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KWTX-TV, channel 10, is a full-power television station in Waco, Texas, serving Central Texas as a CBS affiliate. Owned by Gray Television, it airs a digital signal on VHF channel 10. It is broadcast on cable channel 2 in the immediate part of the market.

KWTX also offers The CW programming on its digital feed, branded as "CW Texas." Prior to September 2006, KWTX offered UPN programming ("UPN Waco") on digital channel 10.2.

Digital television[link]

KWTX was the first station in the Central Texas area to broadcast in digital high definition. KWTX-DT first went on the air on May 11, 2001 at 5:10 p.m. It began regular programming on May 15, 2001 on digital channel 53; however, since channels 52-69 would no longer be used for television broadcasts after the end of analog broadcasting on the United States, KWTX opted to move its digital broadcasts to channel 10 in 2009.

Along with the rest of the major Central Texas stations, KWTX began broadcasting solely in digital on February 17, 2009. Currently, KWTX is one of a handful of stations in the country to transmit both its main channel and at least one subchannel in high definition. In this case, KWTX broadcasts CBS programming in 1080i on its main channel and The CW in 720p on a second subchannel.

History[link]

Beginnings[link]

KWTX first signed on the air as an independent station on April 3, 1955. At the time, crosstown KANG-TV, channel 34, had the ABC, CBS and DuMont affiliations. KWTX picked up ABC in time for the fall 1955 TV season, and DuMont's closure left KANG as a full-time CBS station.

Long plagued by financial difficulties due to being the only UHF station in the market at a time when UHF tuners were rare, KANG, owned by Texas Broadcasting Company, shut down at the end of 1955. KWTX bought KANG's assets in exchange for a 29% share in the combined operation.^[1] KWTX picked up the CBS affiliation as a result of the merger with KANG,^[2] and has been a primary CBS affiliate ever since. It shared a secondary ABC affiliation with KCEN-TV until 1983. KCEN later briefly switched to being a full-time ABC affiliate.

First live televised trial[link]

Beginning December 6, 1955, KWTX televised the murder trial of Harry L. Washburn, marking the first live telecast of a courtroom trial in the United States. The telecast earned near universal praise from the legal community. District Judge D.W. Bartlett praised the station's crew for its unobtrusiveness: "I have not noticed anything that would in any way interfere with the administration of justice. I don't think anyone could object to the television being run while this is on. It is perfectly quiet, it's outside the jury, and there's been perfect decorum of all concerned, and I don't think there would be any reflection on any court to have this television carried on as it has been carried on in this court."^[3]

Role during Branch Davidian raid[link]

Just before the Mount Carmel raid on February 28, 1993, Davidians learned that they were facing not a service of warrants, but a shootout. KWTX-TV cameraman James Peeler asked directions of Davidian David Jones, who was driving his postal truck. David Koresh's attorney Dick DeGuerin told reporters that Peeler told Jones, "Well, you better get out of here because there's a United States National Guard helicopter over at TSTC (Texas State Technical College) and they're going to have a big shootout with the religious nuts." Peeler was distressed to see Jones immediately drive to Mount Carmel Center and left the area to call his superiors.^[4]

According to the Treasury report, Jones told DeGuerin that "Peeler warned him not to go near the Compound as there were going to be 60 to 70 TABC (Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission) guys in helicopters and a shoot-out would occur'." And Peeler himself confessed to the Treasury review team that he had told Jones there would be "some type of law enforcement action" and that "the action was likely to be a raid of some type and that there might be shooting."^[5]

KWTX-TV cameraman Dan Mulloney testified that KWTX-TV's initial information came from law enforcement agents he refused to name—something the Treasury report failed to reveal—as well as from a private ambulance driver working with BATF. (Similarly, BATF agent Ballesteros admitted that it was non-BATF law enforcement that tipped off the Waco Tribune-Herald.) Therefore, BATF agents' expectations of a shootout were directly transmitted to the Davidians.^[6]

Mulloney, Peeler, and reporter John McLemore, along with reporters from the Waco Tribune-Herald, were the only non-combatants at Mount Carmel that day. Mulloney shot the TV footage used around the world of agents from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms storming the Davidians’ home. Mulloney and McLemore later used their vehicle to transport injured ATF agents away from the shootout.^[7] McLemore received letter of commendation from ATF Director for his bravery that day. However, KWTX reporters became easy targets for blame during the subsequent trials following the botched raid, particularly because Koresh learned about the approaching raid from Jones, the postal worker from which Peeler asked directions.^[8] While never charged with any criminal violations, the fall-out of the trials and accusations ruined the careers of McLemore, Peeler and Mulloney.

News operation[link]

This section requires expansion with: further information on the history of KWTX's news operation.

KWTX began broadcasting its local newscasts in high definition on May 3, 2010.

News/station presentation[link]

Newscast titles[link]

• TX News (1957–1975)
• TX News 10 (1975)
• Area 10 News (1975)
• Region 10 News (1975–1989)
• Channel 10 News (1989–1990)
• NewsChannel 10 (1990–1997)
• News 10 (1997–present)

Station slogans[link]

• "The Number One Professionals" (1983–1985)
• "Always A Step Ahead" (late 1980s)
• "The News You Know, The People You Trust" (1995–1997)
• "Central Texas' News Leader" (1997–2005)
• "First, Fast and Accurate" (2005–2007)
• "The News and Weather Authority" (2008–2009)
• "News 10, On Your Side" (2009–present)

[edit] News team^[9]

Anchors

• Gordon Collier - weeknights at 5, 6 and 10 p.m.
• Julie Hays - weeknights at 5, 6 and 10 p.m.
• Emily Iazzetti - weekdays at noon and host of Mom's Everyday (4 p.m.); also 4 p.m. producer
• Dan Ingham - weekday mornings News 10 This Morning and noon
• Ke'Sha Lopez - Saturdays at 6, Sundays at 5:30 and weekends at 10 p.m.
• Taina Maya - weekday mornings News 10 This Morning

Weather team

• Rusty Garrett - chief weather anchor; weeknights at 6 and 10 p.m.
• TBD - meteorologist; weekdays at noon and weeknights at 5 p.m.
• Brady Taylor (member, AMS; member, NWA) - meteorologist; weekday mornings News 10 This Morning
• Ben Walnick - weather anchor; Saturdays at 6, Sundays at 5:30 and weekends at 10 p.m.

Sports team

• Ricardo LeCompte - sports director; weeknights at 6 and 10 p.m.
• Brent Denham - sports anchor; Saturdays at 6, Sundays at 5:30 and weekends at 10 p.m., also weeknight sports reporter and photographer
• Jeremy Stein - sports reporter

Reporters

• Rachel Cox - general assignment reporter
• Stephanie Hedrick - general assignment reporter; also executive producer
• Megan Fleetwood - general assignment reporter
• Allison Ignacio - general assignment reporter
• Josh Wucher - weeknight reporter

Former on-air staff[link]

• Anita Blanton (now anchor, KOCO-TV, Oklahoma City)
• Richelle Carey (now anchor for CNN Headline News)
• Adam Colpack (now evening meteorologist KMVT-TV, Twin Falls, Idaho)
• Dan Corbett, Meteorologist (now weather forecaster for the BBC in London)
• Keith Daniels (now reporter for WBFF-TV, Baltimore)
• Kathryn Dettman [1](murdered on her next to last day of employment at KWTX)
• Kristen Drew (now reporter at WLKY, Louisville)
• Bernadette Flores (now a reporter at KOKI-TV, Tulsa)
• Lauren Freeman (now anchor at KPRC-TV, Houston)
• Tyler Garret (now sports anchor at KRIS-TV, Corpus Christi)
• David George (now Chief Meteorologist for WMTV-TV, Madison, Wisconsin)
• Brian Giesenschlag (now Sports Anchor at WXIX-TV, Cincinnati)
• Lisa Hanna (now Director, Media & Public Affairs, Organization for International Investment (OFII) Washington, D.C.)
• Laura Hagen (now reporter, KSWO-TV Lawton, Oklahoma)
• Christopher Heath (now weekend anchor at KENS-TV San Antonio)
• ShaVonne Herndon (now reporter for KYTX-TV, Tyler)
• Steve Kersh (now Chief Meteorologist for KVII-TV, Amarillo)
• Betty Nguyen (now anchor for CBS News)
• Wendy Saltzman (now reporter for WGCL-TV Atlanta)
• David Williams (now reporter for WAVE-TV, Louisville)
• Adam Winkler (now a sports reporter for KEYE-TV, Austin)
• Bill Young (now anchor for KFOX-TV, El Paso)

KWTX Radio[link]

KWTX shares the callsign with radio station 97.5 FM, a Top 40 Pop station and 1230 AM, a News/Talk station both owned by Clear Channel Communications. In 1997 the radio stations were sold to GulfStar and later Clear Channel. As part of the deal, the radio stations moved out of the building at American Plaza and into their own building. Today KWTX-TV uses the area once occupied by the radio stations for offices and edit bays.

Logos[link]

• Kwtx upn logo.png

  KWTX DT2 UPN logo, used prior to September 2006.

See also[link]

• KBTX-TV

References[link]

External links[link]

• Station Website
• CW Texas Station Website
• Query the FCC's TV station database for KWTX
• BIAfn's Media Web Database -- Information on KWTX-TV

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Vic Feazell was a District Attorney in Waco, Texas from 1983 until 1988, during which time he was involved in the investigation and prosecution of several famous cases, including the 1982 Lake Waco murders and several crimes to which Henry Lee Lucas had been linked.

He attended the Baylor Law School and received his J.D. in 1979.^[1] In 1988, he resigned as District Attorney of McLennan County. In 1991, he was awarded a $58 million judgment for libel charges against Dallas television station WFAA-TV, at the time the largest libel judgment in U.S. history.^[2]

Feazell currently resides in Austin, Texas, and is an attorney with his own firm, the Law Offices of Vic Feazell, P.C.

References[link]

1. ↑ [1]
2. ↑ Bragg, Roy. "Ex-DA Wins $58 Million Libel Award". Houston Chronicle. http://www.vicfeazell.com/html/Ex%20DA%20Wins%2058%20Million%20Libel%20Award%204201991.pdf. 

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