WTSP
Encyclopedia
WTSP is a 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...

-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 St. Petersburg, Florida
St. Petersburg, Florida
St. Petersburg is a city in Pinellas County, Florida, United States. It is known as a vacation destination for both American and foreign tourists. As of 2008, the population estimate by the U.S. Census Bureau is 245,314, making St...

 (part of the Tampa/St. Petersburg television market). It broadcasts its digital signal on VHF channel 10.

The station is owned by the Gannett Company
Gannett Company
Gannett Company, Inc. is a publicly-traded media holding company headquartered in Tysons Corner, Virginia, United States, near McLean. It is the largest U.S. newspaper publisher as measured by total daily circulation. Its assets include the national newspaper USA Today and the weekly USA Weekend...

 with studios in St. Petersburg (its city of license). WTSP is one of two full-powered stations with studios located in St. Petersburg, instead of Tampa, along with nearby WTOG
WTOG
WTOG, channel 44, is a television station in St. Petersburg, Florida. Owned by the CBS Corporation, WTOG serves as the Tampa Bay Area station for the co-owned The CW Television Network. Its transmitter is located in Riverview, Florida.-Early years:...

. It is also one of three full-powered stations based in Pinellas County
Pinellas County, Florida
Pinellas County is a county located in the state of Florida. Its county seat is Clearwater, Florida, and its largest city is St. Petersburg. This county is contained entirely within the telephone area code 727, except for some sections of Oldsmar, which have the area code 813...

, counting WCLF
WCLF
WCLF is one of America's oldest religious stations, having its start in October 1979. The station presents religious programming around the clock, as flagship of the nationwide Christian Television Network, which has owned-and-operated and affiliated stations throughout the southeast and in Iowa...

.

History

The station began broadcasting on July 18, 1965, as WLCY-TV after a lengthy court battle that lasted nearly ten years between five prospective owners seeking the license, including the St. Petersburg Times
St. Petersburg Times
The St. Petersburg Times is a United States newspaper. It is one of two major publications serving the Tampa Bay Area, the other being The Tampa Tribune, which the Times tops in both circulation and readership. Based in St...

. It was owned by Rahall Communications along with WLCY radio (AM 1380, now WWMI
WWMI
WWMI is a radio station broadcasting a children's radio format. Licensed to St. Petersburg, Florida, USA, the station serves the Tampa Bay area. The station is owned by The Walt Disney Company.-History:...

; and FM 94.9, now WWRM
WWRM
WWRM is an adult contemporary music formatted radio station serving the Tampa-St. Petersburg, Florida radio market. WWRM began on 107.3 , but later moved to 94.9 with its soft AC format...

). Until 1981 it was licensed to Largo
Largo, Florida
Largo is the third largest city in Pinellas County, Florida, USA and is part of the Tampa Bay Area. Centrally located, it is the crossroads of the county. As of the 2000 census, the City had a total population of 69,371. As of 2004, the population estimated by the U.S. Census Bureau was...

, north of St. Petersburg, but its studios have always been in St. Petersburg. The station's first studios were at 2426 Central Avenue. Its current studios on Gandy Boulevard, originally known as the "Rahall Color Communications Center," were dedicated on October 15, 1968. Studio broadcasts were fully in color by 1966 but field reports remained in black and white until 1972.

The station was affiliated with 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...

, but spent the first month-and-a-half as an independent station, as previous ABC affiliate WSUN-TV
WSUN-TV
WSUN-TV was a television station in St. Petersburg, Florida from 1953 to 1970 and was the first TV station in the Tampa/St. Petersburg television market.-Early history:...

 (channel 38; the frequency is now occupied by WTTA
WTTA
WTTA is the MyNetworkTV-affiliated television station for the Tampa Bay Area of Florida that is licensed to St. Petersburg. It broadcasts a high definition digital signal on UHF channel 32 from a transmitter in Riverview. Owned by Bay Television, the station is operated by the Sinclair Broadcast...

) went to court to keep the affiliation. The city of St. Petersburg, owners of WSUN-TV, had been one of the applicants for the channel 10 license, having jumped in out of fear of losing its ABC affiliation. WLCY ultimately won, and formally switched to ABC in a special ceremony on September 1, 1965. As a condition for being placed on VHF channel 10 instead of a UHF placement, the station was required to produce 20 hours of public service programming a week by 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...

 (FCC).

The station aired other local children's programs as Submarine 10, 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...

with June Hurley, 10 Ultimate and This Side Up, and local talk shows such as Russ Byrd's Morning Show, The John Eastman Show, The Liz Richards Show and Murphy in the Morning. From 1966-67, the station produced 10 á Go Go, a teenage dance show hosted by Roy Nilson, a disc jockey on WLCY-AM. Another early local program was a morning exercise show, The Fran Carlton Show. The most popular Channel 10 program in that era was the syndicated The Lawrence Welk Show
The Lawrence Welk Show
The Lawrence Welk Show is an American televised musical variety show hosted by big band leader Lawrence Welk. The series aired locally in Los Angeles for four years , then nationally for another 27 years via the ABC network and first-run syndication .In the years since first-run syndication...

.

In 1971, WXLT (now WWSB
WWSB
WWSB Channel 40 is the ABC-affiliated television station for the Florida Suncoast that is licensed to Sarasota. It broadcasts a high definition digital signal on UHF channel 24 from a transmitter on Rutland Road in the unincorporated Manatee County community of Rye, about 5 miles ESE of Parrish...

, channel 40) signed on from Sarasota
Sarasota, Florida
Sarasota is a city located in Sarasota County on the southwestern coast of the U.S. state of Florida. It is south of the Tampa Bay Area and north of Fort Myers...

 to provide ABC network programming since WLCY's signal could not come in well in most of Sarasota County
Sarasota County, Florida
Sarasota County is a county located in the U.S. state of Florida. The U.S. Census Bureau 2008 estimate for the county was 372,057. Its county seat is Sarasota, Florida....

. WLCY's transmitter was (and still is) in Holiday, Florida
Holiday, Florida
Holiday , is a census-designated place in Pasco County, Florida, United States. It is a suburb included in the Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, Florida Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 21,904 at the 2000 census.The name Holiday, like the names of many towns, comes from a spark...

. Tampa Bay residents had to have a special VHF antenna that faced away from Riverview in order to view WLCY. This setup was called the "Tampa Bay Special". Ratings for the station during the early to mid 1970s were dismal, however, compared to longtime Bay Area stations WTVT
WTVT
WTVT, channel 13, is a television station in Tampa, Florida. It is an owned and operated station of the Fox Broadcasting Company, a subsidiary of the News Corporation...

 and WFLA-TV and, as a result, the station nearly lost its ABC affiliation. Part of the problem was its transmitter location in the southwestern corner of Pasco County (all other stations broadcasted from Riverview, in Hillsborough County). It also operated at a lower power than the Tampa stations.

In 1977, WLCY-TV was purchased by Gulf United Broadcasting of Dallas, Texas. New owner Alan Henry (of WINS
WINS (AM)
WINS , known on-air as "Ten-Ten Wins", is a radio station in New York City, owned by CBS Radio. WINS's studios are in the combined CBS Radio facility at 345 Hudson Street in the TriBeCa section of Manhattan, and transmitting towers in Lyndhurst, New Jersey.WINS is one of the nation's oldest...

 New York fame), General Manager Larry Clamage, and news director George "Bud" Faulder began to turn the station around, changing the call letters to WTSP-TV on September 12, 1978, hiring several new on-air staff who changed the face of the station.

WTSP is also a station of firsts: in October 1979, the station acquired "Sky 10," Tampa Bay's first television news helicopter. This stunned the local news community and showed that Channel 10 was serious about local news coverage. It was the only local news helicopter to broadcast the aftermath of the infamous Skyway Bridge
Sunshine Skyway Bridge
The Bob Graham Sunshine Skyway Bridge is a bridge spanning Tampa Bay, Florida, with a cable-stayed main span, and a total length of 21,877 feet . It is part of I-275 and US 19 , connecting St. Petersburg in Pinellas County and Terra Ceia in Manatee County, Florida, passing through Hillsborough...

 disaster on live television in May 1980. Another technological advance was Tampa Bay's first satellite news truck (1984) called "Star 10" that beamed signals from far away locations to WTSP's Gandy Blvd. studios. WTSP also acquired Tampa Bay's first Doppler weather radar
Weather radar
Weather radar, also called weather surveillance radar and Doppler weather radar, is a type of radar used to locate precipitation, calculate its motion, estimate its type . Modern weather radars are mostly pulse-Doppler radars, capable of detecting the motion of rain droplets in addition to the...

 called "StormSeeker" in 1980 and was one of the first television stations in the country to use a computer in weather forecasting called "WeatherEye" (1979) and was the first station in the market with a 7-day forecast (1992). The station pioneered the use of satellite technology among local television stations in the United States, deploying its own satellite dish in 1979.

In 1979, the station launched an aggressive marketing campaign. By 1982, WTSP had passed WFLA
WFLA-TV
WFLA-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...

 (channel 8) in the evening news ratings and did so until the later part of the decade. WTSP has won many prestigious awards, including the George Foster Peabody award in 1983. Taft Broadcasting
Taft Broadcasting
The Taft Broadcasting Company, also known as Taft Television and Radio Company, Incorporated, was an American media conglomerate based in Cincinnati, Ohio....

 purchased the station along with four other Gulf properties in 1985. Then, in 1988, Taft sold its independent stations and Fox affiliates to TVX, and sold most of its network affiliates, including WTSP, to Great American Broadcasting
Taft Broadcasting
The Taft Broadcasting Company, also known as Taft Television and Radio Company, Incorporated, was an American media conglomerate based in Cincinnati, Ohio....

 (which became known as Citicasters by 1995).

In 1994, Scripps Howard
E. W. Scripps Company
The E. W. Scripps Company is an American media conglomerate founded by Edward W. Scripps on November 2, 1878. The company is headquartered inside the Scripps Center in Cincinnati, Ohio. Its corporate motto is "Give light and the people will find their own way."On October 16, 2007, the company...

 arranged for several of its stations (including WFTS-TV
WFTS-TV
WFTS, virtual channel 28, is the ABC affiliate television station for the Tampa-St. Petersburg, Florida market, owned by The E.W. Scripps Company. It broadcasts its digital signal on UHF channel 29. Its transmitter is located in Riverview, Florida.-History:...

 (channel 28), which was about to lose its 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...

 affiliation to then-CBS affiliate WTVT (channel 13) due to a corporate deal between New World Communications
New World Communications
New World Pictures was an independent motion picture and television production company, and later television station owner in the United States from the late 1980s to the mid-1990s...

, WTVT's owner at the time, and Fox) to affiliate with ABC. As a result, WTSP lost its ABC affiliation, and gained the CBS affiliation from WTVT. CBS's programming moved to WTSP on December 12, 1994, in a three-way affiliation switch that caused much viewer confusion. The change to CBS occurred on December 12, 1994, and resulted in the station moving from third to second place in the local news ratings although a later resurgent WTVT and competition from newly started WFTS would make second place a toss-up for the rest of the 1990s. WFLA was the market leader, until dipping to second after the premiere of the 10 p.m. Jay Leno Show.

Citicasters (which held on to WTSP and WKRC-TV
WKRC-TV
WKRC-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...

 in Cincinnati, Ohio after it sold its other television stations to New World and Fox Television Stations) merged with Jacor
Jacor
Jacor Communications was a media corporation which owned a large number of radio stations in the United States. Inside the radio industry, Jacor was seen as one of the most competitive broadcast companies in history. Jacor's re-image in 1996 created the slogan "The Noise You Can't Ignore".Jacor was...

 in September 1996. Three months later, in December 1996, Gannett
Gannett Company
Gannett Company, Inc. is a publicly-traded media holding company headquartered in Tysons Corner, Virginia, United States, near McLean. It is the largest U.S. newspaper publisher as measured by total daily circulation. Its assets include the national newspaper USA Today and the weekly USA Weekend...

 acquired WTSP in a swap deal, selling six of its radio stations — WDAE and WUSA-FM (now WMTX
WMTX
WMTX is a Hot AC radio station in Tampa, Florida known as "Mix 100.7". It plays a variety of current hits along with some hit music from the past, as far back as the 1980s.-Station history:...

) in Tampa, KIIS AM (now KTLK) and KIIS-FM
KIIS-FM
KIIS-FM is a Los Angeles, California, USA-based radio station with a partial Top 40 musical format. It is owned by Clear Channel Communications. KIIS is also simulcasted on KVVS in Rosamond, at 105.5 MHz...

 in Los Angeles
Los Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...

, and KSDO AM
KMRO
KMRO is a radio station licensed to Camarillo, California, and broadcasting a Spanish religious format. The station is currently owned by The Association For Community Education, Inc. It is the flagship radio station of the Spanish religious radio network Radio Nueva Vida based in Camarillo,...

 and KSDO-FM (now KLQV
KLQV
KLQV or Recuerdo 102.9 is a Spanish oldies radio station. Their antenna is located on top of Mount Soledad in La Jolla. They are owned by Univision along with KLNV. Formerly, they were known as VIVA 102.9, but because XHOCL became Spanish oldies, KLQV decided to convert to Spanish oldies. KLQV's...

) in San Diego — to Jacor in return.

In the spring of 1999, WTSP debuted "Double Doppler" and it remains the only station in Florida to own two radar sites. On January 14, 2008, WTSP became the third station in the Tampa Bay area to broadcast its local newscasts in high definition, behind rivals WFTS-TV
WFTS-TV
WFTS, virtual channel 28, is the ABC affiliate television station for the Tampa-St. Petersburg, Florida market, owned by The E.W. Scripps Company. It broadcasts its digital signal on UHF channel 29. Its transmitter is located in Riverview, Florida.-History:...

 and WFLA-TV. Along with the new HD format came a brand-new news set, graphics, and music package. The new HD set was designed by broadcast powerhouse Jack Morton Design/PDG and fabricated by HD specialists blackwalnut, llc. The set was lit by Mick Smith of Ferri Lighting Design Associates.

Digital programming

WTSP broadcasts on digital channel 10.
Digital channel>
Channel Name Programming
10.1 WTSP-HD Main WTSP programming / CBS
10.2 WTSP SD 10 Weather Now


Tampa-area cable provider Bright House Networks
Bright House Networks
Bright House Networks is a cable television company, the seventh largest cable operator and the sixth largest traditional multiple system operator in the United States owned by Advance/Newhouse, headquartered in Syracuse, New York...

 is the main sponsor of WTSP's digital programming.

Analog-to-digital conversion

WTSP shut down its analog signal, over VHF
Very high frequency
Very high frequency is the radio frequency range from 30 MHz to 300 MHz. Frequencies immediately below VHF are denoted High frequency , and the next higher frequencies are known as Ultra high frequency...

 channel 10, on June 12, 2009, as part of the DTV transition in the United States
DTV 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...

. The station had been broadcasting its pre-transition digital signal over 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 24, but returned to channel 10 for its post-transition operations. Its previous digital frequency, channel 24, is now occupied by WWSB
WWSB
WWSB Channel 40 is the ABC-affiliated television station for the Florida Suncoast that is licensed to Sarasota. It broadcasts a high definition digital signal on UHF channel 24 from a transmitter on Rutland Road in the unincorporated Manatee County community of Rye, about 5 miles ESE of Parrish...

.

On February 6, 2010 Channel 10 doubled its broadcast power from 35 kW to 78 kW to help with reception issues that plagued the station's VHF digital signal. At the time the station's transmitter tower was still segregated farther north in Holiday due to bygone analog spacing requirements. However, even after the increase in power the reception problems persisted for area viewers which aim their antennas toward the majority of transmitters for the Tampa market located 35 miles south in Riverview
Riverview, Hillsborough County, Florida
Riverview is an unincorporated census-designated place in Hillsborough County, Florida, United States. It is located near Brandon. The population was 71,050 at the 2010 census....

.

On January 7, 2011, WTSP filed an application with the FCC to move its transmitter from Holiday toward the south to Riverview, finally joining other Tampa stations; however, while WTSP remains short-spaced with WPLG, it will give more spacing for its Jacksonville sister station WJXX
WJXX
WJXX 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...

; both WPLG and WJXX also operate their post-conversion signals on channel 10. The FCC granted WTSP a construction permit on January 26. The move was completed on October 1, 2011.

Northern portions of the viewing area lost the station's signal after the move to Riverview. So the station has a construction permit for a digital fill-in translator on channel 4. The translator will primarily serve Citrus County
Citrus County, Florida
Citrus County is a county located in the U.S. state of Florida. As of 2000, the population was 118,085. The U.S. Census Bureau 2008 estimate for the county was 141,416 . Its county seat is Inverness, Florida...

.

News operation

Channel 10's on-air staff during its early years included Dick Crippen
Dick Crippen
Dick Crippen is a popular former sports anchor in the Tampa Bay, Florida television market. Crippen began his career at ABC affiliate WLCY-TV Channel 10 in 1965 as one of the station's first on-air personalities. In 1981, he left for rival WFLA-TV...

, who originally presented weather and then sports; Marshall Cleaver, Al Stockmeyer, Art Johnson, who provided news; and Karol Kelly (weather). Cleaver was the original news anchor for much of the 1960s and early 1970s, when the program was called NewsNight. Crippen also hosted a children's show, Space Station 10. In 1975, former WFLA-TV
WFLA-TV
WFLA-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...

 anchor Arch Deal became the news director and co-anchor with Marshall Cleaver for Eyewitness News
Eyewitness News
Eyewitness 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...

. Cleaver was removed in 1977, and Deal continued to anchor until Action NewsCenter, a format similar to Indianapolis
Indianapolis
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...

 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 newscasts at the time, debuted with former WTVT anchors Rod Challenger and Gary Rebstock along with Rick Moore. WLCY broadcast the first 5:30 newscast in the Tampa Bay area during the late 1970s up until September 15, 1980, when the newscast was moved to 6 p.m. Beginning in 1979, Don Harrison
Don Harrison
Don Harrison was an anchor on CNN Headline News from 1982 until his death from renal cancer in 1998. He was a member of the original team of anchors when Headline News went on the air for the first time as "CNN2" in 1982....

 (previously from KMSP-TV
KMSP-TV
KMSP-TV, channel 9, is the Fox-owned-and-operated television station serving the Minneapolis-Saint Paul, Minnesota designated market area, owned in a duopoly with MyNetworkTV affiliate WFTC...

 in Minneapolis-St. Paul), Wally Kinnan
Wally Kinnan
Henry Wallace "Wally" Kinnan who was a decorated World War II hero, also was one of the first well known U.S. pioneer television broadcast meteorologists. Kinnan held American Meteorological Society Television Seal #3...

 and Dick Crippen were the new anchors of the Channel 10 evening newscasts. Ratings surged, making the Tampa Bay market more competitive. In June 1979, Channel 10 acquired the original sunset logo (which was later duplicated by its sister station KTSP
KSAZ-TV
KSAZ-TV, virtual channel 10.1, is the Fox owned-and-operated station in Phoenix, Arizona. It is owned by Fox Television Stations in a duopoly with MyNetworkTV station KUTP ....

 in Phoenix, Arizona
Phoenix, Arizona
Phoenix is the capital, and largest city, of the U.S. state of Arizona, as well as the sixth most populated city in the United States. Phoenix is home to 1,445,632 people according to the official 2010 U.S. Census Bureau data...

) along with the "Action News
Action News
Action 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...

" format. In April 1979, the station built a taller transmission tower, improving the station's broadcasting capabilities.

In late 1982, news anchor Don Harrison left WTSP to become an anchor at upstart cable channel CNN2, now HLN. John Wilson and Liz Ayers replaced Harrison as anchor. On January 9, 1983, Sheryl Browne, from WKYC-TV
WKYC-TV
WKYC, virtual channel 3 , is an NBC-affiliated television station located in Cleveland, Ohio, owned by the Gannett Company. Its studio is located on the shores of Lake Erie, while its transmitter is located in Parma, Ohio....

 in Cleveland, Ohio
Cleveland, Ohio
Cleveland is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and is the county seat of Cuyahoga County, the most populous county in the state. The city is located in northeastern Ohio on the southern shore of Lake Erie, approximately west of the Pennsylvania border...

 joined Wilson at the anchor desk on "Action News," rounding out the station's main anchor team. Longtime WTSP chief meteorologist
Meteorology
Meteorology is the interdisciplinary scientific study of the atmosphere. Studies in the field stretch back millennia, though significant progress in meteorology did not occur until the 18th century. The 19th century saw breakthroughs occur after observing networks developed across several countries...

 Dick Fletcher
Dick Fletcher
Richard R. "Dick" Fletcher was a broadcast meteorologist. He was Chief Meteorologist for WTSP channel 10 in St. Petersburg, Florida, for 28 years at the time of his death on February 26, 2008...

 joined the station in March 1980 and became famous for his forecasting during Hurricane Elena
Hurricane Elena
Hurricane Elena was a category 3 major hurricane that produced heavy damage along the Gulf Coast of the United States in August and September of the 1985 Atlantic hurricane season. The fifth tropical storm, fourth hurricane, and first major hurricane of the season, Elena developed near Cuba from a...

 in 1985. Award-winning reporter Mike Deeson, legendary sports anchor Ken Broo and feature reporter Bill Campbell, famous for his "Campbell's Corner" spots, bolstered the station in the 1980s. WTSP was the second television station in the Bay Area to launch an hour long 6 p.m. newscast in 1986. Rival WTVT
WTVT
WTVT, channel 13, is a television station in Tampa, Florida. It is an owned and operated station of the Fox Broadcasting Company, a subsidiary of the News Corporation...

 had been the first to do so many years earlier and WTSP attempted it in an effort to pass WTVT to the top of the local news ratings. The effort only lasted until 1987, however.

On June 4, 1989, "Action News" became "NewsCenter 10" and a 5 p.m. newscast was launched. In January 1998, Reginald Roundtree replaced Pat Minarcin as the lead male anchor of "10 News". Minarcin later sued the station for age discrimination. On October 14, 2002, the station launched a new news format and image. A new, state-of-the-art digital newsroom was also constructed for WTSP's news staff. In September 2008, Chris Suchan replaced morning meteorologist Anna Allen, who had been at the station since 2004. Soon after, Tammie Souza
Tammie Souza
Tammara J. "Tammie" Souza is a multiple Chicago/Midwest Emmy winning meteorologist, working at WFLD in Chicago, Illinois.-Personal life:Souza was born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania and raised in San Diego, California. She received a Bachelor of Science in Biology from San Diego State University, and...

 was named chief meteorologist, taking long-time chief meteorologist Dick Fletcher
Dick Fletcher
Richard R. "Dick" Fletcher was a broadcast meteorologist. He was Chief Meteorologist for WTSP channel 10 in St. Petersburg, Florida, for 28 years at the time of his death on February 26, 2008...

's place after he died from a stroke in February. In 2005, the station debuted "Vortex", a powerful new forecasting tool.

On October 9, 2008, WTSP rebranded itself yet again, from "Tampa Bay's 10" to "10 Connects", with "10 Connects Network" used alternatively. Along with the new name came a new music and graphics package, which is also used by other Gannett stations. The station's "10 Connects" logo was similar to the previous one minus the wave, along with a small notch in the oval portion of the logo for the "Connects" text. This logo was nicknamed "Pacman" for its resemblance to the video game character. WTSP made big gains at 11 p.m. in the May 2009 sweeps, edging out WFLA for first place. In August 2010, veteran former WFLA-TV
WFLA-TV
WFLA-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...

 anchor Bill Ratliff joined the station as a political analyst.

In June 2009, WTSP joined in on a news service, a joint venture between Fox, Gannett, and E.W. Scripps broadcasting companies. This will allow stations from all three entities to combine news-gathering resources at general media events then distribute the video to participating stations within the market to use in their own reports. This means that some news-gathering resources of WTSP, WTVT (Fox 13), and WFTS (ABC Action News) will be combined. All other news operations at the three stations will remain unchanged. http://www.tvnewsday.com/articles/2009/04/01/daily.11/http://www.tvnewsday.com/articles/2009/06/02/daily.7/ As part of this new arrangement, WTSP officially grounded Sky 10 on August 1, 2009 http://flnewscenter.com/?p=317. This will require WTVT, WFTS, and WTSP to utilize only one helicopter (Action Air One) to cover news events. http://www.flnewscenter.com/.

On July 26, 2010, the station reverted their branding back to "10 News"; their previous logo was also resurrected. The about-face was due to the fact that WTSP was reverting to a more-traditional news formula, and the fact that the "10 Connects" moniker was not understood by many viewers.

In February 2011, talk show host Bubba the Love Sponge
Bubba the Love Sponge
Todd Alan Clem is an American radio personality better known by his Legal name Bubba the Love Sponge Clem. He is the host of The Bubba the Love Sponge Show on various Cox Radio and Beasley Broadcast Group stations, formerly on Sirius XM Howard 101, as well as on RadioIO.-Early career and the...

 began a nightly editorial segment, Bring it on Bubba, for 10 News at 11. On September 12, 2011, WTSP added a mid-morning newscast. The half-hour program at 9 a.m. is an extension of the station's existing weekday morning newscast, using the anchors and meteorologist of 5-7 a.m. newscast.

Controversy

On April 1, 2009, WTSP fired longtime anchor Marty Matthews due to budget cuts at Gannett. Matthews' termination was controversial because the station informed Matthews of her termination by leaving a manila envelope on her doorstep. The termination of Matthews' employment came after the controversial 2008 terminations of weekend anchor Jennifer Howe, weekend meteorologist Randy Rauch, and morning meteorologist Anna Allen.

Matthews was the anchor of WTSP's 4 p.m. newscasts and hosted the station's "Wednesday's Child" child adoption segment. The 4 p.m. newscast was later canceled, and Matthews' former co-anchor Dave Wirth became the station's lead sports anchor. Wirth had been a sports anchor for the station for 20 years, until moving to the news desk in 2004.

Newscast titles

  • WLCY-TV News (1965–1968)
  • NewsNight (1968–1974)
  • Eyewitness News (1974–1977)
  • Action NewsCenter (1977–1977)
  • Action 10 News (1977–1979)
  • Action News (1979–1989)
  • NewsCenter 10 (1989–1992)
  • 10 News (1992-2002 and 2010-present)
  • Tampa Bay's 10 News (2002–2008)
  • 10 Connects News (2008-2010)

Station slogans

  • WLCY-TV: Where the Action Is! (1965)
  • Eyewitness News: All the News There Is (1975–1977)
  • TV-10 is Terrific (1977)
  • They Used to Laugh at Us. They Aren't Laughing Anymore. (1977)
  • Turn to 10 (1978; as WTSP)
  • Take a Look (at Channel 10) (1979–1981)
  • We Have The Skies All to Ourselves (promoting Sky 10, 1980)
  • Stay In Touch With 10 (1983–1989)
  • Follow The New Leader (1984)
  • NewsCenter 10: In The Center Of It All (1989–1992)
  • 10 News: News You Can Use (1992–1994)
  • The News Team That Stands for Tampa Bay (1992–1994; used in news intros)
  • Where News Comes First (1993–1995)

  • The Next Generation Of News (1994–1996)
  • Keep Your Eye On Tampa Bay's 10 (1994–1996; used to promote CBS's move to WTSP)
  • We've Got You Covered (1996–1998)
  • People You Can Count On (1998–2001)
  • Covering Tampa Bay (2001–2002)
  • Enjoy It. We Do. (2002–2008)
  • You'll Be Seeing Red (2002; promo for the revamped Channel 10)
  • News. Views. Conversations. (2008–2010)
  • Tampa Bay's Information Center (2008–present; used on newscast introductions)
  • Tampa Bay's News Leader (2010-present)


Current on-air staff

Anchors
  • Tammie Fields – weekends at 6 and 11 p.m.; also weekday reporter and fill-in anchor (since 2007)
  • Ginger Gadsden – weekday mornings, 9 a.m. and noon (since 2006)
  • Keith Jones – weekday mornings, 9 a.m. and noon (since 2009)
  • Reginald Roundtree – weeknights at 5, 6 and 11 p.m. (since 1989)
  • Heather Van Nest – weeknights at 5, 6 and 11 p.m. (since 2002)


10 Weather Authority
  • Bobby Deskins (AMS
    American Meteorological Society
    The 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 Meteorologist
    Certified Broadcast Meteorologist
    Certified 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,...

     Seal of Approval) – meteorologist; weekday mornings, 9 a.m. and noon (since 2009)
  • Mark Collins (AMS Seal of Approval) – meteorologist; weekends, also weekday fill-in (since September , 2011)
  • Jim Van Fleet Chief Meteorologist (starting December 2011)
  • Kate Wentzel (AMS and NWA Seals of Approval) - meteorologist (since October 1, 2011)


Sports team
  • Dave Wirth
    Dave Wirth
    Dave Wirth is currently the lead sports anchor for the WTSP channel 10 in St. Petersburg, Florida.-Radio:Wirth's career began at WKAO radio in Daytona Beach, Florida. He then became a sports reporter and newscaster for WJNO in West Palm Beach, Florida.-Television:Wirth moved to television in 1981,...

    – sports anchor; weeknights at 6 and 11 p.m., also fill-in news anchor (sports anchor from 1984–2004, 2009–present; news anchor from 2004–2009)
  • Nicole Darin – sports anchor; weekends at 6 and 11 p.m., also sports reporter (since 2011)
  • Travis Bell – sports reporter and fill-in sports anchor (since 2006)


Traffic

Reporters
  • Kathryn Bursch – general assignment reporter (since 1999)
  • Chase Cain - general assignment reporter (since 2011)
  • Mike Deeson – senior reporter(since 1982)
  • Adam Freeman – general assignment reporter (since 2010)
  • Eric Glasser – general assignment reporter; also fill-in anchor (since 2010)
  • Dave Heller -Tallahassee bureau reporter (since 2010)
  • Laura Kadechka – general assignment reporter (since 2009)
  • Grayson Kamm – morning reporter (since 2008)
  • Isabel Mascareñas – education reporter (since 1995)
  • Melanie Michael - general assignment reporter; also fill-in anchor (since 2008) (formerly known as Melanie Brooks)
  • Althea Paul - general assignment reporter (since 2011)
  • Ashley Porter - general assignment reprter (since 2011)
  • Noah Pransky – general assignment reporter (since 2009)
  • Preston Rudie – general assignment reporter (since 2002)
  • Beau Zimmer – general assignment reporter (since 2005)


Contributors
  • Scott Farrell – commentary (since 2009)
  • Bill Ratliff – political contributor (since 2010)
  • Bubba the Love Sponge
    Bubba the Love Sponge
    Todd Alan Clem is an American radio personality better known by his Legal name Bubba the Love Sponge Clem. He is the host of The Bubba the Love Sponge Show on various Cox Radio and Beasley Broadcast Group stations, formerly on Sirius XM Howard 101, as well as on RadioIO.-Early career and the...

    - 11PM commentary (since 2011)

Notable past on-air staff

  • Michelle Caruso-Cabrera
    Michelle Caruso-Cabrera
    Michelle Caruso-Cabrera is an American business news General Assignment Reporter for CNBC television. She formerly co-hosted the Worldwide Exchange program airing from 4-6am ET . Caruso-Cabrera announced her departure from the show on 2007-10-19...

     – reporter (1994–1998; now at CNBC
    CNBC
    CNBC is a satellite and cable television business news channel in the U.S., owned and operated by NBCUniversal. The network and its international spinoffs cover business headlines and provide live coverage of financial markets. The combined reach of CNBC and its siblings is 390 million viewers...

    )
  • Dick Crippen
    Dick Crippen
    Dick Crippen is a popular former sports anchor in the Tampa Bay, Florida television market. Crippen began his career at ABC affiliate WLCY-TV Channel 10 in 1965 as one of the station's first on-air personalities. In 1981, he left for rival WFLA-TV...

     – sports director (1965–1981)
  • Dick Fletcher
    Dick Fletcher
    Richard R. "Dick" Fletcher was a broadcast meteorologist. He was Chief Meteorologist for WTSP channel 10 in St. Petersburg, Florida, for 28 years at the time of his death on February 26, 2008...

     – chief meteorologist (1980–2008; deceased)
  • Linda Gialanella
    Linda Gialanella
    Gialanella held the Miss New Jersey 1972 title and competed in the Miss America 1973 pageant, but did not place. The pageant was won by Terry Anne Meeuwsen of Wisconsin....

     – meteorologist (1992–2001; moved to WFTS-TV
    WFTS-TV
    WFTS, virtual channel 28, is the ABC affiliate television station for the Tampa-St. Petersburg, Florida market, owned by The E.W. Scripps Company. It broadcasts its digital signal on UHF channel 29. Its transmitter is located in Riverview, Florida.-History:...

    , left in February 2009)
  • Don Harrison
    Don Harrison
    Don Harrison was an anchor on CNN Headline News from 1982 until his death from renal cancer in 1998. He was a member of the original team of anchors when Headline News went on the air for the first time as "CNN2" in 1982....

     – 6 and 11 p.m. anchor (1979–1982)
  • Liz Ayers
    WCNY-TV
    WCNY-TV is Syracuse, New York's public television station and PBS member station. WCNY-TV's programming is also seen in Utica on low-powered repeater W22DO-D channel 24 Digital...

     - 6 and 11 p.m. anchor (1981-1983)
  • Rob Jones
    Rob Jones (meteorologist)
    Robert A. "Rob" Jones is a television meteorologist who most recently worked for WTSP in St. Petersburg, Florida and NBC Weather Plus.- Education :...

     – freelance meteorologist (2008–2009)
  • Wally Kinnan
    Wally Kinnan
    Henry Wallace "Wally" Kinnan who was a decorated World War II hero, also was one of the first well known U.S. pioneer television broadcast meteorologists. Kinnan held American Meteorological Society Television Seal #3...

     – chief meteorologist (1978–1980)
  • Miles O'Brien
    Miles O'Brien (journalist)
    Miles O'Brien is a broadcast news journalist specializing in aviation, space and technology.-Early life:...

     – reporter (1984–1986)
  • Craig Sager
    Craig Sager
    Craig Sager , is currently a sportscaster for TNT and TBS. Sager is a graduate of Northwestern University. He has previously covered sports for CBS and CNN. His nickname is "America's Sideline Reporter"....

     - sports anchor (1977-1979)
  • John Wilson
    WTVT
    WTVT, channel 13, is a television station in Tampa, Florida. It is an owned and operated station of the Fox Broadcasting Company, a subsidiary of the News Corporation...

     - 6 and 11 p.m. anchor (1981-1993)
  • Ken Broo
    WLWT
    WLWT, virtual channel 5 , is an NBC-affiliated television station in Cincinnati, Ohio, the station is owned by Hearst Television...

     - sports director (1981-1987)
  • Dave Wagner
    WCNC-TV
    WCNC-TV is the NBC affiliate in Charlotte, North Carolina. It broadcasts its digital signal on UHF channel 22 and is carried on cable channel 6 on most area cable systems. It is owned by the Belo Corporation...

     - anchor/reporter (1987-1999)
  • Al Ruechel
    Bay News 9
    Bay News 9 is a cable news television network located in St Petersburg, Florida. It currently serves the Tampa Bay Area including Hillsborough, Pinellas, Manatee, Polk, Pasco, Hernando, and Citrus counties...

     - morning/noon anchor (1986-1996)
  • Bill McGinty - reporter/anchor (1994-2006)
  • Bill Campbell
    WLCY
    WLCY is a country music formatted radio station serving Indiana, Cambria, Jefferson, Armstrong and Westmoreland Counties in Pennsylvania. This station broadcasts in a similar style to rival WFGI-FM with playing throwback country hits and current hits....

     - reporter/"Campbell's Corner" (1975-1994)
  • Matt Meagher
    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...

     - reporter (1975-1979)
  • Mark Douglas
    WFLA-TV
    WFLA-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...

     - reporter (1983-1995)
  • Bill Murphy
    Bay News 9
    Bay News 9 is a cable news television network located in St Petersburg, Florida. It currently serves the Tampa Bay Area including Hillsborough, Pinellas, Manatee, Polk, Pasco, Hernando, and Citrus counties...

     - morning personality (1985-1991)
  • Jim Farrell
    WINK-TV
    WINK-TV, virtual channel 11, is the CBS-affiliated television station for Southwest Florida that is licensed to Fort Myers. It broadcasts a high definition digital signal on UHF channel 50 from a transmitter north of Fort Myers Shores near the Lee and Charlotte County line in Punta Gorda. The...

     - meteorologist (1987-1992)
  • Dennis Feltgen
    National Weather Service
    The National Weather Service , once known as the Weather Bureau, is one of the six scientific agencies that make up the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration of the United States government...

     - meteorologist (1989-1999)
  • Tammie Souza
    Tammie Souza
    Tammara J. "Tammie" Souza is a multiple Chicago/Midwest Emmy winning meteorologist, working at WFLD in Chicago, Illinois.-Personal life:Souza was born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania and raised in San Diego, California. She received a Bachelor of Science in Biology from San Diego State University, and...

     - chief meteorologist - (2008-2011, now back at WFLD-TV in Chicago)
  • Chris Suchan – meteorologist - (2008-2011, now chief meteorologist at KCTV-TV)
  • Kathi Belich
    WFTV
    WFTV, channel 9, is the ABC-affiliated television station for Central Florida that is licensed to Orlando. It broadcasts a high definition digital signal on UHF channel 39 from a transmitter between Bithlo and Christmas. Owned by Cox Enterprises, WFTV is sister to Independent WRDQ. The two stations...

     - reporter (1986-1992)
  • John Favole
    WPTV
    WPTV-TV is the NBC-affiliated television station for South Florida's Gold and Treasure Coasts. Licensed to West Palm Beach, it broadcasts a high definition digital signal on VHF channel 12 from a transmitter in Lake Worth along U.S. 441/SR 7. The station can also be seen on Comcast channel 3...

     - reporter (1979-1982)
  • Jose Grinan
    KRIV
    KRIV, channel 26, is an owned-and-operated television station of the News Corporation-owned Fox, located in Houston, Texas. KRIV is co-owned with MyNetworkTV affiliate KTXH...

     - reporter (1977-1979)
  • Dennis Roper
    WFLA (AM)
    WFLA is an AM radio station in Tampa, Florida, serving the Arbitron Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater market with additional listenership to the east in the adjacent Lakeland-Winter Haven market and to the south in the adjacent Sarasota-Bradenton market...

    - anchor (1979-1985)

External links

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