Hearst Argyle Television, Inc.

The Hearst Corporation enters broadcasting with acquisition of WSOE radio, Milwaukee. The station later becomes the foundation of WISN-TV.

Hearst acquires WTAE radio, Pittsburgh.

Hearst acquires WBAL radio, Baltimore.

WLWT-TV, Cincinnati (at the time owned by Crosley Broadcasting), WBAL-TV, Baltimore, and WDSU-TV, New Orleans, are launched in February, March and December, respectively, and are among the nation's first handful of television stations. (WLWT becomes an Argyle station in 1996 and a Hearst-Argyle station the following year. WDSU becomes a Hearst-Argyle station with the 1999 acquisition of Pulitzer Broadcasting.)

WGAL-TV is launched in the Lancaster-Harrisburg, PA, TV market. The station later joins the Hearst-Argyle family as part of Hearst-Argyle's 1999 acquisition of Pulitzer Broadcasting.

WBAL-TV is among the nation's first TV stations to transmit in color. WBAL also introduced the legendary "Romper Room" in the early 1950s. Also in the '50s, television licenses are granted for WISN-TV and WTAE-TV.

KMBC-TV is launched in Kansas City, MO. The station is acquired by Hearst Broadcasting in 1981.

WYFF-TV, Greenville, SC, WXII-TV, Greensboro/Winston-Salem, NC, and KOAT-TV, Albuquerque, are launched. The stations later join the Hearst-Argyle family as part of Hearst-Argyle's 1999 acquisition of Pulitzer Broadcasting.

KSBW-TV is launched to serve the Monterery/Salinas, CA, TV market. The station is acquired by Hearst-Argyle in 1998.

WISN-TV is launched in Milwaukee.

KOCO-TV, Oklahoma City, and KITV, Honolulu, later to become Argyle Television stations, are launched.

WPTZ-TV is launched to serve the Burlington, VT/Plattsburgh, NY TV market. The station is acquired by Hearst-Argyle in 1998.

KCRA-TV is launched in Sacramento. The station is acquired by Hearst-Argyle in 1999.

KCCI-TV is launched in Des Moines. The station later joins the Hearst-Argyle family as part of Hearst-Argyle's 1999 acquisition of Pulitzer Broadcasting.

WESH-TV is launched in Orlando. The station joins the Hearst-Argyle family as part of Hearst-Argyle's 1999 acquisition of Pulitzer Broadcasting.

WTAE-TV is launched in Pittsburgh.

License for WCVB-TV, Boston, is awarded to Boston Broadcast Corp.

Hearst acquires WDTN-TV, Dayton (where Phil Donahue first tested his innovative talk format in the 1960s); Hearst agrees to acquire KMBC-TV, Kansas City.

The New York Times declares WCVB-TV "the best television station in America."

Hearst acquires WCVB-TV for $450 million, at the time the highest price paid for a TV station.

Argyle Television is founded; acquires WNAC-TV, Providence, WZZM-TV, Grand Rapids, WAPT-TV, Jackson, Miss.

Argyle acquires WGRZ-TV, Buffalo, KITV-TV, Honolulu (including Satellite stations KMAU, Wailuku, KHVO, Hilo).

Argyle goes public on Nasdaq.

Hearst acquires WTMV-TV, Tampa, re-naming it WWWB-TV. Today, it is WMOR-TV.

Hearst launches KCWB-TV, Kansas City, through a Local Marketing Agreement, later re-naming it KCWE-TV.

Argyle acquires KHBS-TV/KHOG-TV, Ft. Smith/Fayetteville, Ark.

Argyle announces exchange of WZZM-TV and WGRZ-TV with Gannett, Inc. for WLWT-TV, Cincinnati and KOCO-TV, Oklahoma City.

Hearst acquires WPBF-TV, West Palm Beach.

Hearst Broadcasting and Argyle combine to form Hearst-Argyle Television.

Hearst-Argyle's bank credit facility and its senior notes receive investment grade ratings from Moody's and Standard & Poor's.

WISN-TV, Milwaukee, is the first station in its market to build a website around its weather brand, offering around-the-clock snow-closing information.

KITV, Honolulu, becomes America's first commercially licensed TV station to go digital, capable of providing digital high-definition television (HDTV). KITV is subsequently named "Broadcaster of the Year" by Television Broadcast magazine.

Hearst-Argyle transfers from the Nasdaq to the New York Stock Exchange; company directors and officers ring the opening bell on July 22, 1998.

Hearst-Argyle successfully completes public offering of $200 million of 20-year notes.

Hearst-Argyle refinances nearly all of its subordinated debt.

WCVB-TV's coverage of the Boston Pops July 4 concert, for which 300,000 revelers jam Boston's Esplanade, earns market-leading ratings and is simulcast on the A&E Network, in which the Hearst Corporation is a partner.

WCVB-TV pioneers local high-definition (HD) TV production with an HD episode of its acclaimed public-affiars program "Chronicle." The event marks the first local HD production in New England, and among the first nationwide.

Hearst-Argyle acquires the broadcast group of Pulitzer Publishing Co., including 9 TV stations and five radio stations. Hearst-Argyle also acquires the Sacramento, CA, television properties of Kelly Broadcasting Co., Including KCRA-TV, the NBC affiliate, and a time brokerage agreement (also known as a local marketing agreement) for KQCA-TV, the market's WB affiliate. The transactions bring Hearst-Argyle to 26 TV stations reaching about 17.5% of U.S. TV households, as well as 7 radio stations.

Hearst-Argyle Swaps WDTN-TV, Dayton and WNAC-TV, Providence for KSBW-TV, Monterey-Salinas, Calif. and WPTZ-TV/WNNE-TV, Burlington, Vt./Plattsburgh, NY.

John Conomikes steps down as president and co-CEO of Hearst-Argyle, concluding a distinguished career of more than 45 years in broadcast TV. Conomikes, who remains on the Company's Board, is succeeded by David Barrett, who had been executive vice president and chief operating officer.

Michael Pulitzer, chairman of Pulitzer Publishing (since renamed Pulitzer Inc.) joins the Hearst-Argyle board of directors.

Hearst-Argyle announces a partnership with Internet Broadcasting, a fast-growing developer of market-leading websites for TV stations, to create a "network" of websites including sites for Hearst-Argyle stations. Hearst-Argyle also acquires an equity interest in privately held Internet Broadcasting.

WCVB-TV, Boston, devotes more than 36 hours of live coverage of the tragic John F. Kennedy, Jr., plane crash.

Following a WPBF-TV (West Palm Beach, FL) news probe, revealing that area schools are unprepared for tornado threats, Palm Beach County schools change policies to strictly enforce tornado drills. This and similar efforts earn the station a rare honor by the National Weather Association.

KOCO-TV, Oklahoma City, broadcasts 27 hours of non-stop coverage of the area's devastating May tornadoes and later coordinates a drive filling 12 semi trailers with food and clothing for victims. Using the station's prominent weather-forecasting brand, KOCO also launches the innovative WeatherWarn service, which notifies mobile customers of looming weather events via pager alerts.

Hearst-Argyle acquires KQCA-TV, Sacramento's WB affiliate (previously managed by the Company under an LMA), creating a successful duopoly with its Sacramento NBC affiliate, KCRA-TV.

Hearst-Argyle becomes the first of the largest TV station groups to announce that it will commit a minimum of five minutes' airtime nightly to election coverage in the 30 days leading up to elections. The pledge becomes a cornerstone of the company's "Commitment 2000" effort to provide comprehensive political-news coverage throughout election cycles, an effort that goes on to feature debates hosted or co-hosted by network journalists including NBC's Tim Russert and Tom Brokaw and ABC's Ted Koppel, and to earn successive Walter Cronkite Awards from the University of Southern California's Annenberg School for Communication.

Hearst-Argyle becomes one of the first major station groups to announce a policy of not airing advertising for "R"-rated movies during the family viewing hour in primetime.

Hearst-Argyle partners with Belo Corp. and LIN Television to launch a Broadcast Sales Academy to train the industry's next generation of sales professionals.

In a groundbreaking industry development, Hearst-Argyle, Gannett Broadcasting, the NBC station group and NBC Enterprises jointly announce a venture to develop and carry syndicated programming on their respective stations, which collectively reach 60% of US TV households.

Following the Company's management succession plan, Bob Marbut, co-CEO since 1997, becomes non-executive chairman of Hearst-Argyle Television at year-end; David Barrett, who had been named president and co-CEO in 1999, becomes president and CEO.

The KansasCityChannel.com, the Internet Broadcasting-hosted website of KMBC-TV (Kansas City, MO) offers exclusive live footage, provided from a Web camera mounted at the Kansas City Zoo, of the birth of a rare, endangered East African Black Rhino. The view, dubbed "Rhino Cam," proves a major draw to the station's website and an early example of TV-Web "convergence."

WDSU-TV, New Orleans, receives praise from veterans' groups nationwide for its exclusive, live coverage of the National D-Day Museum's day-long opening and dedication in New Orleans. The station produces a tape of the day's highlights with all proceeds from the tape's sale benefiting the museum.

KOAT-TV, Albuquerque, brings New Mexico viewers 52 hours of non-stop coverage of the massive Los Alamos fire. KOAT's Sky 7 helicopter feeds the only live aerial shots aired internationally, via CNN. KOAT's relief efforts bring in more than 75 tons of food and supplies and raises more than $300,000 in cash donations.

WAPT-TV, Jackson, MS, unveils Live Pinpoint Doppler 16, the most powerful radar system in Mississippi, where more people have been killed by tornadoes during the last half-century than any other state.

Hearst-Argyle sells its three radio stations in Phoenix, AZ, to Emmis Communications, and acquires WMUR-TV (Manchester), New Hampshire's TV news leader, from Imes Communications, adding Hearst-Argyle's 27th TV station.

Hearst-Argyle and its stations lead the industry with numerous broadcast journalism awards, including a Walter Cronkite Award, from the University of Southern California's Annenberg School for Communication, for the Company's "Commitment 2000" project.

The NBC owned TV stations join Hearst-Argyle and other partners in the Internet Broadcasting "network" of local Websites.

A WTAE-TV, Pittsburgh, PA, investigation sparks a national crackdown on a financial "pyramid" scheme, earning a Golden Quill Award and a regional Emmy nomination.

An eight-month investigation by WESH-TV, Orlando, FL, into area day-care providers prompts legislation to change systems for managing complaints and informing parents.

KOCO-TV, Oklahoma City, secures the only local correspondence, a written "Q&A," with Oklahoma City bomber Timothy McVeigh.

The Hearst-Argyle Washington, DC, news bureau secures the first post-election sit-down interview, of any independent TV station group, with Vice President Cheney.

KCRA-TV, Sacramento, is first on-air with the widely displayed photo of former U.S. Rep. Gary Condit and murder victim Chandra Levy.

Hearst-Argyle partners with Loral to create HATSat, a dedicated satellite service allowing the Washington news bureau and all Hearst-Argyle stations to share stories.

WCVB-TV, Boston, breaks the first, exclusive, pictures and reports of the 9/11 terrorists' rental car found at Boston's Logan Airport. The WTAE-TV, Pittsburgh, coverage of the crash of 9/11 Flight 93 in Pennsylvania eventually earns Emmy and National Headliner Awards. Other East Coast Hearst-Argyle stations secure leading news coverage of various aspects of the 9/11 story pertaining to their regions. Hearst-Argyle stations collectively help raise more than $22 million for 9/11 relief efforts, through telethons and other projects.

Hearst-Argyle launches "Commitment 2002," a follow-up to its industry-leading "Commitment 2000" election-coverage effort. Like Commitment 2000, Commitment 2002 goes on to earn a prestigious Walter Cronkite Award from the University of Southern California's Annenberg School for Communication.

Hearst-Argyle and Belo launch the Producer Academy, an innovative training program for the companies' news producers modeled after the successful Broadcast Sales Academy formed earlier by Hearst-Argyle, Belo and LIN Television.

Victor Ganzi, a director of Hearst-Argyle and president and CEO of the Hearst Corporation, Hearst-Argyle's majority owner, succeeds Bob Marbut as Hearst-Argyle's chairman of the board of directors. Marbut remains on the Company's board. Frank Bennack, former CEO of the Hearst Corporation, is named presiding director of the board.

WCVB-TV celebrates the 20th anniversary of its nationally recognized, award-winning local public-affairs program "Chronicle."

Hearst-Argyle Senior VP, News, Fred Young, receives First Amendment Service Award from the Radio-Television News Directors' Foundation at a Washington, DC ceremony.

KOCO-TV, Oklahoma City, creates the state's largest weather "convergence" news effort, in concert with five area radio stations and the Oklahoma News Network, serving 42 stations statewide.

The WTAE-TV, Pittsburgh, PA, coverage of the rescue of the trapped Quecreek miners earns national attention and more viewers than any area station, and goes on to earn a National Headliner Award.

The WBAL-TV, Baltimore, coverage of the "Beltway Sniper" story earns market-leading audience levels and is shared nationally with other Hearst-Argyle stations, via HATSat, and with the NBC Network.

KCRA-TV, serving the Sacramento-Stockton-Modesto TV market, leads the market with its coverage of the disappearance of Modesto resident Laci Peterson. During the subsequent murder trial of husband Scott Peterson, KCRA innovatively uses instant-messaging for its reporter to feed updates from the courtroom to the newsroom.

News crews from various Hearst-Argyle stations head to sections of the Middle East to cover the Iraq War.

A WBAL-TV (Baltimore, MD) investigation into the mortgage-servicing business inspires similar investigations by other Hearst-Argyle stations, an effort which collectively sparks action by the U.S. Federal Trade Commission and legislation sponsored by Sen. Barbara Mikulski (D-MD) leading to changes in industry practices. WBAL-TV later receives an award for its reporting from the National Association of Consumer Advocates.

A WISN-TV, Milwaukee, WI, probe of the effectiveness of home smoke alarms spurs improvements in detection standards and earns a coveted Peabody Award.

WESH-TV, Orlando, FL, provides around-the-clock coverage of the tragic loss of the Space Shuttle Columbia, including reports on-site from Cape Canaveral. The station's reporting goes on to earn a coveted du Pont-Columbia Journalism Award.

A joint investigation by WESH-TV and the Orlando Sentinel into Central Florida homebuilding, entitled "Building Homes: Building Problems," spurs statewide industry scrutiny and goes on to earn a prestigious Peabody Award.

East Coast Hearst-Argyle stations provide market-leading, around-the-clock coverage of the impact of Hurricane Isabel in their areas, sharing their reports with Hearst-Argyle stations around the country via HATSat.

The Hearst-Argyle Television Washington, DC, news bureau secures an interview with President Bush and supplies the "pool" camera crew for other broadcast groups to conduct their own presidential interviews later that day. The Hearst-Argyle interview goes on to make national news, with coverage in most major national newspapers and broadcast news networks.

WLWT-TV, Cincinnati, OH, secures an exclusive interview with controversial former Cincinnati Reds legend Pete Rose.

KCRA-TV, Sacramento, provides live, election-night coverage of California's gubernatorial recall; the coverage is carried by C-SPAN.

WAPT-TV, Jackson, MS, secures the first interview with Thomas Hamill, the American worker who had recently escaped terrorist captivity in Iraq.

In December, the Hearst-Argyle board declares the company's first quarterly common stock dividend, of $0.06 per share.

Hearst-Argyle acquires WMTW-TV, an ABC affiliate serving the Portland-Auburn, Maine, television market, bringing the total number of TV stations owned and/or managed by the Company to 28.

Hearst-Argyle President & CEO David J. Barrett is named "Broadcaster of the Year" by Broadcasting & Cable magazine.

Hearst-Argyle television stations complete the transition to digital television (DTV) broadcasting.

WCVB-TV, Boston, becomes the region's first station to announce Spanish-language closed captioning of local newscasts; its nightly "Chronicle" program and local specials will also feature the captioning.

Hearst-Argyle stations once again set the pace in political-news coverage with "Commitment 2004," producing 65 hours of candidate/issue-centered coverage in the 30 days leading up to the November election; 29 prime-time debates and "town hall meetings"; and 32 one-on-one programs. The group earns its third consecutive Walter Cronkite Award for its efforts.

The Internet Broadcasting "network" of local-TV-oriented websites earns record traffic for coverage of major 2004 weather events, including hurricane updates. The IBS network reaches the top-tier of national news-and-information web providers, as measured by Nielsen, regularly earning more than 10 million monthly unique users and frequently besting all national newspaper websites and most TV-network websites in this key measurement.

A number of Hearst-Argyle stations, in conjunction with local cable system operators, become the first, if not only, stations in their markets to make local prgramming available to viewers via video-on-demand (VOD).

WYFF-TV, Greenville-Spartanburg, SC, produces a U.S. Senate debate simulcast nationally on C-SPAN and co-produces a Democratic primary debate simulcast on MSNBC.

NBCOlympics.com, developed by NBC in conjunction with its affiliates and with Internet Broadcasting, achieves record traffic for an Olympics website, attracting 230 million pageviews from 12 million unique visitors, all within a 16-day period surrounding the Athens games.

KCCI-TV, Des Moines, a leader in coverage of the quadrennial Iowa presidential caucuses, earns its first-ever national Edward R. Murrow Award, from the Radio-Television News Directors Association.

WMUR-TV, Manchester, NH, acquired by Hearst-Argyle in 2001 and the flagship station of the quadrennial New Hampshire presidential primary, provides record levels of news coverage of the presidential election and achieves record ratings.

Teresa Heinz Kerry's famous "shove it!" remark to a reporter at the Democratic Convention is captured exclusively by a WTAE-TV (Pittsburgh) camera crew and is subsequently telecast nationwide over all the major broadcast and cable news networks.

WBAL-TV's examination of pollution in Chesapeake Bay spurs environmental action and goes on to win a Peabody Award, the third in a row for a Hearst-Argyle station.

Hearst-Argyle increases quarterly common stock dividend to $0.07 per share.

WCVB-TV is the inaugural station profiled by Broadcasting & Cable magazine for its series on "Local Legends" in U.S. TV broadcasting.

Weather Plus, developed jointly by Hearst-Argyle and NBC along with other NBC affiliate groups, marks the first series of local weather channels using the latest forecasting technology used by local broadcasters, and and also marks one of the first uses of digital television broadcast spectrum for new services.

KOAT-TV gets the "scoop" on famous "runaway bride" Jennifer Wilbanks' mysterious arrival in Albuquerque, breaking the news before all other local and national media outlets. KOAT subsequently provides live reports for CNN and ABC.

KETV, channel 7, Omaha, launches "7 to Go" wireless service to cell phones, offering news, weather and sports updates, movie information, stock quotes and other services to mobile information-seekers.

WBAL-TV serves as media sponsor of the grand opening of Baltimore's Reginald Lewis Museum of African American History.

New Mexico First Lady Barbara Richardson holds a news conference announcing that New Mexico has moved from No. 49 in the nation to No. 15 in childrens' immunizations. During the conference, she thanks KOAT-TV for its efforts in helping increase immunizations through its "Shots for Tots" campaign.

WDSU-TV, New Orleans, faces Hurricane Katrina, providing vital news coverage to the community and assisting in rescue efforts. Eventually losing its broadcast transmission capability due to flooding, WDSU, working in tandem with other Hearst-Argyle stations, forms an ad hoc "network" for its news reporting, comprising its website and TV stations and cable systems in other cities, to reach evacuees to other locations. Hearst-Argyle establishes an Employee Disaster Relief Foundation and its stations also help raise more than $11 million, through efforts including telethons, for agencies providing relief. More can be learned here: http://www.hearstargyle.com/disaster_relief.html

Hearst-Argyle becomes an investor in Ripe Digital Entertainment, provider of RipeTV, offering younger- skewing, short-form programming for video-on-demand (VoD) and wireless platforms. Hearst-Argyle also invests in USDTV, a company providing an alternative program distribution service to cable and satellite services using a portion of TV broadcasters' digital spectrum.

Hearst-Argyle CEO David Barrett delivers keynote address at the annual convention of the US Telecom Association, calling for a partnership between the telecommunications and television broadcast industries to achieve a regulatory framework to speed introduction of emerging digital TV services.

Hearst-Argyle forms alliance with North Carolina A&T University to train journalism students, one of a number of internship/training program partnerships developed by the company.

Hearst-Argyle, as part of its "Commitment 2006" project, raises the bar on local-TV coverage of the electoral process with a pledge of a minimum 10 minutes' airtime daily political coverage leading up to primaries and elections.

Hearst-Argyle stations earn 20 regional Edward R. Murrow Awards from the Radio-Television News Directors Association, among a number of other honors.

WDSU-TV and MSNBC co-present a first-of-its-kind nationally televised debate among New Orleans mayoral candidates.

Hearst-Argyle signs a carriage agreement with Verizon for its stations in Boston, Baltimore and Tampa, marking the inaugural carriage of Hearst-Argyle programming on the emerging fiber-optic television program-distribution platform.

Hearst-Argyle and WDSU-TV commemorate the first anniversary of Hurricane Katrina with two television specials, "Song for New Orleans," celebrating the city's musical rebirth, and "Seven Days That Changed New Orleans," documenting the drama of Katrina as seen through the eyes of WDSU's news team. Both specials are carried on all the Hearst-Argyle stations, and "Song" airs on August 29, the anniversary of Katrina's landfall, on the TV One cable network. DVDs of the programs are available at www.songforneworleans.com, with a significant portion of proceeds going to rebuilding efforts.

Hearst-Argyle acquires WKCF-TV, the CW Network affiliate in Orlando. The addition of WKCF, Hearst-Argyle's 29th TV station, forms a "duopoly" with Hearst-Argyle's WESH-TV, the NBC affiliate serving Orlando, the nation's 19th largest television market.

NBC and its affiliates launch the National Broadband Company ("nbbc"), providing on-demand programming from NBC stations, affiliate stations, and outside partners. The nbbc was developed by the NBC Futures Committee, comprised of executives from NBC and Hearst-Argyle.

Two Hearst-Argyle stations earn television's highest public-service honors. WPBF-TV, West Palm Beach, receives the National Association of Broadcasters Education Foundation (NABEF) Service to America Award, at a Washington, DC, ceremony featuring former President Clinton (pictured with Hearst-Argyle CEO David Barrett; Hearst-Argyle Sr VP, News, Fred Young, left; WPBF President & GM Victoria Regan; and Hearst-Argyle EVP Terry Mackin, right). Separately, WCVB-TV, Boston, earns its latest of many Gabriel Awards, further cementing its position as arguably America's most-honored commercial television station.

WIYY-FM, Baltimore, in October becomes America's 1,000th digital high definition (HD) radio station.

WCVB-TV in October launches "Chronicle" nightly in HD, making it one of the nation's very first local public-affairs programs or newsmagazine shows to do so. WCVB aired its first HD "Chronicle" special in March 1999, broadcasting 40 HD episodes in the ensuing seven years.

Hearst-Argyle debuts quarterly prime-time specials on all its stations featuring former CNN host / commentator Carlos Watson. The inaugural episode features interviews with Sen. Hillary Clinton, musician / entrepreneur Sean "Diddy" Combs, NASCAR driver Jeff Gordon and inspirational speaker and athlete Bonnie St. John.

Hearst-Argyle reaches retransmission-consent agreement with AT&T, making it one of the first TV groups to do so, for carriage of selected TV stations over AT&T's U-verse fiber TV service.

Hearst-Argyle earns its fourth consecutive Walter Cronkite Award for excellence in TV political journalism. Hearst-Argyle becomes the only TV news provider to receive four consecutive Cronkites in any category.

WMUR-TV, Manchester, NH, innovates a political-blogging competition with social-networking website Gather.com in advance of the June presidential debates from Manchester.

Internet Broadcasting and CNN.com announce an advertising and marketing alliance combining the resources of two of the top-six news & information destinatons on the Web.

In a landmark arrangement, Hearst-Argyle's WCVB, WMUR, KCRA, WTAE and WBAL will provided video content to Google's YouTube. The arrangement will include existing and new content, including material specially developed for the Web, as well as user-generated content (UGC).

Hearst-Argyle launches HighSchoolPlaybook.com, an innovative video and social-networking site covering up to 10 high school sports.

Hearst-Argyle and Google strike an agreement in which Hearst-Argyle, through its local salesforce, will become an official reseller of Google AdWords, a first for the TV industry.

WYFF-TV, Greenville, SC, receives the Service to America Television Award from the National Association of Broadcasters Education Foundation (NABEF). It is the third consecutive year in which a Hearst-Argyle station receives this, one of the highest public-service honors in media.

Hearst-Argyle is named among Forbes Magazine's "America's 100 Most Trustworthy Companies" for the second consecutive year.