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KGAN (channel 2) is a
television station A television station is a set of equipment managed by a business, organisation or other entity such as an amateur television (ATV) operator, that transmits video content and audio content via radio waves directly from a transmitter on the earth's s ...
licensed to
Cedar Rapids, Iowa Cedar Rapids is a city in Linn County, Iowa, United States, and its county seat. The population was 137,710 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, making it the List of cities in Iowa, second-most populous city in Iowa. The city lies o ...
, United States, serving Eastern Iowa as an affiliate of
CBS CBS Broadcasting Inc., commonly shortened to CBS (an abbreviation of its original name, Columbia Broadcasting System), is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the CBS Entertainme ...
and
Fox Foxes are small-to-medium-sized omnivorous mammals belonging to several genera of the family Canidae. They have a flattened skull; upright, triangular ears; a pointed, slightly upturned snout; and a long, bushy tail ("brush"). Twelve species ...
. It is owned by
Sinclair Broadcast Group Sinclair, Inc., doing business as Sinclair Broadcast Group, is a publicly traded American telecommunications conglomerate that is controlled by the descendants of company founder Julian Sinclair Smith. Headquartered in the Baltimore suburb o ...
, which provides certain services to
Dabl Dabl () is an American digital multicast television network owned by the CBS Media Ventures subsidiary of Paramount Global and operated by Weigel Broadcasting. Dabl launched in September 2019 with a female-targeted lifestyle format. It aired r ...
affiliate
KFXA KFXA (channel 28) is a television station licensed to Cedar Rapids, Iowa, United States, serving Eastern Iowa as an affiliate of the digital multicast network Dabl. It is owned by Second Generation of Iowa, Ltd., which maintains a local market ...
(channel 28, also licensed to Cedar Rapids) under a
local marketing agreement In North American broadcasting, a local marketing agreement (LMA), or local management agreement, is a contract in which one corporation, company agrees to operate a radio station, radio or television station owned by another party. In essence, it ...
(LMA) with Second Generation of Iowa, Ltd. The two stations share studios at Broadcast Park on Old Marion Road Northeast (along IA 100) in Cedar Rapids; KGAN's transmitter is located in
Rowley Rowley may refer to: Places Canada * Rowley, Alberta, a hamlet * Rowley Island, Nunavut United Kingdom * Rowley, County Durham, a hamlet - see Rowley railway station (England) * Rowley, East Riding of Yorkshire, England, a village and civil par ...
, near the junction of Buchanan, Benton and
Linn Linn may refer to: People * Linn (surname) * Linn (given name) * Carl Linnaeus, abbreviated as Linn. * Linn da Quebrada, stage name of Brazilian singer, actress, screenwriter and television personality Lina Pereira dos Santos (born 1990) Place ...
counties. Channel 2 was the first television station in Eastern Iowa, signing on as WMT-TV on September 30, 1953. It was originally the radio adjunct to Cedar Rapids radio station WMT. A CBS affiliate from its first day on air, channel 2 was the market's leading station for most of its early history. Its original ownership, American Broadcasting Stations, sold WMT radio and television to
Orion Broadcasting Orion may refer to: Common meanings * Orion (constellation), named after the mythical hunter * Orion (mythology), a hunter in Greek mythology Arts and media Fictional entities Characters and species * Orion (character), a DC Comics c ...
in 1981; when Orion merged with Cosmos Broadcasting, channel 2 was split from WMT and renamed KGAN by its new owner,
Guy Gannett Guy Gannett Communications was a family-owned business consisting of newspapers in Maine and a handful of television stations in the eastern United States. The company was founded by its namesake, Guy P. Gannett, in 1921, and was managed by a f ...
. After being second in news ratings in the 1980s, KGAN sank to third by the early 1990s, a position it continues to hold in the market. Sinclair acquired KGAN as part of its 1999 purchase of Guy Gannett. The Fox programming previously on KFXA relocated to a subchannel of KGAN on January 1, 2021.


History


Construction and early years

American Broadcasting Stations, Inc., the owner of Cedar Rapids radio station WMT (600 AM), applied to the
Federal Communications Commission The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) is an independent agency of the United States government that regulates communications by radio, television, wire, internet, wi-fi, satellite, and cable across the United States. The FCC maintains j ...
(FCC) on January 10, 1951, for permission to build a new television station on channel 9. In June 1952, after the FCC lifted its four-year freeze on television station grants and changed many channel allocations nationally, the application was amended to specify channel 2. In addition to the WMT application, the Davenport Broadcasting Company, owner of KSTT in
Davenport Davenport may refer to: Places Australia *Davenport, Northern Territory, a locality *Hundred of Davenport, cadastral unit in South Australia **Davenport, South Australia, suburb of Port Augusta **District Council of Davenport, former local govern ...
, sought channel 2. American Broadcasting Stations charged that Davenport Broadcasting was not financially qualified to build the station. On April 8, 1953, after Davenport withdrew from contention, the FCC approved American Broadcasting Stations's application and granted a
construction permit Planning permission or building permit refers to the approval needed for construction or expansion (including significant renovation), and sometimes for demolition, in some jurisdictions. House building permits, for example, are subject to bu ...
. WMT-TV began regular broadcasting on September 30, 1953, as the first station in Eastern Iowa. After brief remarks by general manager and part-owner William B. Quarton, the station aired Game 1 of the
1953 World Series The 1953 World Series was the championship series in Major League Baseball for the 1953 season. The 50th edition of the World Series, it was a best-of-seven playoff that matched the American League (AL) champion and four-time defending World ...
. The Series was carried by special arrangement with
NBC The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the NBC Entertainment division of NBCUniversal, a subsidiary of Comcast. It is one of NBCUniversal's ...
, but WMT-TV was a primary affiliate of
CBS CBS Broadcasting Inc., commonly shortened to CBS (an abbreviation of its original name, Columbia Broadcasting System), is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the CBS Entertainme ...
with selected programs of the
DuMont Television Network The DuMont Television Network (also the DuMont Network, DuMont Television, DuMont/Du Mont, or (incorrectly) Dumont ) was one of America's pioneer commercial television networks, rivaling NBC and CBS for the distinction of being first overall in ...
. When the station started, the studios on Old Marion Road were still being built and were expected to be completed in November; as a result, live local programming did not appear immediately. As a promotional tactic, the new TV station paid its employees in unusual two-dollar bills. It boasted that it was the first station to broadcast with an
effective radiated power Effective radiated power (ERP), synonymous with equivalent radiated power, is an IEEE standardized definition of directional radio frequency (RF) power, such as that emitted by a radio transmitter. It is the total power in watts that would ha ...
of 100,000 watts (the maximum for channels 2 through 6). WMT-TV began construction of a new, taller tower near
Walker Walker or The Walker may refer to: People *Walker (given name) *Walker (surname) *Walker (Brazilian footballer) (born 1982), Brazilian footballer Places In the United States *Walker, Arizona, in Yavapai County *Walker, Mono County, California * ...
in June 1956. The structure, intended to be tall, was toppled in a windstorm on December 10, having reached in height. The structure was rebuilt and put into use in July 1957. In April 1967, the station converted to color for local programming. In December 1967, American Broadcasting Stations announced it was negotiating to sell WMT radio and television to WAVE Inc. of
Louisville, Kentucky Louisville is the List of cities in Kentucky, most populous city in the Commonwealth of Kentucky, sixth-most populous city in the Southeastern United States, Southeast, and the list of United States cities by population, 27th-most-populous city ...
; the $9.98 million purchase was approved by the FCC in June 1968. In 1969, WAVE, Inc. renamed itself Orion Broadcasting in reflection of its broadcasting holdings beyond Louisville.


Guy Gannett ownership

Orion Broadcasting announced in April 1980 that it would put all of its stations up for sale. The Morton and Norton families opted to sell the entire company in order to avoid paying inheritance taxes when 71-year-old Mrs. George Norton eventually died, taxes they were not sure the company could pay. Two months later, Orion announced it would merge with Cosmos Broadcasting, a subsidiary of insurance and broadcasting conglomerate
Liberty Corporation The Liberty Corporation was a media corporation originally based in Greenville, South Carolina. At its peak, Liberty owned 15 network-affiliated television stations across the Midwest and Southern regions of the United States. Cable advertisin ...
. However, the two companies together owned eight very high frequency (VHF) television stations, three more than the FCC allowed at the time. As a condition of the merger, Cosmos opted to sell WMT-TV as well as
WFRV-TV WFRV-TV (channel 5) is a television station in Green Bay, Wisconsin, United States, affiliated with CBS. Owned by Nexstar Media Group, the station maintains studios on East Mason Street in Green Bay and a transmitter north of Morrison, Wiscon ...
in
Green Bay, Wisconsin Green Bay is a city in Brown County, Wisconsin, United States, and its county seat. It is located at the head of Green Bay (Lake Michigan), Green Bay (known locally as "the bay of Green Bay"), a sub-basin of Lake Michigan at the mouth of the F ...
, and
WJMN-TV WJMN-TV (channel 3) is a television station licensed to Escanaba, Michigan, United States, serving the Central and Western Upper Peninsula of Michigan as a satellite of ABC affiliate WBUP (channel 10). The station is owned by Sullivan's Landi ...
in
Escanaba, Michigan Escanaba ( ), commonly shortened to Esky, is a port city and the county seat of Delta County in the U.S. state of Michigan, located on Little Bay de Noc in the state's Upper Peninsula. The population was 12,450 at the 2020 census, making it the ...
. Guy Gannett Broadcasting Services of
Portland, Maine Portland is the List of municipalities in Maine, most populous city in the U.S. state of Maine and the county seat, seat of Cumberland County, Maine, Cumberland County. Portland's population was 68,408 at the 2020 census. The Portland metropolit ...
, agreed to acquire WMT-TV in February 1981, becoming the company's third television station and first in the Midwest. As Cosmos retained WMT radio and the radio stations would retain the WMT call letters, a new designation was required for channel 2. Guy Gannett selected KGAN, which mirrored the company's WGAN-TV in Portland. The $13 million sale received FCC approval that August and was completed on October 16, 1981, at which time WMT-TV became KGAN-TV.


Sinclair ownership

Motivated by the impending expiration of the family trust that owned the company, Guy Gannett Communications put itself up for sale in 1998.
The Seattle Times Company The Seattle Times Company is a privately owned publisher of daily and weekly newspapers in the U.S. state of Washington. Founded in Seattle, Washington in 1896, the company is in its fourth generation of control by the Blethen family as of 202 ...
acquired Guy Gannett's newspapers, while the firm's television stations were purchased by
Baltimore Baltimore is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland. With a population of 585,708 at the 2020 census and estimated at 568,271 in 2024, it is the 30th-most populous U.S. city. The Baltimore metropolitan area is the 20th-large ...
-based
Sinclair Broadcast Group Sinclair, Inc., doing business as Sinclair Broadcast Group, is a publicly traded American telecommunications conglomerate that is controlled by the descendants of company founder Julian Sinclair Smith. Headquartered in the Baltimore suburb o ...
. The Guy Gannett purchase gave Sinclair diversification into affiliates of the Big Three networks and beyond a portfolio heavy with Fox, WB, and
UPN The United Paramount Network (UPN) was an American broadcast television network that operated from 1995 to 2006. It was originally a joint venture between Chris-Craft Industries (later sold to News Corporation)'s subsidiary, United Television, ...
stations. Sinclair attempted later that year to sell KGAN and two ex-Guy Gannett stations in Illinois—
WICS WICS (channel 20) is a television station licensed to Springfield, Illinois, United States, affiliated with ABC. The station is owned by the Sinclair Broadcast Group, and maintains studios on East Cook Street in Springfield's Eastside; its t ...
in Springfield and WICD in
Champaign Champaign ( ) is a city in Champaign County, Illinois, United States. The population was 88,302 at the 2020 census. It is the tenth-most populous municipality in Illinois and the fourth most populous city in the state outside the Chicago metr ...
—to Sunrise Television. At the time, Sinclair was attempting to shed some of the smaller-market stations it had acquired in a string of recent purchases, as the company had made losses following the purchases. The deal never received approval from the FCC or the
United States Department of Justice The United States Department of Justice (DOJ), also known as the Justice Department, is a United States federal executive departments, federal executive department of the U.S. government that oversees the domestic enforcement of Law of the Unite ...
because of the ownership structure of Sunrise, which was affiliated with investment firm Hicks, Muse, Tate & Furst. That firm was also majority stockholder of the
LIN TV Corporation LIN Media was an American holding company founded in 1994 that operated 43 television stations. All except one were affiliates of the six major U.S. television networks. One of the remaining stations was a low-powered weather station in Ind ...
. At the time, LIN owned
WAND A wand is a thin, light-weight rod that is held with one hand, and is traditionally made of wood, but may also be made of other materials, such as metal, bone or stone. Long versions of wands are often styled in forms of staves or sceptres, whi ...
in Decatur, a rival to WICS/WICD, and could not own both stations. In 2002, Sinclair and Second Generation of Iowa, owner of
KFXA KFXA (channel 28) is a television station licensed to Cedar Rapids, Iowa, United States, serving Eastern Iowa as an affiliate of the digital multicast network Dabl. It is owned by Second Generation of Iowa, Ltd., which maintains a local market ...
, entered into an outsourcing agreement whereby Sinclair began providing KFXA's sales and other non-programming services. Sinclair then acquired the assets of KFXA, except the license, in 2008. On January 1, 2021, the programming and Fox affiliation of KFXA's main subchannel became the 2.2 subchannel of KGAN. KGAN began broadcasting a digital signal on channel 51 on October 26, 2002. The station has been digital-only since February 17, 2009; however, the station later asked to move down from its original channel of 51. At the time, the FCC permitted moves of stations off this channel pursuant to agreements with licensees of wireless and cellular services occupying the spectrum formerly allocated to channels 52-69, immediately adjacent. On the morning of April 5, 2014, the station moved to channel 29.


News operation

The station established a local news department in early 1954 and immediately launched a weeknight 6p.m. newscast. That fall, a 10p.m. local newscast was added, followed by a noon news program in 1956. WMT-TV was the dominant television news source in Eastern Iowa in its early years. A February 1965
Arbitron Nielsen Audio (formerly Arbitron) is a consumer research company in the United States that collects listener data on radio broadcasting audiences. It was founded as the American Research Bureau by Jim Seiler in 1949 and became national by mergin ...
survey found that 71,000 households—approximately 68 percent of the audience—watched WMT's late news, whereas competitors
KWWL KWWL (channel 7) is a television station licensed to Waterloo, Iowa, United States, serving as the NBC affiliate for Eastern Iowa. Owned by Allen Media Group, KWWL maintains studios on East 5th Street in Waterloo, with news bureaus and advertis ...
and
KCRG-TV KCRG-TV (channel 9) is a television station licensed to Cedar Rapids, Iowa, United States, serving Eastern Iowa as an affiliate of American Broadcasting Company, ABC, MyNetworkTV, and The CW. Owned by Gray Media, the station has studios on Seco ...
between them only attracted 33,000. In part, this was due to the marketing consulting work of
Marion Marion or MARION may refer to: Arts and entertainment *Marion (band), a British alternative rock group * ''Marion'' (miniseries), a 1974 miniseries * ''Marion'' (1920 film), an Italian silent film * ''Marion'' (2024 film), a UK short People a ...
-based
Frank Magid Frank Magid (September1, 1931February5, 2010) was an American marketing consultant, widely known for introducing the "Action News" format of evening local TV news, and was an original developer of ''Good Morning America''.Fox, Margalit (February ...
and his firm, Frank N. Magid Associates; WMT-TV was the firm's first client, and its success attracted other station groups to the company. In the late 1960s, KWWL and KCRG began to make significant investments in local news programming that made them competitive in the market and eroded WMT-TV's lead, with KWWL pulling nearly level with channel 2 by 1979. At the time, WMT-TV made what was perceived by viewers and television critics to be a mistake in ousting meteorologist Craig Johnson in favor of Bill Bailey, a popular comedic weatherman in the
Quad Cities The Quad Cities is a region of five cities (originally Tri-Cities, later four, see #History, History) in the U.S. states of Iowa and Illinois: Davenport, Iowa, Davenport and Bettendorf, Iowa, Bettendorf (the fifth to be included) in southeaster ...
market at WOC-TV. However, in his time on air at channel 2, ratings fell, and KWWL surpassed the station in the ratings; Bailey left and returned to the Quad Cities. During the time KWWL ascended to first place in the market, its news director was Grant Price, who had previously parted ways with WMT-TV in 1972 over philosophical differences. KGAN remained in second place in the 1980s, managing to hold off a challenge from KCRG. In 1989, the station reshuffled its anchor lineup. Dave Shay moved to the noon news after 30 years, a step toward retirement, and the station opted not to renew the contract of meteorologist Dave Towne, who several weeks later began working at KCRG. His replacement, Mark Strehl, lasted two years; when his contract was not renewed, he characterized KGAN as a "revolving door" with constant anchor changes. By 1994, KGAN was in third place in many news time slots; where KWWL and KCRG each had audience shares of 29% or greater at 5, 6, and 10 p.m., only at 10 p.m. did the station attract more than half as many viewers as second-place KCRG. In March 2001, KGAN began producing a 9p.m. newscast for Sinclair-owned
KDSM-TV KDSM-TV (channel 17) is a television station in Des Moines, Iowa, United States, affiliated with the Fox network. The station is owned by Sinclair Broadcast Group and has studios on Fleur Drive in Des Moines; its transmitter is located in Alleman ...
in
Des Moines Des Moines is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of cities in Iowa, most populous city in the U.S. state of Iowa. It is the county seat of Polk County, Iowa, Polk County with parts extending into Warren County, Iowa, Wa ...
. After KGAN began providing services to KFXA in 2002, the program was renamed to ''Fox News at Nine'' and began to air in Eastern Iowa that October. A 7a.m. news hour was added to KFXA in 2011. The station has won two
George Foster Peabody Awards The George Foster Peabody Awards (or simply Peabody Awards or the Peabodys) program, named for the American businessman and philanthropist George Foster Peabody, George Peabody, honor what are described as the most powerful, enlightening, and in ...
. The first award, in 1955, came for its role in developing ''The Secret of Flight'' television programs. These shows, focusing on
aeronautical Aeronautics is the science or art involved with the study, design, and manufacturing of air flight-capable machines, and the techniques of operating aircraft and rockets within the atmosphere. While the term originally referred solely to ''ope ...
education, were made possible with the assistance of
Alexander Lippisch Alexander Martin Lippisch (2 November 1894 – 11 February 1976) was a German aeronautical engineer, a pioneer of aerodynamics who made important contributions to the understanding of tailless aircraft, delta wings and the ground effect in aircra ...
, who was the director of the Collins Aeronautical Research Laboratory. In 1994, KGAN won another Peabody for a report exposing a sewer solvent scandal in which the city bought solvent at an 800 percent markup from a local chemical company. The producer of the solvent pleaded guilty to paying 235 bribes to five Cedar Rapids city employees later that year.


Notable former on-air staff

*
Bob Hilton Bob Hilton (born July 23, 1943) is an American television game show personality. He hosted ''The Guinness Game'', a revival of ''Truth or Consequences'', and the 1990 revival of ''Let's Make a Deal'' for one season and replaced by Monty Hall, and ...
– newscaster, 1993–1996


Subchannels

The station's signal is
multiplexed In telecommunications and computer networking, multiplexing (sometimes contracted to muxing) is a method by which multiple analog or digital signals are combined into one signal over a shared medium. The aim is to share a scarce resource— ...
:


References


External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Kgan 1953 establishments in Iowa CBS affiliates Fox Broadcasting Company affiliates Quest (American TV network) affiliates Sinclair Broadcast Group Television channels and stations established in 1953
GAN The word Gan or the initials GAN may refer to: Places * Gan, a component of Hebrew placenames literally meaning "garden" China * Gan River (Jiangxi) * Gan River (Inner Mongolia), * Gan County, in Jiangxi province * Gansu, abbreviated '' ...