WPGA-TV
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| WPGA-TV | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Perry/Macon, Georgia | |
| Branding | WPGA-TV, ABC Macon |
| Channels | |
| Subchannels | 58.1 ABC |
| Affiliations | ABC |
| Owner | Register Communications (Radio Perry, Inc.) |
| First air date | March 1, 1995 |
| Call letters’ meaning | Perry, GeorgiA (after the radio station) |
| Former channel number(s) | Analog: 58 (1995-2009) |
| Former affiliations | Fox (1995) |
| Transmitter Power | 1000 kW |
| Height | 246 m |
| Facility ID | 54728 |
| Transmitter Coordinates | 32°45′4.3″N 83°33′26.7″W / 32.751194°N 83.557417°W |
| Website | www.wpga58.com |
WPGA-TV is the ABC television affiliate station serving Macon, Georgia and the Middle Georgia region. It broadcasts digitally on UHF channel 32. The transmitter for WPGA is located in Macon.
WPGA-TV is locally owned by Register Communications, owners of longtime area radio stations WPGA AM "News Talk Radio" and WPGA-FM "Mix 100.9" (formerly Magic 101, an R&B station). The radio stations were originally based in, and still licensed to, Perry (which is also the city of license for WPGA-TV). All of Register Communications' broadcast properties are based in studios on Forsyth Street in downtown Macon.
Contents |
[edit] History
WPGA started in March 1995 as the Macon area's first Fox affiliate. Before WPGA-TV began, the Macon area could only receive Fox network programing via a local cable station or via Atlanta's Fox affiliates, first WATL, and later WAGA. When Fox began airing NFL games in the early 1990s, the football game broadcasts were seen on ABC affiliate WGXA until WPGA arrived.
WPGA's Fox affiliation lasted only through the remainder of 1995; on New Year's Day 1996, WGXA and WPGA swapped affiliations, with WGXA taking the Fox affiliation, and WPGA becoming an ABC affiliate.
[edit] Newscasts
WPGA has made some attempts to offer news programs. First, there were short morning and evening News Briefs featuring video narrated by former WCWB (later WMGT-TV), WMAZ-TV, and WGXA news anchor Ron Wildman. Later, the station began to offer a full newscast in June 2001[1], anchored by former WMAZ anchor Tina Hicks. These newscasts aired weeknights at 6:30 and 11 p.m., pushing ABC World News Tonight to 7 p.m. However, due to inadequate sales/promotional strategies, personnel and leadership, 58 News was unsuccessful, and was dropped in 2002. Afterwards, WPGA offered a daily sports news program called the 58 Sports Show; because of low revenue, this was eventually dropped as well.
In April 2006, WPGA-TV and WPGA-FM began airing (as a simulcast) the community-affairs program Good Morning Middle Georgia. It was hosted by WPGA-FM program director and morning air personality Stephen B. The guest list was wide-ranging, spotlighting many important figures throughout middle Georgia and surrounding areas. Statewide and nationally-known guests had also appeared on Good Morning Middle Georgia. The program ended in late August 2008, when WPGA-TV and WPGA-FM entered into a partnership with The Telegraph for a new morning news/talk program, Kenny B and Charles E, Your Mix in the Morning. As a result, on September 2, 2008, channel 58 began airing a live simulcast of the 6 a.m. hour of the program, which is aired on WPGA-FM from 6 a.m.-9 a.m. on weekdays. The Telegraph's website, Macon.com, hosts its podcast.
On July 23, 2007, WPGA began airing a new newscast titled ABC Macon News, produced by the Independent News Network in Davenport, Iowa; this broadcast aired Monday through Friday at 7 p.m. and 11 p.m. (though the latter broadcast was subsequently dropped for economic reasons[1]). Also around the same time this newscast launched, WPGA-TV changed its on-air branding from "ABC58" to "ABC Macon".
George Jobin, Claire Simms and Matt Odom reported on the area's high school football highlights on The Hilight Zone Friday nights at 11:20 p.m. during the 2007 season; the program did not return in 2008.
Former WMAC morning air personality Jami G. at one point anchored morning news updates for WPGA at 7:56 and 8:56; in late 2008, she was relieved of her duties.
Reporter Claire Simms presented a weekly report every Monday night at 7 and 11 called The Freedom Report. The series highlighted a different aspect of Robins Air Force Base every week. It began in December 2007 and ended abruptly after the June 23, 2008 broadcast. The Base newspaper featured the report in a print story on January 25, 2008[2].
In a report in The Telegraph, it was announced that Independent News Network filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy on December 31, 2008, and ended all news productions, including those for WPGA, by January 9, 2009.[1] Most of INN's accounts were sold to another media company, LMG, Inc., part of Fusion Communications, also of Davenport, Iowa. In the transfer, INN terminated 12 of its staff of 40, and kept its client stations, except for WPGA-TV.
[edit] Digital television
On February 17, WPGA-TV terminated its analog signal on channel 58 at approximately 12 p.m. and currently broadcasts its digital signal on channel 32.[3]
[edit] Current Personalities
[edit] Morning Radio Show
- Kenny Burgamy, Morning Radio Host
- Charles E. Richardson, Morning Radio Host
- Stephen B, Announcer/Producer
- Liz Fabian, Morning News Reader
- Coach Thom Mead, Morning Sports Anchor
[edit] Former Personalities
- Miranda Crissinger, Reporter (now Anchor at WFXL-Albany)
- Bruce Layman, News Director (now at WTAP-Parkersburg, WV)
- Sara Walsh (now at WUSA-Washington, D.C.)
- Julie Wunder, (now at WLOS-Asheville, NC)
- Tina Hicks, Anchor 2001
- Ron Wildman, News Director 1996-2000
- Frank Sulkowski, Sports 2001-2003
- Hugh Zeitlin, Sports
- Kerry Phillips, Anchor 2007
- Greg Wilson, Anchor 2007-2008
- Libby Allison, Anchor 2007-2008
- Susie Martin, Meteorologist 2007-2008
- John Beard, 11 pm Anchor 2007-2008
- Jeremy Moss, Sports 2007-2008
- Sunya Walls, 11 pm Anchor 2008
- Kurt Liske, Sports 2007
- Mark Prater, Chief Meteorologist 2007-2008, 11:00pm (now at WIAT-Birmingham)
- Jonathan Swanson, Production Manager 2007-2008 (now at WMGT-Macon)
- Matthew Odom, Sports Reporter/Hilight Zone Co-Anchor 2007-2008(now at Mercer University Sports Communications)
- George Jobin ,Hilight Zone Co-Anchor (only for 2007 season, now continues career at Georgia Public Broadcasting)
- Allen Lincoln, Reporter/Photographer 2007-2008 (now at 13WMAZ-Macon)
- Claire Simms, Managing Editor/Reporter/Hilight Zone Co-Anchor 2007-2008(now at WECT-Wilmington)
- Nathan O'Leary, News/Sports Anchor 2008
- Rachel Duddles, Reporter/Videographer 2007-2008
- Alex Mason, Videographer 2007
- Hannah Marney, Web Director/ Assignment Editor 2007-2008
- Em Fergusson, Assignment Editor 2007
- Jace Yeomans, Videographer 2007
- Kristen Duffy, Radio Disney 2007-2008
- Emily Hill, Intern 2007
- Meghan Mitchell, Intern 2008
- Eric Bessman, Web Director 2007
- Jim Hysell, Intern 2007
- John Rodriguez ,Sales Manager 2007-2008(now at Cumulus Broadcasting)
- Tanya Edge, Sales Executive 2007(now at Cumulus Broadcasting)
- Jane Smith, Sales Executive 2007-2008
- Randy Sutton, Sales Executive 2007-2008
- Renie Cordell, Sales Executive 2008
- Jami Gaudet, Morning Anchor, Reporter 2007-2008
- Eric Lee, Reporter/Videographer/Interim Morning Anchor 2007-2009
- Dick Birdman Byrd, News Director 2007-2009
- William Moreland, Reporter/Videgrapher 2007-2009
- Tori Degraw, Sales Executive 2008-2009
- Jessica James, Internet 2008
[edit] References
- ^ a b c Macon Telegraph: "Future of Macon TV station’s nightly newscast uncertain", 1/5/2009.
- ^ http://www.robins.af.mil/news/story.asp?id=123083793"
- ^ http://www.macon.com/102/story/613036.html
[edit] External links
- [http://www.macon.tv/ ABC Macon Website}}
- [http://web.archive.org/web/20080117104905/http://www.macon.tv/
- Query the FCC's TV station database for WPGA
- BIAfn's Media Web Database -- Information on WPGA-TV
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