were originally crimes which involved the confiscation of a convicted person's land and goods; other crimes were called misdemeanors. Many common law countries have now abolished the felony/misdemeanor distinction and replaced it with other distinctions such as between indictable offences and summary offences. A felony is generally considered to be a crime of "high seriousness", while a misdemeanor is not.

A person convicted in a court of law of a felony crime is known as a felon. In the United States, where the felony/misdemeanor distinction is still widely applied, the federal government defines a felony as a crime punishable by death or imprisonment in excess of one year. If punishable by exactly one year or less, it is classified as a misdemeanor.^[1] The individual states may differ in this definition, using other categories as seriousness or context.

Similar to felonies in some civil law countries (Italy, etc.) are delicts, whereas in others (France, Spain, Belgium, Switzerland etc.) crimes (more serious) and delicts (less serious).

Overview[link]

Classification by subject matter[link]

Felonies include but are not limited to the following:

• Murder;
• Rape;
• Aggravated assault and/or battery;
• Arson;
• Robbery;
• Burglary;
• Various forms of fraud
• The manufacture, sale, distribution, or possession with intent to distribute of certain types and/or quantities of illegal drugs;
• In some states, the simple possession (possession without intent to distribute, e.g., for personal use) of certain types of illegal drugs, usually in more than a certain quantity but regardless of quantity for some drugs in some jurisdictions (such as Virginia for cocaine and heroin) regardless of quantity;
• Grand larceny or grand theft, i.e., larceny or theft above a certain statutorily established value or quantity of goods; and
• Vandalism on federal property.
• Treason;
• Kidnapping;
• Perjury;
• Cheque fraud;

Broadly, felonies can be characterized as either violent or nonviolent:

• Violent offenses usually contain some element of force or a threat of force against a person. Some jurisdictions classify as violent certain property crimes involving a strong likelihood of psychological trauma to the property owner; for example, Virginia treats both common-law burglary (the breaking and entering of a dwelling house at night with the intent to commit larceny, assault and battery, or any felony therein) and statutory burglary (breaking and entering with further criminal intent but without the dwelling-house or time elements, such that the definition applies to break-ins at any time and of businesses as well as of dwelling houses) as felonies.
• Most offenses involving drugs or property alone are characterized as nonviolent.

Some offenses, though similar in nature, may be felonies or misdemeanors depending on the circumstances. For example, the illegal manufacture, distribution or possession of controlled substances may be a felony, although possession of small amounts may be only a misdemeanor. Possession of a deadly weapon may be generally legal, but carrying the same weapon into a restricted area such as a school may be viewed as a serious offense, regardless of whether there is intent to use the weapon. Additionally, driving while intoxicated in some states may be a misdemeanor if a first offense, but a felony on subsequent offenses.

"The common law divided participants in a felony into four basic categories: (1) first-degree principals, those who actually committed the crime in question; (2) second-degree principals, aiders and abettors present at the scene of the crime; (3) accessories before the fact, aiders and abettors who helped the principal before the basic criminal event took place; and (4) accessories after the fact, persons who helped the principal after the basic criminal event took place. In the course of the 20th century, however, American jurisdictions eliminated the distinction among the first three categories." Gonzales v. Duenas-Alvarez, 549 U.S. 183 (2007) (citations omitted).

Classification by seriousness[link]

A felony may be punishable with imprisonment for one or more years or death in the case of the most serious felonies, such as murder. Indeed, at common law when the British and American legal systems divorced in 1776, felonies were crimes for which the punishment was either death or forfeiture of property. All felonies remain considered a serious crime, but concerns of proportionality (i.e., that the punishment fit the crime) have in modern times prompted legislatures to require or permit the imposition of less serious punishments, ranging from lesser terms of imprisonment to the substitution of a jail sentence or even the suspension of all incarceration contingent upon a defendant's successful completion of probation.^[2][3][4] Standards for measurement of an offense's seriousness include attempts^[5] to quantitatively estimate and compare the effects of a crime upon its specific victims or upon society generally.

In some states, all or most felonies are placed into one of various classes according to their seriousness and their potential punishment upon conviction. The number of classifications and the corresponding crimes vary by state and are determined by the legislature. Usually, the legislature also determines the maximum punishment allowable for each felony class; doing so avoids the necessity of defining specific sentences for every possible crime. For example:

• Virginia classifies most felonies by number, ranging from Class 6 (least severe: 1 to 5 years in prison or up to 12 months in jail) through Class 2 (20 years to life, e.g., first-degree murder and aggravated malicious wounding) up to Class 1 (life imprisonment or the death penalty, reserved for certain types of murders). Some felonies remain outside the classification system.
• New York State classifies felonies by letter, with some classes divided into sub-classes by Roman numeral; classes range from Class E (encompassing the least severe felonies) through Classes D, C, B, and A–II up to Class A–I (encompassing the most severe).

England and Wales[link]

History[link]

Sir William Blackstone wrote that felony "comprises every species of crime, which occasioned at common law the forfeiture of lands or goods."^[6] The word felony was feudal in origin, denoting the value of a man's entire property: "the consideration for which a man gives up his fief."^[7] Blackstone refutes the misconception that felony simply means an offence punishable by death, by demonstrating that not every felony is capital, and not every capital offence is a felony. However he concedes that "the idea of felony is indeed so generally connected with that of capital punishment, that we find it hard to separate them; and to this usage the interpretations of the law do now conform."^[7]

The death penalty for felony could be avoided by pleading benefit of clergy, which gradually evolved to exempt everybody (whether clergy or not) from that punishment for a first offence, except for high treason and offences which were expressly excluded by statute. During the 19th century criminal law reform incrementally reduced the number of capital offences to five (see Capital punishment in the United Kingdom), and forfeiture for felony was abolished by the Forfeiture Act 1870. Consequently the distinction between felony and misdemeanour became increasingly arbitrary. The surviving differences consisted of different rules of evidence and procedure, and the Law Commission recommended that felonies be abolished altogether. This was done by the Criminal Law Act 1967, which made all felonies (except treason) misdemeanours, and introduced a new system of classifying crimes as either "arrestable" and "non-arrestable" offences (according to which a general power of arrest was available for crimes punishable by five years' imprisonment or more).

Arrestable offences were abolished in 2006,^[8] and today crimes are classified as indictable or summary offences.

Procedure

The Trials for Felony Act 1836 (6 & 7 Will 4 c 114) allowed persons indicted for felony to be represented by counsel or attorney.

Terminology

A person prosecuted for felony was called a prisoner.^[9]

United States[link]

The reform of harsh felony laws that had originated in Great Britain was deemed "one of the first fruits of liberty" after the United States became independent.^[10]

In many parts of the United States, a convicted felon can face long-term legal consequences persisting after the end of their imprisonment, including:

• Disenfranchisement (which the Supreme Court interpreted to be permitted by the Fourteenth Amendment)
• Exclusion from obtaining certain licenses, such as a visa, or professional licenses required in order to legally operate (making many vocations off-limits to felons)
• Exclusion from purchase and possession of firearms, ammunition and body armor
• Ineligibility for serving on a jury
• Ineligibility for government assistance or welfare, including being barred from federally funded housing
• Deportation (if the criminal is not a citizen)

Additionally, most job applications and rental applications ask about felony history, (with the exception of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts) and answering dishonestly on them can be grounds for rejecting the application, or termination if the lie is discovered after hire. It is legal to discriminate against felons in hiring decisions as well as the decision to rent housing to a person, so felons face barriers to finding both jobs and housing. A common term of parole is to avoid associating with other felons. In some neighborhoods with high rates of felony conviction, this creates a situation where many felons live with a constant threat of being arrested for violating parole.^[11]

Many bonding companies will not issue bonds to convicted felons, also effectively barring them from certain jobs. Many banks will refuse service to convicted felons.

Some states also consider a felony conviction to be grounds for an uncontested divorce.

The status and designation as a "convicted felon" is considered permanent, and is not extinguished upon sentence completion even if parole, probation or early release was given.^[11] The status can only be cleared by a successful appeal or executive clemency. However, felons may be able to apply for restoration of some rights after a certain period of time has passed.

In some states, restoration of those rights may depend on repayment of various fees associated with the felon's arrest, processing, and prison stay.^[11]

Expungement[link]

For state law convictions, expungement is determined by the law of the state. A few states do not allow expungement, regardless of the offense.

Federal law does not have any provisions for persons convicted of federal felonies in a federal United States district court to apply to have their record expunged. While the pending Second Chance Act^{[dated info]} which may change this, at present the only relief that an individual prosecuted in federal court may receive is a Presidential Pardon, which does not expunge the conviction, but rather grants relief from the civil disabilities that stem from it.^[12]

Federal Republic of Germany[link]

A felony (Verbrechen) is defined as a crime that is punishable with at least one year of imprisonment.^[13]

Misdemeanours (Vergehen) are all other crimes punishable by imprisonment of less than one year or by fine.^[14]

However, in some cases a very severe version misdemeanour may be punished with imprisonment of more than one year, yet the crime itself remains considered a misdemeanour. Same applies for a milder version of a felony that is punishable with imprisonment less than a year.^[15]

An attempt to commit a felony crime is always punishable whilst an attempt to commit a misdemeanour is solely punishable if particularly prescribed by law.^[16]

A plea bargain (Strafbefehl) is not applicable for felony crimes at all.

See also[link]

• Compounding a felony
• Criminal law
• Employment discrimination against felons in the United States
• Federal crime
• Felony murder
• Handhabend and Backberend
• Infraction
• Misdemeanor
• One strike, you're out
• Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act (RICO)
• Three strikes law

References[link]

This article uses bare URLs for citations. Please consider adding full citations so that the article remains verifiable. Several templates and the Reflinks tool are available to assist in formatting. (Reflinks documentation) (October 2011)

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Felons

v t e History of English criminal law Part of the common law series Classes of crimes Felony Misdemeanour Arrestable offence Inchoate offences Incitement Defences Provocation Offences against the person Petty treason Capital murder Felo de se Sexual offences Buggery Gross indecency between men Indecent assault Criminal libel and kindred offences Seditious libel Sedition Blasphemous libel Blasphemy Obscene libel Defamatory libel Offences against property Larceny Embezzlement Fraudulent conversion Forgery, personation and cheating Cheating Offences against justice Misprision of felony Compounding a felony Champerty and maintenance Embracery Law of England and Wales portal Criminal justice portal

This biographical article needs additional citations for verification. Please help by adding reliable sources. Contentious material about living persons that is unsourced or poorly sourced must be removed immediately, especially if potentially libelous or harmful. (June 2008)

Marcus Lakee Edwards (born March 29, 1976),^[1] better known by his stage name Lil' Keke, is a rapper from Houston, Texas and an original member of the Screwed Up Click.^[2]

Biography[link]

Music career[link]

Lil Keke gained national underground love with his track "Southside" from his 1998 release "Don't Mess Wit Texas". In 2005, Lil' Keke signed to Swishahouse Records. In an interview with HitQuarters at the time, label president and A&R T. Farris said, "He is a legend here in Houston. He plays a big role in the whole style of rap that we make down here."^[3] Lil' Keke started out working alongside DJ Screw doing mixtapes.

Discography[link]

• 1997: Don't Mess wit Texas
• 1998: The Commission
• 2001: Platinum In Da Ghetto
• 2008: Loved by Few, Hated by Many
• 2011: Only In America

Mixtapes[link]

• 2006: Minor Setback for a Major Comeback (Hosted by DJ Drama)
• 2006: The Album B4 the Album
• 2007: Greatest Verses (Hosted by DJ LL)
• 2007: Drank Epidemic 10 & 10.2 (Hosted by DJ Storm)
• 2007: The Cost Of Living (with Yung Redd)
• 2008: Only The Strong Survive (Hosted by DJ Bigga Rankin)
• 2008: Seven-1-3 Hustlaz, Vol. 1: The Movement
• 2008: South Side Still Holding (Hosted by DJ Mac Boo)
• 2009: Seven-1-3 Vol.2 Small Thangs 2 A Giant
• 2009: Universal Ghetto Pass (The Mixtape)
• 2010: Addicted 2 Fame
• 2010: Seven-1-3 Vol.4
• 2010: The Trilogy
• 2011: Peepin In My Window 2K11
• 2011: C.O.D. (Cash On Delivery) Seven-1-3 Vol. 5
• 2011: Fish Grease
• 2012: Album Before The Album 2

References[link]

External links[link]

• Lil' Keke on Myspace

Wolf Blitzer
Blitzer at Democratic Party presidential primary debate in Los Angeles, California, January 31, 2008
Born	Wolf Isaac Blitzer (1948-03-22) March 22, 1948 (age 64) Augsburg, Germany
Education	University at Buffalo (BA) Johns Hopkins University (MA)
Occupation	Journalist
Years active	1972–present
Title	CNN The Situation Room anchor
Religion	Jewish[1]
Website
http://www.cnn.com/CNN/anchors_reporters/blitzer.wolf.html

Wolf Isaac Blitzer (born March 22, 1948) is an American journalist who has been a CNN reporter since 1990. Blitzer is currently the host of the newscast The Situation Room and was the host of the Sunday talk show Late Edition until it was discontinued on January 11, 2009. Blitzer previously hosted Wolf Blitzer Reports, which was replaced by The Situation Room.

Early life[link]

The son of Jewish refugees from Poland,^[2] Wolf Blitzer was born in Augsburg, Germany^[3][4] and raised in Buffalo, New York. Blitzer graduated from Kenmore West Senior High School and received a Bachelor of Arts in history from the University at Buffalo in 1970. While there, he was a brother of Alpha Epsilon Pi. In 1972, he received a Master of Arts in international relations from the Johns Hopkins University School of Advanced International Studies. While at Johns Hopkins, Blitzer studied abroad at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, where he learned Hebrew.^[5]

Name[link]

Blitzer has said that he has frequently been asked about his name, which has been characterized as seemingly "made-for-TV".^[6] In a Wayne's World Saturday Night Live sketch which was aired during the Persian Gulf War, Wayne and Garth picked Blitzer as having the "worst name" of any war correspondent, with Garth remarking, "It's so obvious the guy made it up for the war!" ^[7] Blitzer explains that his surname goes back for generations, and his first name, 'Wolf', is the same first name as his maternal grandfather.

In writing for several Israeli newspapers in Washington, Blitzer has used the names Zev Blitzer and Zev Barak.^[8] Zev (זאב) is the Hebrew word for "wolf".

Career[link]

Washington and Jerusalem[link]

Blitzer began his career in journalism in the early 1970s in the Tel Aviv bureau of the Reuters news agency. In 1973 he caught the eye of Jerusalem Post editor Ari Rath, who hired Blitzer as a Washington correspondent for the English language Israeli newspaper. Blitzer would remain with the Jerusalem Post until 1990, covering both American politics and developments in the Middle East.^[9]

In the mid-1970s, Blitzer also contributed to the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) as the editor of their monthly publication, the Near East Report.^[10][11] While at AIPAC, Blitzer's writing focused on Middle East affairs as they relate to United States foreign policy.

At an April 1977 White House press conference, Blitzer asked Egyptian leader Anwar Sadat why Egyptian scholars, athletes and journalists were not permitted to visit Israel. Sadat, somewhat taken aback, responded that such visits would be possible after an end to the state of belligerence between the two nations. This was Sadat's first public acknowledgment that peace between Egypt and Israel was possible. In November of that year, Sadat made a historic visit to Israel, and Blitzer covered the negotiations between the two countries from the first joint Israeli-Egyptian press conference in 1977 to the final negotiations that would lead to the signing of the Egypt–Israel Peace Treaty two years later.^[9]

Fluent in Hebrew, in this period Blitzer also published articles for several Israeli-based newspapers. Under the name Zev Blitzer, he wrote for Al HaMishmar; using the name Zev Barak, he had work published in Yedioth Ahronoth.^[8]

In 1985, Blitzer published his first book, Between Washington and Jerusalem: A Reporter's Notebook (Oxford University Press, 1985). The text outlined his personal development as a reporter, and the relations between the United States and Israel.

Jonathan Pollard[link]

In 1986, he became known for his coverage of the arrest and trial of Jonathan Pollard, an American Jew who was charged with spying for Israel.^[9] Blitzer was the first journalist to interview Pollard, and he would later write a book about the Pollard Affair titled Territory of Lies.^[12] In the book, Blitzer writes that Pollard contacted him because he had been reading Blitzer's byline for years, and because Blitzer "had apparently impressed him as someone who was sympathetic".^[13] Pollard also hoped that Blitzer would help him "reach the people of Israel, as well as the American Jewish community."^[14]

Blitzer's interview with Pollard was controversial in the context of the legal action against him, as it was construed by some media voices as a possible violation of the terms of Pollard's plea deal, which forbade media contact. Blitzer's subsequent book about the affair was included in The New York Times list of "Notable Books of the Year" for 1989.^[15] In its review, the Times praised the book as "lucid and highly readable" and called Blitzer's judgment of Israeli officials "harsh but fair".^[16]

A review in The New York Review of Books was more critical, prompting a letter from Blitzer accusing the reviewer of making several inaccurate statements. Reviewer Robert I. Friedman responded to Blitzer's criticism by characterizing Territory of Lies as "a slick piece of damage control that would make [Blitzer's] former employers at AIPAC (not to mention Israel's Defense Ministry) proud."^[17]

Cable News Network[link]

Blitzer reviews notes during a break from presenting from the floor of the 2008 Democratic National Convention in Denver, Colorado.

In May 1990, Blitzer moved to CNN and worked as the cable network's military affairs reporter. Blitzer spent a month in Moscow in 1991, and was one of the first Western reporters to visit KGB headquarters. His team's coverage of the first Gulf War in Kuwait won a CableACE Award and made him a household name.

In 1992, Blitzer became CNN's White House correspondent, a position he would hold until 1999. During this period, he earned an Emmy Award for his coverage of the 1995 Oklahoma City bombing. In 1998, he began hosting the CNN Sunday morning interview program Late Edition with Wolf Blitzer, which was seen in over 180 countries. Blitzer's first assignment as an anchor was on the daily newscast The World Today, in 1999. In 2000, he started anchoring his own show, Wolf Blitzer Reports.

CNN selected Blitzer to anchor their coverage of the 2004 presidential election and the 2008 presidential election. Since August 8, 2005, Blitzer has hosted The Situation Room, a three-hour afternoon/early evening program on CNN.^[18][19]

Awards[link]

Blitzer has won awards including the 2004 Journalist Pillar of Justice Award from the Respect for Law Alliance and the 2003 Daniel Pearl Award from the Chicago Press Veterans Association. His news team was among those awarded a George Foster Peabody Award for coverage of Hurricane Katrina, an Alfred I. DuPont Award for coverage of the 1999 Southeast Asian tsunami, and an Edward R. Murrow Award for CNN's coverage of the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks.

In November 2002, he won the American Veteran Awards' Ernie Pyle Journalism Award for military reporting. In February 2000, he received the Anti-Defamation League’s Hubert H. Humphrey First Amendment Freedoms Prize. In 1999, Blitzer won the International Platform Association's Lowell Thomas Broadcast Journalism Award. Blitzer won an Emmy Award for his coverage of the Oklahoma City bombing. Blitzer was also part of the CNN team that was awarded a Golden ACE award for their 1991 Gulf War reporting. In 1994, American Journalism Review cited him and CNN as the readers' choice for the Best in the Business Award for network coverage of the Clinton administration.^[18] On May 23, 2010, Blitzer was awarded the honorary Doctorate of Humane Letters by Niagara University at their undergraduate commencement exercise. Also, on May 14, 2011 he received an honorary Doctorate of Humane Letters from Penn State University. On September 25, 2011, Blitzer was awarded an honorary Doctorate of Humane Letters by the University of Hartford.^[20]

Other media appearances[link]

Blitzer appears as himself in the 2009 documentary "Back Door Channels: The Price of Peace." The film deals with the back room negotiations that lead to the historic 1979 Peace Treaty between Israel and Egypt. At the time, Blitzer was the Washington Bureau Chief of the Jerusalem Post, and played a key role in establishing a back channel of communications between Israel and the White House by introducing President Carter's General Counsel, Robert Lipshutz, to New York businessman Leon Charney, a close friend of then Israeli Defense Minister Ezer Weizman.^[21] The flow of information between Weizman and Carter, via Charney and Lipshutz, contributed to finalizing the peace agreement between Israel and Egypt.

On September 17, 2009, Blitzer competed on an episode of Celebrity Jeopardy!, finishing the Double Jeopardy round with −$4,600. He was given $1,000 to bet in Final Jeopardy!, finishing with $2,000 and ultimately losing to comedian Andy Richter, who won $68,000 for St. Jude Children's Research Hospital.^[22][23] In an odd twist, a minor league soccer team from Blitzer's home town of Buffalo held a nickname contest and FC Buffalo's winner was "Blitzers."

Family[link]

Blitzer and his wife Lynn Greenfield live in Bethesda, Maryland, and have one daughter, Ilana, born in 1981.^[24]  

References[link]

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Wolf Blitzer

• CNN bio
• CNN.com — The Situation Room
• Appearances on C-SPAN
• Wolf Blitzer on Charlie Rose
• Wolf Blitzer at the Internet Movie Database
• Works by or about Wolf Blitzer in libraries (WorldCat catalog)
• Wolf Blitzer at the Notable Names Database
• "Wolf Blitzer for the Defense (Department)", Jim Naureckas, FAIR Extra!, January/February 2003
• Google Video on Israel Discussion - Held Nov 1989.

This biographical article needs additional citations for verification. Please help by adding reliable sources. Contentious material about living persons that is unsourced or poorly sourced must be removed immediately, especially if potentially libelous or harmful. (May 2010)

James Savage, better known by his stage name, Jayo Felony is a rapper from southeast San Diego, California. He is known for being the first San Diego rapper to be signed to a major label.^{[citation needed]} Jayo Felony was a member of the Neighborhood Rollin 40's, a Crip gang stretching from the Chollas View to the Mount Hope neighborhoods of Southeast San Diego.

Career[link]

Late years[link]

In 1994 Jayo Felony was signed to the label owned by Jam Master Jay called Jam Master Jay Records. That year Jayo released his debut album, Take a Ride.^[1] In 1998, Jayo released his follow-up album, Whatcha Gonna Do? on Def Jam. It featured rappers like Method Man, DMX, Mack 10, WC, Redman, Kokane, Ice Cube, E-40 and 8 Ball & MJG.

In 1999, he released Underground. He was due to release his fourth album, Hotter Than Fish Grease, in 2000, but for legal reasons the album was never released.^{[citation needed]} Jayo Felony also is now working on his next album called "Don't Get MeatBalled" under his new label Loco Records.

Jayo is looking to sign with Priority Records / Doggystyle Records.

Tha Dogg Pound[link]

In 2001, Jayo Felony claimed that Snoop Dogg stole the song "Crip Hop" and started an altercation on the set of Baby Boy. Snoop and Tha Eastsidaz took shots at Jayo on the song "Fuck All That Yappin" in addition Jayo responded with "You's A Character" explaining the Baby Boy situation. In 2003, Jayo Felony later became involved in a rivalry with Daz Dillinger, for collaborating with Kurupt, and creating a group with him called "The Rifleman". Now they are all on good terms and Kurupt is back together with Tha Dogg Pound and Snoop Dogg.

Discography[link]

Albums[link]

• Take a Ride
  • Released: May 30, 1994
  • Chart Positions: #65 Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums
  • Last RIAA description:
  • U.S. sales :141,827
  • Singles: "Sherm Sticc", "Loc Is On His Own"

• Whatcha Gonna Do?
  • Released: Aug 25, 1998
  • Chart Position: #46 US
  • Last RIAA description:
  • U.S. sales : 146,308 copies
  • Singles: "Nitty Gritty", "Watcha Gonna Do?"

• Underground
  • Released: Nov 16, 1999
  • Chart Positions:US #46
  • Last RIAA description:
  • U.S. sales :143,946
  • Singles:"What Ya Need"

• Crip Hop
  • Released: Oct 23, 2001
  • Chart Positions: # 10 Top independent
  • Last RIAA description:
  • U.S. sales :143,946
  • Singles: "She Loves Me"

• Don't Get MeatBalled
  • Released: TBA
  • Chart Positions: TBA
  • U.S. Sales : TBA
  • Singles: "So Into You ft. Sleepy Brown", "Blocc Party", "How do you Want It ft. Snoop Dogg"

References[link]

KING-TV, virtual channel 5, is a television station in Seattle, Washington, affiliated with the NBC network. Owned by Belo Corporation, it broadcasts on UHF digital channel 48. Its offices and broadcasting center are located just east of Seattle Center. The station's transmitter is located in the Queen Anne neighborhood of Seattle.

The station is operated in a duopoly with independent station KONG-TV, which features syndicated programs and news programming some produced by KING-TV; KONG is available on UHF channel 16, but on most Seattle cable systems is given the Channel 6 channel slot to compliment KING-TV. KING-TV carries Live Well Network on digital subchannel 5.2, which is also available on digital cable in northwestern Washington State. It is one of five local Seattle TV stations seen in Canada on the Bell TV and Shaw Direct satellite providers. KING is carried on several cable systems in south-eastern Alaska and Northwestern Oregon.

Syndicated programs broadcast on KING-TV include Dr. Phil, Anderson, The Ellen DeGeneres Show, and Inside Edition.

Digital programming[link]

Digital channels

On December 6, 2011, Belo announced it signed affiliation agreements with KING-TV and Spokane sister station KSKN to add Live Well Network, a lifestyle-oriented network owned by Disney-ABC Television Group, to their digital subchannels; Live Well Network replaced Universal Sports on digital subchannel 5.2 effective January 1, 2012, as Universal Sports transitioned into a cable and satellite channel during the first quarter of 2012.^[1]

Post-analog shutdown[link]

KING-TV began transmitting its scheduled programming in digital only on June 12, 2009 as mandated by the FCC.^[2] However KING-TV has continued its analog signal as part of the FCC's "Nightlight" program, running a DTV transition guide for two more weeks.^[3]

After the analog television shutdown, KING-DT remained on channel 48 ^[4] using PSIP to display KING-TV's virtual channels as 5 on digital television receivers.

History[link]

This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (May 2010)

When Channel 5 first came on the air as KRSC-TV on November 25, 1948, it became the first television station in the Pacific Northwest. The first broadcast was a live remote of a Thanksgiving Day high school football game and was plagued with technical difficulties, but local viewers reported being impressed nonetheless.^{[citation needed]} After eight months on the air under the ownership of P.K. Lieberman's Radio Sales Corporation, Channel 5 was purchased by Seattle native Dorothy Bullitt's King Broadcasting Company, owners of KING radio (AM 1090, now KPTK; and FM 98.1). The station became KING-TV to match its radio sisters (Bullitt purchased the KING call letters while on a fishing boat)^{[citation needed]}. For many years, the stations' logo was King Mike, an anthropomorphized microphone in ermine robes and a crown, drawn by Walt Disney. Sister stations KGW-AM-FM-TV in Portland, Oregon used a similar logo, called Pioneer Mike. The KRSC-TV call sign now resides on an independent educational station in Claremore, Oklahoma.

Channel 5 was a primary CBS affiliate, carrying secondary affiliations with NBC, ABC and (until 1956) DuMont Television Network. Once the Federal Communications Commission (FCC)-imposed freeze on TV licenses was rescinded in the early 1950s, KING-TV lost its monopoly on the Seattle TV market. It lost CBS to KTNT-TV (now KSTW-TV, KIRO-TV picked up CBS in 1958) and NBC decamped first to KMO-TV (now KCPQ-TV) and then a few months later to KOMO-TV in 1953, leaving KING with the poorly performing ABC. Bullitt lobbied NBC for affiliation and in 1959 NBC pulled its affiliation from KING's cross-town rival KOMO and granted it to KING.

In 1961, Dorothy Bullitt's son Stimson Bullitt became president of the King Broadcasting Company, while his mother remained chairwoman of the board. In 1966, he took the almost-unprecedented step of airing an anti-Vietnam war editorial, angering the Johnson Administration. Stimson also expanded the company to include Seattle Magazine and a variety of other businesses, much to the dismay of his mother, who felt he was losing focus on the family's broadcast properties. Investigative reporter Don McGaffin gave significant coverage to growing racial tensions in the city as well as corruption in the Seattle Police Department.

Dissatisfied with Stimson Bullitt's management style, Dorothy Bullitt, and Mr. Bullitt's sisters, arranged for his voluntary resignation from King Broadcasting in 1972. Stimson sold his company shares to his sisters, Harriet and Patsy. He then received control of the family's real estate interests. Ancil Payne, who had served as general manager of the company's Portland stations since 1965, became president and CEO. By the 1970s and 1980s, KING-TV was the flagship of a growing regional media empire which at various times included ventures in publishing, the film industry, cable television and even various timber assets in the Far East.

Locally produced programming included: Seattle Today, a mid-morning talk show hosted by Cliff Lenz and Shirley Hudson and later by Susan Michaels and Colby Chester; Seattle Tonight, Tonite!, hosted by Ross McGowan and later Dick Klinger; Almost Live!, a Saturday night talk and sketch-comedy program originally starring Ross Shafer; and a local Evening Magazine franchise, first hosted by Penny LeGate and Brian Tracey. Of these, only Evening Magazine exists today. How Come?, a half-hour early Sunday evening family television program hosted by Al Wallace, won several awards during its run during the 1970s and early 1980s. The show covered topics on how things were made or done in the world. Dick Klinger hosted the show after Al Wallace died.

King Broadcasting stations included KGW radio and television in Portland, KREM-TV Spokane, KTVB-TV Boise, KHNL-TV and KFVE-TV Honolulu and KYA/KOIT radio San Francisco. Long-time station-owner Dorothy Bullitt died in June 1989. Dorothy Bullitt's daughters Harriet Bullitt and Priscilla "Patsy" Bullitt Collins decided to sell the King assets in 1992—eventually selling King Broadcasting (including KING, KREM, KGW, KTVB, KHNL/KFVE and the cable system assets) to the Providence Journal (ProJo) Company. KING-TV and other King Broadcasting stations later became Belo properties as a result of a merger with ProJo in 1997 (KHNL and KFVE were later sold to Raycom in 1999).

Bonneville International Corporation purchased KING-AM in 1994 and changed the station's call letters to KINF (later KNWX) and switched to an all-news format. KNWX switched frequencies with KRPM 770 a year later, transferring ownership of the 1090 frequency allocation to EZ Communications, Inc. Since late 2004, CBS Radio-owned KPTK 1090 is home of Air America Radio. KING-FM was donated to a non-profit partnership of the Seattle Symphony, the Seattle Opera, and ArtsFund. It continues the classical music format started by Dorothy Bullitt and is one of the few remaining commercial classical radio stations in the nation today. The station is scheduled to become a non-commercial public radio station by July 2011.

The 1990s saw the end of Almost Live!. During this decade, the show launched the career of Bill Nye the Science Guy, Joel McHale (of The Soup fame) and locally, Pat Cashman and John Keister (who replaced Ross Shafer as host). KING-TV was also the home for Watch This!, KING 5's Emmy Award-winning fast-paced show for teens and children. The show lasted five years and was hosted by local anchors, Jim Dever and Mimi Gan.

On December 18, 1995, King Broadcasting launched Northwest Cable News, a 24-hour regional cable news operation available to cable television viewers primarily in Washington, Oregon, and Idaho with lesser viewership in Alaska, Montana and California. In the Seattle area NWCN is located on Comcast Channel 2 or WAVE Broadband Channel 54. King Mike, the original logo, was brought back for KING's 50th anniversary in 1998 and still appears in promotional announcements.

KING opted not to carry NBC's telecasts of the 2006 Stanley Cup Finals, the 2007 Stanley Cup Finals, and the 2008 Stanley Cup Finals when the games began at 5 p.m. Pacific time and CBC telecasts were available to most regional cable subscribers via CBUT in Vancouver. KING chose instead to air its regular lineup of newscasts and syndicated shows. KONG picked up the NBC telecasts of the games. For the 2007 and 2008 Stanley Cup Finals, however, KING aired NBC's Saturday night telecasts of the Stanley Cup Final while KONG aired the other NBC Stanley Cup Final telecasts. As for the 2009 Stanley Cup Finals, KING aired games 1, 2 and 5 while KONG aired games 6 and 7.

The station also has the distinction of having the longest-serving numeric logo in the Seattle market- the 'K5' logo with three dots over the "K" (representing a crown, like a king's crown, hence the call letters) having been in use since 1977, with the current italicized version first used in 1998 (during the 1980s, the "5" in the K5 was also seen by itself at times). The "K" part of the logo also served as King Broadcasting's corporate logo.

KING is the official home of Seattle Seahawks preseason games, except those on national television, unless they are on NBC, in which case KING will carry the game, but will not produce it, deferring the duties to the network.

News operation[link]

A morning news interview with the Secretary of the United States Navy Ray Mabus.

For most of the last quarter-century, KING has waged a spirited battle for first place in the Seattle news race with KOMO. However, for the past couple of years, KING has been in first place in virtually every local newscast. Some of its newscasts rank higher than all the other newscasts combined.

From the beginning KING was deeply committed to the Seattle area. Bulitt believed that a television station should serve the local public while remaining commercially viable. KING set up one of the first local news departments in the country and quickly gained national attention for its high quality and thorough approach. In 1952, KING kept Senator Joseph McCarthy from delivering a potentially libelous attack on the air. McCarthy threatened to have the station's license pulled citing undue bias (the Bulitts were staunch Democrats) but was forced to back down. Reporters such as Charles Herring, Ted Bryant, Mike James, Bob Faw and Seattle's first female news anchor, Jean Enersen, set high standards for television journalism in Seattle. KING-TV continues to be the leading station in the area.^{[citation needed]}

After Alaska was hit by a major earthquake in March 1964, KING-TV worked with NBC News to get the footage of the quake's aftermath broadcast on the network. This was prior to the launch of a trans-Pacific television broadcast satellite and footage from Anchorage was flown to Seattle and driven to KING to be fed into the NBC network. NBC was the first network to show footage of the quake's aftermath preceding ABC and CBS by several hours.

KING-TV was a pioneer of diversity in the newsroom. In 1972, KING-TV broke new ground by appointing Jean Enersen as an evening news anchor. According to the Washington Post, Enersen was the first permanent female evening news anchor in the country and is considered to be the longest-running female local evening news anchor.^[5] Additionally, KING-TV appointed Seattle's first African-American evening news anchor, John Raye, who co-anchored with Enersen for several years in the mid-1970s. During this time the KING-TV news department also groomed several network news reporters, including CNN's Aaron Brown and Lou Dobbs, former CBS Early Show contributor Hattie Kauffman, former CBS correspondent Linda Taira, NBC correspondent James Hattori, and NBC Dateline correspondent Dennis Murphy. Future meteorologist and author Jeff Renner joined KING-TV in 1977. Also during this era, KING's staff of photojournalists, led for many years by Phil Sturholm and Ken Jones, were among the best in the nation. The National Press Photographers Association named KING the Television News Photography Station of the Year for 1979, 1981, 1982^[6] and 2011.^[7]

KING was a pioneer with new types of newscasts. In 1979, KING debuted the first early morning newscast in Western Washington at 6:30 a.m., anchored by Don Madsen with Larry Schick as weather anchor; Don Madsen was known for coming in at 11:30 p.m. and working all night to prepare for his early morning newscast. The KING 5 Morning News became very popular with Western Washington viewers as well as viewers throughout British Columbia. In 1984, KING pioneered Top Story, hosted by Mike James and Lori Matsukawa, which aired at 6:30 p.m. weeknights; Top Story was a local version of Nightline focusing primarily on the top news story of the day with in-depth reporting and interviews. Despite efforts to produce a high-quality newscast, Top Story never became popular and was canceled in 1988.

In the late 1970s, KING-TV and its sister stations in Spokane, Boise, and Portland formed the KING Northwest Network. They often shared news reports during and jointly covered significant stories such as the eruption of Mt. St. Helens in 1980. The mid-morning talk show, Seattle Today, was renamed Northwest Today and expanded to 90 minutes. While the majority of the show was produced in Seattle, each member station had a local host who would provide short local segments.

In 1999, to compete against KOMO, KING began providing high definition newscasts; at the time it only had one studio camera that was HD-capable. In April 2007, KING upgraded all of its studio cameras, graphics and weather system to high definition, and began broadcasting its public affairs programming in the format as well."HDTV - KING5.COM". http://www.king5.com/HD/.  Field reports are still standard-definition (480i converted to 1080i HD for air) but are taped in a 16x9 aspect ratio, giving the appearance of high-definition. According to KING, it is "Seattle's First HD Newscast".^[8] On April 16, 2007, KING 5 also started using the tagline "KING 5 HD" when referring to the station.

In 2008, chief newscaster Jean Enersen celebrated her 40th year at KING (36 of those years as primary evening anchor—the longest serving female evening anchor in the country) with a 1-hour special which aired August 1. Recently, she stated in the Seattle Times that she has no plans to retire anytime soon.

News/station presentation[link]

Newscast titles[link]

• KING-TV News (1950s)
• KING-TV Night Report (1960s)
• KING News Final (1960s)
• KING News (1960s–1971)
• KING Newservice (1971–1978?)
• KING 5 News (1978?–present)^[9]

Station slogans[link]

• "First in the Great Northwest" (1950s–1960s)
• "News Headquarters for the Great Northwest" (1970s)
• "The Home Team" (1987–present; general slogan)
• "All the News for Western Washington" (1990–1999)
• "Coverage You Can Count On" (1999–present; news slogan)
• "Community, Context, Commitment." (2001–2007; secondary slogan)

This film, television or video-related list is incomplete; you can help by expanding it with reliably sourced additions.

[edit] News team^[10]

Anchors

• Dennis Bounds - weekday evenings (5, 6:30, 10 on KONG, and 11)
• Jean Enersen - weekday evenings (5 and 6:30); "HealthLink" reporter
• Lori Matsukawa - weekday evenings (10 on KONG, and 11)
• Joyce Taylor - weekday mornings (4:30-7, 7-9 on KONG)
• Mark Wright - weekday mornings (4:30-7, 7-9 on KONG)
• Mimi Jung - weekdays (noon); general assignment reporter
• Greg Copeland - weekdays (noon)
• Allen Schauffler - weekend evenings (5, 6:30, 10 on KONG, and 11); general assignment reporter
• Meg Coyle - weekend mornings (6-10 on Saturdays, 7-9:30 on Sundays); general assignment reporter
• Cam Johnson - fill-in anchor
• Shaniqua Manning - fill-in anchor
• Rob Piercy - fill-in anchor

First Alert Weather

• Jeff Renner (AMS Certified Broadcast Meteorologist) - chief meteorologist; weeknights at 5, 6:30, 10 (on KONG-TV) and 11 p.m.
• Rich Marriott (AMS Seal of Approval) - meteorologist; weekday mornings (4:30-7 a.m. on KING, 7-9 a.m. on KONG) and noon
• Jim Guy (AMS Seal of Approval) - meteorologist; weekends at 5, 6:30, 10 (on KONG-TV) and 11 p.m.
• Lisa Van Cise - weather anchor; weekend mornings
• Keisha Burns - weather anchor; fill-in
• Rick Van Cise (AMS Seal of Approval) - meteorologist; freelance weather anchor

Sports team

• Paul Silvi - sports director; weeknights at 5, 6:30, 10 (on KONG-TV) and 11 p.m.
• Andrea Nakano - sports anchor; weekends at 5, 6:30, 10 (on KONG-TV) and 11 p.m., also sports reporter
• Chris Egan - sports anchor; fill-in, also sports reporter

Traffic

• Tracy Taylor - weekday morning traffic reporter

Reporters

• Linda Brill - general assignment reporter
• Linda Byron - investigative reporter
• Gary Chittim - general assignment reporter and environmental specialist
• Chris Daniels - general assignment reporter
• Glenn Farley - general assignment reporter and aviation specialist
• Jim Forman - general assignment reporter
• Susannah Frame - investigative reporter
• Joe Fryer - general assignment reporter
• Elisa Hahn - general assignment reporter
• Chris Ingalls - general assignment reporter
• Christie Johnson - weekday morning feature reporter
• Jesse Jones - consumer specialist and investigative reporter
• Owen Lei - general assignment reporter
• Drew Mikkelsen - South Bureau chief/reporter
• Tonya Mosley - general assignment reporter
• Roberta Romero - general assignment reporter
• Natasha Ryan - general assignment reporter
• Natalie Swaby - general assignment reporter
• Jake Whittenberg - North Bureau chief/reporter
• Eric Wilkinson - general assignment reporter
• Teresa Yuan - general assignment reporter

Local program hosts[link]

Evening Magazine

• Meeghan Black - host
• Saint Bryan - reporter
• Josephine Cheng - reporter
• Jim Dever - reporter
• Kim Griffis - reporter
• Kim Holcomb - reporter
• Michael King - reporter
• Joe Micheals - announcer

New Day Northwest

• Margaret Larson - host

KING 5 News Up Front

• Robert Mak - anchor; also political reporter

Driving Northwest

• Tom Voelk - reporter

Gardening with Ciscoe

• Meeghan Black - host
• Ciscoe Morris - host

Notable past on-air staff[link]

• Aaron Brown (was at KIRO-TV, ABC News, and CNN; now anchoring at PBS and teaching at Walter Cronkite School of Journalism)
• Jim Compton - host of The Compton Report (1985–1999)
• Lou Dobbs - anchor (later at CNN)
• David Kerley (was at KIRO-TV; currently at ABC News)
• Mark Mullen (formerly with WNBC-TV and ABC News; currently at KNSD in San Diego)
• Shannon O'Donnell - weather anchor (1996–2000 and 2007–2009; now weekend weather anchor at KOMO-TV)
• Greg Palmer - reporter (deceased)
• Don Poier (later radio voice of Vancouver/Memphis Grizzlies; deceased)
• Don Porter- (former NBC News reporter, before becoming a full time anchor. Briefly co-anchored with KSTW-TV news before returning to KING-TV.)
• Drew Soicher - sports anchor (now at KUSA-TV in Denver)

References[link]

• Dorothy Stimson Bullitt: An Uncommon Life by Delphine Haley, from Sasquatch Press; ISBN 1-57061-327-3
• King: The Bullitts of Seattle and Their Communications Empire by O. Casey Corr, from University of Washington Press; ISBN 0-295-97584-9
• On the Air: The King Broadcasting Story by Daniel Jack Chasan, from Island Publishers; ISBN 0-9615580-6-7

External links[link]

• KING 5
• Query the FCC's TV station database for KING-TV
• Query TV Fool's coverage map for KING
• BIAfn's Media Web Database -- Information on KING-TV
• Essay on Dorothy Bullitt from Historylink