WFMZ-TV

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

WFMZ-TV
Allentown, Pennsylvania
Branding	WFMZ Channel 69
Slogan	Your Life, Your World, Your News
Channels	69 (UHF) analog, 46 (UHF) digital
Affiliations	Independent
Owner	Maranatha Broadcasting Company, Inc.
Founded	November 25, 1976
Call letters meaning	Family-Minded Zone
Former callsigns	None
Former affiliations	None
Transmitter Power	5000 kW/313 m (analog) 400 kW/331 m (digital)
Website	www.wfmz.com/

WFMZ-TV is a general interest independent television station in Allentown, Pennsylvania, which is part of the Philadelphia DMA. Its studio and transmitter are located on South Mountain in Allentown.

WFMZ mainly serves the Lehigh Valley and Berks County areas with cable coverage in much of the Philadelphia DMA including southern New Jersey. There is some over the air signal coverage in some New Jersey counties that are part of the New York City DMA.

WFMZ went on the air on Thanksgiving 1976 with two daily newscasts and a mix of religious and general interest programming. Today, the station broadcasts over fifty local newscasts per week, including the Philadelphia area's only local Spanish-language newscast. The schedule consists of some first run syndicated programs like Judge Judy, Judge Joe Brown, Family Feud, and classic TV shows such as Family Ties, Home Improvement, Matlock, The Cosby Show, I Love Lucy, The Brady Bunch, Saved by the Bell, and paid programming airing during the overnight hours. The station also produces various programs about business, sports and health related issues.

WFMZ offers programming from HDNet on its DT3 digital subchannel.

Contents 1 News Set 2 Newscasts 2.1 Anchors 2.2 Reporters 3 AccuWeather Channel 3.1 Weekdays 3.2 Weekends 4 Local Programs 4.1 The Big Ticket 4.2 Business Matters 4.3 Election Central 4.4 The Freddy Awards 4.5 Law Journal 4.6 Lehigh Sports Magazine 4.7 Sertoma Auction 4.8 Talk With Your Doctor 5 WFMZ.com 6 External links

[edit] News Set

The current set and studio for 69 News debuted in April of 2006 replacing the one that has been in use since 1999. The desk has built in monitors, and flat screen PCs to keep the anchors informed of late breaking news updates. The entire desk can be rotated to focus on different areas of the set. Behind the anchor desk is the Stormcenter where the weather team works on their forecasts. The sports platform can be rotated as well. The second floor houses the weather office and traffic center. You can take a virtual tour of the set by using the link at the bottom of the page.

[edit] Newscasts

Weekdays

• 69 News at Sunrise- 6:00-8:00 a.m.
• 69 News at Noon- 12:00-12:30 p.m.
• 69 News at 5: Lehigh Valley Report- 5:00-5:30 p.m.
• 69 News: Berks Edition- 5:30-6:00 p.m.
• 69 News at 6: Regional Report- 6:00-6:30 p.m.
• 69 News at 10: Regional Report- 10:00-10:30 p.m.
• 69 News: Berks Edition- 10:30-11:00 p.m.
• 69 News: Edición en Español- 11:00-11:30 p.m.

Weekends

• 69 News: Weekend Edition- 6:00-6:30 p.m.
• 69 News: Weekend Edition- 10:00-10:30 p.m.

[edit] Anchors

• Perla López Baray- Edición en Español
• Jaciel Cordoba- Sunrise and Noon
• Wendy Davis- Sunrise, weeknights 5-6:30pm
• Rob Vaughn- weeknights 5-6:30pm, 10-11pm

Anchors/Reporters

• John Derr- weekends evenings, health beat reporter
• Karin Mallett- weekends 10pm, weekday Berks Edition reporter
• Brittany Westbrook- weekends 6pm, Wednesday-Friday evening reporter

Weather Anchors

• Matt Broderick- Sunrise and Noon meteorologist
• Kathy Craine- weeknights 6pm
• Rachel Frank- fill-in meteorologist
• Ed Hanna- chief meterologist, weeknights 5-6pm, 10-11pm
• Mark Shanaberger- weekend evening meteorlogist
• Zenddy Caicedo Tintle- Edición en Español

Sports Anchors

• Troy Hein- sports director, weeknights 5pm, 6pm, 10-11pm
• Dave Lesko- weekend sports anchor
• Tim McMaster- weeknights 5:30pm
• Jim Vaughn- sports reporter, fill-in anchor

[edit] Reporters

• Melissa Batualis- Berks Edition reporter
• Linda Candelo- Edición en Español reporter
• Rick Edwards- traffic reporter
• Jaccii Farris- noon, 5pm, 6pm reporter
• Fior Hernandez- Edición en Español reporter
• JC Kelleher- fill-in traffic reporter
• Mike Lowe- noon, 5pm, 6pm reporter
• Dr. Anne Marie- health reporter
• Joscelyn Moes- 5pm, 6pm, 10pm reporter
• Joel D. Smith- Berks Edition reporter
• Eve Tannery- Sunrise reporter/fill-in anchor
• Nancy Werteen- Connect with Kids reporter

[edit] AccuWeather Channel

The Accuweather Channel debuted on February 4, 2001. It is broadcasted on WFMZ DT2 and digital cable 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, and, according to WFMZ, was the first 24 hour local weather channel in the nation. [1] Local weather updates are given every 15 minutes from one of WFMZ's meterologists, plus national updates provided by AccuWeather. A link on the station's website offers live streaming video of this channel. Weekday mornings from 5-5:30 AM, the main WFMZ channel simulcasts the 24-hour weather channel.

[edit] Weekdays

• Morning Outlook (5am-Noon): Rachel Frank (Mon-Wed) or Matt Broderick (Thur-Fri)
• Afternoon Outlook (Noon-5pm): Rachel Frank (Mon-Wed) or Matt Broderick (Thur-Fri)
• Evening Outlook (5pm-11pm): Ed Hanna (Mon-Tue) or Mark Shanaberger (Wed-Fri)
• Overnight Outlook (11pm-5am): Ed Hanna (Mon-Tue) or Mark Shanaberger (Wed-Fri)

[edit] Weekends

• Morning Outlook (5am-Noon): Rachel Frank
• Afternoon Outlook (Noon-5pm): Rachel Frank
• Evening Outlook (5pm-10:30pm): Mark Shanaberger
• Overnight Outlook (10:30pm-5pm): Mark Shanaberger

[edit] Local Programs

[edit] The Big Ticket

The Big Ticket is a high school football highlight show that airs every Friday at 11pm during the high school football season. Highlights from local games in The Lehigh Valley air along with interviews from players & coaches. The Big Ticket debuted in 1995. The Big Ticket is currently hosted by Troy Hein & Tim McMaster with live reports from Dave Lesko & Jim Vaughn. [2]

[edit] Business Matters

Business Matters is a program where a panel of experts gather to discusses various business issues. Business Matters airs Mondays at 7:30pm on WFMZ.

[edit] Election Central

Election Central is televised live every year during the May and November elections. Up to the minute results, live interviews and live reports are featured.

[edit] The Freddy Awards

The Freddy Awards which debuted in 2003 is fashioned after Broadway’s Tony Awards. A panel of evaluators view participating high schools musical performances. The best are honored in a ceremony that is broadcast live on WFMZ every year. Ed Hanna and Shelley Brown host the ceremony from The State Theater in Easton. [3]

[edit] Law Journal

Law Journal debuted in 1993 and is hosted by Attorney Christopher Naughton. Naughton is joined by various attorneys who answer questions about various law related topics. Viewers can call in and receive free advice from any of the attorneys about the topic of the week. Law Journal airs Mondays live at 8pm on WFMZ.

[edit] Lehigh Sports Magazine

Lehigh Sports Magazine is hosted by Troy Hein and features interviews with Lehigh University coaches and players. Lehigh Sports Magazine airs Mondays at 7:30pm during Lehigh's fall sports season.

[edit] Sertoma Auction

The Sertoma Auction is televised live on WFMZ every year. Merchants donate items and bidders can call or log on to WFMZ.com to place their bids. The auction raises money for various organizations in the Lehigh Valley. Various WFMZ personalities volunteer their time to the auction.

[edit] Talk With Your Doctor

Talk With Your Doctor is hosted by Doug Eberhart who is joined by various doctors from St. Luke's Hospital. Viewers can call in and receive free medical advice.

[edit] WFMZ.com

The station's website is a source of local news, updated current weather information, local sports scores, school closings, and other important information. Local traffic reports and area traffic cameras have recently been added. [4]

[edit] External links

• Official Web Site of WFMZ-TV
• WFMZ Wireless
• Tour of the set and studio for WFMZ's "69 News"
• Query the FCC's TV station database for WFMZ
• Official Web Site of WFMZ's Accu-Weather Channel