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WWSB is the ABC-affiliated television station for the Florida Suncoast that is licensed to Sarasota. It broadcasts a high definition digital signal on UHF channel 24 from a transmitter on Rutland Road (a.k.a. Manatee County Road 675) in Rye. Owned by Calkins Media, the station has studios on 10th Street in the Rosemary District of Sarasota. Syndicated programming on WWSB includes: Wheel of Fortune, Jeopardy!, Family Court with Judge Penny, and Matlock. Today, WWSB still provides ABC programming to Manatee and Sarasota Counties even though the area is in the shadow of WFTS whose transmitter is only about twenty miles north of WWSB. As a consequence to this station's transmitter location, its coverage area expands as far north as Northern Hillsborough and Polk Counties giving some aerial viewers a choice of two or three ABC affiliates depending on location.

As a result, this station is technically a secondary ABC affiliate for St. Petersburg particularly on the eastern side of Tampa Bay. The city of Tampa itself is on the rim of WWSB's signal. On cable, WWSB is the sole ABC affiliate on Comcast's Southern Sarasota County systems while it competes with Fort Myers-based WZVN-TV (also known on-air as "ABC 7") in Desoto and Charlotte Counties and Orlando's WFTV in Hardee County. The station has faced an uphill battle gaining carriage on cable and satellite television providers in some cases. Neither Dish Network nor DirecTV carry WWSB. Verizon FiOS added WWSB to its Hillsborough and Pasco County systems in October 2006. [1]

History

Final channel 40 logo used from 2001 until 2004.

The station first went on-the-air as WXLT-TV (XL Television, "XL" representing 40 in roman numerals its former analog channel) on October 23, 1971 as the first television affiliate in the area based neither in Tampa nor St. Petersburg. It signed-on to provide ABC programming in an area insufficiently covered by WLCY-TV (now WTSP) because of that station's lower-powered transmitter location well north of the area's other televisions stations. Until WLCY upgraded their facilities in the late-1970s, both that station and WXLT competed for viewers in Hillsborough and Pinellas Counties. It was not uncommon to see WXLT's billboards in Tampa, St. Petersburg, or Largo. In the 1970s, WXLT also cleared some CBS and NBC programming passed on by WTVT and WFLA.

In 1972, for example, when The Joker's Wild debuted on CBS, it was pre-empted on WTVT but picked up by WXLT. The call letters became WWSB in 1986. On cable, WFTS (now the area's primary ABC affiliate after a market realignment triggered by FOX's purchase of WTVT) was not carried south of the Sarasota area while WWSB was not largely available on cable north of the Sunshine Skyway Bridge until Verizon FiOS added WWSB to all of their area lineups. The latter was due to contractual conditions drawn up in the early-1990s by WTSP and later WFTS. On November 5, 2001, the station changed studio locations to a new building in downtown Sarasota and switched logos in 2002. Until March 2004, the station's news department operated under the News 40 branding and the station as a whole branded as "Channel 40". This was changed to "ABC 7" because most viewers watch the station on Bright House Networks or Comcast and both providers carry WWSB on channel 7. However, not all cable systems carry WWSB on cable 7. Comcast's Wauchula system carries WWSB on channel 2 and its Port Charlotte system offers WWSB on channel 10 since its home-market station WZVN is seen on channel 7. The station discontinued its analog signal on February 1, 2009 about two weeks before the original national deadline of February 17. [2] [3] Even though the national turn-off date was changed to June 12, WWSB announced that their analog signal would not be reactivated. [4] The station broadcasts its digital signal on channel 24.

Newscasts

The early days of WXLT's news coverage focused on local news and events, but to improve ratings, later expanded to "blood and guts" journalism focusing mainly on crime stories. [5] The station became notorious in 1974 when news anchor and talk-show host Christine Chubbuck committed suicide by shooting herself in the head on-the-air making reference to the station's "blood and guts" policies in her final monologue. Her suicide occurred the day after a story she filed was cut for a story on a shootout at an area restaurant. [6] A second mobile newsroom was added in 1996 giving them the ability to cover live news from multiple locations during newscasts. In October 2002, they expanded their weekday morning news to an hour staring at 6. WWSB's conversion to "ABC 7" involved a redress of the station's news set, a new logo to a unique version and color scheme of the well known circle 7 logo, a new slogan, and a major local promotion and advertising campaign. The station's news department focuses its coverage Sarasota, Manatee, Charlotte, DeSoto, and Hardee Counties. In addition to their main studios, WWSB operates a South Bureau (covering Southern Sarasota and Charlotte Counties) and Manatee Bureau (for Manatee County). Unlike most ABC affiliates in the Eastern Time Zone, this station does not air local news on weekday mornings in the the 5 o'clock hour. Black Almanac is a locally-produced public affairs program that airs on Sunday mornings 7:30. It is hosted by Ed James who is a longtime anchor and personality of the station since just after their sign-on as WXLT. The show focuses on the issues that African Americans face in the community. The program has aired since 1972 making it the longest running locally-produced public affairs program in the Southeastern United States.[7]

News team

Anchors

  • Monica Yadav - weekday mornings and Noon
    • investigative reporter
  • Heidi Godman - weeknights at 5 and 5:30
    • medical editor
  • Scott Dennis - weeknights at 6 and 11
    • "Living Green" segment producer
  • Linda Carson - weekends

ABC 7 Storm Center Weather

  • Bob Harrigan - Chief Meteorologist seen weeknights and "Fishin' with Bob and Captain Jonnie" segment producer
  • John Scalzi (Certified Broadcast Meteorologist) - weekday morning and noon meteorologist
  • Wendy Ross - weekend weather anchor

Sports

  • Don Brennan - weeknights at 6 and 11
  • Leah Secondo - weekends

Reporters

  • Ed James - producer and host of Black Almanac
  • Josh Taylor - South Bureau
  • Michelle Rieg - Manatee County Bureau
  • Shannon Cornwell - photojournalist with Lakewood Ranch focus
  • Richard Stern - business commentator seen weeknights at 5 and 5:30
  • Chef Judi Gallagher - Culinary Director seen weekdays at Noon
  • Captain Johnny Walker - seen on "Fishin' with Bob and Captain Jonnie"
  • Frank Alcock - political commentator
  • Anne L. Weintraub - law

Past personalities

  • Chuck Whitaker (weekday morning traffic)
  • Christine Chubbuck (1971-1974) (Anchor, shot self live on air)
  • Craig Sager (1970s) (reporter)
  • John Hill (1986-1995) (5, 6 and 11 p.m. Anchor) (Currently at SNN Local News 6)
  • Kathy Winkler-Leon (1993-2003) (News Anchor) (Currently at SNN Local News 6)
  • Kristi Krueger (1986-1990) (6 and 11 p.m. co-anchor 1988-1990) (Currently at WPLG)
  • Peter Linton-Smith (late '80s-early 90s) (reporter) (Currently at WTVT)
  • Kevin Daniels (late '80s-early 90s) (reporter)
  • Valerie Amsterdam (1989-1990) (Weekend news anchor)
  • Kelly McGee (1989-1990) (morning and noon anchor)
  • Nancy White (1990-1997) (producer, anchor)
  • Jason Howe (1995-1997) (Reporter)
  • Lynn Huston (?-1999) (Currently at KOIN)
  • Tony Cornish, Jr (1998-2003) (Sports Anchor) (Currently at WZBN)
  • Michelle Jordan (2003-July 2005) (News Anchor)
  • Jackie Barron (?-1998) (Reporter) (Currently at WFLA-TV)
  • Grayson Kamm (2003-2005) (Reporter) (Currently at WTSP)
  • Sheryl Greene (1997-2005) (Reporter) (Currently at WJBF as Sheryl Williams)
  • Vida Urbonas (1999-2003) (Anchor) (Currently at KWGN)
  • Liz Weaver (2000-2003) (Reporter) (Currently producer at The Morning Show with Mike & Juliet)
  • Dan Smart (2004-2005) (Reporter) [8]
  • Cathi Carson (2003-2005) (Reporter, daughter of anchor ABC 7 Linda Carson and NFL coach Bud Carson) (Currently the consumer reporter "Cathi on the Case" WTEV/WAWS)
  • Richelle Ridgeway (2002-2005) (Sunrise and Noon Anchor)
  • Erik Von Ancken (2000-2003) (Reporter) (Currently at WKMG-TV)
  • Kyle Kraska (late 1980s) (Sports) (Currently at KFMB-TV)
  • Don Bell (2002-2003) (Sports Anchor) (Currently at KYW-TV)
  • Kevin Negandhi (1999-2002, 2004-2006) (Weekday Sports Anchor) (Currently at ESPN)
  • Fred Meade (Weekend Anchor) 1975-1978 - currently international development consultant (see Wikipedia)
  • Dave Knops (2005-2006) (fill-in Forecaster)
  • Kim Dean (1999-?) (reporter) (Currently at Inside Edition)
  • Dionne Miller (2006-2007) (weekend Sports anchor) (later at Columbus Sports Network[9]; current whereabouts unknown)
  • Alcides Segui (2004-2007) (Reporter) (Currently at WTVT)
  • Vickie Oldham (?-?)
  • Monica Buchanan (2006-2007) (Reporter) (Currently at WVIT)
  • Travell Eiland (2005-2007) (Reporter) (Currently at KLAS-TV)
  • Eli Kuo (late 1990s) (Reporter)
  • Dave Deeley (1991-1996) (Sports Anchor/Reporter), Sports Anchor/Director WAAY, WNCF (1996-2002), professor, Truman State University (2002-2004), Ph.D. Alumni Graduate Fellow, University of Florida, (2004-present).
  • Brad Giffen (2003-2008) (5:30pm Anchor/Reporter) (Currently at CFTO-TV and CTV News Channel)
  • Tania Dall (2007-2008) (Producer/Reporter) (Currently at KXLY-TV)
  • Amanda Stanzilis (2005-2008) (Reporter/Fill-in Anchor) (Currently at KENS-TV)
  • Ben Kaplan (Weekend Sports Anchor/News Reporter) (2007-2008) (Currently at KXLY-TV)
  • Silke Rible (2002-2003, 2005-2008) (Sunrise, Noon News Anchor) - Currently at American Cancer Society in Charlotte, NC.
  • Mark Boyle (2007-2008) (Reporter) (Currently at WFTV)
  • Takara Fuller (2007-2008) (Reporter)
  • Lindsay Bramson (2007-2008) (Photojournalist/Reporter) (Currently at WPMI)
  • Doug Miles [1] (1996-1997) (News Editor) Currently Broadcaster/Writer Sarasota, FL
  • Ken Jefferson (2002-2009) (Sunrise, Noon News Anchor)
  • Lowell Galindo (weekend sports anchor/sports reporter 2004-2006) (now with ESPN U)

References

  1. ^ http://www22.verizon.com/NROneRetail/NR/rdonlyres/A6D51319-17A2-4D3D-9BF1-B060DCDA9F25/0/FLGulfCoast.pdf
  2. ^ FCC document: "APPENDIX B: ALL FULL-POWER TELEVISION STATIONS BY DMA, INDICATING THOSE TERMINATING ANALOG SERVICE BEFORE ON OR FEBRUARY 17, 2009."
  3. ^ WWSB: "ABC 7 engineers explain this weekend's Analog/Digital TV switch", 1/30/2009.
  4. ^ WWSB: "Switch to Digital TV delayed until June", 2/5/2009.
  5. ^ http://www.manship2.lsu.edu/perkins/Handouts/chubbucknew.pdf
  6. ^ Quinn, Sally (4 August 1974). "Christine Chubbuck: 29, Good-Looking, Educated. A Television Personality. Dead. Live and in Color (PDF)" (PDF). Washington Post.
  7. ^ http://www.mysuncoast.com/station/staffDisplay.cfm?staID=33
  8. ^ HeraldTribune.com - News - News stories about Sarasota, Manatee and Charlotte counties in Florida, from the newspapers of record. - HeraldTribune.com
  9. ^ Columbus Sports Network Press Release
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