WNNE

Infobox_Broadcast
call_letters = WNNE
(semi-satellite of WPTZ
Plattsburgh, New York /
Burlington, Vermont)
city =
station_
station_slogan = Where the News
Comes First
station_branding = NewsChannel 31
NewsChannel 5
(during local news)
analog = 31 (UHF)
digital = 25 (UHF)
other_chs = W65AM Lebanon, NH
affiliations = NBC
network =
founded =
airdate = September 27, 1978
location = Hartford, Vermont /
Hanover, New Hampshire
callsign_meaning = Northern New England
former_callsigns =
former_channel_numbers =
owner = Hearst-Argyle Television
licensee = Hearst-Argyle Stations, Inc.
sister_stations = WPTZ
WMUR-TV
WMTW
former_affiliations =
effective_radiated_power = 1,820 kW (analog)
117 kW (digital)
HAAT = 684 m (analog)
651 m (digital)
class =
facility_id = 73344
coordinates = coord|43|26|36|N|72|27|15|W|type:landmark_scale:2000
homepage = [http://www.wptz.com/wnne/ www.wptz.com/wnne]

WNNE, channel 31, is the NBC-affiliated television station for the Connecticut River Valley of eastern Vermont and western New Hampshire (a.k.a. the Upper Valley) as well as southern Vermont. It is licensed to Hartford, Vermont and has a transmitter located on Mount Ascutney. Owned by Hearst-Argyle Television, the station has studios on Dewitt Drive in White River Junction. It operates a repeater that is licensed to Lebanon, New Hampshire, W65AM channel 65, with a transmitter west of the town on Crafts Hill.

Overview

WNNE is sister station and semi-satellite of WPTZ, the NBC affiliate for Burlington and Plattsburgh, New York. Its master control is located at WPTZ's studios on Television Drive in Plattsburgh. WNNE does not have its own web address because it is located in a separate section of WPTZ's website. While WNNE clears all of WPTZ's programming, it maintains a separate identity in terms of station identifications and local advertisements. In western New Hampshire, the station's coverage area includes: Cheshire, Sullivan, and Grafton Counties. Although technically part of the Burlington / Plattsburgh market, most of WNNE's viewership comes from the southern New Hampshire sub-market.

This sub-market is part of the Greater Boston television market. Due to WNNE sharing its coverage area in New Hampshire with nearby sister station and ABC affiliate WMUR-TV, WPTZ and WMUR occasionally share news video. Ironically, WNNE's coverage area is within reach of a WMTW-TV repeater in Mascoma, New Hampshire. In 2005, that station activated this translator to make up for lost coverage when it signed off from Mount Washington back in 2002. FCC regulations do not allow that two or more stations from two or more different markets have coverage in the same location (in this case, White River Junction). This rule, however, does not apply to repeaters.

History

Channel 31 signed on for the first time on July 26, 1966 with the call letters WRLH-TV. The station was a low-powered (black and white) NBC affiliate operating out of Lebanon, New Hampshire. [ [http://www.worldofquotes.com/history/7_26/6/index.html World of Quotes - Today in History for July 26 ] ] [ [http://www.ellwanger.tv/collect/tvg/eds/n/nh.html TV Guide: New Hampshire Edition ] ] A construction permit had been issued as early as 1954. However, the station never made much headway in the ratings and went dark in 1976. Taft Broadcasting Inc. bought the dormant channel 31 license, moved it across the border to White River Junction and returned it to the air on July 20, 1978 [Call Sign History http://fjallfoss.fcc.gov/cgi-bin/ws.exe/prod/cdbs/pubacc/prod/call_hist.pl?Facility_id=73344&Callsign=WNNE] with the current call letters WNNE. From WNNE's second startup in 1978 until 1991, it was its own self-supporting station. It ran its own syndicated lineup as well as network programming from NBC. In 1991, Heritage Media (then-owner of WPTZ) bought WNNE and turned it into a semi-satellite of that station. Most programming still originated out of WNNE but certain programs were relayed from Plattsburgh via microwave. In 2000, WPTZ moved WNNE's master control to its studios in Plattsburgh. In July 2001, WNNE's website was integrated into a separate section of WPTZ's website. [ [http://web.archive.org/web/20010801162646/www.thechamplainchannel.com/wnne/ TheChamplainChannel.com - WNNE ] ] On WNNE's 27th anniversary July 20, 2005, WNNE began broadcasting its digital signal on UHF channel 25.

News operation

As a separate station

Throughout the 1980s and 1990s, WNNE had its own news department. It was heavily staffed for a station of its size. The station's news programming was known as "News 31". Weekday morning, Noon, 6 and 11 P.M. newscasts were all broadcasted out of their studios in the basement of the Pines Motel. On weekdays mornings from 7 to 9 A.M., WNNE aired local news and weather updates at :25 and :55 past the hour during "The Today Show". Throughout the evenings, there were local weather updates provided. The station did not air any newscasts on the weekends. [ [http://web.archive.org/web/19990223192927/www.wnne.com/news/ WNNE TV 31 - Hanover/Hartford ] ] In the mid-1980s, NBC decided they wanted satellite truck coverage in the northeast. WNNE's location was a perfect fit and a new satellite truck partially funded by NBC was stationed at the White River studios. WNNE had their own satellite news truck to assist in news gathering in the Upper Valley. [ [http://www.geocities.com/tvhatton/east-local/wnne Tv Hat: Wnne (Nbc) ] ] In 1989, the station began the process of downsizing its staff.

In the mid-1990s, WNNE's satellite truck was acquired by WPTZ. The NBC satellite truck which had remained in service (with a WPTZ logo) until 2003. In June 2001, WNNE's newscasts were canceled and changed to a separate news update that aired on weeknights from WPTZ studios. Otherwise, WNNE simulcasted WPTZ's news. The microwave link (from '91) between WPTZ & WNNE's White River Junction studios was re-built in order for live news coverage from WNNE to air on WPTZ. It also allowed WPTZ's news reports from Montpelier and New York State to be seen on WNNE. In 2007, the WNNE news updates quietly stopped airing and the station's studios became an Upper Valley Bureau for WPTZ. After this change, there was only the separate newscast opening that remained to indicate that WNNE was ever a separate station. Eventually, the news opening was dropped as well. Today, the only visual difference between the two stations is WNNE's sign on at 5 A.M., some local advertising, and the station identifications.

As a semi-satellite

Today, WPTZ and WNNE use the "NewsChannel" branding. During WPTZ newscasts, WNNE is referred to as the Upper Valley Bureau and features two full-time reporters based at the station's White River Junction studios. In addition to the Upper Valley and a Colchester Bureau, WPTZ also broadcasts national news from a Washington D.C. Bureau that is operated by Hearst-Argyle. The bureau employs several reporters who give live reports to the various Hearst-Argyle affiliates. Although the two stations do not own or operate weather radars of their own, they use live NOAA National Weather Service radar data from several regional sites. It is presented onscreen in a forecasting system known as "Storm Tracker 5000".

The main signal comes from the radar located at the NWS Local Forecast Office at Burlington International Airport. Unlike most other NBC affiliates, WPTZ does not air a weekday Noon newscast. The station had aired news at that time until 2005, but it was dropped in favor of one during the week at 5:30 P.M. With the departure of Thom Hallock of November 23, 2007, the station was left with an all woman anchor team. That changed with the arrival of Gus Rosendale. He left WPTZ in 2005 to report at sister station WTAE-TV in Pittsburgh. Rosendale made his debut back at WPTZ in mid-December. See the WPTZ article for a complete listing of current news personalities.

WNNE news team

These news personnel were employed by WNNE when it produced its own newscasts. [ [http://web.archive.org/web/19990224092227/www.wnne.com/team/ WNNE TV 31 - Hanover/Hartford ] ] [ [http://web.archive.org/web/20001212221700/www.wnne.com/talent.html WNNE Talent / News 31 Team ] ] [ [http://web.archive.org/web/20040202085527/www.thechamplainchannel.com/wnne/ TheChamplainChannel.com - WNNE ] ]

Anchors
*Mike Harding - original anchor
*Bruce Lyndes - News Director
**now in public relations
*Diana Jones - News Director
*Brett Davidson - now at WHEC
*Alan LaGarde - News Director in the 1980s
*Kate Amara - weekday morning update anchor - now at WBAL-TV
**reporter
*Caroline Cornish - weekday morning update anchor
**reporter
**now at WCSH and seen on WLBZ and WPXT
*Steve Roulier - weekday morning update anchor
*Heather Hamel - now at WMUR
*Bob Bradovich
*Darlene McCarthy
*Tom Melville - now News Director at NECN
*Beth Sheldon
*Mindy Todd
*Ross Joel
*Maureen Hayes
*Julie Beaty
*Tina Detelj
*Karen Meyers
*Rachael Ruble - now working at KCPQ
*George Brooks
*Axia Diaz - now at WESH

Meteorologists
*John Yacavone - original meteorologist
*Bob Burnett-Kurie
*Bob Shaw
*Mike Glaiser
*Tom Hoyt

Sports
*Mike McCune - Director seen on weeknights
**now at WCAX-TV
*Dominick Aielli - Director seen on weeknights
**went to WGGB-TV
*J.J. Cioffi - now at WCAX-TV
*Mark Sudol - now at NECN
*Tom Caron - now at NESN
*Paul Johnson
*Mark Asciola

Reporters
*Elissa Burnell - now at WFFF-TV
*Tina Detelj - now at WTNH
*Katherine Duffy - now at WCAX-TV
*Dan Leonard
*Paul McGonagle
*Mark Sudol
*Craig Shibley
*Malka Dohrety
*Debra Bogstie
*Mike Kmack - now producing at WMTW
*Nicole Bell
*Brenda Devlin

Logos

External links

* [http://www.wptz.com/wnne WNNE "NewsChannel 31"]
* [http://www.wptz.com/ WPTZ "NewsChannel 5"]
* [http://www.geocities.com/tvhatton/east-local/wnne.html WNNE at TVHat]
*TVQ|WNNE
*TVQ|W65AM

References