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WTKR
Norfolk/Portsmouth/Newport News, Virginia
Branding	NewsChannel 3
Slogan	Taking Action
Channels	Analog: 3 (VHF) Digital: 40 (UHF)
Translators	W44AD 39, Onancock, VA* W58AK 58, Onancock, VA* *owned by Accomack County
Affiliations	CBS (secondary until 1954)
Owner	Local TV
Founded	1950
Call letters meaning	Television Knight-Ridder (for former owner, also sounds like original calls)
Former callsigns	WTAR-TV (1950-81)
Former channel number(s)	4 (1950-1954
Former affiliations	NBC (1950-54, secondary from 1954) ABC (secondary, 1950-57)
Website	www.wtkr.com

WTKR is the CBS affiliate serving the Hampton Roads area of Virginia, officially known as the Norfolk-Portsmouth-Newport News DMA. The station is licensed to Norfolk and broadcasts on channel 3. Its transmitter is located in Suffolk, Virginia. WTKR is owned by Local TV, LLC.

Contents 1 History 1.1 Branding and Image 1.2 Weather Titles 2 News Personalities 2.1 Anchors 2.2 Weather 2.3 Sports 2.4 Reporters and Other Current Personalities 2.5 Past Personalities 3 Tower 4 References 5 External links

The station began operation on channel 4 in April 1950 as WTAR-TV, Virginia's second television station. It was a primary NBC affiliate, with secondary affiliations with CBS, ABC, and DuMont. It was owned by the Virginian-Pilot along with WTAR-AM, Virginia's first radio station. It moved to channel 3 in 1952 and became a primary CBS affliliate. When WVEC-TV signed on a year later as an NBC affiliate, WTAR shared ABC programming with WVEC until 1957, when WAVY-TV signed on as the NBC affiliate and WVEC became solely an ABC station. When the Virginian-Pilot reorganized its various holdings as Landmark Communications in 1969, WTAR-AM-FM-TV became the flagship stations.

Over the years, the station expanded its news operation to include about 30 hours of local news production per week. It also produced PM Magazine from the late 1970s to mid-1980s.

After the FCC tightened its ownership restrictions, Landmark sold its Hampton Roads television holdings. WTAR-TV went to Knight-Ridder in 1981. WTAR AM radio was still owned by Landmark, so Knight-Ridder changed the station's calls to WTKR. The new calls reflected the new ownership and also sounded similar to the old ones. WTKR was purchased by Narragansett Television in 1989, and by The New York Times Company in 1995. WTKR's current owner, Local TV, acquired the station on May 7, 2007.

Newscast title	Years used	Slogan
WTAR-TV News	1950s
Your Esso Reporter	1950s
(WTAR-TV/WTKR-TV) News 3	1970s-1992	Part of Your Life (1970s) Discover the Land of the 3 (1986-1989) Discover the Difference (1986-1992)
Channel 3 Eyewitness News	1992-1994	Hampton Roads' #1 News Source Hampton Roads' Most-Watched News Station (c. 1994)
TV-3 News	1994-1995	It's Time for TV-3 News
NewsChannel 3	1995-2003	Where Local News Comes First (1995-1997/1998) News. It's Our First Name. (Late 1990s) Coverage You Can Count On. (Late 1990s-2002)
Your NewsChannel 3	2003-2007	Your NewsChannel 3 Your 3
NewsChannel 3	2007-present	Taking Action

• TV-3 WeatherVision/TV-3 Forecast Center (1994-1995)
• Live Neighborhood Radar (1995-199?)
• Storm Team 3 (1995-late 1990s)
• Triple Doppler Radar/Triple Doppler Forecast Center (1998-2007)
• Live VIPIR Radar/Live VIPIR Forecast Center (2007-Present)

• Domonique Benn, weekday morning
• Barbara Ciara, noon, 5:00pm
• Matt Keller, weekday morning
• Bianca Martinez, 5:30pm, 6:00pm and 11:00pm
• Sara Morris, weekend 6:00pm and 11:00pm
• Pat McReynolds, 5:00pm, 6:00pm, and 11:00pm
• Laila Muhammad, weekend mornings
• Kurt Williams, noon and 5:30pm

• Mike Harvey, chief meteorologist, weekday evening
• Vanessa Murdock, weekend evening
• Patrick Rockey, morning and noon
• Dave Parker, weekend morning

• Jason Barr, weekend sports anchor, reporter

• Ted Alexander (general assignment/The Locker Room Host)
• Domonique Benn (general assignment)
• Marie Coronel (general assignment)
• Stacy Davis (military reporter)
• Mike Mather (Investigative)
• Bob Matthews (Virginia Beach)
• Sara Morris (general assignment)
• Vanessa Murdock (features)
• Laila Muhammad (general assignment)
• Blaine Stewart (general assignment)
• Kristen Crowley (traffic)

• Stacey Baca, weekend morning anchor from 1996 until 1998. Now at WLS-TV in Chicago.^[1]
• Betty Anne Bowser, reporter, co-anchor in the 1960s and 70s. Later a correspondent for CBS News (1973-86) and PBS's NewsHour (1986-present). Former co-anchor of 30 Minutes, a news magazine program that won four Emmys, a DuPont-Columbia Award and a Peabody Award.^[2]
• Troy Brettson, sports director from 2005 until 2006.
• Cynthia Brooks, morning co-anchor from 2002 until 2005.
• Wally Bruckner, sports anchor in summer 1985. Later worked in Richmond and at WRC-TV in Washington, DC.
• John Castleberry, sports anchor during the mid-late 1990s, previously weekend sports anchor at WAVY during the 1980s. Now hosts a daily radio show on 102.1 The Game WXTG. Husband of former WAVY anchor and "Living the Life" co-host Carolyn Castleberry.
• Glenn "Corey" Corillo, anchor during the late-80s to the mid-90s. Unsuccessfully ran against Virginia Beach mayor Meyera E. Oberndorf in spring 2000.
• Cory Curtis, sports director from 2006 to 2007, now at WKRN in Nashville.
• Nate Custer, longtime reporter from 1966 until 2005.
• Kelli Durand, weekend meteorologist from 2003 until 2006.
• Joe Flanagan, host of WTKR's PM Magazine from 1980 to 1985, now at WVEC.
• Betty Francis, weekend news anchor during the 1980s.
• Jane Gardner, main co-anchor during the early-mid 1990s. Also co-hosted WTKR's "Live at 9" program in the mid-late 90s.
• Stan Garfin, sports anchor during 1970s and early 80s.
• Dale Gauding, investigative reporter until leaving for WVEC in 1998.
• Lisa Godley - reporter until 2007
• Pete Grigsby, meteorologist from 1996 to 1999, now at KMBC in Kansas City.
• Jim Hale, sports reporter, anchor from late 80s to mid 90s. Was a morning and noon anchor at WTVR in Richmond from the late 90s until 2000.
• Dr. Duane Harding, chief weathercaster from 1990 until 1996; when he was fired.^[3]
• Kelly Harvey Jones, weekend anchor from 1999-2002, later went to WVEC.
• Michelle Harvey, evening news anchor during late 1980s.
• Rick Holmes, reporter from 1999 until 2007. Now at News 12 New Jersey.
• Chris Hopkins, morning and noon co-anchor from 2002 until 2005.
• Ed Hughes, often called the Walter Cronkite of Hampton Roads, from 1967 (as WTAR) to his death from cancer in 2004.
• George Johnson, weekend sports anchor from 1998 until 2001. Now at WISC-TV in Madison, WI.
• Gene Kapp, started as a reporter in 1983, became 11pm co-anchor in 1987 until 1992, later a spokesman for CBN.
• Sandra Kelly, anchor in the early 1980s. Previously at WAVY. Now associate rector at Tampa's St. John Episcopal Church.^[4]
• Ann Keffer, anchor in the 1980s-1990s. Now hosts ExploreHealth with Sentara, a 30-minute health show shown on WTKR Saturdays at 7:00pm ^[5] (the program is not produced by WTKR)
• Beverly Kidd, joined station in 1993 and was morning co-anchor from 1997 until 2001. Now at KTVK in Phoenix.
• Becky Livas, newscaster and talk show hostess/producer "People Places & Things", "3 In The Morning", 1971-1980 (then WTAR-TV). Now middle school teacher in Suffolk and cabaret/jazz singer at venues throughout Hampton Roads. Mother of WAVY & WVBT anchor Nicole Livas.
• Ross MacCallum, news and sports anchor from 1985 to 1992. Also worked at WAVY from 1993 to 1995.
• Lee Mahaffey, morning anchor from 2000 until 2002. Now anchor at WTVR-TV in Richmond.
• Karen May, weekend anchor from 2002 until 2006.
• Paula Miller, reporter from 1984 until 1999. Now representative in the Virginia House of Delegates.^[6]
• Priscilla Monti, reporter from 1999 until 2007.
• Gerald Owens, political reporter and anchor from 1995 until 1998. Now at WRAL-TV in Raleigh.
• Greg Padgett, meterologist from 1995 to 1998.
• Lou Paris, reporter and news director from 1976-1987. Returned to active duty in the U.S. Air Force. Now retired, living in Germantown, TN.
• Pat Paris, sports director from 2000 to 2001.
• Jeffrey Prier, meteorologist from 2001 until 2003.
• Ben "Sonny" Pulliam, news photographer from 1953 to 1996 (died in 2006).
• LeAnne Rains, main co-anchor from 1995 until 2001. Now known as LeAnne Rains-Benedetto.
• Tom Randles, main co-anchor from the early 1990s until 2005. Now weekend anchor at WSMV-TV in Nashville.
• Mike Rasnick, sports reporter during 70s and early 80s. Later at CBN.
• Bob Rathbun, sports anchor from 1990 until 1991. Now play-by-play announcer for Atlanta Hawks.
• Andy Roberts, chief weathercaster/announcer for over 35 years until 1990, continued to forecast on noon and 5pm newscasts until his retirement in 1992.
• Jeff Rucker, meteorologist on various newscasts from 1995 until 1999, now cheif meteorologist at WAGT in Augusta, GA.
• Mike Simon, noon & 5:30pm meteorologist until 2003. Known as Mike Cuevas as chief meteorologist at WLOS in Asheville.
• Yvonne Simons, reporter. Now news director at KBCI-TV in Boise, ID.
• Brian Sinkoff, weekend sports anchor until 2005. Now sports director at WTEN in Albany, NY.
• Stephanie Sy, fill-in anchor and military reporter from 2001 until 2003. Now reporter for ABC News.
• Sal Urbano, sports anchor from 1985 to 1988.
• Lyn Vaughn, evening co-anchor from July 1999 until 2001 after 14 years with CNN Headline News.
• Bob West, "Point's West" host 1980s-1990s
• Tal White, Weekend weathercaster from 1994-1995, 1999-2002, Fill-in forecaster from 2003-2005, worked at WWBT in Richmond in between stints.
• Stacy Wiggins, reporter until 2006.

WTKR-TV transmission tower is located in northwest part of Suffolk, Virginia. WTKR (analog ch. 3) transmits with 100 kilowatts of power from an antenna located at a height of 981 feet. WTKR-DT (digital ch. 40) transmits with 950 kilowatts of power at a height of 1250 feet on a tower owned by ATC and co-located with WHRO, WTVZ and WPXV. It is the tallest antenna in southeastern Virginia.

1. ^ http://abclocal.go.com/wls/story?section=bios&id=3396477
2. ^ http://www.pbs.org/newshour/aboutus/bio_bowser.html
3. ^ http://scholar.lib.vt.edu/VA-news/VA-Pilot/issues/1996/vp960116/01160263.htm
4. ^ http://www.vartv.com/archives04c.htm
5. ^ http://www.sentara.com/Sentara/HealthInfo/ExploreHealthWithSentara/Television/
6. ^ http://www.electpaulamiller.com/

• WTKR Homepage
• WTKR MySpace Page
• 3onthego.com
• Query the FCC's TV station database for WTKR

v • d • e Broadcast television in the Norfolk / Virginia Beach / Newport News, Virginia (Hampton Roads) market  (Nielsen DMA #42)

WUND 2 / WUNP 36 (PBS/UNC-TV) - WTKR 3 (CBS) - WGBS-LP 7 (Ind) - WAVY 10 (NBC) - WVEC 13 (ABC) - WHRO 15 (PBS) - WYSJ-CA 19  (ShopNBC) - WHRE 21 (TBN) - W25CS 25 (Religious) - WGNT 27 (The CW) - WTVZ 33 (MNTV) - WVBT 43 (Fox) - WPXV 49 (ION)  Local digital television channels WSKY 4 (Ind) Defunct television stations WPEN-LP 68 (MTV2)  Local cable and satellite television channels, and digital television subchannels LNC5 - WAVY Weather Station

v • d • e CBS Network Affiliates in the state of Virginia
WTKR 3 (Norfolk) - WTVR 6 (Richmond) - WDBJ 7 (Roanoke) - WCAV 19 (Charlottesville)
See also: ABC, CW, Fox, MyNetworkTV, NBC, PBS, and Other stations in Virginia

v • d • e Local TV LLC
Corporate officers: Randy Michaels (Chairman and CEO) · Robert Lawrence ABC: WNEP • WQAD | CBS: KFSM • WHNT • WREG • WTKR | NBC: KFOR • WHO | MyNetworkTV: KAUT | Local Weather Channel: WQAD WX Channel
Annual Revenue: Unknown at this time · Employees: Unknown at this time · Stock Symbol: None, privately held · Website: www.localtvllc.com