WTAJ-TV
Encyclopedia
WTAJ-TV is the CBS
-affiliated television station
for the Allegheny
area of Pennsylvania
that is licensed to Altoona, Pennsylvania
. It broadcasts a high definition
digital signal on UHF
channel 32. It is owned by Nexstar Broadcasting Group
. Syndicated
programming on the station includes Inside Edition
, Rachael Ray
, and The 700 Club
.
on June 12, 2009, WTAJ-TV remained on its pre-transition channel number, 32. However, through the use of PSIP
, digital television receivers display the station's virtual channel
number as 10.
and 98.1 FM, now WFGY
). In those early days, all programs were produced and transmitted live from the studios on Wopsononock Mountain in Altoona. Channel 10 was one of the strongest stations in the entire country, utilizing over 300,000 watts to serve its coverage area (most of which is a very rugged dissected plateau
). The station could be seen as far west as Pittsburgh and as far east as State College
.
At its sign-on, WFBG-TV aired selected programming from all four television networks of the time: ABC
, CBS, NBC
and the long-defunct DuMont Television Network
. In 1955, when DuMont ceased most network operations, WFBG became a primary CBS affiliate although it continued to carry a secondary affiliation with ABC until the early 1970s, usually carrying some of ABC's higher-rated shows. While ABC had an affiliate in the area, WOPC-TV (channel 38, now WATM-TV
on channel 23), its signal was hit-or-miss even in Altoona itself.
In 1956, WFBG-AM-FM-TV was sold to the Annenberg family's Triangle Publications
. In 1969, then-Governor of Pennsylvania Milton J. Shapp accused Triangle of using its three Pennsylvania television stations--WFBG-TV, WFIL-TV in Philadelphia (now WPVI-TV
) and WLYH-TV
in Lebanon
--to conduct a smear campaign against him. The FCC found that the charges were true, and forced Triangle to unload all of its broadcasting properties. WFBG-TV was among the last to be sold, going to Gateway Communications in October 1972 along with sister station WLYH. The radio stations weren't included in the sale because the FCC had barred common ownership of radio and television stations in all but a few cases a few months before the Shapp case. Accordingly, Gateway changed channel 10's call letters to the present-day WTAJ-TV (which stands for We're Television for Altoona and Johnstown). The new calls were chosen to acknowledge channel 10's large viewership in Johnstown. Until 1982, Johnstown and Altoona/State College were separate markets. Although Johnstown had a CBS affiliate of its own, WJNL-TV (channel 19), channel 10 had long claimed Johnstown as part of its primary coverage area; it provided a strong city-grade signal to almost the entire Johnstown market. Until the mid-1980s, it was also available on many cable systems in the Pittsburgh area because Pittsburgh's CBS affiliate, KDKA-TV
, preempted a decent amount of CBS shows and most of the preempted shows aired on WTAJ.
In 1982, the Altoona/State College and Johnstown markets were collapsed into a single market. WTAJ became the exclusive CBS affiliate for the enlarged market. It was never really a contest, since WJNL's signal had always been marginal at best even in Johnstown and could not be seen at all in most of the eastern portion of the market. Its over-the-air signal barely reached Altoona and just missed State College. WJNL changed its calls to WFAT, and struggled as a low-rated independent station
for a decade before going dark in 1991; it eventually returned to the air and is now Pittsburgh CW
station WPCW
.
Gateway Communications merged with SJL Broadcasting in December 2000. SJL changed its name to Montecito Broadcast Group
in 2005. Montecito put WTAJ and two of its other stations in the Northeast--WLYH and Binghamton, New York
's WBNG-TV
--up for sale shortly after it purchased four television stations (KHON-TV
in Honolulu, Hawaii
; KOIN
in Portland, Oregon
; KSNT
in Topeka, Kansas
and KSNW
in Wichita, Kansas
) from Emmis Communications
. Granite Broadcasting
has since purchased WBNG, and on July 26, 2006, Nexstar Broadcasting Group
purchased WTAJ and WLYH for $56 million. Nexstar's acquisition was completed on December 29, 2006.
, Clarion
and Indiana
. In Maryland, WTAJ-TV is carried in Cumberland and Hancock, which are both part of the Washington, DC market.
In December 1973, Pam Jenkins left to get married and relocate and in January 1974, Bob Moore left to return to Washington, D.C. as a journalist. This began a new area of "Action News" when the station over the next few months hired five new young people: anchorman Tim Fritz, reporters and weekend anchors Eric Rabe and Karen Nash, Sports Director George McKenzie and reporter Jon McClintock. Out of these five, Eric and McClintock became the veterans. They both stayed until October 1979 when Eric (who succeeded Tim Fritz as news director/anchorman in January 1976) moved on to field reporting in Philadelphia and Jon McClintock simultaneously left to create and head up the Blair County Bureau at WJAC-TV (channel 6) in Johnstown.
Vice President and General Manager Ian K. Harrower said he would hire a news director and an anchorman rather than give both jobs to one man. He hired news director Jim Thompson and anchorman Patrick Van Horn, both subsequently moved on and were succeeded by a number of different people over the next three decades. General Manager Ian Harrower left in February 1980 and was succeeded by J. Thomas Conners. That position has had several men come and go over the past three decades, also. The station suffered a devastating loss in early December 1982 when veteran weatherman John Riley suffered a brain aneurism from which he never recovered; he remained in a coma for over three years and eventually died in April 1986. The station has had many anchors and reporters come and go, some of whom are listed below on this page.
In late May 2007, WTAJ launched a redesigned website. On January 28, 2008, the station unveiled a new logo, slogan, and a re-designed set to replace the old set that had been used since 1995. The station also announced plans to enlarge its coverage in Johnstown since WWCP-TV
and WATM have shut down their news department. Plans include a new Cambria County
newsroom.
On September 12, 2011, WTAJ debuted an hour-long 4 p.m. newscast called Central PA Live. The program is the Johnstown-Altoona-State College market’s first 4 p.m. newscast. The program features topics pertaining to various news stories, along with lifestyle content; it utilizes social media platforms like Facebook and Twitter to allow viewer discussions.
On November 9, 2011, WTAJ was in the national spotlight when one of its news trucks was flipped over by Penn State University students (along with its windshield getting smashed), as it was covering the riots on the PSU campus following the firing of head football coach Joe Paterno
due to the Jerry Sandusky
child molestation scandal
.
Stormtracker Weather
Sports team
Reporters
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...
-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...
for the Allegheny
Allegheny Mountains
The Allegheny Mountain Range , also spelled Alleghany, Allegany and, informally, the Alleghenies, is part of the vast Appalachian Mountain Range of the eastern United States and Canada...
area of Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania
The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania is a U.S. state that is located in the Northeastern and Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States. The state borders Delaware and Maryland to the south, West Virginia to the southwest, Ohio to the west, New York and Ontario, Canada, to the north, and New Jersey to...
that is licensed to Altoona, Pennsylvania
Altoona, Pennsylvania
-History:A major railroad town, Altoona was founded by the Pennsylvania Railroad in 1849 as the site for a shop complex. Altoona was incorporated as a borough on February 6, 1854, and as a city under legislation approved on April 3, 1867, and February 8, 1868...
. It broadcasts a high definition
High-definition television
High-definition television is video that has resolution substantially higher than that of traditional television systems . HDTV has one or two million pixels per frame, roughly five times that of SD...
digital signal on UHF
Ultra high frequency
Ultra-High Frequency designates the ITU Radio frequency range of electromagnetic waves between 300 MHz and 3 GHz , also known as the decimetre band or decimetre wave as the wavelengths range from one to ten decimetres...
channel 32. It is owned by Nexstar Broadcasting Group
Nexstar Broadcasting Group
Nexstar Broadcasting Group, Inc., is an entity of broadcast television stations headquartered in Irving, Texas. The company consists of 50 television stations across the U.S., ranging from market sizes 9 to 201 . 43 of the stations are broadcasting at full power, with the other 4 broadcasting at...
. Syndicated
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...
programming on the station includes Inside Edition
Inside Edition
Inside Edition is a thirty-minute American television syndicated news program, first aired on CBS on October 9, 1988. It was originally similar to the programs Hard Copy and A Current Affair, but now more closely resembles a condensed version of breakfast television, exclusively with pre-recorded...
, Rachael Ray
Rachael Ray
Rachael Domenica Ray is an American television personality, businesswoman, celebrity chef and author. She hosts the syndicated talk and lifestyle program Rachael Ray and three Food Network series, 30 Minute Meals, Rachael Ray's Tasty Travels and $40 a Day...
, and The 700 Club
The 700 Club
The 700 Club is the flagship news talk show of the Christian Broadcasting Network, airing in syndication throughout the United States and Canada. In production since 1966, it is currently hosted by Pat Robertson, Terry Meeuwsen, Kristi Watts, and Gordon P. Robertson, two of whom will host on any...
.
Digital programming
The station's digital channel is not multiplexed. After the analog television shutdown and digital conversionDTV transition in the United States
The DTV transition in the United States was the switchover from analog to exclusively digital broadcasting of free over-the-air television programming...
on June 12, 2009, WTAJ-TV remained on its pre-transition channel number, 32. However, through the use of PSIP
Program and System Information Protocol
The Program and System Information Protocol is the protocol used in the ATSC digital television system for carrying metadata about each channel in the broadcast MPEG transport stream of a TV station and for publishing information about television programs so that viewers can select what to watch...
, digital television receivers display the station's 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....
number as 10.
| Virtual Channel | Digital Channel | Programming |
|---|---|---|
| 10.1 | 32.3 | main WTAJ-TV programming / CBS HD |
History
The station signed on March 1, 1953 as WFBG-TV. The call letters came from the initials of the station's founder, William F. B. Gable, owner of Gable's Department Store in Altoona. Gable also owned WFBG radio (AM 1290WFBG
WFBG is a news/talk radio station broadcasting in Altoona, Pennsylvania.-External links:*...
and 98.1 FM, now WFGY
WFGY
WFGY, known as "Froggy 98 FM", is a Froggy branded Country music formatted radio station in Pennsylvania serving the Altoona, Huntingdon, Bedford, and Lewistown, among other communities in central Pennsylvania. It has a signal that reaches as far west as Blairsville, Pennsylvania, as far south as...
). In those early days, all programs were produced and transmitted live from the studios on Wopsononock Mountain in Altoona. Channel 10 was one of the strongest stations in the entire country, utilizing over 300,000 watts to serve its coverage area (most of which is a very rugged dissected plateau
Dissected plateau
A dissected plateau is a plateau area that has been severely eroded so that the relief is sharp. Such an area may be referred to as mountainous, but dissected plateaus are distinguishable from orogenic mountain belts by the lack of folding, metamorphism, extensive faulting, or magmatic activity...
). The station could be seen as far west as Pittsburgh and as far east as State College
State College, Pennsylvania
State College is the largest borough in Centre County in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania. It is the principal city of the State College, Pennsylvania Metropolitan Statistical Area which encompasses all of Centre County. As of the 2010 census, the borough population was 42,034, and roughly double...
.
At its sign-on, WFBG-TV aired selected programming from all four television networks of the time: ABC
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...
, CBS, 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...
and the long-defunct DuMont Television Network
DuMont Television Network
The DuMont Television Network, also known as the DuMont Network, DuMont, Du Mont, or Dumont was one of the world's pioneer commercial television networks, rivalling NBC for the distinction of being first overall. It began operation in the United States in 1946. It was owned by DuMont...
. In 1955, when DuMont ceased most network operations, WFBG became a primary CBS affiliate although it continued to carry a secondary affiliation with ABC until the early 1970s, usually carrying some of ABC's higher-rated shows. While ABC had an affiliate in the area, WOPC-TV (channel 38, now WATM-TV
WATM-TV
WATM-TV is the ABC-affiliated television station for the Allegheny area of Pennsylvania that is licensed to Altoona. It broadcasts a high definition digital signal on UHF channel 24 from a transmitter on Wopsy Mountain east of Dysart. Owned by Palm Television, the station is operated by Peak Media...
on channel 23), its signal was hit-or-miss even in Altoona itself.
In 1956, WFBG-AM-FM-TV was sold to the Annenberg family's Triangle Publications
Triangle Publications
Triangle Publications, Inc. was an American media group first based at 400 North Broad Street , Philadelphia, and later at its TV Guide headquarters in Radnor, Pennsylvania. Triangle Publications was a privately-held corporation with the majority of stock owned by Walter Annenberg and his sisters...
. In 1969, then-Governor of Pennsylvania Milton J. Shapp accused Triangle of using its three Pennsylvania television stations--WFBG-TV, WFIL-TV in Philadelphia (now WPVI-TV
WPVI-TV
WPVI-TV, channel 6, is an owned-and-operated television station of the Walt Disney Company-owned American Broadcasting Company, located in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA. WPVI has its studios located on the border between Philadelphia and Bala Cynwyd, and its transmitter is located in the...
) and WLYH-TV
WLYH-TV
WLYH-TV is the CW-affiliated television station for South Central Pennsylvania licensed to Lancaster. It broadcasts a high definition digital signal on UHF channel 23 from a transmitter on Butler Road in South Londonderry Township's Timber Hills section. The station can also be seen on Comcast...
in Lebanon
Lebanon, Pennsylvania
Lebanon, formerly known as Steitztown, is a city in and the county seat of Lebanon County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 25,477 at the 2010 census, a 4.2% increase from the 2000 count of 24,461...
--to conduct a smear campaign against him. The FCC found that the charges were true, and forced Triangle to unload all of its broadcasting properties. WFBG-TV was among the last to be sold, going to Gateway Communications in October 1972 along with sister station WLYH. The radio stations weren't included in the sale because the FCC had barred common ownership of radio and television stations in all but a few cases a few months before the Shapp case. Accordingly, Gateway changed channel 10's call letters to the present-day WTAJ-TV (which stands for We're Television for Altoona and Johnstown). The new calls were chosen to acknowledge channel 10's large viewership in Johnstown. Until 1982, Johnstown and Altoona/State College were separate markets. Although Johnstown had a CBS affiliate of its own, WJNL-TV (channel 19), channel 10 had long claimed Johnstown as part of its primary coverage area; it provided a strong city-grade signal to almost the entire Johnstown market. Until the mid-1980s, it was also available on many cable systems in the Pittsburgh area because Pittsburgh's CBS affiliate, KDKA-TV
KDKA-TV
KDKA-TV, channel 2, is an owned and operated television station of the CBS Television Network, located in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA. KDKA-TV broadcasts from a transmitter located in the Perry North neighborhood of Pittsburgh, and its studios are located in downtown Pittsburgh at Gateway Center....
, preempted a decent amount of CBS shows and most of the preempted shows aired on WTAJ.
In 1982, the Altoona/State College and Johnstown markets were collapsed into a single market. WTAJ became the exclusive CBS affiliate for the enlarged market. It was never really a contest, since WJNL's signal had always been marginal at best even in Johnstown and could not be seen at all in most of the eastern portion of the market. Its over-the-air signal barely reached Altoona and just missed State College. WJNL changed its calls to WFAT, and struggled as a low-rated independent station
Independent station
An independent station is in the category of television terminology used to describe a television station broadcasting in the United States or Canada that is not affiliated with any television network....
for a decade before going dark in 1991; it eventually returned to the air and is now Pittsburgh 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...
station WPCW
WPCW
WPCW is a The CW-affiliated television station for Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania that is licensed to Jeannette. WPCW is owned by the CBS Corporation and serves as an affiliate of The CW Television Network for the television market...
.
Montecito Broadcast Group
Lilly Broadcasting, L.L.C. is a privately owned American broadcasting company owned and operated by the father-and-son team of George Lilly and Brian Lilly ....
in 2005. Montecito put WTAJ and two of its other stations in the Northeast--WLYH and Binghamton, New York
Binghamton, New York
Binghamton is a city in the Southern Tier of New York in the United States. It is near the Pennsylvania border, in a bowl-shaped valley at the confluence of the Susquehanna and Chenango Rivers...
's WBNG-TV
WBNG-TV
WBNG-TV is the CBS-affiliated television station for Upstate New York's Eastern Southern Tier licensed to Binghamton. It broadcasts a high definition digital signal on VHF channel 7 from a transmitter on Ingraham Hill Road southwest of downtown. The station can also be seen on Time Warner Cable...
--up for sale shortly after it purchased four television stations (KHON-TV
KHON-TV
KHON-TV is a Fox-affiliated television station in Honolulu, Hawaii. The station broadcasts on virtual channel 2.In addition to its Honolulu broadcast facilities, KHON has relays on all the major Hawaiian Islands to rebroadcast programs outside of metropolitan Honolulu: KHAW-TV in Hilo; KAII-TV in...
in Honolulu, Hawaii
Honolulu, Hawaii
Honolulu is the capital and the most populous city of the U.S. state of Hawaii. Honolulu is the southernmost major U.S. city. Although the name "Honolulu" refers to the urban area on the southeastern shore of the island of Oahu, the city and county government are consolidated as the City and...
; KOIN
KOIN
KOIN is the CBS affiliate television station serving the Portland metropolitan area. Its transmitter is located in Portland, Oregon, United States; it broadcasts its digital signal on UHF channel 40...
in Portland, Oregon
Portland, Oregon
Portland is a city located in the Pacific Northwest, near the confluence of the Willamette and Columbia rivers in the U.S. state of Oregon. As of the 2010 Census, it had a population of 583,776, making it the 29th most populous city in the United States...
; KSNT
KSNT
KSNT is the NBC-affiliated television station for Topeka, Kansas. It broadcasts a high definition digital signal on UHF channel 27 from a transmitter at its studios on Northwest 27th Street near the Kiro section of Topeka...
in Topeka, Kansas
Topeka, Kansas
Topeka |Kansa]]: Tó Pee Kuh) is the capital city of the U.S. state of Kansas and the county seat of Shawnee County. It is situated along the Kansas River in the central part of Shawnee County, located in northeast Kansas, in the Central United States. As of the 2010 census, the city population was...
and KSNW
KSNW
KSNW, digital channel 45 , is a NBC affiliate television station based in Wichita, Kansas. It is owned by the New Vision Television group. KSNW is also the flagship station of the Kansas State Network , a chain of NBC affiliates serving the western three-fourths of the state. KSNW's transmitter is...
in Wichita, Kansas
Wichita, Kansas
Wichita is the largest city in the U.S. state of Kansas.As of the 2010 census, the city population was 382,368. Located in south-central Kansas on the Arkansas River, Wichita is the county seat of Sedgwick County and the principal city of the Wichita metropolitan area...
) from Emmis Communications
Emmis Communications
Emmis Communications is a media conglomerate based in Indianapolis, Indiana. The company owns radio stations and magazines in the United States, Hungary, Slovakia and Bulgaria.-History:...
. Granite Broadcasting
Granite Broadcasting Corporation
Granite Broadcasting Corporation, founded by W. Don Cornwell and Stuart Beck in 1988 , is a broadcasting holding company which owns or operates 14 television stations in the United States, largely centered in the midwest with a cluster in New York state...
has since purchased WBNG, and on July 26, 2006, Nexstar Broadcasting Group
Nexstar Broadcasting Group
Nexstar Broadcasting Group, Inc., is an entity of broadcast television stations headquartered in Irving, Texas. The company consists of 50 television stations across the U.S., ranging from market sizes 9 to 201 . 43 of the stations are broadcasting at full power, with the other 4 broadcasting at...
purchased WTAJ and WLYH for $56 million. Nexstar's acquisition was completed on December 29, 2006.
Out-of-market coverage
WTAJ-TV is carried on various cable systems in several counties that are located outside of the Johnstown-Altoona market. These counties include ArmstrongArmstrong County, Pennsylvania
Armstrong County is a county located in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania. As of the 2010 census, the population was 68,941. It is located northeast of Pittsburgh and Allegheny County. Armstrong County was added to the Pittsburgh Metropolitan Statistical Area in 2003.The county seat is Kittanning...
, Clarion
Clarion County, Pennsylvania
As of the census of 2000, there were 41,765 people, 16,052 households, and 10,738 families residing in the county. The population density was 69 people per square mile . There were 19,426 housing units at an average density of 32 per square mile...
and Indiana
Indiana County, Pennsylvania
-Government and politics:As of November 2008, there are 58,077 registered voters in Indiana County .* Democratic: 26,653 * Republican: 24,159 * Other Parties: 7,265 -County commissioners:*Rodney Ruddock, Chairman, Republican...
. In Maryland, WTAJ-TV is carried in Cumberland and Hancock, which are both part of the Washington, DC market.
News operation
WTAJ's news operation has seen a lot of changes through its more than five and a half decades, both in personnel and technology. Early personalities anchoring news, sports and weather in the 1950s and 1960s included Ted Reinhart, Charlie Ritchey, Big John Riley, Ted Johnson, Charlie Flynn, Bob James, Dick Richards, Jon Schwartz, Wes Maley, just to name a few. In September 1972 just shortly before the station was sold to Gateway Communications, Vice President and General Manager John Stilli stepped down and was succeeded by Ian K. Harrower, who would lead the station into its transition from WFBG to WTAJ. A news director and anchorman moved to Altoona from Washington, D.C. named Bob Moore, as well as the first female news correspondent from Penn State University Pam Jenkins. John Riley, Wes Maley and Ted Johnson stayed on board after the change, but eventually John Riley would be the lone survivor of the on-the-air personalities.In December 1973, Pam Jenkins left to get married and relocate and in January 1974, Bob Moore left to return to Washington, D.C. as a journalist. This began a new area of "Action News" when the station over the next few months hired five new young people: anchorman Tim Fritz, reporters and weekend anchors Eric Rabe and Karen Nash, Sports Director George McKenzie and reporter Jon McClintock. Out of these five, Eric and McClintock became the veterans. They both stayed until October 1979 when Eric (who succeeded Tim Fritz as news director/anchorman in January 1976) moved on to field reporting in Philadelphia and Jon McClintock simultaneously left to create and head up the Blair County Bureau at WJAC-TV (channel 6) in Johnstown.
Vice President and General Manager Ian K. Harrower said he would hire a news director and an anchorman rather than give both jobs to one man. He hired news director Jim Thompson and anchorman Patrick Van Horn, both subsequently moved on and were succeeded by a number of different people over the next three decades. General Manager Ian Harrower left in February 1980 and was succeeded by J. Thomas Conners. That position has had several men come and go over the past three decades, also. The station suffered a devastating loss in early December 1982 when veteran weatherman John Riley suffered a brain aneurism from which he never recovered; he remained in a coma for over three years and eventually died in April 1986. The station has had many anchors and reporters come and go, some of whom are listed below on this page.
In late May 2007, WTAJ launched a redesigned website. On January 28, 2008, the station unveiled a new logo, slogan, and a re-designed set to replace the old set that had been used since 1995. The station also announced plans to enlarge its coverage in Johnstown since WWCP-TV
WWCP-TV
WWCP-TV is the Fox-affiliated television station for the Allegheny area of Pennsylvania that is licensed to Johnstown. It broadcasts a high definition digital signal on VHF channel 8 from a transmitter on Laurel Mountain along U.S. 30...
and WATM have shut down their news department. Plans include a new Cambria County
Cambria County, Pennsylvania
Cambria County is a county located in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania. It comprises the Johnstown, Pennsylvania, Metropolitan Statistical Area. As of 2010, the population was 143,679....
newsroom.
On September 12, 2011, WTAJ debuted an hour-long 4 p.m. newscast called Central PA Live. The program is the Johnstown-Altoona-State College market’s first 4 p.m. newscast. The program features topics pertaining to various news stories, along with lifestyle content; it utilizes social media platforms like Facebook and Twitter to allow viewer discussions.
On November 9, 2011, WTAJ was in the national spotlight when one of its news trucks was flipped over by Penn State University students (along with its windshield getting smashed), as it was covering the riots on the PSU campus following the firing of head football coach Joe Paterno
Joe Paterno
Joseph Vincent "Joe" Paterno is a former college football coach who was the head coach of the Penn State Nittany Lions for 46 years from 1966 through 2011. Paterno, nicknamed "JoePa," holds the record for the most victories by an NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision football coach with...
due to the Jerry Sandusky
Jerry Sandusky
Gerald Arthur "Jerry" Sandusky is a retired American football coach. Sandusky served as an assistant coach for his entire career, mostly at Pennsylvania State University under Joe Paterno, and was one of the most notable major college football coaches never to have held a head coaching position. ...
child molestation scandal
Penn State sex abuse scandal
The Penn State sex abuse scandal refers to allegations that former Pennsylvania State University football assistant coach Jerry Sandusky sexually assaulted or had inappropriate contact with at least eight underage boys on or near university property...
.
News/station presentation
Newscast titles
- Tele-Mirror (March 1953-?)
- City Desk/ Civic Calendar (1953)
- News Roundup (1953–1960s)
- Night Beat (1960s–1974 & 1980s as 11pm newscast name)
- Action NewsAction NewsAction News is a local television newscast format in the United States. It was conceived in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, at WFIL-TV by then-news director Mel Kampmann in 1970 as a response to the "Eyewitness News" format used on rival station KYW-TV...
(1974–1995) - 10 News (1995–2008)
- WTAJ News (2008–present)
Station slogans
- TV-10 (late 1970s-early 1990s)
- Live. Local. Latebreaking. (late 1990s–2008)
- Your News Leader (2008–present)
- Your Weather Authority (weather slogan; 2008–present)
News team
Anchors- John Clay - managing editor; weeknights at 5, 5:30, 6 and 11 p.m.
- Carolyn Donaldson - weeknights at 5, 5:30, 6 and 11 p.m.
- Angie Koehle - weekend evenings; also weekday reporter
- Amy Mearkle - weekday mornings and noon
- Dawn Pellas - weekdays at 4 p.m. on Central PA Live
- Patrick Schurr - weekday mornings and noon
- Sarah Swistak - weekdays at 4 p.m. on Central PA Live
Stormtracker Weather
- Joe Murgo (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...
Certified Broadcast MeteorologistCertified Broadcast MeteorologistCertified Broadcast Meteorologist is a rating for meteorologists given by the American Meteorological Society.The Certified Broadcast Meteorologist program was established to raise the professional standard in broadcast meteorology and encourage a broader range of scientific understanding,...
and NWANational Weather AssociationThe National Weather Association is an American professional association with a mission to support and promote excellence in operational meteorology and related activities...
Seals of Approval) - chief meteorologist; weeknights at 5, 5:30, 6 and 11 p.m. - Regina Miller - meteorologist; weekday mornings and noon
- Brian Thompson - meteorologist; weekend evenings
- Caryn Dean - meteorologist; fill-in
Sports team
- Nick Foley - sports director; weeknights at 6 and 11 p.m.
- K.C. Kantz - sports anchor; weekend evenings
- Sara Eckert - sports reporter
Reporters
- Lynn Adler - general assignment reporter
- Charlotte Ames - health reporter
- Kevin Flanigan - Blair County and business reporter
- Ashantai Hathaway - State College bureau reporter
- Danielle Krout - general assignment reporter
- Ben Manning - general assignment reporter
- Jeff Preval - Centre County reporter
Notable former on-air staff
- Ron KlinkRon KlinkRonald "Ron" Klink is a Democratic politician and former United States Representative from Pennsylvania.Klink was born in Canton, Ohio, and graduated from Meyersdale High School in Pennsylvania in 1969. Klink originally worked behind the scenes at WTAJ-TV in Altoona, Pennsylvania...
- former announcer, later turned weather anchor (1976-1978; moved on to KDKA-TV in Pittsburgh until he was elected to Congress in 1992, where he served until he retired) - Larry MendteLarry MendteLarry Mendte is an American commentator and American news anchor working at WPIX in New York City. Mendte was the first male host of the American syndicated television show Access Hollywood. His nightly commentaries are aired on TV stations across the country...
- anchor (was anchor at KYW-TV in Philadelphia until June 2008) - Big John Riley - staff announcer/on-air personality (carried the station from black and white into color; long loved by the community)
- Mike Schneider - former sports anchor/weekend news anchor (1975-1976; spent several years at WTAE-TV in Pittsburgh, was working at WABC-TV in New York City when he became co-anchor of "ABC World News This Morning" as well as news reader for "Good Morning America" in 1989; moved from there to NBC's Saturday "Today Show" until he ran for Congress in the 1990s)
- Patrick Van HornPatrick Van HornPatrick Van Horn is an American actor. He is best known for his role as Sue in the 1996 film Swingers, starring alongside real-life friends Jon Favreau, Vince Vaughn and Ron Livingston...
- anchor (now an actor in Hollywood) - David Venable - anchor (now a host for the home shopping network "QVC")
Trivia
- In the 1977 film Slap ShotSlap Shot (film)Slap Shot is a 1977 film comedy starring Paul Newman and Michael Ontkean directed by George Roy Hill. It depicts a minor league hockey team that resorts to violent play to gain popularity in a declining factory town.- Plot :...
, a microphone bearing the mike flag of WTAJ (which at the time had a logo that featured a "10" in a circle) can be seen before the championship game. In this scene, sports anchor Jim Carr (Andrew Duncan) used a WTAJ mike when he interviewed one of the Charlestown Chiefs' players in the lockerroom. Slap Shot was filmed in Johnstown, which represented the fictitious city of Charlestown. - During the 1950s, the station carried a number of programs from the now-defunct DuMont Television NetworkDuMont Television NetworkThe DuMont Television Network, also known as the DuMont Network, DuMont, Du Mont, or Dumont was one of the world's pioneer commercial television networks, rivalling NBC for the distinction of being first overall. It began operation in the United States in 1946. It was owned by DuMont...
. According to The Daily News, dating from July 30, 1954, the station showed Rocky King, Inside DetectiveRocky King, Inside DetectiveRocky King, Inside Detective was an American television series broadcast on the now-defunct DuMont Television Network from 1950 to 1954. It was one of DuMont's most popular programs. It was a live crime series set in New York City....
, and Marge and JeffMarge and JeffMarge and Jeff is an early American sitcom broadcast on the DuMont Television Network during the 1953-1954 television season.-Broadcast history:...
. WFBG also aired Captain VideoCaptain VideoCaptain Video and His Video Rangers is an American science fiction television series. It was broadcast on the DuMont Television Network, and was the first series of its kind on American television...
, The GoldbergsThe GoldbergsThe Goldbergs is a comedy-drama broadcast from 1929 to 1946 on American radio, and from 1949 to 1956 on American television. It was adapted into a 1948 play, Me and Molly, and a 1973 Broadway musical, Molly.-Radio:...
, and the Army-McCarthy HearingsArmy-McCarthy HearingsThe Army–McCarthy hearings were a series of hearings held by the United States Senate's Subcommittee on Investigations between April 1954 and June 1954. The hearings were held for the purpose of investigating conflicting accusations between the United States Army and Senator Joseph McCarthy...
that year.