WDAZ-TV

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WDAZ-TV
Grand Forks, North Dakota
City of license	Devils Lake, North Dakota
Branding	WDAZ 8 Television WDAZ News
Slogan	Your News Leader
Channels	8 (VHF) analog, 59 (UHF) digital
Affiliations	ABC
Owner	Forum Communications
Founded	January 2, 1967
Call letters meaning	Taken from WDAY-TV with a Z
Former affiliations	NBC (1967-1983)
Transmitter Power	316 kW (analog) 100 kW (digital)
Height	451 m (analog) 389 m (digital)
Facility ID	22124
Website	www.wdaz.com/

Contents 1 History 2 Local Programming 2.1 News 2.2 Sports Coverage 2.3 News team 2.3.1 Anchors 2.3.2 Meteorologists (Weather) 2.3.3 Sports 2.3.4 Reporters / Photographers 2.3.5 Other 2.4 Locally produced programs 3 Logos and Screenshots 4 Coverage area 4.1 Translators 4.2 WDAZ-TV Tower 5 See also 6 External links

WDAZ is a U.S. television station based in Grand Forks, North Dakota (licensed by the FCC to Devils Lake, ND). WDAZ broadcasts on analog (NTSC) channel 8 and digital (ATSC) channel 59. It is owned by Forum Communications of Fargo, North Dakota, which also owns Grand Forks Herald, and affiliated with the American Broadcasting Company. WDAZ also has a studio and offices in Devils Lake. Its transmitter is located near Dahlen, North Dakota, which is roughly between Grand Forks and Devils Lake.

Its sister television station in Fargo is Forum Communications-owned WDAY-TV channel 6, in which WDAZ rebroadcasts with local inserts outside of newscasts and ABC primetime programming. The CW affiliate Fargo CW, which is a digital subchannel of WDAY-TV and is seen on cable in the Grand Forks region, is also operated by Forum Communications.

[edit] History

WDAZ signed on in January 1967 as an NBC affiliate primarily rebroadcasting WDAY-TV except local newscasts. In 1983, WDAZ (and WDAY) switched affiliations with KTHI 11 (now KVLY) to become the ABC affiliate. KTHI became the NBC affiliate.

The station won the Edward R. Murrow Award for continuing coverage in 1997 for staying on-the-air providing coverage of the 1997 flood while Grand Forks was evacuated.

[edit] Local Programming

[edit] News

WDAZ produces local newscasts during Monday through Friday at 5:00pm, 6:00pm, and 10:00pm, Saturdays at 6:00pm and 10:00pm, and a Sunday newscast at 10:00pm. The morning newscast, First News, at 6:00am Monday through Fridays is rebroadcasted from WDAY-TV of Fargo. Longtime WDAZ personalities include news anchors Milo Smith and Terry Dullum, and sports anchor Pat Sweeney. Local weather forecasts are pre-recorded from WDAY-TV meteorolgists. Chuck Bundlie was the station's first news director and anchor, serving from 1967-1992.

WDAZ's newscasts are the most watched in Grand Forks because it is the only TV station in Grand Forks that produces newscasts, so WDAY and WDAZ can both concentrate on one area of the Fargo/Grand Forks TV market. The station sometimes claims to have more people watching its newscasts than its competitors (KVLY, KXJB and KBRR) combined.

WDAZ goes off-the-air after its 12:08am airing of Jimmy Kimmel Live and does not show World News Now. The same is done to WDAY.

[edit] Sports Coverage

WDAZ is also known for its coverage of University of North Dakota Fighting Sioux athletics. WDAZ airs a weekly sports program, "Sioux Sports Weekly" with Dan Hammer for Fighting Sioux football and basketball featuring interviews, highlights, and previews during the college athletic seasons. The station also produces telecasts in conjunction with the University of North Dakota for a cable network known as the Fighting Sioux Sports Network. This network, also known as "FSSN", broadcasts Fighting Sioux hockey, football, and basketball games which are distributed on cable television by Midcontinent Communications and other cable systems in North Dakota, Minnesota, and South Dakota. The Fighting Sioux Sports Network is also available all across the North American continent via Free-To-Air satellite. WDAZ Sports Director Pat Sweeney handles UND play-by-play on FSSN.

[edit] News team

[edit] Anchors

• Terry Dullum (Weekday Anchor of 5PM Newscasts / Producer)
• Cassie Walder (Weekday Co-anchor of 6PM Newscasts / News Director)
• Milo Smith (Weekday Co-anchor of 6PM and 10PM Newscasts / Producer)
• Tami Osborne (Weekday Co-anchor of 10PM Newscast / Reporter)
• Lacey Crisp (Weekend Anchor of 6PM and 10PM Newscasts / Reporter)

[edit] Meteorologists (Weather)

• John Wheeler (Chief Meteorologist - Weekday Evenings)
• Daryl Ritchison (Meteorologist - Weekday Mornings and Midday)
• Rob Kupec (Meteorologist - Weekends)

[edit] Sports

• Pat Sweeney (Weekdays)
• James Degelder (Weekends)

[edit] Reporters / Photographers

• Jessica Dugan (Reporter)
• Bill Haug (UBS Stock Market Report)
• Arlene Martini (UBS Stock Market Report)
• Chris Regimbal (Chief Photographer)
• David Schwab (Reporter)

[edit] Other

• Jim L. Johnson (Technical Director)
• James R. Johnson (Managing Producer)
• Matt Christensen (Weekend Director)
• Kelsey Jacobson (Weekend Associate Producer)
• Dave Leach (Studio Chief)

[edit] Locally produced programs

Most locally produced programs outside of newscasts are weekend University of North Dakota Fighting Sioux coaches shows, which have been consolidated into Sioux Sports Weekly. "Sioux Sports Weekly" hosted by Dan Hammer for Fighting Sioux football and basketball featuring interviews, highlights, and previews during the college athletic seasons, and is seen after the 10:00 PM news on Sunday. WDAZ formerly broadcasted a political talk show called Agenda, which was primarily on local and regional issues. WDAY-TV produces a local outdoors show called Great Outdoors seen occassionaly on WDAZ.

[edit] Logos and Screenshots

WDAZ logo (c. 1983)	WDAZ logo from 1983, prior to the station's affiliation change from NBC to ABC.	WDAZ's old logo used in station IDs. Variations of this logo were used from 1983 to 2005. A variation of this logo is still mounted on its studio building in Grand Forks. This logo is also still seen in the sign-on and sign-off.	Intro logo of The 10 O'Clock Report from 1985.
Current intro logo to all opening WDAZ newscasts.

[edit] Coverage area

Although WDAZ broadcasts in a small market that reaches only 82,000 television households, the station is also carried on Shaw Communications and MTS TV in southern Manitoba including the nearby Winnipeg, Manitoba region, reaching an additional 256,000 homes. WDAZ and Prairie Public Television are the only stations from this region that still air in Manitoba, after KVLY (formerly KTHI) and KXJB were replaced with other network affiliates in March 1986. This was due to a CRTC decision that allowed the Winnipeg cable companies to replace the CBS and NBC affiliates with Detroit stations due to complaints about poor reception, but denied them the ability to replace WDAZ with WXYZ or PPTV with WTVS (although this station would later be added as a second PBS station to cable customers). [1] Shaw Cable airs WDAZ on cable channel 7 and MTS TV airs WDAZ on cable channel 13.

WDAZ can also be seen over the air in extreme southern Manitoba, and in southern parts of Winnipeg with a rooftop antenna. The reception of WDAZ over the air is poor, as its transmitter is over 100 miles (160 kilometers) from Winnipeg.

Advertising from Winnipeg businesses sometimes air on the station, although this is sometimes ineffective due to simultaneous substitution. Because WDAZ is carried on cable in southern Manitoba, it has become somewhat of a regional superstation.

Some areas that carry WDAZ on cable in western Minnesota are actually in the northwestern part of the Minneapolis-St. Paul, MN television market.

[edit] Translators

WDAZ rebroadcasts on the following translators (low power rebroadcasters):

• K48CQ 48 Roseau, Minnesota
• K57AR 57 Baudette, Minnesota
• K57AS 57 Grygla, Minnesota
• K61AR 61 Williams, Minnesota
• K67BC 67 Norris Camp, Minnesota

[edit] WDAZ-TV Tower

WDAZ-TV broadcasts from a a 445.2 meter (1,460.2 feet) high guy-wired aerial mast, making it the third tallest tower in North Dakota after the KVLY-TV tower and KXJB-TV tower. The tower is located in Dahlen, North Dakota, roughly located between Grand Forks and Devils Lake. PBS-affiliate KGFE of Grand Forks also uses this tower.

Geographical coordinates: 48°8′18″N, 97°59′36″W

[edit] See also

• Fighting Sioux Sports Network
• Grand Forks Herald
• WDAY-TV
• WDAY (Fargo CW)

[edit] External links

• WDAZ website
• Query the FCC's TV station database for WDAZ-TV

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