WSFA

WSFA

Montgomery/Dothan, Alabama
Branding	WSFA 12 News WSFA 12.2 (on DT2)
Slogan	Coverage. Community. Commitment.
Channels	Digital: 12 (VHF)
Subchannels	12.1 NBC 12.2 Bounce TV
Owner	Raycom Media (WSFA License Subsidiary, LLC)
First air date	December 25, 1954
Call letters' meaning	With the South's Finest Airport
Sister station(s)	WDFX-TV
Former callsigns	WSFA-TV (1954-1986)
Former channel number(s)	Analog: 12 (1954-2009) Digital: 14 (2002-2009)
Former affiliations	DT2: NBC Weather Plus (?-12/2008); local weather (12/2008-2/2010); RTV (2/2010-9/2011) DT3: RTV (?-12/31/2009) [DT3 silent since 12/31/2009]
Transmitter power	600 kW
Height	507 m
Facility ID	13993
Transmitter coordinates	31°58′28.6″N 86°9′44.2″W
Website	WSFA.com

WSFA is the NBC-affiliated television station for Central Alabama's Black Belt region licensed to Montgomery. It broadcasts a high definition digital signal on VHF channel 12 from a transmitter in Grady along the Montgomery and Pike County line. The station can also be seen on Knology and Charter channel 11. There is a high definition feed offered on Charter digital channel 711 and Knology digital channel 903. Owned by Raycom Media, it is one of two flagships of the company (along with CBS affiliate WBTV in Charlotte, North Carolina) and has studios on East Delano Avenue in Montgomery.

Syndicated programming on WSFA includes: Entertainment Tonight, Judge Joe Brown, Judge Judy, and The Insider. The station boasts one of the largest coverage areas in Alabama providing at least secondary coverage from the geographical center of the state to the Florida state line and from the Black Belt region to the Chattahoochee River bordering Georgia. WSFA is the default NBC affiliate for the Dothan market since that area has no affiliate of its own.

Digital programming

Logo for WSFA-DT2 during its affiliation with RTV.

WSFA also features a subchannel, WSFA-DT2, that is seen on over-the-air on channel 12.2 and is also on Knology digital channel 121. WSFA-DT2 airs programming from Bounce TV, an African American-oriented television network; Bounce TV programming on WSFA-DT2 began on September 26, 2011, and replaced an affiliation with the Retro Television Network (which had supplanted content from NBC Weather Plus a few years earlier). WSFA-DT2 also includes repeats of newscasts from the main channel, live local weather updates, syndicated programming, and broadcasts from Raycom Sports.

Channel	Name	Programming
12.1	WSFA HD	Main WSFA programming / NBC
12.2	WSFADT1	Bounce TV

History

The call letters S-F-A are an acronym for South's Finest Airport. They can be traced back to 1930 when Gordon Persons (later to become Governor of Alabama) opened the state's fourth radio station in Montgomery. This was located in what is now the Gunter Annex of Maxwell Air Force Base but was then Montgomery Regional Airport. Persons publicized the radio station with the call letters and slogan. WSFA (now WLWI) quickly became a landmark in Montgomery and was most famous in its early days for launching the career of country music legend Hank Williams, a native of nearby Georgiana, in the 1940s.

By the mid-1950s, the new medium of television was sweeping the nation and Persons won the construction permit for Montgomery's second television station on VHF channel 12. Ironically, this allocation was supposed to be occupied by Montgomery's first television station WCOV-TV. However, due to a delay in getting a transmitter for channel 12, WCOV was forced to move to UHF channel 20. On Christmas Day 1954, WSFA-TV aired its first broadcast. When the television studios were built, WSFA moved into the facility. In February 1955 just two months after going on-the-air, the radio and television stations were purchased by the Gaylord family's Oklahoma Publishing Company. At that time, WSFA-AM-TV was operated by a staff of 35. In 1956, the radio station was sold, changed its call letters to WHHY, and moved to a downtown location.

The television station, now operating apart from its former namesake radio partner, was sold again to the Broadcasting Company of the South from Columbia, South Carolina in 1959. A subsidiary of Liberty Life Insurance Company, the company renamed itself Cosmos Broadcasting Corporation in 1965. Later in the decade, Liberty reorganized itself as The Liberty Corporation with Cosmos and Liberty Life as its subsidiaries. WSFA was the area's only VHF station until 1985. In 1986, it dropped the -TV suffix. Liberty exited the insurance business in 2002 bringing the station directly under the Liberty banner. The company merged with Raycom Media in 2006. Since that company is headquartered in Montgomery, WSFA became the corporation's flagship station. However, with Raycom's 2008 purchase of Lincoln Financial Media's television stations, WSFA now shares flagship status with Charlotte's WBTV.

Tracing back from its humble beginnings as the upstart television arm of a local radio station, WSFA is still broadcasting from its original West Montgomery location. Several expansions of the Delano Avenue facility now provide room for a staff of more than one hundred and two large telecasting studios. It originally aired a digital signal on UHF channel 14. On June 12, 2009 for the final shutdown of analog television, WSFA reverted its digital signal back to its analog channel. WSFA-DT2 had been part of NBC Weather Plus but reverted to a local weather channel after the shut down of the national service in December 2008. On December 31, 2009, WSFA dropped its third digital subchannel, which carried RTV programming, in order to start beta testing of applications that would transmit its signal to mobile devices. On February 8, 2010, WSFA resumed RTV programming on its second digital subchannel, combined with weather updates and other shows; RTV was replaced on DT2 by Bounce TV on September 26, 2011, as part of Raycom's affiliation deal with that network.

News operation

News open weeknights at 5PM

WSFA's news department has long been one of the most respected in the South. As the only VHF station in town for 31 years, it has been the dominant news station in Montgomery for as long as records have been kept. The station has always devoted significant resources to its news department, resulting in a higher-quality product than conventional wisdom would suggest for a station in the 118th ranked market.

Not long after the Gaylord family bought the station, they dispatched Frank McGee (anchorman at company flagship WKY-TV now KFOR-TV) in Oklahoma City, to Montgomery as News Director. Under McGee, WSFA gained a national reputation for its coverage (fed periodically to the network) of local events in the Civil Rights Movement such as the Bus Boycott of 1955 involving Rosa Parks and the varied activities of Martin Luther King, Jr. during his pastorate at Dexter Avenue Baptist Church. McGee eventually joined NBC News as a correspondent and hosted Today from 1971 until his death in 1974. When Liberty bought WSFA in 1959, it saw the channel had already developed an image as a news-intensive station and began developing strong news departments at its other stations as well. Today, WSFA airs over thirty hours of local newscasts per week, far more than any station in Montgomery.

On January 15, 2007, it added an entertainment/lifestyle magazine-type program known as Alabama LIVE!. The show reflects on its slogan which is "Coverage. Community. Commitment." because there special features and interviews usually not conducted in traditional newscasts. Several guests appear on the show that airs weekday mornings at 11. WSFA established a news share agreement with Fox affiliate WCOV (owned by the Woods Communications Corporation) on January 7, 2008. This resulted in a 35 minute newscast being added on that channel weeknights at 9. It was known as Fox News at 9 because the broadcast was simulcasted on WSFA sister station and fellow Fox affiliate WDFX-TV in Dothan. A weekend half-hour edition began in Summer 2008.

On August 3, 2008 WSFA upgraded its newscasts to high definition level becoming the first station in Montgomery to do so. The news set and graphics were redesigned in the transition. Initially, the 9 p.m. shows were not included because they originated from an older secondary set at WSFA's studios. However in Spring 2010, those broadcasts began airing in HD with updated graphics separate from programs seen on WSFA. Since WDFX and WCOV both aired Fox News at 9, there was regional coverage provided by reporters based at WDFX's studios (referred to on-air as the Wiregrass Newsroom). After WCOV's contract with WSFA expired at the end of 2010, that station entered into a new agreement with CBS affiliate WAKA to produce a nightly prime time newscast at 9 covering Montgomery. On January 1, 2011, WSFA transitioned its prime-time show, renamed The News at 9, to its RTV digital subchannel. The format is mostly unchanged except for originating from WSFA's primary set. It continues to be simulcasted on WDFX.

WSFA 12 News added a Sunday morning newscast on October 12, 2008 called Today in Alabama: Sunday Special Edition.

On September 12, 2011 - in response to the Oprah Winfrey show leaving syndication - WSFA 12 News debuted a 4:00pm newscast titled "WSFA 12 News First at 4:00".

Alabama LIVE!',WSFA 12 News at Noon, "WSFA 12 News First at 4:00" and "WSFA 12 News at 5:00pm" are live-streamed to the station's official website, WSFA.COM. Other newscasts are withheld from online live-streaming due to rights restrictions, primarily from third-party sports content such as ESPN.

Raycom News Network WSFA is part of the Raycom News Network, a system designed to rapidly share information among Raycom's widespread group of television stations and websites. A regional network has developed among WSFA, Columbus/Phenix City's WTVM, Huntsville's WAFF, and Birmingham's WBRC in which stations share information, equipment such as satellite trucks or even reporters' stories. Between them, these four stations cover the state of Alabama. The four stations also comprise the Raycom Weather Network and the Raycom Alabama Weather Blog, where meteorologists from all four stations post forecasts and storm reports, as well as live feeds from all of the cameras that the four stations operate. The site also has live feeds of WTVM, WSFA, WBRC, and WAFF. The only Raycom station in Alabama not participating in the arrangement is WDFX-TV in the Dothan area, which receives its news programming from WSFA.

Newscast titles

• News Room With Frank McGee (1955–1956)
• WSFA-TV News (1956–1986)
• WSFA News 12 (1986-late 1990s)
• WSFA 12 News (late 1990s-present)

Station slogans

• "We Stand For America" (mid 1970s)
• "Alabama's NewsCenter" (early 1980s-1985)
• "Alabama's News Source" (1985–2003)
• "Coverage. Community. Commitment." (2003–present)
• "Where Team Meets Technology" (weather)
• "Breaking News FIRST on WSFA.com" (website)

Weekly Segments:

• WSFA 12 News Editorials – Vice President & GM Collin R. Gaston
• Class Act – Mondays at 5pm with WSFA 12 News Anchor Judd Davis
• Does it Work? - Tuesdays at 5pm with Meteorologist Jeff Jumper
• Cash for Kindness - Tuesdays at 10pm with WSFA 12 News Anchor Valorie Lawson
• Making a Difference - Wednesdays at 5pm with WSFA 12 News Reporter Bryan Henry
• Food For Thought – Thursdays at 5 & 10pm with WSFA 12 News Anchor Mark Bullock
• County Road 12 – Fridays at 6pm with WSFA 12 News Anchor Judd Davis
• Friday Night Football Fever – Fridays at 10:15 (during high school football season) with the WSFA 12 Sports team

Syndicated/Local Programming:

• Judge Judy - Weekedays at 1:30pm
• Judge Joe Brown - Weekdays at 2pm
• The Insider - Weekdays at 2:30pm, Sundays nights at 12:30am
• America Now - Weekdays at 3pm (Raycom Media-developed news magazine)
• Entertainment Tonight - Weeknights at 6:30pm, Saturdays nights at 12:05am
• Law Call - Sundays at Midnight (rebroadcast Monday nights at 9:30 on WSFA 12.2)
• Storm Stories - Weeknights at 9 on WSFA 12.2
• Inside Alabama's Legislature - Thursdays at 9:30pm on WSFA 12.2 (seasonally)
• Newsmakers - Thursdays at 9:30pm on WSFA 12.2
• On the Job - Tuesdays at 9:30pm on WSFA 12.2
• Visions - weekly on WSFA 12.2

Newscasts

Weekdays:

• Today in Alabama (5-7am)
• Alabama LIVE! (11am-12pm)
• WSFA 12 News at Noon (12-12:30pm)
• WSFA 12 News First at Four (4-5pm)
• WSFA 12 News at 5pm (5-5:30pm)
• WSFA 12 News at 6pm (6-6:30pm)
• The News at Nine (9-9:30pm)
• WSFA 12 News at 10 (10-10:35pm)

Saturdays:

• WSFA 12 News at 6 (6-7pm)
• The News at Nine (9-9:30pm)
• WSFA 12 News at 10 (10-10:30pm)

Sundays:

• Today in Alabama (9-9:30am)
• WSFA 12 News at 5 (5-5:30pm)
• The News at Nine (9-9:30pm)
• WSFA 12 News at 10 (10-11pm)

News team

News Anchors:-

• Tonya Terry - Weekdays, Today in Alabama, Alabama Live, & WSFA 12 News at Noon
• Judd Davis - Weekdays, Today in Alabama, Alabama Live, & WSFA 12 News at Noon
• Sally Pitts - Weekdays, WSFA 12 News First at 4
• Mark Bullock - Weeknights, WSFA 12 News First at 4, 5, & 9
• Bob Howell - Weeknights, WSFA 12 News First at 4 (4:30 edition), 6, & 10
• Valorie Lawson - Weeknights, WSFA 12 News at 5, 6, & 10
• Samuel King - Saturdays, WSFA 12 News at 6, 9, 10
• Tametria Conner - Sundays, Today in Alabama
• Jennifer Oravet - Sundays, WSFA 12 News at 5, 9, & 10

News Reporters:

• Samuel King - investigative reporter
• Max Reiss - Raycom political reporter
• Melissa Johnson - morning general assignment reporter
• Bethany Wales - evening genereal assignment reporter
• Bryan Henry - evening general assignment reporter
• Jennifer Oravet - evening general assignment reporter
• Melissa McKinney - evening genereal assignment reporter
• Tametria Conner - evening genereal assignment reporter
• Hannah Lane - Wiregrass Newsroom reporter

Dopper 12 StormVision Team:

• Rich Thomas - Chief Meteorologist, Weeknights, WSFA 12 News at 4, 5, 6, 9 & 10
• Josh Johnson - Meteorologist, Weekdays, Today in Alabama, Alabama LIVE!, WSFA 12 News at Noon
• Jeff Jumper - Meteorologist, Weeknights, WSFA 12 News at 4:30 & 9
• Eric Snitil - Meteorologist, Weekend evenings

Traffic Tracker:

• Andi Scott - Weekdays, Today in Alabama, WSFA 12 News First at 4:00

WSFA 12 Sports Team:

• Jeff Shearer - Sports Director - Weeknights, WSFA 12 News at 6, 9, & 10
• Derek Steyer - Asst. Sports Director, Weekends, WSFA 12 News at 6, 9, & 10
• Kim Smith - Wiregrass sports reporter

Contributors

• Bill Rancic - America Now co-host
• Leeza Gibbons - America Now co-host
• Shea Grandquest - Central Alabama Business Break, Weekdays on Today in Alabama
• Bobby Jon Drinkard - On the Job
• Kim Kendrix (1990-2010, WSFA 12 News Anchor)- Shine Your Light
• Dr. Martin Glover - Pediatrican, Fridays on Alabama LIVE!
• Dr. Bill Van Hooser - Pet Vet, Mondays on Alabama LIVE!
• Art Ginsburg - Mr. Food - Weekdays on WSFA 12 News at Noon
• Gibson Vance - Sundays on Law Call
• Cedric Varner - Visions
• Collin Gaston - Editorials
• Kim Wanous - Sundays on LawCall

Personality time line

Name	Span	Current position	Previous positions	Before WSFA
Tonya Terry	September 2002–present	Today In Alabama, Alabama LIVE! (as of May 2010)	Today In Alabama, WSFA 12 News at Noon	WAAY in Huntsville, AL
Judd Davis	June 2004–present	Today In Alabama, Alabama LIVE! (as of May 2010)	Today In Alabama, WSFA 12 News at Noon	KIVI in Boise, ID
Sally Pitts	2002–present	WSFA 12 News at Noon, General Assignment Reporter (as of June 2010)	Weekend Anchor/Reporter, Producer	Joined WSFA's production dept. after college
Mark Bullock	1998–present	WSFA 12 News at 5, FOX News At Nine	WSFA 12 News at 5, Weekend Anchor	WRBL in Columbus, GA
Valorie Lawson	May 2006–present	WSFA 12 News at 5, 6, 10 (as of May 2010)	WSFA 12 News at 6 & 10	WBMA in Birmingham, AL
Bob Howell	August 1976–1998, June 2004–present	WSFA 12 News at 6 & 10	WSFA 12 News at 5, 6, & 10	WNCF
Jennifer Oravet	2006–present	Sunday Morning Anchor/General Assignment Reporter (as of June 2010)	Morning Reporter, Evening Reporter, Producer	WVTM in Birmingham, AL
Bryan Henry	November 1995–present	General Assignment Reporter (as of 1997)	Assignment Editor
Samuel King	September 2010–present	Investigative Reporter		NY1 in New York City, New York
Max Reiss	October 2010-present	Political Reporter for Raycom's Alabama stations (based out of WSFA)		KOMU-TV in Missouri
Bethany Wales	2000–present	Evening General Assignment Reporter (as of June 2011)	Producer (2000-2009), Morning Reporter (2009-2011)
Melissa McKinney	October 2008–present	General Assignment Reporter (as of 2009)	Wiregrass Newsroom Reporter
Melissa Johnson	January 2008–present	Montgomery/Wiregrass Newsroom Reporter (as of June 2009)	Producer	Joined WSFA from college
Andi Scott	1996–present	Traffic Reporter
Rich Thomas	August 1981–present	Chief Meteorologist (as of 1983)	Weekend Meteorologist	WHHY-FM in Montgomery, AL
Josh Johnson	July 2008–present	Morning/Noon Meteorologist		WXIA in Atlanta
Jeff Jumper	November 2010–present	(Wed-Sun) 9pm & weekend meteorologist		KPLC in Lake Charles, Louisiana
Dan Atkinson	1974–1982, 2006–2011	Sunday Meteorologist (as of November 2010)	Saturday Meteorologist (as of 2008) Weekend Meteorologist (2006–2008), Chief Meteorologist (?-1982)	WSB-TV in Atlanta
Jeff Shearer	1991–present	Sports Director (as of 2003)	Sports Anchor/Reporter
Derek Styer	1998–present	Weekend Sports Anchor		KAIT in Jonesboro, AK

Former personalities

News Anchors

• Kim Hendrix, March 1990 - May 2010 - Original Alabama LIVE! host, co-anchored WSFA 12 News at 5 with Mark Bullock (2005-2010), Barry Davis (?-?), Ken Smith (?-?), and Bob Howell (1990s-early 2000s. [had been a producer, weekend anchor, main anchor (until early 2000s) while at WSFA]. (Now at St. James School in Montgomery)
• Michael Briddell, ?-November 2004 - Co-Anchored WSFA 12 News at 5 with Kim Hendrix; also education reporter (Now Assistant to Montgomery Mayor Todd Strange)
• Barry Davis, ?-early 200s - Co-Anchored with Kim Hendrix at 5pm, Deloris Keith at 6 & 10pm. Now at KENS in San Antonio, TX
• Gina Gregory, Co-Anchored with Bob Howell for much of the 1980s. Now District 7 City Councilwoman in Mobile, AL.
• David Hagood, 2000-2004 - Co-Anchored "Today In Alabama" and WSFA 12 News at Noon with Tonya Terry. Went to a local Colonial Bank branch, then WAKA-TV in Montgomery from 2005-2007, 2008–2009. (Now with the Dallas County Board of Education in Selma, AL)
• Alex Wystrach, ?-? - Weekend Anchor/Reporter (Now NFL reporter)
• Jennifer Van Vrancken - ?-2002. Co-Anchored "Today in Alabama" (Now at WVUE-TV in New Orleans)
• Joey Parker, 1997-1999/1999-2003. Anchored "WSFA News 12 at Sunrise" and co-anchored "Today in Alabama" with Jennifer Van Vrancken (?-2003) and Tonya Terry (2002-2003) (Now at WCJB-TV)
• Deloris Keith, early 2000s-December 2005, Co-Anchored WSFA 12 News at 6 & 10 with Barry Davis (?-2004) and Bob Howell (2004-2005). (Currently in Atlanta, Georgia)
• Carrie Johnson, ?-?, Original co-host of "Today In Alabama" (Now executive assistant to Alabama Power CEO)
• Ken Smith - Co-Anchored at 5pm with Kim Hendrix
• Frank McGee - also News director
• Cody Holyoke - (2007-2011) - Weekend anchor, now a reporter at WTMJ in Milwaukee, Wisconsin

News Reporters

• Ashley Anderson - Left in 2007, Now at WAFF-TV in Huntsville, AL as Bobby Shuttleworth
• Daniel Curtis - January 2008-December 2010
• Beth Jett - Now at KQDS-TV in Duluth, Minnesota
• Eileen Jones, 1992-November 2010 - Political Reporter, Now local Council of Substance Abuse Director
• Stacy Nuemann - (Left in 2007)
• Keysha Perry - (Currently a high school teacher in Georgia)
• Theo Travers - (Left in 2006 for WREG-TV, Currently pursuing career in Hollywood, California)
• Debbie Williams - (Now at WKRG-TV in Mobile, AL)
• Chris Holmes, 1995-2008, - Original "FOX News At Nine" anchor (January 2008-June 2008)(Now working at a Washington, D.C. Physics Lab)

Meteorologists/Weather Anchors

• Mickey Ferguson - Morning Weather Anchor, (Now at WBRC-TV in Birmingham, AL)
• Jeff Gerber - Meteorologist (Left in 2005)
• Rob Hatchell - Morning/Noon Meteorologist (January 2006–May2008,Now Chief Meteorologist at WMBF-TV in Myrtle Beach, SC)
• Gene Hocutt - Meteorologist/Announcer (semi-retired from private business)
• Julie Martin - Meteorologist
• Allyson Rae, October 2007-September 2010 - Meteorologist
• Jennifer Schram - Meteorologist
• Bill Taylor - Meteorologist; Original "Today in Alabama" co-host (Now at KENS-TV in San Antonio, Texas).
• Ryan Vaughan - Morning/Noon Meteorologist (Left in January 2006, Now Chief Meteorologist at KAIT-TV in Jonesboro, AR)

Sports Anchors/Reporters

• Abby Chin - Sports Reporter, April 2008-December 2008, (was laid off) - Now with WIAT in Birmingham, AL)
• John Heckman - Sports Anchor/Reporter (Left in Summer 2007, still in Montgomery)
• Kyle Montgomery - Sports Anchor/Reporter (August 2007 - November 2008, Now with NBA sports in Atlanta)
• Phil Snow - Sports Anchor (1974–2003)
• James Spann - Sports Anchor (Now chief meteorologist at WBMA in Birmingham, AL)

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Newscast titles

• News Room With Frank McGee (1955–1956)
• WSFA-TV News (1956–1986)
• WSFA News 12 (1986-1990s)
• WSFA 12 News (late 1990s-present)

Station slogans

• Channel 12, Proud as a Peacock! (1979–1981; localized version of NBC slogan)
• Alabama's News Center (early 1980s-1985)
• Channel 12, Our Pride is Showing (1981–1982; localized version of NBC slogan)
• We're Channel 12, Just Watch Us Now (1982–1983; localized version of NBC slogan)
• Alabama's News Source (1985–2003)
• Come Home to the Best, Only on Channel 12 (1988–1990; localized version of NBC slogan)
• Channel 12, The Place To Be (1990–1991; localized version of NBC slogan)
• Coverage. Community. Commitment. (2003–present)
• Where Team Meets Technology (weather slogan)
• Breaking news FIRST on WSFA.com (station website)

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External links

• WSFA
• WSFA mobile
• WDFX-TV "Fox 34"
• Query the FCC's TV station database for WSFA