WPTA - News Operation

News Operation

Under Combined Communications ownership, WPTA significantly invested in local newscast production. During that time, Wes Sims and Harry Gallagher were co-anchors with meteorologist Bill Eisenhood and sports anchor Tom Campbell. In July 1978, WPTA constructed a new news set. Also, newscasts that had been in the Eyewitness News format were replaced with the current "Alive" (as "21 Alive") format that remains to this day. WXIA in Atlanta is another former Combined station that currently includes "Alive" in its name. In Summer 1984, the station received its first live truck to assist in news production.

After being taken over by Granite, WISE-TV's news department was promptly folded and combined with WPTA. The company fired those who worked at WISE-TV with the exception of lead anchor Linda Jackson who was integrated into the WPTA operation. That station began airing a weeknight newscast at 7 which was the first and, at the time, only one in the state of Indiana. On September 11, 2006, this was replaced with an extra episode of Dr. Phil due to low ratings. In November 2005, after several months of using the "Alive" news brand on both stations, WPTA debuted a new set in the basement of its studios formerly used to tape public-affairs programs such as Impact. With it came a new branding for the newscasts, Indiana's NewsCenter.

When WPTA took over production of news on WISE-TV, there was initially a significant decrease in ratings. WANE-TV was the market's news leader for several years after that according to Nielsen Media Research since it was the only other local news operation in the area. This was most easily attributed to continued viewer resentment towards WPTA and Granite for the elimination of WISE-TV's news department and arguably its identity and history. However, WPTA management said the changes were part of a longer-term plan that would need up to five years to take hold with viewers. Part of the plan to win back viewers included new technology such as text messaging, an improved website with more online video, and upgrading weather equipment to a VIPIR system.

Eventually, the changes started to take hold and ratings began to drastically improve. In the November 2007 sweeps period, WPTA and WANE-TV were nearly neck-and-neck in the Fort Wayne television news ratings race with WANE-TV continuing to show a slight lead. Starting July 24, 2006, WISE-TV began airing a weeknight prime time newscast at 10 for a half-hour on its NBC Weather Plus subchannel. With the September 2006 change to MyNetworkTV on WISE-DT2 and the addition of The CW on WPTA's second digital subchannel, the show (known as Indiana's NewsCenter Prime News) became part of those channel's schedules through a simulcast. On May 18, 2009, WPTA and WISE-TV became the first two stations in Fort Wayne to air local newscasts in 16:9 aspect ratio.

In September 2009, Granite began producing a pre-recorded weeknight prime time newscast at 10 on sister station MyNetworkTV affiliate WMYD in Detroit. The broadcast features news anchor Melissa Long, Chief Meteorologist Curtis Smith, and Sports Director Dean Pantazi. There are locally-based Detroit reporters, who contribute stories to the show, as well as multimedia journalist Dave Leval who also appears on WPTA and WISE-TV. The news share agreement was established after the Butler Road facilities became a master control hub for Granite's Midwestern stations and WMYD's loss of broadcast rights to Detroit Pistons games. Previously, that station had been airing another pre-taped weeknight prime time newscast at 10 produced by the Independent News Network in Davenport, Iowa.

During the Indiana's NewsCenter era, WPTA co-produced newscasts with WISE-TV that were essentially the same in terms of coverage and format. Simulcasted shows on both stations included weekday mornings (except for first half hour at 5 a.m. on WPTA), weeknights at 6, and weekends. WPTA aired separate weekday noon as well as weeknight 5, 5:30, and 11 o'clock news. WISE-TV did not (and continues not to) air broadcasts weeknights at 5 and 5:30 unlike most NBC affiliates in the Eastern Time Zone. For a time,WISE-DT2 offered rebroadcasts of the entire weekday morning show at 7, midday noon news at 1, and weeknight 6 o'clock newscast at 6:30.

On October 14, 2012 at 11 p.m., WPTA aired its first newscast in high definition. With this, newscasts on the station returned to the 21Alive News name. WPTA and WISE-TV simulcasted news under respective titles until March 4, 2013, when the latter began its own newscasts with a separate news team. News resources continue to be shared. Parts of the Indiana's NewsCenter brand remain in use as of May 2013, such as the stations' website, INCnow.tv.

WPTA and WISE-TV do not currently use their own on-site weather radar, instead using NEXRAD data with VIPIR processing under the name Pinpoint VIPIR HD.