WPVI Philadelphia

The WPVI Philadelphia helicopter that crashed in New Jersey last month, killing its pilot and a photographer, had no engine problems that would have prevented normal operation, according to a preliminary report from the National Transportation Safety Board.

The holidays for those who work and watch Action News on WPVI in Philadelphia are a little less bright due to the crash of their iconic helicopter, Chopper 6, which killed the pilot and a photographer on Tuesday. So when the station sent me this compilation of Happy Holidays promos yesterday, I felt I had to share them.

Chopper 6 was returning from an assignment at the Jersey Shore and crashed in a wooded area in South Jersey Tuesday night, the station says.

When WPVI Philadelphia’s legendary Jim Gardner retired after 44 years anchoring the 6 and 11 p.m. newscasts, the station turned to humor to promote his replacements.

KYW, WPSG, WPVI, WCAU, WTXF and WUVP are now broadcasting with ATSC 3.0 technology.

WPVI Philadelphia turned the cameras on the women behind the scenes in the newsroom as part of Women’s History Month. “They are the foundation of Action News,” says Thomas Davis, WPVI’s VP and news director.

After a year of farewells — including special recognitions on Capitol Hill and Philly’s Thanksgiving Day Parade — newscaster Jim Gardner anchored his final 6 p.m. Action News broadcast on WPVI Philadelphia Wednesday after 46 years on the air. Though only 30 minutes, Gardner’s final broadcast is one that will likely be remembered for years to come, with about 540,000 people tuning in from home and more watching from a parking lot tailgate held in the newscaster’s honor.

Tech executives from Fox News, Fox Television Stations, WPVI Philadelphia and LiveU are shifting away from traditional microwave and satellite technology and finding other IP-native paths to send live and edited video, they told an audience at TVNewsCheck’s NewsTECHForum last week. Above (l-r): LiveU’s Mike Savello, Fox News’ Scott Wilder, WPVI’s Elizabeth Plyler and Fox Television Stations’ Erik Smith (Alyssa Wesley photo). Read a full report here and/or watch the video above.

Millions of viewers in Philadelphia have watched Jim Gardner deliver the news weeknights at 6 and 11 on Action News on WPVI over the past 45 years. If you do the math, that’s about 11,000 hours that Gardner has spent in their living rooms. Maybe that’s why many viewers think of Jim Gardner as, well, family.

Leaders from Fox News, WPVI Philadalphia, Fox Television Stations and LiveU discuss how technologists and technology facilitating this effort to produce more content for more outlets while allowing creators to work from anywhere in a panel at TVNewsCheck’s NewsTECHForum event at the New York Hilton on Dec. 13. Register here.

Just as it has for many viewers, the coronavirus pandemic has transformed the work lives of TV newspeople in Philadelphia. As news operations continue to evolve their approach to social distancing in an effort to keep their workers safe, jobs that once seemed impossible to do outside a studio are getting done from home.