WTOC-TV
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| WTOC-TV | |
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| Savannah, Georgia | |
| Branding | WTOC 11 (general) The News (newscasts) |
| Slogan | The Southeast News Leader |
| Channels | |
| Affiliations | CBS |
| Owner | Raycom Media, Inc. (WTOC License Subsidiary, LLC) |
| First air date | February 14, 1954 |
| Call letters’ meaning | Welcome To Our City (from former radio sister) |
| Former channel number(s) | Analog: 11 (1954-2009) Digital: 15 |
| Former affiliations | NBC (1954-1956) ABC (1954-1970) DuMont (1954-1955) all secondary |
| Transmitter Power | 24.4 kW (digital) |
| Height | 441 m (digital) |
| Facility ID | 590 |
| Transmitter Coordinates | 32°3′14″N 81°21′1″W / 32.05389°N 81.35028°W |
| Website | www.wtoc.com |
WTOC-TV, channel 11, is the CBS affiliate in Savannah, Georgia (United States). Its transmitter is located in downtown Savannah. It is owned by Raycom Media.
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[edit] History
In October 1929, WTOC-AM signed on as the first radio station in the Savannah area, an enterprise of the Junior Board of Trade, a civic group that was the forerunner of the Savannah Jaycees. It was later purchased by William Knight, Jr., who later added an FM station in 1946.
On February 14, 1954, Knight took a great financial risk and established WTOC-TV as the first television station in the Savannah area. WTOC radio had long been Savannah's CBS affiliate, so WTOC-TV joined CBS and has been with that network ever since. It carried programming from all three networks for two years until WSAV-TV signed on in 1956 and took the NBC affiliation. WTOC then shared ABC with WSAV until WJCL-TV signed on in 1970.
Knight sold WTOC-AM-FM-TV to Aflac in 1979. Aflac sold off the radio stations; the AM station is now WTKS and the FM station is now WQBT. In 1996, Aflac sold its entire television group, including WTOC, to a group headed by Retirement Systems of Alabama, who merged it with Ellis Communications to form Raycom Media.
For many years, WTOC broadcast from a studio on Abercorn Street in downtown Savannah. In 1995, it moved to a new studio on the west side of Savannah at Chatham Parkway in 1995, known as "The News Place." Since that time, the downtown building has become the offices for the President of Savannah College of Art and Design. The station's large triangle tower can still be seen today along Abercorn Street.
A station editorial, a rarity on many American television stations since the repeal of the Fairness Doctrine, continues to be presented by WTOC General Manager William Cathcart after the 11pm newscast, usually every two weeks. Cathcart's views are usually conservative in nature, and counterpoint responses by other parties are usually not offered.
[edit] News department
WTOC's newscasts are among the highest-rated in the nation. The station has led the news ratings in Savannah for most of the time since ratings have been kept. While WSAV and WJCL made a serious threat in the 1970s, WTOC has won every timeslot since 1980, often garnering more viewers than WSAV and WJCL combined. Its dominance is so absolute that it calls its newscasts simply "THE News."
The station airs 6 hours of news a day, a considerable amount for a station in the 97th market and far more than any other station in Savannah. Unlike most stations which change their graphics and music after a few years of use, WTOC has used versions of Frank Gari's "Newschannel" package since 1987.
The station won both Emmy and Edward R. Murrow awards for news gathering efforts in 2003. In addition, the station pulled in 11 Georgia Associated Press Awards for the 2004. In 2005 Chris Clark won an Emmy for his football special and an Edward R. Murrow award for his story about a high school football player. In 2006 an Emmy was awarded to Mike Manhattan and Zach Powers for Freedom Fighters, a story about 3rd-ID Soldiers in Iraq. In 2007 Zach Powers, Alex Monarch and Chris Clark won an Emmy for editing a special series on Rosa Parks. The same year Chris Clark won the Emmy for best sports reporter.
[edit] Digital television
The station's digital channel is multiplexed:
Digital channels
| Analog/Digital channel | Programming |
|---|---|
| 11.1 | main WTOC-TV/CBS programming |
[edit] Post-analog shutdown
After the analog television shutdown and digital conversion to take place on June 12, 2009 [1], WTOC-TV moved its digital broadcasts back to its former analog channel number, 11. [2]
[edit] Current news personalities
[edit] Anchors
- Sonny Dixon, 5:00 pm and 6:00 pm anchor/reporter & co-host of Mid-Morning Live
- Jody Chapin, 5:00 pm and 6:00 pm anchor/reporter & co-host of Mid-Morning Live
- Mike Manhatton, 5:30 pm and 11:00 pm anchor/reporter
- Dawn Baker, 5:30 pm and 11:00 pm anchor/reporter
- Mike Cihla, First Report/Daybreak/noon anchor/reporter and golf tip reporter
- Karla Redditte, Daybreak/noon anchor/reporter
[edit] Reporters
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[edit] Weather
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[edit] Sports
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[edit] Former personalities
- Jim Synnott
- Dan Hogan
- Richard Lantz
- Gary Apple
- Wendy Chioji
- Mark Middleton
- Doug Weathers
- Johnny Cole (deceased)
- Mitch Glicken (deceased)
- Kim Angelastro
- Hena Daniels
- Chris Cowperthwaite
- Stacey Turner
- Rona Williams
- Ryan Young
- Chris Clark
- Nicole Teigen
- Dmitra Denmark
- Holly Bristow
- Richard Rogers, now at WRDW-TV, Augusta, Georgia
- Jill Hayes
- Brent Davis
- Susan Graham
- Fred Morgan
- Connie Riggins
- Bill Memory
- Kwame Holman
- Paul Reed
- Frank Kinsman
- Steven Shoob, The "Phantom Producer"/Reporter (1950-2008, deceased)
- Jim Carswell
- Jim Hildebrandt
[edit] References
[edit] External links
- WTOC-TV homepage
- Query the FCC's TV station database for WTOC
- BIAfn's Media Web Database -- Information on WTOC-TV
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