WTAJ-TV

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WTAJ-TV
Altoona, Pennsylvania
Branding	10 News
Slogan	Live....Local.....Late Breaking
Channels	10 (VHF) analog, 32 (UHF) digital
Affiliations	CBS
Owner	Nexstar Broadcasting Group
Founded	March 1, 1953
Call letters meaning	We're Television for Altoona and Johnstown
Former callsigns	WFBG-TV (1953-73)
Former affiliations	ABC (secondary)
Transmitter Power	231 kW/335 m (analog) 883 kW/305.2 m (digital)
Website	www.wtajtv.com

WTAJ-TV is the CBS affiliate in Altoona, Pennsylvania. It transmits its analog signal on VHF channel 10 and its digital signal on UHF channel 32. It is owned by Nexstar Broadcasting Group.

Contents 1 History 2 Trivia 3 Talent 4 External links

[edit] History

The station signed on March 1, 1953 as WFBG-TV. The call letters came from the initials of the station's founder, William F.B. Gable, owner of Gable's Department Store in Altoona. In those early days, all programs were produced and transmitted "live" from the studios on Wopsononock Mountain in Altoona. At that time, channel 10 was one of the strongest stations in the entire country, utilizing over 300,000 watts to serve the community.

In 1955, WFBG affiliated with CBS. Throughout the 1950s and into the early 1960s, it also carried a secondary affiliation with ABC.

In 1956, WFBG was sold to the Annenberg family's Triangle Publications. Triangle, after selling off most of its media properties between 1969 and 1971, sold WFBG to Gateway Communications in 1973. Gateway changed the station's call letters to the present-day WTAJ-TV (which stands for We're Television for Altoona and Johnstown). The station also reached eastern parts of the Pittsburgh market and was on cable systems in that market. This was necessary because Pittsburgh's CBS affiliate, KDKA-TV, preempted a decent amount of CBS shows and most of the preempted shows aired on WTAJ.

Prior to 1982, Johnstown and Altoona-State College were separate markets. Although Johnstown had a CBS affiliate of its own, WJNL-TV (channel 19), Johnstown viewers actually got a stronger signal from channel 10. After the Altoona-State College and Johnstown DMAs were collapsed into a single market that year, WTAJ became the exclusive CBS affiliate for the enlarged market. WJNL's signal was marginal at best in the eastern part of the market; it barely reached Altoona and just missed State College. WJNL (which changed its calls to WFAT) struggled as a low-rated independent station for a decade before going dark in 1991; it eventually returned to the air and is now Pittsburgh CW station WPCW.

Gateway Communications merged with SJL Broadcasting in December 2000. SJL transferred WTAJ's license to its subsidiary Television Station Group License Subsidiary, LLC in 2004. SJL changed its name to Montecito Broadcast Group in 2005. Montecito put WTAJ and two of its other stations in the Northeast--Binghamton, New York's WBNG-TV and Harrisburg, Pennsylvania's WLYH-TV--up for sale shortly after its newly-created subsidiary Montecito Broadcast Group purchased four television stations (KHON-TV in Honolulu, Hawaii; KOIN in Portland, Oregon; KSNT in Topeka, Kansas and KSNW in Wichita, Kansas) from Emmis Communications. Granite Broadcasting has since purchased WBNG, and on July 26, 2006, Nexstar Broadcasting Group purchased WTAJ and WLYH for $56 million. Nexstar's acquisition was completed on December 29, 2006.

WTAJ cameras were some of the first on the scene of the crash of Flight 93 near Shanksville, PA, on September 11, 2001.

[edit] Trivia

In the 1977 film Slap Shot, a microphone bearing the mike flag of WTAJ (who at the time, had a logo that featured a "10" in a circle) can be seen before the championship game in the film. In this scene, sports anchor Jim Carr (Andrew Duncan) used a WTAJ mike when he interviewed one of the Charlestown Chiefs' players in the lockerroom before the big game. Slap Shot was filmed in Johnstown, which represented the fictitious city of Charlestown.

[edit] Talent

Below is a list of current WTAJ on-air personalities:

John Clay - Main Anchor at 5:30, 6, and 11
Carolyn Donaldson - Main Anchor at 5, 6, and 11
Patrick Schurr - Morning/Noon Anchor
Amy Mearkle - Morning/Noon Anchor

Joe Murgo - Weather
Brian Schroeder - Morning Weather
Regina Miller - Weekend Weather

Kellie Goodman - Sports Director
Mike Fink - Sports
Mike Mueller - Sports Reporter

Kevin Flaningan - Reporter
Charlotte Ames - Health Reporter
Allison Schroeder - Reporter
Kristina Rohall - Reporter

Steve Harmic - Clearfield Bureau Chief
Megan Gilliland - Bedford Bureau Reporter
Chris Cekot - State College Bureau Reporter
Michelle Toth - Cambria Bureau Reporter
Allison Bybee - State College Bureau Reporter

Some Notable Former WTAJ News People:

Brandon Brooks, former anchor now at KYW newsradio in Philadelphia
David Briemhurst, former anchor now goes by David Henry, a reporter at WPVI in Philadelphia
Larry Mendte, former anchor now an anchor at KYW-TV in Philadelphia
Patrick Van Horn, former anchor now an actor in Hollywood
Big John Riley, weatherman 1959-1982. Also known for the Big John Riley Basketball Classic and the Big John Riley Scholarship. Deceased.
David Venable, former anchor. Joined the QVC home shopping network in 1993.

[edit] External links

• WTAJ-TV10 Station History
• Query the FCC's TV station database for WTAJ-TV
• BIAfn's Media Web Database -- Information on WTAJ-TV

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Broadcast television in the Johnstown / Altoona / State College market (Nielsen DMA #98)

Local television stations WPSU 3 (PBS) - WJAC 6 (NBC) - WWCP 8 (FOX) - WTAJ 10 (CBS) - W13BY 13 {IND} - WPCW 19 (The CW)1 - WATM 23 (ABC) - WHVL 29 (MNTV) - W36BE 36 / W39BE 39 (ABC) - WKBS 47 (CSTV) - WLLS 49 (A1) 1 Technically a Pittsburgh market station. See article.

Local cable television channels WIUP 20 (Ind)

Significantly Viewed Out-of-Market Broadcast Stations Reception may vary by geographical location Pittsburgh: KDKA 2 (CBS) - WTAE 4 (ABC) - WPXI 11 (NBC) - WPMY 22 (MNTV) - WPGH 53 (FOX) Scranton/Wilkes-Barre: WNEP 16 (ABC) - WSWB 38 (The CW) Harrisburg: WLYH 15 (The CW) New York City: WPIX 11 (The CW)