needs additional citations for verification . please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources . unsourced material may be challenged and removed . february 2008 learn how and when to remove this template message katu portland oregon united states branding katu general katu news newscasts pronounced k 2 slogan on your side . channels digital 43 uhf virtual 2 psip subchannels 2.1 abc 2.2 metv 2.3 comet affiliations abc 1964 present owner sinclair broadcast group sinclair portland licensee llc first air date march 15 1962 ; 54 years ago 1962 03 15 call letters meaning pronounced k 2 sister station s kunp komo tv kuns tv former channel number s analog 2 vhf 1962 2009 former affiliations independent 1962 1964 transmitter power 1000 kw height 524 metres 1 719 feet facility id 21649 transmitter coordinates 45 30 57 n 122 44 3 w 45.51583 n 122.73417 w 45.51583 ; 122.73417 licensing authority fcc public license information profile cdbs website katu.com katu virtual channel 2 uhf digital channel 43 is an abc affiliated television station located in portland oregon united states . the station is owned by the sinclair broadcast group 1 as part of a duopoly with univision affiliate kunp channel 16 . the two stations share studios and offices located on ne sandy boulevard in northeastern portland katu s transmitter is located in the sylvan highlands section of the city . contents 1 history 2 digital television 2.1 digital channels 2.2 analog to digital conversion 3 news operation 3.1 notable current on air staff 3.2 notable former on air staff 4 translators 5 heliport 6 see also 7 references 8 external links history edit a construction permit for channel 2 portland s last available channel allocation on the vhf band was issued to fisher s blend station inc. later known as fisher communications as early as weasel words 1958 . citation needed however katu did not begin broadcasting until march 15 1962 originally operating as an independent station . 2 the station s transmitter was originally when located atop livingston mountain about 7 miles 11 km nne of camas washington . citation needed on january 19 1964 katu moved its transmitter site 21 miles 34 km to portland s west hills to improve its signal coverage . citation needed just over a month later it took over the abc affiliation in portland away from kptv channel 12 on march 1 1964 . this made katu the fourth television station in the portland market in less than a decade to have affiliated with abc full time after klor kgw channel 8 and kptv . citation needed it is also portland s longest lasting abc affiliate to date . citation needed katu is the only one of the first five television stations in portland to have operated out of the same studio at 2153 n.e. sandy boulevard since it went on the air although the building had earlier been used as a laundry for many years . citation needed in 2002 katu tv celebrated its 40th anniversary . to mark the occasion it updated its on air graphics and introduced a new news set ; the station also aired stories from past newscasts . citation needed from december 2008 to june 11 2009 katu and the other fisher owned stations were not carried by dish network due to a dispute over retransmission consent compensation . 3 on april 10 2013 katu and fisher communications other holdings were acquired by the sinclair broadcast group . 4 5 the federal communications commission granted its approval of the deal on august 7 6 and the sale was completed the following day . 1 digital television edit digital channels edit the station s digital channel is multiplexed channel video aspect psip short name programming 7 2.1 720p 16 9 katu hd main katu programming abc 2.2 katu sd metv 2.3 480i comet comet on june 25 2012 katu switched its second digital subchannel from this tv on january 15 2016 katu switched its third digital subchannel from gettv . analog to digital conversion edit on july 17 2008 at 6 15 p.m. katu conducted a test for viewers to determine whether their television sets were ready for the digital television transition by turning off its analog signal for 10 seconds which the station conducted other times through the spring of 2009 . katu shut down its analog signal over vhf channel 2 on june 12 2009 the official date in which full power television stations in the united states transitioned from analog to digital broadcasts under federal mandate . the station s digital signal remained on its pre transition uhf channel 43 8 9 using psip to display the station s virtual channel as its former vhf analog channel 2 . during the last segment of the station s 11 p.m. newscast anchor steve dunn reported from katu s master control facility giving last minute information on the digital television transition before the switch occurred . news operation edit a katu news van in 2007 sporting the old logo . katu presently broadcasts 33 hours of locally produced newscasts each week with 5 hours on weekdays and three hours each on saturdays and sundays . during the november 2006 and february 2007 sweeps periods katu finished in third place overall in the local newscast ratings behind kgw and kptv . citation needed in 2006 katu won two edward r. murrow awards including an investigative piece reported by anna song on a newborn baby that was left severely brain damaged by ohsu hospital . citation needed song also won dual first place 2006 associated press awards in best writing and best investigative reporting . citation needed on october 11 2007 katu became the third television station in portland to begin broadcasting its local newscasts in 16 9 widescreen standard definition . in april 2008 katu introduced a revamped set that expanded to the entire studio that was designed specifically for high definition broadcasts in 2009 . previously the studio was divided in half with one side the news set and the other the am northwest set . the new set was one of the most expensive projects in katu history . citation needed katu started testing high definition newscasts on august 8 2009 . the full rollout premiered during their 4 p.m. newscast on august 17 2009 making it the second station in the portland market to begin broadcasting its local newscasts in high definition . notable current on air staff edit anna canzano weekend mornings and weekend evenings ; also investigative reporter brian wood weekdays anchor notable former on air staff edit jack faust hosted the weekly public affairs show town hall for 13 years 1980 1993 . 10 jeff gianola morning anchor meteorologist then evening news anchor 1983 1998 . currently evening news anchor at koin 6 . rob marciano meteorologist for katu from 1997 11 to 2003 12 leaving to join cnn 13 and now with abc . cathy marshall reporter anchor previously worked for cnn and has worked at several other television stations including portland s kgw tom mccall former governor of oregon served as an editorial commentator in the late 1970s . bill o reilly anchor reporter october 15 1984 july 19 1985 ; left to join abc news was one of the original anchors of inside edition and now hosts fox news channel s the o reilly factor tom rinaldi now lead reporter for espn and contributor to espn college football roger twibell sports reporter 1973 75 now sportscaster for cbs sports network . translators edit katu s signal is rebroadcast on the following translator stations list of translators oregon translators city callsign city callsign city callsign city callsign astoria k26db baker city k44aj d corvallis k45cv the dalles k18hh d enterprise k34if d hood river k50ce d la grande k35ga d k47nr d la pine k09ye d madras k38nm d milton freewater k28ft d newport k42cz pendleton k34di d prineville k35ld d rockaway beach k47cd d tillamook k43ej d washington translators grays river k38gs d longview k21hg low power translators in mitchell and wasco have been discontinued . heliport edit katu heliport faa lid 21or is a private heliport on the roof of katu tv s building in portland oregon . 14 see also edit wikimedia commons has media related to katu . exploding whale katu s claim to fame as the station that aired footages of the oregon highway division s attempt to dispose of a dead whale . longtime katu anchor and current kex morning host paul linnman is the face of the report . bumpity a local children program produced by katu from 1971 1985 . references edit a b sinclair broadcast group closes on fisher communications acquisition . all access . august 8 2013 . retrieved august 8 2013 . murphy francis march 17 1962 . behind the mike regular media column . the oregonian section 2 p. 3 . excerpt katu went on air smoothly thursday night as guests who had gathered in new studio sat before monitors to watch opening show . mike rogoway 2008 12 18 . dish drops katu from its lineup . the oregonian . retrieved 2013 08 15 . sinclair acquiring fisher communications . katu.com . april 11 2013 . retrieved april 11 2013 . colman price april 10 2013 . sinclair poised to buy fisher stations . tvnewscheck.com . retrieved april 11 2013 . http licensing.fcc.gov prod cdbs pubacc auth files 1562915.pdf rabbitears tv query for katu dtv tentative channel designations for the first and second rounds pdf . retrieved 2012 03 24 . cdbs print schulberg pete april 28 1993 . jack faust of town hall big shoes to fill . the oregonian p. b7 . schulberg pete february 19 1997 . now you see your favorite weatherperson now you don t . the oregonian p. b1 . nicholas jonathan february 26 2003 . 25 bucking the trend . the oregonian p. c1 . anchors and reporters rob marciano . cnn.com . archived from the original on february 21 2013 . retrieved 2014 12 04 . faa 5010 for 21or . external links edit katu.com official katu website query the fcc s tv station database for katu biafn s media web database information on katu tv program information for katu at titantv.com resources for this airport faa airport information for 21or airnav airport information for 21or flightaware airport information and live flight tracker skyvector aeronautical chart for 21or v t e television in portland salem oregon and vancouver washington full power stations katu 2.1 abc 2.2 metv 2.3 comet koin 6.1 cbs 6.2 gettv 6.3 decades koac tv pbs opb 7.1 hd 7.2 plus 7.3 fm kgw 8.1 nbc 8.2 justice 8.3 estrella tv kopb tv pbs opb 10.1 hd 10.2 plus 10.3 fm kptv 12.1 fox 12.2 cozi tv 12.3 laff kpxg 22.1 ion 22.2 qubo 22.3 ion life 22.4 ion shop 22.5 qvc over air 22.6 hsn 22.7 tmd knmt 24.1 tbn 24.2 tcc 24.3 juce tv smile 24.4 enlace 24.5 tbn salsa krcw tv 32.1 the cw 32.2 antenna tv 32.3 this tv kpdx 49.1 mntv 49.2 escape low power stations krcw lp 5 the cw kors cd 16.1 silent unknown kwvt ld 17.1 youtoo 27.1 rtv 37.1 aza kjwy lp 21 religious kjyy ld 26.1 religious kslm ld 27.1 rtv 17.1 a1 37.1 aza koxi cd 20.1 silent unknown kork cd 35.1 silent unknown keve ld 36.1 3abn kkei cd 38.1 silent unknown koxo ld 41.1 silent unknown kpxg ld 42.1 daystar kgwz ld 46.1 ind. kunp ld 47.1 uni 47.2 mundomax 47.3 grit k50gg 50 mntv la grande ktvr pbs opb 13.1 hd 13.2 plus 13.3 fm kunp 16.1 uni 16.2 mundomax k23db 23 mntv k26fv 26 nbc k29el 29 cbs k31gn 31 the cw k33fs 33 fox k35ga 35 abc the dalles k06ni 6 a1 k07yv 7 cbs krhp ld 14.1 fn 14.2 legacy tv 14.4 juce tv