News operation
As of, WTOL produces 18 1/2 hours of locally produced newscasts each week for WUPW (with 3 1/2 hours each weekday and a half-hour each on Saturdays and Sundays). As the SSA partner of WTOL, the station may also simulcast long-form severe weather coverage in the event that a tornado warning is issued for any county in its northwestern Ohio viewing area.
On January 28, 1996, WUPW began to air a weeknight prime time newscast produced by CBS affiliate WTOL, Fox 36 News at 10, which was discontinued on July 31, 2000, with the debut of a new independently produced newscast, Fox Toledo News at 10.[18] The broadcast was extended to an hour on August 6, 2001, with a five-minute "Fastcast" review of news, weather, and sports ending at 11 while also expanding to seven nights a week.[19] The news operation quickly established itself as critically acclaimed, with their newscasts winning several Lower Great Lakes Emmy Awards and citations from the Associated Press of Ohio for overall excellence.
On January 5, 2004, WUPW launched Fox Toledo News First at 4 on weekdays with the nightly 10 o'clock show renamed as First at 10 and an updated set and new graphics.[20] In November 2006, this station took over third-place ranking in viewership in the November ratings period, a position previously held by WNWO. In September 2010, the station began to offer limited morning news and weather cut-ins in a two-hour programming block of syndicated sitcoms known as The Morning Zone.[21]
September 24, 2007, saw the expansion of First at 4 to an hour. This newscast was canceled on January 11, 2010, and replaced with a show that airs weeknights at 6:30 against national news programs seen on the big three networks. Its weather radar is currently known as "StormTrack Doppler". Throughout its existence, WUPW's news department has won many awards. The channel maintains partnerships with the Toledo Free Press, Bowling Green Sentinel-Tribune, Findlay Living Magazine, Wauseon Fulton County Expositor, and at one time, on WNWT AM 1520.
In early January 2012, long time news anchor Laura Emerson left the station and moved to Kentucky to join NBC affiliate WPSD. Laura Emerson had been with WUPW for over 16 years and had been with the station since its very first newscast in 1996.[22] Her final broadcast at WUPW was on January 6, 2012. She has since returned to Toledo on WNWO-TV.
As a result of its sale to American Spirit Media, WUPW's in-house news department was shut down and WTOL took over production of the station's newscasts on April 23, 2012; which included 6:30 and 10 p.m. newscasts aired by WUPW beginning on April 23, 2012, and a morning newscast added on June 11, 2012, along with a shift to high definition newscasts. Former anchor and executive producer Shaun Hegarty did not remain with the station after the merger, as he moved over to WTVG as an investigative reporter. The two stations also introduced a shared website, ToledoNewsNow.com.[5][23]
