Dispatch Broadcast Group announced today it has sold its Indianapolis NBC affiliate WTHR-TV Channel 13 and its Columbus, Ohio CBC affiliate WBNS-TV as well as WBNS Radio—which broadcasts on AM and FM—for $535 million in cash to Tysons, Virginia-based Tegna Inc.
NBC mainstays Savannah Guthrie and Al Roker were joined by Tom Hanks at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway as part of a live broadcast honoring caregivers to U.S. military veterans.
After nearly 33 years, David MacAnally has retired as a reporter from WTHR-TV Channel 13, the station announced Tuesday evening.
WTHR-TV Channel 13 has filled its open news director position, which was vacated late last year when Kathy Hostetter left the local NBC affiliate.
John Stehr, 60, held off on leaving for several months but will finally take his last lap this week with a number of tributes to his four-decade career.
The frenzy of deal-making inevitably leads to speculation about the future of WTHR-TV Channel 13—which, incredibly, has been under the ownership of the same family—the Wolfes of Columbus, Ohio—since 1975.
As part of its $4.1 deal to acquire Tribune Media Co., Nexstar Media must sell TV stations in numerous markets to avoid regulatory problems. Those sales are almost certain to involve stations in Indianapolis.
WTHR-TV Channel 13 becomes the second TV station in the Indianapolis market to have a news director opening.
A source told IBJ on Tuesday that Kravitz had been laid off with several others at the top-rated local TV station.
WISH-TV and WTHR have invested heavily in technology to make their news sets grab viewers, but their methods of operation vary widely.
John Stehr, 59, took a leave of absence from anchoring duties last year after undergoing heart surgery for an aneurysm but he returned in October.
Local subscribers to the services lost access to the channel’s programming in early September as the parties negotiated on a contract.
Naomi Pescovitz, a North Central High School graduate, will help to launch a 7 p.m. newscast at KMSP-Fox 9, which she said will “give me my weekends back and I’ll be able to turn off that 1:30 a.m. alarm clock.”
The executive director of the prestigious national broadcasting awards calls WTHR’s feat “highly, highly unusual.” The local station’s competition included reporting from CNN, HBO and CBS.
After stints with three local stations and a recent maternity leave, Nicole Pence made her retirement from TV news official on Wednesday.
Formerly a reporter for WTHR-TV Channel 13, Jeremy Brilliant is taking a spot on Curtis Hill’s team.
Less than a year after being displaced as a weekday morning anchor, Bruce Kopp has rejected a new contract and decided to move on.
Nicole Misencik, who proved valuable to Channel 13 beyond her role as a weather forecaster, said Thursday that she wanted to be closer to family.
WTHR and WRTV are losing veteran field reporters who had a combined 70 years of experience and numerous national accolades between them.
The station is set to send six staffers to Rio for 3-1/2 weeks to cover more than a dozen Olympians with Indiana ties.