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Texas has always been a state where the pioneering spirit runs high, and here we have an example of that spirit. Early this year. the Texas Network signed on the air for the first time, making the dreams of two individuals. Bob Rogers and Dr. James Leininger, come to life. Texas Network president. Bob Rogers had an idea ten years ago, wanted to do a statewide newscast" said Bob. Rogers is veteran news director. with 27 years at KENS in San Antonio as the first item on an all broadcast resume. "We went as far as the pilot" said Rogers. "but we couldn't break the big markets, because people were still thinking local." The dream stayed with Rogers, and then he met Dr. Leininger, a physician and successful businessman with an interest in broadcasting, and the same idea for statewide news. The two of them teamed up, and the result is the Texas Network.
The speed at which TXN became a reality is something to marvel at. TXN folks went the 1998 NAB show. and looked at all the goodies. Shortly after, they went to work on getting their network built. By January of 1999, they were on the air with the satellite distribution system completed, and production equipment that had been part of an old facility that they were renovating. When the all new digital facility went on-line in September, they had been up and running for eight months and already making their place in the Texas broadcast landscape. When asked about the requirement to be all digital at the onset, Bob Rogers said. "We wanted to look forward, not backwards." And forward they went.
Getting The...