is a cable-based news station located in
St Petersburg, Florida . It currently serves the
Tampa Bay Area including
Hillsborough ,
Pinellas ,
Manatee ,
Polk ,
Pasco ,
Hernando , and
Citrus counties.
It was originally created by cable service operator
Time Warner , which owned the system at the time, to make local news available continuously throughout this fast-growing region. Former
WTSP news anchor Al Ruechel was one of its first anchors and remains with the operation. Four original anchors remain with the station: Ruechel, Jen Holloway, Mike Clay and Alan Winfield. Winfield only works during hurricanes after leaving the station full time in 2006 to join the ministry.
General Manager Elliot Wiser came from Seattle to create the station. His drawing of the original wheel remains on the wall of the station hallway. Wiser also created the Bay News 9 weather channel, the Spanish channel, the on demand channels and the web site. He also created a 24-hour sports channel called Catch 47.
The station began operating on
September 24 ,
1997 and gives weather updates every ten minutes "on the nines" and more frequently during unusual weather conditions. In
2002 , it was first in the area to provide a VIPIR Doppler radar system.
It is seen on channel 9 on all systems, except for Pasco County, Florida, where it's seen on channel 6 (
WTSP is on channel 9, due to its transmitter location). Using cutting edge technology, that has been copied by CNN Headline News, the newscasts are recorded for repeat broadcasts with breaking news and weather forecasts inserted almost hourly. Frequent weather reports are always live.
- Bay News 9's Logo, designed by J.C. Burns of Atlanta, has remained the same since 1997.
- Bay News 9 has had one slogan change since 1997, which occurred in 2002 just before the first graphics/music overhaul. Originally the slogan was "Your News All The Time." Today, it's "Your News Channel." It used to be possible to reach an assignment editor at the station 24 hours a day; in recent years, they phone stops being answered at around 11pm; whether this is the reason for the change is unclear.
Bay News 9 provides the following newscasts and segments as part of its 24-hour news cycle.
began airing in 2000 and provides news, traffic, and weather from 5 to 9am on weekdays.
In 2003, Bay News 9 introduced "The 7:00 News," a prime-time newscast that provides breaking news, the day's top stories and a national news segment called 'The Nightly News Digest'. This separate newscast has since been immersed into "Your Evening News", which has aired since 2000.
The 10:00 News was part of a short-lived primetime lineup that aired from 2000 to 2003. The hour-long newscast was originally preceded by another one-hour counterpart called "9 at Nine," which fizzled out in 2002.
In 1999, Bay News 9 introduced a team of experts who report on a variety of medical issues. Six of the "Health Team 9" members are licensed physicians who report the latest medical news on "Health Team 9 Health Watch" every morning. The seventh member is a health reporter who reports on late-breaking medical headlines during "Health Team 9 Medical Beat" during the primetime news. One of the original "Health Team 9" members, Dr.
Joette Giovinco , now works for
WTVT .
These short, four to five minute reports have long since been a staple of Bay News 9. They are primarily geared towards an array of lifestyle topics (except the "Extra on Special Assignment" report, which is directed towards investigative reports).
- Multi-day reports.
- ---Health Team 9 Health Watch - Health Issues - Reported by the Health Team 9 team of doctors - Airs Monday-Friday at :23/hour, 5am-5pm.
- ---Health Team 9 Medical Beat - Late-Breaking Medical Headlines - Reported by - Airs Monday-Friday at :53/hour, 5pm-5am.
- ---EXTRA on Special Assignment - Investigative reports - Airs Sunday-Thursday at :23/hour, 5pm-5am.
--Every Wednesday is a transportation report titled "Getting There", which highlights major roadway projects and other traffic-related issues.
--Every Sunday is a technology report titled "Technology and You", which highlights different technologies that can make a difference in today's world. Sometimes, local inventors and companies are profiled in this report.
- Weekly reports
- ---EXTRA on Getting There - Component to "EXTRA on Special Assignment" and mainly focuses on Transportation-related issues - Airs Wednesday evenings at :23/hour.
- ---EXTRA on Everyday Heroes - People who make a difference in the community - Reported by - Airs Monday mornings at :53/hour.
- ---EXTRA on the Web - Website profiles/reviews - Reported by - Airs Tuesday mornings at :53/hour.
- ---The Chef's Kitchen - Delectable cuisines and recipes - Hosted by - Airs Wednesday mornings at :53/hour. ''Note: '''Floyd the Food Guy''' recipes are still available on '''Tampa Bay On Demand'''.
- ---Mrs. Fixit - Home Improvement Tips - Hosted by - Airs Thursday mornings and Sunday evenings at :53/hour.
- ---EXTRA on the Town - Weekend event calendar - Reported by - Airs Friday mornings at :53/hour.
- ---EXTRA on Demand - A look at new services on Bright House's interactive local guides (B.H. Channels 340/341/342) - Airs Friday evenings at :23/hour.
- ---Health Team 9 on Fitness - Fitness/Exercise/Dieting tips - Airs Saturday mornings at :53/hour.
- ---Florida on a Tankful - Similar to WTVT 's - Airs Saturday mornings at :53/hour.
- ---EXTRA on the Water - Fishing tips - Airs Saturday evenings at :23/hour.
