WDJT-TV
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| WDJT-TV | |
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| Milwaukee, Wisconsin | |
| Branding | CBS58 Milwaukee, 10 at 10 (10 PM Newscasts) |
| Channels | 58 (UHF) analog, 46 (UHF) digital |
| Affiliations | CBS (since 1994) |
| Owner | Weigel Broadcasting (WDJT-TV, LP) |
| Founded | 1988 |
| Call letters meaning | Debra Jackson and John Torres (original license holders) |
| Former affiliations | Independent (1988-94) |
| Website | cbs58.com |
WDJT-TV is a television station located in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. It is an affiliate of the CBS television network. Its transmitter is located in Milwaukee, and its signal covers most of southeastern Wisconsin, including Racine, Kenosha, Sheboygan and Waukesha. WDJT usually goes by its nickname of "CBS 58" in its broadcast promos.
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[edit] History
WDJT signed on the air on November 29, 1988 as an independent station. Its call letters were selected in honor of its original owners, Debra Jackson and John Torres (Weigel had taken control of the license after Jackson died before the station took to the air, and Torres decided to partner with Weigel for financial backing). At that time, its programming fare consisted of second-hand reruns of sitcoms, first-run syndicated shows, and a movie library.
The Milwaukee television market was in for a major shakeup in 1994 when New World Communications announced that its stations (including Milwaukee's WITI) would become Fox affiliates. That prompted CBS to look for a new affiliate in Milwaukee. The network was turned down by WTMJ, WISN (who was affiliated with CBS from 1961 to 1977), WVTV (which ironically was a CBS O&O in the 1950s), WCGV, and WJJA, and then made an aborted attempt to buy WVCY before Channel 30's ownership group decided not to sell and keep their religious format.
With days to go before the switch, and the threat of having to arrange for CBS signals to be imported in for cable customers, the network finally affiliated with WDJT. The first CBS program to air on Channel 58 was 60 Minutes.
WDJT's CBS affiliation caused major shuffles among area cable systems as they worked to quickly add Channel 58 to their systems; it took until March 1995 for some Marcus Cable (the precursor to Charter Communications) cities to carry WDJT. This led to some major events on CBS to not air in the Greater Milwaukee Area, including the 1995 Grammy Awards, Daytona 500, Big Ten Basketball, and the NCAA Men's and Women's Basketball Tournaments.
As WDJT had not expected to go to CBS, a hastily-made logo with the CBS eyemark to the left of WDJT's italic Times New Roman '58' of the time in red (and later yellow) was the station's logo for the next year and a half, along with a neutral imaging campaign using default CBS graphics while Channel 58 built their news department and worked to look for upgraded studio facilities.
Channel 58 launched its news operation from new studios on N. 60th Street in West Allis in early 1996. Previously, the station's studio and transmitter were located on the top floors of what was then the Marc Plaza Hotel (now the Hilton Milwaukee City Center). The current studios are located in a building formerly associated with Allis-Chalmers.
[edit] Ownership
WDJT-TV is owned by Chicago, Illinois's Weigel Broadcasting. The company also owns Milwaukee's Spanish-language station WYTU (Channel 63) and LPTV independent Milwaukee station WMLW-CA (Channel 41). WMLW also airs on WDJT's digital channel as Channel 46-2. The digital channel is also subdivided into four other feeds in March during CBS coverage of the NCAA Basketball Tournament to show all of the games.
[edit] News Information
Because of their relatively new status in the market, the station has the lowest rated newscast in Milwaukee. The station uses the "Ten at Ten" format for its late news, emphasizing the top stories and weather in the first 10 minutes of the program. WDJT has won regional Emmy awards, along with honors from the Associated Press for best newscast presentation.
[edit] Newscast Lineup
- CBS58 Morning News Express - 5 a.m.-7 a.m. Monday-Friday
- CBS58 News at Five - 5 p.m.-5:30 p.m. Monday-Saturday
- CBS58 News at 5:30 - 5:30 p.m.-6 p.m. Sunday
- CBS58 News Ten at Ten - 10 p.m.-10:35 p.m. Seven Nights a Week
Rebroadcasts of the 10 p.m. newscast are seen at 12:30 a.m. on WMLW.
[edit] Trivia
- WDJT is Wisconsin's only UHF CBS affiliate.
- The station also gathers news for CBS Radio in Milwaukee, as no area radio station currently has the production facilities or staff for CBS Radio News reportage; WOKY-AM (920) airs CBS Radio newscasts, but has no news staff, while WTMJ-AM (620) converted to ABC Radio from CBS in 2005, and former heritage CBS Radio Network station WISN-AM (1130) currently airs Fox News Radio.
- In 2007, WDJT gained national attention after a station live truck fell through a frozen channel on Big Muskego Lake in Muskego, ironically while covering a story on ice safety. The estimated cost of repair was $250,000. A week after, the station would air a public service announcement on ice safety which premiered during CBS' Super Bowl XLI coverage, making light of the situation.
[edit] External links
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WTMJ 4 (NBC) - WITI 6 (FOX) - WMKE-CA 7 (A1) - WMVS 10 (PBS) - WISN 12 (ABC) - WVTV 18 (The CW) - WCGV 24 (MNTV) - WVCY 30 (FN) - WMVT 36 (PBS) - WBWT-LP 38 (AZA) - WMLW-CA 41 (Ind) - WJJA 49 (S@H/JTV) - WWRS 52 (TBN) - WPXE 55 (ION) - WDJT 58 (CBS) - WYTU-LP 63 (TEL) |
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| Out-of-market stations available on cable only | |||
