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WHSV-TV

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WHSV-TV, channel 3, is an ABC affiliate for the Harrisonburg, Virginia, market. WHSV News 3, as it is known on-air, is owned by Gray Television and has its transmitter located west of the town of Stanley on Massanutten Mountain. It serves 14 counties in the Shenandoah Valley of Virginia and West Virginia.

In addition to its main digital signal, WHSV operates three digital subchannels: a Fox-affiliated subchannel, a My Network TV-affiliated subchannel, and another ABC-affiliated subchannel aimed toward nearby Winchester, Virginia.

WHSV has two main locations, in Harrisonburg, Virginia, the main newsroom, and in Staunton, Virginia, the Augusta County Newsroom.

WHSV News Daybreak has also received recognition as one of the top ten most watched morning news shows in the United States. [1]

Digital television

The station's digital signal, on UHF 49, is multiplexed. WHSV originally planned on ceasing its analog broadcasting of February 17, 2009, the original deadline of the federally-mandated digital conversion. The station restored the signal the following Friday however, because several translator stations in communities such as Bergton that are owned by local cooperatives and county governments were unable to convert their transmitters to reconvert the digital signal into analog form [2], along with viewers who could receive the Channel 3 signal well on analog, but not at all digitally.

They ended their analog signal on June 12, 2009, the new, federally-mandated date.

The station's digital signal is remained at channel 49 following the digital transition; however the station can tune to channel 3 using PSIP.

Channel Programming
3.1 Main WHSV programming (ABC)
3.2 The Valley's FOX (Fox)
3.3 TV3 Winchester (ABC)
3.4 My Valley (MyNetworkTV)

History

WSVA 3

Channel 3 signed on October 6, 1953 as WSVA-TV (for We Serve Virginia Agriculture). It was owned by Frederick L. Allman and his Shenandoah Valley Broadcasting Corporation along with WSVA radio (AM 550 and FM 100.7, now WQPO). The station was a primary NBC affiliate, with secondary CBS and ABC affiliations.

Circa 1970

Although it was owned by one of Virginia's leading broadcasters, WSVA-TV operated on a shoestring budget. Station engineers switched to and from the signals of the three network affiliates in Washington, D.C. because it was unable to afford direct network feeds. [1] It didn't air local programs (except for news) until 1956. It dropped CBS in 1963.

In 1965, the WSVA stations were sold to James Gilmore, Jr., a Michigan businessman. The station began phasing out NBC in 1968, continuing to air some NBC shows until 1980. It picked up The Today Show from 1968 to 1975 (when Good Morning America debuted), but only aired the second hour of the show since the station didn't sign on until 8 a.m. (a practice that continued well into the 1970s). On occasion, engineers forgot to switch over for local breaks, resulting in channel 3 airing the local breaks from WMAL-TV (now WJLA-TV) in Washington, which provided the ABC feed over the network lines to WSVA.

In 1975, the Federal Communications Commission ruled that if a market had only one FM radio station, one AM radio station and one television station, they could not be owned by the same person. Gilmore sold WSVA-TV to Benedek Broadcasting in 1976, and the station assumed its current calls, WHSV. Under Benedek, the station was finally able to buy a network feed.

The 90's and a New Studio

TV-3 Logo Used During 90's

In the early 1990s, the station started its weekday newscast at noon.

Until 1999, WHSV’s main studio was located along U.S. Route 33, west of Harrisonburg. Construction of a new broadcast facility in downtown Harrisonburg began in 1998. WHSV relocated to its new home in the spring of 1999.

Most of Benedek's stations, including WHSV, were bought by Gray Television in 2002. A 5pm weekday newscast was also added in that same year. At that time, a new set was constructed in the station's Augusta County Newsroom in Staunton. The streetside set featured a window overlooking Downtown Staunton along West Frederick Street. The 5pm weekday newscast became WHSV’s first newscast to originate from the Augusta County Newsroom. In October 2003, WHSV began originating its 5pm newscast from both Harrisonburg and Staunton. WHSV's 6pm weekday newscast also originated from both Staunton and Harrisonburg for a brief period in the spring of 2004. During that time, WHSV’s 6pm weekday newscast featured 3 anchors. The 3 anchor, dual-city format was abandoned after a few months.

WHSV purchased its first microwave live truck in 2004. Prior to that, the station relied on rented equipment for remote broadcasts. Since 2004, WHSV has purchased additional microwave equipment for use by its news department.

Also in 2004, WHSV’s parent company, Gray Communications, launched WCAV in Charlottesville. WHSV management played a major role in the launch of WCAV, providing managerial, sales, and human resources support. Several members of WHSV’s news and production staff transferred to WCAV following its launch in August 2004.

Big Changes

2006 was a year of significant change at WHSV. On February 27, 2006, WHSV’s weekday morning Daybreak newscast began airing at 5am instead of the previous 5:30. This coincided with the debut of new weather technology purchased from WSI Corporation.

WHSV’s Harrisonburg and Augusta County news studios underwent a dramatic overhaul in April 2006 with the addition of new sets and studio camera equipment. WHSV newscasts were broadcast from a temporary studio in the Harrisonburg newsroom during the two week construction period. New sets debuted at 5am on April 24, 2006. At that time, portions of WHSV’s previous set, which was used from 1999 until 2006, were donated to nearby Turner Ashby High School.

News Director Van Hackett announced his retirement from the station in 2006. Hackett served as WHSV’s news director from December 2003 until August 2006. Hackett was succeeded by former TV-3 reporter Ed Reams, who left a job at WDSU in New Orleans, LA to return to the Shenandoah Valley. On July 21, 2006, popular weather anchor Jay Webb left after six years with the station. Webb accepted a job with WDBJ in Roanoke, VA. Webb enjoyed a week long send-off from his on-air colleagues before his final WHSV broadcast on July 21.

During the late summer and early fall of 2006, WHSV underwent major technical upgrades to make way for the station’s new digital subchannels. A large tower was built behind the station’s Harrisonburg studios to accommodate the additional satellite receivers needed for WHSV’s FOX and MyNetworkTV ventures. WHSV’s main analog transmitter was replaced during the week of August 31, 2006. Broadcasts were only available to viewers with cable while the transmitter was being replaced.

On October 30, 2006, WHSV dropped longtime 5:30 pm program "The Andy Griffith Show" in favor of a 5:30 pm newscast anchored by recently promoted Melanie Lofton. This coincided with the debut of a new logo for the station and updated newscast graphics. While the logo itself was new, elements of a previous graphics package were retained. WHSV also began branding itself as "WHSV News 3" during newscasts. On November 27, 2006, WHSV dropped Gari Communications' "Making a Difference" in favor of 615 Music's "News One (V.1, V.2, Mini)" as its news open music.

WHSV logo used from 1999-Fall 2006

Over the Thanksgiving 2006 weekend, the WHSV.com and the TV3Winchester.com websites received a huge makeover. Most of the Gray Communications stations have adopted this new website layout.

Until WVIR-TV signed on from Charlottesville in 1973, channel 3 was the only commercial television station between Richmond and Roanoke. It opened a translator on channel 64 in Charlottesville in 1979. However, WHSV rarely (if ever) covered events in the Charlottesville area. In 2004, the Charlottesville translator became a separate station, WVAW-LP on channel 16.

Today

On December 31, 2007, WHSV revamped their website, whsv.com.

On Wednesday, January 16th, 2008, WHSV announced that their three major networks, WHSV, The Valley's FOX, and My Valley, would be available on the Direct TV lineup.

On Monday, April 7th, 2008, the WHSV 5pm and 5:30pm newscasts consisted of a 3 anchor lineup with Melanie Lofton, Bob Corso, and Meteorologist Tracy Turner. This new format came along with a new arrangement of the newscast.

On Tuesday, June 10th, 2008, WHSV announced that they expected their newscasts to be in HD by the end of the year 2008. This hasn't happened for whatever reason. No updated date for HD newscasts has been given. This may be attributed to Gray Television's current finanacial troubles that have landed them in bankruptcy court.

WHSV has also added a Facebook and Twitter account displaying the latest local news. [3][4] TV-3 Winchester has done the same.

Voice of the Valley

Every year, WHSV sponsors a singing competition called Voice of the Valley. The idea originated from former WHSV personality Jenealle Smith. WHSV shows finalist on WHSV News 3 at Noon all week of the Rockingham County Fair and have a one hour finale live from the fair. Personalities include Ben Jones and the Cooters Garage Band.

Other WHSV operations

Channel Main Article Information
Main article: WHSV-DT2
 The Fox Broadcasting Company affiliate for the Shenandoah Valley owned and operated by WHSV. Available on Comcast cable channel 192 in Harrisonburg and Direct TV.
File:Station tv3winchester.JPG
Main article: TV3 Winchester
 On March 5, 2007, WHSV launched "TV3 Winchester", an ABC affiliate for Winchester, Virginia. The station is a joint project between WHSV and Shenandoah University. Along with Winchester, the station serves Frederick, Clarke, Warren, and Shenandoah counties in Virginia. Although the station transmits an over-the-air signal on WHSV's DT3 digital subchannel, it can only be seen on cable in its primary coverage area.
File:Whsv mnt.png
Main article: WHSV-DT4
 The My Network affiliate for the Shenandoah Valley owned and operated by WHSV. Available on Comcast cable channel 2 in Harrisonburg and Direct TV.

Newscasts

  • WHSV News 3 Daybreak
  • WHSV News 3 at Noon
  • WHSV News 3 at 5pm
  • WHSV News 3 at 6pm
  • WHSV News 3 11@11

Specials

  • The Endzone (11:25pm to 12:05am, Friday Nights during high school football season) - Is a joint production between WHSV and TV3 Winchester and is broadcast on both stations at the same time.
  • WHSV Sports X-tra is an online sports show produced by WHSV Sport Director's Damon Dillman and Zac Choate. It covers the latest news and talk about sports happenings over the previous week.
  • Light for Today is religious programming which airs on WHSV Sunday mornings at 11:30 AM. It is broadcast from People's Baptist Church in Harrisonburg and is produced by WHSV.
  • Virginia Dream Centerstage is a music and variety show that occasionally airs on WHSV. It is produced and broadcast by WHSV.

Current personalities

WHSV News Team

WHSV Weather Team

WHSV Sports Team

Notable Former WHSV Personalities

  • Ed Alwood - Weekend Anchor/Reporter (1973-1975, now a professor of journalism)
  • Jane Smith - 6 and 11pm co-anchor, Daybreak Anchor, Reporter (1994-1998, now at KGW-TV)
  • Julie Bidwell - Daybreak Co-Anchor, Noon Anchor (1997-2000, now at Fox News Channel as Julie Banderas)
  • Elliott Wiser-Charlottesville reporter(1981-1982, now Corporate VP of News and Local Programming at Bright House Networks)
  • Chris Suchan - Weather (late 1990s, now at WBTV-TV)
  • Ron Magnuson - Reporter, Weekend Anchor (late 1990s, now at WSOC-TV)
  • Kevin Schultze - Reporter (Early 1990s, at WJLA-TV 'til 2005, now at "Soapbox Consulting" in Washington DC)
  • Beth Parker - Reporter, Anchor (Early 1990s, now at WTTG-TV)
  • Andrew Speno - Weekend Anchor, Reporter (Late 90's, now at KOKH-TV)
  • J.J. Davis - Weekend Sports Anchor, Sports Director (1991-2000, now at KPTM-TV)
  • Brian North - Sports Director (1992-1998, now at WCTI-TV)
  • Meredyth Censullo - Reporter, Weather Anchor (late 1990s, now at WTSP-TV)
  • Thomas Tobin - Reporter (1998-1999, now a producer at WTTG-TV)
  • Tom Patton - Weather Anchor (late 1990s, now at WWBT-TV)
  • Dan Bewley - Daybreak Co-Anchor (2000-2003, now at WOOD-TV
  • Rachel DePompa - Reporter, Weekend Anchor (1999-2002, now at WWBT-TV)
  • Susan Bahorich - Reporter, Daybreak Co-Anchor (2000-2003, now at WDBJ-TV)
  • Melissa Tune - Reporter (1999-2001, now at WRDW-TV)
  • Melissa DiPane - Augusta County Reporter (1999-2002, now at WOFL-TV)
  • Danielle Banks - Augusta County Reporter, Weather (2000-2003, now at The Weather Channel)
  • Jay Webb - Weekend Weather Anchor, Daybreak Weather Anchor (2000-2006, now at WDBJ-TV)
  • Michelle Smith - 6 and 11pm Co-Anchor (2001-2003, now at WRGB-TV)
  • Erin Tate - Reporter (2002-2003, now at WCMH-TV)
  • Amy Kehm - Reporter, Weekend Anchor, 5pm Co-Anchor (2002-2006, now at WHTM-TV)
  • Mike Mueller - Augusta County Reporter (2004-2006, now at WTAJ-TV)
  • Meryl Conant - Augusta County Reporter (2004-2006, now a senior publicist for CNN)
  • Evan Fitzgerald - Augusta County Reporter, Daybreak Co-Anchor (2004-2007, now at WZVN-TV)
  • Brianne Carter - Augusta County Reporter (2005-2006, now at WJLA/News Channel 8)
  • Megan Bennett- Daybreak Meteorologist (2006-2007, now at KEYE-TV)
  • Lauren McKay - Reporter (2005-2006) Weekend Anchor (2007) (now a producer at WJLA/News Channel 8)
  • Joe Downs - Weekend Sports Anchor (2002-2003) Sports Director (2003-2007, now at WLIO-TV)
  • Shane Symolon - Staunton Reporter (2006-2008, now at WWLP-TV)
  • Kelly Creswell - Harrisonburg Reporter (2006-2008, now at WJLA-TV/Newschannel 8)
  • Tracey Neale - Reporter (Early 1990s, formerly of DC's WTTG-TV and WUSA-TV)
  • Tara Brown - 5, 6, and 11pm Co-Anchor (2002-2004, now at WEAR-TV)
  • James Jackson - Reporter (2006-2008, now at WTOV-TV)
  • Tim Saunders - Reporter, Weekend Anchor (2003-2006, now at WDBJ-TV)
  • Van Hackett - 6pm Co-Anchor, News Director (2003-2006, retired)
  • Jamie Curott - 6 and 11pm Co-Anchor (2004-2008, now at WJAC-TV)
  • Mike McNeil - Daybreak and Noon Anchor (2006-2009, now at KBTV-TV)

Former Logos

  • From 1970
    From 1970
  • Used from 1996 to 1999
    Used from 1996 to 1999
  • Used from 1999 to Fall 2006
    Used from 1999 to Fall 2006

References

  1. ^ http://setxhomepage.com/content/fulltext/?cid=43882%7CMike McNeil Profile, WHSV Daybreak Recognition
  2. ^ http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=101541768
  3. ^ http://www.facebook.com/people/Whsv-Newsroom/645595931?sid=0
  4. ^ http://twitter.com/WHSVnews
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