Jump to content

WJBF

Add links
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

WJBF
Channels
BrandingWJBF NewsChannel 6
Programming
Affiliations
Ownership
Owner
History
First air date
November 26, 1953(70 years ago)(1953-11-26)
Former call signs
WJBF-TV (1953–1954)
Former channel number(s)
  • Analog:6 (VHF,1953–2009)
  • Digital:42 (UHF, until 2020)
  • NBC(primary 1953–1967, secondary 1967–1974)
  • CBS(secondary, 1953–1954)
  • DuMont(secondary, 1953–1956)
Call signmeaning
John Brooks Fuqua(founder of the station)
Technical information[1]
Licensing authority
FCC
Facility ID27140
ERP755 kW
HAAT504.4 m (1,655 ft)
Transmitter coordinates33°24′20.7″N81°50′0.5″W/ 33.405750°N 81.833472°W/33.405750; -81.833472
Links
Public license information
Websitewww.wjbf

WJBF(channel 6) is atelevision stationinAugusta, Georgia,United States, affiliated withABCand owned byNexstar Media Group.The station's studios are located in Television Park, near the Augusta Mall in Augusta, and its transmitter is located inBeech Island, South Carolina.

History[edit]

WJBF-TV began operations on November 26, 1953, as Augusta's first television station.[2]The station was founded by the Georgia-Carolina Broadcasting Company, the broadcasting arm of local entrepreneurJ. B. Fuqua,[3]who also ownedNBC Radio Networkaffiliate WJBF (1230 AM). WJBF-TV was a primaryNBCaffiliate, but picked up programs fromCBS,ABC andDuMonton a secondary basis. Sister station WJBF radio was sold by Fuqua in 1954 (it is nowWEZO).[4]It lost CBS only three months later whenWRDW-TV(channel 12) signed on.

On September 1, 1967, WJBF became a primary ABC affiliate.[5]The move relegated NBC to a shared secondary affiliation with WRDW-TV. This was an unusual situation for a then two-station market, especially one as small as Augusta. ABC, as the smallest and weakest of the big three networks, would not be on nearly the same footing with CBS and NBC until the 1970s, when most markets of Augusta's size grew large enough to support three full network affiliates. However, fellow NBC affiliateWIS-TVinColumbiaprovided at least grade B coverage to the South Carolina side of the market. In contrast, no full-time ABC affiliate put even a grade B signal into the area. Fuqua reasoned that if channel 6 took a primary ABC affiliation, it wouldn't have significant out-of-market competition. Additionally, in 1966 Fuqua bought two full-time ABC affiliates,WTVWinEvansville, Indiana,and KTHI-TV (nowKVLY-TV) inFargo, North Dakota,and apparently wanted to get his other stations—WJBF andKTVEinEl Dorado, Arkansas—in line with the new acquisitions. In 1969, Fuqua branched out into the movie theater business when he purchased Martin Theaters of Georgia, forerunner ofCarmike Cinemas.At the time, Martin Theaters of Georgia itself also ownedWTVMinColumbus, Georgia,andWTVCinChattanooga, Tennessee,also ABC affiliates. Those were added to Fuqua's portfolio.

When WATU (channel 26, later WAGT) began operations in December 1968, conventional wisdom suggested that it would become a full NBC affiliate. However, since many Augusta viewers still didn't have UHF-capable sets, NBC allowed WJBF and WRDW-TV to continue to cherry-pick most of its stronger programs. For its part, WJBF kept airing both theToday ShowandThe Tonight Show,which preempted ABC'sThe Dick Cavett Showamong others. WATU was thus saddled with NBC's weaker programs, a major factor in the station going dark in 1970.[6]When WATU returned to the air in 1974 as a full-time NBC affiliate, WJBF was forced to drop NBC programming once and for all, per an FCC order issued in 1971 that required VHF stations in markets with three or more commercial outlets to affiliate with only one network.

Fuqua began breaking up his business empire in 1980. His television stations were among the first assets to be sold, with WJBF and WTVM going toMissoula, Montana–based Western Broadcasting Company.,[7]and WTVC going to theA. H. Belo Corporationof Dallas, Texas. In 1984, Western sold its broadcast holdings to theSFN Companies,then-parent of educational publisherScott, Foresman and Company.[8]In 1986, SFN was sold to Pegasus Broadcasting, a new firm formed by members of SFN's management.[9]Pegasus quickly became part ofGE Capitalin 1990.[10][11]Spartan Radiocasting ofSpartanburg, South Carolinapurchased the station in 1992.[12]Spartan was renamedSpartan Communicationsin 1995. Spartan merged withMedia Generalin 2000.

WJBF replaced RTV withMeTVon digital subchannel 6.2 on September 26, 2011, as part of a groupwide affiliation agreement with Media General; the channel replaced RTV on some Media General-owned stations in other market.[13]

Augusta West, management of WAGT[edit]

The exterior of the new Television Park at Augusta West.

In October 2009,Schurz Communicationsannounced that it would enter into joint sales andshared servicesagreements with WJBF, meaning thatWAGT's news operation and advertising sales department would be taken over by Media General. Most of WAGT's managerial staff were dismissed, and other employees were reassigned to different positions.[14]

Media General had initially intended to move WAGT into an expanded wing of the WJBF building in downtown Augusta. Both WJBF and WAGT have had a longstanding presence in the downtown area. Channel 6's facility on Reynolds Street was built around 1956, and channel 26 moved into its Broad Street building, a converted theatre, in 1981. However, it soon became apparent that WJBF's facility could not sustain the expansion necessary to house both stations. Media General instead chose to remodel what had been abig-box storeto contain the stations. The new facility, located at the Augusta West Shopping Center in a formerBarnes & Nobleretail location, was opened in October 2011.[15]While the two stations shared some internal services, WAGT's news operation and sales department operated autonomously from that of WJBF, and the two stations also produced competing news programming from their dedicated areas of the facility.[16]

The SSA was disbanded on February 16, 2016, after the acquisition of WAGT byGray Television,owner of WRDW-TV.[17]Gray accused Media General of "[refusing] to agree to a smooth transition of personnel [from WAGT]" and not allowing them to move along to the station's new owner, as they fell under the employment of WJBF due to the shared services agreement.[18]On February 26, 2016, aninjunctionwas granted against Gray by Media General, claiming that Gray violated the SSA by unwinding it following its purchase of WAGT. The agreement was to last through 2020, and stipulated that all future owners of the station would remain subject to it.[19]

Local programming[edit]

Since 1954, WJBF has produced and aired the Sunday morninggospel musicprogramParade of Quartets,one of the longest-running local programs of any kind on American television. The program has been a showcase for regionally and nationally known African-American gospel performers, and has also featured appearances from political and social figures. Augusta nativeJames Brown,Shirley Caesar,Al Green,theMighty Clouds of Joy,Dorothy NorwoodandJesse Jacksonare among those who have appeared on the program.

The station also produces anurban musicvideo program,Power Hitz,which airs on Sunday evenings.Power Hitzhas been on the air since 2001.[20]

From 1954 until 1992, WJBF produced and aired a Sunday afternoonSouthern gospelprogram featuring the locally basedLewis Family,known as the "First Family of Bluegrass Gospel", that was seen in other markets viasyndication.After the weekly series ended, WJBF continued to produce and air a yearlyChristmasspecial until the group's retirement in 2009.[21]

News operation[edit]

As of May 2021, WJBF presently broadcasts 35 hours of locally produced newscasts each week (with6+1⁄2hours on weekdays,2+1⁄2hours on Saturdays, and two hours on Sundays).

Appropriately for being the first television station in the area, WJBF has led the ratings for most of its history, with rival WRDW-TV usually the runner-up. In recent years, WJBF and WRDW-TV had usually traded first and second place, while WAGT almost always placed third.

In the 1980s, its newscasts were brandedNewsWatch 6.After being acquired by Spartan Radiocasting in 1992, WJBF and some other stations acquired by the company changed their branding toNewsChannel.This station and most of its sister affiliates still use this branding today after being acquired by Media General. However, long after Spartan bought the station, WJBF retained the "groovy 6" logo it had used in one form or another since the late 1970s. This changed in 2002, when it adopted the "arc" logo used by most Media General stations.

In the 1990s, WJBF reached an agreement with theAugusta Mallto run aclosed-circuit"Mall TV" feed on television screens throughout the mall featuring the day's news and coverage of some local special events. WJBF operated this service until the late-1990s. They also had a local agreement with Comcast to air a rebroadcast of the 6 p.m. show on the cable provider's channel 66. This arrangement ended in 2004 with the launch of a nightly 10 o'clock newscast onFoxaffiliateWFXG(channel 54). The production uses different graphics and duratrans concealing the WJBF logos. The launch came after its studios were renovated.

In December 2009, WAGT and WJBF partnered under a shared services agreement, with WJBF producing WAGT's news, sales, and other programming.

On October 17, 2011, WJBF launched local newscasts in high definition starting with the morning newscast. It is the third station in the area to do so behind WFXG and WRDW-TV.

Subchannels[edit]

The station's signal ismultiplexed:

Subchannels of WJBF[22]
Channel Res. Aspect Short name Programming
6.1 1080i 16:9 WJBF-HD ABC
6.2 720p MeTV MeTV[23]
6.3 480i ION Ion Television
6.4 Escape Ion Mystery

References[edit]

  1. ^"Facility Technical Data for WJBF".Licensing and Management System.Federal Communications Commission.
  2. ^"Seven new TV outlets go on the air."Broadcasting - Telecasting,November 30, 1953, pg. 68.
  3. ^"New Georgia Encyclopedia: J. B. Fuqua (1918-2006)".Archived fromthe originalon April 24, 2006.RetrievedNovember 1,2007.
  4. ^"Fountain firm buys WJBF for $125,000."Broadcasting - Telecasting,July 5, 1954, pg. 66.
  5. ^"WJBF (TV) goes primary ABC."Broadcasting,August 14, 1967, pg. 52.
  6. ^"One (network) to a customer."Broadcasting,March 29, 1971, pg. 68.
  7. ^"Changing Hands."Broadcasting,July 28, 1980. pp. 82,83
  8. ^"Western sale."Broadcasting,January 16, 1984, pg. 41.
  9. ^"Changing hands."Broadcasting,July 14, 1986, pg. 66[dead link]
  10. ^"For the Record..."(PDF).Broadcasting.June 4, 1990. p. 80.RetrievedSeptember 12,2023.
  11. ^"For the Record"(PDF).Broadcasting.June 11, 1990. p. 85.RetrievedSeptember 12,2023.
  12. ^"For the Record"(PDF).Broadcasting.March 16, 1992. p. 45.RetrievedSeptember 12,2023.
  13. ^Me-TV Beefs Up Roster With 10 New StationsTVNewsCheck,September 15, 2011.
  14. ^Emerson, LaTina (December 30, 2009)."WJBF, WAGT still negotiating with on-air personnel".The Augusta Chronicle.RetrievedDecember 5,2010.
  15. ^Emerson, LaTina (December 2, 2010)."WBBQ, other stations to move to new locations".The Augusta Chronicle.RetrievedDecember 5,2010.
  16. ^Greenwald, Arthur (July 26, 2012)."Facility Helps Duop TVs Keep Own Identities".TVNewsCheck.RetrievedSeptember 11,2013.
  17. ^"Gray Television and WRDW News 12 Welcome WAGT NBC 26".WRDW.Gray Television. Archived fromthe originalon February 17, 2016.RetrievedFebruary 16,2016.
  18. ^"Gray Blames Media General for Possible Job Losses at Augusta Station".TVSpy.RetrievedFebruary 17,2016.
  19. ^"Judge grants injunction halting WAGT sale".The Augusta Chronicle.February 26, 2016.RetrievedFebruary 27,2016.
  20. ^DeMao, Alisa (September 13, 2001)."Radio personalities add camera to mike".The Augusta Chronicle.RetrievedDecember 5,2010.
  21. ^"Home Page".The Lewis Family.RetrievedJuly 6,2018.
  22. ^"RabbitEars TV Query for WJBF".RabbitEars.info.
  23. ^"WJBF website TV listings".Archived fromthe originalon June 9, 2011.RetrievedJune 30,2011.

External links[edit]

Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=WJBF&oldid=1223408662"