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KFDM

KFDM is the CBS affiliated television station in the Beaumont/Port Arthur, Texas market. Licensed to Beaumont, it operates a digital subchannel carrying CW, which is also available on channel 10 on most cable systems in the area. As for KFDM, it airs on cable channel 3 on systems in the immediate portion of the market.

Contents

History

Channel 6 signed on for the first time on April 31, 1955 and bills itself as the first television station on "the right side of Texas." It was owned by Beaumont Broadcasting along with KFDM radio (560 AM, now KLVI). Beaumont Broadcasting sold the television station to the A.H. Belo Corporation in 1969. Since KFDM radio had already assumed its present-day call sign by that time, the television station dropped the -TV suffix from its calls. However, in 1980, it regained the -TV suffix in its legal call sign (only to drop it again on August 1, 2009).

In 1983, Belo merged with Corinthian Broadcasting, owner of KHOU-TV in Houston. The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) told Belo it could not keep both KFDM and KHOU because of a fairly large grade B signal overlap. At the time, the FCC normally did not allow common ownership of two stations with overlapping signals. Accordingly, Belo sold KFDM to its current owner, Freedom Communications, in 1984.

The station's call letters stand for "Kall For Dependable Magnolene," a car lubricant produced by Magnolia Petroleum Company, who founded KFDM radio in in 1924. It is only a coincidence that the call letters resemble its current owner.

KFDM was awarded in 2005 by the Texas chapter of the Associated Press for their coverage of Hurricane Rita. KFDM was also awarded a regional Emmy award in 2006, also for their coverage of Rita.

Current KFDM Manager, Larry Beaulieu has been with the station since 1974 when he was hired as News Director. He teamed for over 15 years with Cecile Burandt, who was the first female anchor hired in the Beaumont area.

The popular 1970s KFDM weekday news team consisted of Beaulieu, Burandt, weatherman Gary Powers, and sportscaster Jim Bergamo.

KFDM was the last remaining Freedom Communications station using a -TV suffix until the -TV suffix was dropped in August 2009.

On April 7, 2010, the FCC issued a Report & Order, granting KFDM's channel change from channel 21 to channel 25.[1] The reasoning was viewers in the eastern sections of the viewing area had difficulty receiving their signal on channel 21. At this time, no word on when the channel change will commence.

CW launch difficulties

When The WB and UPN announced their merger as The CW in 2006, this caused some difficulties on cable. The CW in Southeast Texas could be seen only on digital cable. It was one of the few stations that had problems launching the new CW network in 2006. KFDM has said that they have been negotiating with Time Warner Cable. The CW came to the Beaumont-Port Arthur, Texas area in February, 2007.

Newscaster Bill Leger Investigates

This section does not cite any references or sources. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (November 2008)

Bill Leger is KFDM's investigative reporter. Some of his most notable reports include the following.

Leger's Restaurant Report Card

"Leger's Restaurant Report Card" is a grading of a performance by the Health Department of Southeast Texas counties. It is to see if the restaurant passed the inspection, or failed. They will be given a grade ranging from 55 to 100. Restaurants with a grade of 100 will be awarded the Blue Ribbon Award. They must correct the problem in order to please their customers. There are also investigations that involved Mr. Bill Leger to come in and check out the restaurant.

Nail Salons Exposed

"Nail Salons Exposed" is an investigation done by Betty Davis and KFDM on hidden camera proved that nail salons have been using illegal nail tools, often found to be unsanitary. Davis was put at risk at most Beaumont nail salons. At the end, the owners of those who violated of using these illicit nail tools had to pay a fine. This footage may be found on YouTube, keyword: Nail Salons Exposed.

Current on-air staff

Anchors

Weather

Sports

Reporters

News production automation

Former on-air staff

News/station presentation

Newscast titles

Station slogans

This film, television or video-related list is incomplete; you can help by expanding it with reliably sourced additions.

References

  1. ^ http://hraunfoss.fcc.gov/edocs_public/attachmatch/DA-10-606A1.pdf

External links

v • d • Broadcast television in the Beaumont/Port Arthur area
Local stations

KBTV 4 (Fox) • KFDM 6 (CBS/CW on DT2) • KBMT 12 (ABC/NBC on DT2) • KUMY-LP 22 (MNTV) • KITU 34 (TBN) • KUIL-LD 64 / K36ID-D 36 (Ind.)
Other stations

KALB 5 (NBC, Alexandria, LA) • KPLC 7 (NBC, Lake Charles, LA) • KUHT 8 (PBS, Houston) • KVHP 29 (Fox, Lake Charles, LA)
Texas Broadcast television areas by city:

Abilene/Sweetwater • Amarillo (Texas Panhandle) • Austin • Beaumont/Port Arthur • Corpus Christi • Dallas-Fort Worth • Del Rio, TX • El Paso • Houston • Laredo • Lubbock • Midland-Odessa (Permian Basin) • Rio Grande Valley • San Angelo • San Antonio • Sherman/Ada, OK • Texarkana/Shreveport, LA • Tyler/Longview (East Texas) • Victoria • Waco/Bryan (Brazos Valley) • Wichita Falls/Lawton, OK
v • d • CBS Network Affiliates in the state of Texas

KDBC 4 (El Paso) - KGBT 4 (Harlingen) - KENS 5 (San Antonio) - KAUZ 6 (Wichita Falls) - KFDM 6 (Beaumont) - KOSA 7 (Odessa) - KLST 8 (San Angelo) - KFDA 10 (Amarillo) - KWTX 10 / KBTX 3 (Waco / Bryan) - KZTV 10 (Corpus Christi) - KHOU 11 (Houston) - KTVT 11 (Fort Worth / Dallas) - KXII 12 (Sherman) - KLBK 13 (Lubbock) - KVTV 13 (Laredo) - KYTX 19 (Nacogdoches / Tyler) - KTAB 32 (Abilene) - KEYE 42 (Austin)
See also: ABC, CBS, CW, Fox, ION, MyNetworkTV, NBC, PBS and Other stations in Texas
v CW Network Affiliates in the state of Texas

KCWX 2 (Fredericksburg/San Antonio) - KFDM-DT 6.2 (Beaumont) - KAUZ-DT 6.2 (Wichita Falls) - KVIA-DT 7.2 (El Paso) KVII-DT 7.2 (Amarillo) - KTEN-DT 10.2 (Ada, OK/Sherman) - KWTX-DT 10.2 / KBTX-DT 3.2 (Waco/Bryan) - KTXS-DT 12.2 (Abilene) KRIS-DT 13.2 (Corpus Christi) - "KWSA" 14 (San Angelo, cable-only) - KTXW-DT 15.2 (Laredo) - KLCW 22 (Lubbock) - KWWT 30 (Odessa) KDAF 33 (Dallas) - KIAH 39 (Houston) - KCEB 54 (Longview) - KNVA 54/KBVO-CA 51 (Austin) - KSFE-LP 67 (McAllen)
See also: ABC, CBS, CW, Fox, ION, MyNetworkTV, NBC, PBS and Other stations in Texas
v • d • Freedom Communications
Newspapers: The Alton Telegraph • Appeal-Democrat • The Brownsville Herald • Clovis News Journal • The Colorado Springs Gazette • Daily Press • Desert Dispatch • The Destin Log • The Star • The Gaston Gazette • The Havelock News • Hesperia Star • The Jacksonville Daily News • Jacksonville Journal-Courier • Jones Post • The Kinston Free Press • The Lima News • Lucerne Valley Leader • Mid Valley Town Crier • The News Herald • Northwest Florida Daily News • Odessa American • The Orange County Register • Portales News-Tribune • Porterville Recorder • The Quay County • Sedalia Democrat • The Seymour Tribune • The Shelby Star • Sun Journal • The Texas Monitor • The Times-News • The Topsail Advertiser • Valley Morning Star • The Walton Sun • Yuma Sun
Television Stations:
ABC Network Affiliates: WLAJ1 • WTVC
CBS Network Affiliates: KFDM1 • KTVL1 • WRGB • WPEC • WWMT1
CW Network Affiliates: WCWN
1Also a subaffiliate of The CW Television Network.

Categories: CBS network affiliates | CW network affiliates | Channel 6 TV stations in the United States | Television channels and stations established in 1955 | Television stations in Texas

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