KGMB-TV is trumpeting the victory of its “;Sunrise”; morning show, and its No. 1 news at 5 and 10 p.m. in the May 2009 Nielsen ratings, while KHON is touting its continued general dominance.

The rise of “;Sunrise”; came about in “;six rating books”; after launching in September 2007, said Rick Blangiardi, president and general manager.

The show's anchor team, led by Grace Lee and Steve Uyehara, recently lost broadcast meteorologist Jeff Booth, who returned to the mainland to be closer to family, but recently hired successors include former KITV weather anchor Ben Gutierrez and former news anchor Dan Cooke.

The media industry has been staggered by declining advertising revenue in the economic downturn, and “;all of us are working with less resources,”; Blangiardi said.

“;When you get this kind of audience validation, see the numbers shift in every sector, that it matters to people what we're doing and they care and that they like it, I'm ecstatic and grateful and very proud of the men and women of KGMB9,”; he said.

KHON topped KGMB for the last hour of the morning newscast, “;but for the three-hour average, we have the greater aggregate ... and beat them handily,”; Blangiardi said.

KHON's lead as the dominant news station has been eroding over the years due to increased competition.

But KHON President Joe McNamara observed that the station's 6 p.m. newscast with Joe Moore “;continues to be Hawaii's most-watched newscast”; and that its morning news, “;with the long-awaited return of (co-anchor) Kathy Muneno from maternity leave, is now building back its team as they battle it out for the No. 1 position.”;

The two other network-affiliated stations, KITV (ABC) and KHNL (NBC), are third and fourth in the mornings, respectively, though each has made recent changes to its morning anchor lineup.

“;The rest of us just have to work a little harder,”; said Bill Gaeth, vice president of sales at KITV. The station also had “;a slight uptick”; in its 10 p.m. news ratings.

John Fink, vice president and general manager of KHNL/KFVE-TV, says the new morning show with Diane Ako and Howard Dashefsky will need time to gain public awareness.

KHNL's 10 p.m. news was also up from a year ago.

The 9 p.m. news on KFVE has a “;99 percent different audience”; from KHNL's 10 p.m. news, and each received a 4 rating—“;and one could argue that between our two newscasts we're doing an 8 rating,”; he said.

Prime-time programming that leads into the late news can be a boon or not.

Strong programming means many viewers will put down the remote and watch the news that follows, and the TV likely will be turned to the same channel in the morning.

News ratings are important for station advertising rates, but so are prime-time shows that appeal to adults.

“;Most TV clients will buy advertising on shows that appeal to adults 25 to 54 and women 25 to 54. Those are the two demographic sweet spots,”; Gaeth said.