WFMZ-TV, virtual channel 69 (UHF digital channel 46), is a general interest independent television station in Allentown, Pennsylvania, which is part of the Philadelphia DMA. Its studio and transmitter are located on South Mountain in Allentown.

Background [link]

WFMZ went on the air on Thanksgiving 1976 with two daily newscasts and a mix of religious and general interest programming. (An earlier television station with the WFMZ calls, also based in Allentown, operated on channel 67 from December 1954 to April 1955.)

WFMZ mainly serves the Lehigh Valley and Berks County areas with cable coverage in much of the Philadelphia DMA. There is over-the-air signal coverage in some northwest New Jersey counties that are part of the New York City DMA. WFMZ also serves as a local station in news and cable coverage to Carbon County and Monroe County within the Wilkes-Barre-Scranton DMA.

Programming [link]

The schedule consists of first run syndicated programs like Judge Judy, Judge Joe Brown, Family Feud, and Dr. Phil, off-network syndicated programs like Cold Case Files, Law & Order: Criminal Intent and Cash Cab and classic TV shows like Matlock, along with news rebroadcasts and a simulcast of The 69News AccuWeather Channel during the overnight hours. The station also produces various local programs about business, sports and health related issues.

Local programming [link]

• The American Law Journal – The American Law Journal debuted in 1990 and is hosted by attorney Christopher Naughton, who is joined by various attorneys who answer questions about law related topics. Viewers can call in and receive free advice from any of the attorneys about the topic of the week. It airs live on Mondays at 7 p.m.
• Animal Doctor – Animal Doctor is hosted by Kathy Craine. Veterinarians from around the region join Kathy as they discuss various animal and pet related issues. It airs the first Monday of every month at 7:30 p.m.
• The Big Ticket – The Big Ticket is a high school football highlight show that airs every Friday at 11pm during the high school football season. Highlights from local games in The Lehigh Valley and Berks County air along with interviews from players & coaches. It debuted in 1995 and is currently hosted by Troy Hein & Jim Vaughn, with reports from Dave Lesko.
• Business Matters – Business Matters is a program hosted by Tony Iannelli, where a panel of experts gather to discuss various business issues. It airs Mondays at 8:00 p.m.
• The Freddy Awards – The Freddy Awards, which debuted in 2003, are fashioned after Broadway’s Tony Awards. A panel of evaluators view participating high schools' musical performances. The best are honored in a ceremony that is broadcast live in HD on WFMZ every year. Ed Hanna and Shelley Brown host the ceremony from The State Theater in Easton.
• Lehigh Sports Magazine – Lehigh Sports Magazine is hosted by Jim Vaughn and features interviews with Lehigh University coaches and players. It airs Mondays at 8:30 p.m. during Lehigh's fall sports season.
• Talk With Your Doctor – Talk With Your Doctor is hosted by Doug Eberhart, who is joined by various doctors from St. Luke's Hospital, and offers viewers the chance to call in and receive free medical advice. It airs Mondays at 6:30 p.m.

Digital television [link]

WFMZ-DT subchannels

The 69News AccuWeather Channel [link]

WFMZ debuted The 69News AccuWeather Channel on February 5, 2001. It is broadcast on WFMZ DT2 and digital cable 24-hour a day, 7 days a week, and according to WFMZ, was the first 24-hour local weather channel in the United States. Local weather updates are given every 15 minutes from one of WFMZ's meteorologists, plus national updates provided by AccuWeather. A link on the station's website offers live streaming video of this channel. This channel is entirely locally produced, unlike The Local AccuWeather Channel associated with other AccuWeather-affiliated stations.

Weekdays

• Morning Outlook (5 a.m.-noon): Matt Broderick
• Afternoon Outlook (noon-5 p.m.): Matt Broderick
• Evening Outlook (5-11 p.m.): Ed Hanna (Mon-Tue) or Amanda Cox (Wed-Fri)
• Overnight Outlook (11 p.m.-5 a.m.): Ed Hanna (Mon-Tue) or Amanda Cox (Wed-Fri)

Weekends

• Morning Outlook (5 a.m.-noon): Mark Shanaberger
• Afternoon Outlook (noon-5 p.m.): Mark Shanaberger
• Evening Outlook (5-10:30 p.m.): Amanda Cox
• Overnight Outlook (10:30 p.m.-5 a.m.): Amanda Cox

News operation [link]

WFMZ-TV originally had two daily newscasts called "Newspulse" that ran when the station launched in 1976. These would be renamed "Channel 69 News" until finally being shortened to "69 News". Those two newscasts have expanded to over fifty a week including a nightly local Spanish newscast (which launched in February 2003). In 2005, WFMZ formed a partnership with Philadelphia station WPVI which allows the stations to cooperate in news gathering purposes. The current set for 69 News debuted in April 2006. High-definition news broadcasts began on May 1, 2008 making WFMZ the fourth station in the Philadelphia market to air HD news.

News/station presentation [link]

Newscast titles [link]

• Newspulse (1976–Sept 1987)
• Channel 69 News (Sept 1987–1999)[1]
• 69 News (1999–present)

Station slogans [link]

• Your Local News Station (1990s-1999)
• Your Life, Your World, Your News (1999–present)

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News team [link]

Current on-air staff [link]

Anchors

• Perla López Baray - weeknights Edición en Español (11 p.m.)
• John Derr - Saturday evenings, also health beat reporter
• Jaciel Cordoba - weekday mornings Sunrise and noon
• Wendy Davis - weeknights at 5, 5:30, 6 and 10 p.m.
• Karin Mallett - Sunday evenings; also "One Tank Trip" feature reporter
• Eve Tannery - weekday mornings Sunrise and noon
• Rob Vaughn - weeknights at 5, 5:30, 6 and 10 p.m.

Weather team

• Matt Broderick - meteorologist; weekday mornings Sunrise and noon
• Amanda Cox (AMS member; NWA member) - meteorologist; weekend evenings
• Kathy Craine - weeknights at 6 p.m.
• Ed Hanna (AMS member; NWA member) - chief meteorologist, weeknights at 5, 5:30, 10 & 10:30 p.m.
• Mark Shanaberger (AMS member) - meteorologist; fill-in meteorologist, also weekday photographer
• Zenddy Caicedo Tintle - weeknights Edición en Español (11 p.m.)

Sports team

• Troy Hein - sports director; weeknights at 5, 6, 10, 10:30 p.m.
• Jim Vaughn - sports anchor; weekend evenings, also sports reporter & photographer
• Roberto Vinces - sports anchor; weeknights Edición en Español (11 p.m.)
• Dave Lesko - sports reporter, also chief sports photographer

Reporters

• John Craven - Saturday-Wednesday reporter
• Pam Cunningham - Berks Edition reporter
• Kimberly Davidow - Berks Edition reporter
• Rosa Duarte - weekday evening & Edición en Español reporter
• Rick Edwards - weekday morning & evening traffic reporter
• Melanie Falcon- Sunrise reporter
• Jaccii Farris - senior reporter/docujournalist
• Paola Giangiacomo- weekday evening reporter
• Catherine Hawley- Wednesday-Sunday reporter
• Ryan Hughes - Berks Edition reporter
• Bo Koltnow - weekday evening reporter
• Will Lewis - weekday evening reporter
• Dwayne Parker - Berks Edition and Edición en Español reporter
• Nancy Werteen - Thursday reporter

Out of market cable, satellite and over the air coverage [link]

In the western part of the New York DMA in New Jersey, it is carried in Phillipsburg and Milford on basic cable. In northwestern part of the state for Comcast Northwest - Port Murray subscribers, it is available on digital cable alongside with KYW, WTXF and WCAU. It is not carried on satellite in the NYC DMA side of the market. Over-the-air reception from its main transmitter begins to fade away past US Highway 206.

See also [link]

• Media in the Lehigh Valley

External links [link]

• Official Web Site of WFMZ-TV
• WFMZ Wireless
• Query the FCC's TV station database for WFMZ
• BIAfn's Media Web Database -- Information on WFMZ-TV
• Official Web Site of WFMZ's Accu-Weather Channel