WJXT

WJXT, channel 4 (digital 42), is an independent television station serving Jacksonville, Florida, and surrounding communities. Its transmitter is in the Kilarney Shores section of Jacksonville, with the WTLV transmitter. The station originally broadcast an analog signal on VHF channel 4 and a digital signal on UHF channel 42. Comcast cable carries the station on channel 3. U-Verse carries WJXT on channel 4 and an HD feed on channel 1004. The station is owned by Post-Newsweek Stations. Channel 4 broadcasts from studios at 4 Broadcast Place, on Jacksonville's southbank of the St. Johns River. WJXT airs syndicated programming, such as The Oprah Winfrey Show, Dr. Phil, Rachael Ray, and reruns of Everybody Loves Raymond, The King Of Queens, and Monk.

From its sign-on in 1949 until 2002, WJXT was affiliated with CBS. It was the first television station in Florida outside Miami.

Digital television

The station's digital channel, UHF 42, is multiplexed:

Digital channels

In 2009, WJXT turned off its analog transmitter and remained on its pre-transition channel 42.^[1][2] However, through the use of PSIP, digital television receivers display the station's virtual channel as 4.

History

WJXT signed on September 15, 1949, as WMBR-TV, the second television station in Florida and co-owned with WMBR radio (AM 1400, now WZAZ; and 96.1 FM, now WEJZ). In 1953, the Washington Post Company bought the stations. The radio stations were sold in 1958 and the television station was renamed WJXT-TV.

WJXT was a CBS affiliate for more than 50 years, though it carried secondary affiliations with DuMont through 1955 (when the network shut down), NBC until 1957 (when WFGA, now WTLV, signed on) and ABC until 1966 (when WJKS, now WCWJ, signed on). For much of that time, it was the only CBS station between Savannah, Georgia and Orlando, Florida and was thus carried on many cable systems between Jacksonville and Orlando.

The station had a virtual monopoly on television in north Florida until 1957, its only competition coming from a UHF station, WJHP-TV, which signed on in 1953 and went dark three years later.

After negotiations over a new affiliation agreement with CBS fell through, WJXT became an independent station on July 15, 2002, with WTEV-TV taking over CBS affiliation. WJXT now airs a combination of syndicated programs and locally produced news broadcasts. The station used the Eyewitness News name and format for its newscasts for many years; but, in 2005, the newscasts were retitled as "Channel 4 News: The Local Station". Even though it is a Post-Newsweek-owned station, WJXT, unlike WDIV and most of its sister stations, which follow Post-Newsweek's "Local Mandate" standardization, does not brand itself "Local4"; but "The Local Station" is close enough under the standardization.

WJXT was the dominant news station in Jacksonville for almost half a century, in part because many of its personalities have been at the station for 10 years or more. Its evening news team of anchors Tom Wills and Deborah Gianoulis, chief meteorologist George Winterling and sports director Sam Kouvaris was together from 1981 until Gianoulis' retirement in 2003—one of the longest-running anchor teams in the nation at the time.

On June 12, 2009, at 8:55 a.m, WJXT ceased transmission of an analog broadcast. The button was pushed live on WJXT's morning program, The Morning Show. Channel 4 reporter Melanie Lawson reported live from WJXT's transmitter site in Kilarney Shores as a veteran WJXT technician pushed the "plate off" button in the building at the base of the transmitter. WJXT's analog transmission had been broadcast from that site for over two decades after its transmitter at the station failed. Its digital transmission is also broadcast from the same site, along with the transmission of WTLV and WJXX. According to on-camera talent, several monitors at Channel 4's southbank studios went out.

On January 14, 2009, WJXT became the first local television news operation in Jacksonville to broadcast local news in high definition. The upgrade saw an introduction of new opens, graphics, and music. The new opens were designed in house at Detroit, Michigan, sister station WDIV. The new graphics were designed at Miami sister station WPLG. The music used for the HD newscasts was an updated version of a customized news package, composed by Frank Gari which was specifically written for the station since 1995.

Since the HD transition, Channel 4 now uses all robotic and computer-operated cameras. A new automated control room system using Miranda Vertigo and Ignite technology was developed as well for newscasts.

• Channel 4 Newscasts in HD:
  • Channel 4 News @ Noon (started in HD on January 14, 2009)
  • Channel 4 News @ 5 (started in HD on January 16, 2009)
  • Channel 4 News @ 5:30 (started in HD on January 16, 2009)
  • Channel 4 News @ 6 (started in HD on January 16, 2009)
  • Channel 4 News @ 6:30 (started in HD on January 16, 2009)
  • Channel 4 Weekend Newscasts (started in HD on January 17, 2009)
  • Channel 4's The Morning Show (started in HD on January 26, 2009)
  • The 10 O'Clock News (started in HD on January 28, 2009)
  • Channel 4 News @ 11 (started in HD on January 28, 2009)

News operation

WJXT currently offers a total of 47½ hours of local news a week (with eight½ hours on weekdays and 3½ hours on weekends), in third place behind Fox stations WTVT in Tampa and WSVN in Miami for the most hours of local news of any television station in the state of Florida.

On April 23, 2009 George Winterling announced he would semi-retire after nearly 47 years as chief meteorologist at WJXT. He will be used in severe weather and fill in situations only. On May 20, 2009, He stepped down from the 6 and 6:30 p.m. newscasts.

News/station presentation

Newscast titles

• Your Esso Reporter (1949–1954)
• Telenews (1954–1958)
• NewsNight (1958–1963)
• The Six O'Clock News/The Eleven O'Clock News (1963–1967)
• Eyewitness News (1967–2005; from 1997 until the station became independent in 2002, WJXT used NewsChannel 4 as its general branding, while Eyewitness News continued to be used as the newscast branding)^[3]
• Channel 4 News (2005–present)^[4]

Station slogans

• "Television 4 Eyewitness News, in SuperColor" (1967–1969)
• "The Eyes of Jacksonville" (early 1970s)
• "WJXT, As Far as the Eye Can See" (mid 1970s)
• "We're the Eyewitnesses!" (late 1970s)
• "We'll Take You There" (mid 1980s)
• "Your Good Friends" (late 1980s)
• "First in News Around the Clock" (late 1980s–1991)
• "TV-4, We'll Take You There" (late 1980s–early 1990s; used in image campaign using Frank Gari's "We'll Take You There")
• "The One and Only Channel 4" (1991–2005)
• "The Local Station" (2005–present)

News team

Current on-air staff^[5]

Anchors

• Mary Baer - weeknights at 5, 6 and 10 p.m.
• Bruce Hamilton - weekday mornings The Morning Show (5-9 a.m.)
• Jason Law - weekend mornings The Morning Show (7-9 a.m.)
• Kent Justice - weekends at 6 and 10 p.m.; also weekday reporter
• Melanie Lawson - weekday mornings The Morning Show (5-7 a.m.)
• Staci Spanos - weekday mornings The Morning Show (7-9 a.m.)
• Rob Sweeting - weeknights at 5:30, 6:30 and 11 p.m.
• Jennifer Waugh - weeknights at 5:30, 6:30 and 11 p.m.
• Tom Wills - weeknights at 5, 6 and 10 p.m.

Weather team

• John Gaughan (AMS Seal of Approval) - chief meteorologist; weeknights at 5, 5:30, 6, 6:30, 10 and 11 p.m.
• Rebecca Barry - meteorologist; weekend mornings The Morning Show (7-9 a.m.), and weekends at 6 and 10 p.m.
• Richard Nunn (AMS Seal of Approval) - meteorologist; weekday mornings The Morning Show (5-9 a.m.) and noon
• George Winterling (AMS Certified Consulting Meteorologist Seal of Approval) - meteorologist emeritus; hurricane/severe weather expert, fill-in meteorologist (former chief meteorologist from 1962 until semi-retirement in 2009)

Sports team

• Sam Kouvaris - sports director; weeknights at 5, 5:30, 6, 6:30, 10 and 11 p.m.
• Nick Giovanni - sports anchor; weekends at 6 and 10 p.m.

Reporters

• Elizabeth Cate - general assignment reporter
• Kristen Cosby - fill-in general assignment reporter
• Karen Hershey - fill-in assignment reporter
• Scott Johnson - general assignment reporter
• Nikki Kimbleton - weekday morning reporter
• Vic Micolucci - general assignment reporter/mobile journalist
• Tarik Minor - general assignment reporter
• Chris Parenteau - general assignment reporter
• Vickie Pierre - general assignment reporter
• Jim Piggott - investigative reporter
• Ashley Townsend - fill-in assignment reporter
• Emily Turner - general assignment reporter
• Hailey Winslow - general assignment reporter

Notable former on-air staff

• Bryan J. Kelly (now announcer for World Wrestling Entertainment and its developmental territory Florida Championship Wrestling as "Byron Saxton")
• Steve Kroft - investigative reporter (1975-1977; now with CBS News as correspondent for 60 Minutes)
• Tom Skilling - meteorologist (early 1970s; now chief meteorologist at WGN-TV in Chicago)

References

External links

• WJXT website
• WJXT mobile
• Query the FCC's TV station database for WJXT
• BIAfn's Media Web Database -- Information on WJXT-TV
• The WJXT building is at coordinates