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Coordinates:30°16′25″N81°33′12″W/ 30.27361°N 81.55333°W/30.27361; -81.55333
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Not to be confused withWJXX.
WJXT
Channels
BrandingChannel 4;News 4 Jax
Programming
Affiliations
Ownership
Owner
WCWJ
History
First air date
September 15, 1949(74 years ago)(1949-09-15)
Former call signs
WMBR-TV (1949–1958)
Former channel number(s)
  • Analog:4 (VHF,1949–2009)
  • Digital:42 (UHF, until 2020)
  • CBS(1949–2002)
  • DuMont(secondary, 1949–1955)
  • NBC(secondary, 1949–1957)
  • ABC(secondary, 1949–1966)
Call signmeaning
"JXT" = Jax Television(sic)Jax being the common nickname for the city
Technical information[1]
Licensing authority
FCC
Facility ID53116
ERP670 kW
HAAT303.9 m (997 ft)
Transmitter coordinates30°16′25″N81°33′12″W/ 30.27361°N 81.55333°W/30.27361; -81.55333
Links
Public license information
Websitewww.news4jax.com

WJXT(channel 4) is anindependent television stationinJacksonville, Florida,United States. It is owned byGraham Media GroupalongsideCWaffiliateWCWJ(channel 17). The two stations share studios at 4 Broadcast Place on the south bank of theSt. Johns Riverin Jacksonville; WJXT's transmitter is located on Anders Boulevard in the city's Killarney Shores section.

History[edit]

As a CBS affiliate[edit]

WJXT originally signed on the air on September 15, 1949, as WMBR-TV. It was Jacksonville's first television station, the second television station in Florida and a primaryCBSaffiliate onVHFchannel 4 afterWTVJ(also on channel 4, now anNBCowned-and-operated stationon channel 6) inMiami–Fort Lauderdale.The station was co-owned alongside WMBR radio (1460 AM,[2]nowWQOP;[3]and 96.1 FM, nowWEJZ). Though the station was originally a primary CBS affiliate, it also maintained secondary affiliations with NBC,ABCand theDuMont Television Network.In 1953, the WMBR stations were purchased byThe Washington Post Company.WMBR-TV dropped the DuMont affiliation in 1955, less than a year before the network ceased operations. Since its only competition in the Jacksonville market came from UHF stationWJHP-TV(which signed on in 1953 and went dark three years later), channel 4 had a virtual television monopoly in northern Florida until September 1957, when it lost the NBC affiliation to upstart WFGA (channel 12, nowWTLV).

The Washington Post Company sold WMBR-AM-FM in 1958, while it kept the television station, whose callsign it changed to the current WJXT. WJXT remained a primary CBS and secondary ABC affiliate until WJKS-TV (channel 17, nowCWsister stationWCWJ) took the ABC affiliation upon its sign-on in February 1966, leaving WJXT exclusively with CBS. For much of its tenure as a CBS affiliate, WJXT was the only station affiliated with the network that was located betweenSavannah, Georgia,andOrlando, Florida,and was thus carried on many cable systems between Jacksonville and Orlando.

In 1973, WJXT'sFCClicense renewal was challenged by supporters of PresidentRichard Nixonfollowing theWatergatecoverage of his administration byThe Washington Post,whoseparent companyowned the station. Robert W. Schellenberg, WJXT's general manager, successfully led the effort to defeat the opposition.[4]

In 2001, WJXT was awarded the local broadcast rights toJacksonville Jaguarspreseason football games, replacing WTLV as the official station for theNFLfranchise (WTLV had carried preseason games and Jaguars-related programs starting with the team's1995 inaugural season); the deal also included carriage of the team's coaches show and other Jaguars-related television programs.[5]The station had already been airing Jaguars games since1998,whenCBSgained the national broadcast rights to football games from the NFL'sAmerican Football Conferencedivision. That year, speculation arose that WJXT would become an independent station after it had reached only a one-year affiliation renewal with the network, instead of a four to eight-year affiliation agreement that stations usually obtain from the major broadcast networks.[6]

Independence[edit]

During negotiations between Post-Newsweek Stations and CBS on a new affiliation agreement in early 2002, CBS supplied Post-Newsweek with a list of demands that would have resulted in WJXT no longer receiving monetary compensation for the carriage of the network's programming (CBS was moving toward areverse compensationmodel for its affiliates during this time) and would have required the station to run the entire CBS network schedule in pattern without preemptions, except for extended local breaking news and severe weather coverage. Station and Post-Newsweek company management believed these stipulations would come at the expense of local programming.[7][8]Rather than give in to CBS' demands, Post-Newsweek Stations announced on April 3, 2002, that it would not renew channel 4's affiliation agreement with CBS, which was set to expire on July 10.[7][8][9]

UPNaffiliate WTEV-TV (channel 47, nowWJAX-TV)—at that time owned byClear Channel Communications—subsequently signed an agreement with CBS to become the network's new Jacksonville affiliate two weeks after WJXT's disaffiliation announcement on April 23, 2002.[10]The affiliation switch became official at 5 a.m. on July 15, 2002, ending WJXT's 53-year association with CBS. This also triggered an affiliation switch inGainesvillewhereWGFLbecame a CBS affiliate; that station was a primary affiliate of The WB at the time.

As an independent, WJXT expanded its news programming and began filling daytime, prime time and late night timeslots that were formerly occupied by CBS programs with additional syndicated programming, as well as replacingnetwork sports coveragewithSECcollege footballandbasketballtelecasts from thesyndicated sports providerJefferson Pilot Sports (laterRaycom Sports).[11]WJXT retained rights to Jaguars preseason games for one additional year following the switch, despite the fact that the AFC regular season and playoff football games had moved to WTEV due to national broadcast rights held by CBS and a contract stipulation that reserved the team the right to move local broadcasts of preseason games and other Jaguars programs to another station if WJXT changed its network affiliation.[12][13]The team cut ties with WJXT after the 2002 NFL preseason and moved its preseason games to WTEV-TV in2003.[14]

WJXT does not entirely follow the same "Local" branding scheme as its Graham Media sister stations, although it uses the on-air slogan "TheLocal Station ", and in 2014, the station adopted a slanted logo similar toDetroitNBC affiliateWDIV-TV,but with elements of its previous boxed 4, alongside changing its news branding toNews4JAX.

On May 27, 2016, it was announced that CW affiliate WCWJ, along withWSLS-TVinRoanoke, Virginia,would be sold to Graham Media for $120 million as part of the station divestitures required as a result of the pending merger of theNexstar Broadcasting Group,then-owners of WCWJ, and WCWJ's former ownerMedia General.[15]The sale was approved by the FCC on January 11, 2017, and completed January 17,[16]making WJXT part of aduopoly(Graham Media's first) with WCWJ.

News operation[edit]

WJXT presently broadcasts 59 hours of locally produced newscasts each week (with 10 hours each weekday,5+1⁄2hours on Saturdays and3+1⁄2hours on Sundays); in regards to the number of hours devoted to local news programming, it is the third-highest newscast output among Florida's television stations, behind Fox stationsWTVTinTampaandWSVNin Miami (which respectively broadcast72+1⁄2and63+1⁄2hours of newscasts each week).

Because of the ownership structure of the Jacksonville market's Big Four network affiliates, WJXT is the only television station in the market whose news department operates independently of the other local stations (WTLV and WJXX have jointly produced their newscasts since WTLV owner Gannett's 2000 purchase of WJXX and the resulting consolidation of their news departments, and WAWS transferred production duties of its news department toSSApartner WTEV following that station's 2002 affiliation switch to CBS).

Channel 4 used theEyewitness Newsformat for its newscasts for 38 years from 1967 to 2005, when its newscasts were retitled asChannel 4 News.From 1997 until the station became independent in 2002, WJXT identified asNews Channel 4for general branding purposes, while theEyewitness Newstitle continued in use for its newscasts. This made for some rather verbose station announcements ( "From WJXT News Channel 4... this is Eyewitness News" ).[17]Since 2014, it has been known asNews 4 Jax,a nod to its longtime Website URL.

WJXT has been the dominant news station in Jacksonville for almost half a century, in part because many of its personalities have been at the station for ten years or more. Its evening news team of anchors Tom Wills and Deborah Gianoulis, chief meteorologistGeorge Winterlingand sports director Sam Kouvaris were together for 22 years from 1981 until Gianoulis' retirement in 2003 – one of the longest-running anchor teams in the nation at the time.[18]Upon losing its CBS affiliation, channel 4 rebranded as a news-intensive independent station. Following the example of a number of former Big Three affiliates that switched to Fox in the 1990s, it has a news schedule similar to its days as a CBS affiliate. It retained all existing newscasts, while tacking two additional hours onto its weekday morning program and adding a 6:30 p.m. newscast on weeknights (the former two replacingThe Early Showand theCBS Evening News) and a 10 p.m. newscast seven nights a week (airing for an hour on weeknights and a half-hour on weekends).

On January 14, 2009, beginning with its noon newscast, WJXT became the first television station in the Jacksonville market to begin broadcasting its local newscasts inhigh definition(unlike most stations that transition their newscasts to HD, certain newscasts were not upgraded until later dates: the 5 and 6 p.m. newscasts would not upgrade to HD until two days later on January 16; the weekend newscasts on January 17 and the weekday morning, and 10 and 11 p.m. newscasts respectively upgraded to HD on January 26 and 28).[19]The upgrade saw the introduction of new on-air graphics (opens were designed in-house at Detroit sister station WDIV-TV, while the graphics were designed at Miami sister stationWPLG) andnews music(commissioning an updated version of the "WJXT News Theme", a customized package that was originally used from 1992 to 1997, and was composed specifically for the station byGari Media Group), as well as the upgrade to robotic and computer-operated cameras for studio segments within its newscasts, the automation of itscontrol roomusing the Miranda Vertigo system and Ignite technology.

On April 23, 2009, George Winterling announced he would semi-retire after nearly 47 years as WJXT's chief meteorologist. On May 20, 2009, Winterling stepped down as meteorologist for the station's 6 and 6:30 p.m. newscasts.[20]

On May 21, 2012,Metro Jacksonville,a news and discussion blog on local urban issues, announced that it would enter into a content partnership with WJXT. Under the agreement,Metro Jacksonvilleformats content for WJXT's News4Jax.com website on a self-branded page. The mutually beneficial partnership provides WJXT with more web content and providesMetro Jacksonvillewith a wider audience.[21]On October 28, 2013, WJXT expanded its weekday morning newscast to 5½ hours, with the addition of an hour to the program from 9 to 10 a.m.[22]

Notable former on-air staff[edit]

Technical information[edit]

Subchannels[edit]

The station's signal ismultiplexed:

Subchannels of WJXT[24]
Channel Res. Aspect Short name Programming
4.1 720p 16:9 WJXT-HD Main WJXT programming
4.2 DABL Dabl
4.3 480i WJXT-D3 Start TV

Analog-to-digital conversion[edit]

On June 12, 2009, at 8:55 a.m. (during its broadcast of the weekday morning newscastThe Morning Show), WJXT terminated its analog signal, on VHF channel 4, as part of thefederally mandated transition from analog to digital television.[25]The station's digital signal remained on its pre-transition UHF channel 42,[26]usingvirtual channel4.

WJXT anchor/reporter Melanie Lawson reported live from WJXT's Killarney Shores transmitter site as a veteran station technician pushed the "plate off" button in the building at the base of the transmitter. The WJXT analog signal had transmitted from that site for over two decades following a failure on the original transmitter tower at the station's 4 Broadcast Place studios. The station's digital transmitter also broadcasts from the same site, alongside the digital transmitters of NBC affiliate WTLV and ABC affiliate WJXX. Several monitors at WJXT's South Bank studios were reported by on-camera talent to have gone out upon the digital switchover.

References[edit]

  1. ^"Facility Technical Data for WJXT".Licensing and Management System.Federal Communications Commission.
  2. ^"Directory of Standard (AM) Broadcasting Stations in the United States".Broadcasting Yearbook.Washington, D.C.: Broadcasting Publications, Inc. 1949.RetrievedMarch 3,2016.
  3. ^"Station Search Details".licensing.fcc.gov.Archivedfrom the original on March 7, 2016.RetrievedApril 25,2018.
  4. ^Colee Jr., Donn (2016).Towers in the Sand, The History of Florida Broadcasting.Salem Author Services.ISBN9781635053517.
  5. ^WJXT TV-4 adds new features in station's official coverage of JaguarsArchivedJune 7, 2014, at theWayback Machine,The Florida Times-Union,August 31, 2001.
  6. ^Basch, Mark (November 20, 2001)."Speculation aside, WJXT plans to stay with CBS".The Florida Times-Union.Archived fromthe originalon June 7, 2014.
  7. ^abMcAlister, Nancy (April 4, 2002)."CBS dumped by local affiliate".The Florida Times-Union.Archived fromthe originalon December 3, 2013.
  8. ^abBasch, Mark (April 5, 2002)."TV-4's decision rooted in bottom line".The Florida Times-Union.Archived fromthe originalon June 6, 2014.
  9. ^WJXT-TV 4 to drop CBSArchivedMarch 28, 2015, at theWayback Machine,The Florida Times-Union,April 3, 2002.
  10. ^TV-47 to become new CBS affiliateArchivedSeptember 28, 2014, at theWayback Machine,The Florida Times-Union,April 23, 2002.
  11. ^TV-4 lands SEC football, basketballArchivedJune 7, 2014, at theWayback Machine,The Florida Times-Union,April 19, 2002.
  12. ^WJXT keeps preseason Jags gamesArchivedJune 6, 2014, at theWayback Machine,The Florida Times-Union,May 25, 2002.
  13. ^Affiliate change means Jags are TV free agentsArchivedJune 6, 2014, at theWayback Machine,The Florida Times-Union,April 23, 2002.
  14. ^Changing channels; Jaguars to drop TV-4, near deal with TV-47ArchivedJune 7, 2014, at theWayback Machine,The Florida Times-Union,March 6, 2003.
  15. ^"Nexstar Selling Five Stations in Four Markets".TVNewsCheck.May 27, 2016.RetrievedMay 27,2016.
  16. ^Nexstar Broadcasting Group Completes Acquisition of Media General Creating Nexstar Media Group, The Nation's Second Largest Television BroadcasterNexstar Media Group, January 17, 2017. Retrieved January 17, 2017.
  17. ^NewmanNewsman (September 17, 2007)."WJXT CBS Jacksonville, FL 1998 Open".Archivedfrom the original on June 17, 2016.RetrievedApril 25,2018– via YouTube.
  18. ^Gianoulis drops anchor to chart new courseArchivedNovember 5, 2012, at theWayback Machine,The Florida Times-Union,June 9, 2003.
  19. ^WJXT first station to broadcast local news in HDArchivedJanuary 17, 2009, at theWayback Machine,The Florida Times-Union,January 14, 2009.
  20. ^After nearly 50 years, TV-4's Winterling leaves daily dutiesArchivedOctober 8, 2012, at theWayback Machine,The Florida Times-Union,April 24, 2009.
  21. ^MetroJacksonville.com & Channel 4 Partnership LaunchesArchivedJune 24, 2012, at theWayback Machine,Metro Jacksonville,November 19, 2012.
  22. ^WJXT Expands 'The Morning Show'ArchivedMarch 27, 2014, at theWayback Machine,TVNewsCheck,October 24, 2013.
  23. ^"ESPN's Mike Patrick to receive JU honor".Archivedfrom the original on April 17, 2010.RetrievedSeptember 16,2012.
  24. ^"Digital TV Market Listing for WJXT".RabbitEars.Info.Archivedfrom the original on February 11, 2017.RetrievedJanuary 26,2017.
  25. ^"DTV Tentative Channel Designations for the First and Second Rounds"(PDF).August 29, 2013. Archived from the original on August 29, 2013.RetrievedMarch 20,2023.{{cite web}}:CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
  26. ^"CDBS Print".fcc.gov.RetrievedApril 25,2018.

External links[edit]

Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=WJXT&oldid=1226644675"