WIAT

WIAT may also refer to the Wechsler Individual Achievement Test.

WIAT

Birmingham/Tuscaloosa/ Anniston, Alabama
Branding	CBS 42 (general) CBS 42 News (newscasts)
Slogan	The Names You Know... The Experience You Trust
Channels	Digital: 30 (UHF) Virtual: 42 (PSIP)
Subchannels	42.1 CBS 42.2 Untamed Sports TV 42.3 Weather
Translators	42 (UHF) Tuscaloosa (construction permit)
Affiliations	CBS
Owner	LIN Television Corporation (LIN License Company, LLC)
First air date	October 17, 1965
Call letters' meaning	It's About Time (former station slogan)
Former callsigns	WBMG (1965-1998)
Former channel number(s)	Analog: 42 (UHF, 1965-2009)
Former affiliations	Secondary: NBC (1965-1970)
Transmitter power	1000 kW
Height	426 m
Facility ID	5360
Transmitter coordinates	33°29′4.5″N 86°48′25.4″W
Website	www.cbs42.com

WIAT is the CBS-affiliated television station serving Birmingham, Tuscaloosa, Anniston and Gadsden, Alabama. It broadcasts a high-definition digital signal on UHF channel 30 (or channel 42.1 via PSIP) from a transmitter located atop Red Mountain, near the southern edge of Birmingham. Owned by LIN TV Corporation, WIAT maintains studios on Golden Crest Drive (near Valley Avenue) in southeastern Birmingham. The station can also be seen on Bright House Networks channel 3, Charter Communications channel 8, Comcast Xfinity channel 9 and AT&T U-verse channel 42. There is a high definition feed offered on Bright House Networks digital channel 623, Charter Communications channel 708, Comcast Xfinity digital channel 433 and AT&T U-verse channel 1042.

Digital television

Channel	Video	Aspect	PSIP ID name	Programming
42.1	1080i	16:9	WIAT-HD	Main WIAT programming / CBS
42.2	480i	4:3	WIAT-DT	Untamed Sports TV
42.3			WIAT-WX	CBS 42 Weather

Untamed Sports TV was added on a subchannel in 2009. WIAT promotes 42.2 as a separate channel on the air and the station's website. In addition to Untamed Sports, 42.2 also carries live and tape-delayed local high school sports and the Rick and Bubba show.

On April 5, 2010, the FCC granted WIAT a construction permit for a digital fill-in translator on their analog allotment Channel 42. The translator will serve the Tuscaloosa area.

History

As WBMG

Although the construction permit for the station was issued in 1956, it did not sign on until October 17, 1965 as WBMG (standing for BirMinGham). It was owned by Bill DuBois, a local investment banker. A minority owner was Southern Broadcasting, owners of radio station WSGN.

As was the case at the time with most UHF stations in markets served by at least two commercial VHF stations—in Birmingham's case, NBC/CBS affiliate WAPI-TV, now WVTM-TV; and then-ABC affiliate WBRC-TV—WBMG experienced considerable competitive disadvantages from the outset. Many households did not have TV sets capable of viewing UHF signals without a converter. Television set manufacturers had only begun including UHF tuning a year earlier, per a 1962 directive from the Federal Communications Commission (FCC). This fact was problematic for those viewers outside of the Birmingham Metro area because WBMG was only licensed to broadcast in the Birmingham Television Market. At that time Tuscaloosa & Anniston/Gadsden were separate television markets. However, WBRC & WVTM were licensed to the Birmingham Television Market as well as the Anniston/Gadsden and the Tuscaloosa Television Markets.

On paper, WBMG took the CBS affiliation from WAPI-TV. However, CBS continued to allow channel 13 to air some of its more popular programming. WBMG was left with CBS' news programming and numerous lower-rated CBS shows, and filled the schedule with some NBC shows that WAPI-TV turned down. One of them was, strangely given its popularity elsewhere in the country, The Tonight Show. Another example is the Heidi Game, the infamous American Football League game played in 1968. One benefit, though, was that the CBS Evening News returned to Birmingham after several years' absence. After the networks expanded their national newscasts to half an hour, NBC's The Huntley-Brinkley Report was the only national newscast seen in Birmingham for much of the 1960s. Both stations listed their affiliation as "CBS/NBC." By 1970, though, WAPI's owners, the Newhouse family, opted for an exclusive contract with NBC, leaving WBMG to take a full CBS affiliation more or less by default.

Because WBMG was licensed exclusively to the Birmingham Television Market, WBMG found the going very difficult when compared to WBRC & WVTM. Looking for coverage in the Anniston Gadsden & Tuscaloosa Television Markets, CBS opted to affiliate with two other central Alabama stations, WCFT-TV in Tuscaloosa and WHMA-TV (later WJSU-TV) in Anniston. Both stations signed on roughly around the same time as WBMG. But many of WBMG's problems were of its own making. Its newscasts often—inadvertently or not—became comedy shows. Examples of this include mid-1970s sportscaster (and local radio personality) Tommy Charles wadding up scripts and tossing them over his shoulder after reading them, as well as even letting balloons fly around the set for no apparent reason.

Furthermore, CBS' decision in 1971 to cancel many of its rural-oriented sitcoms and variety shows, especially the country music showcase Hee Haw and shows hosted by Sylacauga native Jim Nabors, in order to comply with the Prime Time Access Rule may have hurt WBMG's ability to attract viewers in rural Alabama, where those programs were highly popular among viewers.

Still, WBMG gained publicity in central Alabama for some local shows, such as live studio wrestling, and the children's show Sergeant Jack, which featured former WSGN disc jockey Neal Miller, who donned the uniform of a sheriff's deputy (and actually was sworn in as an honorary deputy by the Jefferson County sheriff himself) and engaged in fanciful banter with puppets. Sergeant Jack ran on weekdays from 1965 to 1976 and on weekends from that point until 1982. Mother Angelica, who would later launch the Christian cable network EWTN from Irondale in 1981, began her career by taping faith-related programs at the WBMG studios for distribution on the station and other cable networks.

Park Communications bought WBMG in 1973. Park significantly boosted the station's signal, erecting a new tower in 1974. It also tried to professionalize the newscasts, with little success. WBMG had no local newscasts at all from 1980 until 1987, aside from hourly cut-ins. During this time, the station broadcast syndicated shows at both 5 and 10 p.m. Even when local news returned in 1987, WBMG had no luck whatsoever competing with WVTM and WBRC. It was perennially one of CBS' weakest affiliates, in marked contrast to its competitors, who were two of their networks' strongest affiliates. It even trailed WTTO, an independent station (and later a Fox affiliate) that had only been on the air since 1982.

By the early 1990s, WBMG was only ahead of WABM in the Birmingham ratings. Despite this, the station managed to make a name for itself while John Harrod was news director from 1990 to 1995. He launched a very aggressive and hard hitting news department, concentrating exclusively on local stories and investigative reporting. During Harrod's tenure, the station won awards from the Associated Press for its reporting. Unfortunately, critical acclaim was not rewarded with a ratings win.

In 1995, Fox purchased WBRC. ABC's affiliation with WBRC did not expire until September 1996, so Fox continued to run WBRC as an ABC affiliate while ABC looked for a new affiliate in the central Alabama area. It first approached WTTO, but broke off talks after WTTO would only offer a secondary affiliation, carrying just prime time and sports programming. WTTO's owner, Sinclair Broadcast Group, also did not budget for local news on its non-Big Three stations at the time. ABC then approached WBMG. Despite channel 42's anemic ratings, ABC wanted to align with a station that at least had a functioning news department. ABC saw enough promise that it even offered to buy the station. Instead, WBMG re-signed a long-term deal with CBS. ABC then opted for a unique arrangement with WCFT and WJSU. The two stations would combine to act as full-powered satellites of WBMA-LP, a low-powered station whose signal did not carry outside of Jefferson and Shelby counties.

The switch took place in September. At that time, CBS decided to temporarily affiliate with yet another central Alabama station, WNAL-TV (now WPXH) in Gadsden, which put a fairly decent signal into the eastern portions of the Birmingham area, as well as eastern Alabama. However, WNAL simulcasted WBMG's newscasts during this time.

As WIAT

The CBS 42 logo, with Daily News logo and station slogan on bottom.

In 1997, Park Communications sold WBMG to Media General. However, WBMG stayed in the ratings basement with a mere 1% market share, trailing not only WVTM and WBRC but also WTTO and at times even WABM. At one point in 1997, 42 News scored lower ratings than reruns of Sanford and Son.

Media General had an understanding with CBS that they would invest millions into WBMG in an effort to gain parity with WBRC & WVTM. Media General boosted the stations signal to 5,000,000 watts, the highest allowed by the FCC. This, along with the collapse of the three Central Alabama television markets, finally put WIAT’s signal on equal footing with the other Birmingham stations. Media General’s upgrades also allowed them to claim to be the first television station in the Market to Broadcast in High Definition (HD). This was important to Media General as they fought the perception that WIAT had a weak signal. Viewers in Central Alabama were able to watch CBS Primetime and sports in HD.

After only a few months, new general manager Eric Land made some drastic moves. He fired eight anchors and ten other news staffers, including all of the on-air reporters. On New Year's Day 1998, he canceled all newscasts and fired all of the news staffers except for weekend sports anchor Sam Smith. Over the next month, channel 42 rebuilt its news department from scratch with input from focus groups and market research. During that time, the station showed a much talked about, some would say foolish, countdown clock at 5 and 10 p.m. – the slots where news would air once the product was re-launched. In order to signify a new start, Media General had the station's callsign changed to WIAT, which stood for It's About Time, the station's new slogan (which took effect on February 1). During this time, the station sent coverage of Eric Rudolph's bombing at a Birmingham abortion clinic on January 29 to CBS Newspath, CNN, and to neighboring stations even though it didn't have a news department.

The new format debuted on February 5, 1998—the same day as the start of the Winter Olympics—with a new name, "42 Daily News". Land was seen just before the countdown clock expired speaking to an unseen audience, then throwing a switch that blew up an image of the WBMG logo, with the new WIAT logo emerging. Land later said that even with its AP awards earlier in the decade, the station's research "found that our people were so closely identified with a poorly performing product that we had to create a new brand and start over again". Don Fitzpatrick, a TV news analyst, called the drastic changes an "extremely rare [...] act of desperation".

The transformation of the station's newscast and image was startling. At first, the station did not have any on-air reporters, using crews of photographers with reporters, photographers with field producers, and one-man bands. All stories were narrated by the anchors, much as was the case for most television stations until the 1960s. Strict time limits were imposed on story lengths, leading to segments such as "Top Story in a Minute," "Weather Minute," "Neighborhood Minute," a "2-Minute Drill" sportscast, etc. One anchor manned the anchor desk, while the other read stories from various places on the new set. Al Primo, who created the "Eyewitness News" format at KYW-TV back in 1965, delivered sharp criticism of what he felt was "a product that was generated solely by research and implemented by people who don't know anything about the news business" and "the most disjointed presentation [of a newscast] that I have ever seen in my life". Land responded to Primo's scathing remarks by comparing the format to the "Al Schottelkotte News", a longtime staple of WCPO-TV in Cincinnati, for which he'd been a reporter: "[The Al Schottelkotte News] was very nontraditional, but jampacked with information."

The new anchor team was mostly made up of talent from out of town (Keith Cate, the first anchor to be seen on the new WIAT, jumped from being the main anchor at WMAR-TV in Baltimore; his reaction to the fast-paced news style was, according to him, "This looks like 'Headline News' gone local"), except for the two-person sports team. Sports director Paul Finebaum's established popularity from his highly-opinionated column in the Birmingham Post-Herald and radio show on WERC sparked some interest from sports fans. However, his sportscasts were often seen as incomplete since he had only two minutes to convey the day's sports. Smith, the only holdover from the old WBMG, left the station after a few months.

The timing was chosen for a reason. The Tuscaloosa and Anniston areas, which had been broken off as separate markets in the 1980s, were merged back into the Birmingham market as the result of the 1996 merger of WCFT, WJSU, and WBMA-LP into Birmingham's ABC affiliate, causing it to jump 12 spots on the list of Nielsen markets (from 51 to 39). At the same time, Nielsen converted Birmingham to a metered market in the fall of 1998 for ratings purposes.

Logo Used from 2007 to 2010

Even with the time constraints, WIAT was seen as making a more credible effort at news than ever before. Ratings increased immediately (for the 10 p.m. news, to a 7 share in February from a 1/3 in 1997, partly due to the Winter Olympics) but were still not enough to overtake the competition. Ratings also increased once Birmingham became a metered market, moving to 3 and 4 shares most nights early in the fall of 1998. However, that year the station received its first two Emmy Awards in station history. The station later updated its image to become "News 42". It also began adding reporters, and gradually eased its strict time limits on story lengths.

In 2003, Bill Ballard, who took over as President and General Manager, created a new path for the station which included numerous changes such as stronger programming like Dr. Phil, Jeopardy!, Entertainment Tonight, and a much more aggressive approach to news coverage. The moves which were implemented have dramatically altered the landscape of Central Alabama television. In recent years, its newscasts have waged a spirited battle for first place. The station stopped using the reference to the call letters WIAT & It’s About Time, instead concentrating on establishing the stations association with CBS and guiding the news department towards more in depth investigative reporting.

In April 2006, Media General bought four NBC owned and operated stations, including WVTM. Since the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) does not allow one company to own two of the four largest stations in a single market, Media General opted to keep the then higher-rated WVTM and sell WIAT to New Vision Television. On August 2, 2006, New Vision Television, LLC announced its purchase of WIAT and sister station KIMT in Mason City, Iowa for $35 million. The sale was finalized on October 12, 2006.

WIAT has seen some of the largest ratings gains in its history since the sale to New Vision, posting higher late news ratings than WVTM since 2006. GM Bill Ballard brought in a seasoned News Director who quickly hired veterans Ken Lass from WVTM and Mark Prater, formerly the understudy of WBMA’s James Spann.

WIAT’s days as the weakest CBS affiliate in the country ended in 2006. WIAT is now considered one of the stronger CBS affiliates in the nation. Additionally, CBS' broadcasts of Southeastern Conference football garner higher ratings on WIAT than anywhere else in the nation. Alabama & Auburn games typically deliver higher ratings on WIAT than the Super Bowl when it airs on the competition.

On May 7, 2012, LIN TV Corporation announced that it will acquire the New Vision Television station group, including WIAT, for $330.4 million and the assumption of $12 million in debt. On October 2, the FCC approved the proposed sale to LIN TV. The transaction closed that October 12, resulting in WIAT becoming an intrastate sister station to Mobile's Fox affiliate WALA-TV and Gulf Shores' CW affiliate WFNA, both of which had been purchased by LIN from Emmis Communications seven years before.

News operation

Currently, WIAT broadcasts a total of 22 hours of local newscasts each week (with 4 hours on weekdays and 1 hour each on weekends). Unlike most CBS affiliates in the Central Time Zone, WIAT does not air local news during the weekday noon timeslot.

On April 9, 2010, WIAT began broadcasting its local newscasts in High Definition, making WIAT the third station in the Birmingham-Tuscaloosa-Anniston market after WVTM and WBRC to do so. The news set and the graphics were also redesigned in the transition to HD. In an effort to upgrade the stations on air look, the station received permission to utilize the graphics used by the CBS owned & operated stations. For the first time ever, a television station in Alabama had the look and feel of a major market television station.

Awards

WIAT has won many awards in recent history and in 2007 and 2008, WIAT won more Alabama Broadcasters Association Awards than any other station, as well as numerous Associated Press Awards. In 2010 WIAT was awarded Alabama Television Station of the year by the Alabama broadcasters Association. The station won the award again in 2012 being the only Alabama television station to win the award twice. Also in 2012 the station won more awards than in any other year in station history including nine regional Edward R. Murrow awards, more than any other station in the country. These awards include:

Alabama Broadcasters Association Awards (ABBYs)

• Best News Anchor: Sherri Jackson.
• Best Local Programming: “Deadly Deception” (Investigative news documentary.)
• Television Station of the Year (2010 & 2012): CBS 42

Alabama Associated Press Awards

• Best Feature: Stephanie Salvatore.
• Best Sports Anchor: Jim Dunaway.
• Best Reporter: Chris Womack.
• Best Documentary: Deadly Deception
• Breaking News Coverage: April 27 tornadoes

Regional Edward R. Murrow Awards

• Overall Excellence
• Best Newscast
• Best Breaking News Coverage: April Tornado Coverage
• Best Continuing Coverage: April Tornado Coverage
• Best Investigative Reporting: “Deadly Deception”
• Best News Series: “Concussion Awareness: Protecting Young Minds”
• Best Reporting Hard News: “A Personal Storm”
• Best Soft News Story: “Womack Vs. Wilder”
• Best Website: www.cbs42.com

National Association of Black Journalists Salute to Excellence

• Best Documentary: “Deadly Deception”

Green Eyeshade Award (11 State Regional Competition by SPJ)

• Second Place Large Market TV documentary: “Deadly Deception”

News/station presentation

Newscast titles

• 42 News (1965-1974 and 1992–1997)
• 42 NewsPlus (1974–1980)
• TV-42 News (1980-1982)
• Metro News (1982–1987)
• Action News Birmingham 42 (1987–1991)
• Action News 42 (1991-1992)
• 42 Daily News (1998–2004)
• News 42 (2004–2007)
• CBS 42 News (2007–present)

Station slogans

• "The Best In View: Channel 42" (mid 1970s)
• "Looking Better Than Ever" (1980s)
• "Reach for the Stars on TV-42" (1981-1982)
• "We've Got The Touch, You and 42" (1983-1984)
• "You and 42, We've Got the Touch (1984-1985)
• "We've Got the Touch on 42" (1985-1986)
• "Share the Spirit on 42" (1986-1987)
• "42 Spirit, oh yes" (1987-1988)
• "You Can Feel It on 42" (1988-1989)
• "Get Ready for 42" (1989-1991)
• "Birmingham's News for the 1990s" (1990–1992)
• "The Look of Birmingham is 42" (1991-1992)
• "This is CBS, on 42" (1992-1994)
• "The Look of Birmingham" (1992–1995)
• "42, It's All Right Here" (1993-1994)
• "I am WBMG 42 People" (1994-1995)
• "You're on WBMG 42" (1995-1996)
• "Coverage You Can Count On" (1996–1997)
• "Welcome Home to a 42 Night" (1996-1997)
• "The Address is CBS 42, Welcome Home (1998-1999)
• "It's About Time" (1998–2007)
• "CBS 42, It's All Here (2001-2003)
• "The Names You Know... The Experience You Trust!" (2009–2012)
• "Only CBS 42, Only CBS" (2009–present)
• "Alabama's Television Station of the Year" (2012–present)

News team

Current on-air staff

Anchors

• Sherri Jackson - Weeknights at 5:00, 6:00 and 10:00 p.m.
• Trent Butler - Weeknights at 5:00, 6:00 and 10:00 p.m.
• Gina Redmond - Weekday mornings on Wake Up Alabama (4:30-7:00 a.m.)
• Stephen Hauck - Weekday mornings Wake Up Alabama (4:30-7:00 a.m.)
• Cynthia Gould - Weekends; also Executive Producer of Special Projects
• Shanisty Myers - Weekends

CBS 42 Weather

• Gene Norman (AMS Certified Broadcast Meteorologist Seal of Approval) - chief meteorologist; weeknights at 5:00, 6:00 and 10:00 p.m.
• Mark Prater (AMS and NWA Seals of Approval); weekday mornings on Wake Up Alabama (4:30-7:00 a.m.)
• Ted McInerney (member, AMS; member, NWA) - meteorologist; Weekends

Sports Team

• Jim Dunaway - Sports Anchor;
• Patrick Claybon - Sports Director
• Lauren Sisler - Sports Anchor/Reporter
• Andrew Zow - Sports Reporter
• Brad Radice - Sports Anchor/Reporter

Reporters

• Melissa Crabtree - Jasper bureau reporter/Photojournalist
• Sonya DiCarlo – Special projects/Investigative Reporter
• Leigh (Kim) Garner - Tuscaloosa bureau reporter
• Rick Jackson - Weekday Morning Reporter/Photojournalist
• Mike McClanahan - General Assignment Reporter/Photojournalist
• Kaitlin McCulley - general assignment and health reporter
• Phillip Ohnemus - General Assignment Reporter/Photojournalist
• Scott Packard - General Assignment Reporter/Photojournalist
• Al Ratcliffe - General Assignment Reporter/Photojournalist
• Tiffany Westry - General Assignment Reporter/Photojournalist
• Chris Womack - General Assignment Reporter/Photojournalist

Former on-air staff

• Fred Barnhill - weekday evenings meteorologist (1991-1994)
• Doug Bell - weeknights sports anchor (1987-1997; the husband of ABC 33/40 news anchor Brenda Ladun now a freelance sports journalist)
• Sarah Black - weekend meteorologist (2004-2007)
• Bill Bolen - anchor (1965-1969; retired from WBRC in January 2010)
• Declan Cannon - meteorologist (1998-2004; currently married to former meteorologist Bonnie McLaughlin)
• Dale Cardwell - investigator reporter (1984–1987)
• Valorie Carter (Lawson) - weekend anchor (1996-1997; now at WSFA in Montgomery)
• Keith Cate - weekday evening news anchor (1998-2000; now at WFLA-TV in Tampa)
• Tim Coleman - meteorologist (2001-2004; now at WBRC)
• Ken Dailey - weekend meteorologist (1996-1997)
• Don Davis - Weather Anchor/News Reporter (1988-1989)
• David Neal - weekend meteorologist (2008-2010; now the husband of WVTM-TV news anchor Andrea Lindenberg)
• Hank Erwin - anchor (late 1970s-early 1980s; later became a news reporter on WYDE, formerly a member of the Alabama State Legislature)
• Julie Golden - weekday meteorologist (1988-1991)
• Ryan Goswick - fill-in meteorologist (2001-2002; now at The Weather Channel in Atlanta)
• Mickey Ferguson - weekend evening news anchor (1989-1992; now meteorologist at WBRC)
• Paul Finebaum - sports director (1998–2001; currently hosting syndicated sports talk show based at WJOX)
• Richard Jacks - weekend meteorologist (1997; now at WVTM-TV)
• Melony Johnson - weekday evenings anchor (1993-1997)
• Lily Jang - anchor/reporter (1998-2000; now at KHOU-TV in Houston)
• David Lamb - news anchor (1999-2008; now the co-host of Daytime Alabama at WVTM-TV)
• Tim Lennox - Southern Exposure and Meteorologist (1995-1998; now at WAKA-TV in Montgomery)
• Andrea Lindenberg - weekend evening anchor (1989-1993; the wife of former meteorologist David Neal now at WVTM-TV)
• Bonnie McLaughlin Cannon - meteorologist (1998-2004; currently married to former meteorologist Declan Cannon)
• Myke Motley - weather anchor/news anchor (1998-2000; deceased)
• Kate Mundy - weekend evening news anchor (2004-2007; last at KATC (TV) in Layfayette)
• Bill Murray - weekday evenings meteorologist (1991-1996)
• Richard Ortner - Chief Meteorologist (1996-1998)
• Paul Ossmann - weekday evening meteorologist (1986-1988; now at WGCL-TV in Atlanta)
• Davis Sawyer - Chief Meteorologist/News Anchor (2004-2009; now at WNCT-TV in Greenville)
• Chris Schauble - weekday evening news anchor (1996-1997; now at KTLA in Los Angeles)
• Ben Smith - meteorologist (2001-2003; now at WHNT-TV in Huntsville)
• Sam Smith - weekend sports anchor (1996-1998)

Transmitter

The WIAT-TV Tower is a 365.8 meter high guyed mast, located at 30°41'17.0" N and 87°47'54.0" W. The WIAT-TV Tower was built in 1974.

• http://www.skyscraperpage.com/diagrams/?b17269
• Listing 1059778 in the U.S. Federal Communications Commission (FCC) Antenna Structure Registration database

External links

• WIAT Homepage
• Birmingham Rewound -- classic TV
• Query the FCC's TV station database for WIAT
• BIAfn's Media Web Database -- Information on WIAT-TV
• Program Information for WIAT at TitanTV.com