WDBJ
Encyclopedia
WDBJ is the CBS
television network affiliate station serving the Roanoke
/Lynchburg
television market. It transmits its digital signal on UHF channel 18. It is owned by Schurz Communications
of South Bend, Indiana
. Its transmitter is located on Poor Mountain
near Roanoke, with studios located on Hershberger Road in northwest Roanoke.
The station is also available on cable on the West Virginia side of the Bluefield
/Beckley, West Virginia
area; it served as the default CBS affiliate for the West Virginia side until WVSX (now WVNS-TV
) became a CBS affiliate in 2001. It is also available on cable systems in Pocahontas County, WV (including Snowshoe). It is also available on cable systems as far east as Clarksville
and South Boston
, as far west as Glade Spring
, Marion
, Grundy (Digital Cable only), Clintwood and Norton
, and as far south as Galax
, Martinsville
and two counties in North Carolina: Caswell and Rockingham. Clintwood, Glade Spring, Marion, Grundy and Norton are part of the Tri-Cities market while Caswell and Rockingham counties are part of the Greensboro/High Point/Winston-Salem market. DirecTV
offers WDBJ in several out of market areas in the Virginia counties of Mecklenburg and Patrick. In North Carolina, WDBJ is offered in Alleghany, Caswell, Person and Rockingham Counties.
and Roanoke World-News newspapers along with WDBJ radio (AM 960, now WFIR
; and FM 94.9, now WSLC
). It has always been a CBS affiliate, owing to WDBJ-AM's long affiliation with CBS Radio. Before the station signed on, CBS had been available part-time on ABC
affiliate WLVA-TV (now WSET-TV
). During the late 1950s, the station was also briefly affiliated with the NTA Film Network
.
The station's studio was originally located in the Mountain Trust Bank Building in downtown Roanoke along with its radio sisters. Its transmitter was located temporarily on Mill Mountain
; it originally planned to broadcast from Poor Mountain, but could not due to concerns about interference with then-under construction WSPA-TV
in Spartanburg, South Carolina
. In 1956, WDBJ-AM-TV moved to the Times-World Building. It also relocated its transmitter to Poor Mountain.
Due to its affiliation with the Times and Virginia's second-oldest radio station, channel 7 overtook WSLS-TV
as the area's highest-rated station within three years of signing on. It has remained in the lead more or less ever since, although in recent years it has been in a spirited three-way race with WSLS and WSET.
As channel 7 grew during the late 1950s, plans were drawn for a new studio at the corner of Brandon and Colonial Avenues in southwest Roanoke. The WDBJ stations moved to the then state-of-the-art building in the summer of 1961.
Times-World merged with Landmark Communications
of Norfolk
in 1969. http://www.hoovers.com/times-world/--ID__130332--/free-co-factsheet.xhtml?cm_ven=PAID&cm_cat=INK&cm_pla=CO1&cm_ite=times-world The Federal Communications Commission
(FCC) forced Times-World to sell off WDBJ-TV due to a significant signal overlap with Landmark-owned WFMY-TV
in Greensboro, North Carolina
. Channel 7's city-grade signal reaches Patrick County
, which is part of the Triad market. It also provides grade B coverage as far south as Reidsville, North Carolina
. At the time, the FCC normally did not allow common ownership of two stations with overlapping signals, and would not even consider granting a waiver for stations with overlapping city-grade coverage. As a result, channel 7 was sold to its current owner, Schurz Communications. It is not likely that the FCC would have allowed Landmark to keep WDBJ-TV in any case, since the agency had recently banned cross-ownership of broadcasting outlets and newspapers. It had already grandfathered Landmark's flagship cluster of The Virginian-Pilot
and WTAR-AM
-FM
-TV
in Norfolk, and past precedent indicated it wouldn't have been willing to do so for the Times, World and WDBJ-AM-FM-TV. The transaction would have also brought two of Virginia's three CBS affiliates under common ownership.
In 1979, WDBJ opened its Central Virginia Bureau in Lynchburg. Weekend anchor Graham Wilson served as Bureau Chief, and the bureau covered the eastern part of the Roanoke-Lynchburg market, from Charlottesville to Danville.
In 2000, WDBJ announced plans for a new digital facility on the site of the Best Products
building in northwest Roanoke. That June, the Best Products building was demolished and construction of a new digital facility began. Photos of the complete demolition of the Best Products building & construction of the new "Digital Broadcast Center" are located here http://www.wdbj-dt.com. In April 2002, WDBJ began broadcasting from the new "Digital Broadcast Center". WDBJ has newsrooms in Lynchburg, Blacksburg and Richmond, along with its Roanoke newsroom.
In 2006, WDBJ began a news partnership with WFIR, its former radio sister.
On August 13, 2007, WDBJ became the only station in the Roanoke/Lynchburg market with four meteorologists in its weather center. WDBJ's weather department is the Weatherbug Network affiliate for the Roanoke/Lynchburg market. The Weatherbug network offers real-time statistics and information from all around the region. There are 24 Weatherbug locations in the WDBJ viewing area.
On 1 July 2007, Jeffery A. Marks became the General Manager for WDBJ. Marks succeeded Bob Lee and became only the 4th GM in the history of the station.
Also in 2007, the News Department went tapeless and switched to a server-based playback system.
On April 22, 2008, WDBJ began broadcasting local news in high definition. They also became the first in the Roanoke-Lynchburg market with high-definition weather graphics.
In July 2009, WDBJ announced it would refuse to run an advertisement from the National Republican Congressional Council attacking Democratic Representative Tom Perriello
, citing "factual inaccuracies".
In Spring 2010, Schurz and the Tribune Company
of Chicago
entered into a Web site management partnership in which Tribune Interactive would take over the Web site CMS operations of all of Schurz's media properties except NBC
-affiliated WAGT
in Augusta, Georgia
(which is now operated by Media General
, the owner of that market
's ABC
-affiliated WJBF
). Schurz's Kansas television properties (KWCH-DT and KSCW-DT) were the first to launch new Tribune-run sites in late June. WDBJ followed in mid-July, then KTUU-TV
in Anchorage, Alaska
in mid-August. The other Schurz television station Web sites, which are currently operated by Broadcast Interactive Media, will follow suit once their current CMS agreement with BIM runs out.
On September 5, 2006, WDBJ launched News 7 at Ten and My Network TV, as "My 19", in the viewing area. Both services are available on digital subchannel 7.2, which is also available on area cable systems. It replaced independent service "7 Too," which reaired WDBJ newscasts and syndicated programming, and aired special events such as sporting events and the 2004 Republican and Democratic National Conventions in their entirety.
News 7 at Ten offers an alternative format to WDBJ's other newscasts, providing "anchor movement" to a different set after each commercial break. News 7 at Ten is anchored by Hollani Davis. Brent Watts serves as the Meteorologist and Travis Wells serves as the sportscaster. Lauren Wood is the producer.
News 7 at Ten also provides a "Fun Fact" every night. The "Fun Fact" is associated with one of the night's stories.
Digital channels>
Channel
Programming
7.1
18.1
Main WDBJ programming / CBS
7.2
18.2
Main My19 programming / MyNetworkTV
Effective June 12, 2009 WDBJ is broadcast exclusively in digital.
WDBJ remained on its pre-transition channel number, 18 using PSIP
to display WDBJ's virtual channel
s as 7.
In the 1980s, the station did a series of spots for its programming featuring the popular "Ernest
", portrayed by Jim Varney
. The new News 7 at Ten offers "Finally, a ten o'clock newscast you can trust."
newsroom correspondent.
Reporters
Weather team
Sports team
CBS
CBS Broadcasting Inc. is a major US commercial broadcasting television network, which started as a radio network. The name is derived from the initials of the network's former name, Columbia Broadcasting System. The network is sometimes referred to as the "Eye Network" in reference to the shape of...
television network affiliate station serving the Roanoke
Roanoke, Virginia
Roanoke is an independent city in the Mid-Atlantic U.S. state of Virginia and is the tenth-largest city in the Commonwealth. It is located in the Roanoke Valley of the Roanoke Region of Virginia. The population within the city limits was 97,032 as of 2010...
/Lynchburg
Lynchburg, Virginia
Lynchburg is an independent city in the Commonwealth of Virginia. The population was 75,568 as of 2010. Located in the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains along the banks of the James River, Lynchburg is known as the "City of Seven Hills" or "The Hill City." Lynchburg was the only major city in...
television market. It transmits its digital signal on UHF channel 18. It is owned by Schurz Communications
Schurz Communications
Schurz Communications is a South Bend, Indiana-based radio, television, cable tv and newspaper media group.-Cable Television Systems:*Antietam Cable, Hagerstown, Maryland *Advanced Cable Communications, Coral Springs, Florida...
of South Bend, Indiana
South Bend, Indiana
The city of South Bend is the county seat of St. Joseph County, Indiana, United States, on the St. Joseph River near its southernmost bend, from which it derives its name. As of the 2010 Census, the city had a total of 101,168 residents; its Metropolitan Statistical Area had a population of 316,663...
. Its transmitter is located on Poor Mountain
Poor Mountain
Poor Mountain is a ridge of high peaks located in Roanoke County, Virginia and Montgomery County, Virginia. At 3,928 feet, Poor Mountain is the tallest mountain in the immediate area. The mountain is under consideration for the placement of a wind farm...
near Roanoke, with studios located on Hershberger Road in northwest Roanoke.
The station is also available on cable on the West Virginia side of the Bluefield
Bluefield, West Virginia
Bluefield is a city in Mercer County, West Virginia, United States. The population was 10,447 at the 2010 census. It is also the core city of the Bluefield WV-VA micropolitan area which has a population of 107,342.-Geography & Climate:...
/Beckley, West Virginia
Beckley, West Virginia
Beckley is a city in Raleigh County, West Virginia, United States, which was founded on April 4, 1838. The 2008 population was estimated to be 16,832 by the U.S. Census Bureau. Early in its history, the town was known as Beckleyville and Raleigh Court House...
area; it served as the default CBS affiliate for the West Virginia side until WVSX (now WVNS-TV
WVNS-TV
WVNS-TV is the CBS affiliate for Southern West Virginia that is licensed to Lewisburg. It broadcasts a high definition digital signal on VHF channel 8 from a transmitter on Keeney's Knob between Alderson and I-64. Owned by West Virginia Media Holdings, the station has studios on Old Cline Road in...
) became a CBS affiliate in 2001. It is also available on cable systems in Pocahontas County, WV (including Snowshoe). It is also available on cable systems as far east as Clarksville
Clarksville, Virginia
Clarksville is a town founded in Mecklenburg County and overlapping across Halifax County in the U.S. state of Virginia, near the southern border of the state. The population was 1,139 at the 2010 census...
and South Boston
South Boston, Virginia
South Boston is a town in Halifax County, Virginia, United States. The population was 8,142 at the 2010 census.- History :On December 8, 1796, the General Assembly authorized eight commissioners to establish at Boyd's Ferry on the south side of the Dan River the town of South Boston, named for...
, as far west as Glade Spring
Glade Spring, Virginia
As of the census of 2000, there were 1,374 people, 565 households, and 402 families residing in the town. The population density was 1,093.4 people per square mile . There were 626 housing units at an average density of 498.2 per square mile...
, Marion
Marion, Virginia
Marion is a town in Smyth County, Virginia, United States. The population was 5,968 at the 2010 census. It is the county seat of Smyth County. The town is named for American Revolutionary War officer Francis Marion.-Tourism:...
, Grundy (Digital Cable only), Clintwood and Norton
Norton, Virginia
Norton is an independent city within the confines of Wise County in the Commonwealth of Virginia. As of the 2010 Census, the city population was 3,958, making it the smallest city in the state by population...
, and as far south as Galax
Galax, Virginia
Galax is an independent city in the southwestern part of the Commonwealth of Virginia. It is bounded to the northeast by Carroll County and to the southwest by Grayson County. The population was 7,042 as of 2010...
, Martinsville
Martinsville, Virginia
Martinsville is an independent city which is surrounded by Henry County, Virginia, United States. The population was 13,821 in 2010. The Bureau of Economic Analysis combines the city of Martinsville with Henry County for statistical purposes...
and two counties in North Carolina: Caswell and Rockingham. Clintwood, Glade Spring, Marion, Grundy and Norton are part of the Tri-Cities market while Caswell and Rockingham counties are part of the Greensboro/High Point/Winston-Salem market. DirecTV
DirecTV
DirecTV is an American direct broadcast satellite service provider and broadcaster based in El Segundo, California. Its satellite service, launched on June 17, 1994, transmits digital satellite television and audio to households in the United States, Latin America, and the Anglophone Caribbean. ...
offers WDBJ in several out of market areas in the Virginia counties of Mecklenburg and Patrick. In North Carolina, WDBJ is offered in Alleghany, Caswell, Person and Rockingham Counties.
History
The station—Roanoke's third-oldest—first went to the air on October 3, 1955 under the ownership of the Times-World Corporation, owners of the Roanoke TimesThe Roanoke Times
The Roanoke Times is the primary newspaper in Southwestern Virginia and is based in Roanoke, Virginia, United States. It is published by Landmark Media Enterprises...
and Roanoke World-News newspapers along with WDBJ radio (AM 960, now WFIR
WFIR
WFIR is a News/Talk formatted broadcast radio station licensed to Roanoke, Virginia, serving the Roanoke Valley. WFIR is owned and operated by Mel Wheeler, Inc.-Programming:...
; and FM 94.9, now WSLC
WSLC-FM
WSLC-FM is a Country formatted broadcast radio station licensed to Roanoke, Virginia, serving the New River Valley. WSLC-FM is owned and operated by Mel Wheeler, Inc.-WDBJ-FM:...
). It has always been a CBS affiliate, owing to WDBJ-AM's long affiliation with CBS Radio. Before the station signed on, CBS had been available part-time on 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...
affiliate WLVA-TV (now WSET-TV
WSET-TV
WSET-TV is the ABC television network affiliate for the Roanoke/Lynchburg, Virginia market. The station is licensed to Lynchburg, and transmits its digital signal on VHF channel 13. WSET is owned by the Allbritton Communications Company. Its transmitter is located near Thaxton, Virginia...
). During the late 1950s, the station 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...
.
The station's studio was originally located in the Mountain Trust Bank Building in downtown Roanoke along with its radio sisters. Its transmitter was located temporarily on Mill Mountain
Mill Mountain Star
The Roanoke Star, also known as the Mill Mountain Star, is the world's largest freestanding illuminated man-made star, constructed in 1949 at the top of Mill Mountain in Roanoke, Virginia. It was the largest star ever assembled until the El Paso Star was completed in El Paso, Texas...
; it originally planned to broadcast from Poor Mountain, but could not due to concerns about interference with then-under construction WSPA-TV
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...
in Spartanburg, South Carolina
Spartanburg, South Carolina
thgSpartanburg is the largest city in and the county seat of Spartanburg County, South Carolina, United States. It is the second-largest city of the three primary cities in the Upstate region of South Carolina, and is located northwest of Columbia, west of Charlotte, and about northeast of...
. In 1956, WDBJ-AM-TV moved to the Times-World Building. It also relocated its transmitter to Poor Mountain.
Due to its affiliation with the Times and Virginia's second-oldest radio station, channel 7 overtook WSLS-TV
WSLS-TV
WSLS-TV, channel 10 , is the NBC-affiliated television station in Roanoke, Virginia. Its transmitter is located on Poor Mountain in Roanoke County. The station is owned by Media General who also owns local newspapers The News & Advance and Danville Register & Bee...
as the area's highest-rated station within three years of signing on. It has remained in the lead more or less ever since, although in recent years it has been in a spirited three-way race with WSLS and WSET.
As channel 7 grew during the late 1950s, plans were drawn for a new studio at the corner of Brandon and Colonial Avenues in southwest Roanoke. The WDBJ stations moved to the then state-of-the-art building in the summer of 1961.
Times-World merged with Landmark Communications
Landmark Communications
Landmark Media Enterprises LLC is a privately held media company headquartered in Norfolk, Virginia specializing in cable television, broadcast television, print publishing, and internet publishing...
of Norfolk
Norfolk, Virginia
Norfolk is an independent city in the Commonwealth of Virginia in the United States. With a population of 242,803 as of the 2010 Census, it is Virginia's second-largest city behind neighboring Virginia Beach....
in 1969. http://www.hoovers.com/times-world/--ID__130332--/free-co-factsheet.xhtml?cm_ven=PAID&cm_cat=INK&cm_pla=CO1&cm_ite=times-world 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) forced Times-World to sell off WDBJ-TV due to a significant signal overlap with Landmark-owned WFMY-TV
WFMY-TV
WFMY-TV is a television station in Greensboro, North Carolina. Owned by the Gannett Company, WFMYis the CBS affiliate for the Greensboro/High Point/Winston-Salem area...
in Greensboro, North Carolina
Greensboro, North Carolina
Greensboro is a city in the U.S. state of North Carolina. It is the third-largest city by population in North Carolina and the largest city in Guilford County and the surrounding Piedmont Triad metropolitan region. According to the 2010 U.S...
. Channel 7's city-grade signal reaches Patrick County
Patrick County, Virginia
Patrick County is a county located in the Commonwealth of Virginia. As of 2010, the population was 18,490. Its county seat is Stuart. It is located within both the rolling hills and valleys of the Piedmont Region of Virginia and mountainous Southwest Virginia....
, which is part of the Triad market. It also provides grade B coverage as far south as Reidsville, North Carolina
Reidsville, North Carolina
Reidsville is a city located in Rockingham County, North Carolina. As of the 2000 census, the city had a total population of 14,485.Originally established in the early 19th century as an outpost and stop on the stage line that ran between Salisbury, NC and Danville, VA called Wrights Crossroads,...
. At the time, the FCC normally did not allow common ownership of two stations with overlapping signals, and would not even consider granting a waiver for stations with overlapping city-grade coverage. As a result, channel 7 was sold to its current owner, Schurz Communications. It is not likely that the FCC would have allowed Landmark to keep WDBJ-TV in any case, since the agency had recently banned cross-ownership of broadcasting outlets and newspapers. It had already grandfathered Landmark's flagship cluster of The Virginian-Pilot
The Virginian-Pilot
The Virginian-Pilot is a daily newspaper based in Norfolk, Virginia, and serving the Hampton Roads metropolitan area, southeastern Virginia, the Eastern Shore of Virginia, and northeastern North Carolina. The flagship property of Landmark Media Enterprises, The Pilot is Virginia's largest daily...
and WTAR-AM
WTAR
WTAR is a comedy formatted broadcast radio station licensed to Norfolk, Virginia, serving Hampton Roads. WTAR is owned and operated by Sinclair Telecable, Inc.-History:...
-FM
WVKL
WVKL is a Urban Contemporary formatted broadcast radio station licensed to Norfolk, Virginia, serving Hampton Roads. WVKL is owned and operated by Entercom Communications.-External links:*...
-TV
WTKR
WTKR is the CBS affiliate television station serving the Hampton Roads area of Virginia, officially known as the Norfolk-Portsmouth-Newport News DMA. The station is licensed to Norfolk and broadcasts on channel 40 . Its transmitter is located in Suffolk, Virginia...
in Norfolk, and past precedent indicated it wouldn't have been willing to do so for the Times, World and WDBJ-AM-FM-TV. The transaction would have also brought two of Virginia's three CBS affiliates under common ownership.
In 1979, WDBJ opened its Central Virginia Bureau in Lynchburg. Weekend anchor Graham Wilson served as Bureau Chief, and the bureau covered the eastern part of the Roanoke-Lynchburg market, from Charlottesville to Danville.
In 2000, WDBJ announced plans for a new digital facility on the site of the Best Products
Best Products
Best Products is a defunct chain of American catalog showroom retail stores founded by Sydney and Frances Lewis, formerly headquartered in Richmond, Virginia.- History :...
building in northwest Roanoke. That June, the Best Products building was demolished and construction of a new digital facility began. Photos of the complete demolition of the Best Products building & construction of the new "Digital Broadcast Center" are located here http://www.wdbj-dt.com. In April 2002, WDBJ began broadcasting from the new "Digital Broadcast Center". WDBJ has newsrooms in Lynchburg, Blacksburg and Richmond, along with its Roanoke newsroom.
In 2006, WDBJ began a news partnership with WFIR, its former radio sister.
WDBJ today
On average, an estimated 92,000 households tune in for WDBJ's 6pm and 11pm newscasts. WDBJ is the leading station in the Roanoke/Lynchburg market. Currently, the station produces six newscasts Monday-Friday, Friday Football Extra, and Virginia Tech Sports Today.On August 13, 2007, WDBJ became the only station in the Roanoke/Lynchburg market with four meteorologists in its weather center. WDBJ's weather department is the Weatherbug Network affiliate for the Roanoke/Lynchburg market. The Weatherbug network offers real-time statistics and information from all around the region. There are 24 Weatherbug locations in the WDBJ viewing area.
On 1 July 2007, Jeffery A. Marks became the General Manager for WDBJ. Marks succeeded Bob Lee and became only the 4th GM in the history of the station.
Also in 2007, the News Department went tapeless and switched to a server-based playback system.
On April 22, 2008, WDBJ began broadcasting local news in high definition. They also became the first in the Roanoke-Lynchburg market with high-definition weather graphics.
In July 2009, WDBJ announced it would refuse to run an advertisement from the National Republican Congressional Council attacking Democratic Representative Tom Perriello
Tom Perriello
Thomas Stuart Price "Tom" Perriello is the former U.S. Representative for , serving from 2009 until 2011. He is a member of the Democratic Party. The district includes much of Southside Virginia and stretches north to Charlottesville....
, citing "factual inaccuracies".
In Spring 2010, Schurz and the Tribune Company
Tribune Company
The Tribune Company is a large American multimedia corporation based in Chicago, Illinois. It is the nation's second-largest newspaper publisher, with ten daily newspapers and commuter tabloids including Chicago Tribune, Los Angeles Times, Hartford Courant, Orlando Sentinel, South Florida...
of Chicago
Chicago
Chicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...
entered into a Web site management partnership in which Tribune Interactive would take over the Web site CMS operations of all of Schurz's media properties except 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...
-affiliated WAGT
WAGT
WAGT is the NBC-affiliated television station for the Central Savannah River Area of East-Central Georgia and West-Central South Carolina. Licensed to Augusta, Georgia, it broadcasts a high definition digital signal on UHF channel 30 from a transmitter in the Spiderweb section of Beech Island,...
in Augusta, Georgia
Augusta, Georgia
Augusta is a consolidated city in the U.S. state of Georgia, located along the Savannah River. As of the 2010 census, the Augusta–Richmond County population was 195,844 not counting the unconsolidated cities of Hephzibah and Blythe.Augusta is the principal city of the Augusta-Richmond County...
(which is now operated 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...
, the owner of that 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
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...
-affiliated WJBF
WJBF
WJBF, News Channel 6, is an ABC-affiliated television station in Augusta, Georgia, USA. WJBF is owned by the broadcast division of Media General, and formerly had its studios on Reynolds Street in downtown Augusta for over 50 years before moving to a new location near the Augusta Mall in October...
). Schurz's Kansas television properties (KWCH-DT and KSCW-DT) were the first to launch new Tribune-run sites in late June. WDBJ followed in mid-July, then KTUU-TV
KTUU-TV
KTUU-TV is an NBC affiliated television station serving Anchorage, Alaska. The station is owned by Schurz Communications of South Bend, Indiana....
in Anchorage, Alaska
Anchorage, Alaska
Anchorage is a unified home rule municipality in the southcentral part of the U.S. state of Alaska. It is the northernmost major city in the United States...
in mid-August. The other Schurz television station Web sites, which are currently operated by Broadcast Interactive Media, will follow suit once their current CMS agreement with BIM runs out.
My Network TV and News 7 at Ten
News 7 at Ten offers an alternative format to WDBJ's other newscasts, providing "anchor movement" to a different set after each commercial break. News 7 at Ten is anchored by Hollani Davis. Brent Watts serves as the Meteorologist and Travis Wells serves as the sportscaster. Lauren Wood is the producer.
News 7 at Ten also provides a "Fun Fact" every night. The "Fun Fact" is associated with one of the night's stories.
The Weather Deck and Weather Garden
In August 2006 WDBJ 7 added an outdoor Weather Deck. This deck provides a new location for controlled outside weather & news segments. Alongside the Weather Deck is the Weather Garden. WDBJ7 often presents feature packages about the Weather Garden and offers tips, advice and ideas about common gardening.Digital programming
WDBJ-DT broadcasts on digital channel UHF 18:Effective June 12, 2009 WDBJ is broadcast exclusively in digital.
WDBJ remained on its pre-transition channel number, 18 using PSIP
Program and System Information Protocol
The Program and System Information Protocol is the protocol used in the ATSC digital television system for carrying metadata about each channel in the broadcast MPEG transport stream of a TV station and for publishing information about television programs so that viewers can select what to watch...
to display WDBJ's virtual channel
Virtual channel
In telecommunications, a logical channel number , also known as virtual channel, is a channel designation which differs from that of the actual radio channel on which the signal travels....
s as 7.
In the 1980s, the station did a series of spots for its programming featuring the popular "Ernest
Ernest P. Worrell
Ernest P. Worrell is a fictional character most principally portrayed by the late American actor Jim Varney in a series of television commercials, and later in a television series as well as a series of feature films. Ernest was created by the Nashville advertising agency Carden and Cherry and was...
", portrayed by Jim Varney
Jim Varney
James Albert "Jim" Varney, Jr. was an American stand-up comedian, actor, musician, writer, voice artist, and comedian, best known for his role as Ernest P...
. The new News 7 at Ten offers "Finally, a ten o'clock newscast you can trust."
On-air staff
A key to WDBJ's rating success has been the continuity of its on-air team, which is not the norm in local news especially for a market of Roanoke-Lynchburg's size. Keith Humphry anchored News 7 at Six for 30 years until his retirement on May 25, 2011. (In the Roanoke-Lynchburg market, newcast ratings tend to be much higher at 6 PM than 11 PM.) Robin Reed has been the lead weathercaster since 1982. Jean Jadhon has anchored News 7's evening broadcasts since 1992 and morning anchor Kimberly McBroom has been with the station since 1993. Senior reporter Joe Dashiell has been at WDBJ since the 1970s and was the longtime RichmondRichmond, Virginia
Richmond is the capital of the Commonwealth of Virginia, in the United States. It is an independent city and not part of any county. Richmond is the center of the Richmond Metropolitan Statistical Area and the Greater Richmond area...
newsroom correspondent.
Current on-air staff
Anchors- Susan Bahorich - Weekend Morning Anchor/Reporter
- Holly Pietrzak - Weekend Evening Anchor/Reporter
- Bob Grebe - Morning Co-Host/Reporter
- Jean Jadhon - 5:00 & 6:00 p.m. Anchor
- Chris Hurst - 6:00 & 11:00 p.m. Anchor
- Kimberly McBroom - Morning & Noon Anchor
- Seth Kovar - Morning Anchor
- Hollani Davis - 10:00 p.m. & 11:00 p.m. Anchor
Reporters
- Joe Dashiell - Senior Reporter
- Melissa Gaona - Weekend Reporter
- Elizabeth Harrington - Reporter
- Justin McLeod - Reporter
- Karen Kiley - New River Valley Bureau Chief & substitute anchor
- Tim Saunders - Lynchburg Bureau Chief & substitute anchor
- Justin Ward - Danville Bureau Chief
Weather team
- Robin Reed (AMSAmerican Meteorological SocietyThe American Meteorological Society promotes the development and dissemination of information and education on the atmospheric and related oceanic and hydrologic sciences and the advancement of their professional applications. Founded in 1919, the American Meteorological Society has a membership...
Certified) - Chief Meteorologist - Leo Hirsbrunner (AMS Certified) - Morning & Noon meteorologist
- Jay Webb (AMS/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) - Weekend Meteorologist - Brent Watts (AMS Seal of Approval) - Meteorologist, NEWS 7 at TEN/Fill-in Meteorologist
Sports team
- Travis Wells - Sports Director
- Carl Deffenbaugh - Sports Reporter
- Karen Loftus - Weekend Sports Anchor/Reporter