WJBF
Encyclopedia
WJBF, News Channel 6, is an ABC
-affiliated television station
in Augusta, Georgia
, USA
. WJBF is owned by the broadcast division of Media General
, and formerly had its studios on Reynolds Street in downtown Augusta for over 50 years before moving to a new location near the Augusta Mall in October 2011. WJBF's transmitter is located in Beech Island, South Carolina
.
Through joint sales and shared services
agreements, WJBF operates NBC
affiliate WAGT
(channel 26), which is owned by Schurz Communications
.
This station's digital signal is multiplexed
:>
Virtual
channel
Video
Format
Programming
6.1
720p
16:9
main WJBF programming / ABC
6.2
480i
16:9
Me-TV
It offers Me-TV on a second digital subchannel as well as Knology
and Comcast
digital channel 246.
WJBF replaced RTV with Me-TV, a digital broadcast network owned by Weigel Broadcasting
and distributed by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
, featuring sitcoms and dramas from the 1950s to the 1980s, which took the place of RTV on 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 markets.
, who also owned NBC Radio Network affiliate WJBF (1230 AM). WJBF-TV originally picked up programs from all four networks at the time, but was a primary NBC affiliate. Channel 6 lost CBS programming when WRDW-TV
(channel 12) signed on in 1954, but continued to shared ABC with that station. WJBF radio was sold by Fuqua in 1955 (it is now WEZO).
On October 1, 1966 WJBF became a primary ABC affiliate. 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. But Fuqua had recently purchased two primary ABC affiliates, WTVW
in Evansville, Indiana
and KTHI-TV (now KVLY-TV
) in Fargo, North Dakota
. He wanted to get his other stations in line with the new acquisitions. Additionally, no full-time ABC affiliate provided even a grade B signal to the Augusta area at the time. By contrast, fellow NBC affiliate WIS-TV in Columbia
provided at least grade B coverage to the South Carolina side of the market. Fuqua reasoned that if channel 6 took a primary ABC affiliation, it wouldn't have significant out-of-market competition. In 1969, Fuqua branched out into the movie theater business when he purchased Martin Theaters of Georgia, also the owner of WTVM
in Columbus, Georgia
, and WTVC
in Chattanooga, Tennessee
, also ABC affiliates.
When WATU (channel 26, now 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 programs (WJBF kept airing both the Today and Tonight shows, among others). The failure of WATU to secure a full-time network affiliation caused that station to go dark in 1970. Channel 6 became a full-time ABC affiliate when WATU returned to the air in 1974, this time with a primary NBC affiliation. Fuqua sold off his stations in 1980, with WJBF going to Spartan Radiocasting of Spartanburg, South Carolina
. Spartan was renamed Spartan Communications in 1995, and merged into Media General in 2000. In 1995, WJBF affiliated with the Prime Time Entertainment Network
.
(FCC) regulations. Most of WAGT's managerial staff was dismissed, and other employees were reassigned to different positions.
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 construct a new building for the stations. The new facility, to be located at the Augusta West Shopping Center, was expected to be completed by April 2011, but ultimately was pushed back until October.
program Parade 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 native James Brown
, Shirley Caesar
, Al Green
, the Mighty Clouds of Joy
, Dorothy Norwood
and Jesse Jackson
are among those who have appeared on the program.
The station also produces a urban music video program, Power Hitz, which airs on Sunday evenings. Power Hitz has been on the air since 2001.
to run a closed-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 on Fox affiliate WFXG
(channel 54). The production uses different graphics and duratrans concealing the WJBF logos. The launch came after its studios were renovated.
In December of 2009, WAGT and WJBF partnered under a shared services agreement, with WJBF producing WAGT's news, sales, and other prgramming. Schurz Communications still owns WAGT in part. Current WJBF reporter Paige Tucker is the face of WAGT's 6, 7, and 11pm newscasts.
On Monday, October 17, 2011, WJBF launched local newscasts in high definition starting with the morning newscast. It is the second station in the area to do so behind WRDW which switched to HD on January 24, 2011.
Live VIPIR
6 Meteorologists
Sports
Reporters
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...
-affiliated television station
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 Augusta, Georgia
Augusta, Georgia
Augusta is a consolidated city in the U.S. state of Georgia, located along the Savannah River. As of the 2010 census, the Augusta–Richmond County population was 195,844 not counting the unconsolidated cities of Hephzibah and Blythe.Augusta is the principal city of the Augusta-Richmond County...
, USA
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. WJBF is owned by the broadcast division of 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...
, and formerly had its studios on Reynolds Street in downtown Augusta for over 50 years before moving to a new location near the Augusta Mall in October 2011. WJBF's transmitter is located 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...
.
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, WJBF operates 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,...
(channel 26), which is 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...
.
Digital programming
Multiplex (TV)
A multiplex or mux is a group of TV channels that are mixed together for broadcast over a digital TV channel and separated out again by the receiver...
:>
channel
720p
720p is the shorthand name for 1280x720, a category of High-definition television video modes having a resolution of 1080 or 720p and a progressive scan...
16:9
16:9 is an aspect ratio with a width of 16 units and height of 9. Since 2009, it has become the most common aspect ratio for sold televisions and computer monitors and is also the international standard format of HDTV, Full HD, non-HD digital television and analog widescreen television ...
480i
480i is the shorthand name for a video mode, namely the US NTSC television system or digital television systems with the same characteristics. The i, which is sometimes uppercase, stands for interlaced, the 480 for a vertical frame resolution of 480 lines containing picture information; while NTSC...
16:9
16:9 is an aspect ratio with a width of 16 units and height of 9. Since 2009, it has become the most common aspect ratio for sold televisions and computer monitors and is also the international standard format of HDTV, Full HD, non-HD digital television and analog widescreen television ...
It offers Me-TV on a second digital subchannel as well as 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...
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...
digital channel 246.
WJBF replaced RTV with Me-TV, a digital broadcast network owned by Weigel Broadcasting
Weigel Broadcasting
Weigel Broadcasting is an American locally based television broadcasting company. The company is based in downtown Chicago, Illinois, alongside its flagship station WCIU-TV , at the apt address of 26 North Halsted Street in the Greektown neighborhood.- History :The company was founded by Chicago...
and distributed by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Inc. is an American media company, involved primarily in the production and distribution of films and television programs. MGM was founded in 1924 when the entertainment entrepreneur Marcus Loew gained control of Metro Pictures, Goldwyn Pictures Corporation and Louis B. Mayer...
, featuring sitcoms and dramas from the 1950s to the 1980s, which took the place of RTV on 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 markets.
History
Augusta's first television station, WJBF-TV began operations on November 23, 1953. The station was founded by local entrepreneur J.B. FuquaJ. B. Fuqua
John Brooks "J.B." Fuqua was a businessman, philanthropist and chairman of The Fuqua Companies and Fuqua Enterprises....
, who also owned NBC Radio Network affiliate WJBF (1230 AM). WJBF-TV originally picked up programs from all four networks at the time, but was a primary NBC affiliate. Channel 6 lost CBS programming when WRDW-TV
WRDW-TV
WRDW-TV, channel 12, is a CBS-affiliated television station located in Augusta, Georgia, USA. WRDW-TV is owned by Atlanta-based Gray Television, and also provides digital subchannels for MyNetworkTV on channel 12.2 and The Country Network on channel 12.3...
(channel 12) signed on in 1954, but continued to shared ABC with that station. WJBF radio was sold by Fuqua in 1955 (it is now WEZO).
On October 1, 1966 WJBF became a primary ABC affiliate. 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. But Fuqua had recently purchased two primary ABC affiliates, WTVW
WTVW
Banam sold WTVW to Petracom Broadcasting in 1995. A 20-percent equity stake in Petracom was purchased by Fox soon afterward, eventually leading to a three-way affiliation swap in which WTVW ended its 39-year ABC affiliation and joined Fox on December 3, 1995, with ABC moving to former CBS...
in Evansville, Indiana
Evansville, Indiana
Evansville is the third-largest city in the U.S. state of Indiana and the largest city in Southern Indiana. As of the 2010 census, the city had a total population of 117,429. It is the county seat of Vanderburgh County and the regional hub for both Southwestern Indiana and the...
and KTHI-TV (now KVLY-TV
KVLY-TV
KVLY-TV, is an NBC affiliated television station in Fargo, North Dakota, USA, serving Eastern North Dakota and Northwestern Minnesota. It broadcasts on ATSC channel 44, which redirects to former NTSC channel 11 via PSIP. In addition to its main studio in Fargo, it operates a satellite studio in...
) in Fargo, North Dakota
Fargo, North Dakota
Fargo is the largest city in the U.S. state of North Dakota and the county seat of Cass County. In 2010, its population was 105,549, and it had an estimated metropolitan population of 208,777...
. He wanted to get his other stations in line with the new acquisitions. Additionally, no full-time ABC affiliate provided even a grade B signal to the Augusta area at the time. By contrast, fellow NBC affiliate WIS-TV in Columbia
Columbia, South Carolina
Columbia is the state capital and largest city in the U.S. state of South Carolina. The population was 129,272 according to the 2010 census. Columbia is the county seat of Richland County, but a portion of the city extends into neighboring Lexington County. The city is the center of a metropolitan...
provided at least grade B coverage to the South Carolina side of the market. Fuqua reasoned that if channel 6 took a primary ABC affiliation, it wouldn't have significant out-of-market competition. In 1969, Fuqua branched out into the movie theater business when he purchased Martin Theaters of Georgia, also the owner of WTVM
WTVM
WTVM is the ABC-affiliated television station for Columbus, Georgia. It broadcasts a high definition digital signal on VHF channel 11 from a transmitter in Cusseta. The station can also be seen on Charter, Knology, and Mediacom channel 10...
in Columbus, Georgia
Columbus, Georgia
Columbus is a city in and the county seat of Muscogee County, Georgia, United States, with which it is consolidated. As of the 2010 census, the city had a population of 189,885. It is the principal city of the Columbus, Georgia metropolitan area, which, in 2009, had an estimated population of 292,795...
, and WTVC
WTVC
WTVC is the ABC television affiliate in Chattanooga, Tennessee. It broadcasts a high definition digital signal on VHF channel 9 from a transmitter on Signal Mountain in the community of Walden...
in Chattanooga, Tennessee
Chattanooga, Tennessee
Chattanooga is the fourth-largest city in the US state of Tennessee , with a population of 169,887. It is the seat of Hamilton County...
, also ABC affiliates.
When WATU (channel 26, now 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 programs (WJBF kept airing both the Today and Tonight shows, among others). The failure of WATU to secure a full-time network affiliation caused that station to go dark in 1970. Channel 6 became a full-time ABC affiliate when WATU returned to the air in 1974, this time with a primary NBC affiliation. Fuqua sold off his stations in 1980, with WJBF going to Spartan Radiocasting of Spartanburg, South Carolina
Spartanburg, South Carolina
thgSpartanburg is the largest city in and the county seat of Spartanburg County, South Carolina, United States. It is the second-largest city of the three primary cities in the Upstate region of South Carolina, and is located northwest of Columbia, west of Charlotte, and about northeast of...
. Spartan was renamed Spartan Communications in 1995, and merged into Media General in 2000. In 1995, WJBF affiliated with the Prime Time Entertainment Network
Prime Time Entertainment Network
The Prime Time Entertainment Network was a United States television network launched in 1993 by the Prime Time Consortium, a joint venture between Warner Bros. Domestic Television and the Chris-Craft group of independent stations...
.
Merger with WAGT
In October 2009, the parent companies of WJBF and WAGT announced that they would enter into joint sales and shared services agreements in January 2010. This resulted in the two combining their sales and other operational services. It was later announced that WJBF would control all of WAGT's news and advertising operations while that station handles programming and the maintaining of Federal Communications CommissionFederal 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 was dismissed, and other employees were reassigned to different positions.
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 construct a new building for the stations. The new facility, to be located at the Augusta West Shopping Center, was expected to be completed by April 2011, but ultimately was pushed back until October.
Local programming
Since 1954 WJBF has produced and aired the Sunday morning gospel musicGospel music
Gospel music is music that is written to express either personal, spiritual or a communal belief regarding Christian life, as well as to give a Christian alternative to mainstream secular music....
program Parade 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 native James Brown
James Brown
James Joseph Brown was an American singer, songwriter, musician, and recording artist. He is the originator of Funk and is recognized as a major figure in the 20th century popular music for both his vocals and dancing. He has been referred to as "The Godfather of Soul," "Mr...
, Shirley Caesar
Shirley Caesar
Shirley Ann Caesar is an American Gospel music singer, songwriter and recording artist whose career has spanned six decades...
, Al Green
Al Green
Albert Greene , better known as Al Green, is an American gospel and soul music singer. He reached the peak of his popularity in the 1970s, with hit singles such as "You Oughta Be With Me", "I'm Still In Love With You", "Love and Happiness", and "Let's Stay Together"...
, the Mighty Clouds of Joy
Mighty Clouds of Joy
The Mighty Clouds of Joy is an American gospel quartet.-Career:The Mighty Clouds of Joy were formed in 1960 and started out in a tradition-based style. Eventually they added soul, R&B, and rock flourishes into their musical mix without diluting the essential religious essence of their material...
, Dorothy Norwood
Dorothy Norwood
Dorothy Norwood is an American gospel singer. She began touring with her family at the age of eight, and in 1956, began singing with Mahalia Jackson. In the early 1960s she was a member of ]The Caravans, and in 1964, she embarked on a solo career, recording her first album, Johnny and Jesus...
and Jesse Jackson
Jesse Jackson
Jesse Louis Jackson, Sr. is an African-American civil rights activist and Baptist minister. He was a candidate for the Democratic presidential nomination in 1984 and 1988 and served as shadow senator for the District of Columbia from 1991 to 1997. He was the founder of both entities that merged to...
are among those who have appeared on the program.
The station also produces a urban music video program, Power Hitz, which airs on Sunday evenings. Power Hitz has been on the air since 2001.
News operation
In the 1980s, its newscasts were branded NewsWatch 6. After being acquired by Spartan Radiocasting in 1992, WJBF and some other stations acquired by the company changed their branding to NewsChannel. This station and most of its sister affiliates still use this branding today after being acquired by Media General. In the 1990s, WJBF reached an agreement with the Augusta MallAugusta Mall
Augusta Mall is a two level super-regional shopping mall located in Augusta, Georgia. It opened on August 3, 1978, one week after the now-defunct Regency Mall. It is one of the largest malls in the state of Georgia, and it is the largest mall in the Augusta metro area.-History:Augusta Mall has five...
to run a closed-circuit
Closed-circuit television
Closed-circuit television is the use of video cameras to transmit a signal to a specific place, on a limited set of monitors....
"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 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...
(channel 54). The production uses different graphics and duratrans concealing the WJBF logos. The launch came after its studios were renovated.
In December of 2009, WAGT and WJBF partnered under a shared services agreement, with WJBF producing WAGT's news, sales, and other prgramming. Schurz Communications still owns WAGT in part. Current WJBF reporter Paige Tucker is the face of WAGT's 6, 7, and 11pm newscasts.
On Monday, October 17, 2011, WJBF launched local newscasts in high definition starting with the morning newscast. It is the second station in the area to do so behind WRDW which switched to HD on January 24, 2011.
Newscast titles
- WJBF-TV News (1953-1964)
- Newscope (1964-1971)
- Eyewitness News (1971-1977)
- Action 6 News (1977-1982)
- NewsWatch 6 (1982-1990)
- Channel 6 News (1990-1994)
- WJBF NewsChannel 6 (1994-present)
News team
Anchors- Mary Morrison — weekday mornings and Noon
- Jennie Montgomery — weeknights at 5, 5:30, 6, and 11
- Brad Means — weeknights at 5, 5:30, 6, and 11; also anchors "The Means Report" on Sunday afternoons
- Jillian Benfield — weekend anchor and weekday reporter
Live VIPIR
VIPIR
Volumetric Imaging and Processing of Integrated Radar, known by the acronym VIPIR, is a type of post-processing program applied to traditional radar systems and is distributed by Baron Weather Solutions...
6 Meteorologists
- George Myers — chief meteorologist, weeknights at 5, 5:30, 6, and 11 on WJBF;
- Ed Bloodsworth — meteorologist, weekday mornings and Noon
- Jenna Lee Thomas — weekend weather and weekday features reporter
Sports
- Chris Kane — sports director, seen weeknights at 6, 10, and 11
- rotating weekday mornings (pre-recorded) and Football Friday Night host
- Merissa Lynn — weekend sports anchor, rotating weekday mornings (pre-recorded)
Reporters
- Jennie Montgomery — "Giving Your Best" segment producer
- George Eskola — senior reporter known for his "Out There Somewhere" reports
- Archith Seshadri — Columbia County reporter/Fill-In Anchor
- Kait Rayner — Aiken/Edgefield County Reporter
- Brett Buffington — McDuffie County Reporter
- Cory McGinnis — Education Reporter
- John Hart — reporter
- Kimberely Scott — reporter
Notable former staff
- Patricia Crosby, anchor/reporter (1993-1995, now at WTLVWTLVWTLV is the NBC-affiliated television station for Jacksonville, Florida. The station broadcasts a digital signal on VHF channel 13. The station is owned by Gannett as part of a duopoly with the area's ABC affiliate, WJXX. The two stations share studios located on East Adams Street in downtown near...
/WJXXWJXXWJXX is the ABC-affiliated television station television for Jacksonville, Florida. The station broadcasts a digital signal on VHF channel 10, identifying via PSIP as virtual channel 25 . The station is owned by Gannett as part of a duopoly with the area's NBC affiliate, WTLV...
)