WJHL-TV
Encyclopedia
WJHL-TV is 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...

-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 Tri-Cities
Tri-Cities, Tennessee
In Tennessee and Virginia the name "Tri-Cities" refers to the region comprising the cities of Kingsport, Johnson City and Bristol and the surrounding smaller towns and communities in Northeast Tennessee and Southwest Virginia...

 area of Northeastern Tennessee
Tennessee
Tennessee is a U.S. state located in the Southeastern United States. It has a population of 6,346,105, making it the nation's 17th-largest state by population, and covers , making it the 36th-largest by total land area...

 and Southwestern Virginia
Virginia
The Commonwealth of Virginia , is a U.S. state on the Atlantic Coast of the Southern United States. Virginia is nicknamed the "Old Dominion" and sometimes the "Mother of Presidents" after the eight U.S. presidents born there...

 that's licensed to Johnson City, Tennessee
Johnson City, Tennessee
Johnson City is a city in Carter, Sullivan, and Washington counties in the U.S. state of Tennessee, with most of the city being in Washington County...

. 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 VHF channel 11 from a transmitter on the southwest slope of Holston High Point on Holston Mountain
Holston Mountain
Holston Mountain is a mountain ridge in Upper East Tennessee and southwest Virginia, in the United States. It is in the Blue Ridge Mountains part of the Appalachian Mountains...

. Owned by Media General
Media General
Media General, Inc. is a media company based in the Southeastern United States. Its major properties include newspapers such as The Tampa Tribune, the Winston-Salem Journal, and the Richmond Times-Dispatch, as well as numerous television stations, such as flagship station WFLA-TV.The company was...

, which also owns the The Bristol Herald Courier
Bristol Herald Courier
The Bristol Herald Courier is a 39,000 circulation daily newspaper owned by Richmond, Virginia-based Media General, Inc. The newspaper is located in Bristol, Virginia, a small city located in Southwest Virginia on the Tennessee border....

, the station has studios on East Main Street in downtown Johnson City.

Although the station is located in Johnson City, 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) requires it to include Kingsport and Bristol, Tennessee/Virginia in its legal station identification.

WJHL-TV is in what the media industry calls a converged newsroom, meaning Media General online print (The Bristol Herald Courier
Bristol Herald Courier
The Bristol Herald Courier is a 39,000 circulation daily newspaper owned by Richmond, Virginia-based Media General, Inc. The newspaper is located in Bristol, Virginia, a small city located in Southwest Virginia on the Tennessee border....

) and broadcast (WJHL) operations work together closely. Herald Courier reporters are trained to occasionally deliver webcasts of Bristol news, conduct TV "talk-backs" with WJHL and gather audio for daily stories. News Channel 11 reporters often have bylined stories that appear in the Herald Courier news pages. Both operations provide content for TriCities.com
TriCities.com
TriCities.com is an online source for news and information in the Tri-Cities area of northeast Tennessee and southwest Virginia...

, a subsidiary of Media General's Digital Media Department.

History

WJHL-TV began broadcasting on October 26, 1953. It was owned by Hanes Lancaster, Sr. his son Hanes, Jr. and Jesse W. "Jay" Birdwell along with WJHL radio (910 AM, now WJCW
WJCW
WJCW is an AM radio station broadcasting in the Tri-Cities, Tennessee area under a News/Talk format. It broadcasts on AM frequency 910 kHz and is under ownership of Cumulus Media. The station is licensed to Johnson City, and shares a studio with Cumulus' other Tri-Cities stations in Gray,...

; and FM 101.5, now WQUT
WQUT
WQUT is a radio station in Tri-Cities, Tennessee. The station format is classic rock and is branded as "Tri-Cities Classic Rock 101.5 WQUT." As of the Fall 2008 Arbitron ratings book, WQUT is the third highest rated station in the Tri-Cities market behind country music station WXBQ-FM...

). All three stations took their calls from John H. Lancaster, Sr. (Hanes, Sr.'s father and Hanes, Jr.'s grandfather) who had founded WJHL-AM in 1938.

In 1953, WJHL-TV was on track to be the first television station to sign-on in East Tennessee. The station's original tower was being constructed on Tannery Knob in downtown Johnson City. With just a few weeks before sign-on, the guy wires snapped, sending the 300 feet (91.4 m) tower and its antenna crashing to the ground. This enabled WROL-TV in Knoxville (now WATE-TV
WATE-TV
WATE-TV is the ABC-affiliated television station for Eastern Tennessee licensed to Knoxville. It broadcasts a high definition digital signal on UHF channel 26 from a transmitter on Sharp's Ridge in North Knoxville. The station can also be seen on Charter channel 6 as well as Comcast and Knology...

) to beat WJHL-TV to the air by almost a month. Since many advertisers and banks were already skeptical about television's viability (the tower crash did not help), the Lancasters had to scramble for funding. They were able to get the station on-the-air but had to side-mount a much smaller replacement antenna on a wooden power pole the Johnson City Power Board installed at the last minute.

Originally, the station was affiliated with all four television networks of the time—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...

, 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...

, and DuMont
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...

. However, its primary affiliation has always been with CBS, due to that network's long-time affiliation with WJHL radio. In 1954, the WJHL-TV transmitter was relocated to Buffalo Mountain southwest of Johnson City, which is 1200 feet (365.8 m) higher than Tannery Knob. From that location, the station was able to better reach Bristol, Kingsport
Kingsport, Tennessee
Kingsport is a city located mainly in Sullivan County with some western portions in Hawkins County in the US state of Tennessee. The majority of the city lies in Sullivan County...

 and other areas of Eastern Tennessee, Southwestern Virginia, and Western North Carolina
North Carolina
North Carolina is a state located in the southeastern United States. The state borders South Carolina and Georgia to the south, Tennessee to the west and Virginia to the north. North Carolina contains 100 counties. Its capital is Raleigh, and its largest city is Charlotte...

. To this day, WQUT-FM (the former WJHL-FM) still broadcasts from WJHL-TV's old tower on Buffalo Mountain. Meanwhile, NBC moved to WCYB-TV
WCYB-TV
WCYB-TV is the NBC-affiliated television station serving the Tri-Cities area of Northeastern Tennessee and Southwestern Virginia. It broadcasts a high definition digital signal on VHF channel 5 from a transmitter on Rye Patch Knob of Holston Mountain in the Cherokee National Forest...

 in Bristol when that station signed-on in 1956. WJHL lost Dumont soon afterward when that network shut down. WJHL and WCYB shared ABC until 1969 when WKPT-TV
WKPT-TV
WKPT-TV is the ABC-affiliated television station for the Tri-Cities area of Northeastern Tennessee and Southwestern Virginia that is licensed to Kingsport, Tennessee. It broadcasts a high definition digital signal on UHF channel 27 from a transmitter at Holston High Point on Holston Mountain in...

 in Kingsport signed-on and became the market
Media market
A media market, broadcast market, media region, designated market area , Television Market Area , or simply market is a region where the population can receive the same television and radio station offerings, and may also include other types of media including newspapers and Internet content...

's ABC affiliate.

In 1956, Birdwell helped launch WBIR-TV
WBIR-TV
WBIR-TV, channel 10, is the NBC affiliate television station in Knoxville, Tennessee. The station is licensed to the Gannett Pacific Corporation, a subsidiary of the Gannett Company...

, Channel 10 in Knoxville and was faced with a dilemma. Channels 10 and 11 had a fairly large city-grade signal overlap, mainly in the Morristown
Morristown, Tennessee
Morristown is a city in, and the county seat of, Hamblen County, Tennessee, United States. The population was 29,137 at the 2010 United States Census. It is the principal city of the Morristown, Tennessee Metropolitan Statistical Area, which encompasses all of Grainger, Hamblen and Jefferson counties...

 and Greeneville
Greeneville, Tennessee
Greeneville is a town in Greene County, Tennessee, United States. The population was 15,198 at the 2000 census. It is the county seat of Greene County. The town was named in honor of Revolutionary War hero Nathanael Greene. It is the only town with this spelling in the United States, although there...

 areas. At the time, 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...

 normally did not allow common ownership of two stations with overlapping signals and wouldn't even consider a waiver for a city-grade overlap. Birdwell chose to keep his interest in WBIR-TV
WBIR-TV
WBIR-TV, channel 10, is the NBC affiliate television station in Knoxville, Tennessee. The station is licensed to the Gannett Pacific Corporation, a subsidiary of the Gannett Company...

, and sell his stake in WJHL-TV to the Lancasters.

The Lancasters sold off their radio interests in 1960, and in turn sold WJHL-TV to Roy H. Park
Roy H. Park
Roy Hampton Park was an American media executive and entrepreneur. -Biography:Park was born in Dobson, North Carolina, the son of a tenant farmer...

 Broadcasting in 1964. Around this time, the station adopted a logo featuring a U.S. highway
United States Numbered Highways
The system of United States Numbered Highways is an integrated system of roads and highways in the United States numbered within a nationwide grid...

 sign with an "11" inside it, which remained in use until around 1987. The logo was already well known in the area, since U.S. Highway 11 passes through most of the major cities and towns in the market as U.S. 11-E and U.S. 11-W. The shields were, and still are, quite prevalent in the area and became an instant promotional link for the station.

Park Broadcasting was renamed Park Communications in the 1970s.

Hanes Lancaster, Jr. had succeeded his father as station manager in 1954, and remained as station manager after the sale to Park. In 1989, Lancaster, Jr. was succeeded by Jack Dempsey, who still holds the post today. To this day, WJHL holds the distinction of being the only station in Tennessee to have only had three General Managers since it began broadcasting. In 1969, WJHL moved its transmitter once again 800 feet (243.8 m) higher and further east, this time side-by-side with WKPT on the lower end of Holston High Point on Holston Mountain. With an antenna now at 2224 feet (677.9 m) above average terrain, it was necessary to reduce full power analog visual to 245,000 watt
Watt
The watt is a derived unit of power in the International System of Units , named after the Scottish engineer James Watt . The unit, defined as one joule per second, measures the rate of energy conversion.-Definition:...

s from the normal 316,000 watts allocated to stations between VHF channel 7 to 13 with antennas below 2000 feet (609.6 m) above average terrain.

Many of its employees have stayed on for thirty years or more, which is unusual for a market this size (it is currently the 93rd market—the smallest in the state with three full big three
Big Three Television Networks
The Big Three Television Networks are the three traditional commercial broadcast television networks in the United States: ABC, CBS and NBC...

 affiliates).

Media General acquired Park Communications and WJHL in 1997 and dropped its longtime brand of "TV 11" in favor of "NewsChannel 11". The station began broadcasting a digital signal on UHF channel 58 in 1998. In May 2009, WJHL switched its branding from "NewsChannel 11" to "11 Connects".

Under federal must-carry
Must-carry
In cable television, governments apply a must-carry regulation stating that locally-licensed television stations must be carried on a cable provider's system.- Canada :...

 rules, broadcasters can either allow cable systems in their market to carry their signals for free or charge a fee under retransmission consent
Retransmission consent
Retransmission consent is an option granted to US television stations as part of the law that granted such stations the option to elect must-carry rights. Under retransmission consent, a full-power US television station may elect to negotiate with a cable system operator for carriage of its...

 provisions. On December 3, 2008, it was announced that Inter Mountain Cable (IMC), a cable provider serving parts of Eastern Kentucky
Kentucky
The Commonwealth of Kentucky is a state located in the East Central United States of America. As classified by the United States Census Bureau, Kentucky is a Southern state, more specifically in the East South Central region. Kentucky is one of four U.S. states constituted as a commonwealth...

, announced that it would drop WJHL from its lineup unless an agreement was reached over retransmission consent. According to The Mountain Eagle
The Mountain Eagle
The Mountain Eagle is a British silent film, and Alfred Hitchcock's second as director following The Pleasure Garden.-Plot:The film is set in Kentucky. J. P. Pettigrew's wife died giving birth to his son Edward who was born a cripple. Pettigrew hates John Fulton who also loved Pettigrew's wife...

, this dispute has caused concern among officials in the city of Fleming-Neon
Fleming-Neon, Kentucky
Fleming-Neon is a city in Letcher County, Kentucky, United States. The population was 840 at the 2000 census.-History:The city was established by the Elkhorn Coal Corporation which moved in to the area in 1913. Fleming was the location of the mine and named for its first president George W. Fleming...

 where IMC holds the cable television franchise there. The city council in Fleming-Neon have stated that the removal of WJHL will violate IMC's franchise agreement.

Out-of-market cable coverage

In Kentucky
Kentucky
The Commonwealth of Kentucky is a state located in the East Central United States of America. As classified by the United States Census Bureau, Kentucky is a Southern state, more specifically in the East South Central region. Kentucky is one of four U.S. states constituted as a commonwealth...

, WJHL is available on Harlan Community Television in Harlan
Harlan, Kentucky
Harlan is a city in Harlan County, Kentucky, United States. The population was 2,081 at the 2000 census and was estimated at 1,880 in 2007. It is the county seat of Harlan County.-History:...

, which is part of the Knoxville, TN
Knoxville, Tennessee
Founded in 1786, Knoxville is the third-largest city in the U.S. state of Tennessee, U.S.A., behind Memphis and Nashville, and is the county seat of Knox County. It is the largest city in East Tennessee, and the second-largest city in the Appalachia region...

 DMA
Media market
A media market, broadcast market, media region, designated market area , Television Market Area , or simply market is a region where the population can receive the same television and radio station offerings, and may also include other types of media including newspapers and Internet content...

.

In North Carolina
North Carolina
North Carolina is a state located in the southeastern United States. The state borders South Carolina and Georgia to the south, Tennessee to the west and Virginia to the north. North Carolina contains 100 counties. Its capital is Raleigh, and its largest city is Charlotte...

, WJHL is available on Charter Communications
Charter Communications
Charter Communications is an American company providing cable television, high-speed Internet, and telephone services to more than 4.7 million customers in 25 states. By revenues, it is the fourth-largest cable operator in the United States, behind Comcast, Time Warner Cable, and Cox Communications...

 in Boone
Boone, North Carolina
Boone is a town located in the Blue Ridge Mountains of western North Carolina, United States. Boone's population was reported as 17,122, as of 2010...

 and Zito Media in Creston
Creston, North Carolina
Creston is an unincorporated community in Ashe County, North Carolina, southwest of Grayson. It lies at an elevation of 2,861 feet ....

, which are part of the Charlotte
Charlotte, North Carolina
Charlotte is the largest city in the U.S. state of North Carolina and the seat of Mecklenburg County. In 2010, Charlotte's population according to the US Census Bureau was 731,424, making it the 17th largest city in the United States based on population. The Charlotte metropolitan area had a 2009...

 DMA. The CBS affiliate for that DMA, WBTV
WBTV
WBTV, channel 3 , is the CBS affiliate in Charlotte, North Carolina. It is one of two flagship stations of Raycom Media. WBTV's studios are located off Morehead Street just west of Uptown Charlotte, and its transmitter is located in north-central Gaston County, North Carolina...

, is not available in Creston. WJHL is also available on Charter Communications and Country Cablevision in Burnsville
Burnsville, North Carolina
Burnsville is a town in Yancey County, North Carolina, United States. The population was 1,623 at the 2000 census. It is the county seat of Yancey County.-Geography:Burnsville is located at ....

, which is part of the Greenville, SC
Greenville, South Carolina
-Law and government:The city of Greenville adopted the Council-Manager form of municipal government in 1976.-History:The area was part of the Cherokee Nation's protected grounds after the Treaty of 1763, which ended the French and Indian War. No White man was allowed to enter, though some families...

 DMA. The CBS affiliate for that DMA, WSPA
WSPA-TV
WSPA-TV channel 7 is the CBS-affiliated television station for western North Carolina and South Carolina. It is licensed to Spartanburg, South Carolina with its transmitter is located on Hogback Mountain southwest of Tryon, North Carolina. Owned by Media General, the station is sister to CW...

, is not available on Charter in Burnsville.

News operation

WJHL's newscasts were simulcast on WKPT for four years. That station shut down its news department in February 2002. The simulcasts ceased in September 2006. In late-2006, this station launched a 24-hour cable weather channel. It can be seen on most cable outlets in the area via digital cable and on digital channel 11.2. On August 11, 2008, Channel 11 debuted a new daytime show, Daytime Tri-Cities. The show is hosted by Morgan King (a former weatherman at WKPT and WCYB) and Amy Lynn (who was an anchor at WCYB). In the November 2008 ratings period, WJHL's 11 P.M. news took over the ratings lead from WCYB for the first time in thirty years.

On April 21, 2010, WJHL management announced that the station will convert Channel 11 newscasts to high definition. On October 4, 2010, WJHL became the third station in the Tri-Cities market to convert its newscast in high definition.

News team

Anchors
  • Josh Smith - weeknights at 5, 5:30, 6 and 11
  • Tim Cable - Cable Country" segment producer
  • Sara Diamond - weekday mornings and Noon
  • Melissa Hipolit - weeknights @ 7pm
  • John Soares - News Director
  • Morgan King - Daytime Tri-Cities host
  • Amy Lynn - Daytime Tri-Cities host


Storm Team 11 Meteorologists
  • Mark Reynolds (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,...

    ) - Chief seen weeknights and on WJHL-DT3
  • Rob Williams - weekday mornings and Noon
  • Nathan Scott-Weekend Meteorologist and Reporter


Sports
  • Kenny Hawkins - Sports Director, weeknights at 6 and 11
    • heard on WXSM
      WXSM
      WXSM is a radio station serving the Tri-Cities, Tennessee vicinity with a sports format as an ESPN Radio affiliate. It broadcasts on AM frequency 640 kHz and is under ownership of Cumulus Media...

      -AM 640
  • Kasey Marler - weekends sports reporter & News Anchor


Reporters
  • Chris McIntosh - Chief Photojournalist
  • David McAvoy - digital journalist
  • Ted Overbay - digital journalist
  • George Jackson - producer
  • Nate Morabito- reporter
  • Bill Christian -reporter
  • Cameron Crapps-Reporter

External links

The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.  The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.
 
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