WTAE-TV

WTAE-TV, channel 4, is an ABC-affiliated television station located in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States. The station is owned by the Hearst Television division of the Hearst Corporation and has been owned by Hearst since the station's inception. The station's studios are located on Ardmore Boulevard (PA 8) in the suburb of Wilkinsburg (though with a Pittsburgh mailing address), and its transmitter is located in Buena Vista, Pennsylvania.

History

WTAE-TV began broadcasting on September 14, 1958; the station has been Pittsburgh's ABC affiliate since its sign-on. From the beginning, the Hearst Corporation has been involved in the station's ownership. How the station came to be was the result of a long and complicated drama surrounding the awarding of the station's construction permit and ultimate broadcast license.

Although it was the sixth-largest market in the country for most of the early television era, Pittsburgh had only one major commercial television station for close to a decade – DuMont-owned WDTV (channel 2, now KDKA-TV), which signed on in 1949 and carried programs from all four television networks (DuMont, ABC. NBC and CBS). Further development of stations in Pittsburgh was halted by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC)'s freeze on license awards, which ran from 1948 until 1952. Even after the freeze was lifted by the FCC's Sixth Report and Order, the FCC held off on allocating new VHF stations to Pittsburgh in order to give the smaller cities in the Upper Ohio Valley a chance to get on the air. The cities in the Upper Ohio Valley are close enough together that they must share the VHF band.

Joe DeNardo

Joseph William DeNardo (born November 27, 1930) is a Pittsburgh meteorologist. He is known for his 1994 campaign, "Joe Said It Would." DeNardo currently resides in Moon Township, Pennsylvania with his wife of almost 60 years. When he retired in 2005, after 45 years on the air, he enjoyed "iconic" status among Pittsburghers.

Biography

Early life

Joe DeNardo was born and raised in Martins Ferry, Ohio and attended Wheeling Central Catholic High School in Wheeling, West Virginia. While at Wheeling Central, DeNardo averaged a 4.0 GPA. In addition, Joe was an outstanding basketball player, making the All-State team both his Junior and Senior year. His nickname on the court was "The Flash" due to his speed and quickness on the court. Perhaps the best shot of his career was against his hometown of Martins Ferry, where he hit a buzzer beater jumper to win the game. While in the air, DeNardo was fouled hard and knocked unconscious.

DeNardo graduated from Duquesne University in 1952 with a major in Mathematics and Physics. He was president of the Alpha Phi Delta fraternity. In 1953 he received a Masters in Meteorology from The University of Chicago.