WALA-TV
Encyclopedia
WALA-TV is the Fox
-affiliated television station
for Southern Alabama
, Southeastern Mississippi
, and the Western Florida Panhandle
that is licensed to Mobile
. It broadcasts a high definition
digital signal on VHF channel 9 from a transmitter in Spanish Fort, Alabama
. Owned by the LIN TV Corporation, the station is sister to CW affiliate WFNA and the two share studios on Satchel Paige Drive in Mobile. In addition to its main studios, it operates secondary facilities on Executive Plaza Drive in Pensacola
. The station operates a 24-hour local weather channel known as "Weather Now" on Cox
digital channel 698 in that city. It is not offered on Comcast
in the Alabama side of the market.
, ABC
, CBS
, and DuMont
). WALA and WKRG-TV
(on-air beginning in 1955) shared ABC programs until WEAR-TV
went completely to ABC in 1959. During the late-1950s, WALA was also briefly affiliated with the NTA Film Network
. Mr. Pape sold WALA in 1964 to the Roywood Corporation. In 1969, WALA was sold to the Universal Communications Corporation, the television arm of the Detroit News.
Throughout the years, WALA was the leading channel in a three-station race. As the more established outlet, WALA got the strongest syndicated programming and it had the top-rated local newscasts. Even today, WALA continues to dominate the local news viewership ratings despite the network affiliation switch from NBC to Fox. Gannett company bought out Universal Communications in the merger with Detroit News publisher The Evening News Association, but due to the company's ownership of the Pensacola News Journal
, and Federal Communications Commission
(FCC) regulations on common ownership of television stations and newspapers, Gannett owned WALA for only one day in 1986. Gannett sold WALA to Knight Ridder
Broadcasting, which in turn, sold it to Burnham Broadcasting in 1989.
Fox wanted to upgrade affiliates in many markets when it acquired rights to broadcast the NFL's National Football Conference
games in the mid-1990s. In 1994, the network announced affiliation deals with New World Communications
stations in larger markets. The deal involved switching all the stations which were former big three affiliates to Fox in Fall 1994. More stations would switch to the network in 1995 when New World merged with Argyle Television and bought several stations from Citicasters. In turn, Newscorp purchased New World to merge it with the Fox Television Stations Group
in 1997. As a result of Fox's influence on gaining more VHF affiliations to establish itself as a big four network, more upgrades were still sought out this time in smaller markets. The formation of SF Broadcasting with Savoy Broadcasting was the result of the smaller markets due in part to the network owning a voting stock in Savoy. SF then announced the purchase of WALA, along with WVUE
in New Orleans, Louisiana
, KHON-TV
in Honolulu, Hawaii
, and WLUK-TV
in Green Bay, Wisconsin
. Aside from WVUE, then an ABC affiliate, the other three were NBC affiliates. The deal stipulated that all four stations should convert to Fox affiliation. Before the sale became final in 1995, it was determined that Fox's stock in SF would not be considered voting stock.
On January 1, 1996, WALA along with KHON and WVUE, switched to Fox. WLUK changed its network affiliation back in September 1995. NBC affiliation moved to former Fox affiliate WPMI-TV
. WALA aired Fox Kids
programming unlike the New World Fox affiliates. On weekdays where NBC's daytime dramas previously aired, Fox Kids would run from 1 to 4 p.m. (an hour earlier than most of its Fox counterparts). Fox Kids aired on Saturday mornings in pattern. WALA now re-branded "Fox 10", also expanded its local news on weekdays to 5-8 a.m., 5-6 p.m., and 9-10 p.m. Since then these times have changed only slightly. WALA, KHON, WVUE, and WLUK were sold in a group deal to Silver King/USA Broadcasting in 1997 and then to Emmis Communications
in 1998.
Fox dropped weekday afternoon programming, then running for only two hours before the end of 2001, and retained its Saturday morning programming. In 2002, that was revamped as the Fox Box and then in 2003 the programming line-up was renamed 4KidsTV. At this point WALA, like most Fox affiliates, would purchase more talk and reality-based shows to fill time-slots that once had big three network programming (in WALA's case, NBC). Emmis bought WB affiliate WBPG (now WFNA) in 2003 creating a new duopoly
in the market. Emmis put all of its television stations up for sale in 2005. WALA and WBPG were sold to LIN Television in 2005 and 2006 respectively.
Until March 2007 one of WALA's digital subchannels
simulcasted WBPG, now a CW
affiliate, as that station had no digital signal of its own. WBPG eventually started a low-power digital signal of its own in late 2008 and boosted to full power in 2009 when a neighboring station WXXV-TV
abandoned its analog signal which shared the digital frequency that WBPG was assigned. On May 18, 2007, LIN TV announced that it was exploring strategic alternatives that could result in the sale of the company. In mid-June 2007, following the lead of most of the other LIN-owned Fox affiliates, WALA launched a new website using Fox Interactive's myFox interface. In October 2008, WALA and CBS sister station WPRI-TV
in Providence, Rhode Island
relaunched their web sites through Fox Interactive as a result of a new partnership between LIN TV and News Corporation
. The new sites are similar in format to the myFox sites (which WALA and the other LIN TV-owned Fox affiliates previously used) but without the flashy myFox owned-and-operated station
-style look. Over the next few weeks, the other LIN TV-owned stations (irrespective of their network affiliation) followed suit.
programming on WALA includes: Wheel of Fortune
, Jeopardy!
, The Doctors
, and Dr. Phil
. Outside of network programming, the station offers a news-intensive general entertainment format. As a Fox affiliate, WALA has the "rare" distinction of broadcasting some of the strongest syndicated programming from CBS Television Distribution
which the big three
affiliates in other markets
would normally air.
WALA also broadcasts a local program called Studio Ten, featuring entertainment and local segments, usually paid for by the guests who appear on the show. The show is hosted by former sports anchor Joe Emer, former reporter Cherish Lombard, and features weather forecasts and tech information from morning meteorologist Michael White as well as consumer news and information from reporter Derica Williams. Studio Ten airs weekday mornings at 8am on WALA and is re-broadcast on sister station WFNA weekdays at noon.
Currently, WALA-TV broadcasts a total of 26 hours of local news each week (five hours on weekdays, a half-hour on Saturdays, and one hour each on Sundays). WALA-TV is the only station in the market that airs a local newscast at 5:30 p.m. and it does not broadcast local newscasts at midday or at 6 and 10 p.m. Unlike most other Fox stations that produce their newscasts in-house, WALA-TV's 9 p.m. newscast does not air for an hour seven nights a week as the Saturday edition airs for a half-hour.
The Sunday 9 p.m. news was also aired as a half-hour newscast until April 3, 2011, when WALA-TV expanded the Sunday evening edition of its 9 p.m. newscast to one hour, by adding an additional half-hour at 9:30 p.m. As of March 2011, WALA remains one of two major network affiliated television stations in Mobile that have not yet upgraded their newscasts to high definition
; the other is WPMI.
On September 12, 2011, WALA debuted an hour-long 4 p.m. newscast, serving as a replacement for The Oprah Winfrey Show. It is the second 4 p.m. newscast in the Mobile market behind WEAR-TV
.
FOXten StormTracker Weather
Meteorologists Jason Smith and Michael White are also seen on WFNA and "Weather Now"
Sports team
Reporters
Photojournalists
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...
-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 Southern Alabama
Alabama
Alabama is a state located in the southeastern region of the United States. It is bordered by Tennessee to the north, Georgia to the east, Florida and the Gulf of Mexico to the south, and Mississippi to the west. Alabama ranks 30th in total land area and ranks second in the size of its inland...
, Southeastern Mississippi
Mississippi
Mississippi is a U.S. state located in the Southern United States. Jackson is the state capital and largest city. The name of the state derives from the Mississippi River, which flows along its western boundary, whose name comes from the Ojibwe word misi-ziibi...
, and the Western Florida Panhandle
Florida Panhandle
The Florida Panhandle, an informal, unofficial term for the northwestern part of Florida, is a strip of land roughly 200 miles long and 50 to 100 miles wide , lying between Alabama on the north and the west, Georgia also on the north, and the Gulf of Mexico to the south. Its eastern boundary is...
that is licensed to Mobile
Mobile, Alabama
Mobile is the third most populous city in the Southern US state of Alabama and is the county seat of Mobile County. It is located on the Mobile River and the central Gulf Coast of the United States. The population within the city limits was 195,111 during the 2010 census. It is the largest...
. 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 9 from a transmitter in Spanish Fort, Alabama
Spanish Fort, Alabama
Spanish Fort is a suburb of Mobile, Alabama in Baldwin County, Alabama, United States, located on the eastern shore of Mobile Bay. The 2000 census lists the population of the city as 5,423. It is part of the Daphne-Fairhope-Foley micropolitan area....
. Owned by the LIN TV Corporation, the station is sister to CW affiliate WFNA and the two share studios on Satchel Paige Drive in Mobile. In addition to its main studios, it operates secondary facilities on Executive Plaza Drive in Pensacola
Pensacola, Florida
Pensacola is the westernmost city in the Florida Panhandle and the county seat of Escambia County, Florida, United States of America. As of the 2000 census, the city had a total population of 56,255 and as of 2009, the estimated population was 53,752...
. The station operates a 24-hour local weather channel known as "Weather Now" on Cox
Cox Communications
Cox Communications is a privately owned subsidiary of Cox Enterprises providing digital cable television, telecommunications and wireless services in the United States...
digital channel 698 in that city. It is not offered on Comcast
Comcast
Comcast Corporation is the largest cable operator, home Internet service provider, and fourth largest home telephone service provider in the United States, providing cable television, broadband Internet, and telephone service to both residential and commercial customers in 39 states and the...
in the Alabama side of the market.
History
WALA came on-the-air for the first time on January 14, 1953 as Mobile's second television station. The first station, WKAB-TV, had been in the UHF band and it went off-air shortly before WALA came on. It was initially locally owned by W.O. Pape along with WALA radio (1410 AM now WNGL). It aired television programs from all four of the major networks of the time (NBCNBC
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...
, 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...
, 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...
). WALA and WKRG-TV
WKRG-TV
WKRG-TV, virtual channel 5 , is the CBS-affiliated television station for Mobile, Alabama, Pensacola, Florida, and Pascagoula/Biloxi, Mississippi; and has been the network's affiliate in the area since its inception on August 29, 1955. The station was founded by the architect and movie theater...
(on-air beginning in 1955) shared ABC programs until WEAR-TV
WEAR-TV
WEAR is the ABC affiliated television station for the Mobile, Alabama/Pensacola, Florida viewing area. It is licensed to Pensacola and is one of two major commercial stations in the market that is licensed on the Florida side of the market, the other being sister station WFGX, a MyNetworkTV affiliate...
went completely to ABC in 1959. During the late-1950s, WALA was also briefly affiliated with the NTA Film Network
NTA Film Network
The NTA Film Network was an early American television network founded by Ely Landau in 1956. The network was not a full-time television network like CBS, NBC, or ABC. Rather, it operated on a part-time basis, broadcasting films and several first-run television programs from major Hollywood studios...
. Mr. Pape sold WALA in 1964 to the Roywood Corporation. In 1969, WALA was sold to the Universal Communications Corporation, the television arm of the Detroit News.
Throughout the years, WALA was the leading channel in a three-station race. As the more established outlet, WALA got the strongest syndicated programming and it had the top-rated local newscasts. Even today, WALA continues to dominate the local news viewership ratings despite the network affiliation switch from NBC to Fox. Gannett company bought out Universal Communications in the merger with Detroit News publisher The Evening News Association, but due to the company's ownership of the Pensacola News Journal
Pensacola News Journal
The Pensacola News Journal is a daily morning newspaper serving Escambia and Santa Rosa counties in Florida. It is Northwest Florida's most widely-read daily....
, and 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) regulations on common ownership of television stations and newspapers, Gannett owned WALA for only one day in 1986. Gannett sold WALA to Knight Ridder
Knight Ridder
Knight Ridder was an American media company, specializing in newspaper and Internet publishing. Until it was bought by The McClatchy Company on June 27, 2006, it was the second-largest newspaper publisher in the United States, with 32 daily newspapers sold.- History :The corporate ancestors of...
Broadcasting, which in turn, sold it to Burnham Broadcasting in 1989.
Fox wanted to upgrade affiliates in many markets when it acquired rights to broadcast the NFL's National Football Conference
National Football Conference
The National Football Conference is one of the two conferences of the National Football League . This conference and its counterpart, the American Football Conference , currently contain 16 teams each, making up the 32 teams of the NFL.-Current teams:Since 2002, the NFC has comprised 16 teams,...
games in the mid-1990s. In 1994, the network announced affiliation deals with 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...
stations in larger markets. The deal involved switching all the stations which were former big three affiliates to Fox in Fall 1994. More stations would switch to the network in 1995 when New World merged with Argyle Television and bought several stations from Citicasters. In turn, Newscorp purchased New World to merge it with the Fox Television Stations Group
Fox Television Stations Group
Fox Television Stations, Inc. is a group of television stations located within the United States which are owned-and-operated by the Fox Broadcasting Company, a subsidiary of the Fox Entertainment Group, part of News Corporation...
in 1997. As a result of Fox's influence on gaining more VHF affiliations to establish itself as a big four network, more upgrades were still sought out this time in smaller markets. The formation of SF Broadcasting with Savoy Broadcasting was the result of the smaller markets due in part to the network owning a voting stock in Savoy. SF then announced the purchase of WALA, along with WVUE
WVUE
WVUE-DT, broadcasting on virtual channel 8, is a TV station in New Orleans, Louisiana, affiliated with the Fox Broadcasting Company. WVUE is owned by Louisiana Media Company, with studios in the Gert Town section of New Orleans and transmitter in Chalmette, Louisiana.- Digital television :WVUE-DT...
in New Orleans, Louisiana
New Orleans, Louisiana
New Orleans is a major United States port and the largest city and metropolitan area in the state of Louisiana. The New Orleans metropolitan area has a population of 1,235,650 as of 2009, the 46th largest in the USA. The New Orleans – Metairie – Bogalusa combined statistical area has a population...
, 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...
, and WLUK-TV
WLUK-TV
WLUK-TV is the Fox-affiliated television station for the Fox River Valley area and Northeastern Wisconsin. Licensed to Green Bay, Wisconsin, the station broadcasts a high definition digital signal on VHF channel 11 from a transmitter on Scray's Hill in Ledgeview; the station also broadcasts in...
in Green Bay, Wisconsin
Green Bay, Wisconsin
Green Bay is a city in and the county seat of Brown County in the U.S. state of Wisconsin, located at the head of Green Bay, a sub-basin of Lake Michigan, at the mouth of the Fox River. It has an elevation of above sea level and is located north of Milwaukee. As of the 2010 United States Census,...
. Aside from WVUE, then an ABC affiliate, the other three were NBC affiliates. The deal stipulated that all four stations should convert to Fox affiliation. Before the sale became final in 1995, it was determined that Fox's stock in SF would not be considered voting stock.
On January 1, 1996, WALA along with KHON and WVUE, switched to Fox. WLUK changed its network affiliation back in September 1995. NBC affiliation moved to former Fox affiliate WPMI-TV
WPMI-TV
WPMI is the NBC-affiliated television station for South Alabama and much of the Emerald Coast of Florida. Licensed to Mobile, the station broadcasts on digital UHF channel 15. WPMI's transmitter is located near Robertsdale. The station is owned by Newport Television, LLC as part of a duopoly with...
. WALA aired Fox Kids
Fox Kids
Fox Kids was the Fox Broadcasting Company's American children's programming division and brand name from September 8, 1990 until September 7, 2002. It was owned by Fox Television Entertainment airing programming on Monday–Friday afternoons and Saturday mornings.Depending on the show, the...
programming unlike the New World Fox affiliates. On weekdays where NBC's daytime dramas previously aired, Fox Kids would run from 1 to 4 p.m. (an hour earlier than most of its Fox counterparts). Fox Kids aired on Saturday mornings in pattern. WALA now re-branded "Fox 10", also expanded its local news on weekdays to 5-8 a.m., 5-6 p.m., and 9-10 p.m. Since then these times have changed only slightly. WALA, KHON, WVUE, and WLUK were sold in a group deal to Silver King/USA Broadcasting in 1997 and then to 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:...
in 1998.
Fox dropped weekday afternoon programming, then running for only two hours before the end of 2001, and retained its Saturday morning programming. In 2002, that was revamped as the Fox Box and then in 2003 the programming line-up was renamed 4KidsTV. At this point WALA, like most Fox affiliates, would purchase more talk and reality-based shows to fill time-slots that once had big three network programming (in WALA's case, NBC). Emmis bought WB affiliate WBPG (now WFNA) in 2003 creating a new duopoly
Duopoly (broadcasting)
In United States broadcast television and radio, duopoly is a term used to describe a single company which owns two or more stations in the same city or community....
in the market. Emmis put all of its television stations up for sale in 2005. WALA and WBPG were sold to LIN Television in 2005 and 2006 respectively.
Until March 2007 one of WALA's digital subchannels
ATSC
ATSC standards are a set of standards developed by the Advanced Television Systems Committee for digital television transmission over terrestrial, cable, and satellite networks....
simulcasted WBPG, now a 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...
affiliate, as that station had no digital signal of its own. WBPG eventually started a low-power digital signal of its own in late 2008 and boosted to full power in 2009 when a neighboring station WXXV-TV
WXXV-TV
WXXV-TV, digital channel 48, is the Fox affiliate for the Biloxi/Gulfport television market, licensed to Gulfport. The station is owned by Morris Multimedia and maps to virtual channel 25 via PSIP...
abandoned its analog signal which shared the digital frequency that WBPG was assigned. On May 18, 2007, LIN TV announced that it was exploring strategic alternatives that could result in the sale of the company. In mid-June 2007, following the lead of most of the other LIN-owned Fox affiliates, WALA launched a new website using Fox Interactive's myFox interface. In October 2008, WALA and CBS sister station WPRI-TV
WPRI-TV
WPRI-TV is the CBS-affiliated television station for the state of Rhode Island and Bristol County, Massachusetts that is licensed to Providence. It broadcasts a high definition digital signal on VHF channel 13 from a transmitter on Homestead Avenue in Rehoboth, Massachusetts...
in Providence, Rhode Island
Providence, Rhode Island
Providence is the capital and most populous city of Rhode Island and was one of the first cities established in the United States. Located in Providence County, it is the third largest city in the New England region...
relaunched their web sites through Fox Interactive as a result of a new partnership between LIN TV and News Corporation
News Corporation
News Corporation or News Corp. is an American multinational media conglomerate. It is the world's second-largest media conglomerate as of 2011 in terms of revenue, and the world's third largest in entertainment as of 2009, although the BBC remains the world's largest broadcaster...
. The new sites are similar in format to the myFox sites (which WALA and the other LIN TV-owned Fox affiliates previously used) but without the flashy myFox owned-and-operated station
Owned-and-operated station
In the broadcasting industry , an owned-and-operated station usually refers to a television station or radio station that is owned by the network with which it is associated...
-style look. Over the next few weeks, the other LIN TV-owned stations (irrespective of their network affiliation) followed suit.
Digital television
On June 12, 2009, WALA-TV left channel 10 and moved to channel 9 when the analog to digital conversion was completed.Programming
SyndicatedTelevision 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 WALA includes: Wheel of Fortune
Wheel of Fortune (U.S. game show)
Wheel of Fortune is an American television game show created by Merv Griffin, which premiered in 1975. Contestants compete to solve word puzzles, similar to those used in Hangman, to win cash and prizes determined by spinning a large wheel. The title refers to the show's giant carnival wheel that...
, Jeopardy!
Jeopardy!
Griffin's first conception of the game used a board comprising ten categories with ten clues each, but after finding that this board could not be shown on camera easily, he reduced it to two rounds of thirty clues each, with five clues in each of six categories...
, The Doctors
The Doctors (2008 TV series)
The Doctors is an American syndicated talk show airing daily in the U.S., Canada, Mexico, Ireland, Sweden and Finland. It debuted on September 8, 2008. The hour-long daytime program is produced by Phil McGraw and his son Jay McGraw and is distributed domestically and globally by CBS Television...
, and Dr. Phil
Dr. Phil (TV series)
Dr. Phil is a reality/talk television show hosted by Phil McGraw. After McGraw's success with his segments on The Oprah Winfrey Show, Dr. Phil debuted on September 16, 2002...
. Outside of network programming, the station offers a news-intensive general entertainment format. As a Fox affiliate, WALA has the "rare" distinction of broadcasting some of the strongest syndicated programming from CBS Television Distribution
CBS Television Distribution
CBS Television Distribution is a global television distribution company, formed from the merger of CBS Corporation's two domestic television distribution arms CBS Paramount Domestic Television and King World Productions, including its home entertainment arm CBS Home Entertainment...
which the 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 in other markets
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...
would normally air.
WALA also broadcasts a local program called Studio Ten, featuring entertainment and local segments, usually paid for by the guests who appear on the show. The show is hosted by former sports anchor Joe Emer, former reporter Cherish Lombard, and features weather forecasts and tech information from morning meteorologist Michael White as well as consumer news and information from reporter Derica Williams. Studio Ten airs weekday mornings at 8am on WALA and is re-broadcast on sister station WFNA weekdays at noon.
News operation
As an NBC affiliate, WALA-TV ran newscasts at times that were similar to that of other NBC affiliates. When the switch to FOX occurred, the move confused many viewers who were expecting to watch NBC programming instead of FOX, which had swapped affiliations with WPMI. Because of this, for several years after the switch, WALA maintained a similar newscast schedule as its days as an NBC affiliate, even keeping news at 10pm and airing syndicated programming in the 9pm hour, a move that was atypical of a FOX affiliate with newscasts. Over time, the times have evolved to that of a typical FOX affiliate with a news department, adding news in the 7am hour, dropping the noon newscast, and moving the 10pm show to a full hour at 9pm.Currently, WALA-TV broadcasts a total of 26 hours of local news each week (five hours on weekdays, a half-hour on Saturdays, and one hour each on Sundays). WALA-TV is the only station in the market that airs a local newscast at 5:30 p.m. and it does not broadcast local newscasts at midday or at 6 and 10 p.m. Unlike most other Fox stations that produce their newscasts in-house, WALA-TV's 9 p.m. newscast does not air for an hour seven nights a week as the Saturday edition airs for a half-hour.
The Sunday 9 p.m. news was also aired as a half-hour newscast until April 3, 2011, when WALA-TV expanded the Sunday evening edition of its 9 p.m. newscast to one hour, by adding an additional half-hour at 9:30 p.m. As of March 2011, WALA remains one of two major network affiliated television stations in Mobile that have not yet upgraded their newscasts to 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...
; the other is WPMI.
On September 12, 2011, WALA debuted an hour-long 4 p.m. newscast, serving as a replacement for The Oprah Winfrey Show. It is the second 4 p.m. newscast in the Mobile market behind WEAR-TV
WEAR-TV
WEAR is the ABC affiliated television station for the Mobile, Alabama/Pensacola, Florida viewing area. It is licensed to Pensacola and is one of two major commercial stations in the market that is licensed on the Florida side of the market, the other being sister station WFGX, a MyNetworkTV affiliate...
.
Newscast titles
- WALA News (1953-mid 1960s)
- Channel 10 Newsbeat (10 p.m. newscast with Carlton Cordell, Danny Treanor, and Jim Koblas; late 1960s-1978)
- 10ALIVE (5 p.m. newscast with Don Schroeder; late 1960s-1978)
- The News Now (1978–1983)
- The News 10 (1983–1989)
- The News 10 Nightcast (10 p.m. newscast; 1983–1989)
- 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...
10 (1989–1996) - Fox 10 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...
(1996–2001) - FOXten News (2001–present)
Station slogans
- "Turn To 10" (news and community outreach slogan)
- "Turn To 10 and Be There!" (1983–1984, entertainment programming slogan; local version of NBC campaign)
- "Turn To 10, Let's All Be There" (1984–1986, entertainment programming slogan; local version of NBC campaign)
- "Come Home and Turn to 10" (1986–1987, entertainment programming slogan; local version of NBC campaign)
- "Come on Home and Turn to 10" (1987–1988, entertainment programming slogan; local version of NBC campaign)
- "Count on Mobile's #1 News Team" (1988–1990)
- "Mobile's 24-Hour News Channel24 Hour News SourceThe 24 Hour News Source brand was a common name used by American television stations starting in the early 1990s for brief hourly news updates, usually running 30 seconds to a minute in length. At its peak, dozens of stations across the U.S. were producing these brief news updates...
" (1990–1994) - "Proud to Support the Troops" (1991, post-Gulf WarGulf WarThe Persian Gulf War , commonly referred to as simply the Gulf War, was a war waged by a U.N.-authorized coalition force from 34 nations led by the United States, against Iraq in response to Iraq's invasion and annexation of Kuwait.The war is also known under other names, such as the First Gulf...
) - "More News, More Often" (1994–1997)
- "The #1 News Station on the Gulf Coast" (1997–1999)
- "Live. Local. Latebreaking." (1999–2002)
- "Mobile's News Leader" (2003–present)
- "Commitment to You" (2010–present, secondary slogan)
News team
Anchors- Renee Dials - weekends at 9 p.m., also weekday reporter
- April Douglas - weekdays at 4 p.m.
- Bob Grip - weeknights at 5 and 9 p.m., also "FOXten News Fugitive Files" segment producer
- Lenise Ligon - weekdays at 4 p.m., and weeknights at 5 and 9 p.m., also "Daily Dot Com" segment producer/reporter
- Eric Charles Reynolds - weekday mornings
- Sarah Wall - weekday mornings
- Cherish Lombard - "Studio10" co-host and reporter
- Joe Emer - "Studio10" co-host and sports reporter
FOXten StormTracker Weather
Meteorologists Jason Smith and Michael White are also seen on WFNA and "Weather Now"
- Jason Smith (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...
Seal of Approval) - chief meteorologist; weeknights at 5 and 9 p.m., also host of Outdoors with Jason Smith - Matt Barrentine (AMS Seal of Approval) - meteorologist; weekends at 9 p.m., also news reporter
- Michael White (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...
Seal of Approval) - meteorologist; weekday mornings - Chasity Byrd - weather anchor; weekdays at 4 p.m., also news reporter, "What's Happening" segment producer & Studio10 correspondent
Sports team
- Rob Lehocky - sports director; weeknights at 5:30 and 9 p.m.
Reporters
- Libby Amos - videojournalist
- Russell Colburn - videojournalist
- Paige Malone - videojournalist
- Andrew Perez - videojournalist
- Cory Pippin - videojournalist
- John Rogers
- Hal Scheurich - videojournalist
- Hubert Tate
- Derica Williams (also Studio10 correspondent)
Photojournalists
- Franz Barraza
- Robert Brown
- Eric Lowe
- Riccardo Montgomery
- Guy Turnbow
- Marcus Powe
- La-Keya Stinchcomb
Former staff
- Bill EvansBill Evans (meteorologist)Bill Evans is an American meteorologist for WABC-TV, the ABC affiliate in New York City.-Early career:Evans' broadcasting career began at the age of 13 in his hometown of Meridian, Mississippi on WDAL Radio and WTOK-TV...
- John OldshueJohn OldshueJohn Oldshue was the weekend meteorologist and storm chaser for ABC 33/40 in Birmingham, Alabama from 1997 to 2007 when he retired to run a small business. He won an Emmy award for coverage of the Tuscaloosa tornado on December 16, 2000 with meteorologist James Spann...
- John Edd ThompsonJohn Edd ThompsonJohn Edd Thompson is a former chief meteorologist for WALA-TV in Mobile, Alabama. Thompson reported the weather for people on the central Gulf Coast since 1969...