Your News Now

9:03PM. March 24, 2009. T-minues 9:57 minutes to launch.

The word comes from an attorney hired by Time Warner Cable to secure the naming rights to the Local News Division's new 24 hour news channel. The brand is ours.

YNN.

Several years ago, a North Carolina businessman copyrighted those three letters as a name for a newsletter he created. About the sock industry. Your News Now. It hadn't been used in that way for years. The newsletter sunset. Its copyright remained.

YNN became the the name of choice for TWC's newest news channel months back. We could not tell people about it until launch day. The Buffalo News actually broke it in a story it ran on the eve of our first newscast.

http://www.buffalonews.com/entertainment/story/617291.html

In the final days of preparation for this new way to do 'round the clock news, every member of the organization worked as hard as they ever had. By the final hours before launch, keyboards clicked and airchecks sounded in the newsroom, while Chinese food cooled and the clocked rolled to launch day. Buffalo's mayor and Erie County's chief executive will help us cut the ribbon on the operation.

To the 20 people who'll form YNN's first staff. Good luck. And as you know, I'm glad you're here.

So many people to thank. The entire TWC staff at Chicago Street. Thank you for letting us in.

Joe Truncale, Mike Chan, Brad Shapiro and the entire IT/Engineering staff of NY1, EP Jeremy Bitz, Upstate Coordinator Anthony Proia, and the news directors from TWC's New York News Channels: Bernie Han, Gary Holmes, Ron Lombard and, especially, Ed Buttaccio, who's managing the new channel with me. Pat Obermeir and Scott Christiansen, for their creative senses, Maria Hancock, for her dollar sense, Hector Reyes, Byron Folgar and Tara Guttridge, for their sense of people. And for Steve Paulus, for sensing someone who really wanted to do a job for him.

My brothers and their families, and my parents have been constant support during this transition to a new life.

My children: Katie, Clare and Caroline, were willing to let Dad be a kid again and commit to something he believes in.

And for Sara, who's used to carrying me, but never had to carry the family the way she's had to the last 11 weeks. Words can not meet my feelings for the sacrifice you've made. Love you, Do.

So here we go. Launch was a climb. The summit's ahead.

Let's see what we can see.