KFSM-TV

Infobox_Broadcast
call_letters = KFSM-TV
city =
station_
station_slogan = Trust 5 News
station_branding = KFSM 5 (general)
KFSM 5 News (newscasts)
analog = 5 (VHF)
digital = 18 (UHF)
other_chs = K62DQ Fayetteville
affiliations = CBS
network =
founded =
airdate = December 3, 1956
location = Fort Smith/Fayetteville, Arkansas
callsign_meaning = Fort SMith
(also, FSM is the airport designation for Fort Smith Regional Airport)
former_callsigns = KNAC-TV (1956-1959)
KFSA-TV (1959-1973)
former_channel_numbers =
owner = Local TV, LLC
licensee = Local TV Arkansas License, LLC
sister_stations =
former_affiliations = Primary:
NBC (1956-1980)
Secondary:
CBS (1956-1971)
ABC (1956-1978)
effective_radiated_power = 100 kW (analog)
550 kW (digital)
HAAT = 384 m (analog)
286 m (digital)
class =
facility_id = 66469
coordinates = coord|35|30|42|N|94|21|37.9|W|type:landmark_scale:2000 (analog)
coord|35|49|49.2|N|94|9|24.1|W|type:landmark_scale:2000 (digital)
homepage = [http://www.5newsonline.com/ www.5newsonline.com]

KFSM-TV, Channel 5, is the CBS affiliate for the Fort Smith and Northwest Arkansas area. The station's transmitter is located in Figure Five, and it broadcasts digitally on UHF channel 18. The station operates out of two offices and studios, one is located in historic downtown Fort Smith and the other one is located in the Northwest Arkansas Mall in Fayetteville. It is currently owned by Local TV. The station also operates low-power translator K62DQ in Fayetteville.

History

The first television station in Fort Smith was KFSA-TV on UHF channel 22. It went on the air on July 9, 1953, and is now the oldest television station in Arkansas. (KRTV in Little Rock launched earlier in 1953, but folded a year later; Little Rock's oldest station today, KATV, started December 19, 1953.)

The second station in Fort Smith was KNAC-TV, Channel 5, which had studios in Van Buren at Mount Vista and went on the air on December 3, 1956. Donald W. Reynolds owned KFSA-TV and KFSA radio and when he purchased a portion of KNAC,(owned by Fort Smith businessman, Hiram Nakdeiman), Channel 22 had to cease broadcasting because of an FCC regulation which prohibited a person or corproation from owning two television stations in the same market. KFSA-TV signed off for the final time, Saturday night, August 16, 1958.

Reynolds assumed full control of KNAC in Janauary of 1959. The station had already moved its main studio from Van Buren to downtown Fort Smith at North 5th and B Streets - an old furniture warehouse, owned by Nakdeiman, who also owned the Arcade Furniture Store and KWHN Radio. Many of the original personnel at Channel 22, Pat Porta, Harry Freeman and John Chandler plus engineers Bob Platt and Willie Matten and executives William Slates and John Whitt, made the transition to Channel 5. KNAC's weatherman, LeRoy Stollard also was a new staff member of the blended operation. All are icons in Fort Smith broadcasting history.

The call letters were changed from KNAC-TV to KFSA-TV when Reynolds assumed full control.

The stations remained the flagship of Reynolds' Donrey Media Group until 1973, when they were sold to separate owners due to new FCC rules. KFSA-TV was sold to Buford Television, Inc. and renamed KFSM-TV (after the airport designation for Fort Smith Regional Airport). The station was purchased by the New York Times Company in 1979, which then sold its entire television group, including KFSM, to Local TV on May 7, 2007.

The station originally carried programming from all three networks, but was a primary NBC affiliate. CBS disappeared from the schedule when KFPW (now KHBS) signed on in 1971, with ABC disappearing when KLMN-TV (now KFTA-TV) signed on in 1978. KFSM swapped affiliations with KLMN in 1980 and became a CBS affiliate, which it remains today. [http://www.enps.com/news/news_detail.aspx?ID=17]

KFSM currently provides five newscasts everyday during the week, and three newscasts on each day of the weekend. It also provides a 24-hour local newscast seven days a week on Cable Channel 16 in Springdale and Cable Channel 55 in Fort Smith. The station launched its [http://www.5newsonline.com website] in 2001.

Over the years, KFSM has been the ratings leader in the DMA. It is the only full-powered commercial station on VHF in the market. Also, it is the only "Big Three" affiliate that doesn't need a second full-power station to reach the entire market.

News/Station Presentation

Newscast Titles

*"Bill Thomas and the News" (1956-1964)
*"TV-5 News" (1964-1979)
*"The Newspeople" (1979-1989)
*"TV5 First Team" (1989-1997)
*"5 News" (1997-2005)
*"KFSM 5 News" (2005-present)

tation Slogans

*"Trust 5 News" (2000-present)

References

* [http://www.5newsonline.com/Global/story.asp?S=359126&nav=menu151_12 About 5News] "5NewsOnline.com", retrieved January 14, 2006

External links

* [http://www.5newsonline.com/ KFSM Homepage]
*TVQ|KFSM
*BIA|KFSM|TV|TV
*TitanTV|KFSM