News operation
At various times in its history, WUTR has sought to compete with WKTV for local news viewers, with varying degrees of success. Its highest ratings to date, perhaps, occurred during two periods: the late 1980s and the mid-1990s.
After Clear Channel reduced funding for local news gathering, WUTR became more reliant on content originating from its sister stations in Upstate New York (particularly flagship WIXT (now WSYR-TV) in Syracuse), ending weekday morning and weekend newscasts in June 2002. Weeknight newscasts were discontinued and remaining news staff members were terminated in August 2003. For the rest of Clear Channel's ownership, the station simulcast news programs from WIXT, which provided some limited coverage of the Utica and Rome area.[8][9] After Nexstar/Mission assumed ownership of WUTR, the simulcasts of WIXT's newscasts were replaced with syndicated programming.
After WUTR's sale to Mission Broadcasting, insiders speculated that Nexstar would establish a combined news department for WUTR and its sister stations, WFXV and WPNY. In March 2011, the company announced it would launch a news operation for the three stations by mid-September, and said it would invest $1 million for staff and equipment. WUTR's Eyewitness News operation began on September 12, 2011, and broadcast in true high definition, making it the first station in the Utica–Rome market to air full high-definition news broadcasts. (WFXV would become the second such station four hours later, when its 10 p.m. newscast launched.)[10] Late-evening newscasts are broadcast at 10 p.m. on WFXV and at 11 p.m. on WUTR. [11][12][13][14][15] As of July 6, 2015, the audio of WUTR's 6 p.m. newscast also simulcasts on Townsquare Media-owned radio station WIBX.[16] On April 3, 2023, WUTR added a simulcast of the 5 and 6 a.m. hours of WSYR-TV's morning newscast; WSYR-TV had been reunited with WUTR in 2012 when Nexstar purchased the station from Newport Television.[17]
WUTR has announced no plans for noon, afternoon (4, 5 or 5:30 p.m.), or weekend newscasts. As a result, the station offers the fewest weekly hours of local news of any ABC affiliate in the state of New York.
- Jim Axelrod – anchor/reporter (1989–1990; now with CBS News)[18]
- Jeff Rossen – reporter (was with NBC News)[19]
- Bob Van Dillen – meteorologist (now with Fox Weather)[20]
