WBNS-TV
Encyclopedia
WBNS-TV, channel 10, is a television station in Columbus, Ohio
, USA
. The station is an affiliate of the CBS Television Network
and is owned by the Dispatch Broadcast Group
, a subsidiary of the Columbus Dispatch, along with WBNS radio (1460 AM
and 97.1 FM
). WBNS-TV's studios, offices and transmitter are located west of Downtown Columbus, near the confluence
of the Olentangy
and Scioto
rivers.
WBNS-TV currently broadcasts in stereo and uses its SAP
channel for a variety of purposes, including simulcasts of its radio sister and simulcasts of NOAA weather radio. The Dispatch Broadcast Group broadcasting operations also include WTHR
, the NBC
affiliate in Indianapolis, Indiana
.
Bank, Newspaper and Shoes, identifying to the owning Wolfe family's separate businesses in Columbus. WBNS radio had been a CBS affiliate for almost 20 years, so channel 10 immediately joined CBS television. It is currently the fifth longest-tenured CBS affiliate, behind WUSA
in Washington, D.C.
, KFMB-TV
in San Diego
, WBTV
in Charlotte
and WFMY-TV
in Greensboro, North Carolina
. Channel 10 has used the on-air branding of 10TV since 1977. It is also one of only a few stations in the country to have had the same owner, call letters and primary network affiliation throughout its history, as well as the only major station in town still owned by Ohio interests.
Although the concentration of media ownership
that exists between the WBNS stations and the Dispatch (the "N," or newspaper, in the station's calls) might seem to run afoul of the Federal Communications Commission
's cross-ownership rules, the Wolfe family was granted an exemption
because their ownership pre-dated the regulations which prohibited common ownership of co-located print and broadcast media in the middle 1970s.
WBNS-TV was known to produce such children's programming as Flippo the Clown, Romper Room
, Luci's Toyshop and programs hosted by popular Columbus Zoo
personality Jack Hanna
. The station also featured "Fritz the Nite Owl," who hosted midnight movies during the 1970s and Sunday state government talk called Capital Square in the 1990s. Throughout much of the 1990s and early years of the millennium WBNS-TV was home to the 10TV Kids News Network (KNN); a local show, "Produced by kids, for kids." The half-hour show aired Saturday mornings. Several KNN kids have gone on to pursue careers in television news or public relations in central Ohio. Luci's Toyshop was a local WBNS-TV produced children's program. that was on the air from 1961 until 1972 offering puppets, cartoons and occasionally a live audience.
In 1995, WBNS-TV replaced Cleveland's WJW-TV as the default affiliate in the Mansfield
area (part of the Cleveland-Akron DMA) after WJW went to Fox
. The new Cleveland CBS affiliate, WOIO
, unlike WBNS-TV, did not reach Mansfield with a Grade B signal. WBNS also replaced Toledo CBS affiliate WTOL
on cable television in the Lima
DMA.
The first live high-definition broadcast on the station's digital signal, WBNS-DT, took place in September 1998 in which the broadcast was a football game between Ohio State and West Virginia
, making the station a pioneer in American digital television. The station claims this to have been the first locally produced HD broadcast in the US, however as several other stations throughout the country also lay claim to this distinction, the veracity cannot be verified.
The station has strong ties to the athletic department of Ohio State University
. For many years, it has produced the coaches shows for both the football and men's basketball teams, along with a general program about Ohio State athletics in general. Additionally, its radio sister has been the flagship station of Ohio State football and basketball for decades. Formerly the station aired Ohio State games offered by ESPN Plus
in both sports, including prime-time pre-emptions of CBS network programming for games. With the launch of the Big Ten Network in September 2007 and that network's exclusivity over live Ohio State sports, this was discontinued beyond selected CBS Big Ten basketball broadcasts on the weekends and latter portions of the conference tourney, although the programming outside of live sports remains produced by WBNS-TV.
On 12 June 2009, WBNS-TV launched Doppler 10 Now, a weather subchannel based on the Local AccuWeather
platform.
As of June 12, 2009, WBNS-TV's digital signal is multiplexed on a full-time basis (it was previously only multiplexed for special events, such as CBS network coverage of the March Madness
basketball tournament):
The high-definition feed for WBNS-TV is not available on Dish Network
due to a contractual dispute between the two sides. In contrast, WCMH-TV, WSYX, and WTTE
have been available in HD on Dish Network since April 1, 2009.
WBNS-TV was the first television station in the Columbus market to debut a news helicopter, "10TV SkyCam" (now "Chopper 10") in 1979, satellite news truck "10TV Skybeam" in 1986 and launch the Ohio News Network in 1997, which shares studio and office space with WBNS. It has been the TV home of Wheel of Fortune
since 1983 and Jeopardy!
since 1984.
Appropriately for a station with roots in a newspaper, WBNS-TV has been a consistent ratings leader in programming and news for most of the time since records have been kept. In fact, for many years a popular saying in Columbus was "4 and 6 don't equal 10", referring to WBNS-TV and its rivals, WLWC/WCMH-TV
(channel 4) and WTVN-TV/WSYX
(channel 6).
The first major challenge to channel 10's dominance occurred in 1985, two years after WCMH began featuring the popular anchor team (and then-married couple) of Doug Adair
and Mona Scott. From then until the to the mid 2000s, WBNS-TV and WCMH bounced back and forth for first place at 11 PM (and were virtually tied for ratings leads). However, since 2002, WBNS-TV has returned to a dominant position due to stronger CBS programming and CBS' reacquisition of Sunday-afternoon NFL
telecasts. WBNS-TV usually rotates games among the three teams with followings in the Columbus market—the Cleveland Browns
, Pittsburgh Steelers
and Cincinnati Bengals
(all of whom are part of the CBS package for the American Football Conference
).
During the Super Bowl XLI
, channel 10 debuted a large marketing campaign to promote the launch of 10TV News in high definition. The song "Carousels (Dreaming of Tomorrow)" by Columbus rock band Alamoth Lane was used throughout the course of the campaign. Some of the band members were shot playing on the roof of WBNS with the Columbus skyline behind them. The song was also used to promote sister station WTHR
's 50th Anniversary in 2007.
The station began making preparations for the transition to HD in late March 2007, and debuted its 5:00 p.m. newscast in high definition on April 2, becoming the first television station in Central Ohio to produce newscasts in HD. The station's newscasts are now known as "10TV News HD", after having been known as "10TV Eyewitness News" for many years.
On November 7, 2008, WBNS-TV's morning-noon anchor Heather Pick
died of breast cancer
. Heather learned in 2004 that the disease she had beaten once in 1999 had returned. In her last public appearance, Heather hosted the "Spirit Celebration with Heather Pick", raising almost $500,000 for the Columbus Cancer Clinic.
On January 3, 2011, WBNS expanded its weekday morning newscast to 2½ hours, starting at 4:25 a.m. Weekend anchors Jeff Hogan and Angela An will replace Chuck Strickler and Anietra Hamper as morning anchors, and weeknight 5:30 p.m. anchor Tracy Townsend will also replace Hamper and Strickler as noon anchors.
On May 11, 2011, WBNS-TV expanded their advertising by leasing the Casto Building on the corner of High and Broad streets in downtown Columbus. The building was being leased by rival station WCMH-TV since 2008. On May 11, 2011, the WCMH-TV signs were replaced with those of WBNS'. There is studio space at street level of the Casto Building, which WCMH used for their NBC 4 on the Square, however, WBNS has decided not to utilize the studio space.
Columbus, Ohio
Columbus is the capital of and the largest city in the U.S. state of Ohio. The broader metropolitan area encompasses several counties and is the third largest in Ohio behind those of Cleveland and Cincinnati. Columbus is the third largest city in the American Midwest, and the fifteenth largest city...
, USA
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. The station is an affiliate of the CBS Television Network
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...
and is owned by the Dispatch Broadcast Group
Dispatch Broadcast Group
The Dispatch Broadcast Group is a media company based in Columbus, Ohio. The group is a division of the Dispatch Printing Company, owner of the Columbus Dispatch, and has been owned by the Wolfe family since 1929...
, a subsidiary of the Columbus Dispatch, along with WBNS radio (1460 AM
WBNS (AM)
WBNS — branded 1460 ESPN — is a radio station that broadcasts from Columbus, Ohio. The station, which originally went on the air as WCAH in 1922, currently broadcasts a sports talk format and carries ESPN talk programming. WBNS is also the flagship of the Ohio State Buckeyes radio network. It is...
and 97.1 FM
WBNS-FM
WBNS-FM is a radio station in Columbus, Ohio airing a sports radio format.WBNS-FM features a combination of local programming and ESPN Radio programming, and is the flagship station for the Ohio State Buckeyes football and basketball radio networks...
). WBNS-TV's studios, offices and transmitter are located west of Downtown Columbus, near the confluence
Confluence
Confluence, in geography, describes the meeting of two or more bodies of water.Confluence may also refer to:* Confluence , a property of term rewriting systems...
of the Olentangy
Olentangy River
The Olentangy River is a tributary of the Scioto River in Ohio.It was originally called keenhongsheconsepung, a Delaware word literally translated as "stone for your knife stream", based on the shale found along its shores. Early settlers to the region translated this into "Whetstone River"...
and Scioto
Scioto River
The Scioto River is a river in central and southern Ohio more than 231 miles in length. It rises in Auglaize County in west central Ohio, flows through Columbus, Ohio, where it collects its largest tributary, the Olentangy River, and meets the Ohio River at Portsmouth...
rivers.
WBNS-TV currently broadcasts in stereo and uses its SAP
Second audio program
Second audio program , also known as secondary audio programming, is an auxiliary audio channel for analog television that can be broadcast or transmitted both over the air and by cable TV.-Usage:...
channel for a variety of purposes, including simulcasts of its radio sister and simulcasts of NOAA weather radio. The Dispatch Broadcast Group broadcasting operations also include WTHR
WTHR
WTHR, channel 13, is a full-service television station serving the Indianapolis, Indiana metropolitan area. An affiliate of the NBC television network, its studios at 1000 N. Meridian Street anchor the south end of Indy's Television Row...
, the 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 in Indianapolis, Indiana
Indianapolis, Indiana
Indianapolis is the capital of the U.S. state of Indiana, and the county seat of Marion County, Indiana. As of the 2010 United States Census, the city's population is 839,489. It is by far Indiana's largest city and, as of the 2010 U.S...
.
History
WBNS-TV began operations on October 5, 1949. The call letters stand for WolfeRobert F. Wolfe
According to biographies supplied by the Columbus Foundation and the Columbus Dispatch, newspaper founder Robert F. Wolfe arrived in Columbus, Ohio in 1888 and found work as a shoemaker, eventually beginning the Wolfe Brothers Shoe Company. In 1903, he bought the Ohio State Journal with his...
Bank, Newspaper and Shoes, identifying to the owning Wolfe family's separate businesses in Columbus. WBNS radio had been a CBS affiliate for almost 20 years, so channel 10 immediately joined CBS television. It is currently the fifth longest-tenured CBS affiliate, behind WUSA
WUSA (TV)
WUSA is a television station broadcasting on channel 9 in Washington, D.C.. Owned by the Gannett Company, WUSA is an affiliate of the CBS television network, and the longest-tenured affiliate of that network...
in Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....
, KFMB-TV
KFMB-TV
KFMB-TV is the local CBS television affiliate in San Diego, California. Its studios are located on Engineer Road in the Kearny Mesa area of San Diego along with its sister radio stations, AM 760 and FM 100.7...
in San Diego
San Diego, California
San Diego is the eighth-largest city in the United States and second-largest city in California. The city is located on the coast of the Pacific Ocean in Southern California, immediately adjacent to the Mexican border. The birthplace of California, San Diego is known for its mild year-round...
, WBTV
WBTV
WBTV, channel 3 , is the CBS affiliate in Charlotte, North Carolina. It is one of two flagship stations of Raycom Media. WBTV's studios are located off Morehead Street just west of Uptown Charlotte, and its transmitter is located in north-central Gaston County, North Carolina...
in Charlotte
Charlotte, North Carolina
Charlotte is the largest city in the U.S. state of North Carolina and the seat of Mecklenburg County. In 2010, Charlotte's population according to the US Census Bureau was 731,424, making it the 17th largest city in the United States based on population. The Charlotte metropolitan area had a 2009...
and WFMY-TV
WFMY-TV
WFMY-TV is a television station in Greensboro, North Carolina. Owned by the Gannett Company, WFMYis the CBS affiliate for the Greensboro/High Point/Winston-Salem area...
in Greensboro, North Carolina
Greensboro, North Carolina
Greensboro is a city in the U.S. state of North Carolina. It is the third-largest city by population in North Carolina and the largest city in Guilford County and the surrounding Piedmont Triad metropolitan region. According to the 2010 U.S...
. Channel 10 has used the on-air branding of 10TV since 1977. It is also one of only a few stations in the country to have had the same owner, call letters and primary network affiliation throughout its history, as well as the only major station in town still owned by Ohio interests.
Although the concentration of media ownership
Concentration of media ownership
Concentration of media ownership refers to a process whereby progressively fewer individuals or organizations control increasing shares of the mass media...
that exists between the WBNS stations and the Dispatch (the "N," or newspaper, in the station's calls) might seem to run afoul of the 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...
's cross-ownership rules, the Wolfe family was granted an exemption
Grandfather clause
Grandfather clause is a legal term used to describe a situation in which an old rule continues to apply to some existing situations, while a new rule will apply to all future situations. It is often used as a verb: to grandfather means to grant such an exemption...
because their ownership pre-dated the regulations which prohibited common ownership of co-located print and broadcast media in the middle 1970s.
WBNS-TV was known to produce such children's programming as Flippo the Clown, Romper Room
Romper Room
Romper Room is a children's television series that ran in the United States from 1953 to 1994 as well as at various times in Australia, Canada, Japan, Puerto Rico, New Zealand and the United Kingdom...
, Luci's Toyshop and programs hosted by popular Columbus Zoo
Columbus Zoo
The Columbus Zoo and Aquarium is a non-profit zoo located in Powell, Ohio , just north of Columbus. The land lies along the eastern banks of the O'Shaughnessy Reservoir on the Scioto River, at the intersection of Riverside Drive and Powell Road...
personality Jack Hanna
Jack Hanna
John Bushnell "Jack" Hanna is an American zookeeper who is the Director Emeritus of the Columbus Zoo and Aquarium. He was Director of the zoo from 1978 to 1993, and is viewed as largely responsible for elevating its quality and reputation. His media appearances have made him one of the most...
. The station also featured "Fritz the Nite Owl," who hosted midnight movies during the 1970s and Sunday state government talk called Capital Square in the 1990s. Throughout much of the 1990s and early years of the millennium WBNS-TV was home to the 10TV Kids News Network (KNN); a local show, "Produced by kids, for kids." The half-hour show aired Saturday mornings. Several KNN kids have gone on to pursue careers in television news or public relations in central Ohio. Luci's Toyshop was a local WBNS-TV produced children's program. that was on the air from 1961 until 1972 offering puppets, cartoons and occasionally a live audience.
In 1995, WBNS-TV replaced Cleveland's WJW-TV as the default affiliate in the Mansfield
Mansfield, Ohio
Mansfield is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Richland County. The municipality is located in north-central Ohio in the western foothills of the Allegheny Plateau, approximately southwest of Cleveland and northeast of Columbus....
area (part of the Cleveland-Akron DMA) after WJW went to Fox
Fox Broadcasting Company
Fox Broadcasting Company, commonly referred to as Fox Network or simply Fox , is an American commercial broadcasting television network owned by Fox Entertainment Group, part of Rupert Murdoch's News Corporation. Launched on October 9, 1986, Fox was the highest-rated broadcast network in the...
. The new Cleveland CBS affiliate, WOIO
WOIO
WOIO, virtual channel 19 , is the CBS affiliate in Cleveland, Ohio. It is licensed to the nearby suburb of Shaker Heights. WOIO is owned by Raycom Media and its sister station to MyNetworkTV affiliate WUAB . The two stations share a studio facility in Cleveland and WOIO's transmitter is located in...
, unlike WBNS-TV, did not reach Mansfield with a Grade B signal. WBNS also replaced Toledo CBS affiliate WTOL
WTOL
WTOL is the CBS- affiliated television station licensed in Toledo, Ohio. The station broadcasts on channel 11 and can be seen quite clearly throughout Northwest Ohio, Southeast Michigan , and southwest Ontario...
on cable television in the Lima
Lima, Ohio
Lima is a city in and the county seat of Allen County, Ohio, United States. The municipality is located in northwestern Ohio along Interstate 75 approximately north of Dayton and south-southwest of Toledo....
DMA.
The first live high-definition broadcast on the station's digital signal, WBNS-DT, took place in September 1998 in which the broadcast was a football game between Ohio State and West Virginia
West Virginia University
West Virginia University is a public research university in Morgantown, West Virginia, USA. Other campuses include: West Virginia University at Parkersburg in Parkersburg; West Virginia University Institute of Technology in Montgomery; Potomac State College of West Virginia University in Keyser;...
, making the station a pioneer in American digital television. The station claims this to have been the first locally produced HD broadcast in the US, however as several other stations throughout the country also lay claim to this distinction, the veracity cannot be verified.
The station has strong ties to the athletic department of Ohio State University
Ohio State Buckeyes
The Ohio State Buckeyes are the intercollegiate sports teams and players of The Ohio State University, named after the state tree, the Buckeye. The Buckeyes participate in the NCAA's Division I in all sports and the Big Ten Conference in most sports...
. For many years, it has produced the coaches shows for both the football and men's basketball teams, along with a general program about Ohio State athletics in general. Additionally, its radio sister has been the flagship station of Ohio State football and basketball for decades. Formerly the station aired Ohio State games offered by ESPN Plus
ESPN Plus
ESPN Plus, the popular name of ESPN Regional Television, is an American television program syndicator. ERT is based along with sister network ESPNU in Charlotte, North Carolina...
in both sports, including prime-time pre-emptions of CBS network programming for games. With the launch of the Big Ten Network in September 2007 and that network's exclusivity over live Ohio State sports, this was discontinued beyond selected CBS Big Ten basketball broadcasts on the weekends and latter portions of the conference tourney, although the programming outside of live sports remains produced by WBNS-TV.
On 12 June 2009, WBNS-TV launched Doppler 10 Now, a weather subchannel based on the Local AccuWeather
The Local AccuWeather Channel
The Local AccuWeather Channel is a 24-hour, weather-oriented, commercially sponsored broadcast and cable television network in the United States owned and operated by AccuWeather, Inc., which is headquartered in State College, Pennsylvania....
platform.
Digital programming
WBNS-TV shut down its analog signal on June 12, 2009 as part of the DTV transition, it remained on channel 21.As of June 12, 2009, WBNS-TV's digital signal is multiplexed on a full-time basis (it was previously only multiplexed for special events, such as CBS network coverage of the March Madness
NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Championship
The NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Championship is a single-elimination tournament held each spring in the United States, featuring 68 college basketball teams, to determine the national championship in the top tier of college basketball...
basketball tournament):
| Virtual Channel | Digital Channel | Programming |
|---|---|---|
| 10.1 | 21.1 | main WBNS-TV programming / CBS HD |
| 10.2 | 21.2 | Doppler 10 Now / AccuWeather The Local AccuWeather Channel The Local AccuWeather Channel is a 24-hour, weather-oriented, commercially sponsored broadcast and cable television network in the United States owned and operated by AccuWeather, Inc., which is headquartered in State College, Pennsylvania.... |
The high-definition feed for WBNS-TV is not available on Dish Network
Dish Network
Dish Network Corporation is the second largest pay TV provider in the United States, providing direct broadcast satellite service—including satellite television, audio programming, and interactive television services—to 14.337 million commercial and residential customers in the United States. Dish...
due to a contractual dispute between the two sides. In contrast, WCMH-TV, WSYX, and WTTE
WTTE
WTTE is the Fox-affiliated television station for Columbus, Ohio. It broadcasts a high definition digital signal on UHF channel 36 from a transmitter on Stimmel Road. The station can be seen on Insight, Time Warner, and WOW! channel 8. For high definition digital cable, it is offered on Insight...
have been available in HD on Dish Network since April 1, 2009.
News operation
Wheel of Fortune (U.S. game show)
Wheel of Fortune is an American television game show created by Merv Griffin, which premiered in 1975. Contestants compete to solve word puzzles, similar to those used in Hangman, to win cash and prizes determined by spinning a large wheel. The title refers to the show's giant carnival wheel that...
since 1983 and Jeopardy!
Jeopardy!
Griffin's first conception of the game used a board comprising ten categories with ten clues each, but after finding that this board could not be shown on camera easily, he reduced it to two rounds of thirty clues each, with five clues in each of six categories...
since 1984.
Appropriately for a station with roots in a newspaper, WBNS-TV has been a consistent ratings leader in programming and news for most of the time since records have been kept. In fact, for many years a popular saying in Columbus was "4 and 6 don't equal 10", referring to WBNS-TV and its rivals, WLWC/WCMH-TV
WCMH-TV
WCMH-TV, channel 4, is a television station in Columbus, Ohio, affiliated with the NBC television network and owned by Media General. The station's studios and transmitter are located in Columbus. NBC-4 broadcasts from its studio and office complex near the Ohio State University on Olentangy River...
(channel 4) and WTVN-TV/WSYX
WSYX
WSYX, channel 6, is an ABC-affiliated television station located in Columbus, Ohio. WSYX is owned by the Sinclair Broadcast Group, which also operates Fox affiliate WTTE through a local marketing agreement...
(channel 6).
The first major challenge to channel 10's dominance occurred in 1985, two years after WCMH began featuring the popular anchor team (and then-married couple) of Doug Adair
Doug Adair
Doug Adair is a former longtime Emmy Award winning American television news anchor and journalist who has worked in the Cleveland, Columbus, and Dayton, Ohio markets.- Career :...
and Mona Scott. From then until the to the mid 2000s, WBNS-TV and WCMH bounced back and forth for first place at 11 PM (and were virtually tied for ratings leads). However, since 2002, WBNS-TV has returned to a dominant position due to stronger CBS programming and CBS' reacquisition of Sunday-afternoon NFL
National Football League
The National Football League is the highest level of professional American football in the United States, and is considered the top professional American football league in the world. It was formed by eleven teams in 1920 as the American Professional Football Association, with the league changing...
telecasts. WBNS-TV usually rotates games among the three teams with followings in the Columbus market—the Cleveland Browns
Cleveland Browns
The Cleveland Browns are a professional football team based in Cleveland, Ohio. They are currently members of the North Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League...
, Pittsburgh Steelers
Pittsburgh Steelers
The Pittsburgh Steelers are a professional football team based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The team currently belongs to the North Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League . Founded in , the Steelers are the oldest franchise in the AFC...
and Cincinnati Bengals
Cincinnati Bengals
The Cincinnati Bengals are a professional football team based in Cincinnati, Ohio. They are members of the AFC's North Division in the National Football League . The Bengals began play in 1968 as an expansion team in the American Football League , and joined the NFL in 1970 in the AFL-NFL...
(all of whom are part of the CBS package for the American Football Conference
American Football Conference
The American Football Conference is one of the two conferences of the National Football League . This conference and its counterpart, the National Football Conference , currently contain 16 teams each, making up the 32 teams of the NFL....
).
During the Super Bowl XLI
Super Bowl XLI
Super Bowl XLI was an American football game that featured the American Football Conference champion Indianapolis Colts and the National Football Conference champion Chicago Bears to decide the National Football League champion for the 2006 season...
, channel 10 debuted a large marketing campaign to promote the launch of 10TV News in high definition. The song "Carousels (Dreaming of Tomorrow)" by Columbus rock band Alamoth Lane was used throughout the course of the campaign. Some of the band members were shot playing on the roof of WBNS with the Columbus skyline behind them. The song was also used to promote sister station WTHR
WTHR
WTHR, channel 13, is a full-service television station serving the Indianapolis, Indiana metropolitan area. An affiliate of the NBC television network, its studios at 1000 N. Meridian Street anchor the south end of Indy's Television Row...
's 50th Anniversary in 2007.
The station began making preparations for the transition to HD in late March 2007, and debuted its 5:00 p.m. newscast in high definition on April 2, becoming the first television station in Central Ohio to produce newscasts in HD. The station's newscasts are now known as "10TV News HD", after having been known as "10TV Eyewitness News" for many years.
On November 7, 2008, WBNS-TV's morning-noon anchor Heather Pick
Heather Pick
Heather Pick was an Americantelevision news anchor as well as an activist on behalf of breast cancer awareness and juvenile diabetes...
died of breast cancer
Breast cancer
Breast cancer is cancer originating from breast tissue, most commonly from the inner lining of milk ducts or the lobules that supply the ducts with milk. Cancers originating from ducts are known as ductal carcinomas; those originating from lobules are known as lobular carcinomas...
. Heather learned in 2004 that the disease she had beaten once in 1999 had returned. In her last public appearance, Heather hosted the "Spirit Celebration with Heather Pick", raising almost $500,000 for the Columbus Cancer Clinic.
On January 3, 2011, WBNS expanded its weekday morning newscast to 2½ hours, starting at 4:25 a.m. Weekend anchors Jeff Hogan and Angela An will replace Chuck Strickler and Anietra Hamper as morning anchors, and weeknight 5:30 p.m. anchor Tracy Townsend will also replace Hamper and Strickler as noon anchors.
On May 11, 2011, WBNS-TV expanded their advertising by leasing the Casto Building on the corner of High and Broad streets in downtown Columbus. The building was being leased by rival station WCMH-TV since 2008. On May 11, 2011, the WCMH-TV signs were replaced with those of WBNS'. There is studio space at street level of the Casto Building, which WCMH used for their NBC 4 on the Square, however, WBNS has decided not to utilize the studio space.
Newscast titles
- Your Esso Reporter (1949–1961)
- News Check 10 (1961–1966)
- Color News (1966–1969)
- 10-TV Eyewitness NewsEyewitness NewsEyewitness News is a style of news broadcasting used by local television stations in different markets across the United States. It refers to a particular style of television newscast with an emphasis on visual elements and action video...
(1969–2007) - 10-TV News HD (2007–present)
Station slogans
- There's a Forrest in Your Future (1975; promoting the arrival of anchorman Lou Forrest to the station)
- 10-TV, We're Something to See! (circa 1980)
- People You Can Count On! (1980s)
- Your 24-Hour News Source24 Hour News SourceThe 24 Hour News Source brand was a common name used by American television stations starting in the early 1990s for brief hourly news updates, usually running 30 seconds to a minute in length. At its peak, dozens of stations across the U.S. were producing these brief news updates...
(1991–2001) - Central Ohio's Most Watched News Station (2001–2003)
- Central Ohio's News Leader (2003–present)
Anchors
- Angela An - weekday mornings (2000–present)
- Andrea CambernAndrea CambernAndrea S. Cambern is a television news anchor for WBNS-TV and WWHO in Ohio. She resides in the German Village area of Columbus, Ohio.- Biography :Andrea Cambern joined WBNS-TV in Columbus, Ohio in December 1991....
- weeknights at 5, 6 and 11 p.m. (1991–present) - Jessa Goddard - weekend mornings (2011–present)
- Jeff Hogan - weekday mornings (1998–present; formerly sports director)
- Kurt Ludlow - weeknights at 5:30 p.m. (1986–1999, 2004–present)
- Jerry RevishJerry RevishJerry Revish is a television news anchor for WBNS-TV in Columbus, Ohio. He started at the station as a reporter in June 1980.Revish anchors the 5 PM, 6 PM, and 11 PM news with Andrea Cambern....
- weeknights at 5, 6 and 11 p.m. (1980–present) - Chuck Strickler - weekend evenings (1994–present)
- Tracy Townsend - weekdays at noon and weeknights at 5:30 p.m. (2006–present)
Weather team
- Chris Bradley (AMSAmerican Meteorological SocietyThe American Meteorological Society promotes the development and dissemination of information and education on the atmospheric and related oceanic and hydrologic sciences and the advancement of their professional applications. Founded in 1919, the American Meteorological Society has a membership...
Seal of Approval) - chief meteorologist; weeknights at 5, 6 and 11 p.m. (2006–present) - Mike Davis (AMS Seal of Approval) - meteorologist; weekday mornings and noon (1987–present; former chief meteorologist)
- Josh Poland - meteorologist/co-anchor; weekend mornings (2010–present)
- AJ Smith (AMS Seal of Approval) - meteorologist; weekend evenings (2009–present)
- Chuck Gillespie - weekend fill in meteorologist in the morning (2011–present)
Sports team
- Dom Tiberi - sports director; weeknights at 6 and 11 p.m. (1981–present)
- Beau Bishop - weekend sports anchor/reporter (2007–present)
- Greg Miller - fill-in sports anchor/reporter (2010–present)
Reporters
- Paul Aker - investigative reporter
- Ashleigh Barry - general assignment reporter (2010–present)
- Danielle Elias - general assignment reporter (2010–present)
- Jason Frazer - general assignment reporter (2010–present)
- Andy Hirsch - general assignment reporter (2007–present)
- Maureen Kocot - general assignment reporter (1995–present; former weekend morning anchor)
- Kevin Landers - general assignment reporter (1999–present)
- Tanisha Mallett - general assignment reporter (2006–present)
- Glenn McEntire - general assignment reporter (2007–present)
- Karina Nova - general assignment and morning traffic reporter (2006–present)
- Tino Ramos - general assignment reporter (1994–present; former weekday 5am anchor and weekend morning anchor)
- Shayla Reaves - general assignment reporter (2010–present)
- Tom Walker - Dispatch Washington, D.C. Correspondent
Chopper 10
- Terry Ault - "Chopper 10" chief pilot/reporter (1979–present)
- Greg Casagrande - "Chopper 10" line pilot (2001–present)
Notable former staff
- Keith CateKeith CateKeith Alvin Cate is a main anchor for WFLA-TV in Tampa Bay, Florida since 2000.Cate has won 12 Emmy Awards from the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences along with four Edward R. Murrow awards and other journalism-related recognitions. Cate is one of the main reporters for both WFLA...
- weekend anchor (1988–1993; now main anchor at WFLA-TVWFLA-TVWFLA-TV, virtual channel 8, is the NBC-affiliated television station in Tampa/St. Petersburg, Florida. The station is the flagship station of its owner and operator, Media General. Its transmitter is located in Riverview, Hillsborough County, Florida. WFLA is the only station in the market to be...
in Tampa) - Carol CostelloCarol CostelloCarol Costello is a CNN national correspondent and anchor, working out of the network's New York City bureau. She was part of CNN's Peabody-winning coverage of Hurricane Katrina and the 2008 presidential election, and also covered the Virginia Tech shootings, the Obama inauguration and the Casey...
- 6 and 11 p.m. anchor (1990–1992; now at CNNCNNCable News Network is a U.S. cable news channel founded in 1980 by Ted Turner. Upon its launch, CNN was the first channel to provide 24-hour television news coverage, and the first all-news television channel in the United States...
) - Jay CrawfordJay CrawfordJason "Jay" Crawford is the co-host of ESPN2's morning TV show First Take.-Early life and career:Born in Sandusky, Ohio, Crawford graduated from Perkins High School in Sandusky, Ohio in 1983...
- sports anchor (1993–1998; now at ESPNESPNEntertainment and Sports Programming Network, commonly known as ESPN, is an American global cable television network focusing on sports-related programming including live and pre-taped event telecasts, sports talk shows, and other original programming....
) - Faith DanielsFaith DanielsFaith Daniels became nationally known for her role in anchoring some of America's most popular news and talk show programs....
- daytime anchor (late 1970s-early 1980s; later with CBS News & NBC's Today Show) - Jack HannaJack HannaJohn Bushnell "Jack" Hanna is an American zookeeper who is the Director Emeritus of the Columbus Zoo and Aquarium. He was Director of the zoo from 1978 to 1993, and is viewed as largely responsible for elevating its quality and reputation. His media appearances have made him one of the most...
- John Klemack - overnight associate producer (now reporter at KNBC-TV Los Angeles)
- Dave MalkoffDave MalkoffDave Malkoff is an American television journalist working for KTLA in Los Angeles. He has covered some of the most destructive hurricanes in US history and reported from several parts of Iraq at the end of Operation Iraqi Freedom in 2010...
- overnight update anchor/associate producer (now reporter at KTLA-TV Los Angeles) - Ron OlsenRon OlsenRon Olsen is a veteran cross-platform journalist based in Los Angeles, California, United States.-Early life:Olsen attended the University of Minnesota, Twin Cities and Bemidji State University, Bemidji , MN...
- Reporter (Went on to KABC and KTLA in Los Angeles, Peabody recipient for Rodney King beating story) - Bob Orr - news anchor/reporter (now a CBS Evening News reporter)
- Frederick "Fritz the Nite Owl" Peerenboom
- Heather PickHeather PickHeather Pick was an Americantelevision news anchor as well as an activist on behalf of breast cancer awareness and juvenile diabetes...
- weekday morning and noon anchor (2002–2008; died on November 7, 2008 due to breast cancerBreast cancerBreast cancer is cancer originating from breast tissue, most commonly from the inner lining of milk ducts or the lobules that supply the ducts with milk. Cancers originating from ducts are known as ductal carcinomas; those originating from lobules are known as lobular carcinomas...
) - Gary RadnichGary RadnichGary Radnich is the host of the 9 a.m. to noon slot on KNBR radio in San Francisco, California, and is also the lead sports anchor on KRON television.-Early life:...
- sports director/anchor (1982–85; now with KRON-TVKRON-TVKRON-TV, virtual channel 4 , is a television station in San Francisco, California, serving as the Bay Area affiliate of the MyNetworkTV programming service; the station is owned by Young Broadcasting...
in San Francisco) - Rod SerlingRod SerlingRodman Edward "Rod" Serling was an American screenwriter, novelist, television producer, and narrator best known for his live television dramas of the 1950s and his science fiction anthology TV series, The Twilight Zone. Serling was active in politics, both on and off the screen and helped form...
(creator of The Twilight ZoneThe Twilight ZoneThe Twilight Zone is an American television anthology series created by Rod Serling. Each episode is a mixture of self-contained drama, psychological thriller, fantasy, science fiction, suspense, or horror, often concluding with a macabre or unexpected twist...
) - Dana TylerDana TylerDana Tyler is a senior news anchor and reporter at WCBS-TV in New York City. She currently anchors the 6 pm newscasts with Chris Wragge, and also hosts Eye on New York, a half-hour weekly community affairs program for WCBS, as well as annual local specials CBS 2 at Tony's, CBS 2 at the Met and...
- evening anchor (1981–1990; currently 6 p.m. co-anchor/reporter at WCBS-TVWCBS-TVWCBS-TV, channel 2, is the flagship station of the CBS television network, located in New York City. The station's studios are located within the CBS Broadcast Center and its transmitter is atop the Empire State Building, both in Midtown Manhattan....
in New York City) - Chuck White - the first African-American anchorman in Columbus, later became Public Affairs Director (retired in 2005)
- Jonathan WintersJonathan Winters-Early life:Winters was born in Bellbrook, Ohio, the son of Alice Kilgore , a radio personality, and Jonathan Harshman Winters II, an investment broker. He is a descendant of Valentine Winters, founder of the Winters National Bank in Dayton, Ohio...
- Dave Kaylor - weekday anchor (1980–2005; now with Reputation Management Associates (Dave currently facilitates corporation training sessions))
Management
- Tom Griesdorn - President and General Manager
- Frank Willson - Director of Operations
- Elbert Tucker - News Director
- Tonya McCleary - Assistant News Director
- Chuck DeVendra - Director of Sales
- Paul Ballinger - Local Sales Manager
- Pat Wise - National Sales Manager
- Butch Moore - Sports Marketing Manager
- Angela Pace - Director of Community Affairs
- Pat Ingram - Director of Engineering
- Patty Williams - Director of Finance
- Carol Triplett - Commercial Traffic Manager
- Mike Berry - Broadcast Operations Manager
- Kristi Kunka - Art Director
- Doug Jones - Promotions Manager