WSB-TV

WSB-TV

Atlanta, Georgia
Branding	WSB-TV, Channel 2 (general) Channel 2 Action News (newscasts)
Slogan	Coverage You Can Count On
Channels	Digital: 39 (UHF) Virtual: 2 (PSIP)
Subchannels	2.1 - ABC (720p) 2.2 - Me-TV (480i)
Translators	31 (2.5/6) Athens 46 (2.7/8) Gainesville 17 {permit} Newnan 14 (application) Rome
Affiliations	ABC
Owner	Cox Media Group (Georgia Television, LLC)
First air date	September 29, 1948 (1948-09-29)
Call letters' meaning	"Welcome South, Brother" (from AM sister station)
Sister station(s)	WALR-FM, WSB, WSB-FM, WSBB-FM, WSRV
Former channel number(s)	Analog: 8 (VHF, 1948-1950) 2 (VHF, 1950-2009)
Former affiliations	NBC (1948-1980)
Transmitter power	1000 kW
Height	316 m (1,037 ft)
Facility ID	23960
Transmitter coordinates	33°45′51″N 84°21′42″W
Licensing authority	FCC
Public license information:	Profile CDBS
Website	www.wsbtv.com

WSB-TV, channel 2, is a television station located in Atlanta, Georgia, USA. Affiliated with the ABC television network, it is the flagship television property of the locally-based Cox Media Group. WSB-TV's studios and offices are located on West Peachtree Street in Midtown Atlanta, and its transmission tower borders the city's Poncey-Highland and Old Fourth Ward neighborhoods.

WSB-TV is one of several flagship properties of Atlanta-based Cox Enterprises, which has owned the station since its inception. Cox also owns sister radio stations WSB (750 AM), WSB-FM (98.5 FM), WSBB-FM (95.5 FM), WSRV (97.1 FM), and WALR-FM (104.1 FM), and publishes The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.

History

Early history

WSB-TV first began broadcasting on September 29, 1948. It is the second-oldest station south of Washington, D.C.; only Richmond, Virginia's WTVR-TV (channel 6) is older. James M. Cox, publisher of The Atlanta Journal, established the station; he also owned WSB radio (AM 750 and 104.5 FM, now on 98.5 FM). Cox owned WSB AM-FM-TV under the banner of Miami Valley Broadcasting Inc., which later changed its name to the current Cox Enterprises.

WSB-TV originally broadcast on channel 8. At that time, its present channel 2 allocation was licensed to the Journal's rival newspaper The Atlanta Constitution, who had plans to establish WCON-TV there. In 1950, the two newspapers merged. At the time, the Federal Communications Commission did not allow one entity to own two television stations in the same market. As a result, WCON-TV and WSB-TV merged, operating under WSB-TV's license but using the stronger channel 2. The channel 8 allocation was eventually given to WLWA as an ABC affiliate. When that station moved to channel 11 in 1953, channel 8 was reserved as non-commercial educational by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), and is now WGTV, the flagship TV station of Georgia Public Broadcasting.

In 1955, the WSB stations moved into the noted "White Columns" building, designed and built according to the Colonial Revival style, a defining characteristic of Atlanta architecture. They would remain there for 43 years, until a much more modernist concrete and glass facility was built adjacent to it (on the same property) in 1998. The new building, which has been dubbed "Digital White Columns" by some, is located just off Atlanta's famed Peachtree Street, on the dead-end northern portion of West Peachtree Street which is actually east of Peachtree Street. This is near the Brookwood Hills area, and just east of the "Brookwood split," the well-known highway interchange where the Downtown Connector splits into Interstates 75 and 85 on the north end. The older building was razed shortly after the new building was occupied. The original columns that stood on the front portico of the old building were placed in a garden area alongside the new building. Brand new white columns have been placed inside the glass-enclosed lobby of the newer building. WSB-TV is located less than one block south of the building formerly utilized by WXIA when that station moved its operations to WATL's studios in 2008.

WSB-TV was originally a primary NBC affiliate, owing to its radio sister's long affiliation with NBC Radio. It also carried some ABC programming (from 1949, shared with WAGA-TV, channel 5) until WLWA-TV (channel 8, now WXIA-TV, channel 11) signed on in 1951.

The station was the original home to the relocated Atlanta Braves baseball team, carrying the games from 1966 to 1972 until the Braves moved to their current longtime home of what is now WPCH-TV, in 1973. Its sister AM station was the longtime radio flagship of the Braves, carrying the broadcasts for a total of 38 of the 46 years that the franchise has been in Atlanta, dating back to 1966. Ernie Johnson, Sr., a former Braves pitcher and father of his namesake Turner Sports broadcaster, with future Hall of Fame announcer Milo Hamilton (who simultaneously pulled double-duty anchoring Channel 2's sportscasts during this time) were the main announcers for what was then the largest television network in baseball.

In 1972, the station aired the name of a murdered rape victim in violation of Georgia's shield law. The station successfully overturned the law before the U.S. Supreme Court in Cox Broadcasting Corp. v. Cohn.

As an ABC affiliate

ABC was the highest-rated network for most of the late 1970s and, at that time, was looking for stronger affiliates across the country, including Atlanta. ABC's longtime Atlanta outlet, WXIA, frequently traded second place with WAGA. However, WSB-TV was the far-and-away market leader despite being affiliated with last-place NBC. So during the summer of 1980, both stations conducted an experiment unusual for a large market: WXIA aired NBC daytime shows in the morning and ABC daytime shows in the afternoon, while WSB aired ABC shows in the morning and NBC shows in the afternoons. By the time it was over in September 1980, WSB-TV finally swapped affiliations with WXIA, and joined ABC. In those pre-cable days, ABC programs were telecast on Channel 11 in Atlanta, and later Channel 6 when cable TV came to Atlanta.

On March 12, 2011, WSB-TV and WGCL-TV turned on their ATSC-M/H signals for the first time, becoming the first stations in the Atlanta area to offer Mobile DTV broadcasts.

Digital television

WSB-DT went on the air on April 17, 1998, making it one of the first regular-service digital TV stations in the country. (The -DT suffix is not mandated by the FCC, thus it is WSB-TV even for digital.)

Digital channels

Channel	Video	Aspect	PSIP Short Name	Programming
2.1 / 2.5 / 2.7	720p	16:9	WSB-HD	Main WSB-TV programming / ABC
2.2 / 2.6 / 2.8	480i	4:3	WSB-SD	Me-TV

The over-the-air digital subchannel 2.2 started carrying the Retro Television Network on January 28, 2008. Prior to this, the channel was blank, or later with a small station ID in the lower corner. It was replaced with Me-TV, beginning at 4:00 a.m. on June 1, 2011 starting with an episode of Rawhide.

WSB-TV also has a mobile DTV feed of subchannel 2.1, labelled "WSB MH", broadcasting at 1.83 Mbit/s.

Analog-to-digital conversion

Don McClellan, celebrating 50 years at the station, shut down its analog signal for the last time on June 12, 2009 at 12:30 PM, live from the station's transmitter room on the noon newscast, as part of the DTV transition in the United States. The station permanently remained on digital channel 39. It uses PSIP to display WSB-TV's virtual channel as 2 on digital television receivers.

During late August and into September 2009, the station removed its analog TV antenna from the top of the tower, and moved its side-mounted digital antenna up from its previous lower location on the tower.

Broadcast translators

In March 2009, the station filed applications for two digital fill-in broadcast translators, due to expected loss of signal toward the east and northeast because of the digital transition, and the shortcomings of the ATSC standard. One is on channel 46, which was vacated by analog WGCL-TV on June 26 after two extra weeks as an analog nightlight station. It is located on the same radio tower as Cox's WSRV FM and WSBB-FM (34°7′32″N 83°51′32″W), having Gainesville, Georgia as its city of license, but reaching as far into the north-northeastern Atlanta suburbs as Lilburn with 5000 watts. The other is for channel 31, licensed to serve Athens, Georgia, but located only about halfway to there from Atlanta on a tower southwest of Winder (32°55′51″N 83°47′0″W), and again reaching as far west as Lilburn with 9000 watts. WSB-TV requested special temporary authority to begin operating these stations immediately, pending approval of its regular applications.

Most of both stations' broadcast range overlaps with each other, and are almost entirely within the predicted coverage area of the main station, however distributed transmission (on-channel boosters) will not be used. The translators are intended to overcome the terrain obstructions caused by Stone Mountain to the east of the WSB transmitter, and were in operation by January 2011. The Athens station uses virtual channels 2.5 and 2.6 instead of 2.1 and 2.2, while the Gainesville station uses 2.7 and 2.8. This is so that viewers have their choice of whichever station is coming in more clearly at a given time. (Certain ATSC tuners may have trouble with two stations using the same virtual channel, and even if not, the user would have to enter the channel number and press "channel-up" or "channel-down" buttons to access the alternates, which would not be separately labeled or identified by the tuner.) All have the same callsign WSB-TV.

In late June 2009, the station also applied for a translator on channel 14 just southwest of Rome, vacated by analog WPXA TV. This would cover a significant portion of northwest Georgia with only 1000 watts, from the same tower as WQTU FM 102.3 and WSRM FM 93.5 (34°14′2″N 85°13′50″W), and the same site as WGPB FM 97.7, W212AR FM 90.3, and W215BA FM 90.9.[5] There is no request for STA with this station however, and as of September 2011 it is still listed as only an application. In October 2010, WSB-TV applied for and later received a construction permit for another translator southwest of Atlanta in Newnan on channel 17, which was vacated by analog WPCH-TV. This station will be 10,000 watts, co-located on the same tower as Cox-owned WALR-FM 104.1 (33°24′43″N 84°50′3″W), and less than a quarter mile (400m) west of another tower holding WBZY FM 105.3 (not owned by Cox).[6]

News operations

WSB nightly newscast open

Currently, WSB-TV broadcasts a total of 41 hours of local newscasts every week (with six hours on weekdays and Sundays, and five hours on Saturdays); as such, WSB-TV is one of the few Big Three network affiliates to offer more than 35 hours of local news content each week and one of the few Big Three affiliates to carry a midday newscast on weekends. In addition, WSB-TV's weekend newscast output is larger than that of Fox owned-and-operated station WAGA (channel 5), which offers a larger overall weekly (and weekday) newscast output than WSB-TV. Appropriately for a station with roots in a newspaper, WSB-TV has a strong TV news tradition. It has led the news TV ratings in Atlanta for as long as records have been kept.

One factor behind its dominance is talent continuity. Many of the station's personalities have been on the air for 15 years or more. Monica Pearson (known as Monica Kaufman until 2005) had been the station's top anchorwoman since 1975, and was one of the first African-American female anchors in the South. Since 1994, her anchor desk partner had been John Pruitt, who started at Channel 2 in 1973 before beginning a 16-year run at WXIA. Glenn Burns has been the main weatherman since 1981. Chuck Dowdle (previously on TV in Miami) served as sports director from 1985 until his December 2009 retirement. Pearson, Pruitt, Burns and Dowdle had been together since Pruitt's return to Channel 2 in 1994 — longer than any news team in Atlanta. On December 17, 2010, Pruitt retired after 46 years in the business, as he anchored his final 6PM newscast. Two and a half years later, Pearson retired after 37 years in the business, anchoring her final 6PM newscast on July 25, 2012.

WSB-TV debuted local newscasts in high definition during its noon broadcast on September 27, 2006. It was the second in the Atlanta market to do so, behind WXIA-TV. It is also the second Cox station behind WFTV in Orlando to switch to HD. With the switch to HD came a new HD set and HD graphics from Giant Octopus, which are similar to those seen on WFTV.

In mid-November 2009, reporter Tom Jones and a cameraman escaped serious injury when the telescoping radio mast of their electronic news-gathering van (holding a microwave TV antenna for the remote pickup unit used for outside broadcasting) contacted 115-kilovolt high-voltage powerlines while leaving the Fulton County Jail. Georgia Power staff were surprised anyone survived, but the two were treated for minor burns and smoke inhalation at Grady Memorial Hospital and released later in the day. The massive electric spark caused an explosion, left a crater underneath the van, arced to and broke a water main, and caused a brief power outage; the vehicle was a total loss.

In July 2010, WSB-TV expanded its weekday morning newscast to 2½ hours, with the start time moved to 4:30 a.m. It announced a news partnership with Telemundo affiliate WKTB-LD on August 23, 2010. On September 29, 2010 beginning with the noon newscast, WSB-TV fully switched its graphics package from the 2006 Giant Octopus graphics to a new graphics package. WSB had already been using this graphics package since late 2009 for its promos. It features a sleeker "2" logo, located in the bottom right hand corner that is not solid but gray (later changed to gold). The news ticker used during the morning newscasts is a similar design to the one on Charlotte sister station WSOC-TV. Coverage by 615 Music is still used as the station's news theme with the package, but now news opens feature an animated "News Chopper 2" flying across the screen while views of Downtown Atlanta are displayed in the background; the graphics still consist of blue and red colors.

On November 23, 2010, WSB-TV announced that it will debut an hour-long 4 p.m. newscast, that would replace Oprah when the daytime talk show ended its 25-year run; along with the additional newscast, WSB-TV announced that it will hire additional on-air and behind-the-scenes news staff members. The newscast debuted on May 26, 2011.

Out-of-market coverage

Unlike the co-owned Atlanta Journal-Constitution, WSB-TV has not abandoned service to outlying counties.

In northwest Georgia, it is carried in the counties covered by the Chattanooga DMA: Catoosa, Dade, Murray, Walker and Whitfield. WSB is also carried in the far northeast Georgia counties in the Greenville/Spartanburg/Asheville DMA in Elbert, Franklin, Hart and Stephens counties.

In central Georgia, WSB-TV is available to Cox Cable subscribers in the Macon area, although ABC programming is usually blacked out by another local ABC affiliate, WGXA-DT2. Given the long distance to Middle Georgia, it is likely that WSB-TV is uplinked to the AMC-10 TV satellite. WSB is also carried in Vidalia in the Savannah DMA.

In south Georgia (as far south as the Florida border), it is carried on Cox Cable providers due to a historical lack of an ABC affiliate in the Albany media market covering southwest Georgia. Now that ABC programming is carried on 10.2 from WALB, the NBC affiliate in Albany, there are usually blacked out on syndicated programming. Given the long distance to South Georgia, it is likely that WSB-TV is uplinked to the AMC-10 TV satellite. Douglas in Coffee county also carries WSB for Charter Communications subscribers.

In western North Carolina it was previously carried in Murphy, Cherokee County, alongside WLOS, the ABC affiliate in Asheville, North Carolina.

News/station presentation

Newscast titles

• The Esso Reporter (1948–1959)
• Newsroom/WSB News (1959–1965)
• Channel 2 News (1965–1972)
• The World Tonight/24 Hours (11 p.m. newscast; 1965–1968 and 1968–1972)
• Channel 2 Action News (1972–present)

Station slogans

• Channel 2, Proud As A Peacock! (1979–1980)
• You and Me and Channel 2 (1980–1981)
• Now is the Time, Channel 2 is the Place (1981–1982)
• Come on Along with Channel 2 (1982–1983)
• That Special Feeling on Channel 2' (1983–1984)
• We're With You on Channel 2 (1984–1985)
• You'll Love Itt on Channel 2 (1985–1986)
• Together on Channel 2 (1986–1987)
• 2 Steps Ahead (1980–1983)
• Georgia's News Leader (1986–1994)
• Something's Happening on Channel 2 (1988-1990)
• Georgia's Watching WSB (1991-1992)
• Coverage You Can Count On (1991–present)
• If It's Georgia, It Must Be Channel 2 (1992-1993)
• Watched By More Georgia, Channel 2 ABC (1993-1995)
• Nobody Does It Like Channel 2 (1996-1997
• TV is Good on Channel 2 (1997-1998)
• Live, Local, Late-breaking (1998–present; used in news opens)
• We Love TV on Channel 2 (1998-1999)
• WSB-TV Channel 2, Start Here (2007-present)

On-air staff

Current on-air staff

From 7 January 2013:

Anchors

• Fred Blankenship - weekday mornings (4:30-7:00 a.m.) and weekdays at noon
• Linda Stouffer - weekday mornings (4:30-7:00 a.m.)
• Sophia Choi - weekend mornings (6:00-9:00 Saturdays and 7:00-11:00 a.m. Sundays) and weekends at noon
• Carol Sbarge - weekdays at noon (general assignment reporter for the 4:00, 5:00, and 6:00 p.m. newscasts)
• John Bachman - weekdays at 4:00 p.m.
• Erin Coleman - weekdays at 4:00 p.m.
• Justin Farmer - weeknights at 5:00, 6:00 and 11:00 p.m.
• Jovita Moore - weeknights at 5:00, 6:00 and 11:00 p.m.
• Craig Lucie - weekends at 6:00 and 11:00 p.m.
• Wendy Corona - weekends at 6:00 and 11:00 p.m.

Severe Weather Team 2

• Glenn Burns (AMS Certified Broadcast Meteorologist Seal of Approval) - chief meteorologist; weeknights at 4:00, 6:00 and 11:00 p.m.
• David Chandley (AMS Certified Broadcast Meteorologist Seal of Approval) - meteorologist; weekdays at 5:00 p.m.
• Karen Minton (AMS Seal of Approval) - meteorologist; weekday mornings (4:30-7:00 a.m.) and weekdays at noon
• Brad Nitz (AMS Certified Broadcast Meteorologist Seal of Approval) - meteorologist; weekend mornings (6:00-9:00 Saturdays and 7:00-11:00 a.m. Sundays) and weekends at noon, 6:00 and 11:00 p.m.

Sports team

• Zach Klein - sports director; weeknights at 4:00, 5:00, 6:00, and 11:00 p.m.
• Anthony Amey - sports anchor; weekends at 6:00 and 11:00 p.m.; also general sports reporter

Local program hosts

• Heather Catlin - host of Hot Topics; also multimedia journalist
• John Crow - Georgia Lottery emcee
• Rene Miller - Georgia Lottery emcee
• Jocelyn Dorsey - host of People 2 People; also community affairs director
• Chuck Dowdle - Bulldogs Game Week contributor/co-host
• John Pruitt - Georgia's Hidden Treasures and other special features
• John Bachman - Host of High Q

Triple Team Traffic

• Mark Arum - weekday mornings (4:30-7:00 a.m.)
• Captain Herb Emory - weekday mornings (4:30-7:00 a.m.)
• Doug Turnbull - weekday mornings (4:30-7:00 a.m.)
• TBD - weekend mornings (6:00-9:00 Saturdays and 7:00-11:00 a.m. Sundays)
• Ed Arnold - weekends at noon

Channel 2 Action News Bureaus

WSB-TV reporter Ross Cavitt in front of the CNN Center in the aftermath of the 2008 Atlanta tornado.

• Ross Cavitt - Cobb County Bureau Chief
• [7] Kerry-Kavanaugh - Gwinnett County Bureau Chief
• Mike Petchenik - North Fulton County Bureau Chief

Reporters

• Erica Byfield - general assignment reporter
• Aaron Diamant - general assignment reporter
• Amy Napier Viteri - general assignment reporter
• Shae Rozzi - general assignment reporter
• Diana Davis - general assignment reporter
• Jeff Dore - general assignment reporter
• Richard Elliot - general assignment reporter
• George Howell - general assignment reporter
• Dave Huddleston - general assignment reporter; also fill-in anchor
• Tom Jones - general assignment reporter
• Darryn Moore - general assignment reporter
• Eric Philips - general assignment reporter; also fill-in anchor
• Ryan Young - general assignment reporter
• Tom Regan - general assignment reporter; also fill-in anchor
• Tony Thomas - general assignment reporter
• Carl Willis - general assignment reporter
• Jason Durden - "NewsChopper 2" Reporter/Photographer - general assignment reporter
• Mark Winne - investigative reporter
• Jodie Fleischer - investigative reporter
• Richard Belcher - investigative reporter; also fill-in anchor
• Jim Strickland - consumer investigative reporter
• Clark Howard - consumer advisor; also hosts weekly consumer program on HLN
• Heather Catlin - multimedia journalist; also "Hot Topics" host
• Nelson Hicks - multimedia journalist
• Dr. Randy Martin - health reporter
• Lori Geary - Political reporter; also fill-in anchor

Past on-air staff

Name	Position at WSB	Years active	Whereabouts
Dan Atkinson	Meteorologist	early 1970s	Meteorologist, WSFA-TV in Montgomery, Alabama
Sandra Bookman WABC-TV bio	Weekend anchor/reporter	1988–1998	Weekend anchor/reporter at WABC-TV in New York.
Tom Brokaw	Anchor/reporter	1965–1966	Retired NBC Nightly News anchor; began his journalism career at WSB-TV
Steve Buckhantz	Sports anchor/reporter	Unknown	Play by play broadcaster for Washington Wizards
Dale Cardwell	Investigative reporter	1996–2007	2008 Democratic candidate for Georgia in the U.S. Senate, now has own consumer website called trustdale.com, [8][9]
Chris Clark	Reporter	1962–1965	Retired from WTVF-TV in Nashville
John Doyle	Meteorologist	Unknown	Retired from broadcasting; currently doing voiceovers, working part-time as bailiff at the Gwinnett County Courthouse
Ernie Johnson Jr.	Sports Anchor/Reporter	1982–1989	Turner Sports Broadcasting
Don Kennedy	Atlanta's "Officer Don" on WSB-TV's classic Popeye Club children's show	1957–1970	Prior to 1996, an owner of Atlanta radio station WKLS (96.1 FM); through July 22, 2009, owner, producer and host of the nationally syndicated "Big Band Jump", or "BBJ", on XM satellite radio.
Stu Klitenic	Sports Anchor/Reporter	1989–1996	Atlanta Braves Radio Network post-game anchor
Michael Marsh	General Assignment Reporter	1987–1994	now Weekend Evening Anchor at WBRZ-TV in Baton Rouge
Lynna Lai	General Assignment Reporter	1995–1997	Weekend Evening Anchor at WKYC-TV in Cleveland
Toni Neal	Traffic Reporter	2003–2005	Now at Microsoft
John Palmer	Anchor/Reporter	1960–1962	Retired from NBC News in 2002
Monica Pearson	Anchor/Reporter	1975-2012	Retired
Byron Pitts	General Assignment Reporter	1994–1996	CBS News
John Pruitt	Anchor	1973–1978; 1994–2010	Retired
Amanda Rosseter	Weekend morning anchor and weekday reporter	2006–2009	Media relations for St. Josephs Hospital
Jonathan Serrie	Reporter	1994–1999	Atlanta-based reporter for Fox News Channel
Hal Suit	Anchor/News Director	1948–1978	Former Republican candidate for Governor of Georgia in 1970 [10]
Ukee Washington	Sports Anchor/Reporter	Unknown	Morning/noon news anchor at KYW-TV
JaQuitta Williams	Anchor/Reporter	2004–2008	Anchor/Reporter, WGCL-TV

This film, television or video-related list is incomplete; you can help by expanding it with reliably sourced additions.

External links

• WSBTV.com - Official WSB-TV Website
• MeTVAtlanta.com - Official Me-TV Atlanta Website
• Query the FCC's TV station database for WSB-TV
• BIAfn's Media Web Database -- Information on WSB-TV