WJAR
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WJAR | |
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Providence, Rhode Island / New Bedford, Massachusetts | |
Branding | NBC10 |
Slogan | Turn To 10 |
Channels | 10 (VHF) analog, 51 (UHF) digital |
Affiliations | NBC |
Owner | Media General |
Founded | July 10, 1949 |
Call letters meaning | None (sequentially issued by the federal government to sister radio station) |
Former affiliations | CBS (Secondary 1949-1955) ABC (Secondary 1949-1963) DuMont (Secondary 1949-1955) |
Website | turnto10.com |
WJAR ("NBC10") is the NBC affiliate in Providence, Rhode Island and New Bedford, Massachusetts. While licensed to Providence, the station's studios are located in Cranston, Rhode Island, and its transmitter is in Rehoboth, Massachusetts. WJAR offers NBC Weather Plus on digital 10.2.
Contents |
[edit] History
The station signed on air for the first time on July 10, 1949, as Rhode Island's first television station. It was sister station to WJAR radio (now WHJJ), which came on the air on September 6, 1922. Both the television and radio stations were originally owned by The Outlet Company, a department store once located in Providence, which also purchased other stations across the nation. WJAR received national attention early on for its coverage of Hurricane Carol.
While officially an NBC affiliate, WJAR often aired shows from other networks which did not have affiliates in Rhode Island, such as ABC, DuMont, and especially CBS. This multiple affiliation came to an end as additional television stations signed on in the state.
The Outlet Company was sold in 1980, by which time the company had left the department store business to concentrate on broadcasting. The station even stayed on during a fire in the Outlet Building, which also housed their main studios, in October of 1986. Many Rhode Islanders can even remember the live broadcast of the fire, with the building exploding over their reporter's head. In 1996, NBC acquired the station in a group deal. It was around this time that the station's offices and broadcast studios were moved to a new studio in an industrial area of Cranston, just south of Providence.
WJAR was one of four NBC O&Os in smaller markets that were put up for sale on January 9, 2006, along with stations in Columbus, Ohio; Birmingham, Alabama; and Raleigh, North Carolina. Except for the Birmingham station, these stations were also once owned by Outlet. On April 6, 2006, NBC Universal and Media General announced that Media General would purchase WJAR as part of a $600 million four station deal between the two companies[1]. The deal was completed on June 26, 2006; as a result, WJAR became Media General's first TV station in New England. [2]
For several months after the owner switch, WJAR's website remained in the format used by websites of NBC O&O stations. WJAR's redesigned website, which launched in early December of 2006, now credits Media General in its copyright notice and is no longer powered by Internet Broadcasting. Although the main website has changed with Media General, WJAR still maintains a local webpage on the NBC Weather Plus website, which is operated by NBC.
As of September 13, 2006, WJAR has two alumni of the news staff, Matt Lauer and Meredith Vieira, co-hosting The Today Show. Vieira started out as a reporter on the station in the late 1970s and early 1980s, and Lauer was co-host of "PM Magazine," an evening local interest show which was on the air in the early 1980s.
[edit] Newscasts
The station's radar is called "Doppler 10,000". The weekday Noon newscast is simulcasted on WJAR's website.
[edit] Weekdays
- NBC 10 News Sunrise at 5 AM - 5-5:30 AM
- NBC 10 News Sunrise at 5:30 AM - 5:30-6 AM
- NBC 10 News Sunrise at 6 AM - 6-7 AM
- NBC 10 News at Noon - Noon-12:30 PM
- NBC 10 News at 5 PM - 5-5:30 PM
- NBC 10 News at 5:30 PM - 5:30-6 PM
- NBC 10 News at 6 PM - 6-6:30 PM
- NBC 10 News at 11 PM - 11-11:35 PM
[edit] Weekends
- NBC 10 News Weekend Sunrise - 6-7 AM Saturdays, 7-8 AM Sundays, and 9-10 AM
- NBC 10 News at 6 PM Saturday / Sunday - 6-6:30 PM
- NBC 10 News at 11 PM Saturday / Sunday - 11-11:30 PM Saturdays, 11-11:35 PM Sundays
[edit] Anchors
- Frank Coletta - weekday anchor, Sunrise and Noon
- Mario Hilario - reporter/ co-anchor Weekend Sunrise
- Kelley McGee - education reporter/ weekend anchor, 6 & 11 PM
- Margie O'Brian - reporter/ co-anchor Weekend Sunrise
- Gene Valicenti - weeknight anchor, 5:30, 6 & 11 PM
- Patrice Wood - weeknight anchor, 5, 6 & 11 PM
(Former anchor Doug White died on August 15, 2006. He had been battling cancer, and had been off the air for approximately a year.)
[edit] NBC 10 Weather Plus Meteorologists
- Kelly Bates - Sunrise
- Dylan Dreyer - Weekend Sunrise (until Janyary 2006, then moves to WHDH)
- John Ghiorse - 5:30 PM & 11 PM (Weekdays)
- R.J. Heim - 6 & 11 PM (Weekends)/ Feature & Science Reporter
- Jeff Latham
- Gary Ley - Chief Meteorologist, Noon, 5 & 6 PM
Additionally, up until recently, Art Lake was still listed as being a member of the weather team, despite having left the station approximately two years ago after suffering a stroke. He had been the last remaining original newsmember on the station, having been with WJAR-AM for five years prior to his service on television.
[edit] Sports
- Frank Carpano, sports director/ weekdays sports anchor
- Joe Kayatta, sports reporter
[edit] Reporters
- Michelle Brown
- Brian Crandall
- Larry Estepa (Massachusetts Bureau Reporter)
- Audrey Laganas (Consumer Reporter)
- Barbara Morse Silva - (Health Reporter)
- Bill Rappleye (Political Reporter)
- Jim Taricani (Investigative Reporter)
- Chef Frank Terranova (Host of "Cooking With Class;" Professor, Johnson & Wales University)
[edit] Administration
- Lisa Churchville - President and General Manager
- Betty-Jo Cugini - Vice President of News
- Craig Sasges - Director of Finace and Administration
- Joanne Schenck - Director of Human Resources
- Clark Smith - Director of Technology
- Jeff Walkes - Vice President of Sales
- Steve DelPico - Local Sales Manager
- Scott Allen - News Editor
- Mia DiBenedetto - Managing Editor of WJAR Website
[edit] Logo
WJAR's current "NBC10" logo was first used on former sister station WCAU in Philadelphia. In its earliest days, WJAR's logo included a Rhode Island Red rooster, the state bird of Rhode Island. Prior to its purchase by NBC, the logo had included various versions of a different, stylized "10" above the call letters WJAR for the previous twenty years.
[edit] References
[edit] External links
- turnto10.com
- WJAR Wireless
- Providence Jounal article regarding sale of WJAR to Media General (registration required)
- Query the FCC's TV station database for WJAR
WGBH 2 (PBS) - WLNE 6 (ABC) - WJAR 10 (NBC) - WPRI 12 (CBS) - WUNI 27 (UNI) - WLWC 28 (The CW) - WSBE 36 (PBS) - WGBX 44 (PBS) - WRIW 50 (TEL) - WEDN 53 (PBS/CPTV) - WNAC 64 (FOX/MNTV) - WPXQ 69 (i) |
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Local digital and cable television channels | ||
Rhode Island News Channel - Eyewitness News Pinpoint Weather Station |
Corporate Directors: J. Stewart Bryan, III (COB) | Marshall N. Morton | O. Reid Ashe, Jr. | John A. Schauss | Diana F. Cantor | Charles A. Davis | Thompson L. Rankin | Rodney A. Smolla | Walter E. Williams | Coleman Wortham, III | H. Graham Woodlief, Jr. | James A. Zimmerman | Neal F. Fondren | Stephen Y. Dickinson | George L. Mahoney | Lou Anne J. Nabhan | John A. Schauss | James F. Woodward |
Newspapers: Bristol Herald Courier | Danville Register & Bee | Dothan Eagle | Eden Daily News | Enterprise Legder | Florence Morning News | Hernando Today | Hickory Daily Record | Highlands Today | Independent Tribune | Jackson County Floridan | Manassas Journal Messenger | Opelika-Auburn News | Potomac News | Richmond Times-Dispatch | Statesville Record & Landmark | The Daily Progress | The McDowell News | The News & Advance (Lynchburg) | The News Herald | The News Virginian | The Reidsville Review | The Tampa Tribune | Winston-Salem Journal |
CBS Network Affiliates: WBTW | WHLT | WJHL | WJTV | WKRG | WNEG | WNCT | WRBL | WSPA |
MyNetworkTV Affiliates: WBTW-DT2 | WSAV-DT2 |
NBC Network Affiliates: KALB | WCBD | WCMH | WFLA | WJAR | WNCN | WSAV | WSLS | WVTM |
Other Assets: Atlee Park | Blockdot | Boxerjam Media | Professional Communications Systems |
Annual Revenue: $80.2 million USD (FY 2004) | Employees: Unknown at this time. | Stock Symbol: NYSE: MEG | Website: www.mediageneral.com |