Monroe, LA , Dec. 11, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Gray Television, Inc. (NYSE: GTN), a leading television broadcast company, today celebrated the grand-reopening of the award-winning television station KNOE-TV. The station completed a $4 million renovation project with a major overhaul of the building, including updated studios, control room and newsroom.
KNOE-TV has been the dominant news station in the ArkLaMiss area for more than a half a century, winning numerous state, regional and national journalism awards. The completion of the project marks a 65-year history of delivering news to the area. The station invited community business owners and leaders, lawmakers, and law enforcement officials throughout Northeast Louisiana to tour the new facility and celebrate 65 years of broadcasting.
“The KNOE station has a long history of delivering quality news for viewers in the local communities in which it operates,” said Hilton Howell, President and CEO of Gray Television. “We’re excited about the impact the renovation will have on a station that means so much to its employees and the community.”
“While the exterior of our Oliver Road studios displays a vintage salute to our past, inside you will find a modern broadcast facility, fully equipped with the latest technology,” said Laura Long, General Manager of KNOE. “No one knows for certain where technology will lead us in the next 65 years, but I’m certain KNOE and Gray will remain on the forefront of the latest innovations, with a deep respect for where we started and those who made it possible.”
The station first went on the air in 1953 with a 774-foot tower, the most powerful tower in the American South at the time. It was the second television station in the state of Louisiana, behind WDSU in New Orleans. James A. Noe, Sr. a former governor of Louisiana, owned the television station, and it was his desire to serve the community. “When you take out a license you’re not serving yourself, you’re serving the people,” said Linda Noe Laine, daughter of James A. Noe, Sr. “That was the essence of my father’s dream and it came true in his lifetime.”
Noe died in 1976, and he passed the station to his son, James “Jimmie” Noe, Jr. The Noes continued to own the station until 2007, when it was sold to Dallas-based Hoak Media. Gray Television acquired Hoak Media in 2014 and has continued KNOE’s legacy of serving the people of northeast Louisiana and southern Arkansas.
“KNOE is committed as ever to serving the needs of our communities and being a partner in efforts to make the ArkLaMiss a better place to call home,” said Long. “This is our home, and with that comes the responsibility to take care of the families who have invited us into their homes for so many years. We realize your trust is earned through solid, factual and fair reporting, as well as a visibility and recognition within our communities that is not earned overnight.”
The announcement of the combined facility follows Gray Television’s recently announced acquisition of Raycom Media, a deal that will give the company the third-largest portfolio of local network affiliated news stations and markets in the United States.
About KNOE-TV: KNOE-TV 8 News is an award-winning television station and news organization located in Monroe, Louisiana, covering northeast Louisiana, Union and Ashley Counties in Arkansas, and Warren and Adams Counties in Mississippi. KNOE-TV is owned by Atlanta-based Gray Television. Our offices and studios are located on Oliver Road in Monroe, and our transmitter is located in the town of Columbia in Caldwell, Parish. Since our first broadcast day on September 27, 1953, KNOE-TV has offered the best in the news, entertainment, weather, sports, and investigative reporting. In addition to providing high-quality programming from both the CBS and ABC television networks, we also offer programs from the CW network. For further information, please visit www.knoe.com.
About Gray TV: Currently, Gray owns and/or operates over 100 television stations across 57 television markets that collectively broadcast nearly 250 program streams including over 100 channels affiliated with the CBS Network, the NBC Network, the ABC Network and the FOX Network. Our portfolio includes the number-one and/or number-two ranked television station operations in all of our markets. Gray has entered into an agreement to combine with Raycom Media, Inc. in a transformational transaction. The combined company will own leading television stations and digital platforms serving 92 markets. It also will include video program production, marketing, and digital businesses including Raycom Sports, Tupelo-Raycom, and RTM Studios, the producer of PowerNation programs and content. For further information, please visit www.gray.tv.
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CONTACT: KNOE Contact: Laura Long, General Manager of KNOE, laura.long@knoe.com Gray TV Contact: Rick Burns, Vice President, Corporate Relations, rick.burns@gray.tv Media Contact: Chelsea Bonner, chelsea.bonner@edelman.com