The two stations' operations were merged at a converted furniture warehouse in downtown Fort Smith at North 5th and B Streets that had originally been renovated for KNAC-TV. In July 2021, chief meteorologist Garrett Lewis left KFSM after 20 years with the station[27] to pursue a career in finance and community relations.[28][29]. There have been so many vacations weve had to cancel because of weather events., Part of the job pressure has been a change in expectations during the past 20 years. This created a large "doughnut" in Northwest Arkansas where there could be only one commercial VHF license, plus a noncommercial license (eventually occupied by AETN's KAFT). Get TVSpy delivered straight to your inbox. Thank you for your support both then and now, and I look forward to sharing the end of my journey with you as we near the end of Summer.. Additionally, on Saturdays, 5 News This Morning was sometimes replaced by a simulcast of sister station KTHV's Saturday morning newscast. It was like, how did this happen here?". Learn how and when to remove this template message, Attempted acquisition of Tribune Media by Sinclair Broadcast Group, transitioned from analog to digital broadcasts, "Tegna Selling To Standard General For $5.4 Billion". Menu. Were not an LA or a New York, but for us, we put so much energy into it because it upset everybody in the community. She also served as the host and producer of a weekly live newscast for Columbia College that aired on a cable network in Chicago. Local talent included Clint Fisher, Freddie Rose and programs from Camp Chaffee (later Fort Chaffee). [6] The sale was completed on December 27. Chris Riva Leaving FOX19 NOW: Where Is the Cincinnati Anchor Going? A message seeking comment from KFSM station manager Van Comer was not immediately returned. FORT SMITH (KFSM) - 5NEWS Anchor Heather Lewis is enjoying some time at home with her husband, Curt, and their new baby, Benjamin. Roberts has play-by-play experience, and has worked as a network sideline reporter for NBC Sports. According to station manager Van Comer, the new facility is located near the population center of KFSM's 11-county, two-state primary coverage area. KFSM morning anchor Laura Simon is leaving the Fort Smith, Ark. The podcast should be one of those podcast that is going to be pretty good. KFSM signed on for the first time on July 9, 1953 as KFSA-TV on channel 22. Until 1964, the station operated without a dedicated news department, instead relying on reports from its sister newspapers. All became icons in Fort Smith's broadcasting history. "I had heard through the grapevine they were going to radically change their sports department," Irwin said Tuesday when reached by phone. Talks between Reynolds and KNAC's owner, businessman Hiram Nakdeiman, resulted in an agreement to merge the two stations. LITTLE ROCK Fort Smith-based CBS affiliate KFSM-TV fired sports reporter Mike Irwin on Monday, ending a 37-year career at the station. My time at 5NEWS has been one of the greatest joys in my life. "We reported it every day. I was really disappointed with the show they did at one point, especially with the what if we had to do it all over again part. His passionate coverage of our extreme weather and commitment to serving our communities have been exemplary. The station's digital signal remained on its pre-transition UHF channel 18,[32] using PSIP to display the station's virtual channel as its former VHF analog channel 5. At the end of the documentary on Saturday, there will be a phone number to the FBI you can call if you have any information about the cases. [23][24] (As KXNW does not rank among the top four in total-day viewership and therefore is not in conflict with existing FCC in-market ownership rules, it was retained by Nexstar, thus creating a de facto triopoly with KNWA and KFTA, which are licensed as satellite stations despite being separately programmed.) I think it would be really cool to have that kind of podcast and have a ton of content there. Im really just going to wait and see what happens, he said. CBS affiliate KFSM. On June 14, 2019, KFSM moved most of its operations to a newly built studio in Johnson, a suburb of Fayetteville and Springdale. Engleman said he was pursuing other options. Initially, KFSA-TV relied on kinescopes of network programming and various live performers in the Fort Smith area. Its not going to happen here," former 5NEWS anchor Bridget Schultz said. The station operated out of an old building. Laura Simon was born and raised in a suburb of St. Louis. It lost ABC in 1978 when KFPW-TV surrendered its CBS affiliation to new sign-on KLMN-TV (now KFTA-TV). She will start at KFSM in early June and will co-anchor the station's 5, 6 and 10 p.m. newscasts with Daren Bobb. Mitch and his two kids live in Fayetteville. The estimated total pay for a TV News Anchor at KFSM-TV is $96,093 per year. Most commercials were live since videotapes were not yet available. Meet the anchors, reporters and meteorologists from 5NEWS KFSM in Fort Smith, Arkansas This is what Ive loved most about the work we do. "I have some bittersweet news to share with you this morning," Lewis wrote . Still Missing Morgan . Additionally, the Fort Smith television market is a fairly large market geographically, spilling across a large and mostly mountainous swath of Arkansas and Oklahoma. where she graduated from the University of Southern Mississippi. This is what Ill miss most. News Reporter KLKN-TV Aug 2014 - Aug 2016 2 years 1 month. Longtime weatherman and television personality Garrett Lewis announced Tuesday (March 30) plans to leave his job as chief meteorologist at CBS affiliate KFSM-TV. She decided to go to Columbia College Chicago to get a degree in broadcast journalism after taking a journalism class at Francis Howell North High School. We have no intention of being a podcast of the kind its been used to talk about over the years. Chief meteorologist Matt Standridge reacted to her announcement post and said, At least youre still on our side of the Mississippi River. He added later in the interview that, being on call 24/7 is not easy. Irwin and Engleman also co-hosted "SportsLine with John and Mike", a call-in talk show, each weekday. Roberts father grew up with former Hogs basketball coach Eddie Sutton, and they remain good friends to this day. The storm left four people dead in western Arkansas. by Michael Tilley([emailprotected]) March 30, 2021 8:49 pm 24,660 views. Brad Johansen Leaving NBC4 Columbus: Where Is the Anchor Going? I think the decision to let the show go to the dogs caused a lot of the negative reaction we received when we first started to air. Were not the largest market. Roberts has worked in St. Louis, Nashville, and Las Vegas, Nevada, winning an Emmy for Best Sportscaster in St. Louis. It also provides a 24-hour local newscast seven days a week on Cox channel 55 in Springdale and Fort Smith. Here is a complete list of nearly every professional News Anchors in your town. Before coming to the Ozarks, she launched her news career at WHLT-TV in Hattisburg, Miss. Congressman John Boozman (AR), Bachelor of Business Administration, Sales, Marketing, Leadership, Customer Relations, Microsoft, Executive Director, Cancer Support Foundation at Donald W. Reynolds Cancer Support House, Executive Director, Reynolds Cancer Support House. But Comer did say he was searching for a new anchor to replace Malone. After eight years at KFSM, she has accepted an anchor/reporter position in her hometown of St. Louis. I think we might be able to have a small podcast, one with just a couple of episodes, or a podcast that we produce ourselves and it would be more similar to our show. We have a lot of ideas we are working towards and we are working on our podcast as well. Megan Mitchell In 2022, Megan was named Best TV Anchor and Best Journalist in Cincinnati. The estimated base pay is $66,283 per year. It did not help that viewers in Fort Smith could receive stations from Tulsa and Little Rock by using large masts and rotary antennas. We dont want to create a perfect podcast, or a perfect character for a podcast, but we want people to come to our podcast and listen to it and get it to share with us. At that time, CBS was the top network with such hits as Red Skelton, Jackie Gleason and Ed Sullivan's Toast of the Town and later, Your Show of Shows. However, by 2019, the planned Johnson studio had become the main studio, with its longtime home in Fort Smith serving as a River Valley bureau. Thank you so much for making me a part of your morning routine. Updated: 10:27 AM CDT April 12, 2021. "Back then, its a small town. However, the Fayetteville area was served by KGTO (TV) in the late-1960s and 1970s. The estimated additional pay is $29,810 per year. I am a former kfsm news anchor and current on the show Inside KFSM. After that, she and her husband will depart for St. Louis. Related Searches:All TV News Anchor Salaries|All KFSM-TV Salaries. I honestly dont know. The merged operation benefited from a technical quirk in the FCC's original television allocation plan. FACT CHECK: Dave Ramsey Made a Statement About America Online, FACT CHECK: CIA Director Gina Haspel Found Dead, FACT CHECK: Kwik Trip Launches Kwik Strip Gentlemens Clubs. Write CSS OR LESS and hit save. http://licensing.fcc.gov/prod/cdbs/pubacc/Auth_Files/1392679.pdf, "Acquisition to make Tribune Co. largest U.S. TV station operator", Company Completes Final Steps of Transaction Announced in July, "Sinclair Broadcast Group to buy Tribune Media for $3.9billion plus debt", "Sinclair Broadcast Group Sets $3.9 Billion Deal to Acquire Tribune Media", "Sinclair and Tribune Fall as FCC Slams TV Station Sale Plan", "FCC chair rejects Sinclair-Tribune merger", "FCC throws Sinclair/Tribune deal in doubt", "FCC Throws Wrench into Sinclair Media Megadeal", "Sinclair Tries to Appease F.C.C., but Its Tribune Bid Is Challenged", "FCC orders hearing even as Sinclair changes plans to sell TV stations to address concerns about Tribune deal", "Tribune Terminates $3.9 Billion Sinclair Merger, Sues Broadcast Rival", "Tribune Kills Sinclair Merger, Files Suit", "Tribune Media pulls out of Sinclair Broadcast merger", "Tribune Ends Deal With Sinclair, Dashing Plan for Conservative TV Behemoth", "Tribune Ends Deal with Sinclair, Files Breach of Contract Suit", "Tribune withdraws from Sinclair merger, saying it will sue for 'breach of contract', "Nexstar Announces Deal to Buy Tribune for $6.4B", "Nexstar Selling 19 TVs In 15 Markets For $1.32B", "Nexstar to Sell Stations to Tegna, Scripps for $1.32 Billion", "In Fort Smith since 1953, KFSM relocates headquarters to NWA", "Garrett Lewis to leave KFSM after 20 years as chief meteorologist", "Local Flavors: Former weatherman Garrett Lewis appreciates lazy Sunday omelets", "KFSM TV Listings | Fort Smith/Fayetteville News | KFSM 5NEWS", "DTV Tentative Channel Designations for the First and the Second Rounds", https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=KFSM-TV&oldid=1127137480, Television stations in Northwest Arkansas, Television channels and stations established in 1953, Low-power television stations in the United States, Articles with dead external links from February 2022, Short description is different from Wikidata, Articles needing additional references from May 2017, All articles needing additional references, Articles using infobox television station, Articles with unsourced statements from May 2018, Official website different in Wikidata and Wikipedia, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License 3.0, Fort Smith (FSM is also the airport designation for the, This page was last edited on 13 December 2022, at 02:43. Talk Business & Politics is a news website that covers business, politics and culture in Arkansas. Stations were permitted to carry the press conference live on-air, but were prohibited from any online stream. I also host a radio show called 'The Stump', which is a podcast about the biggest topics in the world of sports. The New York Times Company sold its entire broadcasting division, including KFSM, to Local TV in 2007. Be sure to research other states around Fort Smith, AR to find the names of more professionals.