WMJF-CD
 | |
| Towson / Baltimore, Maryland | |
|---|---|
| Branding | Towson's Student Run Television Station |
| Slogan | We Make TV Happen |
| Channels | Digital: 39 (UHF) |
| Affiliations | Independent station / ARTS |
| Owner |
LocusPoint Networks (sale to HME Equity Fund III pending) (LocusPoint WMJF Licensee LLC) |
| Founded | May 31, 1989 |
| First air date | March 15, 1991 |
| Call letters' meaning | Michigan J. Frog (from its days as a WB affiliate) |
| Former callsigns |
W61BT (1991-1996) WMJF-LP (1996-2014) |
| Former channel number(s) |
Analog: 61 (1991-1996) 16 (1996-2014) |
| Former affiliations | The WB, America One, N1 |
| Website | wmjf.tv |
WMJF-CD is low powered terrestrial television station broadcasting on channel 39 UHF in the Baltimore, Maryland area.
Under Towson University
The station was originally established in 1991 by Towson University as a student television station, serving its student population. It became the latest station in the Baltimore area to sign on.
In the mid-1990s the station served as the local affiliate for The WB, until its move to WNUV in January 1998. After a brief stint as an America One affiliate, WMJF flipped to MTV2 in 2004. WMJF was also a CNN student bureau and is one of only two in the country.
WMJF-produced programming was generally seen weekday evenings from 5PM to 6PM, and Monday, Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday nights from 9PM to 12 Midnight. Syndicated shows were seen weekdays from 5PM to 7:30PM, with the actual times pending on student-produced programs scheduled; syndicated programming included a National Lampoon hour block of programming three times a week, and federally mandated Educational / Informational (E/I) programming for children. All other times were filled with MTV2 programming, especially on weekends and student holidays.
WMJF was a 90% student run organization, operated under faculty advisors Dr. John MacKerron and Dr. David Reiss, and an executive board of five elected positions and other appointed positions that they deem necessary to help operate the station.
Programming
News
- 16News- a weekly news program on issues that matters to Towson students, as well as look at key national and international events.
Sports
- Towson Sports Weekly- A weekly roundup of Towson sports news.
- Towson Gameday- A show focusing on Towson Tigers football.
- Full Court Press-full analysis of each game and previews of the upcoming game.
- Face Off- debate on local and national sport topics.
- Heatin it Up- Daniel Abraham talks to Towson's sports' all stars.
Entertainment
- Towson Exposure- Student made film and video projects.
- News from the Fringe- political and news satire show.
- Civil Disobedience- sketch comedy
- College Night- with Phil Kessell, Towson's own late night host.
- Film School - student-produced sitcom about the lives of film students.
- Press Start - Video game review show.
- At the Movies - Movie reviews by college students.
- A.R.G. (Alternate Reality Game)
WMJFNow
WMJFNow was launched in August 2006, after a beta run the previous spring. The program is run using Google's Video feature to host the videos. WMJFNow is the creation of webmaster and station president, Christopher Taydus with help from many station members including Josh Eisenberg, Joe Achard, and Diego Torres. It was created to help find a new audience for the station. Taydus was quoted as saying, "I have a friend who goes to Northeastern who has been watching our sitcom 'Film School. We've even had guys from other countries watching."[1] When asked about the numbers that some shows were receiving, Josh Eisenberg said, "In the college television market those are incredible numbers to be receiving. It used to be just a five-mile radius, and now anyone can see it."[1]
Half-Way There Festival
The Half-Way There Festival is an annual film festival sponsored and hosted by WMJF. It was created by Josh Eisenberg with help from Christopher Taydus and Professor Greg Faller. It is held December of every year and gets its name from the fact that it's held half way between the previous and the next Media Arts Festival (Towson University's Electronic Media and Film Department's Annual Film Festival). In a twist on traditional media festival formats, WMJF-TV lets the audience vote to choose the winners at the Half Way There Festival.
Lambda Kappa Tau, Towson's Media Arts Fraternity, took over running the festival in Fall 2008.
Sale to LocusPoint
Towson University sold WMJF-LP to LocusPoint Networks in December 2012.[2] The deal closed on August 8, 2013.
WMJF.tv launched
The student-run television station WMJF-TV was relaunched as an internet-only service, WMJF.tv, in 2013 under General Manager and Faculty Advisor Dr. Dave Reiss - utilizing the internet as the means for broadcasting student-produced programming via a newly designed website. The new Media Center HDTV studio, now utilizing virtual sets, was fully integrated into the productions. Coverage of campus news and events continue, along with new programming including alumni profiles.
Spectrum Reallocation
As a part of the repacking process following the 2016-2017 FCC incentive auction, WMJF-CD will relocate to UHF channel 23 by 2020, using PSIP to display its virtual channel number as 39.[3]
References
- 1 2 "Technology Briefs". The Towerlight. November 16, 2006. Retrieved 2006-12-13.
- ↑ Seyler, Dave (December 13, 2012). "LocusPoint again demonstrates it’s a Class A Act". Television Business Report. Retrieved December 16, 2012.
- ↑ http://www.nab.org/repacking/clearinghouse.asp