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WABC Celebrates Black History Month With Gil Noble “Vault”

ABC Owned Television Stations’ Celebrations Continue Throughout The month of February with news, programming, and vignettes

Gil Noble was a pioneering journalist for WABC-TV who was host of the groundbreaking public-affairs show “Like It Is,” which ran from 1968 to 2011.

The show’s legacy of commitment to and coverage of the African-American community continues in the successor program, “Here & Now,” hosted by Sandra Bookman.

“ABC Owned Television Stations group is proud to celebrate Black History Month with special news reports, programming and vignettes throughout February,” said Chad Matthews, President of the ABC Owned Television Stations. “During Black History Month and throughout the year, ABC Owned Television Stations will feature reports highlighting the many important people and stories in our country’s vibrant Black community across our markets.”

To honor Noble and bring his work and achievements before new generations, WABC-TV has launched the Gil Noble Vault, which features highlights of his many years of journalistic excellence at WABC. These include moments from “Like It Is” as well as examples of Noble’s work as a reporter and longtime anchor at WABC-TV, tributes to him and more.

Throughout his illustrious career in broadcasting that spanned over four decades, Noble joined WABC-TV in July 1967 as a reporter.  He became host of “Like It Is” in November 1968. From 1986 on, Noble concentrated exclusively on “Like It Is.”  Noble won seven Emmy awards and 650 community awards, as was granted five honorary doctors.

As part of this celebration of Gil Noble’s legacy, the “Here & Now” team is preparing a one-hour retrospective of Noble’s life and career that will air Sunday, February 19th on WABC/Channel 7 at 12pm ET and will also be available wherever you stream ABC7. It is currently available on demand at ABC7NY.com/gilnoble and in the Gil Noble Vault section of our streaming app and website. Black History Month programming can be viewed on ABC7 streaming app for Roku/Apple TV/Amazon Fire/Google TV, as well as archival content and extended interviews.

About WABC-TV New York
WABC-TV has been the leader in local news and entertainment programming in the New York City area for more than 61 years. Producing more than 45 hours of live, local news and weather each week, Channel 7 “Eyewitness News” is the most-watched local news in New York and the United States. WABC-TV also produces “Live with Kelly and Ryan,” weekdays at 9:00 a.m., which is seen in more than 200 markets across the U.S. Quality news and programming, cutting-edge technology and ongoing community outreach are the hallmarks of excellence that have consistently kept WABC-TV New York’s No. 1 station and the most-watched television station in the nation.

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Media Contact:
ABC Owned Television Stations
Dawn Rowan
Director of Communications
dawn.rowan@abc.com

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Tiempo Celebrates Its 40th Year On-Air Anniversary

WABC’s ‘Tiempo’ Addresses Topics of Relevance to the Hispanic Community

“Tiempo,” the Emmy^® Award-winning public affairs program dedicated to issues of interest to the Hispanic community in the New York metropolitan area, is celebrating its 40^th on-air anniversary. The English-language morning talk show airs weekly on WABC-TV New Yorkon Sundays at 11:30 a.m. ET. “Tiempo” is hosted by the Emmy Award-winning Joe Torres, WABC-TV’s longstanding news anchor and reporter, who also anchors the station’s Saturday and Sunday night newscasts with Sandra Bookman. A native New Yorker of Puerto Rican heritage, Torres has been hosting the show for over 20 years. A special anniversary edition of “Tiempo” will air and stream Sunday, Feb. 12, at 11:30 a.m. ET.

“‘Tiempo’ has been serving the Hispanic community for 40 years, keeping its viewers informed and up to date on topics that matter the most to Latinos in the New York area,” said Marilu Galvez, president and general manager of WABC and the first Hispanic woman to hold the position. “I cannot begin to express how proud I am to be part of this truly momentous occasion and to be at the helm of this historic program that has served the Hispanic community so well. We look forward to continuing to bring ‘Tiempo’’s thought provoking, impactful and informative format to its viewers and to deliver critical information to the greater communities we serve.”

The special edition of “Tiempo” airing Sunday, Feb. 12, will feature three former hosts as guests: David Novarro, Anna Carbonell and Miguel Pérez.

Emmy Award-winning journalist David Novarro currently anchors ABC7 Eyewitness News at noon and 4:00 p.m. Novarro helped grow the Eyewitness News community affairs show “Tiempo” and served as a co-host for many years. Novarro started his career with Eyewitness News and rose through the ranks to become a reporter. He was later named New Jersey bureau correspondent and became a news anchor of Eyewitness News Sunday Morning. 

Anna Carbonell hosted and produced the Sunday morning talk show for more than 13 years on ABC7.

Miguel Pérez has spent his career covering the issues and concerns of America’s Latino population. In 1983, he served as one of the first co-hosts of “Tiempo.”

In addition to interviews with the former hosts of “Tiempo,” there will be featured snippets of segments looking back at “Tiempo” from its inception in 1983. For context, there will also be an interview with Centro, the Center for Puerto Rican Studies at Hunter College, that will focus on the evolution of the Latino population in NYC since 1983. 

Additionally, “Tiempo” will receive congratulatory 40^th anniversary video messages from such Hispanic luminaries as father-and-son duo, Luis Miranda and Lin-Manuel Miranda – songwriter, actor, singer, filmmaker, rapper and playwright best known for creating the Broadway musicals “Hamilton” and “In the Heights.” Latino actor/musician Ruben Blades will join them. Congressman Ritchie Torres, Senator Bob Menendez, NY Congresswoman Nydia Velazquez and NY Congressman Adriano Espaillat, Ruben Diaz Jr. and Sunny Hostin will also make video appearances for the occasion.

The special anniversary edition of “Tiempo” will air and stream Sunday, Feb. 12, 11:30 a.m. ET. It will also be available on demand on abc7ny.com/tiempo and the ABC7 WABC-TV streaming app for Roku/Apple TV/Amazon Fire/Google TV, along with archival content and extended interviews from the special.

About ABC7-WABC-TV New York
WABC-TV has been the leader in local news and entertainment programming in the New York City area for more than 61 years. Producing more than 45 hours of live, local news and weather each week, Channel 7 “Eyewitness News” is the most-watched local news in New York and the United States. WABC-TV also produces “Live with Kelly and Ryan,” weekdays at 9:00 a.m., which is seen in more than 200 markets across the U.S. Quality news and programming, cutting-edge technology and ongoing community outreach are the hallmarks of excellence that have consistently kept WABC-TV New York’s No. 1 station and the most-watched television station in the nation.

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Media Contact:
ABC Owned Television Stations
Dawn Rowan
Director of Communications
dawn.rowan@abc.com

Media relations

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ABC7 New York Eyewitness News Series “Missing” Debuts Three New Episodes on Hulu

Official Trailers Found HERE

NEW YORK (Dec. 15, 2022) – The second installment of ABC Owned Television Stations’ popular investigative, true-crime series “Missing” is available today on Hulu. Hosted by ABC7 New York Eyewitness News investigative reporter Kristin Thorne, “Missing” tells the real stories of missing people around the New York City tri-state area whose stories have long gone untold.

The new episodes include:

“Missing: The Mystery of Dr. Sneha Anne Philip”
Dr. Sneha Anne Philip’s disappearance was originally thought to be connected to the tragic events on September 11, 2001. However, many people who have read about her story, studied her case or who knew her, have been skeptical about whether she died in the 9/11 attacks. In this episode of “Missing,” Thorne takes a deeper look at Sneha’s life and whether it’s possible that she did not die in the 9/11 attacks as determined by the New York courts.

“Missing: The Terrifying Case of Ethel Louise Atwell”
On Oct. 24, 1978, Ethel Louise Atwell disappeared while leaving the grounds of the former Willowbrook State School, where she worked as a nursing aid at the Staten Island Developmental Center.  Ethel’s disappearance sparked an extensive search in the nearby woods, but police and volunteers only turned up her keys – they found no evidence of Ethel herself.  After more than four decades, Thorne returns to the woods to try to uncover clues in this terrifying cold case in this episode of “Missing.”

“Missing: Kassandra Briana Ramirez”
Kassandra Ramirez was a 25-year-old aspiring chef who disappeared from the Bronx in September 2018. Her family says one week before Kassandra disappeared, she testified to a grand jury that she was raped by a family friend a few months before. Thorne hits the streets of the Bronx to try to get answers for Kassandra’s family only to find that the biggest clues in her disappearance could be not only on Long Island, but 1,200 miles away in Kansas.

ABC7 New York Eyewitness News investigative reporter Kristin Thorne was the lead reporter for ABC News on the disappearance of Gabby Petito. It was in covering her story and communicating frequently with her distraught father, Joseph Petito, with whom Thorne has developed a trusted, professional relationship, that Thorne was inspired to create the “Missing” series.

Thorne started to look at databases of missing people across the tri-state area and as she scrolled through the hundreds of faces, she thought about not only those people, but their families and friends and the ripple effect of pain that has been caused by their disappearances.

Now, with the “Missing” series, she hopes to shine a light on victims that might have previously been overlooked in the hopes that the exposure will lead to new clues, and more families and loved ones finding justice.

All six episodes are now available to stream on Hulu, as well as live on ABC Owned Television Stations’ online, mobile and Connected TV apps.

About ABC Owned Television Stations
Disney Media Entertainment & Distribution’s eight owned ABC stations are multiplatform leaders in local news and information. Collectively No. 1 across all U.S. television, reaching 23% of households and more than 34 million Total Viewers and 62 million digital visitors a month, with a record of 2.2 billion minutes streamed, the eight stations are comprised of WABC-TV New York, KABC-TV Los Angeles, WLS-TV Chicago, WPVI-TV Philadelphia, KGO-TV San Francisco, KTRK-TV Houston, WTVD-TV Raleigh-Durham and KFSN-TV Fresno. WABC-New York has remained the No. 1 station in the country for 19 years.

Media Contacts:
Dawn Rowan
Director of Communications, ABC Owned Television Stations
Dawn.rowan@abc.com

Media relations

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WABC News Executive Marilu Galvez Named President and General Manager of ABC7/WABC-TV New York

Emmy^® Award-winning journalist and WABC executive Marilu Galvez has been named president and general manager of WABC-TV, replacing Chad Matthews who stepped into the role of president, ABC Owned Television Stations, earlier this year. In her new role, Galvez has overall management responsibility for ABC7/WABC-TV and its ancillary businesses.  

“I have worked with Marilu for more than 20 years in various roles, and her wealth of experience in news and community engagement makes her the perfect person to lead WABC-TV now and into the future,” said Matthews.

“It’s a great honor and privilege to lead New York’s and the nation’s No. 1 station – a station I have been a part of for almost 20 years,” said Galvez.  “As WABC-TV’s new leader, I am deeply committed to supporting the incredibly talented individuals who make Channel 7 exceptional in every way. Together, we will continue to expand and deepen our connection with our tri-state audience and, more importantly, continue to tell impactful stories and deliver vital information across our platforms that reflect and inform the communities we serve.”

Galvez most recently served as vice president of Community Engagement and Development for WABC-TV, and she is also the committee lead for the Disney Media & Entertainment Distribution Networks’ Diversity Equity and Inclusion team. As vice president of Community Engagement and Development since 2018, she is responsible for community outreach efforts and for growing relationships with key service organizations in the tri-state. She aligns news, programming, marketing and on-air talent with cause-related events and campaigns, and leverages opportunities with advertiser support.

Through strategy and innovation, her leadership has helped expand and elevate a multicultural presence at the station. She is an active member of the National Association of Hispanic Journalists and was named one of the Top 10 Latina Corporate Executives of the Year by LATINA Style in 2019.

As Diversity Equity Inclusion lead, Galvez reports directly to Disney Media & Entertainment Distribution President Debra OConnell, helping to unify DEI efforts across Networks – ABC, ABC Owned Television Stations, Disney Channel, ESPN, FX, Freeform and National Geographic – with a focus on the company’s key strategic pillars. Prior to serving as Networks’ DEI lead, she was the committee lead for OTV Belong, the diversity and inclusion team for ABC Owned Television Stations.

Prior to joining WABC in 2001, Galvez worked as a production assistant and assignment editor at Telemundo, an assignment editor at WNYW and an assignment manager at WNBC.

Galvez received her Master of Business Administration (MBA) from the University of Maryland University College in 2021. She is a board member for the nonprofit humanitarian organization American Red Cross and the nonprofit STOMP OUT Bullying. She is also a strong supporter of the Boys & Girls Club, WABC anchor Sade Baderinwa’s Get Reel Foundation and all of Disney’s VoluntEars program initiatives.

About WABC
WABC-TV has been the leader in local news and entertainment programming in the New York City area for more than 61 years. Producing more than 45 hours of live, local news and weather each week, Channel 7 “Eyewitness News”is the most-watched local news in New York and the United States. WABC-TV also produces “Live with Kelly and Ryan,” weekdays at 9:00 a.m., which is seen in more than 200 markets across the U.S. Quality news and programming, cutting-edge technology and ongoing community outreach are the hallmarks of excellence that have consistently kept WABC-TV New York’s No. 1 station and the most-watched television station in the nation.

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About ABC Owned Television Stations     
Disney Media Entertainment & Distribution’s eight owned ABC stations are multiplatform leaders in local news and information. Collectively No. 1 across all U.S. television, reaching 23% of households and more than 34 million Total Viewers and 62 million digital visitors a month, with a record of 2.2 billion minutes streamed, the eight stations are comprised of WABC-TV New York, KABC-TV Los Angeles, WLS-TV Chicago, WPVI-TV Philadelphia, KGO-TV San Francisco, KTRK-TV Houston, WTVD-TV Raleigh-Durham and KFSN-TV Fresno. WABC-New York has remained the No. 1 station in the country for 19 years. The stations also deliver locally sourced storytelling to more than 17 million viewers across America through its multiplatform lifestyle network, Localish. The station group has received numerous prestigious awards. Most recently, in 2022, the station group was recognized as a finalist by Fast Company’s World Changing Idea for creating “Our America Equity Report.”  In 2021, WABC was awarded 17 Emmy® Awards and several stations collected seven regional Edward R. Murrow Awards, including “Excellence in Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion” and the prestigious national award for “Overall Excellence.” The entertainment brand “On the Red Carpet” won Broadcast & Cable’s “Best Lifestyle Show   In 2020, the stations received five Broadcast & Cable awards, including in the 2020 Best in Local TV Awards category as Station Group of the Year for its innovative and next-generation news reporting, and in the major market category for 2020: Best News Coverage, Best Digital Multiplatform or Website, Best Investigative Reporting Station Group and Best Public Affairs Programming, illustrating the Group’s strength and ever-increasing growth and reach in the multiplatform space.

Media Contact:  
Elita Fielder Adjei  
Director, Communications & Publicity, ABC Owned Television Stations  
Elita.adjei@disney.com