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Awards
The coverage of stories in the four-state area has earned the news department dozens of awards from the Associated Press over the years, and in 2001, the news operation received an unprecedented 5 awards. NBC25 won "Best Spot News coverage" by the Associated Press for seven consecutive years. In 2002 and again in 2004, the station won the AP's "Outstanding Newscast" award. Other notable awards include the "Friends of Maryland Education" award in 2003 for balanced education coverage and a commitment to Western Maryland's students, two Edward R. Murrow awards in 2005 and one in 2007.
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Station HistoryThe date was
January 3rd , 1970, and the time was 6:30pm. With the push of a button, the airwaves changed from a vertical array of colors and a constant tone to a full spectrum peacock. Three familiar chimes and the introduction of two icons, Chet Huntley and David Brinkley, began the latest entry into the television industry by WHAG-TV, its parent, The Regional Broadcasting Company and NBC.
Warren Adler, owner of radio stations WHAG and WQCM, and future novelist/screenwriter, (War of the Roses) started the process with an application to the FCC for a new commercial broadcast station onJune 19, 1967. Within that original document, a 250 foot tower and antenna was proposed to be anchored to the top of the 125 foot Hagerstown Motor Inn, (currently the Alexander House) more than doubling the size of that building. That idea was rejected due to structural incompatibility.
In June of 1969, construction began on the transmitter located atopFairview Mountain, 18 miles west of the studios, near Clear Spring, Maryland. The station had originally requested affiliation with ABC, the number one network at the time, but had to settle on an agreement with NBC, the number three network. That decision was 11 years before the roots of "Must See TV" began in 1981 with "Hill Street Blues" followed by "Cheers" in 1983. In 1985, the phrase "Must See TV" came into use by the network after Cosby began its dynasty. Classic NBC prime shows in 1970 included, Bonanza, Ironside, The Wonderful World of Disney, Laugh-In, High Chaparral, and The Flip Wilson Show.
The heart of any television station is local news. WHAG-TV began its local version with "The Valley News" which aired Monday through Friday at 6pm, followed by "The Huntley/Brinkley Report at 6:30pm and then another half hour at 7pm and 11pm. The original anchors were Bob Witt, reporting, Glenn Presgraves with sports and Bill Wolfinger forecasting the weather. The station, in efforts to bring attention to the local news operation did make some eyebrow raising decisions. The short–lived but most remembered "Princess Shawnee" chanted about the weather spirits on a waterbed and then danced in the background as the forecast scrolled over the foreground. The times were different.
In 1973, Warren Adler sold the station to the Magazine Brothers of theWashington D.C. area, who in-turn sold the station to local aviation pioneer, Richard Henson in 1977. WHAG-TV was then sold in 1981 to Great Trails Broadcasting, and then Quorum Broadcasting in 1998. As the station grew through the years, so did the resolve of the ownership.
Over the years, the news department has covered many local stories of national interest. The funerals of two local men serving on the USS Cole, the bombing of Judge Corderman, the C-130 crash in Berkeley Springs, the crash of a private plane in downtown Waynesboro, the crash of an AWACS modified C130 in Walkersville, and the fire at the Berkeley Springs Hotel that killed 12 people, are a few of the stories that brought national attention. Many major stories of local interest such as the Maryland Theatre, Newberry’s, and McCrory’s fire in Hagerstown; the tire fire outside of Winchester; hurricane Agnes flooding; and the Paw Paw West Virginia flood were documented in-depth by the news department.
WHAG-TV has had a long-standing history of helping the community. There have been a total of 37 telethons in 31 years of operation of the station. The first telethon helped to raise over $3000 in revenue for a local teen center in 1970. Organizations such as United Cerebral Palsy, Easter Seals and The Parent/Child Center have participated in the telethons. In April of 2001, The 13th Annual Parent/Child Telethon raised more than $137,000. To date, non-profit organizations have raised more than 2.8 million dollars through telethons alone.
What’s in a name? A station’s identity is formulated by the commitment of that station to the community and over the years the slogan and name of the news has changed to reflect the times. In 1970 "The Valley News" was backed up with the theme from "Shaft" and in 1982, "25 Alive" was used for only 5 years. NBC25 was exclusively adopted, and the call letters were dropped in the year 1995 to help the viewers identify the station in an ever-increasing television landscape.
As WHAG-TV fulfilled the public need for local news, the commitment increased to include weekend news at 11pm in 1972, to a total of 6 hours of local news per week. By the year 2000, news content increased to over 22 hours of local news per week.
The first crew in 1970 consisted of three main anchors and 3 cinematographers and several other willing employees. There are now 24 employees in the news department, consisting of a News Director, Assignment Editor, News Anchors/Producers/Reporters, Sports Director/Reporters, Meteorologists and in 1997, the addition of a state-of-the-art live microwave truck added two new employees and the ability to deliver live breaking-news from many places in the viewing area.
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Contact UsBY MAIL:
NBC25
13 East Washington St.
Hagerstown, MD 21740
BY PHONE:
(301) 797-4400
BY FAX:
(301) 733-1735PROBLEMS WITH OUR WEBSITE?
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Children's ProgrammingIn compliance with the Federal Communications Commission's rules regarding children's television programming, WHAG-TV quarterly submits a report to the FCC about the programming WHAG-TV broadcasts for children.
Copies of these reports are available at our station located at 13 East Washington Street, Hagerstown, Maryland. Or they may be obtained from the FCC.
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Station Management
Hugh Breslin General Manager Hugh Breslin General Sales Manager Michelle Mong Business Manager Mark Kraham News Director Greg Suchanek Production Manager Melissa Fountain Promotion Manager Michael Doty Chief Engineer Nancy VanHouten Traffic Manager Jim Wilburn New Media Manager Lori Preston Sales Manager
