WNBC

For broadcast stations that previously used the WNBC call sign, see WNBC (disambiguation)

WNBC, channel four, is the flagship station of the NBC television network. Located in New York City, its studios are located at 30 Rockefeller Plaza in midtown Manhattan. WNBC is the sister station to Linden, New Jersey-based WNJU (flagship of the Telemundo network), and the two stations have some cross promotion.

In the few areas of the eastern United States where viewers cannot receive NBC programs over-the-air, WNBC is available on satellite via C-Band, and to subscribers of Dish Network and DirecTV, which also provides coverage of the station to Latin America and the Caribbean.

History

WNBC traces its history to experimental station W2XBS, founded in 1928. It scored numerous "firsts", including the first live telecast of a Presidential speech (President Franklin Roosevelt opening the 1939 New York World's Fair), the first live telecasts of college and Major League Baseball baseball (both in 1939), the first telecast of a National Football League game (also in 1939), the first telecast of a National Hockey League game (early 1940), and the first network telecast of a political convention (the 1940 Republican National Convention).

The station began commercial television operations on July 1, 1941, the first fully-licensed commercial television station in the United States. The call letters were changed to WNBT (for NBC Television), and it originally broadcast on channel one. Soon after signing on that day, WNBT aired the first television commercial. The Bulova Watch Company paid $9 for a commercial aired during a baseball game between the Brooklyn Dodgers and the Philadelphia Phillies.

In 1946, the station changed its frequency from channel one to channel four after VHF channel one was removed from use for television broadcasting. The station changed its call letters on October 18, 1954 to WRCA-TV (for NBC's then-parent company, the ), and on May 22, 1960 channel four became WNBC-TV.

In addition to channel four, NBC also operated two New York radio stations. Located on the AM band at 660 was the station that originated in 1922 as WEAF, later to become WNBC. At 97.1 on the FM band was WEAF-FM, which became WNBC-FM, WNWS, and eventually WYNY. In February 1988, NBC announced the sale of those stations to Emmis Communications, a move which triggered a complicated switch of several stations to new dial spots in October of that same year. 660 AM is now WFAN, and 97.1 is the present home of WQHT.

WNBC-TV also earned a place in broadcasting history as the birthplace of The Tonight Show. It began on the station in 1953 as a local late-night program, The Steve Allen Show, and NBC executive Pat Weaver brought it to the network in 1954. The NBC studio from which Tonight was broadcast during the Jack Paar and early Johnny Carson years (it first originated at the Hudson Theatre on 44th Street) is now WNBC-TV's main news studio - Studio 6B.

Sue Simmons and Chuck Scarborough in 2005.

On June 1, 1992, channel four dropped the -TV suffix from its call letters and became simply WNBC, with the new branding slogan 4 New York. The accompanying station image campaign was titled We're 4 New York. WNBC was rebranded again as NBC 4 on September 5, 1995 with the newscast retitled NewsChannel 4.

On September 11, 2001, the transmitter facilities of WNBC, as well as eight other local television stations and several radio stations, were destroyed when two hijacked airplanes crashed into and destroyed the World Trade Center towers in the attack that day. At first the station broadcast from a radio tower originally built by Edwin Armstrong in Alpine, New Jersey. As of 2005, WNBC-TV is broadcasting from the Empire State Building.

In 2004, WNBC served as the model station for NBC Weather Plus, a 24 hour digital weather channel that airs as 4-2 on over the air digital television and on several cable television systems in the tri-state area. The Weather Plus channel was rolled out by other NBC stations in 2005.

Logos

Image:nbc4_60s.jpg|Used from 1960 to 1969.Image:wnbc70s.jpg|Used from 1969 to 1973.Image:wnbc73.jpg|Used from 1973 to 1975.Image:nbc4_75.jpg|Used from 1976 to 1979. WNBC was sharing this logo with KNBC and WRCImage:nbc4_79.jpg|Used from 1979 to 1980. WNBC was sharing this logo with KNBCImage:wnbc80.jpg|Used from 1980 to May 8, 1986.Image:wnbc86.jpg|Used from May 8, 1986 to 1990.Image:wnbc90s.jpg|Used from 1990 to 1992.Image:wnbc92.jpg|Used from 1992 to 1995.Image:wnbc95.jpg|Used from 1995 to 2003.Image:WNBC.png|The present NBC 4 logo used since 2003

News Operation

Sue Simmons and Brian Williams during the 2004 Presidential Election.

For years WNBC has had strong ratings without resorting to sensationalism or forays into tabloid television unlike most of the other stations in the market. WNBC's hallmark over the years has been strong coverage of breaking stories and a no-nonsense news product that informs and at times entertains. Prime examples of this are Live at Five and Today in New York, which provide a mix of news, features and interviews. All newscasts are broadcast from NBC's Studio 6B at 30 Rockefeller Plaza in the Rockefeller Center complex.

WNBC's news team is one of the most stable in the country; many of its personalities have been at the station for 20 years or more. Chuck Scarborough has been the station's main anchor since 1974, longer than anyone in New York television history except WABC-TV's Bill Beutel. Sometime in 2006, he will pass Beutel for the longest unbroken tenure behind a New York anchor desk. Since 1980, he has been teamed with Sue Simmons at 11 p.m.. The two have been together longer than any anchor team in New York history, and have had some of the highest ratings of any anchor team ever. Len Berman has been the station's sports director and lead anchor since 1985. Senior correspondent Gabe Pressman has been at the station since 1956, except for a brief stint at WNEW-TV (now WNYW).

WNBC-TV was the first station in New York to successfully program news at 5 p.m. adding that block to its Sixth Hour show at 6 p.m. in 1974 and renaming all its local newscasts NewsCenter 4. NBC's other O&Os soon adopted the "NewsCenter" name. The moniker remained until 1980, when they were renamed News 4 New York. The 5 o'clock slot was renamed Live at Five. Its mix of news and celebrity interviews made it the most successful local program in New York (landing the cast on the cover of New York magazine).

For most of the time from 1980 to 2003, it used various themes written by Edd Kalehoff. His theme for "News 4 New York" was based on a synthesized version of the NBC chimes, with a graphics package featuring a lightning bolt striking its logo from 1980 to 1992, a fancy die-cut "4." In 1992, the station began calling itself "4 New York," and the campaign song written by Kalehoff was quickly adopted as the theme for the newscast. The theme was briefly brought back after the September 11, 2001 attacks. In 1995, after the station started calling itself "NBC4" and its newscasts "Newschannel 4," Kalehoff wrote a new theme called "NBC Stations" featuring the NBC chimes, the chime sequnce is G-E-C. It remained in use for eight years, along with a graphics package using a simple red line for lower thirds. While very popular, it made the station look somewhat dated at the turn of the century.

The current graphics package was created by Emmy Award winner Randy Pyburn of Pyburn Films. Pyburn has produced several promos for the station and the Jane's New York specials hosted by reporter Jane Hanson. The music was written by Rampage Music and features a brassy version of the NBC chimes, and lower thirds feature a shimmering peacock. NBC's O&Os are in the process of standardizing around similar graphics packages used by Pyburn.

Many WNBC personalities have moved onto the NBC network—including Scarborough, Marv Albert, Jim Hartz, Tom Snyder, Len Berman, Al Roker, Matt Lauer, Tony Guida, Maurice DuBois and Janice Huff. In the past, Albert, Roker, Lauer, Scarborough, Guida and DuBois have worked on WNBC and the network at the same time while Huff and Berman do currently.

Perri Peltz on Live at Five in 2005.

One popular monthly feature is Berman's "Spanning the World," a reel of odd and interesting sports highlights from the past month, including a recorded introduction and closing by Don Pardo. This segment also airs on NBC's The Today Show on a monthly basis.

For most of the time from 1980 to 2005, WNBC's weeknight anchor rotation had Simmons and another male anchor on Live at Five, Scarborough and another female anchor at 6, and Scarborough and Simmons together at 11. That changed in 2005 as Live at Five anchor Jim Rosenfield jumped back to WCBS-TV, where he had once been noon and 5 p.m. anchor and took on the role as lead anchor for their 5 & 11 p.m. newscasts. Perri Peltz returned to WNBC to co-anchor Live at Five with Simmons, making New York the one of the few cities that has two women anchors on the two leading 5 p.m. newscasts.

Currently WNBC cooperates with radio station WINS during its morning newscasts to provide additional coverage of traffic in the New York City area.

Newscasts

Weekdays
* Today in New York - 5:00 a.m.-7:00 a.m.
* Live at Five - 5:00-6:00 p.m.
* NewsChannel 4 at 6 - 6:00-6:30 p.m.
* NewsChannel 4 at 11 - 11:00-11:35 p.m.

Saturdays
* Saturday Today in New York - 6:00-7:00 a.m. & 9:00-10:00 a.m.
* NewsChannel 4 at 6 - 6:00-6:30 p.m.
* NewsChannel 4 at 11 - 11:00-11:30 p.m.

Sundays
* Sunday Today in New York - 6:00-6:30 a.m. & 7:00-9:00 a.m.
* News Forum (Public Affairs) - 6:30-7:00 a.m.
* NewsChannel 4 at 6 - 6:00-6:30 p.m.
* NewsChannel 4 at 11 - 11:00-11:35 p.m.
* Mike'd Up: the Francesa Sports Final - 11:35 p.m.-12:05 a.m.

Anchors

* Lynda Baquero - Weeknights 6 PM
* Pat Battle - Weekend Today in New York
* Carolyn Gusoff - Weekend Today in New York
* Rob Morrison - Today in New York
* Perri Peltz - Live at Five
* Darlene Rodriguez - Today in New York
* Chuck Scarborough - Weeknights 6 and 11 PM
* Sue Simmons - Live at Five and 11 PM
* Felicia Taylor - Weekends 6 and 11 PM
* David Ushery - Weekend Today in New York and Weekends 6 and 11 PM

Weather Anchors:
* Chris Cimino - Weekday mornings
* Janice Huff - Weekday evenings
* John Marshall - Weekends
* SallyAnn Mosey - Weekends

Sports Anchors:
* Bruce Beck - Weekend evenings
* Len Berman - Sports Director/Weeknights
* Otis Livingston - Weekday mornings
* Jonas Schwartz - Weekend mornings

Reporters

* Asa Aarons (consumer affairs)
* Cindy Adams (gossip reporter)
* Joe Avellar
* Pat Battle (New Jersey)
* Greg Cergol (Long Island)
* Reg Chapman
* Pei-Sze Cheng
* Roseanne Colletti (consumer affairs)
* Jay DeDapper (politics)
* Jonathan Dienst
* Kendra Farn
* Max Gomez (health and science)
* Jane Hanson (special features)
* Vivian Lee
* Jeffrey Lyons (entertainment)
* Tim Minton (politics)
* John Noel
* Monica Morales
* Aimee Nuzzo
* Glenn Pearson
* Ralph Penza
* Gabe Pressman (politics)
* Carol Anne Riddell (education)
* Melissa Russo (politics)
* Ida Siegal
* Andrew Siff
* Brian Thompson (New Jersey)

Former personalities, anchors, and reporters

* Tex Antoine - weatherman (1949-1966)
* Marv Albert - sports anchor (1972-1987)
* Jack Cafferty - anchor (1975-1989)
* Frank Field - meteorologist (1957-1984)
* Maurice DuBois - anchor (1997-2004)
* Ira Joe Fisher - meteorologist (1987-1994)
* Betty Furness - consumer reporter (1974-1994)
* Roger Grimsby - commentator (1987-1989)
* Tony Guida - reporter/anchor (1972-1981, 1984-1992)
* Pat Harper - reporter/anchor (1984-1990)
* Jim Hartz - anchor (1965-1974)
* Katie Kelly - TV critic (1978-1980, 1987-1989)
* Matt Lauer - anchor (1992-1996)
* Lynda Lopez - reporter/anchor (2002-2003)
* Dave Marash - reporter/anchor (1983-1985)
* John Miller - reporter (1984-1997)
* Al Roker - meteorologist (1983-2000)
* Jim Rosenfield - anchor (2000-2005)
* Kyle Rote - sports anchor (1960s)
* Dick Schaap - sports anchor (1971-1978)
* Tom Snyder - anchor (1974-1977)
* Carl B. Stokes - anchor (1972-1980)
* Bob Teague - reporter/anchor (1963-1992)
* Melba Tolliver - reporter/anchor (1976-1980)
* Chris Wallace - reporter (1975-1989)
* Joe Witte - meteorologist (1983-1999)

Helicopter crashes

Rival WABC-TV covered the 2004 crash live.

On May 4, 2004, while covering a breaking news of a shooting in the Flatbush section of Brooklyn, the WNBC news helicopter "Chopper4" (a Eurocopter AS350BA, registered N4NY) suddenly fell out of the sky and crashed onto a Brooklyn apartment building rooftop. The pilot and two passengers miraculously didn't receive serious injuries. Rival TV station WABC-TV's news helicopter was covering the same news story when they saw the WNBC helicopter in trouble. They called for help and also got exclusive footage of the actual crash, which won an Emmy Award for their coverage.

In December 1998, WNBC's previous Chopper4 news helicopter crashed into the Passaic River near Harrison, New Jersey and Newark, New Jersey. Again there were no serious injuries.

Newscast titles

Chuck Scarborough behind the news desk in 1974.

The Sunoco Newscast with Lowell Thomas (1940-41) (simulcast with the NBC Blue radio network)
The News with John McCaffrey (1950s)
The Shell Oil News (1956-1960)
The (Gabe) Pressman-(Bill) Ryan Report (1960-1967)
The Sixth Hour & Eleventh Hour News (1967-1974)
NewsCenter 4 (1974-1980)
News 4 New York (1980-1995)
NewsChannel 4 (1995-)

WNBC: Encyclopedia BETA

Contents