Saturday, June 28, 2008

KDKA-TV, channel 2 (DTV 25), the first "networked" station, and the heir to a claim of the first television broadcast -AND- KDKA (AM) AM 1020, first..

KDKA is the callsign of two broadcast stations in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA:
KDKA (AM) AM 1020, the first commercially licensed radio station in the United States.
KDKA-TV, channel 2 (DTV 25), the first "networked" station, and the heir to a claim of the first television broadcast.

KDKA-TV is the CBS owned and operated (O&O) television station in Pittsburgh. Its studios are located at One Gateway Center in Downtown Pittsburgh. It broadcasts its analog signal on VHF channel 2, and its digital signal on UHF channel 25 from its transmitter in Pittsburgh. Along with sister station KYW-TV, it is one of two K call signed television stations in Pennsylvania.

History

As WDTV
The station went on the air on January 11, 1949, as WDTV (W DuMont TeleVision), owned and operated by the DuMont Television Network. It became the first "networked" station briging the gap between the mid-west area stations that showed many shows hosted in Chicago and the east coast stations that had much of its programming from New York. It also boasted being the first full time television station, in March 1952 it was the very first to have a 24/7 program schedule [1]. It originally broadcast on channel 3, moving to channel 2 in 1952 to alleviate interference with WNBK in Cleveland (now WKYC-TV), which for several years was a sister station to KDKA-TV. It was one of the last stations to be granted a construction permit before the Federal Communications Commission imposed what turned out to be a four-year freeze on new licenses.
At the time, Pittsburgh was the sixth-largest market in the country (behind New York, Chicago, Los Angeles, Philadelphia and Washington). However, WDTV's only competition came from UHF stations, as well as grade B signals from stations in Johnstown, Altoona, Wheeling and Youngstown. Despite its large market size, no other commercial VHF stations signed on in Pittsburgh until 1957 (the only other VHF station in town was educational WQED-TV). This was because the major cities in the Upper Ohio Valley are so close together that they must share the VHF band. After the FCC lifted the license freeze in 1952, it refused to grant any new commercial VHF construction permits to Pittsburgh in order to give the smaller cities in the area a chance to get on the air. At the time, UHF stations were unviewable without a very expensive converter. Even with a converter, the picture quality was marginal at best. UHF stations in the area faced an additional problem because Pittsburgh is located in a somewhat rugged dissected plateau, and UHF stations usually do not get good reception in rugged terrain.
As a result, WDTV had a de facto monopoly on Pittsburgh television. Like its sister stations, WABD in New York (now WNYW) and WTTG in Washington, it was far stronger than the network as a whole. Owning the only viewable station in such a large market gave DuMont considerable leverage in getting its programs cleared in large markets where it didn't have an affiliate. As CBS, NBC and ABC had secondary affiliations with WDTV, this was a strong incentive to stations in large markets to clear DuMont's programs or risk losing valuable advertising in the sixth-largest market. WDTV aired all DuMont network shows live and cherry-picked the best shows from the other networks, airing them on kinescope on an every-other-week basis.
WDTV's sign-on was also significant because it was now possible to feed live programs from the East to the Midwest and vice versa. In fact, its second broadcast was the activation of the coaxial cable linking the two regions. It would be another two years before the West Coast received live programming, but this was the beginning of the modern era of network television.

As KDKA-TV
By 1954, DuMont was in serious financial trouble. Paramount Pictures, which owned a stake in DuMont, vetoed a merger with ABC who had merged with United Paramount Theaters, Paramount's former theater division, a year before. Since the FCC had ruled that Paramount controlled DuMont and there were still lingering questions about whether UPT had actually broken off from DuMont, Paramount didn't want to risk the FCC's wrath.
Desperate for cash, DuMont was forced to sell WDTV to Westinghouse Electric Corporation for $9.75 million in late 1954. While the sale gave DuMont a short-term cash infusion, it eliminated DuMont's leverage in getting clearances in other major markets. Within two years, the DuMont network was no more.
Westinghouse had wanted to sign on a television sister station to KDKA radio --the world's oldest radio station--for some time, but when it became obvious the FCC wouldn't grant any VHF construction permits in the near future, it opted to approach DuMont.
After the sale closed in 1955, Westinghouse changed WDTV's calls to KDKA-TV, sistering it to Westinghouse's pioneering radio station KDKA (AM) (and later to FM 92.9, now WLTJ). As such, it became one of the few stations east of the Mississippi with a "K" call sign. KDKA-TV became a primary CBS affiliate, retaining secondary affiliations with NBC until 1957 (when WIIC-TV, now WPXI, signed on) and ABC until 1958 (when WTAE-TV signed on). It became the flagship station of Westinghouse's broadcasting arm, Group W. (The WDTV calls now reside on a CBS affiliate in Weston, West Virginia, which is unrelated to the current KDKA-TV.)
As a CBS affiliate, KDKA-TV dominated the ratings. It was not uncommon for newscasts anchored by Bill Burns to draw a 50 percent share of audience (or higher). It is still the market leader today, though WTAE and WPXI have closed the gap in recent years.
The station was known from the 1960s through the 1990s to pre-empt CBS programs that received low ratings, usually replaced by locally produced shows, high-rated syndicated programming, and Pittsburgh Pirates baseball games. Group W's other stations were known for pre-empting network programming in a similar manner. However, CBS didn't mind, given KDKA's near-absolute dominance of the market.
For example, channel 2 pre-empted or delayed As The World Turns for a large portion of its still-continuing run, most notably in the 1960s (for movies and The Mike Douglas Show), The Marie Torre Show during the early 1970s, and from 1978 to 1990, where the 2 to 3 P.M. hour usually reserved for the national CBS feed of ATWT was replaced by the popular talk program Pittsburgh 2Day (Originally titled Pittsburgh Today because it started at 1 PM and it was a 90-minute show). On November 22, 1963, as CBS broke into ATWT to report shots fired at President John F. Kennedy's motorcade, KDKA was airing The Mike Douglas Show when newscaster Bill Burns broke in with the first bulletin. After Pittsburgh 2Day's cancellation in 1990, KDKA would later give in to pressure from both CBS and ATWT fans to air the show. In September 2006, it moved Guiding Light from its longtime 3pm slot to 10am placing Dr. Phil at 3pm.
Starting in 1993, KDKA stopped running CBS This Morning and instead ran syndicated Disney cartoons, an unusual move for a major-market station. However, only a year later, Westinghouse made a long-term affiliation deal with CBS to convert the entire Group W television unit--KDKA, KYW-TV in Philadelphia, WJZ-TV in Baltimore, WBZ-TV in Boston and KPIX-TV in San Francisco--to CBS affiliation. As part of the deal, in the fall of 1994 channel 2 began running the entire CBS lineup in pattern, with no pre-emptions except in the case of breaking news.
In early 1996, Westinghouse merged with CBS, making KDKA-TV a CBS owned-and-operated station, after four decades as being simply a CBS affiliate. Viacom merged with CBS in 2000, making KDKA a sister station with Pittsburgh UPN (now The CW) affiliate WNPA-TV (now WPCW). Ironically, in 1994, Viacom purchased Paramount Pictures, which figured so prominently in DuMont's collapse, and in fact had announced plans to launch UPN prior to being acquired by Viacom.
In 2001, KDKA began producing a 10 P.M. newscast on UPN Pittsburgh. KDKA added a two hour morning newscast in 2005 on UPN.
To this day, KDKA-AM/TV is the last heritage television/radio cluster in Pittsburgh.
KDKA is also available on cable in Johnstown, Altoona and Wheeling, as well as several other out-of-market cable systems in northwestern Pennsylvania, northwestern Maryland and North-Central West Virginia.

CBS 2?
From 1965 to 2003, KDKA's logo was a stylized "2" in the font made famous by Group W. It retired the font in 2003 in favor of a much plainer logo similar to that of sister station KCBS-TV in Los Angeles. In 2005, it adopted the logo seen above, which is virtually identical to that of WBBM-TV in Chicago. However, it has not fallen into complete compliance with the CBS Mandate as of 2008 as several Pittsburgh viewers have protested the idea of KDKA being called "CBS 2".
WCCO-TV in Minneapolis, WBZ-TV in Boston, WWJ-TV in Detroit and WJZ-TV in Baltimore also do not follow any form of the mandate.

Image Campaign
In August 2007, KDKA revealed a new image campaign, entitled Your Home, with music and lyrics performed by singer-songwriter Bill Deasy. The promo features scenes of Pittsburgh and its surrounding areas, as well as three of the station's personalites. In September 2007, the station unveiled another promo featuring the Joe Grushecky song "Coming Home". Later, a third spot was introduced, called "Long Way Home," and features the voice of Kelsey Friday. [1]

Digital Broadcast Signal
As of November 2007, KDKA currently uses one of its three designated digital broadcast signals over the airwaves [DTV Ch 25 / 2.1 -- Main Format: 1080i, DD2.0] which will broadcast in HD when programming permits. No information is currently available about plans for use of 2.2 or 2.3.



When I think of Pittsburgh Sports, Bob Pompeani definitely comes to mind as the everyday media representative of the strong love of Pittsburgh teams and the world of sports.
Moreover, Bob Pompeani is a consummate gentleman, "guy's-guys" and yet cultured and well rounded and quite the conversationalist. Bob's passion for community and non-for-profits like Partners for Quality, Inc. (PFQ)/Citizen Care seems to even trump his passion for living and delivering sports.

Valerie Abati joined KDKA-TV in September 2007


kdka.com - KDKA Meteorologist Valerie Abati's "Wednesday Weather Whys"



Sonni Abatta anchors the KDKA-TV Morning News on KDKA and Pittsburgh's CW and KDKA-TV News at Noon. ... Sonni Abatta. Sonni joined the KDKA News Team in June of 2003 ...



Keith Jones and Sonni Abatta


Keith Jones joined KDKA-TV in September of 2005 as KDKA's morning anchor alongside Sonni Abatta. ... Keith comes to KDKA from WOWK-TV Charleston/Huntington ...




Alison Morris joined KDKA-TV in September of 2005 as a general assignment reporter appearing weekdays on the morning and noon news, as well as in the 4pm newscast.
Alison began her career writing for the Wall Street Journal Europe in Paris and broke into broadcast as CNBC's Paris Markets Correspondent where she covered the CAC-40 and French Economics for CNBC Europe. She also provided daily pan-European updates for CNBC's Wake-Up Call and Squawk Box programs. While in Paris, she developed a reputation among the business community for breaking news, and was the first journalist to report France Telecom's buyout of Wanadoo in the spring of 2004.

Stephanie Watson joined the KDKA-TV News Team in September of 2006. She currently co-anchors the weekend evening news alongside Don Cannon. During the week, Stephanie also reports for the early and late evening broadcasts.Watson comes to KDKA after working as a morning/noon anchor at the Southwest Florida NBC affiliate WBBH. She started her on-air career at the ABC affiliate in Beaumont, Texas. There she earned the 2002 Outstanding Media of Crime Victims' Issues in Hardin County, Texas.In between her anchoring positions, Stephanie was an on-air radio talent for KAYD in in Beaumont, Texas. She also pulled double duty as their news director for all five of the Cumulus Broadcasting's radio stations in that market.But television will always be her first love. She started in TV working behind the scenes for "Entertainment Tonight." She went on to work as an associate producer for two other nationally syndicated shows-- "Hard Copy" and "Extra."
Moreover, even though Stephanie Watson is a "transplant" she defintely enhances the Pittsburgh community when lending her "extra" star-power to local events such as Kennedy Township and Ohio Valley General Hospital’s 27th Annual 5K Community Run ... ... ... ....


Best of Pittsburgh's RUSTED Roses,
P.S. Courtney Friel for a Saturday = A+++ +++ +++ +++
Saturday, June 28, 2008 10:51 AM
From: "John French"
View contact details
To:
courtneyfrielfanmail@yahoo.com
Cc: lipsandears@foxnews.com, comments@foxnews.com, cavuto@foxnews.com, bullsandbears@foxnews.com, cash@foxnews.com, forbes@foxnews.com, redeye@foxnews.com

Courtney, honey-pie, you own these headline deliveries inbetween Bulls & Bears and Cavuton on Business = = = And, YOU LOOK TOTALLY AMAZINGLY SIZZLING SMOKING RED HOT ===

Courtney Friel for a Saturday = A+++ +++ +++ +++

Best of the Roses, John French

Friday, June 27, 2008

Uncle Tupelo "Gun" 1992 Bloomington, IN

Now Legendary "cult status" Uncle Tupelo
w/ original founding members Jay Farrar (SonVolt) &
Jeff Tweedy (Wilco) = Rare footage of the two together
not fighting

P.S. Karin Chetry looks such beautifully smoking RED HOT this a.m.

that if such beautifully smoking RED HOT were the soft, velvety, meaty,

nutrient rich, wet earth I'd plant my seed in her.

Karin Chetry = A+++ +++ +++ +++

Best of the Roses, John French

mystrawhat.com

myspace.com/mosshead7

the new everyday media

Jeff Tweedy - "Gun" (Live at the Vic)

Jeff Tweedy of Wilco reaches way back and performs Gun, one of his earliest songs from the Uncle Tupelo days.
Recorded live at the Vic Theater in Chicago, January 23rd, 2008.

P.S. Karin Chetry looks so beautifully smoking RED HOT this a.m. that if such beautifully smoking RED HOT were the soft, velvety, meaty, nutrient rich, wet earth I'd plant my seed in her.

Karin Chetry = A+++ +++ +++ +++

Best of the Roses, John French

mystrawhat.com

myspace.com/mosshead7
http://theneweverydaymedia.blogspot.com/

"There's No Use in Loving Anyone Who Hates Themselves"...

visit http://www.wilcoclub.com
Recorded 05/23/95 at The Fox Theatre - Boulder, Colorado

Wilco is an American rock band based in Chicago, Illinois. The band was formed in 1994 by the remaining members of alternative country group Uncle Tupelo following singer Jay Farrar's departure from that group. Wilco's lineup has changed frequently, with only singer Jeff Tweedy and bassist John Stirratt remaining from the original incarnation. The other current members are guitarist Nels Cline, multi-instrumentalists Pat Sansone and Mikael Jorgensen, and drummer Glenn Kotche. Wilco has released six studio albums, a live double album, and three collaborations: two with Billy Bragg, and one with The Minus 5.

Wilco's music has been inspired by a wide variety of artists and styles, including Bill Fay and Television, and has in turn influenced music by The National and Cherry Ghost. The band continued in the alternative country of Uncle Tupelo on its debut album A.M. (1995), but has since introduced more experimental aspects to their music.

Wilco garnered media attention for its fourth album, Yankee Hotel Foxtrot (2002), and the controversy surrounding it. After the recording sessions were complete, Reprise Records rejected the album and dismissed Wilco from the label. As part of a buy-out deal, Reprise gave Wilco the rights to the album for free. After streaming Foxtrot on its website, Wilco sold the album to Nonesuch Records in 2002. Both record labels are subsidiaries of Warner Music Group, leading one critic to say that the album showed "how screwed up the music business [was] in the early twenty-first century."[1] Yankee Hotel Foxtrot is Wilco's most successful release to date, selling over 590,000 copies. Wilco won two Grammy Awards for their fifth studio album, 2004's A Ghost Is Born, including Best Alternative Music Album.
P.S.
Karin Chetry looks so beautifully smoking RED HOT this a.m. that if such beautifully smoking RED HOT were the soft, velvety, meaty, nutrient rich, wet earth I'd plant my seed in her.

Karin Chetry = A+++ +++ +++ +++

Best of the Roses, John French

Thursday, June 26, 2008

An All New Kind of Smoking Red HOT HOT HOT = And She's French and Naturally Speaks the Language of Romance & Love = Who Are You Mélissa Theuriau?


It's 3 a.m. and it's storming in the hot summer's night and yet my heart is filled w/ light, love & joy just looking at the images of Mélissa Theuriau and listening to her speak the language of poetry, love and romance = She's French = Mélissa Theuriau = A+++ +++ +++ +++(+)
Best of the Roses, John French
myspace.com/mosshead7
The New Everyday Media

The Mighty Lemon Drops = "Inside Out"

Video...the mighty lemon drops..80's indie

Best of the Roses, John French

mystrawhat.com

myspace.com/mosshead7

The New Everyday Media

Wednesday, June 25, 2008

Johnny Depp Thrills Young Fan

Posted by Tracey Coyle
Last week, a package arrived at the Brand family home in Oshkosh, Wis., addressed to the Brands' 12-year-old son Jack Taylor. It contained a used vintage tan and gray fedora hat and "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory" paraphernalia for the rest of the family, along with a note that read: "Here is a hat for you. Hope you like this and assorted fun bits." It was signed by Depp, the star of the film.
The actor promised the boy his hat back in April when the two met while Depp was in Taylor's hometown filming scenes for his upcoming movie, "Public Enemies." But it was a promise the family did not expect him to keep.
"For [Depp] to do something for an ordinary child is really something," his mother, Kris Brand said. "You hear who is doing drugs, who is sleeping with who, but you never hear a celeb saying 'of course' to an ordinary kid."

Best of the Roses, John French $$$$$$$$$$$$ mystrawhat. com $$$$$$$$$$$$

myspace. com/mosshead7 $$$$$$$$$$$$ http://theneweverydaymedia. blogspot. com/


Shades of ’60 as Pirates beat Yankees 12-5: Pittsburgh beats New York for the first time since 1960 World Series

Gene J. Puskar / AP
Pittsburgh Pirates Hall of Fame second baseman Bill Mazeroski climbs out of the dugout to throw out the first pitch before Tuesday's game.


AP updated 11:32 p.m. ET, Tues., June. 24, 2008

PITTSBURGH - For one night, it was 1960 all over again for the Pittsburgh Pirates.
Jose Bautista and Ryan Doumit homered and the Pirates turned back the clock nearly a half-century, beating the New York Yankees 12-5 on Tuesday night for their first victory against them since Bill Mazeroski’s historic homer decided the ’60 World Series.
The Pirates had been the only team in the majors to not beat the Yankees in a regular-season game, getting outscored 49-19 while losing six in a row against them in 2005 and 2007. Until Tuesday, the Yankees hadn’t played a game that counted in Pittsburgh since 1960.
Best of Pittsburgh's Rusted Roses,
Giovanni "Wyoming" French

Larry King PLaying the Guitar and Drums Behind-the-Scenes w/ Motley Crue

--- On Tue, 6/24/08, John French <mosshead7@yahoo.com> wrote:
From: John French <mosshead7@yahoo.com>
Subject: Larry King PLaying the Guitar and Drums Behind-the-Scenes w/ Motley Crue
To: larryking@cnn.com
Cc: cnnnewsroom@cnn.com, showbiztonight@cnn.com,
Date: Tuesday, June 24, 2008, 12:57 PM

Dear Mr. Larry:

 

When it comes to the king of all media Howard Stern isn't a pimple on your ass.

 

Sunday at 3 a.m. I watched the re-cast of your show w/ "the boys" from Motley Crue and it it rocked = it was so like punk rock !!!

 

Nikki Sixx was like my idol for my bass playing and song writing and, in general. In 1983 asa 13 year old I saw Nikki Sixx and Tommy Lee in the hallway of WDVE Pittsburgh after they did an interview and I was totally speechless and frozen when one of the tall, dark, leather clad heroes of mine said, "hey, what's up, dude?"

 

I used to rock out "shout at the devil" and "Live Wire" and "Too Young to Fall in Love" on my bass guitar back then.

 

"Keep on keeping on", Larry = the world needs a philosophical King...

 

Best of the Roses, John French
mystrawhat.com
myspace.com/mosshead7

http://theneweverydaymedia.blogspot.com/

 



Tuesday, June 24, 2008

Jane Skinner for a Tuesday the 24th Day of June 2008 ...


Jane Skinner is so smoking hot today = One of the best I've ever seen her look and translate in such an engaging, dynamic, informative and yet fun fashion = A+++ +++

If smoking hot engaging, dynamic, informative and yet fun women of the the new everyday media were Tootsie Roll Pops, I'd patiently lick her and then eat her chocolate center... ... ... ...

Really, I would.


In 1970, Tootsie Roll Industries aired its famous animated television commercial featuring a boy asking various animals how many licks it takes to get to the center of a Tootsie Pop. A shortened version of this commercial still airs on television today, making it one of the most long-running commercials of all time.
In the original ad, a boy poses this question to a cow, a fox and a turtle. Each one tells the boy to ask someone else, explaining that they'd bite a Tootsie Pop every time they lick one. Eventually, he asks an owl, who starts licking it, but eventually bites into the lollipop, much to the chagrin of the boy. [1]
Here is the dialogue to the 60-second version:
Boy: Mr. Cow...
Mr. Cow (voiced by Frank Nelson): Yeeeeesss?
Boy: How many licks does it take to get to the Tootsie Roll center of a Tootsie Pop?
Mr. Cow: I don't know, I always end up biting. Ask Mr. Fox, for he's much clever than I.
Boy: Mr. Fox, how many licks does it take to get to the Tootsie Roll center of a Tootsie Pop?
Mr. Fox (Paul Frees): Why don't you ask Mr. Turtle, for he's been around a lot longer than I? Me, heheh, I bite.
Boy: Mr. Turtle, how many licks does it take to get to the Tootsie Roll center of a Tootsie Pop?
Mr. Turtle (Ralph James): I've never even made it without biting. Ask Mr. Owl, for he is the wisest of us all.
Boy: Mr. Owl, how many licks does it take to get to the Tootsie Roll center of a Tootsie Pop?
Mr. Owl (Paul Winchell): A good question. Let's find out. A One... A.two-HOO...A three..
(crunch sound effect)
Mr. Owl: Three!
Boy: If there's anything I can't stand, it's a smart owl.
Narrator (Herschel Bernardi): How many licks does it take to get to the Tootsie Roll center of a Tootsie Pop?
(crunch sound effect)
Narrator: The world may never know.
After the commercial, Mr. Owl became the mascot for Tootsie Roll Pops, appearing in marketing campaigns and on the packaging.
In the 1990s, a new commercial was made featuring a boy asking a robot and a dragon how many licks it takes to get to the center [2].
Best of the Roses,
John French

Monday, June 23, 2008

CNN American Morning's Kiran Chetry Still One of the Smoking Red HOT Hottest - If not the Hottest - of the New Everyday Media Even After Baby #2



This looks like it could be a scene from a movie or something ... Such passion is depicted here!!!







CNN American Morning co-host Kiran Chetry is a new mom. She and her husband, CW weather forecaster Chris Knowles, welcomed son Christopher Knowles on Thursday, April 17th at 10:45 p.m. He weighed 7 lbs. The couple's daughter Maya Rose, 2, is just as excited as mom it appears. Source: People
Ali Velshi, on the set for a previous economic segment, said, "In the business world we say that Kiran now has a new tax deduction."
Later, Rob Marciano chimed in saying he's, "A little frustrated that we haven't seen the iReport!"
No pictures will be streaming in, however — Roberts confirmed that the first pictures of the newborn will be in OK! Magazine.


Karin Chetry = A+++ +++ +++ +++
Yes, Karin is back on CNN's AM and is still TOTALLY SMOKING RED HOT at 33 years opf age even after baby #2.
Karin is defintely one of the hottest - if not hottest - totally smoking red hot women of the new everyday media = = = We'll find out on mystrawhat.com in my e-book to be released January 2009 which, of course, along w/ poetry & lyrics and some email write-ins will include a Top 75 Hottest Women of the New Everyday Media ... ... ... ...
I know, for sure, Karin will be up there ==== Although w/ the French Mélissa Theuriau and FNC's Anna Gilligan, Courtney Friel and Megyn Kelly and CNN's Brooke Anderson and Julie Chen of the CBS Early Show and Today's Natalie Morales = competition is tight!... so stay tuned.
Best of the Roses,
John French
P.S. Despite what Juliet Huddy stated --- I sent those dozen red roses to FNC for Karin not to make Juliet jealous and play games but because I do think Karin is is TOTALLY SMOKING RED HOT