KDFW, virtual channel 4 (digital channel 35), is the Fox owned-and-operated television station in the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex designated market area.

It is owned by Fox Television Stations, Inc. in a duopoly with MyNetworkTV affiliate KDFI (channel 27), and is also co-owned with Fox Sports Southwest, through parent company News Corporation. The station is licensed to Dallas and its studios and business offices are located downtown, with the station's transmitter located in Cedar Hill.

Coordinates: 32°46′55″N 96°48′11″W / 32.78194°N 96.80306°W / 32.78194; -96.80306

Digital television[link]

Analog-to-digital conversion[link]

After the analog television shutdown of June 12, 2009,^[1] KDFW-DT remains on channel 35 ^[2] PSIP is used to display KDFW's virtual channel as 4 on digital television receivers. Its analog signal was nightlighting until July 12, 2009.^[3]

History[link]

As a CBS affiliate[link]

The station signed on as CBS affiliate KRLD-TV on December 3, 1949, owned by the now-defunct Dallas Times Herald newspaper, which also operated KRLD radio (1080 kHz.). Channel 4 was the third television station in the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex area to sign-on, following Dallas-based KBTV (now WFAA-TV, channel 8) earlier in 1949, and Fort Worth-based WBAP-TV (now KXAS-TV, channel 5) in 1948.

KRLD-TV served as the home base for the CBS network's coverage of the assassination of President John F. Kennedy, led by Dan Rather, on November 22, 1963. News director Eddie Barker was the first person to announce Kennedy's death on television, passing along word from a Parkland Hospital official (because of a local pool arrangement, Barker's scoop appeared live simultaneously on CBS and ABC).

KRLD-TV's transmission tower in Cedar Hill, (jointly owned by KDFW and WFAA), which was 1,521 feet tall and was once considered the highest television transmission tower in the world, was hit by a military jet doing training exercises in 1987. The two passengers survived, but the tower had to be reconstructed. KDFW's studio tower and original site had a similar meeting with a chopper in 1968.

Federal Communications Commission rules at the time prevented common ownership of newspapers and broadcast outlets in the same market, and the combination of KRLD-AM-TV and the Dallas Times-Herald was protected under a grandfather clause from forced divestiture. However, the newspaper and its broadcast holdings were sold to the Los Angeles-based Times-Mirror Company on May 15, 1970 for $30 million. As a result of the sale, Times-Mirror could not keep the Times-Herald's grandfathered protection for the radio and television stations, but was granted a waiver to keep the newspaper together with the television station, which was renamed KDFW-TV on July 2, 1970. KRLD radio was sold to Metromedia soon thereafter; the newspaper was sold off in 1986, and was shut down five years later.

In 1993, Times-Mirror announced its intention to divest itself of its television station properties,^[4] KDFW and the other Times-Mirror stations were sold to Argyle Television in a group deal.^[5] Early in 1994, KDFW began managing a struggling station, KDFI (channel 27), which was rebroadcasting KDFW's newscasts in different time slots.

As a Fox affiliate[link]

In late 1993, when Fox gained the contract from CBS to carry the NFC package of the National Football League,^[6] New World Communications reached an agreement for its stations to make the big switch to the network.^[7] Afterwards, New World bought out Argyle, which owned KDFW along with sister stations KTVI (channel 2) in St Louis, WVTM (channel 13) in Birmingham, Alabama, and KTBC (channel 7) in Austin. When that buyout became final on April 14, 1995 (although New World had been operating the Argyle stations through time brokerage agreements since January 19), KDFW and KTBC switched affiliations to Fox on July 1 of that year (and KTVI followed suit on August 7)—while WVTM remained affiliated with NBC because former ABC affiliate WBRC (channel 6) in the same market was sold directly to Fox (WVTM was subsequently sold to NBC before being purchased by current owner Media General).^[8][9]

Upon the network switch, the Cowboys football games moved back to KDFW after a one year absence; KDFW as a CBS affiliate carried the Cowboys through 1993, after which the NFC package moved from CBS to Fox (the first season that the Cowboys were back on KDFW, they won the Super Bowl). The CBS affiliation moved to KTVT (channel 11), and former Fox O&O station KDAF (channel 33; which Fox sold to Renaissance, later Tribune Company) took The WB affiliation from KXTX (channel 39). News Corporation purchased KDFW and its LMA with KDFI in a group deal in early 1997. Like most New World-owned stations, KDFW did not pick up Fox Kids; it stayed with KDAF until 1997 when Fox Kids moved to KDFI (Fox/NewsCorp eventually bought KDFI outright in 2000).

KDFW (briefly branded as Fox 4 Texas upon affiliation switch in 1995) is not the only Fox owned-and-operated station to replace a previous Fox O&O; sister station WAGA (channel 5) in Atlanta replaced WATL (channel 36) during the Fox/New World agreement in 1994. KDFW and KDFI are one of three groups of network O&Os (albeit a duopoly) based in Dallas (with KTVT and KTXA being owned by CBS; KXAS and KXTX being owned by NBC). With Fox switching from a UHF to a VHF position, Dallas-Fort Worth became one of a select group of markets where all "Big Four" affiliates were on the VHF dial, along with New York, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Washington, DC, Seattle, Miami, Salt Lake City, Las Vegas, Albuquerque, Honolulu, Boise, and Anchorage. Reno joined the group in 1996, and Portland and Minneapolis-St. Paul in 2002. (In both Boise and Honolulu, the Fox affiliation switched from one VHF channel to another.)

On the morning of July 30, 2007 around 7 a.m., a traffic helicopter used by KDFW crash-landed near Joe Pool Lake after the engine suddenly lost power. Helicopter pilot Curtis Crump was able to make a hard emergency landing, with the aircraft skidding and then tipping over before coming to a stop near a lake dam. All three people in the helicopter survived.^[10]

Programming[link]

Being a network O&O, KDFW airs the entire Fox network schedule (primetime, Saturday late night and sports programming, and the political talk show Fox News Sunday). Syndicated programming includes talk shows (such as Live with Kelly and The Wendy Williams Show), court shows (such as Judge Judy and Judge Joe Brown), newsmagazines (such as Access Hollywood and TMZ on TV), off-network dramas (such as Law & Order: Special Victims Unit) and weekend morning children's shows. The station began to broadcast a few off-network sitcoms by the late 1990s (though for a brief period during the mid-2000s and also as of the 2008-2009 season, no off-network sitcoms were on its schedule—a rarity for a Fox station). Some of the syndicated court shows airing on the station air in both daytime and late night.

By the very late 1990s, the station began to broadcast a few off-network sitcoms. KDFW is also the alternate flagship station for Texas Rangers baseball; sister station KDFI (channel 27) is the official flagship, and Fox Sports Net also broadcasts some Rangers games.

In 1972, the station debuted 4 Country Reporter, hosted by Bob Phillips. In 1986, Phillips left KDFW and began selling the show in syndication, which was renamed Texas Country Reporter, and now airs in all 22 television markets in Texas. KDFW did not pick up the syndicated version, but rival station WFAA carried the show (calling it 8 Country Reporter).

News operation[link]

This section requires expansion with: further information on KDFW's news department, particularly prior to the Fox affiliation switch.

KDFW broadcasts a total of 48½ hours of local news a week (eight hours on weekdays, four hours on Saturdays and 4½ hours on Sundays), more than any other station in the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex and the most of any television station in Texas; however as is standard with Fox stations that carry early evening weekend newscasts, KDFW's Sunday 5 p.m. newscast is subject to preemption and the Saturday 6 p.m. newscast is subject to delay due to sports coverage from Fox. From the time KDFW became a Fox affiliate (and later owned-and-operated station) in 1995, the station has placed more emphasis on local news; maintaining a newscast schedule that is very similar to a CBS, ABC, or NBC affiliated station, along with the added weeknight 5:30 and nightly 9 p.m. newscasts and the additional two hours of news on weekday mornings.

KDFW is one of a steadily growing number of Fox stations with a newscast in the traditional late news time slot (with the majority of Texas being located in the Central time zone, at 10 p.m. in KDFW's case), in addition to the primetime (9 p.m.) newscast, along with one of the few to continue their Big Three-era 10 p.m. (or 11 p.m.) newscast after the affiliation switch. In 2006, Fox Television Stations Group started to push expansion into that time slot (sister station KTBC in Austin had a 10 p.m. newscast for years after switching to Fox, which was moved to 9 p.m. in 2000). After the switch, KDFW's 10 p.m. newscast was scaled back to weeknights only (Fox late night programming airs on Saturdays at 10 p.m., while the sports wrap-up show "FOX4 Sports Sunday" airs Sundays in that timeslot). It is likely that Fox will have all of its owned-and-operated stations add these later newscasts within the next few years (at least half of the Fox O&Os already have added newscasts at 11 p.m. (ET/PT)/10 p.m. (CT/MT)).

Starting in 2006, the Fox-owned stations began revamping their sets and graphics to be more closely aligned with Fox News Channel. The stations now have standardized logos that resemble Fox News Channel's. KDFW debuted the new logo, set, graphics and news music on September 20, 2006 on its 9 p.m. newscast. The station also launched a new website, which features more news and video with the "myfox" name and interface. On February 18, 2009 at noon, KDFW became the fifth station in the Dallas-Fort Worth market to broadcast its local newscasts in high definition, thus leaving KDAF (channel 33, a CW affiliate [and the Metroplex's original Fox O&O] owned by Tribune Company) as the only local English-language television station not to broadcast its newscasts in HD for another 15 months.

On April 5, 2010 the station expanded its morning newscast by a half-hour, now running from 4:30 to 9 a.m. KDFW is the last remaining Fox-owned station not to run news in the 9 a.m. hour; this is due to the fact that the station broadcasts Live with Regis and Kelly in that timeslot, which KDFW has done for several years. On July 10, 2011, KDFW debuted a Sunday morning edition of its Good Day newscast (prior to then, the only weekend morning newscast on KDFW was a two-hour Saturday morning newscast from 8-10 a.m., which remains on the station).^[11]

News/station presentation[link]

Newscast titles[link]

• The Esso Reporter (1949–1963)
• Big City News (5:30 p.m. newscast; 1963–1968)
• Nightly News (10 p.m. newscast; 1963–1968)
• NewsScene (5 p.m. newscast; 1968–1975)
• 24 Hours (10 p.m. newscast; 1968–1978)
• Eyewitness News (1975–1978)
• Channel 4 News (1978–1980 and 1984–1990)^[12]
• News 4 Dallas-Fort Worth (1980–1984)^[13]
• News 4 Texas (1990–1996; KDFW kept this news title after switch to Fox in 1995)^[14]
• Fox 4 News (1996–present)^[15]

Station slogans[link]

• "Catch The Brightest Stars on Channel 4" (1975–1976; localized version of CBS ad campaign)
• "Eyewitness News: Dallas/Fort Worth's #1 News Team" (1975–1978)
• "Channel 4, We're The Hot Ones" (1976–1977; localized version of CBS ad campaign)
• "There's Something in the Air on Channel 4" (1977–1978; localized version of CBS ad campaign)
• "Reach For The Stars on Channel 4" (1981–1982; localized version of CBS ad campaign)^[16]
• "Great Moments on Channel 4" (1982–1983; localized version of CBS ad campaign)
• "Hello Dallas" (1984–1989; during period station used Frank Gari's Hello News)
• "Share The Spirit on Channel 4" (1986–1989; localized version of CBS campaign)
• "Channel 4 News, Working For You" (news slogan) / "Believing in Texas" (general slogan; 1989)^[17]
• "Your 24-Hour News Source" (1990–1995)^[18]
• "The Look of Dallas/Fort Worth is Channel 4" (1991–1992; localized version of CBS ad campaign)
• "Fox 4 Texas" (1995–1996)
• "Nobody Gets You Closer" (1996–1997)^[19]
• "Fox 4: The News Station" (1997–present; primary slogan from 2009–present)^[20]
• "Have You Had a Good Day?" (2002–present; used in morning newscast promos)^[21]
• "Now You Know" (2009–present; secondary news slogan)
• "So Fox 4" (2009–present; localized version of Fox ad campaign)

News team[link]

[edit] Current on-air staff^[22]

Anchors

• Adrian Arambulo - Sunday mornings Good Day; also weekday morning reporter
• Steve Eagar - weeknights at 5:30, 6 and 9 p.m.
• Dan Godwin - weekdays at noon, and Saturday mornings Good Day; also weekday morning reporter
• Heather Hays - weeknights at 6 and 9 p.m.
• Lauren Przybyl - weekday mornings Good Day (4:30-9 a.m.)
• Richard Ray - Saturdays at 6, Sundays at 5, and weekends at 9 p.m.; also weeknight reporter
• Tim Ryan - weekday mornings Good Day (4:30-9 a.m.)
• Natalie Solis - Saturdays at 6, Sundays at 5, and weekends at 9 p.m.; also weeknight reporter
• Clarice Tinsley - weeknights at 5 and 10 p.m.

4WARN Weather Team
In addition to providing forecasts on KDFW, the 4WARN Weather Team also provides forecasts for KLIF radio.

• Dan Henry (AMS Certified Broadcast Meteorologist Seal of Approval) - chief meteorologist; weeknights at 5, 5:30, 6, 9 and 10 p.m.
• Evan Andrews (AMS Seal of Approval) - meteorologist; weekday mornings Good Day (4:30-9 a.m.)
• Fiona Gorostiza - weather anchor; weekdays at noon
• Ron Jackson (AMS Seal of Approval) - meteorologist; weekend mornings Good Day, Saturdays at 6, Sundays at 5, and weekends at 9 p.m.

Sports team

• Mike Doocy - sports director; weeknights at 6, 9 and 10 p.m., also host of Sports Sunday
• Max Morgan - sports anchor; Saturdays at 6, Sundays at 5, and weekends at 9 p.m., also sports reporter

Team Traffic

• Chip Waggoner - weekday mornings Good Day (4:30-9 a.m.), and weeknights at 5 p.m.
• Todd Carruth - fill-in traffic reporter

Reporters

• Fil Alvarado - general assignment reporter
• Dionne Anglin - general assignment reporter
• Lari Barager - general assignment reporter; also fill-in anchor
• Melissa Cutler - general assignment reporter
• Saul Garza - general assignment and "What's Buggin' You" feature reporter
• Matt Grubs - general assignment reporter
• Krystle Gutierrez - general assignment reporter; also fill-in anchor
• Lynn Kawano - general assignment reporter
• Emily Lopez - general assignment reporter
• Doug Luzader - Fox News Washington D.C. correspondent
• Steve Noviello - "Fox 4 On Your Side" consumer reporter
• Becky Oliver - investigative reporter
• Shawn Rabb - general assignment reporter
• James Rose - general assignment and "Street Squad" feature reporter
• Brandon Todd - general assignment reporter

Notable former on-air staff[link]

• Rebecca Aguilar - reporter (1994-2008)
• Ashleigh Banfield - anchor (1995–2000; now with TruTV)
• Gary Bazner - weather anchor (deceased)
• Jack Brown - reporter/features (deceased)
• Paul Crane - sports anchor (now with Cox Sports TV and HDNet)
• Katherine Creag - reporter (2002–2005; now at WNYW in New York City)
• Warren Culbertson - weather anchor (deceased)
• Sam Donaldson - announcer (1959–1960; later with ABC News, retired)
• Wayne Freedman - reporter (1980–1981; now at KGO-TV in San Francisco)
• Frank Glieber - sports reporter/anchor (deceased)
• Cynthia Gouw - weekend anchor/reporter (1993–1994)
• Judd Hambrick - anchor (1972–1973)
• Dale Hansen - sports anchor (1980–1983; now at WFAA)
• Tim Heller - meteorologist (now at KTRK in Houston)
• Megan Henderson - Good Day anchor (2003–2009; now at KTLA in Los Angeles)
• Craig James - sports anchor (1992–1993; later with ABC Sports and ESPN)
• Brett Johnson - reporter (deceased)
• Dick Johnson - anchor (1976–1982; now at WMAQ-TV in Chicago)
• Judy Jordan - anchor (early-mid 1970s; retired)
• Bill Mercer - sportscaster/wrestling announcer (1953–1964)
• Chip Moody - anchor (1980-1984) (deceased)
• Bob Phillips - host of 4 Country Reporter (1972–1986; now host of Texas Country Reporter)
• Dick Risenhoover - sports anchor (1970–1973; deceased)
• Dale Schornack - anchor/reporter (1991–1995; now at KXTV in Sacramento)
• Wayne Shattuck - meteorologist (early 1980s; now at WFTS in Tampa)
• James Spann - meteorologist (mid 1980s; now at WBMA-LP/WCFT/WJSU in Birmingham, AL)
• Casey Stegall - reporter (2005–2007; now with Fox News)
• Roger Twibell - sports reporter (1975–1976; now at Big Ten Network)

Dallas-Fort Worth portal

References[link]

• Shannon, Mike (January, 2004). Dallas-Fort Worth TV Station History. The History of Dallas-Fort Worth Radio and Television.
• KDFW Fox 4 -- 50 Years and Counting! (1999) KDFWFox4.com.

External links[link]

• Official site
• Query the FCC's TV station database for KDFW
• BIAfn's Media Web Database -- Information on KDFW-TV
• Program Information for KDFW at TitanTV.com
• Very old pictures from KRLD Radio and TV