WNNE

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WNNE
Image:Wnne_nbc_31_tv.JPG
Hartford, Vermont/Hanover, New Hampshire
Branding News Channel 31
Slogan Where The News Comes First
Channels 31 (UHF) analog,
25 (UHF) digital
Translators 65 W65AM Lebanon
Affiliations NBC
Owner Hearst-Argyle Television
Founded 1954
(current license dates back to July 20, 1978)
Call letters meaning Northern New England
Transmitter Power 1820 kW (analog)
684 kW (digital)
Website wptz.com/wnne

WNNE is the NBC affiliated television station serving the Connecticut River Valley of eastern Vermont and western New Hampshire. Licensed to Hartford, Vermont and owned by Hearst-Argyle Television, the station has studios located in White River Junction, Vermont on Dewitt Drive. WNNE broadcasts an analog signal on UHF channel 31 from a transmitter located in Windsor, Vermont. The station broadcasts a digital signal on UHF channel 25 from a transmitter located on Mount Ascutney in Vermont. The station operates an outlying transmitter in Lebanon, New Hampshire on channel 65 with the calls W65AM. WNNE is known on-air as "News Channel 31".

WNNE is sister station and semi-satellite of WPTZ, the NBC affiliate for the Burlington, Vermont/Plattsburgh, New York market. WNNE's master control is located at WPTZ's studios in Plattsburgh. WNNE does not have its own web address because the station is located in a separate section of WPTZ's website. WPTZ's homepage is identified as "Vermont, Northern New York, and Western New Hampshire News". While WNNE clears all of WPTZ's programming, it airs separate commercials, as well as local inserts for WPTZ's newscasts. It also airs its own local identifications.

Although technically part of the Burlington / Plattsburgh television market, most of WNNE's viewership comes from the Southern New Hampshire (Keene / Concord / Manchester / Portsmouth) sub-market. The Southern New Hampshire sub-market is considered part of the Boston, Massachusetts television market. Due to this station sharing its coverage area in New Hampshire with nearby sister station and ABC affiliate WMUR-TV, the two stations occasionally share stories.

Contents

Once a separate station, the descent towards a semi-satellite of WPTZ began with the downsizing of staff in 1989. Until that point, WNNE had been a separate station with its own news staff and newscasts known as News 31. WNNE had its own a satellite truck at some point during the station's peak in the 1980s. During that time period, the station employed 2 anchors, 2 meteorologists, and 2 sports anchors. In 1991, WNNE officially became a sister station of WPTZ. WNNE's satellite truck was acquired by WPTZ to assist in news coverage from the Upper Valley region of Vermont and New Hampshire. In 1996, WPTZ took over the master controls of WNNE. In 2001, a microwave link between WPTZ and WNNE was established for live news coverage from WNNE's White River Junction studios. It also allowed WPTZ news reports from Montpelier and New York State to be seen on WNNE. On July 20, 2005, WNNE began broadcasting its digital signal.

In September of 2006, a daily weather forcast on WPTZ's website was created. The video is known as the Weather Plus Update and features a picture showing WPTZ & WNNE offering Weather Plus together, branded as "5 & 31 Weather Plus". This was seen as the first step toward the two stations beginning to offer NBC Weather Plus. Another web forcast, branded as "Weather Plus Evening Drive Forcast" with a separate WNNE "Upper Valley" version, was also created.

Beginning in October of 2006, WPTZ's main studios in Plattsburgh underwent extensive renovations. During that time, WPTZ broadcasted from a temporary studio while the renovation took place. While the studios as a whole were being upgraded, the weather department underwent the most change. In advance of the launch of NBC Weather Plus, the weather center was expanded to make room for the addition of combined WPTZ and WNNE weather graghics and logos. The remodeling was completed by late November.

WPTZ launched NBC Weather Plus on its DT2 digital subchannel on November 15, 2006, after the station launched a new digital signal from Mount Mansfield, Vermont's highest elevation a day earlier. Weather Plus does not currently broadcast on WNNE's DT2 digital subchannel although the station has been broadcasting its own digital signal from Mount Ascutney in Vermont since July 20, 2005. On digital cable, Weather Plus is carried on Comcast channel 169 and Telecom channel 305. Although the daily web forcasts show the two stations offering Weather Plus together, WPTZ's Weather Plus channel, weather page, and live Weather Plus video only refers to News Channel 5 Weather Plus.

WNNE's News Channel 31 logo.
WNNE's News Channel 31 logo.

WPTZ and WNNE use the popular News Channel branding. During WPTZ newscasts, WNNE is referred to as the "Upper Valley Bureau" and features two full-time reporters based in WNNE's White River Junction studios. In addition to the Colchester and Upper Valley bureaus, WPTZ broadcasts national news from a Washington D.C. Bureau opperated by Hearst-Argyle. The bureau employs several reporters who give live reports to the various Hearst-Argyle affiliates.

Although WPTZ and WNNE do not own or operate weather radars of their own, WPTZ uses live NOAA radar data from several regional sites in a forecasting system presented in newscasts as "Super Doppler Radar Network". It is referred to as "Storm Tracker 5000". The main signal comes from the radar located at the NWS local forcast office at Burlington International Airport. Unlike most other NBC affiliates, WPTZ does not air a weekday Noon newscast. The station had aired a Noon newscast until 2005 but it was dropped in favor of "5:30 Now".

Weekdays

  • News Channel 31 Today at 5 (5 to 6 AM)
  • News Channel 31 Today at 6 (6 to 7 AM)
  • First at Five (5 to 5:30 PM)
  • 5:30 Now (5:30 to 6 PM)
  • News Channel 31 at 6 (6 to 6:30 PM)
  • News Channel 31 at 11 (11 to 11:35 PM)

Weekends

  • News Channel 31 at 6 (6 to 6:30 PM)
  • News Channel 31 at 11 (11 to 11:30 PM)

(live weather updates are provided during the weekday editions of The Today Show)

Anchors

  • Erin Connors - 5 and 5:30 PM weekday anchor, also health reporter
  • Stephanie Gorin - 5, 6, and 11 PM anchor (also works as a professor at Plattsburgh State)
  • Thom Hallock - 6 and 11 PM anchor
  • Gabrielle Komorowski - morning anchor and reporter
  • Michelle Mortensen - weekend anchor / 5 on your side reporter

Precision Weather Meteorologists

  • Gib Brown - 5:30 meteorologist
  • Erik Heden - weekend meteorologist
  • Tom Messner - chief meteorologist seen at 5, 6, and 11 p.m.
  • Jim Moore - morning meteorologist

Sports

  • Matt Hobbs - Sports Anchor, Monday-Friday 6 & 11 pm
  • Jamie Scavotto - weekend sports anchor

Reporters

  • Malini Basu - New York reporter
  • Hailee Lampert - New York reporter
  • Stewart Ledbetter- Reporter (formerly main anchor and news director)
  • Mary Morin - Vermont reporter
  • Mia Moran - Vermont reporter
  • Kelley Morris - New York reporter
  • Ben Stein - Vermont reporter
  • Heather VanArsdel - WNNE reporter
  • Tiffany Yasus - WNNE reporter (also contributes to WPTZ reports)
  • Sally Kidd - national correspondent
  • Laurie Kinney - national correspondent
  • Traci Mitchell - weekday morning national correspondent

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