KJCT
Encyclopedia
KJCT is a television station
in Grand Junction
, Colorado
that serves the Grand Junction-Montrose
market. It is an affiliate
of the American Broadcasting Company
(ABC) owned and operated by the News-Press & Gazette Company
. It broadcasts its digital signal on VHF channel 7 (virtual channel 8.1).
KJCT transmits its signal from the Mesa Point Electronics Site on the Grand Mesa
, the world's tallest flat-top mountain. KJCT's primary translator, K28AD Montrose
, has been on the air from Storm King Mountain since September, 1982. The KJCT signal is relayed by 13 analog and eight digital translators across central and northwestern Colorado.
in 1954. It was owned by the Pikes Peak Broadcasting Company as a semi-satellite of KRDO-TV
in Colorado Springs; as a result, it immediately took ABC away from KREX. The station had full production facilities in Grand Junction; however, much of the programming was fed via hundreds of miles of microwave links from KRDO. In the late 1990s, KJCT chief engineer Roger Hightower modernized KJCT into one of the first true digital facilities in Colorado, and severed the electronic umbilical cord with KRDO.
KJCT was the first Western Colorado television station with modern electronic news gathering
technology. "8 Live," the stations' first live microwave newsvan, came into service in 1984.
In 2006, News-Press & Gazette Company announced the purchase of KJCT along with KRDO-TV and KRDO-AM
from Pikes Peak Broadcasting.
In late 2008, KJCT's third digital subcarrier became western Colorado's affiliate for The CW. However, despite The CW being available locally, Denver's KWGN-TV
, which has been on cable for decades in Grand Junction, is still available through two low-powered repeaters in the area.
Television station
A television station is a business, organisation or other such as an amateur television operator that transmits content over terrestrial television. A television transmission can be by analog television signals or, more recently, by digital television. Broadcast television systems standards are...
in Grand Junction
Grand Junction, Colorado
The City of Grand Junction is the largest city in western Colorado. It is a city with a council–manager government form that is the county seat and the most populous city of Mesa County, Colorado, United States. Grand Junction is situated west-southwest of the Colorado State Capitol in Denver. As...
, Colorado
Colorado
Colorado is a U.S. state that encompasses much of the Rocky Mountains as well as the northeastern portion of the Colorado Plateau and the western edge of the Great Plains...
that serves the Grand Junction-Montrose
Montrose, Colorado
The City of Montrose is a Home Rule Municipality that is the county seat and the most populous city of Montrose County, Colorado, United States. The United States Census Bureau estimates that the city population was 15,479 in 2005. The main road that leads in and out of Montrose is U.S...
market. It is an affiliate
Affiliate
An affiliate is a commercial entity with a relationship with a peer or a larger entity.- Corporate structure :A corporation may be referred to as an affiliate of another when it is related to it but not strictly controlled by it, as with a subsidiary relationship, or when it is desired to avoid...
of the American Broadcasting Company
American Broadcasting Company
The American Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network. Created in 1943 from the former NBC Blue radio network, ABC is owned by The Walt Disney Company and is part of Disney-ABC Television Group. Its first broadcast on television was in 1948...
(ABC) owned and operated by the News-Press & Gazette Company
News-Press & Gazette Company
The News Press & Gazette Company is a media company based in St. Joseph, Missouri, wholly owned and operated by the Bradley family. It is presided by Brian Bradley and David R. Bradley, with Hank Bradley , Eric Bradley and Kit Bradley serving on its Board of Directors. All are descendants of...
. It broadcasts its digital signal on VHF channel 7 (virtual channel 8.1).
KJCT transmits its signal from the Mesa Point Electronics Site on the Grand Mesa
Grand Mesa
The Grand Mesa is a large mesa in western Colorado in the United States. It has an area of about and stretches for about east of Grand Junction between the Colorado River and the Gunnison River, its tributary to the south. The north side of the mesa is drained largely by Plateau Creek, a...
, the world's tallest flat-top mountain. KJCT's primary translator, K28AD Montrose
Montrose, Colorado
The City of Montrose is a Home Rule Municipality that is the county seat and the most populous city of Montrose County, Colorado, United States. The United States Census Bureau estimates that the city population was 15,479 in 2005. The main road that leads in and out of Montrose is U.S...
, has been on the air from Storm King Mountain since September, 1982. The KJCT signal is relayed by 13 analog and eight digital translators across central and northwestern Colorado.
History
KJCT signed on the air on October 22, 1979 as the first television station in Western Colorado since KREX-TVKREX-TV
KREX-TV, digital channel 2 , is the CBS affiliate for most of western Colorado, USA. Based in Grand Junction and owned by Hoak Media Corporation, it operates digitally on VHF channel 2.-History:...
in 1954. It was owned by the Pikes Peak Broadcasting Company as a semi-satellite of KRDO-TV
KRDO-TV
KRDO-TV, virtual channel 13, is the ABC-affiliated television station in Colorado Springs, Colorado, USA. The station broadcasts its digital signal on UHF channel 24. The station is owned by Pikes Peak Television, a subsidiary of the News-Press & Gazette Company of St...
in Colorado Springs; as a result, it immediately took ABC away from KREX. The station had full production facilities in Grand Junction; however, much of the programming was fed via hundreds of miles of microwave links from KRDO. In the late 1990s, KJCT chief engineer Roger Hightower modernized KJCT into one of the first true digital facilities in Colorado, and severed the electronic umbilical cord with KRDO.
KJCT was the first Western Colorado television station with modern electronic news gathering
Electronic news gathering
ENG is a broadcasting industry acronym which stands for electronic news gathering. It can mean anything from a lone broadcast journalist reporter taking a single professional video camera out to shoot a story, to an entire television crew taking a production truck or satellite truck on location...
technology. "8 Live," the stations' first live microwave newsvan, came into service in 1984.
In 2006, News-Press & Gazette Company announced the purchase of KJCT along with KRDO-TV and KRDO-AM
KRDO (AM)
KRDO is a news/talk radio station simulcasted from KRDO-FM 105.5 and based in Colorado Springs, Colorado, USA. The format complements KRDO-TV's news broadcasts. KRDO is owned and operated by the News-Press & Gazette Company of St. Joseph, Missouri....
from Pikes Peak Broadcasting.
In late 2008, KJCT's third digital subcarrier became western Colorado's affiliate for The CW. However, despite The CW being available locally, Denver's KWGN-TV
KWGN-TV
KWGN-TV, virtual channel 2 , is a television station in Denver, Colorado, owned by the Tribune Company and affiliated with the CW Television Network...
, which has been on cable for decades in Grand Junction, is still available through two low-powered repeaters in the area.
News operation
On Friday, May 22, 2009, KJCT became the first station in Grand Junction to launch local news in high definition.Station slogans
- Western Colorado's News Source (1990-2003)
- Where The News Comes First (2003-present)
Current on-air staff
- Spencer Washburn
- Megan Terlecky
- Katie Ryan
- Don Coleman
- Drew Wilkins
- Eddie Sheerr
- Aman Chabra
- Pierre Noujaim
- Dann Cianca
- Courtney Jones
- Chris Grogan
- Tami Brehse
- Jeremy Alm
- Honora Swanson