WAGT-DT2
Encyclopedia
WAGT-DT2 is the CW-affiliated television station
for the Central Savannah River Area
(CSRA) of East-Central Georgia
and West-Central South Carolina
. The station is part of The CW Plus
, a special national feed of the network broadcasting on cable and/or over-the-air on a digital signal. It is a second digital subchannel
of NBC
affiliate WAGT
owned by Schurz Communications
but operated through joint sales and shared services
agreements by Media General
.
Over-the-air, WAGT-DT2 broadcasts a standard definition digital signal on UHF channel 30.2 (or virtual channel
26.2 via PSIP) from a transmitter in Beech Island, South Carolina
's Spiderweb
section. It can also be seen on Knology
channel 12 and Comcast
channel 23. Known on-air as CW Augusta, WAGT-DT2's parent station has studios on Broad Street
/US 1
/US 25
/SR 28
/SR 104
in Downtown Augusta
.
alongside the launch of The WB 100+
national service. It was a cable-exclusive WB affiliate with the faux call sign "WBAU" (standing for The WB AUgusta). At some point in the early-2000s after operating as a separate entity, WBAU began to be managed by and have advertising services provided through WAGT. On January 24, 2006, The WB and UPN
announced the two networks would end broadcasting and merge. The new combined network would be called The CW. The letters would represent the first initial of corporate parents "C"BS
(the parent company of UPN) and the "W"arner Bros.
unit of Time Warner
.
On February 22, News Corporation
announced it would start up another new network called MyNetworkTV
. This new service, which would be a sister network to Fox, would be operated by Fox Television Stations and its syndication
division Twentieth Television. MyNetworkTV was created in order to give UPN and WB stations, not mentioned as becoming CW affiliates, another option besides becoming Independent. It was also created to compete against The CW. WRDW offered UPN on a second digital subchannel which was announced as the area's MyNetworkTV affiliate.
Due to WAGT's association with WBAU, it received rights to carry The CW. Schurz decided to do away with the fictional call sign upon launching a simulcast of the station on a new second digital subchannel of WAGT. As a result, WAGT-DT2 was adopted as its first official callsign. In October 2009, the parent companies of WAGT and WJBF announced the two stations would enter into joint sales and shared services agreements in January 2010. This resulted in the two outlets combining news operations, sales, and other operational services. It was later announced WJBF would control all of WAGT's news and advertising operations while that station handles programming and the maintaining of Federal Communications Commission
(FCC) regulations.
Most of WAGT's managerial staff were dismissed and other employees were reassigned to different positions. Media General had initially intended to move WAGT and this CW subchannel into an expanded wing of WJBF's studios on Reynolds Street. However, that 1956-built facility is unable to sustain the expansion needed to house both stations and a total of four services. The company chose instead to construct new combined studios at the Augusta West Shopping Center in a renovated former Borders
bookstore. Right now, the facility is scheduled to be completed in October 2011 after lengthy delays.
Independent station WBEK-CA
) had low ratings
and inconsistent viewership, the show was cancelled and moved to this station. The broadcast was unable to directly compete against another newscast seen every night at the same time on Fox affiliate WFXG
(produced by WJBF) because that effort was very successful in the time slot from its launch in 2004. On WBAU after being retooled, the newscast became known as WB 23 News at 10. With this station's September 2006 affiliation switch to The CW, WAGT renamed the broadcast CW Augusta Now and tailored the format towards a younger audience as was the case with the newly-formed network.
On April 23, 2007 in an attempt to boost continual anemic ratings, WAGT decided to drop the CW Augusta Now title and its fast-paced format replacing it with a more traditional newscast. However, NBC Augusta News at 10 was still unable to mount a strong challenge and alternative to WFXG's newscast so it was cancelled in April 2008. WJBF continued producing local news for WFXG despite entering into operational agreements with WAGT in October 2009. As a result, some reporters and video footage from that outlet began to be seen on the Fox affiliate. On September 26, 2011 after terminating the seven year old news share agreement with WJBF, WFXG launched its first ever in-house news operation. In partnership with a News Director
based at WTOC-TV
in Savannah
, WFXG hired multimedia journalists to shoot, edit, and report stories in the Augusta area.
That nightly prime time newscast now originates from WTOC's facility in Savannah with anchors from the big three station
. Several reporters are based in Augusta to provide local coverage. WFXG also features unique, regionalized coverage provided by Raycom Media sister television outlets in the Southeastern United States
. On the same day of that launch, WJBF introduced another prime time broadcast at 10 on WAGT-DT2. Known as NewsChannel 6 at 10 on The CW, the news is seen every night for thirty minutes on this station. Despite airing on a second digital subchannel of WAGT, the program has WJBF branding and features anchors from that station. Like all CW Plus affiliates in the Eastern Time Zone
, WAGT-DT2 continues airing the nationally syndicated morning show The Daily Buzz
on weekdays from 6 until 9.
Anchors
Reporters
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...
for the Central Savannah River Area
Central Savannah River Area
The Central Savannah River Area is a 13-county region in the U.S. state of Georgia, and is also considered to include five to eight counties in South Carolina. The term was coined in 1950 by C.C. McCollum, the winner of a $250 contest held by The Augusta Chronicle to generate the best name for the...
(CSRA) of East-Central Georgia
Georgia (U.S. state)
Georgia is a state located in the southeastern United States. It was established in 1732, the last of the original Thirteen Colonies. The state is named after King George II of Great Britain. Georgia was the fourth state to ratify the United States Constitution, on January 2, 1788...
and West-Central South Carolina
South Carolina
South Carolina is a state in the Deep South of the United States that borders Georgia to the south, North Carolina to the north, and the Atlantic Ocean to the east. Originally part of the Province of Carolina, the Province of South Carolina was one of the 13 colonies that declared independence...
. The station is part of The CW Plus
The CW Plus
The CW Plus is a group of primarily digital sub-channels, analog, and non-broadcast cable television outlets for the CW Television Network, for markets below the top 99 television media markets in the United States....
, a special national feed of the network broadcasting on cable and/or over-the-air on a digital signal. It is a second digital subchannel
Digital subchannel
In broadcasting, digital subchannels are a means to transmit more than one independent program at the same time from the same digital radio or digital television station on the same radio frequency channel. This is done by using data compression techniques to reduce the size of each individual...
of NBC
NBC
The National Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network and former radio network headquartered in the GE Building in New York City's Rockefeller Center with additional major offices near Los Angeles and in Chicago...
affiliate WAGT
WAGT
WAGT is the NBC-affiliated television station for the Central Savannah River Area of East-Central Georgia and West-Central South Carolina. Licensed to Augusta, Georgia, it broadcasts a high definition digital signal on UHF channel 30 from a transmitter in the Spiderweb section of Beech Island,...
owned by Schurz Communications
Schurz Communications
Schurz Communications is a South Bend, Indiana-based radio, television, cable tv and newspaper media group.-Cable Television Systems:*Antietam Cable, Hagerstown, Maryland *Advanced Cable Communications, Coral Springs, Florida...
but operated through joint sales and shared services
Shared services
Shared services refers to the provision of a service by one part of an organization or group where that service had previously been found in more than one part of the organization or group. Thus the funding and resourcing of the service is shared and the providing department effectively becomes an...
agreements by Media General
Media General
Media General, Inc. is a media company based in the Southeastern United States. Its major properties include newspapers such as The Tampa Tribune, the Winston-Salem Journal, and the Richmond Times-Dispatch, as well as numerous television stations, such as flagship station WFLA-TV.The company was...
.
Over-the-air, WAGT-DT2 broadcasts a standard definition digital signal on UHF channel 30.2 (or virtual channel
Virtual channel
In telecommunications, a logical channel number , also known as virtual channel, is a channel designation which differs from that of the actual radio channel on which the signal travels....
26.2 via PSIP) from a transmitter in Beech Island, South Carolina
Beech Island, South Carolina
Beech Island is an unincorporated community of Aiken County, South Carolina, United States. It appears to take its name from Beech Island, a nearby former island that is politically part of Georgia but geographically separated from the rest of Georgia by a river which changed its bed...
's Spiderweb
Spiderweb, South Carolina
Spiderweb is a populated place in Aiken County, South Carolina, United States. The name was collected by the United States Geological Survey between 1976 and 1980, and entered into the Geographic Names Information System on July 13, 1980.-References:...
section. It can also be seen on Knology
Knology
Knology Inc. is a cable company that formed in 1994 by ITC Holding Company, Inc, a telecommunications holding company in West Point, Georgia that also founded Internet service provider Mindspring. In late 1994, shortly after Knology's inception, two employees made a $600,000 investment to make...
channel 12 and Comcast
Comcast
Comcast Corporation is the largest cable operator, home Internet service provider, and fourth largest home telephone service provider in the United States, providing cable television, broadband Internet, and telephone service to both residential and commercial customers in 39 states and the...
channel 23. Known on-air as CW Augusta, WAGT-DT2's parent station has studios on Broad Street
Broad Street Historic District (Augusta, Georgia)
The Broad Street Historic District in Augusta, Georgia is a historic district that was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1980. It includes 158 contributing buildings....
/US 1
U.S. Route 1 in Georgia
U.S. Route 1 in Georgia is also mostly signed as the state highway State Route 4. The route crosses the St. Marys River from Florida near Waycross and crosses the Savannah River from Augusta, Georgia into North Augusta, South Carolina....
/US 25
U.S. Route 25
U.S. Route 25 is a north–south United States highway that runs for from Brunswick, Georgia to the Ohio state line in Covington, Kentucky.-Georgia:...
/SR 28
Georgia State Route 28
State Route 28 is the Georgia segments of a multi-state Route 28 that runs from southwestern Aiken County, South Carolina northwestward to northern Graham County, North Carolina. The route has two segments in Georgia totalling .-Southern segment:...
/SR 104
Georgia State Route 104
Georgia State Route 104 is a spur route of its parent, GA 4. It is more commonly referred to as both River Watch Parkway and Washington Road in the Augusta, Georgia area.-Routing:...
in Downtown Augusta
Augusta Downtown Historic District
Augusta Downtown Historic District is a historic district that encompasses most of Downtown Augusta, Georgia and its pre-Civil War area.It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2004.-Notable Historic sites:...
.
History
The station signed-on in September 19981998 in television
The year 1998 in television involved some significant events.Below is a list of television-related events in 1998.For the American TV schedule, see: 1998–99 United States network television schedule.-Events:-Debuts:-1950s:...
alongside the launch of The WB 100+
The WB 100+ Station Group
The WB 100+ Station Group was a group of primarily non-broadcast local cable television outlets for The WB Television Network, for markets below the top 100 television media markets in the United States. Dayparts with no WB programming were programmed by the network...
national service. It was a cable-exclusive WB affiliate with the faux call sign "WBAU" (standing for The WB AUgusta). At some point in the early-2000s after operating as a separate entity, WBAU began to be managed by and have advertising services provided through WAGT. On January 24, 2006, The WB and UPN
UPN
United Paramount Network was a television network that was broadcast in over 200 markets in the United States from 1995 to 2006. UPN was originally owned by Viacom/Paramount and Chris-Craft Industries, the former of which, through the Paramount Television Group, produced most of the network's...
announced the two networks would end broadcasting and merge. The new combined network would be called The CW. The letters would represent the first initial of corporate parents "C"BS
CBS
CBS Broadcasting Inc. is a major US commercial broadcasting television network, which started as a radio network. The name is derived from the initials of the network's former name, Columbia Broadcasting System. The network is sometimes referred to as the "Eye Network" in reference to the shape of...
(the parent company of UPN) and the "W"arner Bros.
Warner Bros.
Warner Bros. Entertainment, Inc., also known as Warner Bros. Pictures or simply Warner Bros. , is an American producer of film and television entertainment.One of the major film studios, it is a subsidiary of Time Warner, with its headquarters in Burbank,...
unit of Time Warner
Time Warner
Time Warner is one of the world's largest media companies, headquartered in the Time Warner Center in New York City. Formerly two separate companies, Warner Communications, Inc...
.
On February 22, News Corporation
News Corporation
News Corporation or News Corp. is an American multinational media conglomerate. It is the world's second-largest media conglomerate as of 2011 in terms of revenue, and the world's third largest in entertainment as of 2009, although the BBC remains the world's largest broadcaster...
announced it would start up another new network called MyNetworkTV
MyNetworkTV
MyNetworkTV is a television broadcast syndication service in the United States, owned by the Fox Entertainment Group, a division of News Corporation...
. This new service, which would be a sister network to Fox, would be operated by Fox Television Stations and its syndication
Television syndication
In broadcasting, syndication is the sale of the right to broadcast radio shows and television shows by multiple radio stations and television stations, without going through a broadcast network, though the process of syndication may conjure up structures like those of a network itself, by its very...
division Twentieth Television. MyNetworkTV was created in order to give UPN and WB stations, not mentioned as becoming CW affiliates, another option besides becoming Independent. It was also created to compete against The CW. WRDW offered UPN on a second digital subchannel which was announced as the area's MyNetworkTV affiliate.
Due to WAGT's association with WBAU, it received rights to carry The CW. Schurz decided to do away with the fictional call sign upon launching a simulcast of the station on a new second digital subchannel of WAGT. As a result, WAGT-DT2 was adopted as its first official callsign. In October 2009, the parent companies of WAGT and WJBF announced the two stations would enter into joint sales and shared services agreements in January 2010. This resulted in the two outlets combining news operations, sales, and other operational services. It was later announced WJBF would control all of WAGT's news and advertising operations while that station handles programming and the maintaining of Federal Communications Commission
Federal Communications Commission
The Federal Communications Commission is an independent agency of the United States government, created, Congressional statute , and with the majority of its commissioners appointed by the current President. The FCC works towards six goals in the areas of broadband, competition, the spectrum, the...
(FCC) regulations.
Most of WAGT's managerial staff were dismissed and other employees were reassigned to different positions. Media General had initially intended to move WAGT and this CW subchannel into an expanded wing of WJBF's studios on Reynolds Street. However, that 1956-built facility is unable to sustain the expansion needed to house both stations and a total of four services. The company chose instead to construct new combined studios at the Augusta West Shopping Center in a renovated former Borders
Borders Group
Borders Group, Inc. was an international book and music retailer based in Ann Arbor, Michigan. The company employed approximately 19,500 throughout the U.S., primarily in its Borders and Waldenbooks stores....
bookstore. Right now, the facility is scheduled to be completed in October 2011 after lengthy delays.
Newscasts
After the original version of WAGT's weeknight-only prime time newscast at 10 (on Class AClass A television service
The class A television service is a system for regulating some low-power television stations in the United States. Class A stations are denoted by the broadcast callsign suffix "-CA" or "-CD" , although very many analog -CA stations have a digital companion channel that was assigned the -LD...
Independent station WBEK-CA
WBEK-CA
WBEK-CA is a low-power television station in Augusta, Georgia , broadcasting locally on UHF channel 16 as an affiliate of America One...
) had low ratings
Nielsen Ratings
Nielsen ratings are the audience measurement systems developed by Nielsen Media Research, in an effort to determine the audience size and composition of television programming in the United States...
and inconsistent viewership, the show was cancelled and moved to this station. The broadcast was unable to directly compete against another newscast seen every night at the same time on Fox affiliate WFXG
WFXG
WFXG is the Fox-affiliated television station for the Central Savannah River Area of East-Central Georgia and West-Central South Carolina. Licensed to Augusta, Georgia, it broadcasts a high definition digital signal on UHF channel 51 from a transmitter in Beech Island, South Carolina's Spiderweb...
(produced by WJBF) because that effort was very successful in the time slot from its launch in 2004. On WBAU after being retooled, the newscast became known as WB 23 News at 10. With this station's September 2006 affiliation switch to The CW, WAGT renamed the broadcast CW Augusta Now and tailored the format towards a younger audience as was the case with the newly-formed network.
On April 23, 2007 in an attempt to boost continual anemic ratings, WAGT decided to drop the CW Augusta Now title and its fast-paced format replacing it with a more traditional newscast. However, NBC Augusta News at 10 was still unable to mount a strong challenge and alternative to WFXG's newscast so it was cancelled in April 2008. WJBF continued producing local news for WFXG despite entering into operational agreements with WAGT in October 2009. As a result, some reporters and video footage from that outlet began to be seen on the Fox affiliate. On September 26, 2011 after terminating the seven year old news share agreement with WJBF, WFXG launched its first ever in-house news operation. In partnership with a News Director
News Director
A news director is an individual at a broadcast station or network or a newspaper who is in charge of the news department. In local news, the news director is typically in charge of the entire news staff, including journalists, news presenters, photographers, copy writers, television producers,...
based at WTOC-TV
WTOC-TV
WTOC-TV is the CBS-affiliated television station for Southeastern Georgia's Coastal Empire and Southern South Carolina's Lowcountry. Licensed to Savannah, Georgia, it broadcasts a high definition digital signal on VHF channel 11 from a transmitter along Fort Argyle Road/SR 204 in unincorporated...
in Savannah
Savannah, Georgia
Savannah is the largest city and the county seat of Chatham County, in the U.S. state of Georgia. Established in 1733, the city of Savannah was the colonial capital of the Province of Georgia and later the first state capital of Georgia. Today Savannah is an industrial center and an important...
, WFXG hired multimedia journalists to shoot, edit, and report stories in the Augusta area.
That nightly prime time newscast now originates from WTOC's facility in Savannah with anchors from the big three station
Big Three Television Networks
The Big Three Television Networks are the three traditional commercial broadcast television networks in the United States: ABC, CBS and NBC...
. Several reporters are based in Augusta to provide local coverage. WFXG also features unique, regionalized coverage provided by Raycom Media sister television outlets in the Southeastern United States
Southeastern United States
The Southeastern United States, colloquially referred to as the Southeast, is the eastern portion of the Southern United States. It is one of the most populous regions in the United States of America....
. On the same day of that launch, WJBF introduced another prime time broadcast at 10 on WAGT-DT2. Known as NewsChannel 6 at 10 on The CW, the news is seen every night for thirty minutes on this station. Despite airing on a second digital subchannel of WAGT, the program has WJBF branding and features anchors from that station. Like all CW Plus affiliates in the Eastern Time Zone
Eastern Time Zone
The Eastern Time Zone of the United States and Canada is a time zone that falls mostly along the east coast of North America. Its UTC time offset is −5 hrs during standard time and −4 hrs during daylight saving time...
, WAGT-DT2 continues airing the nationally syndicated morning show The Daily Buzz
The Daily Buzz
The Daily Buzz is a nationally syndicated breakfast television news and infotainment program. The show is produced by Fisher Communications and is owned and distributed by ACME Communications; it is broadcast every weekday morning from studios at Full Sail University in Winter Park, Florida...
on weekdays from 6 until 9.
Newscast titles
- WB 23 News at 10 (?-2006)
- CW Augusta Now (2006-2007)
- NBC Augusta News at 10 (2007-2008, end of production)
- NewsChannel 6 at 10 on The CW (2011-present)
News team
+ denotes WAGT personnelAnchors
- John Hart - weeknight news and reporter
- Kimberely Scott - weeknight news and digital journalist
- Jillian Benfield - weekend news and digital journalist
- George Myers - Chief Meteorologist seen weeknights
- Jenan Lee Thomas - weekend meteorologist and feature digital journalist
- Chris Kane - Sports DirectorSports DirectorA sports director is an individual at a television or radio station who is in charge of the sports department. In local news, the sports director is typically the station's primary sportscaster, and often anchors the primetime newscasts on weekdays. They are in charge of sports programming and...
seen weeknights - Merissa Lynn - weekend sports and news digital journalist
- Mitch English - The Daily Buzz host
- Kia Malone - The Daily Buzz host
- Andy Campbell - The Daily Buzz host
- Andrea Jackson - The Daily Buzz host
- Holly Hannula - The Daily Buzz host
- Michelle Yarn - The Daily Buzz host
Reporters
- Kait Rayner - Aiken County, South CarolinaAiken County, South CarolinaAiken County is a county located in the U.S. state of South Carolina. In 2000, its population was 142,552; in 2010, the U.S. Census Bureau estimated that its population had reached 160,099...
Bureau Chief - + Ashley Campbell - Columbia County, GeorgiaColumbia County, GeorgiaColumbia County is a county located in the US state of Georgia along the Savannah River. As of 2010 the population was 124,054 a growth of 39% from the 2000 census figure of 89,288. The de jure county seat is Appling. Appling is an unincorporated area, making Columbia one of only three counties...
- + Jonathan Davis - associate producer
- Archith Seshadri - digital journalist
- Brett Buffington - digital journalist
- Cory McGinnis - digital journalist
- + Brendan Robertson - sports
- George Eskola - Senior
- + Courtney Khondabi
- + Annie Snead
- + Liz Hill