KARK-TV

Infobox_Broadcast
call_letters = KARK-TV
city =
station_
station_slogan = Still the One (general)
Now, Updated, Local, Relevant (news)
station_branding = KARK 4 (general)
KARK 4 News (news)
KARK 4 — Your Weather Authority (weather)
analog = 4 (VHF)
digital = 32 (UHF)
other_chs =
affiliations = NBC
network =
founded =
airdate = April 15, 1954
location = Little Rock, Arkansas
callsign_meaning = ARKansas
former_callsigns =
former_channel_numbers =
owner = Nexstar Broadcasting Group, Inc.
licensee = Nexstar Broadcasting, Inc.
sister_stations =
former_affiliations = Secondary:
DuMont (1954-1955)
effective_radiated_power = 100 kW (analog)
989 kW (digital)
HAAT = 503 m (analog)
474 m (digital)
class =
facility_id = 33440
coordinates = coord|34|47|56.9|N|92|30|0|W|type:landmark_scale:2000
homepage = [http://www.arkansasmatters.com/ www.arkansasmatters.com]

KARK, branded as "KARK 4", is the NBC network affiliate station serving the Little Rock television market and central Arkansas, owned by Nexstar Broadcasting Group. KARK's transmitter and antenna are located atop Shinall Mountain just west of Little Rock, on the same tower as KTHV. KARK's studio is located at 1401 W. Capitol Avenue in downtown Little Rock, one block east of the Arkansas State Capitol.

The station broadcasts its analog signal on VHF channel 4 and its digital signal broadcasts on UHF channel 32.

History

KARK is Little Rock's second oldest television station, having signed on the air on April 15, 1954 (KATV was the first, beating KARK to the airwaves by almost 5 months).

At one point KARK was owned by Combined Communications, and later Gannett (which, ironically, currently owns rival station KTHV). In 1983, Gannett sold the station to SouthwestMedia, a subsidiary of United Broadcasting, a one-time owner of WMUR-TV in Manchester (NH) which also owned KDBC-TV in El Paso (TX) and WTOK-TV in Meridian (MS). In 1988, United Broadcasting sold off all of its stations, with KARK going to the Morris Network. In 2003, Nexstar became the station's owner, and eventually consolidated most sports operations from KARK with those of its station in northwest Arkansas, KNWA-TV. The two NBC affiliates additionally share certain news resources, with some reports filed by KNWA reporters occasionally used during KARK broadcasts. Since 2007, the two stations have also co-produced a daily newscast at noon Monday through Friday, "Arkansas at Noon", with news anchors in Little Rock and Fayetteville.

For many years, KARK was the top-rated station for news in Little Rock. However, its newscast ratings plummeted in the mid 1990s, as the ABC affiliate KATV took the lead in the market. KARK has since regained many of its viewers and is a very competitive television station today. A significant aspect of its broadcasts today is emphasis of Arkansas-oriented content over national stories.

Controversy

KARK made national news in early 2006 by declining to air the NBC TV program "The Book of Daniel". The station's General Manager Duane Lammers at the time issued two statements regarding the issue. The first, issued January 4, 2006, stated "Our relationship with NBC always provided for the right to reject programming. I am reaffirming that right to let them know I will not allow them to make unilateral decisions affecting our viewers." The statement continued, "If my action causes people in our community to pay more attention to what they watch on television, I have accomplished my mission." [http://www.wtwo.com/bookofdaniel.asp]

Two days later a second statement was released citing concerns about FCC rules regarding obscenity, "My first obligation to my station is to protect the license granted by the FCC. Current regulations could subject this station to severe punishment, up to and including revocation of our license if even a single person's objection to the FCC found material broadcast by our station to be indecent or obscene. Subsequent viewing of the material within "The Book of Daniel" leaves me no choice but to do my job and uphold the standards of our community."

The local MyNetworkTV affiliate, KWBF (then a WB affiliate), aired the program instead. NBC canceled the show after only three episodes.

Pre-emptions

KARK does not show the Sunday edition of "NBC Nightly News" during football season, and similarly pre-empts the Sunday edition of "The Today Show" to show local programming alongside other Nexstar stations in Arkansas.

News Operation

KARK broadcasts a total of 22 hours of local news per week (with 4½ hours on weekdays and two hours each on Saturdays and Sundays).

KARK 4 Notable Personalities

Personalities

Current On-Air Talent (as of October 7, 2008)

KARK 4 NEWS ANCHORS
*Bob Clausen: Weekday Evening Anchor/Reporter
*Tracy Douglass: Weekday Morning Anchor/Reporter/Fill-in Weather Forecaster
*Matt Mosler: Weekday Morning Anchor/Reporter
*Jancey Sheats: Weekday Evening Anchor/Reporter
*Melissa Simas: Weekday Morning and Midday Anchor/Reporter
*Sonseeahray Tonsall: Weekend Evening Anchor/Education Reporter

KARK 4 NEWS REPORTERS
*Courtney Collins: General Assignment Reporter
*Mallory Hardin: General Assignment Reporter
*Lauren Lea: General Assignment Reporter
*Cecillea Pond-Mayo: General Assignment Reporter
*Pete Thompson: General Assignment Reporter
*Lauren Trager: State Capitol and General Assignment Reporter

4WARN Storm Team/Your Weather Authority
*Mike Francis (AMS/NWA Seal of Approval: Chief Meteorologist and Weekday Evening Meteorolgist
*Harry Bounds (AMS/NWA Seal of Approval): Morning and fill in Meteorologist
*Greg Dee (AMS/NWA Seal of Approval): Weekend Evening Meteorologist and Fill-in Meteorologist

"RAZORBACK NATION" SPORTS ANCHORS/REPORTERS
*Pat Doney: Sports Reporter (based at KNWA)
*Aaron Nolan: Weekend Sports Anchor/Reporter
*Aaron Peters: KNWA/KARK Sports Director (based at KNWA)
*Courtney Timmons: Sports Reporter (based at KNWA

Former On-Air Talent

*Steve Barnes
*Barry Brandt
*Kent Bates
*Kim Betton
*Tom Bonner
*Isiah Carey
*John Champion
*Liz Churches
*Carole Copeland
*Brett Cummins
*Deanna Durante
*Dana Dussing
*Jason Friedman
*Keli Fulton
*Jon Getsy
*Brandis Griffith
*Sydney Hart
*Jerri Jackson
*Julie Jameson
*Dave Jordan
*Jason Kadah
*Doug Krile
*Parella Lewis
*Michelle Lee
*Carolyn Long
*Kim Miller
*Roy Mitchell
*Bo Mattingly
*Leslie Morrow
*Mike Nicco
*Katie Nielsen
*Ernie Paulson
*Joe Pequeno
*Betsy Pilgrim
*Margaret Preston
*Mark Rushing
*Kevin Steele
*Alice Stewart
*Frederica Stiffen
*Lyndall Stout
*Steve Sullivan
*Leslie Traba
*Jack Vincent
*Beth Ward
*Denise Whitaker
*Jonathan Wilson
*Carlton Wing
*Dave Woodman
*Tom Yazwinski

Logos

News/Station Presentation

Newscast Titles

*"The Night Report" (1950s)
*"Report to Arkansas" (1960s)
*"The Sixth Hour Report/The Eleventh Hour Report" (1960s-1970s)
*"Channel 4 Eyewitness News" (1970s-Mid 1980s and Late 1980s-1994)
*"NewsCenter 4" (Mid 1980s)
*"News 4" (1994-2001)
*"News 4 Arkansas" (2001-2004)
*"KARK 4 News" (2004-present)

tation Slogans

*"We're 4 Arkansas" (1978-1981)
*"Channel 4, Our Pride is Showing" (1981-1982, local version of NBC campaign)
*"Channel 4 There, Be There!" (1983-1984, local version of NBC campaign)
*"Channel 4, Let's All Be There!" (1984-1986, also local version of NBC campaign)
*"NewsCenter 4, Arkansas's Choice" (1984-1986, used on news promos)
*"Straight from the Heart" (Late 1980s)
*"4 The People" (Early 1990s)
*"Where The News Comes First" (Mid 1990s-2001)
*"Important, Updated, Local, Relevant" (2007-present)

External links

* [http://www.arkansasmatters.com/ KARK Homepage]
*TVQ|KARK
*BIA|KARK|TV|TV
*TitanTV|KARK