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WXII-TV

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WXII-TV (digital channel 31, virtual channel 12) is the NBC television station licensed for the Greensboro–High Point–Winston-Salem, North Carolina (Piedmont Triad) designated market area. It is licensed to Winston-Salem and is currently owned by the Hearst Corporation. Its transmitter is located on Sauratown Mountain in Stokes County, North Carolina. The station is carried on cable channel 11 in most parts of the market.

History

The station began operation on September 30, 1953 as WSJS-TV. It is the third-oldest surviving station in North Carolina, behind Charlotte's WBTV and Greensboro's WFMY-TV. The station at first was owned by a subsidiary of Piedmont Publishing, publishers of the Winston-Salem Journal and Twin City Sentinel along with WSJS radio (600 AM and 104.1 FM, now WTQR), and Hollywood star Mary Pickford and her husband Buddy Rogers.[1]

Johnny Beckman, an early employee, recalls working at WSJS-TV in those early years.

There were three of us, and we all did multiple jobs -- the weather, commercials, a teenage dance party. We were all scrambling around trying to make a living. Broadcasting was not high-paying then. The pay has certainly improved, but it was a more enjoyable career than it has become now.[2].

The station has always been affiliated with NBC. ABC was shared with WFMY until WGHP signed on in 1963. The station first broadcast from the basement of WSJS studios on Spruce Street in Winston-Salem. The first broadcast was of the first game of the World Series between the New York Yankees and the Brooklyn Dodgers.

The station originally broadcast from an antenna near Kernersville. The tower was moved to Sauratown Mountain in 1955.

When Piedmont Publishing was sold to Media General in 1968, Gordon Gray, the longtime publisher of both papers, held onto WSJS-AM-FM-TV as Triangle Broadcasting. Gray also received the franchise for the city's cable system. However, the FCC ruled that TV stations could not also own the cable systems in their markets. Gray was thus forced to sell WSJS-TV in 1972 to Multimedia Inc., who renamed the station WXII-TV. The letters "XII" from "WXII" are the Roman numerals for the number "12", which is the station's channel number. At the time of the call letter change, the station ran a promotional ad parodying the death of Julius Caesar to amplify the Roman numeral theme. Two other stations in the market later switched to Roman numeral call letters (WXLV-TV 45 and WLXI-TV 61; WGSR-LP's previous incarnation also used Roman numerals as WXIV).

Multimedia swapped WXII and WFBC-TV in Greenville, South Carolina (now WYFF) to Pulitzer in 1983 in exchange for KSD-TV in St. Louis (now KSDK). When Pulitzer bowed out of broadcasting in 1997, Hearst bought the entire group, including WXII.

Promotional campaigns

WXII used the "Hello News" theme package in the early 1980s. Their campaign song was "Hello Piedmont." The tune began with the words, "There's a feeling in the air that you can't get anywhere except the Piedmont. You taste a thousand yesterdays and you can feel the magic ways of the Piedmont. From the rolling country side you can feel the magic pride of the Piedmont. Hello Piedmont! Hello Piedmont! Channel 12 loves you!"

Following the HELLO campaign of the early 80s, WXII hired a Florida production company to put together a new image campaign, "COUNT ON US". This was used for little more than a year and then dropped.

In the early 90s WXII was rebranded "Your Carolina News Connection".

As with most TV stations, WXII used custom versions of NBC campaigns-- one example being "Come Home to WXII". They also made a local version of "Come Home to the Best, Only on NBC" in 1988, featuring shots of NBC's stars and WXII's anchors throwing a party to coincide with the station's 35th anniversary. The latter clip can be seen on YouTube (originally uploaded by the station itself).

Ratings began to increase following a series of severe weather events in the late 80s and early 90s.

In the mid-to-late 1990s, WXII branded itself as NewsChannel 12, and its positioning statement was "Complete Local Coverage of the Western Piedmont." Once Hearst took full control (around 1999-2000), both the "NewsChannel" and positioning statement were dropped. The station then began branding itself as WXII 12 News. As of 2008, the station refers to itself (TV and Web) as WXII Digital Media.

Cable and satellite carriage outside of the market

WXII is carried on West Jefferson cable outlets in Ashe County, which is part of the Charlotte DMA. In addition to cable, WXII can be seen on DirecTV in Virginia border counties Carroll, Henry, and Grayson, and independent cities Danville, Galax, and Martinsville.

Affiliate network

Programming

Syndicated programs on WXII12 include: Live with Regis and Kelly, Dr. Phil, Oprah, Inside Edition, and Entertainment Tonight.

Newscasts

Weekdays:

  • 5:00-7:00 a.m. - Kimberly Van Scoy, Nicole Ducouer, Austin Caviness, & Jennie Stencel
  • 12:00-1:00 p.m. - Margaret Johnson, Michelle Kennedy
  • 5:00-6:00 p.m. - Wanda Starke, Cameron Kent, Lanie Pope
  • 6:00-6:30 p.m. - Wanda Starke, Cameron Kent, Lanie Pope, Craig Thomas
  • 11:00-11:35 p.m. - Wanda Starke, Cameron Kent, Lanie Pope, Craig Thomas

Weekends:

  • 5:00-7:00 a.m. - Kenny Beck, Brian Slocum
  • 6:00-6:30 p.m. - Ben Senger, Michelle Kennedy, Craig Thomas
  • 11:00-11:35 p.m. - Ben Senger, Michelle Kennedy, Craig Thomas

News Team

Current personalities

Current Anchors

  • Kenny Beck - weekend mornings (also weekday morning reporter)
  • Nicole Ducouer - weekday mornings (also reporter)
  • Margaret Johnson - weekdays at noon (also reporter)
  • Cameron Kent - weeknights at 5, 6 and 11PM
  • Ben Senger - weekends at 6 and 11PM (also reporter)
  • Wanda Starke - weeknights at 5, 6 and 11PM
  • Kimberly Van Scoy - weekday mornings (also health reporter)

Reporters

  • Preeti Arla - general assignment reporter
  • Kim Gebbia - general assignment reporter
  • Bill O’Neil - investigative reporter
  • Jennie Stencel - traffic reporter
  • Jermont Terry - general assignment reporter

Hearst Television Washington Bureau

  • Sally Kidd - Washington Bureau reporter
  • Nikole Killion - Washington Bureau reporter
  • Traci Mitchell - Washington Bureau reporter

WXII 12 Weather Plus

  • Lanie Pope (AMS/NWA Seals of Approval) - Chief Meteorologist; weeknights at 5, 6 and 11PM
  • Austin Caviness (AMS Seal of Approval) - Meteorologist; weekday mornings
  • Michelle Kennedy - Meteorologist; weekdays at noon and weekday evenings
  • Brian Slocum - Meteorologist; weekday mornings

Sports Team

  • TBD - Sports Director
  • Craig Thomas - Sports Anchor; weekends at 6 and 11PM

Former personalities

  • Cynthia Demos, former reporter, now morning and noon anchor at CBS4 in Southern Florida
  • Kathy Cheek, former general assignment reporter
  • Dave Goren, former sports anchor, last day on air was Thanksgiving 2008
  • Elizabeth Wenger, former weekend evening anchor, traffic anchor CBS 5 San Francisco
  • Nicole Jacobs, former reporter, now general assignment reporter at WTIC-TV Hartford (FOX)
  • Rick Amme, former anchor (1980s-early 1990s).
  • John Beard, former anchor/reporter.
  • Tolly Carr, former morning anchor, charged with felony death by vehicle, felony serious injury by vehicle and driving while intoxicated in March 2007.[4] He was sentenced to 25-39 months in prison in August 2007.[5]
  • Aixa Diaz, weekend morning anchor, WESH in Orlando, Florida.[6]
  • Harvey Dinkins, farm reporter from 1954-1962. Dinkins was billed as "North Carolina's Favorite Farmer."[7]
  • Denise Franklin, former anchor (1983-1992). Currently general manager of WFDD.
  • Bob Gordon, the station's first announcer. Gordon, real name Robert Gordon Van Horn, hosted Bob Gordon Theater for 19 years.
  • Jeff Hardin, former meteorologist (1998-2001). Currently Director of Communications for the NC Credit Union League.
  • Nina Hayes, former Traffic Anchor
  • Chris Horne, former morning anchor. Currently a realtor with Prudential Carolinas in Forsyth County, NC
  • Damany Lewis, former reporter/fill-in anchor (2004-2007) Now a reporter with KCRA (Sacramento, CA)
  • Robin Lidner, former repoter
  • Monica Malpass, former anchor & reporter. Has been the co-anchor at WPVI (Philadelphia) since 1988
  • Shaniqua Manning, Former Weekend Anchor, Currently Weekend Anchor at NWCN
  • Melissa Marsh, former reporter/anchor (2002-2007)
  • Steve Adamson, former Weekday Morning and Noon Meteorologist (1986-1994) Now at WXIA TV Atlanta
  • Mike McClellan, former meteorologist. Currently working at Mobile Weather in Washington, IL
  • Kathy Murphy, former anchor. Went to work for WGCL in Atlanta in the late 90s.
  • Gene Overby, sports anchor and former voice of Wake Forest University athletics.
  • Angela Pellerano, former reporter/fill-in anchor. Now weekend anchor/reporter with WTVR (Richmond, VA).
  • Dan Rath, former sports anchor. Currently a realtor in Forsyth County, NC. Hosted weekly sports segment titled "I Dare Dan", in which viewers would challenge Rath at sporting or gaming competitions
  • Chris Runge, former weatherman (1987 to 1996) Left WXII and went to work for WXLV (ABC affiliate in Winston-Salem). Now station manager for Educational TV Channel and school system spokesperson.
  • Ben Salt, former general assignment reporter and anchor
  • Glenn Scott, former weatherman and longtime morning man on WSJS radio.
  • Debbie Severs, former weather person.
  • Mary Ann Sheboy, reporter for station for 19 years.[8]
  • Bonnie Schneider, meteorologist (joined CNN in 2005).
  • Fred Shropshire, former general assignment reporter (2002-2004). Shropshire worked as a reporter and fill-in anchor at WGN Chicago before becoming the weekend anchor for WTVD in Durham, North Carolina.[9]
  • Teresa Taylor, former anchor and reporter
  • John Wendel, meteorologist for WCNC-TV in Charlotte, North Carolina since January 2001.[10]
  • Anthony Wilson, reporter & substitute anchor from 1990-1993; currently a weekend anchor and reporter at WTVD in Durham.[11]
  • Scott Zahorik, former meteorologist.
  • Paul Dellegatto, former chief meteorologist (1986-1990), now chief meteorologist at WTVT.

News/Station Presentation

Newscast Titles

  • WSJS-TV News (1953-1967)
  • Eyewitness News (1967-1977)
  • NewsCenter 12 (1977-1985)
  • Channel 12 News (1985-1992)
  • Newswatch 12 (1992-1996)
  • NewsChannel 12 (1996-2000)
  • WXII NewsChannel 12 (2000-2003)
  • WXII 12 News (2003-present)

Station Slogans

  • Channel 12, Proud as a Peacock! (1979-1981; localized version of NBC ad campaign)
  • Hello Piedmont, Channel 12 Loves You! (early-mid 1980s; used during period station used Frank Gari's Hello News)
  • Channel 12, Our Pride is Showing (1981-1982; localized version of NBC ad campaign)
  • We're Channel 12, Just Watch Us Now (1982-1983; localized version of NBC ad campaign)
  • Channel 12 There, Be There (1983-1984; localized version of NBC ad campaign)
  • Channel 12, Let's All Be There (1984-1986; localized version of NBC ad campaign)
  • Come Home to Channel 12 (1986-1987; localized version of NBC ad campaign)
  • Count on Us (late 1980s)
  • Come on Home to Channel 12 (1987-1988; localized version of NBC ad campaign)
  • Come Home to the Best, Only on Channel 12 (1988-1990; localized version of NBC ad campaign)
  • Channel 12, is The Place to Be (1990-1991; localized version of NBC ad campaign)
  • Your Carolina News Connection (1991-1996)
  • Complete Local Coverage of the Western Piedmont (1996-2004)
  • Your Home for Piedmont-Triad and Southwest Virginia News (2007-2008)
  • The Number 1 Choice for News in the Triad (2009-present)

External links

References

  1. ^ The Winston-Salem Journal, Magnolia Trees and Pulitzer Prizes, by Frank V. Tursi, page 182.
  2. ^ Bill Montgomery, "What Ever Happened to ... Johnny Beckman," Atlanta Journal-Constitution, December 11, 2006.
  3. ^ "WXII Launching New 24-Hour Movie, Classic TV Network", wxii12.com, March 23, 2009.
  4. ^ News 14 Carolina
  5. ^ "Tolly Carr Learns His Fate," MSNBC
  6. ^ "New anchor, reporter coming aboard at WESH," Orlando Sentinel TV blog
  7. ^ The Winston-Salem Journal, Magnolia Trees and Pulitzer Prizes, by Frank V. Tursi, page 179
  8. ^ breakthrufilms.org
  9. ^ Fred Shropshire bio
  10. ^ John Wendel bio
  11. ^ Anthony Wilson bio
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