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WZZM-TV, channel 13, is a television station affiliated with the ABC network, based in Grand Rapids, Michigan. WZZM's transmitter is located in Newaygo County, eight miles (12 km) south of the town of Fremont, Michigan. WZZM transmits its signal from an antenna with a height of 1,064 feet (324 m). The station officially went on the air on November 1, 1962, at 6:30 p.m.. The station went off the air just twenty minutes later, due to transmitter tube failure, and went back on ten minutes later.

Availability

Its transmitter lies about forty miles to the north-northwest of the transmitter for most other TV signals in the Grand Rapids/Kalamazoo/Battle Creek market. Thus signals of competing WWMT-TV (CBS), WOOD-TV (NBC), WXMI-TV (FOX), and WOTV (ABC) reach about forty miles farther south into Michigan, indeed to the Indiana state line. The signal of WZZM barely reaches Kalamazoo, where it was often not shown on cable television until about 2000, and misses Battle Creek, so its signal is more strictly limited to the northern part of the Grand Rapids-Kalamazoo-Battle Creek television market. Any move of the WZZM-TV signal to the transmitter that WWMT, WOOD, WXMI, and WOTV use would result in interference with the signal of WTVG, the ABC O&O in Toledo, Ohio on channel 13 whose signal reaches Hillsdale, Michigan, a situation that will end when WZZM goes entirely to digital broadcasting on channel 39, as WTVG's digital signal is on channel 19. Those who live in the southern two tiers of counties in western Michigan other than Kalamazoo must rely upon WOTV or the ABC affiliate in South Bend for ABC programming and television stations in the South Bend, Lansing, or even Chicago markets for non-ABC sydicated programming that WZZM carries. WZZM's signal often propagates across Lake Michigan and into such places as Sheboygan, Wisconsin; however, out of market viewership is of little commercial value to the station.

History

The station certainly had humble beginnings; its first broadcasts were from a banquet room-turned studio at the Pantlind Hotel (now the Amway Grand Plaza Hotel). Live broadcasts included This Morning with Bud Lindeman, Shirley's Show and an evening news program, though the station's most notable show in many minds is The Bozo Show, which was broadcast for more than 30 years. The news program improved in 1971 with the addition of the first weather radar in the West Michigan area, upgraded in 1974 to a computerized color version.

In August 1971, a multi-million dollar state-of-the-art studio was opened in Walker, with Congressman Gerald Ford, a Grand Rapids native, presiding over the ceremony. In the following years, WZZM became a formidable force in the Grand Rapids viewing community, gathering high ratings and a reputation as one of the top news programs in the West Michigan area.

In the 1990s, WZZM made an array of changes with the new millennium looming. New news vehicles were purchased, a new tape format (Beta SP) was introduced to digitize all media, a new radar receiver and new weather cameras were added across the state, and a new set was built, coinciding with WZZM's introduction of a new logo. In 2003, WZZM first started broadcasting in High Definition.

For most of its history, the newscast was called Eyewitness News until the late 1990s when it was replaced by WZZM 13 News.

5:30 Edition was introduced in 1993. It had soft news features in addition to the day's headlines. Many of its features were phased out and it became a standard newscast by 1997. Many of the features returned in 2004 when Take 5 Grand Rapids premiered. Take 5 originally aired at 5 p.m. but later moved to 4:30.

In 2005, the station launched the 13 On Target Weather Network, a weather channel broadcast on Channel 13-2; on Comcast and Charter Communications cable systems in West Michigan on channel 247; and on wzzm13.com. My 13 On Target Weather is a customizable e-mail and website service powered by myweather.net. It features headlines, weather conditions, and severe weather warnings.

WZZM's logo as of May 2006.

In early spring of 2006, WZZM finalized a major station over-haul, complete with a new logo, graphics, and promotional campaign, in order to recover from low viewership and to compete with first place West Michigan station WOOD (Channel 8).

In late September 2006, WZZM announced on air through a series of commercials that the morning newscast with Derek Francis, Lauren Stanton, and Hally Vogel beat number one morning newscast "Daybreak" on WOOD-TV8, according to recent Nielsen ratings.

Jay Schadler worked at WZZM during the 1970s. He currently works at ABC News. CNBC's Scott Cohn was at WZZM a few years before CNBC's launched. John Keating, a sportscaster for Fox Sports Net, worked at WZZM in the 1980s. However, he was known on air as "Steve Knight". Patrice Formby, a former anchor at CNN, also was at WZZM in the 1990s.

Programming

As a Gannett-owned television station WZZM continues to carry the entire ABC television lineup.

Weekday syndicated programming: Live with Regis and Kelly, Montel Williams, Judge Judy, Entertainment Tonight, Who Wants to be a Millionaire? and The Insider.

Weekend syndicated programming: Bob Vila, weekend editions of Entertainment Tonight, and The Insider, U.S. Farm Report, Your Total Health, and Ebert and Roeper.

News

Newscasts

Slogans

  • "The Breaking News Leader" (current)
  • "People Make the Difference" (current)
  • "The WZZM 13 News Difference" (2003-2004)
  • "Feel the Difference" (1998-2003)
  • "13 Works for You" and "Working for You" (1996-1997)

Partners

Awards

Over the years, WZZM has received numerous awards for journalistic excellence. Some of these include:

  • United Press International's Michigan News Station of the Year, 1980-1985.
  • Michigan Association of Broadcasters' Best Newscast and Best Coverage of Spot News awards, 1998
  • Michigan Association of Broadcasters' Station of the Year award, 2002.
  • Michigan Television News Photographers Association' Station of the Year award, 2002.

Take 5 Grand Rapids

Take 5 Grand Rapids is a live talk and entertainment show on WZZM weekdays at 4:30 p.m. (from its premiere in early 2004 to September 2005, it aired at 5:00 p.m.). It is hosted by Catherine Behrendt with reporter/substitute host Stephanie Webb.

Its slogan is "Learn a little. Live a little. Have some fun." It has some of the same soft news features that were on 5:30 Edition in the 1990s, such as movie reviews and cooking segments.

A key segment of this series is "Rescue My Home", which is similar to Extreme Makeover: Home Edition. Several times a year, a house is chosen for the makeover of a specific room. In early 2005, there was an "Extreme Mini-Makeover," which is similar to Extreme Makeover. In addition to a week's worth of segments about the project, they air primetime "Rescue My Home" specials. Past projects included the living room, bedroom, and the yard.

In addition to segments about gardening, cooking, being a mother, healthy lifestyle, movies, restaurants, money management, and auto maintenance, the show features celebrity interviews and performances by local artists and national artists who are visiting Grand Rapids.

Weather

OnTarget Forecast

The WZZM 13 team of meteorologists holds themselves accountable with a well-known target. The meteorologist reviews his or her forecast everyday from the previous day in comparison to the actual weather. If they were exactly right, an arrow shoots and hits the bullseye. If they were only a degree or two off, it is called a "Very Close" forecast. If they were 3-5 degrees off or if they were wrong in their prediction of sunlight or precipitation, it is called a "Close" forecast. If they were more incorrect than that, it is called a "Try Again," and the arrow shoots past the target completely.

Advance Newspapers

Meteorologist George Lessens writes a weekly column for Advance Newspapers. The column includes the forecast for the upcoming week, as of February 2006. It originally had a review of the previous week.

Weatherball

The WZZM 13 Weatherball.

The original weatherball was perched on top of the Michigan National Bank building in downtown Grand Rapids. The colors it displayed were representative of the coming weather pattern. A poem was written about the weatherball's colors:

Weatherball red, warmer weather ahead.
Weatherball blue, cooler weather in view.
Weatherball green, no change foreseen.
Colors blinking bright, rain or snow in sight.

However, due to questions about its stability, it was removed in 1987, after 20 years of existence. WZZM located the weatherball, which had resided in a Kalamazoo junkyard since its removal, and purchased it in 1999. In 2002, plans were announced to refurbish the stainless steel ball, and add new neon lights. The weatherball was perched on a 100-foot (30 m) monopole, and was lit on May 7, 2003. It is visible from both Interstate 96 and U.S. Highway 131, the two major freeways in the area.

Shortly after the reintroduction of the WZZM 13 Weatherball, a contest was held where viewers submitted video recordings of songs to coincide with the meanings of the weatherball. The winner chosen had their song on a new commercial that aired to inform the viewership of the significance of the colors.

The station also has a costume character mascot of the Weatherball named "Blinkie". A similar weatherball is also located on the Citizen's Bank building in Flint.

Weather Chaser

The Weather Chaser was introduced in 2001. It is a mobile version of the in-studio weather office capable of live broadcasts from anywhere in the broadcast area. During severe weather, the meteorologist using the Chaser can track and report storm conditions on location. It has not been mentioned on air in recent months but as late as August 2006 was spotted at the Unity Christian Music Festival in Muskegon, Michigan being used as a live shot vehicle for the meteorologist.

Weather Deck

The weather deck is a deck set up for weather reports. Most weather reports are done outside, except when the weather makes it unsafe for the meteorologist to go outside, such as severe weather situations. The weather deck was introduced in 1999. From 1995 to 1999, the evening meteorologist reported from the parking lot. Once a week, the noon newscast has a "Weather Deck Guest" segment - a live interview from the deck.

Sports

WZZM started expanded coverage of high school football in 1995 with Friday Night Football. A few years later, the name was changed to 13 On Your Sidelines.

During the 5:30 and 6:00 p.m. newscasts, a meteorologist does a weather report from the "Game of the Week" location with Blinkie the Weatherball mascot. During the 6:00 p.m. newscast, the "Game of the Week" is previewed.

The 11:00 p.m. newscast is shortened to one news segment and one weather segment. During the weather segment, cheerleaders join the meteorologist on the weather deck.

The current format for 13 On Your Sidelines is:

  • "Game of the Week"
  • Reports on 12 other games, giving a total of 13.
  • The in-studio audience is composed of cheerleaders and marching bands.
  • Scoreboard segments announcing the results of all other games.
  • Commentary on the 13 games.
  • Ticker showing scores from all sports, not just high school football.
  • Other sports news.

Major personalities

Take 5 Grand Rapids

  • Catherine Behrendt - Host. She joined the station in 1987. During the 1990's, she anchored the news in the morning and noon. She is currently head of the Community and Local Programming Department and host of Take 5 Grand Rapids, a talk and entertainment show airing weekdays at 4:30 p.m.
  • Stephanie Webb - Reporter and Co-Host, substitute host.

WZZM 13 News

WZZM 13 Morning News

  • Weekdays (5-7 am):
    • Derek Francis - Anchor, Super Saver Reporter.
    • Lauren Stanton - Anchor, Try It Before You Buy It Reporter.
    • Hally Vogel - Meteorologist.
  • Weekends [1] (6-8 am):
    • Jennifer Pascua - Anchor [2].
    • Linda Paige - Meteorologist, Science Reporter.

WZZM 13 News at Noon

  • Weekdays:
    • Lauren Stanton - Anchor, Try It Before You Buy It Reporter.
    • Hally Vogel - Meteorologist.

WZZM 13 News at 5:30

  • Weekdays:
    • Lee VanAmeyde - Anchor. He first joined WZZM in 1977. He also hosts DIY Grand Rapids on Sunday at noon[3]. This program is produced by DIY Network, a spinoff of Scripps-Howard-owned HGTV.
    • Juliet Dragos - Anchor. First joining WZZM in 1991, she often goes to different locations to broadcast major stories. She has traveled to New York City, Hollywood, and most notably to Bosnia in the wake of their civil war.
    • George Lessens - Chief Meteorologist; or Joe Kopecek - Meteorologist.

WZZM 13 News at 6:00

  • Weekdays:
    • Lee VanAmeyde - Anchor.
    • Juliet Dragos - Anchor.
    • George Lessens - Chief Meteorologist; or Joe Kopecek - Meteorologist.
    • Tom Clyde - Sports Director.
  • Weekends (6:30 on Sundays):
    • Valerie Lego - Anchor, Health Reporter.
    • Joe Kopecek - Meteorologist (Saturday), Journey with Joe.
    • George Lessens - Chief Meteorologist (Sunday).
    • David Solano - Sports.

WZZM 13 News at 11:00

  • Weekdays:
    • Lee VanAmeyde - Anchor.
    • Juliet Dragos - Anchor.
    • George Lessens - Chief Meteorologist; or Joe Kopecek - Meteorologist.
    • Tom Clyde - Sports Director.
  • Weekends:
    • Valerie Lego - Anchor, Health Reporter.
    • Joe Kopecek - Meteorologist (Saturday), Journey with Joe.
    • George Lessens - Chief Meteorologist (Sunday).
    • David Solano - Sports.

13 On Your Sidelines

  • Fridays at 11:15pm during high school football season.
    • Tom Clyde - Sports Director.
    • Dan Harland - Anchor.
    • David Solano - Anchor.

Other:

  • Peter Ross - Senior Reporter. He also hosts West Michigan Week on WGVU-TV.

Ownership

The station was founded by an investment group who called themselves West Michigan Telecasters. Over the years, the station was bought and sold numerous times:

Gannett is the current owner of WZZM, as well as numerous other television stations.

References

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