WSBT-TV
Encyclopedia
WSBT-TV, channel 22 is a television station
in South Bend, Indiana
. WSBT is the flagship television station of Schurz Communications
, and is an affiliate of the CBS
television network. It's studios are located in Mishawaka
. Its transmitter is located in South Bend.
. It was the first UHF station in the country to produce a live telecast, which was five minutes of news. It was also the first on UHF to telecast a high school
basketball tournament, which came from John Adams High School
. In 1953, WSBT-TV had several sports related firsts. In the fall of that year, WSBT became the first TV station in the United States
to present a closed-circuit
telecast of a college football
practice. This allowed Notre Dame
coach Frank Leahy
to direct the practice, as he was hospitalized at the time. WSBT-TV was also the first station in Indiana
to broadcast in color, starting in 1954 in new studios designed by architect William Pereira
. The station unveiled its new facility in Mishawaka on November 16, 2008, beginning with WSBT News at 10 on SBT2. With the relocation, WSBT became the first station in South Bend to produce and broadcast its local programming in high definition. The TV station joined the radio stations which began broadcasting from the new facility a few weeks earlier. The former WSBT studio building is now home to the area's PBS
member station WNIT (channel 34).
Although WSBT has been the earliest UHF television station to have broadcast continuously, it has switched channels once during the analog era. Originally broadcast on channel 34, it moved to channel 22 around 1958. It is also one of the very few stations to have had the same call letters, owner and primary network affiliation throughout its history as well as the only commercial television station in South Bend to remain owned by a locally-based company. And when the Federal Communications Commission
tightened its cross-ownership
regulations in the 1970s, the combination of the Tribune and the WSBT radio and television stations was among the few such combinations that were grandfathered
under those rules—a situation that remains in effect to this day.
Michiana
on digital channel 22.2. UPN Michiana became an independent in Fall 2006 when UPN programming merged into the new CW
network. At that point, "UPN Michiana" became "SBT2". One of SBT2's new offerings include a weekday 10pm newscast, which began September 5, 2006.
systems in the area; Comcast also is the exclusive sponsor of the channel.
's three stations in the market, ABC affiliate WBND-LP
, CW affiliate WCWW-LP
, and My Network TV affiliate WMYS-LP
. Since the three stations are all low-power, they are not counted under FCC
ownership rules. Alongside WSBT-DT's existing three channels, the purchase would have given Schurz Communications a total of six channels in the market, including two "Big Four" network affiliates. However, in the absence of action by the FCC, the deal was called off in August 2009.
. The move also came with a brand new studio, weather center and graphics.
Weather
Sports
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 South Bend, Indiana
South Bend, Indiana
The city of South Bend is the county seat of St. Joseph County, Indiana, United States, on the St. Joseph River near its southernmost bend, from which it derives its name. As of the 2010 Census, the city had a total of 101,168 residents; its Metropolitan Statistical Area had a population of 316,663...
. WSBT is the flagship television station of 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...
, and is an affiliate of the CBS
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...
television network. It's studios are located in Mishawaka
Mishawaka, Indiana
Mishawaka is a city on the St. Joseph River and a Twin city of South Bend in St. Joseph County, Indiana, United States. The population was 48,252 as of the 2010 Census...
. Its transmitter is located in South Bend.
Early broadcasting
WSBT-TV first signed on on December 21, 1952 as another media outlet of the South Bend TribuneSouth Bend Tribune
The South Bend Tribune is a newspaper distributed in the Michiana region. There are five editions for distribution in southwestern lower Michigan, Mishawaka , Marshall County, and the South Bend Metro area. The South Bend Tribune has a daily circulation of 70,703 and Sunday circulation of...
. It was the first UHF station in the country to produce a live telecast, which was five minutes of news. It was also the first on UHF to telecast a high school
High school
High school is a term used in parts of the English speaking world to describe institutions which provide all or part of secondary education. The term is often incorporated into the name of such institutions....
basketball tournament, which came from John Adams High School
John Adams High School (South Bend, Indiana)
For schools with similar names, see Adams High School.John Adams High School is a public secondary school in South Bend. Its 2008-2009 enrollment is approximately 2000. The mock trial team at Adams recently won a second national title in four years...
. In 1953, WSBT-TV had several sports related firsts. In the fall of that year, WSBT became the first TV station in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
to present 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....
telecast of a college football
College football
College football refers to American football played by teams of student athletes fielded by American universities, colleges, and military academies, or Canadian football played by teams of student athletes fielded by Canadian universities...
practice. This allowed Notre Dame
University of Notre Dame
The University of Notre Dame du Lac is a Catholic research university located in Notre Dame, an unincorporated community north of the city of South Bend, in St. Joseph County, Indiana, United States...
coach Frank Leahy
Frank Leahy
Francis William Leahy was an American football player, coach, college athletics administrator, and professional sports executive...
to direct the practice, as he was hospitalized at the time. WSBT-TV was also the first station in Indiana
Indiana
Indiana is a US state, admitted to the United States as the 19th on December 11, 1816. It is located in the Midwestern United States and Great Lakes Region. With 6,483,802 residents, the state is ranked 15th in population and 16th in population density. Indiana is ranked 38th in land area and is...
to broadcast in color, starting in 1954 in new studios designed by architect William Pereira
William Pereira
William Leonard Pereira was an American architect from Chicago, Illinois, of Portuguese ancestry who was noted for his futuristic designs of landmark buildings such as the Transamerica Pyramid in San Francisco...
. The station unveiled its new facility in Mishawaka on November 16, 2008, beginning with WSBT News at 10 on SBT2. With the relocation, WSBT became the first station in South Bend to produce and broadcast its local programming in high definition. The TV station joined the radio stations which began broadcasting from the new facility a few weeks earlier. The former WSBT studio building is now home to the area's PBS
Public Broadcasting Service
The Public Broadcasting Service is an American non-profit public broadcasting television network with 354 member TV stations in the United States which hold collective ownership. Its headquarters is in Arlington, Virginia....
member station WNIT (channel 34).
Although WSBT has been the earliest UHF television station to have broadcast continuously, it has switched channels once during the analog era. Originally broadcast on channel 34, it moved to channel 22 around 1958. It is also one of the very few stations to have had the same call letters, owner and primary network affiliation throughout its history as well as the only commercial television station in South Bend to remain owned by a locally-based company. And when 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...
tightened its cross-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...
regulations in the 1970s, the combination of the Tribune and the WSBT radio and television stations was among the few such combinations that were grandfathered
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...
under those rules—a situation that remains in effect to this day.
UPN Michiana/SBT2
In 2003, WSBT launched UPNUPN
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...
Michiana
Michiana
Michiana is a region in northern Indiana and southwestern Michigan centered on the city of South Bend, Indiana. The Chamber of Commerce of St. Joseph County, Indiana defines Michiana as "counties that contribute at least 500 inbound commuting workers to St. Joseph County daily." Those counties...
on digital channel 22.2. UPN Michiana became an independent in Fall 2006 when UPN programming merged into the new CW
The CW Television Network
The CW Television Network is a television network in the United States launched at the beginning of the 2006–2007 television season. It is a joint venture between CBS Corporation, the former owners of United Paramount Network , and Time Warner's Warner Bros., former majority owner of The WB...
network. At that point, "UPN Michiana" became "SBT2". One of SBT2's new offerings include a weekday 10pm newscast, which began September 5, 2006.
WSBT Stormtracker Channel
The station also has an automatic looping weather station which airs over digital channel 22.3 and is also aired over ComcastComcast
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...
systems in the area; Comcast also is the exclusive sponsor of the channel.
Attempted purchase of Weigel stations
On August 4, 2008, WSBT announced plans to purchase Weigel BroadcastingWeigel 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...
's three stations in the market, ABC affiliate WBND-LP
WBND-LP
WBND-LP, channel 57, is the ABC-affiliated television station serving the South Bend, Indiana designated market area. The station is owned by Chicago-based Weigel Broadcasting. The station broadcasts a low-power digital signal on UHF channel 49, using its analog channel assignment of channel 57 as...
, CW affiliate WCWW-LP
WCWW-LP
WCWW-LD is the low-powered CW network affiliate in South Bend, Indiana. It is owned by Chicago-based Weigel Broadcasting, who also owns South Bend's ABC affiliate WBND, and MyNetworkTV affiliate WMYS...
, and My Network TV affiliate WMYS-LP
WMYS-LP
WMYS redirects here. For the Indianapolis radio station formerly known as WMYS, see WXNT.WMYS-LD is a digital low power-TV station on channel 23 which maps via PSIP to virtual channel 69 in South Bend. Previously, channel 69 was South Bend's WB affliliate, which then moved to sister station WMWB-LP...
. Since the three stations are all low-power, they are not counted under FCC
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...
ownership rules. Alongside WSBT-DT's existing three channels, the purchase would have given Schurz Communications a total of six channels in the market, including two "Big Four" network affiliates. However, in the absence of action by the FCC, the deal was called off in August 2009.
High definition newscasts
On Sunday, November 16, 2008, WSBT became the first station in South Bend to broadcast local news in high definition. With the switch to HD, WSBT moved from its old studios after 53 years in South Bend, to a new all-digital, state-of-the-art facility in MishawakaMishawaka, Indiana
Mishawaka is a city on the St. Joseph River and a Twin city of South Bend in St. Joseph County, Indiana, United States. The population was 48,252 as of the 2010 Census...
. The move also came with a brand new studio, weather center and graphics.
Current
Anchors/reporters- Kristin Bien - reporter
- Chad Damp - reporter
- Debra Daniel - anchor; weeknights at 5:30, 10 and 11 p.m. (also health reporter)
- Diane Daniels - freelance reporter/anchor weekend evenings
- Ed Ernstes - reporter
- Clifton French - reporter
- Dustin Grove - anchor/reporter; weeknights at 5, 5:30 and 6 p.m.
- Kirk Mason - anchor/reporter; weekday mornings and noon
- John PaulJohn Paul-People with forenames John Paul and known only by forenames:* Pope John Paul I* Pope John Paul II* John Paul Puthusery Malayalam Screenwriter usually simply known as John Paul-People with surname Paul:* John Paul * John Paul...
- reporter - Cindy Ward - anchor; weeknights at 5 and 6 p.m.
Weather
- Paul Emmick - chief meteorologist; weeknights at 5, 5:30, 6, 10 and 11 p.m.
- Erik LarsonErik LarsonErik Larson is an American author. He has written Isaac's Storm , about the experiences of Isaac Cline during the Galveston Hurricane of 1900, The Devil in the White City: Murder, Magic and Madness at the Fair That Changed America , about the 1893 Columbian Exposition in Chicago and a series of...
- meteorologist; Saturday mornings and weekend evenings - Cari Peugeot (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...
member) - meteorologist; weekday mornings and noon - Abby Weppler - meteorologist; weeknights at 5 and 5:30 p.m. (also on WNSNWNSNWNSN, known locally as Sunny 101.5, is an adult contemporary radio station in South Bend, Indiana. Its transmitter located at the southern portion of South Bend.-External links:*...
radio weekday mornings)
Sports
- Pete Byrne - sports director; weeknights at 6, 10 and 11 p.m.
- David McCoy - sports reporter; weekend evenings
Notable former staff
- Rick Mecklenburg, Chief Meteorologist · Nov 1996 to Jul 2011
- Luke Choate, anchor (now retired)
- Jim Pinkerton (news), anchor (now works for the state of Indiana)
- Steve Baron, meteorologist, (now Vice President of Interactive Content at Local TVLocal TVLocal TV LLC is a limited liability corporation, owned by Oak Hill Capital Partners , which operates 18 local network-affiliated television stations in the United States.-History:...
) - Deborah Domine, anchor (now an Elkhart County judge)
- Bill Foster, Weekend Anchor, General Assignment Reporter
- Angela Ingram, reporter, (Now reporter at WKRC-TVWKRC-TVWKRC-TV is the CBS-affiliated television station for the Tri-State area of Southern Ohio, Northern Kentucky, and Southeastern Indiana that is licensed to Cincinnati. It broadcasts a high definition digital signal on VHF channel 12 from a transmitter at its studios on Highland Avenue in the Mount...
) - Cheryl Jackson, reporter, (Now freelance correspondent at CNN Chicago)
- Mike Collins, anchor (retired November 30, 2007; maintains a weblog on the station's website)
- Todd Connor, anchor (now anchor for WRTV)
- Charlie Adams, sports
- Jon Shaner, meteorologist (Now morning meteorologist at WXMIWXMIWXMI channel 17 is a Fox-affiliated television station in Grand Rapids, Michigan, owned by the Tribune Company. WXMI's studio and office facility is located in Grand Rapids and its transmitter is based southwest of Middleville, Michigan...
) - Eric Knecht, producer (Now Sports Director at KSN-TV in Joplin, MO
- Vanessa Medina, reporter (Now reporter at WSVN-TV)
- Paul Silvestri, meteorologist
- Samuel King, reporter, (Now at NY1NY1NY1, New York One, is a 24-hour cable-news television channel focusing on the five boroughs of New York City. In addition to news and weather forecasts, the channel also features human-interest segments such as the "New Yorker of the Week" and the "Scholar Athlete of the Week", and specialty...
) - Sam Scaman, Chief meteorologist (1989–1998)
- Bruce Saunders, meteorologist
- Kate SullivanKate SullivanKate Sullivan Kate Sullivan is co-anchor of CBS 2 Chicago News at 5 p.m. and 10 p.m. with Rob Johnson. Sullivan, who has won several awards - including an Emmy Award and the Associated Press First Place Award for Breaking News - joined CBS 2 Chicago in September 2010 after anchoring at WCBS-TV...
, reporter (Now anchor at WBBM-TVWBBM-TVWBBM-TV, virtual channel 2 , is the CBS owned-and-operated television station in Chicago, Illinois. WBBM-TV's main studios and offices are located in The Loop section of Chicago, as part of the development at Block 37, and its transmitter is atop the Willis Tower.-History:WBBM-TV traces its history...
) - Mike May, puppeteer "Popeye Theater"
Newscast titles
- The Early Report/The Late Report
- 22 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...
(1978–1983) - WSBT 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...
(1983–1994) - WSBT News 22 (1994–2007)
- WSBT News (2007–present)
Station slogans
- Channel 22, Go for It! (1970s)
- Channel 22, Catch The Brightest Stars! (1975–1976; localized version of CBS ad campaign)
- Channel 22, You're Looking Good! (1980–1981; localized version of CBS ad campaign)
- Your Hometown Station (1990–1994)
- Michiana's News Channel/Live, Local, Latebreaking (1994–1997)
- Together, Making a Difference (1997–2007)
- Your Local News Leader (2007–present)