News Operation
KMGH-TV presently broadcasts a total of 33½ hours of locally produced newscasts each week (with 5½ hours on weekdays, two hours on Saturdays and four hours on Sundays). Unlike most stations affiliated with ABC or its competitors, KMGH does not produce a local newscast in the 6 p.m. time slot on weeknights, opting to fill the hour with episodes of Jeopardy! and Wheel of Fortune (the station's previous 6 p.m. news program was canceled after the May 26, 2006 broadcast).
While KLZ-TV always had a strong line-up of local and syndicated programs during the station's early years, it was obviously helped by CBS's longtime dominance nationally. It led the 10 p.m. news ratings from the early 1960s until 1977, when it was displaced from the #1 slot by KBTV, which benefited from ABC's primetime rating increases as well as an improved news product that took advantage of live electronic news-gathering technology. KMGH-TV was actually the first in the market to use ENG equipment in 1975, with its "Insta Cam", which was never promoted on the air. In 1970, Channel 7's newscasts had a 40% ratings share, while KOA-TV and KBTV were battling to stay out of last place, each pulling in about a 24 share for their newscasts. By the end of the decade, KBTV had a 54% ratings share at 10 p.m., more than all of the other stations combined.
Channel 7's 10 p.m. news team in the 1960s was helmed by news anchor Carl Akers, weatherman Warren Chandler and Starr Yelland with sports. All three did live commercials as part of the program. John Rayburn joined the 10 p.m. newscast in 1964, before departing for KBTV in 1967. In 1966, Akers took a short-lived retirement only to show up a year later at KBTV as anchor and news director; he was replaced at channel 7 by Bob Palmer from KOA-TV. The team of Palmer, Chandler and Yelland continued until 1975, when Terry Phillips was added as a news co-anchor; Phillips was replaced by John Lindsey in 1976. Palmer returned to KOA-TV in 1982.
From December 1994 to August 1997, the station operated a weather radar system known as "Doppler Max7", that was heavy promoted during the failed "Real Life, Real News" era. On July 15, 2002, KMGH-TV became the first major market television station in the world to broadcast fully automated newscasts. A computer system, known as ParkerVision, combines the work of several technical personnel in a program requiring just a single operator. Ten studio cameras, channels of audio, all art graphics and electronic titling along with tape operations are programmed and played back live by one person instead of seven people.
KMGH began broadcasting its local newscasts in high definition on August 18, 2008. On May 26, 2011, KMGH moved its hour-long 4 p.m. newscast 7 News Now to 3 p.m. and reduced the program to a news broadcast (The Dr. Oz Show moved into the newscast's former 4 p.m. timeslot); the program ended after the September 7, 2012 broadcast, in order to accommodate the syndicated talk show Katie.
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