News
In 1976, the station's news department debuted with two daily newscasts at 7 and 10 p.m. daily, known as Newspulse.[8] The news programs were later rebranded as Channel 69 News in the late 1980s and the station's news division gradually expanded. In 1989, WFMZ added a 5 p.m. newscast and in 1997, the 7 p.m. news show was moved up to 6 p.m.[9]
In 1995, WFMZ expanded its news service geographically with the debut of its Berks Edition newscast at 5:30 p.m. In 1998, this program was expanded to include a 10:30 p.m. news broadcast. Both Berks Edition newscasts were established in response to a perception that the Allentown area was being covered more extensively than the Reading area by Philadelphia news stations. WFMZ originally used a small newsroom at the Reading Eagle newspaper for these broadcasts.
Beginning in 1997,[10] WFMZ began experiencing significantly enhanced ratings for its news coverage of the Lehigh Valley.[11] In the late 1990s, the station also launched its first Lehigh Valley-focused morning and noon news programs.[12]
In 2003, the region's first Spanish language newscast, 69 News en Español, debuted to serve the growing Hispanic community in the Lehigh Valley and Berks County areas.[13]
In 2005, WFMZ formed a broadcast partnership with WPVI-TV (channel 6), Philadelphia's ABC owned-and-operated station. The partnership permitted the two stations to cooperate in news gathering for local stories. In November 2017, WFMZ launched newly formatted and expanded newscasts. In May 2008, WFMZ became the fourth television station in the Philadelphia media market to begin broadcasting its local newscasts in high definition.
In October 2014, WFMZ added an hour-long newscast at 4 pm, making it the third station in the Philadelphia market (after WCAU and WPVI-TV) to broadcast local news in the 4 p.m. timeslot. In February 2015, WFMZ debuted its new street-level studio inside the PPL Center sports arena in Center City Allentown. The station broadcasts its noon news program from its PPL Center studio.
On September 25, 2023, WFMZ debuted a new 30-minute long 8 p.m. newscast. Previously, there was a gap in news coverage from 6:30 p.m. until the 10 p.m. newscast.
