Jump to content

WDAF-TV

Add links
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
(Redirected from WDAF Tower)
This article is about the television station in Kansas City, Missouri. For its sister station in Dallas–Fort Worth, Texas, see KDAF.

WDAF-TV
Channels
BrandingFox 4 Kansas City
Programming
Affiliations
Ownership
Owner
History
First air date
October 16, 1949 (75 years ago) (1949-10-16)
Former channel number(s)
  • Analog: 4 (VHF, 1949–2009)
Call sign meaning
Derived from WDAF radio
Technical information[1]
Licensing authority
FCC
Facility ID11291
ERP1,000 kW
HAAT347 m (1,138 ft)
Transmitter coordinates39°4′21″N 94°35′46″W / 39.07250°N 94.59611°W / 39.07250; -94.59611
Links
Public license information
Websitefox4kc.com

WDAF-TV (channel 4) is a television station in Kansas City, Missouri, United States, affiliated with the Fox network. Owned by Nexstar Media Group, the station maintains studios and transmitter facilities on Summit Street in the Signal Hill section of Kansas City, Missouri.

Early years

[edit]

Construction and launch

[edit]

On December 12, 1947, The Kansas City Star Company, the parent of The Kansas City Star newspaper as well as Kansas City radio station WDAF (610 AM), applied to build a television station on channel 4.[2] One account stated that the newspaper's board of directors was deadlocked on whether to apply for a TV station. Publisher Roy A. Roberts cast the deciding vote in favor of the application, believing that television might "contribute to the good of our community".[3] The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) approved the application on January 30, 1948.[2] Though the permit was obtained in January 1948, The Star did not announce its plans for WDAF-TV until later. By the end of 1948, it had purchased land at 31st and Summit streets in Kansas City, Missouri, for a facility to house WDAF television (and eventually radio) and poured the bases for a 724-foot (221 m) tower to broadcast WDAF-TV on the same site. Employees trained in television at WNBT in New York, and TV cameras and other equipment were on order.[4] The last section of the tower was put into place on May 23,[5] and the first test pattern broadcasts were made on the evening of August 20. Despite no prior warning, it received phone calls commenting on the reception, including from as far away as Omaha.[6] The Star held a three-day television expo in the Memorial Auditorium from September 11–13, demonstrating the new medium, and began regular broadcasts of the test pattern at that time.[7]

The first program aired on WDAF-TV was not regularly scheduled. It was the September 29 testimonial dinner for William M. Boyle, live from the Arena in the Municipal Auditorium, an event at which president Harry S. Truman spoke and which five local radio stations covered.[8] The first night of regular viewing on WDAF-TV was October 16, 1949, when channel 4 presented a four-hour schedule including a dedication, a live telecast from the American Royal, films of the station's construction, local news (a telegraph tape moved in front of the camera to display the news[9]), and a salute to WDAF-TV by Arthur Godfrey.[10] Program manager Bill Bates estimated that 7,000 sets were in use to watch WDAF-TV's inaugural broadcast and that 100,000 people watched that first night.[11][12] Though WDAF-TV was the first modern station on the air, it was predated by the experimental W9XAL, which operated in the 1930s.[13]

WDAF-TV was a primary affiliate of NBC, but as the only television station in Kansas City, it held program agreements with the other major networks: CBS, ABC, and the DuMont Television Network (from May 1950).[14][15] All network programs the station aired in its first year of operation were kinescopes—filmed recordings off the television monitor of the original broadcast—before network coaxial cable service reached Kansas City beginning September 30, 1950. With the advent of live service for network entertainment and sports programming, the station nearly doubled its weekly output from 32–35 hours to 57–60 hours.[16] In February 1951, WDAF-TV carried the Sugar Ray Robinson vs. Jake LaMotta fight live on the air. The telecast, sponsored by Pabst Blue Ribbon beer and aired over CBS, was a milestone, as neither WDAF-TV, WDAF radio, nor The Star had ever accepted advertising from liquor companies.[17]

The Great Flood of 1951 devastated the Kansas City area, and WDAF-TV provided ample coverage and public service during the incident. The station covered the flooding in its nightly weathercast by Shelby Storck and Heart of America Newsreel, aired live flood coverage by placing a camera on the studio roof and zooming in on damage, and commissioned an aircraft to shoot aerial footage.[18] WDAF's flood footage was aired nationally by CBS.[19] News director Randall Jessee, who held that position for WDAF radio and television,[20] was cited in hindsight as a calming influence[21] and earned the moniker "Mr. Television" locally.[9]

In 1952, the studios at 31st and Summit were expanded from 7,000 to 28,000 square feet (650 to 2,600 m2), enabling WDAF radio to be co-located with channel 4. The enlarged facility boasted four TV studios, a kitchen for use in home programming, and facilities to originate network programming if necessary.[22] The kitchen was used by a new women's program, Kitchen Klub with Bette Hayes, which by November 1952 was airing every weekday.[23] It broadened from a cooking program to include in-studio interviews and was renamed The Bette Hayes Show, remaining on the air until its host departed in 1970.[24] Other local programs of the 1950s included the children's show Dr. Inventor and the teen dance program TV Teen Town.[25]

New competition

[edit]

WDAF-TV obtained its construction permit in January 1948, before the FCC that October imposed a freeze on new TV station grants to sort out possible changes to television broadcast standards.[26] This freeze lasted until 1952,[27] setting the stage for four competitors on three channels to enter the Kansas City television market within a four-month span in 1953. First to do so was an ultra high frequency (UHF) station, KCTY (channel 25), on June 6.[28] It originally was affiliated with CBS, ABC, and DuMont.[29] The former two networks each relocated to new very high frequency (VHF) stations that started shortly thereafter. On August 2, the time-share operation of KMBC-TV and WHB-TV on channel 9 launched as a CBS affiliate;[30] ABC got its new affiliate on September 27, when KCMO-TV began on channel 5.[31]

In addition to three new TV stations, WDAF-TV faced two other challenges in 1953. In January, the United States Department of Justice called for the revocation of the licenses of WDAF radio and television and filed a civil antitrust lawsuit against The Kansas City Star Company. Charging the firm with "monopolizing the dissemination of news and advertising in Kansas City", the department alleged that advertisers not using The Star or its sister, the morning Kansas City Times, were shut out of advertising on TV. It also questioned the use of discounts for cross-media buys of WDAF radio and the newspapers in the 1930s.[32] On May 22, an announcer's strike put WDAF radio and television off the air as technicians refused to cross AFTRA picket lines.[33] The strike lasted 28 days, until June 19,[34] leaving Kansas City with no television at all for two weeks (until KCTY began).[28]

The criminal portion of the anti-trust case proceeded to trial in January 1955,[35] and The Star and its advertising director were found guilty of monopoly charges. The civil portion was settled by way of a consent decree reached on November 15, 1957. In addition to restrictions on the operations of The Star and Kansas City Times, it required the WDAF stations to be divested.[36]

On May 18, 1958, the WDAF stations were sold to National-Missouri Broadcasters, the broadcasting division of National Theaters. On July 13, 1960, National-Missouri Broadcasters merged with Buffalo, New York–based Transcontinent Broadcasting. Under Transcontinent ownership, the two stations were joined by an additional sister radio station, WDAF-FM (102.1, now KCKC).

Taft/Great American ownership

[edit]

Transcontinent merged with Cincinnati-based Taft Broadcasting on February 19, 1964; the transaction was finalized on April 1, 1964.

On July 13, 1984, as NBC began transitioning away from using microwave relays for distribution of its programs to the more economically efficient downlink method, WDAF-TV became one of the first 20 NBC stations to begin receiving the network's programs via satellite transmission. In 1986, it also became the first television station in Kansas City to broadcast in stereo, initially broadcasting NBC network programs and certain syndicated shows that were transmitted in the audio format.

On October 12, 1987, company investors completed a hostile takeover of Taft Broadcasting from the family which owned the company; its new owners restructured the group into the Great American Television and Radio Company (also known as Great American Communications). By that year, WDAF-TV had overtaken KMBC as the dominant station in Kansas City, as was the trend during this period at many NBC-affiliated stations, buoyed by the stronger programming slate that helped the network retake first place in the ratings among the Big Three broadcast networks around that time. In December 1993, Great American Communications underwent another financial restructuring following the company's filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy. Great American then decided to put most of its television stations up for sale.

New World and the Fox affiliation switch

[edit]
Main article: 1994–1996 United States broadcast television realignment

As part of a larger corporate restructuring, WDAF-TV and three other Great American stations were sold to New World Communications on May 5, 1994, for $350 million in cash and $10 million in share warrants;[37] Great American retained WDAF and KYYS.[38] This was one of several transactions made by New World owner Ronald Perelman since his takeover of SCI Television in February 1993,[39] as New World purchased four stations from Argyle Television Holdings for $717 million three days earlier.[40]

On May 23, 1994, WDAF-TV was identified as one of twelve present or future New World stations that would switch network affiliations to Fox; WDAF was the lone NBC affiliate affected.[41][42] Fox parent News Corporation purchased a 20 percent equity stake in New World as part of the agreement, which came after the network outbid CBS for partial rights to the National Football League and sought to upgrade their affiliate base.[43] KCTV re-signed with CBS and KMBC re-signed with ABC via larger deals by their corporate parents;[44] KCTV owner Meredith Corporation stood ready to flip the station to NBC if CBS bypassed its Phoenix TV station, KPHO-TV, in a market where CBS was the displaced network.[45] Outgoing Fox affiliate KSHB-TV, one of three Scripps-Howard stations that lost Fox with the New World deal, signed with NBC in late July 1994.[46]

The date of the switch was announced on August 10, 1994, to be September 12, three days after New World's purchase of WDAF was slated to close and initiating a month of programming changes between the stations.[47] Fox Kids, which WDAF declined to carry, went from KSHB to KSMO-TV.[48] WDAF and KSHB quickly began rapid expansions of their news departments, with WDAF adding 21 hours of local news weekly—particularly in the morning and early evening—and hiring an additional 35 staffers, while KSHB readied production of early-evening newscasts.[49] WDAF's 45-year relationship with NBC ended with the switch, but their existing "Newschannel 4" branding was retained.[50]

Fox ownership

[edit]

News Corp. agreed to purchase New World Communications in a $2.5 billion deal announced on July 17, 1996, with WDAF-TV joining Fox's owned-station division; talks between the two companies stalled earlier in the year but restarted when Perelman pursued a deal for King World.[51][52][53] On January 26, 1997, four days after the deal was finalized and coinciding with Fox's telecast of Super Bowl XXXI, WDAF-TV rebranded as "Fox 4".[54]

WDAF was one of four stations Fox Television Stations was rumored to divest on June 29, 2001, in order to free up additional ownership cap space as part of Fox's purchase of the Chris-Craft Television group.[55] Black business executive Luther Gatling made an offer to purchase the stations from News Corp., who confirmed the offer but denied any negotiations ever took place.[56] The need for Fox to divest WDAF and the other three stations was nullified after the FCC was mandated by a court ruling to increase the national ownership cap from 35 percent to 39 percent.[57]

Local TV, Tribune and Nexstar ownership

[edit]

On December 22, 2007, Fox sold WDAF-TV and seven other owned-and-operated stations to Local TV LLC for $1.1 billion; the sale was finalized on July 14, 2008.[58][59][60] On July 1, 2013, the Tribune Company acquired Local TV LLC for $2.75 billion;[61] the sale was completed on December 27.[62][63]

Sinclair Broadcast Group (which owned KSMO-TV from 1994 to 2005) announced a $3.9 billion purchase of Tribune Broadcasting on May 8, 2017.[64] Tribune terminated the merger on August 9, 2018,[65][66] following a rejection of the deal by FCC chairman Ajit Pai.[67] Following the Sinclair-Tribune merger collapse, Tribune agreed to be purchased by Nexstar Media Group on December 3, 2018, for $6.4 billion.[68]

Programming

[edit]

Sports programming

[edit]

Channel 4 held broadcast rights to Kansas City Chiefs preseason games from 1997 to 2001; during this period, the on-air production presentation of the locally exclusive telecasts was upgraded to network quality standards by way of WDAF's then-ownership under Fox.[69]

WDAF-TV served as the over-the-air flagship station of the Kansas City Royals from 1979 to 1992. Notable Royals telecasts that the station has aired during its tenures with NBC and Fox have included the team's World Series appearances in 1980, 2014 and 2015, the first having been aired by NBC and the two most recent appearances being carried by Fox, the latter of which saw the franchise win its first world championship title since 1985.

Newscasts

[edit]

As of August 2022, WDAF-TV presently broadcasts 67 hours of locally produced newscasts each week (with 11+1⁄2 hours on weekdays, 4+1⁄2 hours on Saturdays and five hours on Sundays); in regards to the number of hours devoted to news programming, it is the highest local newscast output among the Kansas City market's commercial television stations. The station operates a Hummer, branded as "Storm Fox", which the station primarily uses as a storm chasing vehicle to cover severe weather events affecting its viewing area.

Local news has always maintained an important presence at WDAF-TV throughout its history, an ideology fitting of a station that was founded by a newspaper. Dating back to its NBC affiliation, channel 4 has long battled KMBC-TV (and at times, KCTV as well) for the most-watched local television newscast in the Kansas City market for the better part of four decades. During the late 1970s and 1980s, WDAF-TV's newscasts sat in second place in the ratings, behind KMBC; however, coinciding with the rise of NBC's ratings fortunes during that period, it ended the latter decade in first place, overtaking KCTV for the top spot. In 1982, WDAF-TV became the first television station in Kansas City to use a helicopter for newsgathering; the helicopter (originally known as "Chopper 4" until 1992, then as "NewsChopper 4" from 1992 to 1999, and later "Sky Fox" thereafter) was used to provide aerial coverage of breaking news and severe weather events, and periodically for traffic reports during its weekday morning and 5 p.m. newscasts; the helicopter was grounded by station management on August 31, 2009, citing budget issues with the leasing of the helicopter.

Also in 1982, WDAF launched a feature titled "Thursday’s Child", a segment that aired weekly during its 10 p.m. newscast, which highlighted Kansas City area children in the foster care system who were seeking adoptive families; the segment was produced by the WDAF news department, in conjunction with the Love Fund for Children, a charity founded through a $1,200 endowment from several WDAF-TV employees. In September 1984, the station debuted a 20-minute local sports news program within the Sunday edition of its 10 p.m. newscast, The Kansas City Sports Machine, which borrowed its title from the syndicated The George Michael Sports Machine, which aired on WDAF from 1982 until it concluded its syndication run in September 2007; the WDAF version lasted until 1999, when it evolved into a conventional sports segment within the Sunday 10 p.m. newscast.

When WDAF-TV adopted the Newschannel 4 brand in April 1992, the station also implemented the "24-Hour News Source" concept (which was enforced in the promotional slogan used by the station until 1999, "Kansas City's 24-Hour Newschannel"). Its iteration of the concept involved both the production of 30-second news updates that aired at or near the top of each hour during local commercial break inserts – even during prime time network and overnight programming – and five-second end-of-break weather updates (consisting of an image of the station's Doppler radar, then known as "Doppler 4 Radar", usually accompanied by a brief voiceover by one of the station's meteorologists illustrating the short-term forecast or teasing the weather segment in an upcoming newscast), during time periods when the station was not airing its regularly scheduled, long-form newscasts. In September 1992, WDAF became the first television station in Kansas City to launch a weekend morning newscast, with the debut of two-hour-long Saturday and Sunday broadcasts that initially aired from 8 to 10 a.m. (both editions would later move to 7 to 9 a.m. in September 1997, with the Saturday edition moving one hour earlier on April 23, 2016).[70]

After WDAF became a Fox affiliate on September 12, 1994, the station underwent a major shift in its programming philosophy that more heavily emphasized its local news programming. It retained a news schedule similar to the one it had as an NBC affiliate, but increased its news output from about 25 hours to nearly 45 hours per week by expanding existing newscasts and adding ones in new time periods (with its weekday news schedule expanding from 3+1⁄2 hours to seven hours per day). In its early years with Fox, local news programming on the station ran on weekdays from 6 to 9 a.m., noon to 1 p.m. and 5 to 6:30 p.m. and nightly from 9 to 10:30 p.m., as well as on weekend mornings and early evenings.[71] The station retained the "24-Hour News Source" format after the affiliation switch, continuing to offer news updates on an hourly basis during commercial breaks until it discontinued the concept in May 1999. With New World Communications heavily investing in the news department's expansion, WDAF increased its news staff from 80 to 120 employees; it hired up to 40 additional employees (including additional reporters and behind-the-scenes staff members) to handle the expanded news coverage that the new news-intensive lineup would allow.

The weekday morning newscast's expansion from one to three hours – with the addition of a two-hour extension from 7 to 9 a.m. – and the consolidation of its half-hour weeknight 5 and 6 p.m. newscasts into a single 90-minute block – although the early-evening block was structured as three separate half-hour broadcasts – filled timeslots vacated by the departures of Today and NBC Nightly News from its schedule as Fox, unlike NBC, does not have daily national news programs. The weekday morning newscast would gradually expand over time, eventually attaining its current 5½-hour format with the addition of an hour-long block at 9 a.m. on March 24, 2011, and a half-hour early extension at 4:30 a.m. on October 3 of that year.[72][73] Since Fox does not provide network programming during that hour, Channel 4 also added an hour-long prime time newscast at 9 p.m. – originally titled Newschannel 4 Primetime until January 1997 and then Fox 4 News: Primetime at 9 until September 1999, when it was renamed as simply Fox 4 News at 9 – to lead into its existing 10 p.m. newscast[71] (WDAF is one of several Fox stations that offer newscasts in both the final hour of prime time and the traditional late news time slot – as well as one of the few affiliated with the network that runs a nightly newscast in the latter slot – and one of ten that continued its Big Three-era late-evening newscast after switching to Fox); the addition marked the first time WDAF had aired a local newscast at that hour since its days as a hybrid NBC/ABC/CBS/DuMont affiliate, when the station aired its late-evening newscast at 9:30 from its sign-on in September 1949 until the program moved to 10 p.m. after the station became a full-time NBC affiliate in September 1953.

On January 15, 1996, WDAF-TV reformatted its 5:30 p.m. newscast as Your World Tonight, a program focusing primarily on national and international news headlines that was modeled similarly to the national news programs of ABC, CBS and NBC (as with the national newscasts that Your World Tonight competed directly against, the program maintained a single-anchor format, with Phil Witt – who joined WDAF in August 1979 as a weekend evening anchor/reporter, before being promoted to main co-anchor of the weekday evening newscasts in 1981, a role in which he remained until Witt retired from broadcasting on June 20, 2017[74][75][76][77] – at the helm). Because Fox did not have a news division – and by association, an affiliate news service – at the time WDAF joined the network, the program – as was the case with WDAF's news department as a whole since the September 1994 switch to Fox – initially relied mainly on external video feeds from CNN Newsource for coverage of national and international news stories, although with the associated launch of Fox News Channel that August, it also added content sourced from Fox's in-house affiliate video service Fox News Edge. The Your World Tonight concept was not successful, and the 5:30 p.m. broadcast was retooled as a traditional local newscast, formatted as an extension of its lead-in 5 broadcast, on January 6, 1997.[78]

Not long after WDAF-TV switched to Fox, KMBC made a short resurgence in news viewership amid viewer confusion caused by the switch, overtaking it for first place among the market's local television newscasts; this situation would further intensify the ratings rivalry between the two stations. Since the late 1990s, WDAF-TV's newscasts have rotated between first and second place with either KMBC or KCTV depending on the time slot, with the station's strongest ratings being logged in the morning and at 9 p.m., where WDAF regularly finishes at No. 1 (in time periods where that station does not have an absolute hold in that position, WDAF competes for second place with CBS affiliate KCTV). Channel 4 has maintained its status as the ratings leader in the 9 p.m. hour, even as it has faced added competition in recent years from a KCTV-produced newscast on MyNetworkTV-affiliated sister station KSMO-TV (which premiered on the latter station as a WB affiliate on September 12, 2005) and a KMBC-produced newscast on that station's CW-affiliated sister KCWE (which began as a half-hour program on September 14, 2010[79]).

In February 2003, WDAF-TV launched an investigative reporting unit, the "Fox 4 Problem Solvers", which conduct investigative reports centering on businesses that have ripped off local consumers and uncovers various consumer scams. In April 2007, fellow Fox affiliate KTMJ-CA in Topeka began simulcasting the 7 to 9 a.m. block of WDAF-TV's weekday morning newscast and its nightly 9 p.m. newscast (ironically, the over-the-air signals of WDAF-TV and several other Kansas City area stations adequately cover most of the nearby Topeka market due to the close proximity of the two markets, Topeka being located 55 miles (89 km) due west of Kansas City). The simulcasts were dropped in November 2008, when KTMJ's earlier purchase by New Vision Television led to their replacement by locally based newscasts produced by its NBC-affiliated sister station KSNT.

On October 12, 2010, WDAF-TV became the fourth (and last) television station in the Kansas City market to begin broadcasting its local newscasts in high definition.[80] On April 11, 2011, the station extended its existing pre-Fox-era late newscast, with the debut of a separate 10:30 p.m. news program on Sunday through Friday nights (Fox late night programming airs on Saturdays during that half-hour); as a result, it became the first Fox station – and one of only a handful of television stations in the Central and Mountain time zones – to expand its 10 p.m. newscast to a full hour, a format more common in that timeslot with prime time newscasts aired on Fox stations and non-major-network outlets in the Eastern and Pacific Time Zones.[81]

Notable former on-air staff

[edit]

Technical information

[edit]

Subchannels

[edit]

The station's signal is multiplexed:

Subchannels of WDAF-TV[85]
Channel Res. Aspect Short name Programming
4.1 720p 16:9 WDAF-DT Fox
4.2 480i ANT TV Antenna TV
4.3 Rewind Rewind TV
4.4 TBD TBD
38.3 480i 16:9 Mystery Court TV (KMCI-TV)
38.4 HSN HSN (KMCI-TV)
  Broadcast on behalf of another station

Analog-to-digital conversion

[edit]

WDAF-TV's digital signal was upgraded to full-power high definition on September 23, 2005, increasing its HD signal strength from 1.2 kW to 1,000 kW. The station shut down its analog signal, over VHF channel 4, on June 12, 2009, at 9:01 a.m., the official date on which full-power television stations in the United States transitioned from analog to digital broadcasts under federal mandate. WDAF continued to transmit its digital signal on its pre-transition UHF channel 34, using virtual channel 4.[86]

References

[edit]
  1. ^ "Facility Technical Data for WDAF-TV". Licensing and Management System. Federal Communications Commission.
  2. ^ a b "History Cards for WDAF-TV". Federal Communications Commission.
  3. ^ Barnhart, Aaron (October 16, 1999). "Fifty years ago tonight, WDAF flickered to life in Kansas City". The Kansas City Star. Kansas City, Missouri. pp. C-1, C-2. Retrieved January 31, 2025 – via Newspapers.com.
  4. ^ "Video Is Nearer: Transmission for Kansas City and Near-By Areas May Begin Late in 1949". The Kansas City Star. Kansas City, Missouri. January 2, 1949. pp. 1D, 2D. Retrieved January 31, 2025 – via Newspapers.com.
  5. ^ "KCMO Tower, 450 Feet: FM Antenna Is To Rise at 131 East Thirty-First". The Kansas City Star. Kansas City, Missouri. June 5, 1949. p. 12D. Retrieved January 31, 2025 – via Newspapers.com.
  6. ^ "Video Start Set: WDAF-TV Station Will Begin Commercial Programming Here October 16". The Kansas City Star. Kansas City, Missouri. August 23, 1949. p. 1. Retrieved January 31, 2025 – via Newspapers.com.
  7. ^ "Kaycee Tele to Start Rolling Oct. 16; WDAF-TV Setup to Cost $1,300,000". Variety. September 7, 1949. pp. 27, 40. ProQuest 1285977964.
  8. ^ "Boyle Dinner the First Program Telecast Here". The Kansas City Times. Kansas City, Missouri. September 29, 1949. p. 1. Retrieved January 31, 2025 – via Newspapers.com.
  9. ^ a b Wagner, Joyce (October 20, 1974). "Television And Toothpaste Have Traversed Good and Bad Times". The Kansas City Star. Kansas City, Missouri. pp. 8G, 9G, 15G. Retrieved January 31, 2025 – via Newspapers.com.
  10. ^ "TV On Tonight: Regular Programming on The Star's Station Will Begin at 6 o'Clock". The Kansas City Star. Kansas City, Missouri. October 16, 1949. p. 1. Retrieved January 31, 2025 – via Newspapers.com.
  11. ^ "Video Curtain Goes Up: An Audience Estimated at 100,000 Sees the First Regularly-Scheduled Programs". The Kansas City Times. Kansas City, Missouri. October 17, 1949. pp. 1, 2. Retrieved January 31, 2025 – via Newspapers.com.
  12. ^ Moore, Bill (September 18, 2005). "Television comes to KC". Kansas City Star. Retrieved July 23, 2018.
  13. ^ Wylie, John M. II (September 14, 1980). "100 Years of communications". The Kansas City Star. Kansas City, Missouri. pp. Centennial 40, 41, 42. Retrieved January 31, 2025 – via Newspapers.com.
  14. ^ "CBS-TV Adds Two: Network Total Now 45". Broadcasting. August 8, 1949. p. 42. ProQuest 1014908474.
  15. ^ "DuMont Adds Two". Broadcasting. May 15, 1950. p. 64. ProQuest 1401178539.
  16. ^ "Co-ax Link to Give Kaycee Hypo, With Operations Doubled on WDAF-TV". September 20, 1950. p. 34. ProQuest 1286070969.
  17. ^ "WDAF Ban on Beer Acct. Off With Fight TV: Chi Robinson Bout Scalps Pic Houses, Phonevision Tests". The Billboard. February 24, 1951. pp. 4, 44. ProQuest 1039959134.
  18. ^ "Radio and TV Aid: Regular Radio Programs Also Give Way to Special Broadcasts Over WDAF". The Kansas City Star. Kansas City, Missouri. July 13, 1951. p. 3. Retrieved January 31, 2025 – via Newspapers.com.
  19. ^ "Flood Film: WDAF Host to Hill Groups". Broadcasting. August 13, 1951. p. 95. ProQuest 1285681831.
  20. ^ "Randall Jessee Is Dead; Collapsed at Meeting". The Kansas City Times. Kansas City, Missouri. October 6, 1976. p. 3A. Retrieved January 31, 2025 – via Newspapers.com.
  21. ^ Wickman, G. Fred (October 6, 1976). "Friends' Recollections: Randall Jessee Made the Most of Life". The Kansas City Star. Kansas City, Missouri. pp. 1A, 14A. Retrieved January 31, 2025 – via Newspapers.com.
  22. ^ "Radio-TV Center Ready: Construction of Expanded New Home for WDAF and WDAF-TV at Thirty-First and Summit Has Been Finished". The Kansas City Star. Kansas City, Missouri. June 15, 1952. pp. 1D, 2D. Retrieved January 31, 2025 – via Newspapers.com.
  23. ^ "Ozzie and Harriet Program To Join WDAF-TV List Today". The Kansas City Star. Kansas City, Missouri. November 23, 1952. p. 2E. Retrieved January 31, 2025 – via Newspapers.com.
  24. ^ Koppe, George; Goller, Howard S.; Dvorak, John A.; Swanson, Stevenson O. (July 8, 1978). "Whatever Happened To...: Slower Pace Just Fine for Bette Hayes". The Kansas City Times. Kansas City, Missouri. p. 2B. Retrieved January 31, 2025 – via Newspapers.com.
  25. ^ Wagner, Joyce (October 19, 1969). "The Medium Came to Kansas City 20 Years Ago and Has Cast Hypnotic Spell Ever Since". The Kansas City Star. Kansas City, Missouri. pp. 8F, 9F, 12F. Retrieved January 31, 2025 – via Newspapers.com.
  26. ^ Crater, Rufus (October 4, 1948). "Television Freeze: FCC Action Halted Pending Definite Policy". Broadcasting. pp. 22A, 57. ProQuest 1040475180.
  27. ^ "Thaw July 1: 617 VHFs, 1436 UHFs in 1291 Markets; Educators Win". Broadcasting. April 15, 1952. pp. 23, 67–68. ProQuest 1285696665.
  28. ^ a b "KCTY Makes Its Debut: New TV Station Goes On Air With Motion Picture". The Kansas City Star. Kansas City, Missouri. June 7, 1953. p. 2A. Archived from the original on August 30, 2022. Retrieved August 30, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
  29. ^ "New Channel In June: KCTY Will Begin Telecasts, It Is Announced". The Kansas City Times. Kansas City, Missouri. April 24, 1953. p. 3. Archived from the original on August 30, 2022. Retrieved August 30, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
  30. ^ "New TV Station on Air: Programming Is Begun by KMBC-TV and WHB-TV". The Kansas City Times. Kansas City, Missouri. August 3, 1953. p. 1. Archived from the original on August 30, 2022. Retrieved August 30, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
  31. ^ "KCMO's TV Is on Air Today". St. Joseph News-Press. St. Joseph, Missouri. September 27, 1953. p. 36. Archived from the original on August 30, 2022. Retrieved August 30, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
  32. ^ "WDAF On Grid: Justice Asks Revocation". Broadcasting. January 12, 1953. pp. 23, 89. ProQuest 1285689768.
  33. ^ "Strike Halts TV, Radio Programs 'For Time Being': Technicians Refuse to Pass Pickets in Announcer". The Lexington Advertiser-News. Lexington, Missouri. United Press. May 22, 1953. p. 1. Retrieved January 31, 2025 – via Newspapers.com.
  34. ^ "TV Strike Is Settled". St. Joseph News-Press. St. Joseph, Missouri. United Press. June 19, 1953. p. 1. Retrieved January 31, 2025 – via Newspapers.com.
  35. ^ "No Roberts Case: At U. S. Request, Court Dismisses Criminal Indictment Against President of The Star". The Kansas City Star. Kansas City, Missouri. January 14, 1955. pp. 1, 2. Retrieved January 31, 2025 – via Newspapers.com.
  36. ^ "Kansas City Star Settles Monopoly Suit: Agrees to Sell Radio, TV Stations". Chicago Daily Tribune. Chicago, Illinois. Associated Press. November 16, 1957. p. 1:16. Retrieved January 31, 2025 – via Newspapers.com.
  37. ^ "Company News; Great American Selling Four Television Stations". The New York Times. May 6, 1994. Archived from the original on March 5, 2016. Retrieved December 23, 2015.
  38. ^ Garron, Barry (May 5, 1994). "Georgia company to acquire WDAF-TV, three other stations". The Kansas City Star. p. B-3. Archived from the original on February 2, 2023. Retrieved February 1, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
  39. ^ Foisie, Geoffrey (February 22, 1993). "SCI-TV gets a makeover". Broadcasting. Vol. 123, no. 8. pp. 47–48. ProQuest 1016940173.
  40. ^ Foisie, Geoffrey (May 3, 1993). "Times Mirror sells stations, part 1". Broadcasting & Cable. Vol. 123, no. 18. p. 49. ProQuest 1014753472.
  41. ^ McTavish, Brian (May 24, 1994). "WDAF to leave NBC, join Fox". The Kansas City Star. Kansas City, Missouri. p. A-1, A-8. Archived from the original on February 2, 2023. Retrieved February 1, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
  42. ^ Carter, Bill (May 24, 1994). "Fox Will Sign Up 12 New TV Stations; Takes 8 from CBS". The New York Times. Archived from the original on June 25, 2017. Retrieved October 22, 2012.
  43. ^ Dawidziak, Mark (May 24, 1994). "Channel 8 to drop CBS for Fox: 40-year affiliation ends in autumn as Fox owner pays $500 million to station's parent. WJW to regain NFL games, lose Letterman. Channels 19, 43 to fight for CBS". The Akron Beacon Journal. pp. A1, A8. Archived from the original on April 29, 2023. Retrieved April 29, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
  44. ^ Gaynor, Pamela (July 26, 1994). "ABC extends accord with WTAE". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. p. C-7. Archived from the original on February 2, 2023. Retrieved February 1, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
  45. ^ "CBS revs up for Detroit". Broadcasting & Cable. Vol. 124, no. 27. July 4, 1994. p. 13. ProQuest 1014745635.
  46. ^ Garron, Barry (July 25, 1994). "KSHB opting for NBC". The Kansas City Star. Kansas City, Missouri. p. B-6. Archived from the original on February 2, 2023. Retrieved February 1, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
  47. ^ Garron, Barry (August 11, 1994). "TV network shift set for Sept. 12". The Kansas City Star. p. C-1, C-3. Archived from the original on February 2, 2023. Retrieved February 1, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
  48. ^ Garron, Barry (August 19, 1994). "TV stations' 'morph' puts end to shows". The Kansas City Star. Kansas City, Missouri. p. A-1, A-15. Archived from the original on February 2, 2023. Retrieved February 1, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
  49. ^ Garron, Barry (August 21, 1994). "Network switch signals expansion in local TV news". The Kansas City Star. p. B-1, B-7. Archived from the original on February 2, 2023. Retrieved February 1, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
  50. ^ Garron, Barry (August 21, 1994). "Network switch signals expansion in local TV news". The Kansas City Star. p. B-1, B-7. Archived from the original on February 2, 2023. Retrieved February 1, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
  51. ^ Lowry, Brian (July 18, 1996). "New World Vision : Murdoch's News Corp. to Buy Broadcast Group". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved June 22, 2012.
  52. ^ "THE MEDIA BUSINESS;Murdoch's News Corp. Buying New World". The New York Times. Reuters. July 18, 1996. Retrieved October 9, 2015.
  53. ^ Feran, Tom (July 18, 1996). "Fox's owner buys WJW Channel 8". The Plain Dealer. Cleveland, Ohio. pp. 1A, 14A. Retrieved December 2, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
  54. ^ Barnhart, Aaron (January 23, 1997). "WDAF to become 'Fox 4' in wake of network takeover". The Kansas City Star. Kansas City, Missouri. p. E6. Retrieved May 3, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
  55. ^ "Fox sells WDAF, three other stations". Kansas City Business Journals. June 29, 2001. Retrieved December 5, 2016.
  56. ^ McClellan, Steve (July 3, 2001). "Fox: Minority group sale not done". Broadcasting & Cable. Retrieved December 5, 2016.
  57. ^ "Court Ruling Could Bring Changes to Kansas City, Mo., Television Stations". Knight Ridder/Tribune Business News. February 22, 2002. Archived from the original on December 21, 2016. Retrieved December 20, 2016.
  58. ^ "The New York Times Company Announces Plan to Sell Its Broadcast Media Group" (Press release). September 12, 2006. Retrieved December 22, 2021.
  59. ^ Kercheval, Nancy (December 27, 2007). "News Corp. to Sell U.S. TV Stations for $1.1 Billion". Bloomberg News. Retrieved June 22, 2012.
  60. ^ "Oak Hill Capital Partners Completes Acquisition of 8 TV Station sales". Oak Hill Capital Partners. July 14, 2008. Retrieved August 17, 2014 – via The Free Library.
  61. ^ Channick, Robert (July 1, 2013). "Acquisition to make Tribune Co. largest U.S. TV station operator". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved July 1, 2013.
  62. ^ "Company Completes Final Steps of Transaction Announced in July". Tribune Company. December 27, 2013. Archived from the original on December 28, 2013.
  63. ^ "Tribune Closes Local TV Holdings Purchase". TVNewsCheck. December 27, 2013.
  64. ^ "Sinclair snaps up 3 more Missouri stations as part of $3.9 billion Tribune purchase". Missouri Business Alert (featuring content from St. Louis Business Journal). Missouri School of Journalism. May 9, 2017.
  65. ^ Shields, Todd (July 16, 2018). "Sinclair and Tribune Fall as FCC Slams TV Station Sale Plan". Bloomberg News. Archived from the original on October 4, 2018. Retrieved July 19, 2018.
  66. ^ Lafayette, Jon (August 9, 2018). "Tribune Ends Deal with Sinclair, Files Breach of Contract Suit". Broadcasting & Cable. Archived from the original on August 9, 2018. Retrieved May 19, 2024.
  67. ^ Neidig, Harper (July 16, 2018). "FCC chair rejects Sinclair-Tribune merger". The Hill. Archived from the original on August 10, 2018. Retrieved August 9, 2018.
  68. ^ White, Peter; Hayes, Dade (December 3, 2018). "Nexstar Confirms $4.1B Tribune Media Acquisition To Become Leading Local TV Station Owner". Deadline Hollywood. Archived from the original on December 4, 2018. Retrieved May 19, 2024.
  69. ^ "KCTV will broadcast Chiefs preseason games". Kansas City Business Journal. October 1, 2002. Retrieved December 5, 2002.
  70. ^ Ortega, Roly (April 15, 2016). "A small minor newscast change… #71". The Changing Newscasts Blog. Retrieved December 5, 2016.
  71. ^ a b "Panelists on the future of TV news", St. Louis Journalism Review, December 1, 1994
  72. ^ "FOX 4 News Introduces New 9 a.m. Show". WDAF-TV. Local TV. March 24, 2011. Archived from the original on July 21, 2011.
  73. ^ "FOX 4 IS LAST IN KC MARKET TO MOVE TO 4:30 AM START". Bottom Line Communications. September 26, 2011. Archived from the original on October 3, 2011.
  74. ^ "FOX 4 news anchor Phil Witt announces retirement". WDAF-TV. Tribune Broadcasting. March 24, 2017. Retrieved June 12, 2017.
  75. ^ Porter, Toriani (March 24, 2017). "Fox 4's Phil Witt announces retirement after nearly four decades at station". The Kansas City Star. Retrieved June 12, 2017.
  76. ^ Hoffman, Alex (June 2017). "A Farewell to Phil Witt". 435 Magazine. Godengo. Retrieved June 12, 2017.
  77. ^ "For once, we'd like to see a 65-year old TV anchorwoman". The Kansas City Star. June 10, 2017. Retrieved June 12, 2017.
  78. ^ "Channel 4 kills 'national' newscast, shuffles programs". The Kansas City Star. The Walt Disney Company. January 5, 1997. Retrieved June 27, 2011.
  79. ^ "KMBC changes weather channel, settles discrim lawsuit, adds 9 p.m. news". The Kansas City Star. September 13, 2010. Archived from the original on July 17, 2011.
  80. ^ "Fox 4 enters the HD era — finally". The Kansas City Star. October 10, 2010. Retrieved October 12, 2010.
  81. ^ "WDAF EXPANDS 10 P.M. NEWS TO FULL HOUR". Bottom Line Communications. April 8, 2011. Archived from the original on April 12, 2011.
  82. ^ Scott, Laurie J. (July 3, 1994). "Do you remember?". The Kansas City Star. Kansas City, Missouri. p. Magazine 4. Retrieved January 31, 2025 – via Newspapers.com.
  83. ^ a b c d e Landsberg, John (October 17, 2012). "WDAF-TV Celebrates its 63rd Anniversary". Bottom Line Communications. Archived from the original on April 23, 2015. Retrieved March 13, 2013.
  84. ^ Shuler, Deardra. "Harris Faulkner: Facing Her Past on 'A Current Affair'". AfroCentric News. Retrieved March 13, 2013.
  85. ^ "RabbitEars TV Query for WDAF". RabbitEars. Retrieved March 4, 2016.
  86. ^ "DTV Tentative Channel Designations for the First and Second Rounds" (PDF). Federal Communications Commission. Retrieved March 24, 2012.
[edit]
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=WDAF-TV&oldid=1273011264"