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WTAE-TV

WTAE-TV (channel 4) is a television station in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States, affiliated with ABC. It has been owned by Hearst Television since the station's inception, making this one of two stations that have been built and signed on by Hearst (alongside company flagship WBAL-TV in Baltimore). WTAE-TV's studios are located on Ardmore Boulevard (PA 8) in the suburb of Wilkinsburg (though with a Pittsburgh mailing address), and its transmitter is located in Buena Vista, Pennsylvania.

History
WTAE-TV began broadcasting on September 14, 1958; the station has been Pittsburgh's ABC affiliate since its sign-on.

Pittsburgh had only one major commercial television station for close to a decade—DuMont-owned WDTV (channel 2, now KDKA-TV), which signed on in 1949 and carried programs from all four television networks (DuMont, ABC, NBC and CBS). Further development of stations in Pittsburgh was halted by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC)'s freeze on license awards, which ran from 1948 until 1952. Even after the freeze was lifted by the FCC, new VHF stations in Pittsburgh were held back to give the smaller cities in the Upper Ohio Valley a chance to get on the owing to VHF band limitations.

Several months after the freeze was lifted, two UHF stations in Pittsburgh, WENS-TV (channel 16, now WINP-TV) and WKJF-TV (channel 53, now WPGH-TV), went on the air. For technical and financial reasons, both stations were short-lived. Meanwhile, revisions to the VHF allocation had given the Pittsburgh area three additional channels—4, 11, and 13, the latter reserved for non-commercial educational purposes. The channel 4 frequency on which WTAE-TV began operations during the analog television era was originally allocated to suburban McKeesport, in Allegheny County; other official documents have listed the community of license as Irwin, in Westmoreland County.

Hearings on the channel 4 permit opened in 1955, and it was originally granted by the FCC to KQV radio in 1956. Hearst and the other three applicants that lost petitioned the FCC to re-open the permit hearings following the death of KQV co-owner Irwin D. Wolf. The subsequent reconsideration awarded channel 4 to Hearst. The agency's commissioners were divided on how to break the stalemate to the satisfaction of both winning parties, and suggested a merger between Hearst and the KQV group, who sold their radio station to ABC to appease FCC cross-ownership restrictions. Together, both firms became equal partners in Television City, Inc., under which ownership WTAE-TV went on the air. Hearst would purchase the remaining 50 percent of the station in 1962. WTAE-TV is the only Pittsburgh television station affiliated with a major network not to have changed ownership.

Shortly before the station signed on, the FCC moved the channel 4 assignment to Pittsburgh proper following several years of petitioning by then-Pittsburgh mayor (and future Governor of Pennsylvania) David L. Lawrence. However, the FCC changed its rules so that channel 4 could have based its main studio in Pittsburgh, even if it had been licensed to McKeesport or Irwin. The station's original ownership group's connections with powerful U.S. Senator from Florida, George Smathers led to televised U.S. House hearings with both Lawrence and Smathers testifying in 1958. WTAE-TV was thus short-spaced to other channel 4 stations in Columbus, Ohio; Oak Hill, West Virginia; Buffalo, New York; and Washington, D.C.; the transmitter was located southeast of the city as a result of the move. Shortly after signing on, WTAE-TV was briefly affiliated with the NTA Film Network, sharing the affiliation with KDKA-TV, WIIC-TV (now WPXI), and WQED.

WTAE-TV first adopted the "Circle 4" logo in 1973, eventually adopting the current version in 1995. Due to the design and similar callsigns, the logo has received comparisons to fellow ABC affiliate WATE-TV in Knoxville, Tennessee, who has used the "Circle 6" logo since 2011. Aside from the ABC affiliation, the two stations are not related. In 2012, the "Circle 4" logo surpassed KDKA-TV's Group W-era logo that in various forms was used from 1965 to 2003 for the longest-used station logo on Pittsburgh television. WOTV in southwestern Michigan uses a similar device for its "channel 4" logo.

On April 24, 1980, WTAE-TV personality Nick Perry, who hosted Bowling for Dollars and also called the lottery drawings for the Pennsylvania Lottery, fixed the Lottery's daily numbers drawing so that it would come up as "6-6-6". Perry served jail time, and the drawings were moved to WHP-TV in Harrisburg a year later. This resulted in lotteries now being audited and monitored with "witnesses" from the government and/or accounting firms, and also inspired the movie Lucky Numbers. KDKA-TV aired the Lottery drawings in the Pittsburgh market after this incident until 2009, when they moved back to WTAE-TV.

In April 1985, WTAE-TV became the only station in the United States to transmit the World Wrestling Federation's WrestleMania event free over-the-air, after a technical glitch prematurely ended the event's closed-circuit broadcast from the Civic Arena.

In 1986, WTAE-TV partnered with The Salvation Army and started Project Bundle Up, an operation to make sure that children and seniors receive warm clothing. WTAE-TV has run the Project Bundle Up Auction where local businesses donate products to be auctioned off, and the Project Bundle Up Telethon, where viewers call in to donate money. Businesses donate money and all of their proceeds from the auction and telethon to benefit the Salvation Army. In 2007, WTAE-TV moved the auction to the Internet.

In early 2001, Hearst bought Clarksburg, West Virginia–based NBC affiliate WBOY-TV, which has a significant signal overlap with WTAE-TV (a year earlier, the FCC began to allow companies to own television stations with overlapping coverage areas). However, Hearst decided to sell WBOY-TV to West Virginia Media Holdings in September of that year after less than a year of ownership; that station is now owned by Nexstar Media Group, who to this day does not own or operate a station serving Pittsburgh.

In June 2011, a WTAE-TV staff photographer was charged with a sexual crime when an alleged victim stated that the photographer had inappropriate physical contact with her. The photographer arrived in a WTAE-TV news vehicle with station equipment and claimed he was doing an interview, although WTAE-TV management claims that he was not on duty at the time—even though he was using station resources.

In the early years, Channel 4 was best known in the market for its locally originated entertainment programming, including popular early program late night movie show Shock Theatre, which was hosted by former Pittsburgh radio disc jockey Bob Drews, who portrayed Sir Rodger (often misspelled as Sir Roger). Shock Theatre featured monster movies such as The Invisible Man and Frankenstein in-between live-action comedic skits. By the 1970s, WTAE-TV was running a mix of cartoons and sitcoms from 6:30 to 9 am, a local talk show, some ABC shows, more cartoons and off-network sitcoms in the afternoon, news and some first run shows in the evening, and ABC prime time programming.

Sports programming
Owing to parent company Hearst's 20% minority stake in ESPN, WTAE-TV has the right of first refusal for Monday Night Football games featuring the Pittsburgh Steelers; the station has aired all MNF games since the program's inception in 1970, even though the program moved from ABC to ESPN after the 2005 season. The station aired the Steelers' Super Bowl XL victory in 2006, which was the last NFL game aired on ABC until the 2015 Wild Card game.

WTAE-TV also aired select Pittsburgh Pirates games via ABC's MLB broadcast contract from 1976 to 1989, including the team's 1979 World Series championship.

WTAE-TV serves as the over-the-air television provider for the Pittsburgh Penguins via ESPN/ABC's NHL broadcasting contract from 2022 to 2028.

Past program preemptions and deferrals
Although it was the only ABC affiliate in the region when it signed on at the time, WTAE-TV preempted and/or delayed a considerable amount of ABC programming, most notably some of its daytime lineup from the 1960s to the late 1990s. WTAE-TV did not begin running Good Morning America until December 1978, and only aired an hour of the program until 1980. One Life to Live did not run on WTAE-TV from its 1968 debut up until 1978, when the soap opera expanded to an hour-long format. Another soap opera, The Edge of Night, was aired at 10 a.m. on a delay from December 2, 1975 (the day after its relocation from CBS to ABC) until August 13, 1982. From 1969 to 1971, and again from 1974 to 1979, ABC shows that were not broadcast on channel 4 ended up airing instead on WPGH-TV. After 1980, some of these shows ran on WPTT (channel 22, now WPNT). WTAE-TV also preempted the Sunday morning ABC children's programming block the entire time ABC offered it, as well as a couple of hours of ABC's Saturday morning cartoons until 1979. WTAE-TV ran syndicated cartoons in place of the network-supplied children's programs, while the preempted Saturday morning network programs (including American Bandstand) aired on WPGH during that time.

By the 1980s, WTAE-TV was running many of the top rated off-network syndicated sitcoms from 4 to 6 pm. By 1990, WTAE-TV was beginning to focus more on news, and in 1992 dropped the entire ABC Saturday morning cartoon lineup for a 4½ hour newscast (which WPXI was also doing, beginning in 1990). WTAE-TV also expanded its midday newscast to an hour and dropped The Home Show during 1991. Loving was dropped from the daytime lineup in January 1991 and moved to overnights, then dropped from the schedule altogether in 1992. Later in the decade, WTAE-TV also did not carry Mike and Maty or The City. WTAE-TV began carrying Port Charles in January 1998, but dropped the show entirely in September 2000, three years shy of its cancellation by ABC, and replaced it with Judge Hatchett, which itself was replaced by Access Hollywood in 2004. Beginning in 1996, WTAE-TV began running two hours of the ABC Saturday cartoon lineup on Sunday mornings, a half-hour on Saturday mornings, and a half-hour at 12:30 pm. In 1997, the station cut back its Saturday morning newscast to three hours at 7 to 10 a.m. and began running three hours of the ABC children's lineup from 10 a.m. to 1 pm. Today, though it still offers a news-intensive schedule, WTAE-TV clears the entire ABC lineup. Viewers and ABC had also begun to clamor for The View, which premiered in 1997 to acclaim and success compared to ABC's past late morning programs (and was also under the network's full editorial control), to air in Pittsburgh at its prescribed time. WTAE had continued to delay The View to late night until March 27, 2000, when it began to air in its proper 11 a.m. time slot.

WTAE-TV was one of many ABC stations that preempted the special showing of Saving Private Ryan in late 2004 due to concerns that the FCC would impose a fine on them if they had aired the World War II–set movie due to the Super Bowl XXXVIII halftime show controversy earlier that year. The station, along with other Hearst-owned ABC affiliated stations, aired the 1992 film Far and Away instead. Youngstown, Ohio ABC affiliate WYTV still aired Saving Private Ryan, giving viewers in the northern and western portions of WTAE-TV's viewing area the option of watching the film. It was later determined that the movie's broadcast was not a violation of FCC regulations.

News operation
WTAE-TV presently broadcasts 43 hours of locally produced newscasts each week (with $6 1/2$ hours each weekday, five hours on Saturdays and $5 1/2$ hours on Sundays). Like its NBC rival, WPXI, Channel 4 was not a major player in news coverage in its early years, as the Pittsburgh market was dominated by KDKA-TV and anchor Bill Burns. That changed in 1969, when longtime KDKA radio-and-TV newscaster Paul Long joined WTAE-TV, along with his KDKA meteorologist-sidekick Joe DeNardo. WTAE-TV was known for the "legendary" news crew of Paul Long and Don Cannon from the late 1960s into the 1990s.

Sports has been a major division at WTAE-TV. In 1972, WTAE-TV sportscaster Myron Cope, thanks to a phone call from a female fan, introduced the phrase "The Immaculate Reception" to describe Franco Harris' miraculous, running shoestring catch that gave the Pittsburgh Steelers a 13–7 playoff victory over the Oakland Raiders (Cope chuckled at the woman's call, and responded, "I'm not sure I can say that!" Cope figured out an innocuous way to introduce the phrase on air, prefacing the remark by saying, "It comes from a good Christian lady.") WTAE-TV and its channel 4 logo was immortalized in the 1979 basketball comedy film The Fish That Saved Pittsburgh, whose fictional sportscaster Murray Sports (played by Harry Shearer) was also patterned after Cope. The last sports director was Andrew Stockey, who left the position in 2006 to become a news anchor. However, in 2011, he returned to head the sports department. Along with Stockey, the sports department consists of Guy Junker, Ryan Recker, and Bill Hillgrove (Steeler Insider) as of 2013.

In the fall of 1990, WTAE gave Pittsburgh its first 5am newscast and expanded its one-hour morning newscast to two hours, shifting the starting time from 6am to 5am. The move took place the same day KDKA expanded its half-hour morning newscast to an hour and started it at 6 am. As it gained news in the morning, WTAE lost news at noon. The station's noon news (it was brought back in early 1992) and the resumption of a noon newscast meant Channel 4 had gone full circle in a very short time. It had dropped the noon news and plugged the slot with the short lived game show The Challengers (which only lasted one season) and Graham Kerr's cooking program (which lasted one season as well) before Good Day Pittsburgh.

In June 1992, the station expanded its news production, adding a Saturday morning newscast from 8 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. (matching WPXI's Saturday morning newscast of the then-same length, which began in 1990) and a three-hour Sunday morning newscast. The station also extended its weekday early evening newscast to begin at 5 pm, and began to air a weekday morning newscast from 5 to 7 am. In 1997, the station expanded its Sunday morning newscast by an hour and began to air its Saturday morning newscast from 6 to 10 a.m.

In 2002, Jean Connelly became the first woman from Western Pennsylvania to be inducted into the Pennsylvania Broadcasters Hall of Fame. In doing so, she joined ranks with Paul Long, David Crantz, and Fred Young. Connelly is famous for producing and hosting her own talk show, The Jean Connelly Show. WTAE-TV unveiled a new set designed by FX Group during the 5 p.m. newscast on September 4, 2007. That year, WTAE-TV debuted a YouTube channel, which features stories featured on channel 4's newscasts. On September 15, 2008, WTAE-TV became the second station in the market to begin broadcasting its local newscasts in high definition. Field reports continued to be broadcast in 4:3 standard-definition until September 2011, when field reports began to be broadcast in 16:9 SD.

At the end of 2011, WTAE-TV on-air talent took to both Twitter and Facebook to voice their opinions about unfair treatment by management. The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reported that WTAE-TV's on-air staff claimed it was being denied severance benefits for employees fired without cause, a minimum salary scale, overtime pay for work hours totaling more than eight hours a day, retirement benefits equalling those of other employees at the station, and consideration for unscheduled call-outs, split shifts and work on the sixth consecutive day and thereafter. Former general manager Michael Hayes stated that bargaining had been taking place in good faith. An online petition was launched in support of the anchors, reporters, meteorologists, and sportscasters.

New studio set for newscasts
On April 28, 2016, WTAE became the third television station in the Pittsburgh DMA to launch a new studio set in Studio B of the WTAE Studios. The design focuses heavily on the use of video monitors, Pittsburgh culture, and HD lighting.

Pittsburgh's Action News 4 at 7 on Cozi TV Pittsburgh
On January 6, 2016, WTAE announced that the station will add a 7 p.m. newscast on subchannel 4.2 beginning February 1. The newscast will be hosted by current weekend morning anchor Jackie Cain and chief meteorologist Mike Harvey. "We understand viewers are constantly looking for news, no matter what time of the day," said WTAE President & general manager Charles W. Wolfertz III. "Our new 7 p.m. newscast will give viewers more options to get news and weather information when they want it. Whether it's on our traditional broadcast station, on-line, or on a mobile device, WTAE Channel 4 is always looking for more ways to make it convenient for our viewers to get the local news and weather that's important to them."

Chronicle
In June 2013, WTAE-TV announced that longtime anchor Sally Wiggin would host WTAE Chronicle, a series of hour-long news specials dedicated to in-depth reporting on relevant topics to Pittsburgh and Western Pennsylvania. The format was lifted from Boston sister station WCVB-TV, where their Chronicle has been on the air since 1982, albeit in the form of a weeknight, half-hour news-magazine. Wiggin shifted from her role as anchor of WTAE-TV's noon newscast to focus on WTAE Chronicle and additional station projects. Chronicle debuted on WTAE-TV in March 2013, with a report from Vatican City on the election of Pope Francis.

The second edition focused on the importance of "The Point"—the iconic area of downtown Pittsburgh where the three rivers meet.

The third edition of Chronicle aired on December 3, 2013 ("Concussions & Our Kids") which focused on brain injuries in youth sports; and the fourth installment aired on March 25 called "Living Like Lou" a special on Pittsburghers with ALS. The original broadcast was accompanied simultaneously with a one-hour telethon to raise funds for ALS assistance; it resulted in over $130,000 raised.

A fifth edition debuted on September 15 right after the season premiere of Dancing with the Stars called Chronicle: The New Pittsburgh. It focused on the rebirth and growth of Pittsburgh in the past twenty years.

The sixth edition was centered on the highly debated topic around fracking or natural gas drilling in Western Pennsylvania. The edition titled "Drilling Down" was the first look at the topic from three perspectives: the drilling companies, the protesters, and the communities impacted by the wells.

The seventh edition called Chronicle: Taste of the 'Burgh was aired to massive ratings and focused on Pittsburgh's growing "Foodie" culture, its impact on the local economy, employment, and national attention. It is the highest viewed Chronicle to date.

The eighth edition of Chronicle called "Burning Questions" dealt with the ongoing issue in Western Pennsylvania local fire departments failing to meet the national standards for fire response times. It consisted of a four-month-long investigation, laying the foundation for a comprehensive, eye-opening look at the challenges for first responders. This installment of Chronicle examines how volunteers are struggling to make do with a 200-year-old system, putting our communities at risk. It was high-profile installment that opened up discussions with the state, regional, and local leaders to help solve the problem. The ratings for it won the night.

Chronicle: After War, the ninth installment of the series, examined the life of Western Pennsylvania's military men, women and their families after the battle has ended. Local combat veterans are now struggling to find jobs while adjusting to family life and their physical disabilities. America's longest war has ended, and a new generation of veterans is transitioning to life at home. The online live video stream was picked up veterans organizations around the country and the highest watched Chronicle to date.

Chronicle: Dog Stories, the tenth installment of the series, dove into Pittsburgh's love affair with dogs, from the ones that protect us at home and overseas to the shelter culture here in the 'Burgh. It also looked at the shelter culture in Pittsburgh and how humans and dogs have worked together to form an incredible bond.

All ten were ratings hits in the Pittsburgh television market.

Awards and honors
In March 2008, the station won a Freedom of Information Award and an IRE Medal from the Investigative Reporters and Editors for "pushing open the front door" of the state-run student loan agency. In April 2008, that same effort resulted in a Peabody Award for the station, in recognition of "station's relentless legal campaign to obtain public records of a state-run student loan program" which "netted evidence of financial misconduct and pushed the state to rewrite an antiquated right-to-know law".

In April 2012, WTAE-TV was awarded the Edward R. Murrow Award for "Video Continuing Coverage" of the Penn State child sex abuse scandal.

In February 2013, the Pennsylvania Association of Broadcasters awarded WTAE-TV the following Awards for Excellence in Broadcasting: Outstanding Television Feature Story/Report/Series, Outstanding Television Breaking News Report, and Outstanding Investigative Report.

In April 2013, WTAE-TV was awarded the Edward R. Murrow Award for "Reporting: Hard News" for the Downtown Pittsburgh office building hostage crisis.

In September 2013, WTAE-TV received 21 nominations for the 2013 Regional Emmy Awards, the second most nominations among all the television stations in the state. WTAE-TV took home numerous awards in six categories including special coverage of the Vatican elections with Mike Clark.

In March 2014, it was announced that WTAE-TV will be awarded three awards by the Pennsylvania Broadcasters Association: "Outstanding Television Documentary Program" for Chronicle, "Outstanding Television Public Affairs Program/Series" for Chronicle, and "Outstanding Television Website" for WTAE.com.

In April 2014, it was announced that WTAE-TV was awarded two Regional Edward R. Murrow Awards by the Radio Television Digital News Association: "Overall Excellence" and "Best Website". WTAE-TV competed against TV stations all across Pennsylvania, New York, and New Jersey; including two of the largest TV markets in the U.S.: New York City and Philadelphia.

In August 2014, it was announced that WTAE-TV was nominated for 25 Emmy Awards by the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences for the Mid-Atlantic Region. On September 20 at the Emmy Awards Gala, it was confirmed that WTAE-TV won more Emmy awards than any other Western PA television station which included the following awards: Health News (Don't Ask, Don't Research), Health/Environment/Science Program (Chronicle: Living Like Lou), Human Interest (Love Front Porch), Sportscast (September 23, 2013, edition), news Anchor (Wendy Bell), Feature Reporter (Wendy Bell), and for Specialty Reporter (Wendy Bell).

On April 23, 2015, it was announced that WTAE-TV was awarded the Edward R. Murrow Award for Overall Excellence in Television along with an award for Breaking News (for their national coverage of the Franklin Regional Stabbings) and an award Documentary (for Chronicle: Drilling Down edition). This is the second year in a row that WTAE-TV has been awarded the Overall Excellence award; no other Pittsburgh station has achieved that.

In May 2015, Anchor/Host Sally Wiggin was inducted into the Pennsylvania Association of Broadcasters Hall of Fame. Wiggin joined an elite group of Commonwealth broadcasters, and four former WTAE inductees, whose distinguished service has made a positive impact on audiences and the industry.

On August 11, 2015, it was announced that WTAE-TV had been honored with 18 Emmy Award nominations by the National Academy of Television Arts & Sciences for the Mid-Atlantic Region. These nominations were for coverage such as the Franklin Regional HS Stabbings, Investigative Reports, and the various Chronicle editions. Winners will be announced at the Emmy Awards on September 19, 2015. WTAE-TV was awarded the most Emmy nominations among all the television stations in Pittsburgh region. At the Emmy Awards, the station in September received six awards, the most of any standard television in the state and twice as many as its local competitors: WPXI and KDKA.

In 2016, the station won numerous national awards:
 * Peabody Award: WTAE earned the Peabody Award from the University of Georgia's Grady College of Journalism for its series of special reports "Burning Questions: Investigation into Fire Response Times". The Peabody Awards recognize distinguished and meritorious public service by TV and radio stations, networks, producing organizations, individuals and the World Wide Web.
 * National Headliner Awards: WTAE won five national Headliner Awards for outstanding journalism, and received the top television recognition "Best of Show TV", for Chronicle: Burning Questions.
 * Edward R. Murrow Awards: WTAE won six regional Edward R. Murrow Awards for outstanding journalism, bestowed by the Radio Television Digital News Association. In addition to receiving the coveted award for "Overall Excellence", "Action News Investigates" was recognized with the top "Investigative" award for uncovering a loophole in the state pension law allowing dozens of Pennsylvania teachers convicted of violent crimes – including sexual assault and murder – to receive taxpayer-funded pensions. Chronicle:  Burning Questions also was honored, in the "News Documentary" and "News Series" categories.
 * Investigative Reporters and Editors Award: The annual IRE Awards recognize outstanding investigative work and help identify the techniques and resources used to complete each story. WTAE was a finalist for its series Burning Questions dealing with fire department response times across Western Pennsylvania.
 * Pennsylvania Associated Press Broadcasters Awards: WTAE took home 10 first place awards and four second place awards from the Associated Press ranging from the station's Firefighting Series to the Plum School Teacher Sex Scandal. The station also took home the Jim Snyder for Outstanding News Service in 2015.

On September 24, 2016, WTAE-TV received four Emmy Awards from the National Academy of Television Arts & Sciences, including the Overall Excellence award; the highest honor bestowed each year. Chief Meteorologist Mike Harvey received two Emmys including excellence in weather.

New Sky 4
As of October 2013, WTAE-TV launched its new helicopter, carrying over the name "Sky 4". This new aircraft is the most technologically advanced news gathering helicopter in the region; capable of flying higher, faster, and longer than any other news helicopter in the market.

NewsOn
WTAE-TV was the first of two Pittsburgh television stations (along with WPXI) to have its newscasts available on the NewsON app due in part to its ownership group, Hearst Television, being a founding member of the NewsON group.

Former on-air staff

 * Scott Baker – anchor (1993–2006)
 * Don Cannon – anchor (1969–1994)
 * Myron Cope – sports commentary (1970–1995; died in 2008)
 * Faith Daniels – anchor/reporter (1983–1985; no longer active in the television industry)
 * Joe DeNardo – chief meteorologist (1969–2004, died in 2018)
 * Debra Fox – reporter/anchor (1976–1986; now founder & CEO of Fox Learning Systems)
 * Keith Jones – now a regional-Emmy Award-winning News Anchor and Reporter for WCAU in Philadelphia
 * Joe Negri – co-host/musician (1965–1985)
 * Stan Savran – sports anchor (1980–1991; died in 2023)
 * Mike Schneider – reporter/anchor (1977–1982; was most recently at NJTV)
 * Paul Shannon – host of Adventure Time (1959–1975; died in 1990)
 * John Steigerwald – sports anchor (1978–1985), left for KDKA-TV in a high-profile departure from WTAE-TV that required him off the air for a year. Now hosts a podcast on the Pittsburgh Tribune Review website.
 * Ricki Wertz – children's television show host (1958–1982; died in 2021)

Wendy Bell controversy
WTAE news anchor Wendy Bell was fired in March 2016 after posting comments following the 2016 Wilkinsburg shooting, including: "You needn't be a criminal profiler to draw a mental sketch of the killers who broke so many hearts two weeks ago Wednesday... they are young black men." WTAE-TV's president and general manager publicly apologized for the incident on air. Two black males were arrested and charged, but not convicted of the murders. Bell sued her former employer, Hearst Communications, claiming "she wouldn't have been fired for her comments if she were not white". The terms of an out-of-court settlement were not disclosed, though Bell said she "was satisfied". Bell has since become a controversial conservative talk radio host with runs at KDKA and WJAS, expressing skepticism regarding COVID-19 vaccinations and the validity of the 2020 presidential election.

Subchannels
The station's signal is multiplexed: {{legend|#DFEBF6|Broadcast on behalf of another station}}

On August 3, 2009, WTAE-TV converted its traffic/weather subchannel into a This TV affiliate.

WTAE-TV is among a handful of ABC-affiliated stations and one of five Hearst-owned ABC affiliates (the other four are WCVB-TV in Boston, WMUR-TV in Manchester, New Hampshire, KMBC-TV in Kansas City and KETV in Omaha) that broadcast their HDTV signals in 1080i rather than the 720p format of most other ABC stations, which allows the station's weather graphics and local advertising (often filmed in 1080i or 1080p) to be carried in a native format without a step of downscaling.

On January 1, 2018, WTAE-TV replaced This on WTAE-DT2 with Cozi TV upon the end of Hearst's carriage agreement with parent Tribune Broadcasting for that network.

Analog-to-digital conversion
WTAE-TV signed on its high-definition digital signal on December 3, 1998. WTAE-TV ended regular programming on its analog signal, over VHF channel 4, on June 12, 2009, the official date on which full-power television stations in the United States transitioned from analog to digital broadcasts under federal mandate. The station's digital signal continued to broadcast on its pre-transition UHF channel 51, using virtual channel 4.

As part of the SAFER Act, WTAE kept its analog signal on the air until July 12 to inform viewers of the digital television transition through a loop of public service announcements from the National Association of Broadcasters.

WTAE-TV operates a 15-kilowatt digital broadcast translator on channel 22 to cover portions of the northern Pittsburgh area which were unable to receive channel 4's digital signal. WTAE-TV had to wait for WPMY, which had been operating in analog nightlight mode after terminating regular programming on analog UHF channel 22 on the original February 17 deadline, to leave the channel entirely on March 19 before operating it.

Translator
 22 Pittsburgh

Out-of-market coverage
At various times, WTAE-TV has also served as the default ABC affiliate for the neighboring Johnstown–Altoona, Wheeling–Steubenville, and Clarksburg–Weston television markets (all of which could receive WTAE-TV as a grade B signal). With WTAE-TV having long been one of ABC's strongest affiliates, both parties reportedly resisted efforts by other television stations in those cities to obtain a full-time ABC affiliation. Since then, one station was eventually granted affiliation in Altoona (WATM-TV), while WBOY-TV in Clarksburg and WTRF-TV in Wheeling began carrying ABC programs through digital subchannel affiliations in August 2008 on WBOY-DT2 (Your ABC) and WTRF-DT3 (ABC Ohio Valley), respectively. WTAE-TV remains available on cable in all three markets. In addition to those areas, WTAE-TV can also be seen on several out-of-market cable systems throughout northwestern and central Pennsylvania, and several locations in eastern and northeast Ohio.

title: WTAE-TV


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MP3 Surround

MP3 Surround is an extension of MP3 for multi-channel audio support including 5.1 surround sound. It was developed by Fraunhofer IIS in collaboration with Thomson and Agere Systems, and released in December 2004.

MP3 Surround is backward compatible with standard MP3. The data overhead is 16 kbit/s, which allows for file sizes similar to standard stereo MP3 files. The file size is approximately 10% larger than that of a typical MP3 file. The current evaluation encoder is licensed for personal and non-commercial uses. An MP3 Surround file can be created from 5 or 6 channels of WAV audio.

Several companies, such as DivX, Inc. and Magix, have announced support for the new codec. DivX, Inc. released their first player with MP3 Surround support on September 6, 2006.

In January 2006, Thomson and Fraunhofer IIS also released two new companion technologies: Ensonido, which allows playback of MP3 Surround 5.1 channel sound through stereo headphones, and MP3 SX, which upgrades standard stereo mp3 file to mp3 surround files.

On its 5.5 release, Nullsoft Winamp has included the MP3 Surround format as a part of its integrated MPEG audio decoder (released October 10, 2007).

As of 2 July 2008, with system software v2.40, PlayStation 3 supports MP3 Surround playback.

license: Creative Commons - Attribution Share-Alike - https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/

title: MP3 Surround


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David R. Beatty

David Ross Beatty, C.M., OBE, MA, CFA (born 1942) is a Canadian businessman and academic. He serves as a Director of FirstService, Walter Energy and Canada Steamship Lines. He is currently the Conway Director at the Rotman School of Management at the University of Toronto. Over his career he has served on over 35 Boards of directors and been Chair of 8 publicly traded companies.

Early life
Born in Toronto, Ontario, he was educated at Upper Canada College, the University of Trinity College (B.A. 1965) in Political Science and Economics, and Queens' College, Cambridge (M.A. 1967) in economics.

Career
Beatty is currently an adjunct professor at The Rotman School of Management at the University of Toronto and the Conway Director of the Clarkson Centre for Business Ethics and Board Effectiveness.

He has been a director of a variety of corporations including: Bank of Montreal, FirstService, Garbell Holdings Limited, Goldcorp, Inmet Mining, Thistle Mining, Canadian Securities Institute, Gardiner Group Capital, and Ivanhoé Cambridge Shopping Centres Limited.

Honours
He is a Member of the Order of Canada and an Officer of the Order of the British Empire. He is honorary Consul-General of Papua New Guinea. Past Chairman Upper Canada College, Toronto. Past Director of the Art Gallery of Ontario & The George R. Gardiner Museum of Ceramic Arts

title: David R. Beatty


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WPXI

WPXI (channel 11) is a television station in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States, affiliated with NBC and owned by Cox Media Group. The station's offices and studios are located on Evergreen Road in the Summer Hill neighborhood of Pittsburgh. Its transmitter is on Television Hill in the Fineview section of the city, at the site of the station's original studio location.

As WIIC (1957–1981)
On September 1, 1957, Pittsburgh's second commercial VHF station signed on as WIIC. The station's construction permit was originally issued by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) in June 1955, to WIIC Incorporated – a joint venture of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, which owned WWSW radio (970 AM, now WBGG), and Pittsburgh Radio Supply House, the then-owners of WJAS radio (1320 AM). Both radio stations had competed individually for the permit grant along with other applicants. CBS, which was looking to gain its own full-time affiliate in the market, signed a contract with the then-unnamed channel 11 shortly thereafter. Before the "freeze" on television station licenses, the two stations were competing for the channel 10 license originally assigned to Pittsburgh before the FCC reallocated the channels in 1952, with channel 10 going to Altoona; the Hearst Corporation (then-owners of WCAE and eventual owners of WTAE-TV) and two other companies were also applying for the channel 10 license.

Channel 11, however, did not sign on for well over two years after its permit was granted. The primary reason for the delay was on the part of WENS-TV (channel 16, now WINP-TV), whose application for the permit had been denied and later contested the FCC's original decision. In the interim, CBS continued to have most of its programs cleared by Westinghouse-owned KDKA-TV (channel 2), at the time Pittsburgh's only commercial VHF station. When CBS decided to make KDKA-TV its full-time Pittsburgh affiliate, NBC (which shared time on KDKA-TV with CBS, ABC, and station founder DuMont since its sign-on in 1949) reached a deal to affiliate with WIIC. Also, as a condition of the license grant, WJAS radio had to be sold; NBC wound up purchasing that station in August 1957. The WJAS interests later divested their 50 percent share of WIIC to another local broadcaster.

Bill Cardille signed the station on the air. In addition to Cardille, five other announcers that were with the station when it launched in 1957 include Mal Alberts, Bob Cochran, Ed Conway, Len Johnson and Mark Schaefer. Some of the first original programming to air on WIIC included Studio Wrestling and Chiller Theatre, both hosted by Cardille. Shortly after its sign-on, WIIC was briefly affiliated with the NTA Film Network, sharing the affiliation with KDKA-TV, WTAE-TV, and public television station WQED.

In 1964, WIIC was sold to Cox Enterprises; Cox subsequently traded its share in the then new cable system (today's Buckeye Broadband) in Toledo, Ohio, to the Post-Gazette parent company Block Communications, which is based in Toledo. The station has been the longest running NBC affiliate under Cox's ownership, especially after sister stations WSOC-TV in Charlotte and WSB-TV in Atlanta switched their affiliations to ABC in 1978 and 1980, respectively. In 1970, WIIC made Pittsburgh broadcasting history when Eleanor Schano became the first woman to anchor a newscast solo. Schano also hosted a weekly 30-minute public affairs program called Face to Face.

Around 1975, Channel 11 branded itself as "e11even". Around 1977, WIIC used the "11 Alive" moniker (which had become popularized by fellow NBC affiliate WXIA-TV in Atlanta and WPIX in New York City). WIIC carried the Operation Prime Time package in 1979.

As WPXI (1981–present)
On April 20, 1981, the station's call sign was changed to WPXI (for "Pittsburgh 11", with "XI" being the Roman numeral for 11). Although the station has officially never had the "-TV" suffix since adopting the WPXI call sign, the station has on occasion been marketed as "WPXI-TV". The WIIC calls in Pittsburgh were later used by an unrelated low-power independent station that ran a music video format (that station is currently a Rev'n affiliate).

WPXI joined the syndicated MGM/UA Premiere Network, with the November 10, 1984, showing of Clash of the Titans.

WPXI also televised the Jerry Lewis MDA Telethon as the "Love Network" affiliate of the annual fundraiser for the Pittsburgh market, until the Muscular Dystrophy Association decided to move the event from syndication to ABC (and locally to WTAE) as the MDA Show of Strength in 2013; the show ended the next year. The local portion of the telethon continued to be hosted by Bill Cardille until 2012.

In 2000, Cox Enterprises purchased WTOV in Steubenville, Ohio, and WJAC-TV in Johnstown, Pennsylvania, from Sunrise Television. Those stations—which are also NBC affiliates—often appear in channel lineups for the same viewers that watch WPXI, either by over-the-air signal or via cable provider, and due to the proximity of the three stations to each other (as well as the common affiliation with NBC), were occasionally marketed together as a result. Cox changed the stations' on-air appearances to match WPXI's look, despite WPXI changing its own look in 2004. WTOV still used WPXI's former look until October 2010, and WJAC-TV adopted WPXI's current design in October 2011.

Over the Labor Day weekend of 2007, WPXI began relocating from its longtime studios at Television Hill in Pittsburgh's Fineview neighborhood after 50 years, to a new studio facility in the city's Summer Hill neighborhood near the Parkway North. The station's transmitter tower continues to be located in the Fineview neighborhood. WPXI began broadcasting its newscasts from the Summer Hill studio on October 6 beginning with the 6 p.m. newscast. In turn, it also became the first station in the Pittsburgh market to begin broadcasting its local newscasts in high definition. The station was criticized for technical glitches during the initial week of the new system run but worked through the issues and set the pace of technological advances for WTAE and KDKA to follow. With the switch to HD came a new set, created by FX Group and a new graphics package designed by Hothaus Creative.

In mid-October 2008, WPXI, in collaboration with Cox's longtime partner Internet Broadcasting, launched a redesigned website. By early November 2008, the websites of all of Cox's stations east of the Mississippi River began using the new format pioneered by WPXI; the websites of the company's stations west of the Mississippi River followed suit a month later. In 2011, Cox Media Group's partnership with Internet Broadcasting was dissolved, and the Cox television stations relaunched their website operations in-house. WPXI's and WSOC-TV's websites remained under the stewardship of Internet Broadcasting until late January 2012, when they became the last two stations to have redesigned their websites to match the format of the in-house web operations of their sister stations.

With Cox Media Group's February 23, 2013, sale of WJAC and WTOV (a sale which also included KFOX-TV in El Paso, Texas, and KRXI and KAME-TV in Reno, Nevada) to the Sinclair Broadcast Group, owners of local Fox affiliate WPGH-TV and MyNetworkTV affiliate WPMY (which was completed on May 2 ), WPXI became Cox's only NBC-affiliated station until 2019 when the company acquired Northwest Broadcasting stations KYMA-DT in Yuma, Arizona, KIEM-TV in Eureka, California, KPVI-DT in Pocatello, Idaho, and WNBD-LD in Grenada, Mississippi; these four stations were sold in 2022 to Imagicomm Communications, a company affiliated with the cable network INSP, at which time WPXI regained its status as the only Cox-owned NBC affiliate.

WPXI currently uses the number 11 drawn into a circle, which debuted in 1987. The "11" symbol is colored gold, while the box around it is dark blue. WPXI previously used the NBC Peacock in its logo, which was copied by sister stations WTOV and WJAC and is still used by WTOV, but revamped its own look in October 2004. WPXI's current look uses the circle 11 logo with a stylized "WPXI" below it.

On September 2, 2013, WPXI expanded its noon news to an hour, becoming Pittsburgh's first hour-long noon newscast.

Sale to Apollo Global Management
On July 24, 2018, WPXI parent Cox Enterprises announced that it was "exploring strategic options" for Cox Media Group's television stations, which the company said could involve "partnering or merging these stations into a larger TV company." Cox Media Group's president, Kim Guthrie, subsequently clarified to trade publication Radio & Television Business Report that the company was solely seeking "a merger or partnership" and not an outright sale of the television stations.

In February 2019, it was announced that Apollo Global Management would acquire Cox Media Group and Northwest Broadcasting's stations. Although the group planned to operate under the name Terrier Media, it was later announced in June 2019 that Apollo would also acquire Cox's radio and advertising businesses, and retain the Cox Media Group name. The sale was completed on December 17, 2019.

In January 2024, it was reported that Apollo may purchase Paramount Global, parent of KDKA-TV & WPKD-TV. It is not known if Cox as a whole would be divested in such a deal or if WPXI would be divested; Nexstar Media Group and Sinclair Broadcast Group are the most likely buyers due to existing deals involving WPXI (though the latter would require either WPGH-TV or WPNT to be divested, likely to one of Sinclair's sidecars such as Cunningham Broadcasting and Deerfield Media with their intellectual property moved to a digital subchannel of WPXI), with E. W. Scripps Company (owners of WINP-TV) or Gray Television also likely possibilities.

Local programming
From 1963 to 1983, the station produced and broadcast Chiller Theater, a late Saturday evening horror film show hosted by Bill Cardille, or as he was referred to, "Chilly Billy." The show originally had Cardille as a solo host. In the 1970s, a cast of characters was added, and the setting was changed from a laboratory to a castle. Cardille would introduce the film being shown, as well as perform skits during breaks in the film. Cardille became well known for hosting the show and the shows themselves became part of local yore. The final program aired on January 1, 1984. Cardille remained on-air at WPXI through the early-to-mid-1990s as the weekday morning and noon weather forecaster. Cardille remained in Pittsburgh as midday personality on WJAS radio until the station format changed to talk radio in 2014; Cardille died in 2016.

The show was part of a trend during the 1960s and 1970s for television stations to produce local programming. Local stations often created their own children's shows as well. Horror theater shows, such as Shock Theatre, hosted by Ghoulardi and Big Chuck & Little John in Cleveland, as well as Chiller Theater, were not only easy to produce, but popular with the local audience.

From 1966 to 1972, WIIC had a Bandstand-type show on Saturday afternoons. Come Alive was originally sponsored by Pepsi and hosted by KQV disc jockey Chuck Brinkman. Later, WIXZ DJ Terry Lee would take over as host. The show featured teens dancing to current hit records, a weekly Top 10 countdown and appearances by local bands.

From the earliest days of the station through 1973, WIIC produced a weekly live professional wrestling show. Studio Wrestling, independent of the National Wrestling Alliance, which aired on Saturday evenings and drew strong ratings. Mal Alberts was the original host, but Cardille took over after a few years and handled the rest of the show's run. It started as a one-hour show, but was then expanded to 90 minutes because of its popularity. The show marked the earliest appearances of Bruno Sammartino, who moved to Pittsburgh from Italy as a teenager and resided in the area until his death in 2018. Studio Wrestling was run by Toots Mondt, who co-owned NWA member Capitol Wrestling Corporation (the predecessor to the present-day WWE) with Vince McMahon Sr. McMahon promptly signed Sammartino to the CWC and where Sammartino would eventually become a two-time WWWF Champion for a combined record of 11 years. WIIC/WPXI has not produced its own wrestling program since Studio Wrestling, although it has aired various WWF/WWE shows through its affiliation with NBC in the years since.

WIIC also produced a daily afternoon game show, Give It a Whirl, from 1965 to 1967. Steve Rizen of KQV radio hosted the show, which had contestants spinning a wheel to determine what prizes they could win. Local musician Dom Trimarkie was part of the show, providing material for the "Mystery Tunes" segment.

In regards to children's programming, WIIC produced Cartoon Colorama, which aired older cartoons produced in color (hence the name), hosted by Willie the Duck, a hand-puppet with a Donald Duck type of voice who spoke to off-camera announcer Don Riggs (who served as Willie's comedy foil) in between the cartoons. The show had been previously hosted by a character called "Captain Jim", who had hosted one of WIIC's best-remembered children's programs: Cap'n Jim's Popeye Club, built around Popeye cartoons. The Captain was briefly played at the beginning by the little-known Jim Saunders, and from 1959 on by Ted Eckman. The station also aired a local version of The Mickey Mouse Club during the 1960s, which was hosted by By Williams.

Since 2022, WPXI has partnered with Nexstar Media Group on state governmental public affairs programming airing throughout the state, with programming airing on WPXI and (outside of Pittsburgh) on Nexstar owned or operated stations within Pennsylvania. As the Pittsburgh DMA is both the only market in Pennsylvania where Cox owns a station as well as the only market where Nexstar does not own or operate a station, the deal has no overlap between the two companies.

Current

 * A Star Spangled Salute – Annual coverage of Pittsburgh's July 4 fireworks ceremony launched to the west from Ohio River barges, sponsored by the City of Pittsburgh, with a soundtrack compiled by KDKA (AM).
 * The Black and Gold Zone – extended Steelers coverage during NFL season
 * Our Region's Business – public-affairs program
 * The Final Word – sports talk show
 * Chiller Theater – late-night horror and science fiction movie program

Past/former

 * WPXI Holiday Parade (1980–2019)
 * Studio Wrestling (1959–1973)
 * Pittsburgh Pirates baseball (1995–1996)
 * MDA Labor Day Telethon
 * 11 on the Ice – Pittsburgh Penguins extended coverage
 * The Jerome Bettis Show
 * Guide To Homes
 * The Fedko Zone

Sports programming
In 1970, when the Pittsburgh Steelers moved to the American Football Conference after the AFL-NFL merger, channel 11 became the station of record for the team (as NBC held the broadcast rights to AFC games then); this partnership continued through 1997 (after that season, CBS took over the AFC broadcast rights, and most games moved to CBS O&O KDKA-TV; channel 2 had previously served as the default home station from 1962 to 1969). Even though it aired most of the games from the Steelers' glory years of the 1970s—typically the highest-rated television programs in the market during that time—channel 11 stayed in the ratings basement. Today, Steelers games are shown on WPXI when they are featured on NBC's Sunday Night Football; in addition, the station has aired three of its Super Bowl victories (IX, XIII and XLIII) and its appearance in Super Bowl XXX.

Channel 11 also aired most Pittsburgh Pirates games that were part of NBC's Major League Baseball broadcast contract from its sign-on until 1989; this included the team's 1960 and 1971 World Series victories.

In addition, WPXI served as the secondary station for the Pittsburgh Penguins as they had carried games that were part of NBC's National Hockey League broadcast contract from the 2005–06 NHL season to the 2020–21 season; this included the team's 2009, 2016 and 2017 Stanley Cup championship victories.

Syndicated programming
Since its sign-on in 1957, WIIC, and later WPXI, has aired a mix of syndicated first-run shows, off-network reruns, and afternoon movies throughout its history, although by the 1980s the schedule would become less dependent on most of this product in favor of more talk fare and an expanding newscast. WPXI acquired the rights to then-King World (now CBS Media Ventures)-distributed syndicated game shows Jeopardy! and Wheel of Fortune from then-Westinghouse-owned KDKA-TV in 1987. In the late 1990s, WPXI was known as one of the "Big 3" stations in the Pittsburgh area to air popular tabloid talk shows Jerry Springer and Jenny Jones in their late morning and afternoon daytime lineup. Today, WPXI's syndicated programming focuses on hard-hitting news and lifestyle platforms.

In September 2018, WPXI acquired The Wendy Williams Show from WPGH-TV after going back and forth at its 10 a.m. time slot on the station since its 2009 debut. The show aired at 11 a.m. until its 2022 cancellation and being replaced in the timeslot by the new syndicated talk show Sherri, serving as a lead-in to the midday newscast.

Newscasts
WPXI broadcasts 42 hours of locally produced newscasts each week (with $6 1/2$ hours each weekday, four hours on Saturdays and $5 1/2$ hours on Sundays).

Despite its early newspaper heritage with the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette (which would later partner with KDKA-TV), channel 11 struggled in the local ratings due to the dominance of KDKA-TV, which unlike channel 11 and WTAE-TV was locally owned by Westinghouse as well as channel 2's eight-year head start on the market before channel 11 signed on. WTAE-TV would become competitive with KDKA-TV during the 1970s due to an investment in its news department by owner Hearst Television, leaving WIIC-TV in a distant third place in the ratings behind KDKA-TV and WTAE-TV during much of the decade. This coincided with much of the period where NBC also struggled in the ratings. The station's ratings were so bad that Cox was unable to switch the station's affiliation to ABC like it did with sister stations WSB-TV and WSOC-TV in 1978, as Hearst Television had developed a solid affiliate relationship with ABC, thus WTAE-TV was one of its strongest affiliates and unwilling to exchange networks. It could also be argued that if not for sports coverage like the Steeler dynasty of the 1970s and the Pirates in the playoffs airing via NBC, WIIC-TV's ratings could have even been below PBS member station WQED (during the peak era of locally recorded Mister Rogers' Neighborhood) and lowly independent WPGH-TV, years before Fox's existence.

Following the change in callsigns to WPXI in 1981, Cox began to follow WTAE-TV's lead and invest heavily in its news department. Upon adopting its current logo in 1987, WPXI started using the famous "Move Closer to Your World" theme by Al Ham that was popularized by ABC O&O WPVI-TV in Philadelphia, even adopting that station's fast-paced video montage (but not the Action News branding, due to it being used by WTAE-TV), eventually commissioning a modernized version of the theme used during the 1990s. The changes, combined with Westinghouse absorbing CBS and standardizing KDKA-TV along the lines of its new CBS O&O sister stations (and subsequent less emphasis on local programming), finally saw WPXI reach parity with KDKA-TV and WTAE-TV during the 1990s. Nowadays in addition to being in a dead heat for number one in local news ratings, WPXI is currently one of NBC's strongest major-market affiliates overcoming any lags due to the station's delays in signing on in its early years and despite the fluctuating strength of network programming. Over the past decade, Pittsburgh has been a perennially competitive market for local news, with news ratings usually differing by less than a full ratings point.

WPXI was the first station to offer a 5:30 p.m. newscast in Pittsburgh from 1981 to 1984 (titled 5:30 Live); it was then revived in 1987 with the name Channel 11 News First Edition. It was also the first station to offer a 5 p.m. newscast in the early 1990s, titled Channel 11 News First at 5. WPXI dropped NBC's Saturday morning cartoons in September 1990 in favor of a running a newscast airing from 8 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. The success of the weekend morning newscast prompted NBC network officials to extend the Today show to weekends. WPXI, however, has since scaled back the length of its weekend morning newscasts. Pittsburgh native Jodi Applegate co-anchored NBC's Weekend Today, but was never seen locally due to WPXI's weekend morning newscasts. WPXI added Weekend Today in September 2012.

On January 12, 2006, Sinclair Broadcast Group (owner of Fox affiliate WPGH-TV) and WPXI entered into a news share agreement allowing channel 11 to take over production of WPGH's 10 p.m. newscast. WPXI began producing a 10 p.m. newscast for that station (titled Channel 11 News on Fox 53 at Ten) on January 30, 2006, two weeks after WPGH shut down its in-house news department due to corporate cutbacks made by Sinclair at its news-producing stations. All of WPGH's news staff, except for sportscaster Alby Oxenreiter, were laid off. The program runs for 45 minutes on Sunday through Friday nights, and for 30 minutes on Saturdays; a sports highlight show titled Ox on Fox Sports Extra (hosted by Oxenreiter) fills the remaining 15 minutes of the newscast Sunday through Fridays. As part of WPXI's contract with Sinclair, WPGH is permitted to air Sinclair's must-run programming, but must air them after the WPXI-produced newscast with a brief disclaimer stating that the editorials are from Sinclair and not WPXI; as a result, WPGH does not air Sinclair's must-runs, though it does air other political programming from Sinclair in prime time during election years. WPXI also produces a 6:30p.m. newscast for WPGH, which launched on March 14, 2022.

Since dropping "Move Closer to Your World" in the late 1990s, WPXI is known to commission its own theme music from various composers. It has commissioned "Total Coverage" (its previous package), and after WPXI moved to its new Summer Hill television building, it started using "The Tower V.2", ending the "NBC Collection" altogether. WPXI dropped "The Tower V.2" in 2014 and replaced it with a new special news theme, which lasted until January 2024.

Pittsburgh Cable News Channel
The station went into cable television on January 1, 1994, with the launch of the Pittsburgh Cable News Channel (PCNC). PCNC produced the first 10 p.m. newscast in the Pittsburgh market. The final installment of PCNC's 10 p.m. newscast aired on January 26, 2006, as WPXI took over production of WPGH-TV's 10 p.m. newscast. Comcast (Xfinity) announced in early 2020 that it would drop PCNC from its line up, greatly reducing the viewing audience. WPXI added PCNC to its digital subchannel lineup in early March 2023.

Ratings
Pittsburgh is one of the most competitive markets in the country for local news and viewers benefit by getting quality newscasts from three strong stations. More recently, however, WPXI has had an increase in most dayparts, although it continues to maintain a tie with KDKA-TV in the market for daytime news, as of the May 2009 Nielsen ratings period. Also during this period, WPXI had in increase during the morning hours and the WPXI-produced 10 p.m. news remained in first place. From 1997 to 1999, WPXI led #1 ahead of WTAE-TV and KDKA-TV in viewership for the 5 p.m. newscast due to lead-in by early fringe talk show, The Jerry Springer Show at 4 p.m. As of May 2010, WPXI has a strong lead with viewers in the 5–6 a.m. and 10 p.m. timeslots. However, WPXI had the least-watched newscasts in Pittsburgh at noon, 4, 5, 6, and 11 p.m. (with KDKA-TV being the highest watched during those timeslots, except for WTAE-TV which was the leader at 11 p.m. as of the February 2013 ratings period).

Notable current on-air staff

 * Lisa Sylvester – anchor

Notable former on-air staff

 * Asa Aarons – consumer reporter (1984–1990; went to WNBC in New York City) – now at NY1
 * Kevin Benson (AMS Certified Broadcast Meteorologist Seal of Approval) – meteorologist (1987–2019)
 * Rocky Bleier – sports anchor (1981–1985; former Pittsburgh Steeler)
 * Julie Bologna – chief meteorologist (1999–2004; 2008–2011; later with WFAA in Dallas; now no longer active in the television industry)
 * Bill Cardille – on-air announcer (1957–2000; was the first personality on air at WIIC, deceased)
 * Beano Cook – commentator (late 1980s; deceased)
 * Red Donley – sports anchor (1961–1970; previously worked at WTOV-TV in Steubenville, Ohio/Wheeling, West Virginia, died in 1998)
 * John Fedko – sports director (1987–2010; now semi-retired)
 * Pat Finn – weather forecaster/reporter (1979–1983; later a host of various game shows including Shop 'til You Drop)
 * Mark Malone – sports anchor (1990–1993; later with WBBM-TV in Chicago; former Pittsburgh Steeler)
 * Todd McDermott – morning and noon co-anchor (2010–2012; now evening anchor at WPBF in West Palm Beach, Florida)
 * Sam Nover – sports anchor (1970–2001; deceased)
 * Edye Tarbox – anchor (1987–1989; worked with Fox News Channel)

Subchannels
The station's signal is multiplexed:

WPXI was the first station in Pittsburgh to make use of additional programming on its digital channels. On June 21, 2007, WPXI began carrying programming from NBC Weather Plus on digital subchannel 11.2. The service, branded as WPXI 11 Weather Plus, offered local and national weather information 24 hours a day. Locally, WPXI's Scott Harbaugh served as the main meteorologist on the station's Weather Plus service.

WPXI added an airwave digital channel on 11.3 on October 15, 2007, when it began an affiliation with Retro Television Network. Sister stations WJAC-TV and WTOV-TV also began offering RTV programming on their subchannels. Following the shutdown of NBC Weather Plus in December 2008, WPXI moved RTV to 11.2 while the 11.3 subchannel went dark. On June 13, 2011, WPXI replaced RTV with competing classic television network Me-TV.

While all three Pittsburgh news stations air news video on its websites with WTAE even airing full newscasts on its website, WPXI was the first station in the Pittsburgh market to have over-the-top content available on a streaming service, having its own dedicated channel on Roku since 2014. If someone within the WPXI viewing area orders a Roku Player, the WPXI News app is automatically installed on the player. The WPXI-Roku partnership is part of a larger partnership between Roku and Cox-owned stations. WPXI was the only station in Pittsburgh with such a service until KDKA-TV launched CBSN Pittsburgh as part of CBS News on March 5, 2020.

On April 15, 2015, WPXI became a charter affiliate of Laff on channel 11.3, bringing 11.3 live again for the first time since NBC Weather Plus shut down.

Analog-to-digital conversion
WPXI shut down its analog signal, over VHF channel 11, on June 12, 2009, the official date on which full-power television stations in the United States transitioned from analog to digital broadcasts under federal mandate. The station's digital signal continued to broadcast on its pre-transition UHF channel 48. One of the station's last programs it aired on its analog signal was Game 7 of the 2009 Stanley Cup Finals, which saw the Pittsburgh Penguins clinch their third Stanley Cup less than an hour and a half before WPXI shut down its analog signal. WPKD-TV currently operates its digital signal on WPXI's former analog position.

Translators

 *  34 New Castle
 *  24 Uniontown

In July 2009, the station applied with the FCC to operate three repeater signals: channel 21 in Derry Township (which was not used and the permit has expired), channel 23 in Uniontown, and channel 33 in New Castle. The signal in Derry Township was expected to cover all of Westmoreland County, while the Uniontown signal could penetrate into the Pittsburgh suburb of McKeesport. The New Castle signal partially goes into Youngstown, Ohio (to which New Castle is much closer despite being part of the Pittsburgh DMA), and serves as a secondary NBC affiliate for the Youngstown television market, which is primarily served by WFMJ-TV (and in some parts with Cleveland NBC affiliate WKYC), while giving the Youngstown market an outlet for MeTV and a secondary outlet for Laff alongside that market's primary affiliate WYFX-LD. Digital television receivers display the virtual channels of its main signal and its three repeaters as its former VHF analog channel 11.

title: WPXI


text:
Josette Frank Award

The Josette Frank Award is an American children's literary award for fiction given annually by the Children's Book Committee at Bank Street College of Education. It "honors a book or books of outstanding literary merit in which children or young people deal in a positive and realistic way with difficulties in their world and grow emotionally and morally".

Known as the Children's Book Award from 1943 to 1997, it was renamed in honor of Josette Frank, the editor of many anthologies for children and a former Executive Director of the Child Study Association of America. The prize to the author of the book has been provided by the Florence L. Miller Memorial Fund.

The Josette Frank Award is one of several prominent awards that the Children's Book Committee gives each year. The Flora Stieglitz Straus Award, established in 1994, is presented to "a distinguished work of nonfiction that serves as an inspiration to young people." The Claudia Lewis Award, given for the first time in 1998, honors the best poetry book of the year. The Margaret Wise Brown Board Book Award, is a biennial award, presented to published or adapted board books, will be presented in 2023 with books published in 2021-2022.

title: Josette Frank Award


text:
Talk:Tom Ridge

Section on a horse
Do we really need the section on a horse at a state fair? —JonathanDP81 (Talk | contribs) 03:58, 3 December 2004 (UTC)

Qualifications
Could someone add some qualifications, if any, to lead Homeland Security? Did he have any background in espionage, counterterrorism, or middle-eastern studies? Did he ever work in, on, or around personal or corporate security (e.g., Pinkerton Agency), law-enforcement, civil defense, or emergency management? What was his role in Vietnam? — Preceding unsigned comment added by 69.222.243.78 (talk) 18:14, 2 September 2005 (UTC)

Vonage
I was just reading up on the prospectus of Vonage, the broadband telephone company that's going through the final stages of their IPO process as I speak, and I noticed that "Governor Thomas J Ridge" is a Directory of that company named in the prospectus. I think it might be useful/informative/etc if both this page and the Vonage page were updated to that effect, since we mention Home Depot here, and there is a "Key Persons" on the Vonage entry, but the connection isn't shown on eithre at the moment. The connection of such a strong political figure to an up and coming tech company going through an IPO is significant (and a connection between a former homeland security guy and phone company could raise privacy concerns for some consipracy theorists). I leave these edits to others, I don't feel up to the task. The prospectus where I found the link is:

http://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1272830/000104746906007477/a2169686zs-1a.htm — Preceding unsigned comment added by 69.55.227.210 (talk) 15:20, 22 May 2006 (UTC)

 * no secret here, check this link out:

 * http://www.vonage.com/corporate/corp_bod.php

 * he is on the vonage board, someone should ad it here --99.238.68.11 16:33, 8 October 2007 (UTC)

Manipulation of terror alerts by Bush administration
I would suggest the addition of this section, and the corresponding citation:

On May 10, 2005, Ridge reveals that virtually all of the six terror alerts issued by DHS between the time of the first alert (February 12, 2002) and the November 2 election were based on the flimsiest of evidence, and had been issued primarily for polictical purposes. Ridge's protests over the lack of credible intelligence and the political uses of the terror alerts were routinely overruled by other administration officials, most notably Attorney General John Ashcroft. "There were times when some people were really aggressive about raising it,"Ridge recalls, "and we said, 'For that?'" Of course, at the time, Ridge was quite compliant towards the administration's wishes for terror alerts, as when he said of the thoroughly unwarranted August 1, 2004 alert, "We don't do politics in the DHS." And Ridge spent plenty of time consulting with GOP political operatives and stumping for Bush on the campaign trail.

USA Today, May 10, 2005, "Ridge Reveals Clashes on Alerts," http://www.usatoday.com/news/washington/2005-05-10-ridge-alerts_x.htm

Al Franken, The Truth, With Jokes, ©2005 Dutton

If there are no objections, I will add this shortly. -- Black Max 17:13, 5 August 2006

 * I added part "and was pushed to raise the security alert on the eve of President Bush's re-election, something he saw as politically motivated and worth resigning over" which was for strange reasons omitted in original quote — Preceding unsigned comment added by 64.252.142.13 (talk) 19:37, 23 August 2009
 * It was probably omitted because it had just been mentioned word-for-word before the quotation. Rather than leave the duplication, I modified the preceding sentence. —ADavidB 20:02, 23 August 2009 (UTC)

Savi Technology
Because this firm was recently acquired by Lockheed Martin, it's not clear to me that it still has a "board" on which to serve. Anybody know? For the moment I'm stifling my impulse to delete the reference, and merely adding a fact tag instead. — Preceding unsigned comment added by DagnyB (talk • contribs) 00:10, 8 May 2007 (UTC)

Bronze Star
Does his bronze star have a "v"? Some superficial googling seems to indicate that it does but couldn't find a good source. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 69.255.170.233 (talk) 02:26, 11 December 2012 (UTC)

Deloitte LLP
Tom Ridge is no longer listed as a Senior Advisor to Deloitte. Both reference links are dead, including his previous listing on Deloitte's website. — Preceding unsigned comment added by Jslot38 (talk • contribs) 18:56, 12 March 2014 (UTC)
 * I updated the first reference and removed the second. —ADavidB 02:22, 14 March 2014 (UTC)

Additions pertaining to Tom Ridge's support of the FTO PMOI/MEK
At this point, I feel the section is well-sourced and written in a neutral manner. I have revised the content multiple times and have received only removals stating the content was NNPOV or utilizing politicized sources. As this has been remedied, I fail to see the current complication with the content. I am perfectly happy to revise it, but I do not feel that a person whose background that matches Mr. Ridge's support for a terrorist group that killed Americans on a paid basis both before and after the de-listing is a subject that ought to be entirely ignored.

As there have been no suggestions or improvements, I fail to see an adequate method for dispute resolution.

172.56.3.194 (talk) 04:54, 28 September 2014 (UTC)
 * "Ridge provided paid advocacy for the People's Mujahedin of Iran (MEK, also PMOI, MKO), a group listed on the United States State Department list of Foreign Terrorist Organizations until September 2012. While critics argued that Ridge might have violated federal law and provided the FTO material support, Ridge was vehement in his support and ultimately co-authored an article arguing that his advocacy was independent and not illegal and that the group was not a terrorist organization. "

 * None of the sources listed state that Tom Ridge provided paid advocacy to the organization in question. Using the Ohio.com and State Department refs is WP:SYN, and Youtube is not a reliable source. This is walking a dangerous line on a biography of a living person. There is not consensus at this time to add this information. EricSerge (talk) 20:13, 28 September 2014 (UTC)

 * "None of the sources listed state that Tom Ridge provided paid advocacy to the organization in question. Using the Ohio.com and State Department refs is WP:SYN, and Youtube is not a reliable source. This is walking a dangerous line on a biography of a living person. There is not consensus at this time to add this information."
 * "None of the sources listed state that Tom Ridge provided paid advocacy to the organization in question. Using the Ohio.com and State Department refs is WP:SYN, and Youtube is not a reliable source. This is walking a dangerous line on a biography of a living person. There is not consensus at this time to add this information."

 * Actually, the reference immediately after the statement, http://www.nytimes.com/2012/03/13/us/us-supporters-of-iranian-group-mek-face-scrutiny.html?_r=0 says precisely what you are saying doesn't exist, Ridge et al were issued subpeona's by the treasury department in order to discern where the money that they received on behalf of their advocacy for the MEK came from precisely.
 * That YouTube is not a reliable source is weasel-wording and splitting hairs when the video in question is a video of the person in question at a conference hosted by the group in question. You are attempting to take efforts to prevent crackpot conspiracy videos uploaded by random people spouting unfounded facts and apply it en-masse when the video in question is absolutely relevant. That video in question is especially relevant because it proves material support, they pre-date the removal from the FTO and Ridge is seen on-stage with the leader of the FTO. I would be happy to use one from the website of the group, however they have removed all videos that pre-date their delistment. This is an especially absurd conclusion given that the youtube account for the videos is the organizations "official" youtube account and the links on their website are in fact just links back to youtube. I changed this in my revision however, because it's the claim you're using to remove the entire section you apparently find undesirable.
 * While you might find this entirely irrelevant and personal, given the nature of the group and its support within the US military up to and including illegal training and support by the Department of Defense, I believe it is of well-founded gravity. Per your self-description, you live on a US military base? Is that correct? If so, you are employed by the Department of Defense, is that correct? May I inquire what your MOS is?
 * I am reinstating the section, I will change the youtube link. The reference from the NYT clearly states what you are saying is unfounded and you're using this as a means of creating fog and doubt to invoke the appearance of a lack of consensus.
 * Here is the New Yorker article about DOD providing material support and training to the group when it was an FTO: http://www.newyorker.com/news/news-desk/our-men-in-iran

172.56.3.190 (talk) 17:11, 29 September 2014 (UTC)

 * سرباز, are you a member of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard, given the fact that the only government still counting the org as terrorists is Iran? Does that question seem outlandish? It is supposed to be. We are talking about Tom Ridge, not me and not you. I have edited the article section. I have slimmed it down to what is supported by the references about Tom Ridge. You are jumping to conclusions at the least, purposefully distorting his involvement at the worst, by some of your statements. The NYT does not state the Ridge was paid, nor does it say he was subpoenaed. The article is mostly about Ed Rendell. Additionally, the MEK does not need its own paragraph in the Ridge article, it has a link that you can click and go read all about it. I added a reliable source that indicates when the group was added to the list and the grounds for its adding. You had introduced inaccurate information that it had been added in the 1970s. Talking about their partnership with Mossad doesn't really belong in the Ridge article either. EricSerge (talk) 19:30, 29 September 2014 (UTC)

 * They're stilled listed by Australia. If you were allowed to read Wikileaks, you would see that several European countries were forced by the EU to de-list them against their will. You'd also find that the GOI considers them a terrorist group. Of course, none of those are considered reliable sources.
 * The NYT article indeed states Ridge was subpeona'd, its at the end. I added a second reference. I've accepted your very misleading contortion of the narrative with minor revisions, namely the assertion you took ad-hoc from Ridge et al's article and noted that it was factually incorrect and revised the statement to read that he provided advocacy in exchange for speakers fee's, because apparently you have a problem with calling paid advocacy paid advocacy and receiving a subpoena to determine where the money you got for speaker's fee's came from doesn't equate to paid advocacy.
 * And, the relevancy of your employer given that we are trying to write an article talking about your employers material support of terrorists is directly applicable. You should try posting a link about them on social media, or speak out against them on it and you will note that there is a strong tendency for government, especially DOD related personnel to suddenly start marking things as spam and removing the content. I'm not saying it's you, I'm saying you fit the profile that has been removing this stuff from the web since I noticed it in 2011. No, I'm not Iranian; Maybe I'm Australian, or French, or Swedish, or work for the State Department that didn't want to de-list them, of the Justice department that didn't want to delist them, or one of the Canadians that didn't want to de-list them or any number of the places that considers them a terrorist cult but got forced to remove them after their politicians were bought.
 * Or maybe I'm just an American that fundamentally has a problem with people charged with national security putting the interests of overthrowing Iran over the interests and security of their own soldiers and citizens. You can thank me later. Of course, in order to accept that all of those facts are true, one has to resort to reading content you don't find to be reliable or are otherwise forbidden by your employer to read. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 172.56.3.190 (talk) 21:19, 29 September 2014 (UTC)
 * Unsigned editor who posted above: You seem to be here to advance an agenda, and to right great wrongs. Please be aware that the whole wide internet and the gigantic blogosphere is available for you to promote your cause. Wikipedia is not the place for it. We expect scrupulous neutrality from editors, which you are not showing on this talk page. Cullen328  Let's discuss it  03:05, 22 October 2014 (UTC)
 * Unsigned editor who posted above: You seem to be here to advance an agenda, and to right great wrongs. Please be aware that the whole wide internet and the gigantic blogosphere is available for you to promote your cause. Wikipedia is not the place for it. We expect scrupulous neutrality from editors, which you are not showing on this talk page. Cullen328  Let's discuss it  03:05, 22 October 2014 (UTC)

RfC
This RFC should apply to multiple articles, specifically Rudy Giuliani, Newt Gingrich, Fran Townsend and Ted Poe. The articles in question were initially removed due to a legitimate point about them being written in a NNPOV. They were revised to be more neutral. They were subsequently removed stating that the sources were not reliable. They were revised to include more reliable sources. This pattern persisted. I then began to include a section that legitimately is using unreliable sources (political opposition group of the MEK) that I copy pasted from an article that was considered acceptable. You can see it in the last revision of Tom Ridge's page prior to my addition. Furthermore, the title of the section includes NNPOV by referencing the organization as "terrorist" (in quotes), when there is little objective question that at various points in the organizations past the group engaged in terrorism and was listed by the US State Department as a foreign terrorist organization.

The persons removing the articles find those additions to be well-sourced and neutral despite that they are quite obviously neither. The sections are being removed with complaints that are using technical loopholes of the WP process to further the political agenda to suppress the information about several US politicians and officials questionable support of a formerly listed FTO.

I am more than happy to edit or revise content to make it more palatable, however, it seems clearly evident that the issue is not my content or any of the cited rationales as the content that is being reverted more clearly fits the criteria mine is being removed on.

172.56.3.190 (talk) 18:11, 29 September 2014 (UTC)
 * Oppose inclusion of MEK section. Legobot asked me to comment. The group is no longer listed as a terrorist group by the U.S. government, and any effort to demonize those who supported that change as former government officials in their Wikipedia biographies violates the neutral point of view and undue weight. Mentioning that some people were subpoenaed is completely wrong, because prominent people are subpoenaed all the time, and such a mention creates an impression of legal misconduct where no evidence of such misconduct exists. The Dayton blog post which cites Glenn Greenwald in support of a legal theory that the First Amendment does not apply to such speech is especially egregious, since Greenwald is a highly partisan and deeply committed opponent of U.S. national security policy.
 * I also oppose criticizing the neutrality and judgment of any editor based on their affiliations and/or employment. Personal disclosure: Off Wikipedia, I am a Democrat in U.S. politics, and the BLPs in question are Republicans. I have personal political disagreements with Ridge and several others. I set those feelings aside here on Wikipedia, and strive instead for neutrality. I also want to disclose that I was personally lobbied by MEK supporters in the past, but declined to support their cause.
 * This section isn't neutral. This is advancing an agenda. Cullen328  Let's discuss it  02:57, 22 October 2014 (UTC)

 * Comment Summoned here by bot. Please provide an explanation of the section in question that you wish to add. Coretheapple (talk) 15:23, 31 October 2014 (UTC)

Mercyhurst recognition
I don't want to mess with the actual page (I don't understand how to link things, etc.). Can someone please add this under Ridge's recognition section? Thanks.

http://www.mercyhurst.edu/news/mercyhurst-dedicates-new-intel-school-named-after-gov-tom-ridge — Preceding unsigned comment added by 74.197.22.97 (talk) 01:13, 24 May 2015 (UTC)

 * This is done. —ADavidB 11:26, 25 May 2015 (UTC)

Governor Tom Ridge Responsibility with Kermit Gosnell
Type in Tom Ridge Gosnell in the Internet and you will find plenty of articles stating that Tom Ridge as Governor was the, "Chief Enabler," directing the Pennsylvania Health Department to ignore the many complaints against Kermit Gosnell's Abortion Clinic. This should be part of the article. For Example:   Easeltine (talk) 14:48, 29 April 2019 (UTCEaseltine (talk) 14:53, 29 April 2019 (UTC)

 * A better example might help. The Washington Examiner site has been considered unreliable . —ADavidB 23:20, 29 April 2019 (UTC)

title: Talk:Tom Ridge


text:
WQED (TV)

WQED (channel 13) is a PBS member television station in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States. Owned by WQED Multimedia, it is sister to public radio station WQED-FM (89.3). The two outlets share studios on Fifth Avenue near the Carnegie Mellon University campus and transmitter facilities near the campus of the University of Pittsburgh, both in the city's Oakland section.

Established on April 1, 1954, WQED was the first community-sponsored television station in the U.S. and the country's fifth public television station. It was the first station to telecast classes to elementary school classrooms when Pittsburgh launched its Metropolitan School Service in 1955. The station has been the flagship for the shows Mister Rogers' Neighborhood, Once Upon A Classic, Where in the World Is Carmen Sandiego? (a co-production with Boston's WGBH-TV; filmed in New York City), and Daniel Tiger's Neighborhood (whose live-action scenes are filmed in Pittsburgh).

History
A public television station was the brainchild of Pittsburgh mayor David L. Lawrence, who wanted 12 percent of U.S. TV stations licensed for non-commercial educational use. Despite the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) putting an indefinite freeze on new TV station licenses (due to the number of applications on file), the commission granted Lawrence a license if he could raise money to equip and operate the station. Lawrence, a friend of President Harry S. Truman, recruited Pittsburgh Plate Glass Company attorney Leland Hazard to help get the station off the ground.

Its greatest obstacle was Pittsburgh-based Westinghouse Electric Corporation, owners of radio station KDKA. Westinghouse wanted a TV station in the city to compete with the DuMont-owned-and-operated WDTV (which had a de facto monopoly in the nation's sixth-largest television market), and was impatient with the freeze on new licenses. Although the corporation launched WBZ-TV in Boston in 1948 and purchased Philadelphia's WPTZ-TV (now KYW-TV) in 1952, it was unable to secure a TV-station license in its home market. When the freeze was lifted in 1952, the FCC granted station licenses to smaller cities (such as Steubenville and Youngstown, Ohio; Wheeling and Clarksburg, West Virginia, and Johnstown, Altoona and Erie, Pennsylvania) before granting more licenses in Pittsburgh. All those cities shared the VHF band with Pittsburgh, and only Youngstown would end up as a UHF island.

Westinghouse presented a compromise to the FCC, offering to share its proposed KDKA-TV with WQED on channel 13. Hazard found this unacceptable, and asked Westinghouse CEO Gwilym Price if he should give up his quest for public television. Price said that Hazard should keep fighting, promising Westinghouse support for WQED. Westinghouse donated the tower it had purchased for the channel 13 license, enabling WQED to begin operations on April 1, 1954. The station's call letters are from the Latin phrase quod erat demonstrandum ("what was demonstrated"), commonly used in mathematics.

Westinghouse soon had its Pittsburgh TV station. Knowing that DuMont needed WDTV's cash flow to get its programming cleared in larger markets and a short-term cash infusion after DuMont investor Paramount Pictures vetoed a merger between DuMont and ABC, Westinghouse offered DuMont $10 million for WDTV in January 1955. It changed the station's call sign to KDKA-TV, making it a sister station of KDKA radio. DuMont, unable to obtain clearance in larger markets, was out of business by the end of 1956. Although KDKA-TV is now owned by Westinghouse successor Paramount Global, the station retains a close relationship with WQED.

WQED briefly shared channel 13 with WENS-TV in 1955, after a storm damaged the WENS-TV tower in Reserve Township, until the WENS-TV tower was repaired. WQED acquired the station and renamed it WQEX in 1959, using the construction permit it had acquired for channel 22 to launch WQEX on channel 16. The Commercial Radio Institute acquired the WENS-TV permit for channel 22, launching WPTT (now WPNT) in 1978.

The station was briefly affiliated with the NTA Film Network during the late 1950s, sharing the affiliation with KDKA-TV, WTAE-TV, and WIIC-TV (now WPXI). From sign-on until its replacement by PBS in 1970, WQED was a National Educational Television member station.

During its heyday in the 1970s and 1980s, WQED supplied programming to PBS. For 15 years, WQED produced the National Geographic specials for the National Geographic Society. The programs won several Emmy and other awards, including Peabody Awards.

Actor Michael Keaton, who worked behind the scenes on Mister Rogers' Neighborhood, went on to international fame. During its heyday, WQED supported a post-production office and editing facility in Los Angeles. Known as QED/West, the satellite edited much of WQED's national programming.

During the early 1990s, WQED faltered, as did many other PBS stations across the country, as the rapidly-changing media landscape shifted. The downturn was exacerbated by a scandal in which top executives were discovered to have been augmenting their income without informing the board of directors. The period was chronicled in Jerold Starr's 2000 book, Air Wars: The Fight to Reclaim Public Broadcasting.

Problems continued with a failed attempt to sell WQED's auxiliary station, WQEX, in 1999. In 2002, WQEX's non-commercial educational status was removed; the station moved to a shopping format, first with America's Store and later with ShopNBC; that in effect made WQEX a for-profit arm to generate revenue for channel 13. In November 2010, WQED agreed to sell WQEX to Ion Media Networks for $3 million. The sale was completed (after FCC approval) on May 2, 2011, when the station's call sign changed from WQEX to WINP-TV. WQED received $9.9 million in a 2017 spectrum auction, and would use the proceeds to pay down debt the station has carried since the 1990s.

The Fred Rogers Studio, where Fred Rogers recorded his iconic television series Mister Rogers' Neighborhood, is featured in the film A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood with Tom Hanks playing Rogers. The cast and crew shot at the WQED headquarters throughout October 2018.

Local

 * Black Horizons (1968–present) – weekly as the longest running African-American issues program in the nation.
 * QED Cooks (1993–present) – Chris Fennimore and Nancy Polinsky Johnson celebrates and cooks the delicious food culture of Pittsburgh, and talks about heritage and the tradition of passing down recipes to the next generation.

National

 * Mister Rogers' Neighborhood (1968–2001) – in association with Family Communications
 * Drink, Drank, Drunk (1974) – an hour-long program on alcoholism, hosted by Carol Burnett
 * National Geographic Specials (1975–1991)
 * Puzzle Children (1976) – an hour-long Julie Andrews and Bill Bixby-hosted special
 * Once Upon a Classic (1976–1980) - a show hosted by Bill Bixby that introduced literary works acted out for young viewers in a way easily understandable
 * Including Me (1977) – an hour-long Patricia Neal-hosted program spotlighting six disabled children
 * Raised in Anger (1979) – an hour-long Ed Asner-hosted program on child abuse
 * The Chemical People (1982–1983) – a nine-part series on drug abuse
 * Planet Earth (1986) – in association with the National Academy of Sciences
 * Zoobilee Zoo (1986–1987) - also aired nationally in syndication
 * The Infinite Voyage (1987–1992) – in association with the National Academy of Sciences
 * Where in the World Is Carmen Sandiego? (1991–1995) – in partnership with WGBH-TV in Boston
 * The first America Speaks with Bill Clinton, aired nationally by NBC (June 1992)
 * Where in Time Is Carmen Sandiego? (1996–1997) – in partnership with WGBH-TV in Boston
 * Space Age (1994?) – in association with the National Academy of Sciences
 * The Fox Cubhouse (1994–1996) – aired nationally by Fox
 * Doo Wop 50 (1999), and subsequent similar programs produced by TJ Lubinsky
 * The War that Made America (2006)

Subchannels
The station's signal is multiplexed:

On January 5, 2009, WQED launched Create on 13.2, replacing the standard-definition simulcast of WQED's main channel.

Analog-to-digital conversion
WQED shut down its analog signal on VHF channel 13 on June 12, 2009, when full-power television stations in the United States transitioned from analog to digital broadcasts by federal mandate. The station's digital signal relocated from its pre-transition UHF channel 38 to VHF channel 13. WQED was the only full-powered station in the Pittsburgh market to move its digital signal back to its analog-era channel. Former sister station WINP-TV took over WQED's former digital channel 38, broadcasting on virtual channel 16.1.

title: WQED (TV)


text:
George Papassavas

George Papassavas (born 28 January 1924) is a Greek painter who has traveled extensively throughout Latin America.

Born in Stavroupoli, Greece, Papassavas against his father's will taught himself the techniques of the classical artist at a young age. At the age of 17, he was put into exile and forced into labor by the invading Bulgarian army. After his return to Greece, he began formal study at the Athens School of Fine Arts. In 1955, after being enchanted by the book Brazil: A Land of the Future by Stefan Zweig, Papassavas journeyed with his wife to Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, where he studied under Candido Portinari. In search of artistic inspiration, Papassavas made several trips throughout South America observing both its people and natural environment. At the end of 1967, he moved to United States and continued his development in art at Harvard University.

The end of 1974, Papassavas moved to Florida, where he became a U.S. citizen in 1978. To this day he still paints. He and his wife currently divide their time between Florida, Maine, and Massachusetts. He has numerous one man and group shows throughout Europe, South America, and the United States. His work is included in museums, libraries, and both private and corporate collections. His art has also been featured in many newspapers, magazines, and books.

Bold outlines and warm colors characterize his dominate style in painting.

title: George Papassavas


text:
Piper PA-15 Vagabond

The Piper PA-15 Vagabond and PA-17 Vagabond are both two-seat, high-wing, conventional gear light aircraft that were designed for personal use and for flight training and built by Piper Aircraft starting in 1948.

Development
The PA-15 was the first post-World War II Piper aircraft design. It utilized much of the same production tooling that created the famous Piper Cub, as well as many of the Cub structural components (tail surfaces, landing gear, most of the wing parts). The Vagabond has a wing that is one bay shorter (30 ft versus 36 ft) than that on the Cub, which led to the unofficial term describing the type: Short Wing Piper. This allowed the aircraft to be built with minimal material, design and development costs, and is credited with saving Piper Aircraft from bankruptcy after the war.

The prototype PA-15 made its first flight on 3 November 1947, with deliveries of production aircraft beginning in January 1948. Vagabonds used a new fuselage with side-by-side seating for two instead of the Cub's tandem seating.

The PA-17 Vagabond version features dual controls, enabling it to be used for pilot training. It has a bungee cord shock-absorbed landing gear (solid gear on the PA-15), and a 65 hp Continental A-65 engine. There was a small increase in climb rate and useful load over the PA-15, despite an increase in empty weight.

The Vagabond was followed by the Piper PA-16 Clipper, which is essentially a Vagabond with a 17 in longer fuselage, Lycoming O-235 engine of 108 hp, extra wing fuel tank, and four seats. The Pacer, Tri-Pacer and Colt are all variations of the Vagabond design and thus all Short Wing Pipers.

Operational history
In March 2018 there were still 167 PA-15s and 101 PA-17s registered in the USA.

There were 13 PA-15s and 12 PA-17s registered in Canada in March 2018.

Variants

 * PA-15 Vagabond
 * Side-by-side two-seater powered by one 65 hp Lycoming O-145 engine. 387 built, plus one converted from a PA-17.

 * PA-17 Vagabond
 * Also known as the Vagabond Trainer a variant of the PA-15 with dual-controls, shock-cord suspension and powered by one 65 hp Continental A-65-8 engine. 214 built.

title: Piper PA-15 Vagabond