About Us
KHOU Stands for Houston is our brand promise to celebrate everyday heroes, hold the powerful accountable and honor the core values of honesty and reliability. For us, 'Stands For Houston' has become more than a marketing slogan.
We stand up for people who do the right thing. We celebrate everyday heroes, and honor those who live by their word. We protect our families, neighbors and communities. We expose liars, cheats and villains for what they are. We believe tough times can be overcome by even tougher people. When the chips are down, character and tenacity carry us through. We never give up.
Houston is a community of ethnically diverse neighborhoods and a place we're proud to call home.
About TEGNA
KHOU is owned and operated by TEGNA Inc., an innovative media company that serves the greater good of its communities. Across platforms, TEGNA delivers relevant and trusted content by telling empowering stories, conducting impactful investigations and providing innovative and unparalleled solutions for advertisers through TEGNA Marketing Solutions. For more information, visit www.TEGNA.com.
Mission and Coverage Priorities
MISSION
TEGNA's purpose is to serve the greater good of our communities.
We will provide the news and information that people need to function as effective citizens.
We will seek solutions as well as expose problems and wrongdoing.
We will provide editorial and community leadership.
We will seek to promote understanding of complex issues.
We will be advocates for our communities.
DIVERSE VOICES
At TEGNA, you will find people from all backgrounds, interests and abilities, united by a common purpose to make a difference in our work, our company and our community.
We are committed to making editorial decisions with input from a variety of voices that reflect our community. We seek sufficient understanding of the communities, individuals and stories we cover to inform the public. We are persistent in pursuit of the whole story.
DIVERSITY STAFFING REPORT
At TEGNA, we believe that attracting a talented and diverse workforce is one of the keys to our success. We strive to create for our employees an environment which offers professional and intellectual challenges, which encourages innovation and creativity, and which rewards success and effective teamwork. Read our latest EEO Diversity Report.
Ethics, Standards and Practices
ETHICS
TEGNA is committed to the highest ethical standards and dedicated to the principles of truth, independence, fair play and integrity. These principles apply to everything we do, from gathering content to reporting and producing content. Read TEGNA's Principles of Ethical Journalism.
TEGNA journalists observe the following principles:
INDEPENDENCE
We will remain free of outside interests, investments, business relationships or personal relationships that may compromise the credibility of our news reports.
We will seek to avoid potential conflicts of interest and promptly disclose any that arise.
We do not accept gifts, meals or entertainment from any individuals or organizations that may be covered by our stations.
We do not allow sponsors of news to determine, change or restrict content.
We do not make political contributions, participate in political advocacy or publicly share political views.
TRANSPARENCY
We are transparent about paid or sponsored content.
We clearly identify and differentiate commentary from news.
We will explain our journalistic processes to our audience.
PUBLIC INTEREST
We will uphold and defend the First Amendment.
We will be vigilant watchdogs of government and institutions that affect the public.
We will fight to insure the public's business is conducted in public.
FAIRNESS
We will treat people with dignity, respect and compassion.
We will be fair with people unaccustomed to dealing with the media. (*)
We will seek all sides relevant to a story.
INTEGRITY
We will act honorably, transparently and ethically in dealing with news sources, the public and our colleagues.
We will obey the law.
We will not skew facts, distort reality or sensationalize events.
We will not manipulate images or sound in misleading ways.
We will not present images that are reenacted without informing the audience.
We will use hidden cameras or similar techniques only if there is no other way to tell a significant story effectively, and only with news management approval.
We will respect the copyrights of others.
VERIFICATION & FACT-CHECKING
We report the news accurately, thoroughly and in context on all platforms. We vet sources, verify facts and challenge assumptions before reporting news. We hold factual information on all platforms to the same standards of accuracy.
We are honest. We do not mislead sources, story subjects or the public.
We attribute information received from others, and we are transparent with sourcing. We do not plagiarize.
We do not misstate our identity or intentions. We keep our word.
We do not intentionally slant the news.
We value being right over being fast.
UNNAMED SOURCES
We will use unnamed sources as the sole basis for reporting only as a last resort when it best serves the public's right to know, and only with prior news management approval.
CORRECTIONS
We will make corrections promptly and proportionate to the original reporting.
CONTACT US
EDITORIAL LEADERSHIP
Click here to meet our Editorial Leadership team
ACTIONABLE FEEDBACK
We value feedback from our community, including story ideas as well as comments and corrections on our coverage. Click on the appropriate link below to route your feedback to the correct team in our newsroom.
NEWSROOM CONTACT INFORMATION
Trust Project Participation
TEGNA is proud to be a participant in the Trust Project. The Trust Project is an international consortium of news organizations collaborating to use transparency to build a more trustworthy and trusted press. For more information visit https://thetrustproject.org/.
KHOU History
KHOU has been one of the top-rated CBS affiliates in Texas for over two decades. From broadcasting the first live picture of radar screen during Hurricane Carla in 1961, to becoming the nation's first digital television station, KHOU-TV has been a leader in local news, information and community involvement for over six decades.
KHOU-TV signed on the air March 22, 1953 as KGUL-TV in Galveston. KGUL was owned by a group of Galveston and Houston investors including actor Jimmy Stewart. In fact, it was Stewart's voice that was first heard on the station. Walter Cronkite was among those presiding over groundbreaking ceremonies in May of 1959 for the new studio facilities. A month later, the station officially changed its call letters to KHOU-TV. On April 20, 1960, the station moved to its present location near downtown Houston. Dan Rather is just one of many former KHOU 11 News journalists who went on to work for a network. Rather was KHOU's news director from 1960 to 1962. He anchored the 6 and 10 o'clock newscasts and hosted a Saturday morning news program.
KHOU has been the recipient of countless local, regional and national journalism awards. Over the last decade, the station has been honored with nine National Edward R. Murrow Awards including the 2017 National Edward R. Murrow Award for Social Media Excellence, five duPont-Columbia Awards, four George Foster Peabody Awards, three Investigative Reporters and Editors (IRE) Medals, three National Headliners Awards and has twice been recognized at the National News and Documentary Emmy Awards. In addition to KHOU's strong leadership in news coverage, the station also has a long history of great community service and supports dozens of community projects and events each year. Among these, KHOU's annual Food Drive, Blood Drive and Toy Drive are signature events that demonstrate the station's commitment to the communities it serves.
On December 23, 2013, KHOU was purchased by Gannett, Co. Inc. In 2015, Gannett spun its publishing properties from its broadcast and digital properties making KHOU now part of TEGNA Media, one of the largest most geographically diverse broadcasters in the U.S. To learn more about TEGNA and its subsidiary brands, visit www.tegna.com.
Houston
Houston is the largest city in Texas and the 7th largest television DMA. Houston is now one of the most diverse cities in America.
In 2014, twenty-six Fortune 500 companies call Houston home (ranked 3rd in US). Houston also has the largest Medical Center in the world with 57 institutions employing over 66,000 employees. Houston is a great place to live, work and raise a family.
Sports enthusiasts can easily attend games for several professional teams including the Houston Texans, Houston Rockets, Houston Astros and Houston Dynamo.
Houstonians are entertained year round with professional resident companies in ballet, opera, symphony and theater. The Houston Museum District is the country's fourth largest and visitors can enjoy an entire weekend visiting eighteen cultural centers located in close proximity.
For all content licensing inquiries, please contact our representatives at TEGNA@nimia.com.