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| {{Use mdy dates|date=March 2012}} | {{Use mdy dates|date=March 2012}} | ||
| {{For|the Minneapolis television station that is sister to WUSA, which formerly used the WUSA-TV callsign|KARE}} | |||
| {{Infobox Broadcast | | {{Infobox Broadcast | | ||
| call_letters = WUSA| | call_letters = WUSA| | ||
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| station_branding = wusa*9 <small>(general)</small>| | station_branding = wusa*9 <small>(general)</small>| | ||
| digital = 9 (])<br>]: 9 (])| | digital = 9 (])<br>]: 9 (])| | ||
| subchannels = 9.1 ]<br>9.2 ]<br>9.3 weather radar| | |||
| affiliations = CBS<br>Bounce TV (DT2) | |||
| airdate = {{start date and age|1949|1|16}}| | |||
| Affiliations: CBS, Bounce TV | |||
| airdate = {{start date and age|1949|1|16}}| | |||
| location = ]| | location = ]| | ||
| callsign_meaning = '']'' (also owned by Gannett)<br>]| | callsign_meaning = '']'' (also owned by Gannett)<br>]| | ||
| Line 17: | Line 16: | ||
| owner = ]| | owner = ]| | ||
| licensee = ], Inc.| | licensee = ], Inc.| | ||
| sister_stations = | | |||
| former_affiliations = | | |||
| effective_radiated_power = 52 kW| | effective_radiated_power = 52 kW| | ||
| HAAT = 235 m| | HAAT = 235 m| | ||
| Line 25: | Line 26: | ||
| }} | }} | ||
| '''WUSA''' is a television station |
'''WUSA''', ] 9, is a ]-] ] located in the ] capital city of ]. The station is owned by the ] (based in the suburb of ]), which publishes the national newspaper '']'' (from which the station's call letters are derived from), and effectively serves as the ] television property of the company. WUSA's studios and transmitter are located in the ] neighborhood on the northwestern side of Washington.<ref>{{cite news |title=Digital Signal Sources |work=] |date=2008-05-20 |url=http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/graphic/2008/05/20/GR2008052000207.html?sid=ST2008051902978 }}</ref> | ||
| The station's signal is relayed on a ] ], '''W50BD-D''', in ]<ref></ref> (which is owned by Valley TV Cooperative, Inc.). | |||
| ==History== | ==History== | ||
| === Early years === | === Early years === | ||
| The station went on the air on January 11, 1949 as '''WOIC''', and began full-time operations on January 16. The fourth-oldest station in the nation's capital, channel 9 |
The station went on the air on January 11, 1949 as '''WOIC''', and began full-time operations on January 16. The fourth-oldest station in the nation's capital, channel 9 was originally owned by the Bamberger Broadcasting Service, a subsidiary of ].<ref>"WOIC opens; Capital figures to take part in TV ceremonies." '']'', January 17, 1949, pg. 35. </ref> Bamberger also owned ]-] in ], and was working to put WOR-TV (channel 9, now ]) on the air at the same time. Nine days later, WOIC broadcast the first televised American presidential inaugural address, given by President ]. WOIC picked up the ] affiliation upon signing on, replacing WMAL-TV (channel 7, now ]) as the network's Washington outlet. However, WOR was a shareholder in the ], which had plans to enter television with WOIC and WOR-TV as the flagship stations of its network; these plans never came to fruition. At the start of 1950, Bamberger Broadcasting changed its name to General Teleradio.<ref>"Bamberger change; name is now General Teleradio." ''Broadcasting - Telecasting'', January 2, 1950, pg. 26. </ref> | ||
| In June 1950, CBS |
In June 1950, CBS entered into a joint venture with the '']'' to purchase WOIC from Bamberger/Macy's for ]1.4 million. The new owners, WTOP Incorporated (the ''Washington Post'' owned 55%, with CBS holding the remaining 45% stake), changed the station's ] to '''WTOP-TV''', after its new sister station ] (then at ]).<ref>"WTOP buys WOIC (TV)." ''Broadcasting - Telecasting'', June 26, 1950, pg. 57. </ref> Since WTOP took the callsign from the radio partners at the time, the callsign was a coincidence under ownership of the publisher, since they never stood for "<u>W</u>ashing<u>TO</u>n <u>P</u>ost". In July 1950, WTOP-TV became the first television station in Washington authorized to broadcast color television in the 405-line field sequential color standard, which was incompatible with the black-and-white 525-line ] standard. Color broadcasts continued for nearly 30 months, when regulatory and commercial pressures forced the ] (FCC) to rescind its original color standard and begin the process of adopting the 525-line NTSC-3 standard, developed by RCA to be backwards compatible with the existing black-and-white televisions. | ||
| In 1954, the WTOP stations moved into a new facility, known as "Broadcast House", at 40th and Brandywine Streets NW in Washington. The building was the first in the country designed as a unified radio and television facility. Its name was in honor of ], home of the ] in London. The building was well-known to WTOP's president, since he had spent much of ] assigned to the BBC. Previous to the move to Broadcast House, the radio stations operated out of the Earle Building (now the Warner Building, home of the ]), and WTOP-TV had operated out of the small WOIC studios at the same location. When Broadcast House was completed and the new television studios were inaugurated, the old studio became the garage for Broadcast House and the old master control room became both the master control and transmitter room for channel 9, since Broadcast House had been built around the station's original, four-sided tower. The building with the tower remains in the middle at the same location, although it is now an office building and retail store front operated by Douglas Development Corp. | |||
| In July 1950, WTOP-TV became the first television station in Washington authorized to broadcast color television in the 405-line field sequential color standard, which was incompatible with the black-and-white 525-line NTSC standard. Color broadcasts continued for nearly 30 months, when regulatory and commercial pressures forced the ] (FCC) to rescind its original color standard and begin the process of adopting the 525-line NTSC-3 standard, developed by RCA to be backwards compatible with the existing black-and-white televisions. | |||
| The WTOP-TV tower was known in Washington for two things. First, at Christmas time, the tower was strung with Christmas lights and glowed brightly on top of ], the tallest point in the ]. Second, the tower tended to sway much more than three-sided towers. In a strong wind, the tower could be seen swaying back-and-forth, and during the winter ice from the tower fell quite often on the streets below. | |||
| In 1954, the WTOP stations moved into a new facility, known as "Broadcast House", at 40th and Brandywine streets NW in Washington. The building was the first in the country designed as a unified radio and television facility. Its name was in honor of ], home of the ] in London. The building was well-known to WTOP's president. since he had spent much of World War II assigned to the BBC. Previous to the move to Broadcast House, the radio stations operated out of the Earle Building (now the Warner Building, home of the ]), and WTOP-TV had operated out of the small WOIC studios at the same location. When Broadcast House was completed and the new television studios were inaugurated, the old studio became the garage for Broadcast House and the old master control room became both the master control and transmitter room for channel 9, since Broadcast House had been built around the station's original, four-sided tower. The building with the tower remains in the middle at the same location, although it is now an office building and retail store front operated by Douglas Development Corp. | |||
| In October 1954, CBS sold its share of WTOP Inc. to the ''Washington Post'' to comply with the ]'s new seven-station-per-group ownership rule. CBS's partial ownership of WTOP radio, ] in ] and ] in ] exceeded the FCC's limit for AM radio stations.<ref>"CBS sells interest in WTOP; WCCO bidding reported." ''Broadcasting - Telecasting'', October 11, 1954, pg. 64. </ref> CBS opted to sell its share of WTOP, which it had purchased in whole in 1932 before selling controlling interest to the ''Post'' in 1949. | |||
| The WTOP-TV tower was known in Washington for two things. First, at Christmas time, the tower was strung with Christmas lights and glowed brightly on top of Mount Reno, the tallest point in the ]. Second, the tower tended to sway much more than three-sided towers. In a strong wind the tower could be seen swaying back-and-forth, and during the winter ice from the tower fell quite often on the streets below. | |||
| After the sale closed, the ''Post'' merged the WTOP stations with its other broadcast property, ]-AM-] in ] and changed the name of the licensee from "WTOP Inc." to "Post Stations, Inc." WMBR radio was sold off in 1958, and WMBR-TV became ]. The ''Post'' renamed its broadcasting group "]" in 1961 after the ''Post'' bought '']'' magazine. Post-Newsweek acquired its third television station, WLBW-TV (now ]) in Miami in 1970 and in 1974 added WTIC-TV (now ]) in ] to the group. In 1972, WTOP-TV joined with the Evening Star Broadcasting Company (owned by the ''Post's'' rival, the now-defunct '']'' and licensee of WMAL-TV) to build the Joint Tower, a {{convert|1040|ft|m|adj=on}}, three-sided tower across the alley from Broadcast House at 4010 Chesapeake Street NW. Transmission lines were extended from Broadcast House's transmitter area to the new tower for both WTOP-TV and WHUR-FM (the former WTOP-FM, which had been donated by Post-Newsweek to ] in 1971). The old tower continued to serve as the backup antenna for channel 9 until the station sold Broadcast House in 1996. | |||
| Also in 1954, CBS sold its share of WTOP Inc. to the ''Washington Post'' to comply with the ]'s new seven-station-per-group ownership rule. CBS's partial ownership of WTOP radio, ] in ] and ] in ] exceeded the FCC's limit for AM stations.<ref>"CBS sells interest in WTOP; WCCO bidding reported." ''Broadcasting - Telecasting'', October 11, 1954, pg. 64. </ref> CBS opted to sell its share of WTOP, which it had purchased in whole in 1932 before selling controlling interest to the ''Post'' in 1949. | |||
| In 1974, WTOP and the other Post-Newsweek stations adopted the slogan ''The One and Only''. The moniker was part of a trend toward group identification of stations, with each station being ''The One and Only Channel (channel number)''. Staff members from the ''One and Only'' period usually refer to themselves as "the one and onlies" as a source of pride. The slogan was dropped from active use in the late 1990s and has not been used as part of an image campaign since 1996. The slogan no longer appears on-air, but was revived in a sense when channel 9 adopted its current slogan, ''First and Only with Local News in HDTV.'' WTOP was one of the few CBS stations that declined to carry the popular game show '']'' during the early years of the program's run. | |||
| After the sale closed, the ''Post'' merged the WTOP stations with its other broadcast property, ]-AM-] in ] and changed the name of the licensee from "WTOP Inc." to "Post Stations, Inc." WMBR radio was sold off in 1958, and WMBR-TV became ]. The ''Post'' renamed its broadcasting group "]" in 1961 after the ''Post'' bought '']'' magazine. Post-Newsweek acquired its third television station, WLBW-TV (now ]) in Miami in 1970 and in 1974 added WTIC-TV (now ]) in ] to the group. | |||
| In 1972, WTOP-TV joined with the Evening Star Broadcasting Company (owned by the ''Post's'' rival, the now-defunct '']'' and licensee of WMAL-TV) to build the Joint Tower, a {{convert|1040|ft|m|adj=on}}, three-sided tower across the alley from Broadcast House at 4010 Chesapeake Street, NW. Transmission lines were extended from Broadcast House's transmitter area to the new tower for both WTOP-TV and WHUR-FM (the former WTOP-FM, which had been donated by Post-Newsweek to ] in 1971). The old tower continued to serve as the backup antenna for channel 9 until the station sold Broadcast House in 1996. | |||
| In 1974, WTOP and the other Post-Newsweek stations adopted the slogan ''The One and Only''. The moniker was part of a trend toward group identification of stations, with each station being ''The One and Only Channel (channel number)''. Staff members from the ''One and Only'' period usually refer to themselves as "the one and onlies" as a source of pride. The slogan was dropped from active use in the late 1990s and has not been used as part of an image campaign since 1996. The slogan no longer appears on the air, but was revived in a sense when channel 9 adopted its current slogan, ''First and Only with Local News in HDTV.''Also, WTOP was one of the few CBS stations to passed on the early days of the popular game show '']''. | |||
| === Later years === | === Later years === | ||
| In July 1978, Post-Newsweek exchanged WTOP-TV with the Evening News Association's WWJ-TV (now ]) in ]. Upon completion of the swap, WTOP-TV changed its call letters to '''WDVM-TV''', with the new call letters representing the initials of the areas which channel 9 serves: |
In July 1978, Post-Newsweek exchanged WTOP-TV with the Evening News Association's WWJ-TV (now ]) in ]. Upon completion of the swap, WTOP-TV changed its call letters to '''WDVM-TV''', with the new call letters representing the initials of the areas which channel 9 serves: <u>D</u>istrict of Columbia, ] and ]. Post-Newsweek parent ], and the Evening News Association, which published the '']'', decided to swap their stations for fear that the FCC would force them to sell the stations at unfavorable terms or revoke their very valuable licenses because the FCC at the time was considering forbidding ].<ref>"Two more crossowners go thataway." ''Broadcasting'', December 12, 1977, pp. 19-21. </ref><ref>"WTOP-WDVM call letter change." '']''. Retrieved 2012-07-15. </ref> | ||
| ] | |||
| In 1985, the Gannett Company purchased the Evening News Association.<ref>"Gannett's magic touch wins Evening News." ''Broadcasting'', September 2, 1985, pp. 31-32. </ref><ref group="nb">By 2005 the Evening News Association had been renamed "], Inc.", after that Gannett subsidiary simultaneously bought the ''Free Press'' and sold the ''News''.</ref> On ], 1986, Gannett changed WDVM's call letters to '''WUSA''' both in honor of the station being located in the nation's capital and Gannett's ownership of '']''.<ref>"In brief." ''Broadcasting'', June 9, 1986, pg. 161. </ref> The same connection is noted with Gannett's NBC-affiliated ] station, ]. The WUSA callsign had previously been used by Gannett's station in Minneapolis, which changed its callsign to ]. While the station's current call sign is commonly printed as '''''W*USA''''', particularly in Gannett press releases, the ] or ] between the '''W''' and '''U''' is not officially recognized as part of the call sign, as FCC records list the station as WUSA. The star device was used to denote its connection to ''USA Today.'' (KUSA-TV employs a similar practice.) After the ] (the WUSA) was founded in the late 1990s (which also incorporates the star in the same fashion), the star was replaced on-air with the CBS eye. | |||
| In 1985, the ] purchased the Evening News Association.<ref>"Gannett's magic touch wins Evening News." ''Broadcasting'', September 2, 1985, pp. 31-32. </ref><ref group="nb">By 2005, the Evening News Association had been renamed "], Inc.", after that Gannett subsidiary simultaneously bought the ''Free Press'' and sold the ''News''.</ref> On ], 1986, Gannett changed WDVM's call letters to '''WUSA''' both in honor of the station being located in the nation's capital and Gannett's ownership of '']''<ref>"In brief." ''Broadcasting'', June 9, 1986, pg. 161. </ref> (the same connection is noted with Gannett's NBC-affiliated ] station, ]). The WUSA callsign had previously been used by Gannett's station in ], which changed its callsign to ]. While the station's current call sign is commonly printed as "W*USA", particularly in Gannett press releases, the ] or ] between the "W" and "U" is not officially recognized as part of the call sign, as FCC records list the station as WUSA. The star device was used to denote its connection to ''USA Today'' (KUSA-TV employs a similar practice). After the ] (the WUSA) was founded in the late 1990s (which also incorporates the star in the same fashion), the star was replaced on-air with the CBS eye. | |||
| WUSA moved to a new Broadcast House at 4100 Wisconsin Avenue NW in January 1992. WTOP-FM had left the old Broadcast House in 1971, but kept its transmitter there. WTOP radio departed in 1978; the ''Post'' had sold it a year earlier to the ]. The move to the more modern building was tinged with sadness due to the death from a brain tumor of channel 9's popular sportcaster, Glenn Brenner, just days before the move. In 1998, WUSA launched its website, wusatv9.com, but later removed the "TV" reference in the domain name to become wusa9.com. | |||
| From 1989 to 2000, WUSA had a 4 p.m. newscast and expanded its news block from 4:00 to 7:00 p.m., moving the '']'' to 7:00 p.m.. In 2000, the 4pm newscast was dropped and WUSA cut a half-hour off the end of its 4–7 news block repositioning the ''CBS Evening News'' to 6:30 p.m. like most CBS affiliates. (The reason why the 4 p.m. newscast had been implemented in 1989 was that the station gave up '']'' to neighboring ] due to the program's cost.) | |||
| During the ] in 2001, WUSA made the decision to preempt CBS' national coverage of the attacks on ] and the ] with its own local coverage;<ref> (Retrieved January 13, 2011)</ref> this decision proved controversial. As a local affiliate, WUSA did not possess the resources to cover the attacks as extensively as the national network, and its decision to institute a "CBS blackout" prevented its audience from viewing much of the national reporting anchored by ]. '']'' criticized this decision, writing, "The city was subjected to a CBS blackout by the local affiliate, Gannett-owned Channel 9. The station chose to view this, incredibly enough, as a local story and reported it initially as if it were a winter snow day and school closings were of the utmost importance." <ref>Shales, Tom. “On Television, the Unimaginable Story Unfolds.” Sep. 12, 2001. Washington Post. Pg. C01. LexisNexis. Web. Nov. 8, 2009.</ref> In May 2008, '']'', a nationally syndicated half-hour weekly public affairs television program, moved its production to the WUSA studios. | |||
| WUSA moved to a new Broadcast House at 4100 Wisconsin Avenue, NW in January 1992. WTOP-FM had left the old Broadcast House in 1971, but kept its transmitter there. WTOP radio departed in 1978; the ''Post'' had sold it a year earlier to the ]. The move to the more modern building was tinged with sadness due to the death from a brain tumor of channel 9's popular sportcaster, Glenn Brenner, just days before the move. | |||
| In 1998, WUSA launched its web site, wusatv9.com, but later removed the TV reference in the domain name to become wusa9.com. | |||
| ] | |||
| During the ] in 2001, WUSA made the decision to preempt CBS' national coverage of the attacks on ] and the ] with its own local coverage.<ref> (Retrieved January 13, 2011)</ref> This decision proved controversial. As a local affiliate, WUSA did not possess the resources to cover the attacks as extensively as the national network, and its decision to institute a "CBS blackout" prevented its audience from viewing much of the national reportage anchored by ]. '']'' criticized this decision, writing, "The city was subjected to a CBS blackout by the local affiliate, Gannett-owned Channel 9. The station chose to view this, incredibly enough, as a local story and reported it initially as if it were a winter snow day and school closings were of the utmost importance." <ref>Shales, Tom. “On Television, the Unimaginable Story Unfolds.” Sep. 12, 2001. Washington Post. Pg. C01. LexisNexis. Web. Nov. 8, 2009.</ref> | |||
| On May 2, 2005, WUSA became the first station in the Washington market to broadcast its newscasts in ]. In May 2008, '']'', a nationally syndicated half-hour weekly public affairs television program, began production in the WUSA studios. On April 20, 2009 it was announced that Washington, DC will be the first market to get free mobile digital television via cell phones and other mobile devices through ]. WUSA will be one of the first stations in the country to launch this new platform. Like all of the DC-area Mobile DTV broadcasters, WUSA-TV commenced ] broadcasting on February 27, 2011. | |||
| In February 2012, WUSA launched its investigative unit with Investigative Reporter Russ Ptacek. Ptacek's investigations have led to reform after uncovering millions in unreported government bonuses, a utility allowed to charge customers during disconnections caused by storms, taxis refusing passengers based upon race, and potentially deadly restaurant food safety risks.<ref>http://www.wusa9.com/life/company/article/193585/133/Russ-Ptacek--Investigative-Reporter</ref> | |||
| Beginning with the noon newscast on January 7, 2013, WUSA unveiled a new graphics scheme for the station's newscasts, which are now presented in a 16:9 letterbox format. The new graphics are designed to reduce on-screen clutter, which viewers complained before the change was made. Additionally, the station unveiled its new logo, which now reads on air as '''wusa*9''' (note the lower-case lettering). On January 22, 2013, sister station ], an ] affiliate in ], also unveiled an identical graphics scheme for its own station's newscasts, which, like WUSA, are now in a letterboxed 16:9 format. | |||
| As the Washington DC affiliate of CBS, WUSA clears the network programming on channel 9.1 | |||
| ==Websites== | ==Websites== | ||
| In July 2007, WUSA launched a second |
In July 2007, WUSA launched a second website at . The site focused on topics relating to young mothers in the Washington, D.C. area. Gannett also rolled out similar sites targeted at moms in other select markets where it owns a television and/or newspaper properties. In February 2008, WUSA launched a third website at . The site is fronted by noon anchor J.C. Hayward and provides local restaurant and business discounts as well as news and events targeted towards ]s. | ||
| In 2008, Gannett and Tribune partnered to expand the Metromix brand that has been successful for many years in Chicago at the '']''. |
In 2008, Gannett and the ] partnered to expand the ] brand that has been successful for many years in Chicago at the '']''. WUSA's local site launched in July 2008. There are 35 other Gannett and/or Tribune properties that have a Metromix site. In August 2008, Gannett revamped its moms sites, and DVMmoms.com was renamed . Like the previous versions, the site features topics related to young moms and includes technology from Ripple 6, which was recently acquired by Gannett. There are MomsLikeMe.com sites in 85 other markets throughout the country. | ||
| In September 2008, WUSA's fifth |
In September 2008, WUSA's fifth website was launched, called . The site features, among other things, high school sports rankings, schedules, and scores for high school football, soccer, basketball and baseball games around the United States. The site is also a Gannett-owned property that was launched in many markets throughout the country. | ||
| In June 2010, Gannett Broadcasting and DataSphere Technologies announced a partnership to create community-focused websites in 10 of their television station markets. WUSA was one of the first to launch these sites in August 2010. |
In June 2010, Gannett Broadcasting and DataSphere Technologies announced a partnership to create community-focused websites in 10 of their television station markets. WUSA was one of the first to launch these sites in August 2010. The sites are integrated within the existing website and feature hyperlocal news and user-generated content about area happenings and events. In addition to powering the community websites, DataSphere provides enhanced functionality, including market-leading site search, coupons, a business directory and ad targeting. WUSA created 53 different neighborhood sites in the Metro D.C. area. | ||
| ==Translator== | |||
| WUSA is broadcast on a low-powered translator called W50BD-D in ].<ref>http://www.rabbitears.info/market.php?request=station_search&callsign=W50BD#station</ref> W50BD-D is not owned by WUSA and the ] and is owned by Valley TV Cooperative, Inc. instead. | |||
| ==Digital television== | ==Digital television== | ||
| ===Digital channels=== | |||
| The station's digital signal is ]: | The station's digital signal is ]: | ||
| {| class="wikitable" | {| class="wikitable" | ||
| |- | |- | ||
| ! ] | |||
| ! Channel | |||
| ! ] | ! ] | ||
| ! ] | ! ] | ||
| ! PSIP Short Name | ! ] | ||
| ! Programming<ref></ref> | |||
| ! Programming | |||
| |- | |- | ||
| | 9.1 || ] || ] || WUSA-HD || Main WUSA programming / CBS | | 9.1 || ] || ] || WUSA-HD || Main WUSA programming / CBS | ||
| Line 96: | Line 82: | ||
| | 9.3 || 9 Radar || Doppler 9000 HD Weather Radar | | 9.3 || 9 Radar || Doppler 9000 HD Weather Radar | ||
| |} | |} | ||
| On November 1, 2011, WUSA signed an affiliation agreement to add ],<ref>, ''TVNewsCheck'', November 1, 2011.</ref> which launched on WUSA digital subchannel 9.2, on December 16, 2011.<ref> ''WUSA-TV'', December 16, 2011</ref> | |||
| On November 1, 2011, WUSA signed an affiliation agreement to add ],<ref>, ''TVNewsCheck'', November 1, 2011.</ref> which launched on WUSA ] 9.2, on December 16, 2011.<ref> ''WUSA-TV'', December 16, 2011</ref> | |||
| ===Analog-to-digital conversion=== | ===Analog-to-digital conversion=== | ||
| WUSA shut down its analog signal, over ] channel 2, on June 12, 2009, as part of the ].<ref name="Analog to Digital"></ref><ref></ref> The station's digital signal relocated from its pre-transition ] channel 34 to VHF channel 9. | |||
| ===Mobile DTV=== | ===Mobile DTV=== | ||
| In July 2009, Washington, D.C. |
On April 20, 2009, it was announced that Washington, D.C. would become the first market to receive free mobile digital television signals via cell phones and other mobile devices. In July 2009, Washington, D.C.'s television stations became a test market for ], and WUSA was one of the participating stations.<ref name=Special>{{cite news|url=http://www.broadcastingcable.com/article/314792-Special_Report_Mobile_DTV_Heats_Up.php |title=Special Report: Mobile DTV Heats Up |last=Dickson |first=Glen |date=2009-07-13 |work=] |accessdate=2009-07-15}}</ref> Like all of the D.C.-area Mobile DTV broadcasters, WUSA-TV commenced full-time ] broadcasting on February 27, 2011. WUSA's Mobile DTV feed of subchannel 9.1, labelled "WUSA 9", broadcasts at 3.67 Mbit/s.<ref>http://www.rabbitears.info/market.php?request=atscmph</ref><ref>http://www.mdtvsignalmap.com/</ref> | ||
| ==Programming== | |||
| ] programs broadcast by WUSA include '']'', '']'', '']'', '']'', '']'' and '']''. As the network's Washington, D.C. affiliate, WUSA generally clears the entire CBS network programming schedule. It is one of several CBS affiliates that broadcast '']'' earlier than the network's recommended 2 p.m. timeslot, with the program airing at 10 a.m. weekdays. | |||
| ==News operation== | ==News operation== | ||
| WUSA was the launchpad for several well-known news anchors. ] and ] are among WUSA's most successful alumni. ] was co-anchor of ] with ] from 1969 to 1978 before he became the first black anchorman on network television and one of the original anchors of ]. ] of ] was a sports anchor at the station in the 1980s. | WUSA-TV presently broadcasts 29½ hours of locally produced newscasts each week (with 5½ hours on weekdays and one hour each on Saturdays and Sundays); in addition, the station produces a sports highlight program called ''Game On!'', which airs Sunday evenings after the 11 p.m. newscast. WUSA was the launchpad for several well-known news anchors. ] and ] are among WUSA's most successful alumni. ] was co-anchor of '']'' with ] from 1969 to 1978 before he became the first black anchorman on network television and one of the original anchors of '']''. ] of ] was a sports anchor at the station in the 1980s. | ||
| In 1989, WUSA debuted an hour-long newscast at 4 p.m. (replacing '']'', which the station chose not to continue carrying to the program's licensing fees, it then moved to ]), which created a three-hour local news block from 4 to 7 p.m., resulting in the move of the '']'' to 7 p.m. The 4 p.m. newscast was dropped in 2000, with WUSA also cutting a half-hour off the end of its 4–7 news block, moving the ''CBS Evening News'' to 6:30 p.m., the recommended timeslot for the network newscast for CBS stations located in the ]. | |||
| ===News team=== | |||
| ====Current on-air staff<ref></ref>==== | |||
| '''Anchors''' | |||
| * Anita Brikman – weeknights at 5:00, 6:00 and 11:00 p.m.; also "Living Well" health reporter | |||
| * Lesli Foster – weeknights at 5:00 and 6:00 p.m.; also "Living Smart" consumer reporter | |||
| * J.C. Hayward – weekdays at noon | |||
| * Mike Hydeck – weekday mornings (4:25–7:00 a.m.) | |||
| * ] – Saturdays at 6:00, Sundays at 6:30 and weekends at 11:00 p.m.; also weekday reporter | |||
| * ] – weeknights at 5:00, 7:00 and 11:00 p.m. | |||
| * Andrea Roane – weekday mornings (4:25–7:00 a.m.); also "Buddy Check" reporter | |||
| On May 2, 2005, WUSA became the first television station in the Washington market to begin broadcasting its local newscasts in ]. In February 2012, WUSA launched its investigative unit with investigative reporter Russ Ptacek. Ptacek's investigations have led to reform after uncovering millions in unreported government bonuses, a utility allowed to charge customers during disconnections caused by storms, taxis refusing passengers based upon race, and potentially deadly restaurant food safety risks.<ref>, WUSA. Retrieved June 8, 2013.</ref> | |||
| '''''W*USA 9 First Alert Weather''''' (Also heard on ] 99.1) | |||
| * ] (] Seal of Approval) – chief meteorologist; weeknights at 5:00, 6:00, 7:00 and 11:00 p.m. | |||
| * Howard Bernstein (AMS Seal of Approval) – meteorologist; weekday mornings (4:25–7:00 a.m.) and weekdays at noon | |||
| * Erica Grow (AMS ] Seal of Approval) – meteorologist/GA Reporter; Saturdays at 6:00, Sundays at 6:30 and weekends at 11:00 p.m.; also weeknight fill-in | |||
| Beginning with the noon newscast on January 7, 2013, WUSA unveiled a new graphics package for the station's newscasts designed for Gannett's news-producing stations by design firm The Mill; the new graphics are designed to reduce on-screen clutter, which viewers complained about prior to the change to the new standardized graphics. With the change, WUSA began using the ] #10 broadcast flag to present their newscasts in ] ] for viewers watching on ] through ] television sets. Additionally, the station unveiled its new logo, which is now stylized as "wusa*9", in lower-case lettering. | |||
| '''Sports team''' (also seen on ''Game On!'') | |||
| * TBD - weeknights at 6:00, 7:00 and 11:00 p.m. | |||
| * Kristin Berset – sports anchor; Saturdays at 6:00, Sundays at 6:30 and weekends at 11:00 p.m.; also sports reporter and fill-in weeknight sports anchor | |||
| * Dave Owens – sports reporter and fill-in sports anchor | |||
| * Kevin Jones - sports blogger | |||
| ===News team=== | |||
| '''Traffic''' | |||
| ====Current on-air staff==== | |||
| * Monika Samtani – weekday morning traffic anchor (4:25-7:00 a.m.) | |||
| WUSA's primary news anchors are Anita Brikman (weeknights at 5, 6 and 11 p.m.; also "Living Well" health reporter), Lesli Foster (weeknights at 5 and 6 p.m.; also "Living Smart" consumer reporter), J.C. Hayward (weekdays at noon), Mike Hydeck (weekday mornings from 4:30-7 a.m., ] (Saturdays at 6, Sundays at 6:30 and weekends at 11 p.m.; also weekday reporter), ] (weeknights at 5, 7 and 11 p.m.) and Andrea Roane (weekday mornings from 4:30-7 a.m.; also "Buddy Check" reporter).<ref name="team"></ref> | |||
| The ''W*USA 9 First Alert Weather'' team includes chief meteorologist ] (] Seal of Approval; weeknights at 5, 6, 7 and 11 p.m.), and meteorologists Howard Bernstein (AMS Seal of Approval; weekday mornings from 4:30-7 a.m. and weekdays at noon) and Erica Grow (AMS ] Seal of Approval; Saturdays at 6, Sundays at 6:30 and weekends at 11 p.m.; also general assignment reporter and weeknight fill-in meteorologist).<ref name="team"/> All of WUSA's meteorologists provide weather updates for ] (99.1). | |||
| '''Investigative Unit''' | |||
| * Russ Ptacek - investigative reporter | |||
| * Felix Ortiz - investigative photographer | |||
| * Erin Van der Bellen - investigative producer | |||
| * Samantha Martin-Ewing investigative-special projects executive producer | |||
| The station's sports team (all of whom are also seen on ''Game On!'') includes sports anchor Kristin Berset (Saturdays at 6, Sundays at 6:30 and weekends at 11 p.m.; also sports reporter and fill-in weeknight sports anchor), sports reporter Dave Owens (also fill-in sports anchor) and sports blogger Kevin Jones.<ref name="team"/> The weeknight sports anchor/sports director position (weeknights at 6, 7 and 11 p.m.) is currently vacant. | |||
| '''Reporters''' | |||
| * Scott Broom – general assignment reporter | |||
| * Surae Chinn – general assignment reporter | |||
| * Jessica Doyle – business/consumer reporter; also fill-in weekday morning anchor | |||
| * Kristin Fisher – general assignment reporter | |||
| * Delia Goncalves – weekday morning reporter (4:25-7:00 a.m.) | |||
| * ] – general assignment reporter (previously with WUSA from 1992–1995) | |||
| * Ken Molestina – general assignment reporter | |||
| * Bruce Leshan – general assignment reporter | |||
| * Russ Ptacek - investigative reporter | |||
| * Ko Im - general assignment reporter and weekend overnight producer/anchor | |||
| WUSA's reporting staff includes Scott Broom (general assignment reporter), Surae Chinn (general assignment reporter), Jessica Doyle (business/consumer reporter; also fill-in weekday morning anchor), Kristin Fisher (general assignment reporter), Delia Goncalves (weekday morning reporter), Ko Im (general assignment reporter and weekend overnight producer/anchor), ] (general assignment reporter; previously with WUSA from 1992–1995), Ken Molestina (general assignment reporter), Bruce Leshan (general assignment reporter), Russ Ptacek (investigative reporter) and Monika Samtani (weekday morning traffic anchor). The station's investigative unit includes Russ Ptacek (investigative reporter), Felix Ortiz (investigative photographer), Erin Van der Bellen (investigative producer) and Samantha Martin-Ewing (investigative and special projects executive producer).<ref name="team"/> | |||
| ====Notable former staff==== | |||
| *] – sports anchor (2000–2002, now works with the Maryland Terrapins) | |||
| *] – evening traffic anchor (?-2010; now at ] in Las Vegas) | |||
| *] – anchor/reporter (1973–1995) (now at ]) | |||
| *] – sports director (1977–1992) {{ref|D|}} | |||
| *] – sports anchor (1984–1990; now at ]) | |||
| *] – Channel 9's first ] (1950–1954; died in July 2009){{ref|D|}} | |||
| *] – anchor/reporter (1961–1967) | |||
| *] – sports director (2004–2011; becoming editor-at-large at ] and ] play-by-play commentator) | |||
| *] – sports anchor and reporter (1969–1983 and 1992–2004, retired) | |||
| *] (Statter) – meteorologist (2000–2004; now at WTOP radio) | |||
| *] – anchor/reporter (1970–1976) | |||
| *] – film critic and entertainment reporter (1970–1987) {{ref|D|}} | |||
| *] – anchor (2004–2008, now at ] in Pittsburgh) | |||
| *] – reporter (1976–1978) | |||
| *] – reporter (1979–1980) {{ref|D|}} | |||
| *] – anchor/reporter (1969–2004; now at WJLA) | |||
| *] – sports reporter/weekend sports anchor (2003–2008) | |||
| *] – anchor/reporter (1969–1978) {{ref|D|}} | |||
| *] – anchor/reporter (1969–1996) {{ref|D|}} | |||
| *] – meteorologist/anchor (1991–1992) | |||
| *] – sports anchor (1968–1976 and 1992–1996) | |||
| *] – reporter/anchor (1995–2001, now at WRC-TV) | |||
| ====Notable former on-air staff==== | |||
| <small>{{note|D|}} – Deceased</small> | |||
| * ] - sports anchor (2000–2002, now works with the Maryland Terrapins) | |||
| * ] - evening traffic anchor (?-2010; now at ] in Las Vegas) | |||
| * ] - anchor/reporter (1973–1995; now at ]) | |||
| * ] - sports director (1977–1992) {{ref|D|}} | |||
| * ] - sports anchor (1984–1990; now at ]) | |||
| * ] - Channel 9's first ] (1950–1954; died in July 2009){{ref|D|}} | |||
| * ] - anchor/reporter (1961–1967) | |||
| * ] - sports director (2004–2011; becoming editor-at-large at ] and ] play-by-play commentator) | |||
| * ] - sports anchor and reporter (1969–1983 and 1992–2004, retired) | |||
| * ] (Statter) - meteorologist (2000–2004; now at WTOP radio) | |||
| * ] - anchor/reporter (1970–1976) | |||
| * ] - film critic and entertainment reporter (1970–1987) {{ref|D|}} | |||
| * ] - anchor (2004–2008, now at ] in Pittsburgh) | |||
| * ] - reporter (1976–1978) | |||
| * ] - reporter (1979–1980) {{ref|D|}} | |||
| * ] - anchor/reporter (1969–2004; now at WJLA) | |||
| * ] - sports reporter/weekend sports anchor (2003–2008) | |||
| * ] - anchor/reporter (1969–1978) {{ref|D|}} | |||
| * ] - anchor/reporter (1969–1996) {{ref|D|}} | |||
| * ] - meteorologist/anchor (1991–1992) | |||
| * ] - sports anchor (1968–1976 and 1992–1996) | |||
| * ] - reporter/anchor (1995–2001, now at WRC-TV) | |||
| <small>{{note|D|}} – Indicates person is deceased.</small> | |||
| ==== Slogans ==== | |||
| *"The One & Only TV-9" (1974-1991) | |||
| ==Footnotes== | ==Footnotes and references== | ||
| {{Reflist|group=nb}} | {{Reflist|group=nb}} | ||
| ==References== | |||
| {{Reflist}} | {{Reflist}} | ||
| ==External links== | ==External links== | ||
| * - Official |
* - Official website | ||
| *{{TVQ|WUSA}} | *{{TVQ|WUSA}} | ||
| *{{TVQ|W50BD-D}} | *{{TVQ|W50BD-D}} | ||
| Line 197: | Line 155: | ||
| {{DEFAULTSORT:Wusa (Tv)}} | {{DEFAULTSORT:Wusa (Tv)}} | ||
| ] | ] | ||
| ] | |||
| ] | ] | ||
| ] | ] | ||
Revision as of 18:57, 8 June 2013
For the Minneapolis television station that is sister to WUSA, which formerly used the WUSA-TV callsign, see KARE.
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WUSA, channel 9, is a CBS-affiliated television station located in the American capital city of Washington, District of Columbia. The station is owned by the Gannett Company (based in the suburb of McLean, Virginia), which publishes the national newspaper USA Today (from which the station's call letters are derived from), and effectively serves as the flagship television property of the company. WUSA's studios and transmitter are located in the Tenleytown neighborhood on the northwestern side of Washington.
The station's signal is relayed on a low-powered translator station, W50BD-D, in Moorefield, West Virginia (which is owned by Valley TV Cooperative, Inc.).
History
Early years
The station went on the air on January 11, 1949 as WOIC, and began full-time operations on January 16. The fourth-oldest station in the nation's capital, channel 9 was originally owned by the Bamberger Broadcasting Service, a subsidiary of R.H. Macy and Company. Bamberger also owned WOR-AM-FM in New York City, and was working to put WOR-TV (channel 9, now WWOR-TV) on the air at the same time. Nine days later, WOIC broadcast the first televised American presidential inaugural address, given by President Harry S. Truman. WOIC picked up the CBS affiliation upon signing on, replacing WMAL-TV (channel 7, now WJLA-TV) as the network's Washington outlet. However, WOR was a shareholder in the Mutual Radio Network, which had plans to enter television with WOIC and WOR-TV as the flagship stations of its network; these plans never came to fruition. At the start of 1950, Bamberger Broadcasting changed its name to General Teleradio.
In June 1950, CBS entered into a joint venture with the Washington Post to purchase WOIC from Bamberger/Macy's for $1.4 million. The new owners, WTOP Incorporated (the Washington Post owned 55%, with CBS holding the remaining 45% stake), changed the station's call sign to WTOP-TV, after its new sister station WTOP radio (then at 1500 AM). Since WTOP took the callsign from the radio partners at the time, the callsign was a coincidence under ownership of the publisher, since they never stood for "WashingTOn Post". In July 1950, WTOP-TV became the first television station in Washington authorized to broadcast color television in the 405-line field sequential color standard, which was incompatible with the black-and-white 525-line NTSC standard. Color broadcasts continued for nearly 30 months, when regulatory and commercial pressures forced the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to rescind its original color standard and begin the process of adopting the 525-line NTSC-3 standard, developed by RCA to be backwards compatible with the existing black-and-white televisions.
In 1954, the WTOP stations moved into a new facility, known as "Broadcast House", at 40th and Brandywine Streets NW in Washington. The building was the first in the country designed as a unified radio and television facility. Its name was in honor of Broadcasting House, home of the BBC in London. The building was well-known to WTOP's president, since he had spent much of World War II assigned to the BBC. Previous to the move to Broadcast House, the radio stations operated out of the Earle Building (now the Warner Building, home of the Warner Theatre), and WTOP-TV had operated out of the small WOIC studios at the same location. When Broadcast House was completed and the new television studios were inaugurated, the old studio became the garage for Broadcast House and the old master control room became both the master control and transmitter room for channel 9, since Broadcast House had been built around the station's original, four-sided tower. The building with the tower remains in the middle at the same location, although it is now an office building and retail store front operated by Douglas Development Corp.
The WTOP-TV tower was known in Washington for two things. First, at Christmas time, the tower was strung with Christmas lights and glowed brightly on top of Mount Reno, the tallest point in the District of Columbia. Second, the tower tended to sway much more than three-sided towers. In a strong wind, the tower could be seen swaying back-and-forth, and during the winter ice from the tower fell quite often on the streets below.
In October 1954, CBS sold its share of WTOP Inc. to the Washington Post to comply with the Federal Communications Commission's new seven-station-per-group ownership rule. CBS's partial ownership of WTOP radio, KQV radio in Pittsburgh and WCCO radio in Minneapolis exceeded the FCC's limit for AM radio stations. CBS opted to sell its share of WTOP, which it had purchased in whole in 1932 before selling controlling interest to the Post in 1949.
After the sale closed, the Post merged the WTOP stations with its other broadcast property, WMBR-AM-TV in Jacksonville, Florida and changed the name of the licensee from "WTOP Inc." to "Post Stations, Inc." WMBR radio was sold off in 1958, and WMBR-TV became WJXT. The Post renamed its broadcasting group "Post-Newsweek Stations" in 1961 after the Post bought Newsweek magazine. Post-Newsweek acquired its third television station, WLBW-TV (now WPLG) in Miami in 1970 and in 1974 added WTIC-TV (now WFSB) in Hartford, Connecticut to the group. In 1972, WTOP-TV joined with the Evening Star Broadcasting Company (owned by the Post's rival, the now-defunct Washington Star and licensee of WMAL-TV) to build the Joint Tower, a 1,040-foot (320 m), three-sided tower across the alley from Broadcast House at 4010 Chesapeake Street NW. Transmission lines were extended from Broadcast House's transmitter area to the new tower for both WTOP-TV and WHUR-FM (the former WTOP-FM, which had been donated by Post-Newsweek to Howard University in 1971). The old tower continued to serve as the backup antenna for channel 9 until the station sold Broadcast House in 1996.
In 1974, WTOP and the other Post-Newsweek stations adopted the slogan The One and Only. The moniker was part of a trend toward group identification of stations, with each station being The One and Only Channel (channel number). Staff members from the One and Only period usually refer to themselves as "the one and onlies" as a source of pride. The slogan was dropped from active use in the late 1990s and has not been used as part of an image campaign since 1996. The slogan no longer appears on-air, but was revived in a sense when channel 9 adopted its current slogan, First and Only with Local News in HDTV. WTOP was one of the few CBS stations that declined to carry the popular game show The Price is Right during the early years of the program's run.
Later years
In July 1978, Post-Newsweek exchanged WTOP-TV with the Evening News Association's WWJ-TV (now WDIV-TV) in Detroit. Upon completion of the swap, WTOP-TV changed its call letters to WDVM-TV, with the new call letters representing the initials of the areas which channel 9 serves: District of Columbia, Virginia and Maryland. Post-Newsweek parent The Washington Post Company, and the Evening News Association, which published the Detroit News, decided to swap their stations for fear that the FCC would force them to sell the stations at unfavorable terms or revoke their very valuable licenses because the FCC at the time was considering forbidding ownership of newspapers and broadcast stations in the same market.
In 1985, the Gannett Company purchased the Evening News Association. On July 4, 1986, Gannett changed WDVM's call letters to WUSA both in honor of the station being located in the nation's capital and Gannett's ownership of USA Today (the same connection is noted with Gannett's NBC-affiliated Denver station, KUSA-TV). The WUSA callsign had previously been used by Gannett's station in Minneapolis, which changed its callsign to KARE. While the station's current call sign is commonly printed as "W*USA", particularly in Gannett press releases, the asterisk or star between the "W" and "U" is not officially recognized as part of the call sign, as FCC records list the station as WUSA. The star device was used to denote its connection to USA Today (KUSA-TV employs a similar practice). After the Women's United Soccer Association (the WUSA) was founded in the late 1990s (which also incorporates the star in the same fashion), the star was replaced on-air with the CBS eye.
WUSA moved to a new Broadcast House at 4100 Wisconsin Avenue NW in January 1992. WTOP-FM had left the old Broadcast House in 1971, but kept its transmitter there. WTOP radio departed in 1978; the Post had sold it a year earlier to the Outlet Company. The move to the more modern building was tinged with sadness due to the death from a brain tumor of channel 9's popular sportcaster, Glenn Brenner, just days before the move. In 1998, WUSA launched its website, wusatv9.com, but later removed the "TV" reference in the domain name to become wusa9.com.
During the September 11 attacks in 2001, WUSA made the decision to preempt CBS' national coverage of the attacks on the Pentagon and the World Trade Center with its own local coverage; this decision proved controversial. As a local affiliate, WUSA did not possess the resources to cover the attacks as extensively as the national network, and its decision to institute a "CBS blackout" prevented its audience from viewing much of the national reporting anchored by Dan Rather. The Washington Post criticized this decision, writing, "The city was subjected to a CBS blackout by the local affiliate, Gannett-owned Channel 9. The station chose to view this, incredibly enough, as a local story and reported it initially as if it were a winter snow day and school closings were of the utmost importance." In May 2008, The McLaughlin Group, a nationally syndicated half-hour weekly public affairs television program, moved its production to the WUSA studios.
Websites
In July 2007, WUSA launched a second website at DVMmoms.com. The site focused on topics relating to young mothers in the Washington, D.C. area. Gannett also rolled out similar sites targeted at moms in other select markets where it owns a television and/or newspaper properties. In February 2008, WUSA launched a third website at DVMOurTime.com. The site is fronted by noon anchor J.C. Hayward and provides local restaurant and business discounts as well as news and events targeted towards baby boomers.
In 2008, Gannett and the Tribune Company partnered to expand the Metromix brand that has been successful for many years in Chicago at the Chicago Tribune. WUSA's local Metromix.com site launched in July 2008. There are 35 other Gannett and/or Tribune properties that have a Metromix site. In August 2008, Gannett revamped its moms sites, and DVMmoms.com was renamed MomsLikeMe.com. Like the previous versions, the site features topics related to young moms and includes technology from Ripple 6, which was recently acquired by Gannett. There are MomsLikeMe.com sites in 85 other markets throughout the country.
In September 2008, WUSA's fifth website was launched, called HighSchoolSports.net. The site features, among other things, high school sports rankings, schedules, and scores for high school football, soccer, basketball and baseball games around the United States. The site is also a Gannett-owned property that was launched in many markets throughout the country.
In June 2010, Gannett Broadcasting and DataSphere Technologies announced a partnership to create community-focused websites in 10 of their television station markets. WUSA was one of the first to launch these sites in August 2010. The sites are integrated within the existing website and feature hyperlocal news and user-generated content about area happenings and events. In addition to powering the community websites, DataSphere provides enhanced functionality, including market-leading site search, coupons, a business directory and ad targeting. WUSA created 53 different neighborhood sites in the Metro D.C. area.
Digital television
Digital channels
The station's digital signal is multiplexed:
| Channel | Video | Aspect | PSIP Short Name | Programming |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 9.1 | 1080i | 16:9 | WUSA-HD | Main WUSA programming / CBS |
| 9.2 | 480i | 4:3 | BOUNCE | Bounce TV |
| 9.3 | 9 Radar | Doppler 9000 HD Weather Radar |
On November 1, 2011, WUSA signed an affiliation agreement to add Bounce TV, which launched on WUSA digital subchannel 9.2, on December 16, 2011.
Analog-to-digital conversion
WUSA shut down its analog signal, over VHF channel 2, on June 12, 2009, as part of the federally-mandated transition from analog to digital television. The station's digital signal relocated from its pre-transition UHF channel 34 to VHF channel 9.
Mobile DTV
On April 20, 2009, it was announced that Washington, D.C. would become the first market to receive free mobile digital television signals via cell phones and other mobile devices. In July 2009, Washington, D.C.'s television stations became a test market for Mobile DTV, and WUSA was one of the participating stations. Like all of the D.C.-area Mobile DTV broadcasters, WUSA-TV commenced full-time ATSC-M/H broadcasting on February 27, 2011. WUSA's Mobile DTV feed of subchannel 9.1, labelled "WUSA 9", broadcasts at 3.67 Mbit/s.
Programming
Syndicated programs broadcast by WUSA include Inside Edition, Right This Minute, The Doctors, Criminal Minds, omg! Insider and Dr. Phil. As the network's Washington, D.C. affiliate, WUSA generally clears the entire CBS network programming schedule. It is one of several CBS affiliates that broadcast Let's Make a Deal earlier than the network's recommended 2 p.m. timeslot, with the program airing at 10 a.m. weekdays.
News operation
WUSA-TV presently broadcasts 29½ hours of locally produced newscasts each week (with 5½ hours on weekdays and one hour each on Saturdays and Sundays); in addition, the station produces a sports highlight program called Game On!, which airs Sunday evenings after the 11 p.m. newscast. WUSA was the launchpad for several well-known news anchors. Sam Donaldson and Warner Wolf are among WUSA's most successful alumni. Max Robinson was co-anchor of Eyewitness News with Gordon Peterson from 1969 to 1978 before he became the first black anchorman on network television and one of the original anchors of ABC's World News Tonight. James Brown of CBS Sports was a sports anchor at the station in the 1980s.
In 1989, WUSA debuted an hour-long newscast at 4 p.m. (replacing The Oprah Winfrey Show, which the station chose not to continue carrying to the program's licensing fees, it then moved to WJLA-TV), which created a three-hour local news block from 4 to 7 p.m., resulting in the move of the CBS Evening News to 7 p.m. The 4 p.m. newscast was dropped in 2000, with WUSA also cutting a half-hour off the end of its 4–7 news block, moving the CBS Evening News to 6:30 p.m., the recommended timeslot for the network newscast for CBS stations located in the Eastern Time Zone.
On May 2, 2005, WUSA became the first television station in the Washington market to begin broadcasting its local newscasts in high definition. In February 2012, WUSA launched its investigative unit with investigative reporter Russ Ptacek. Ptacek's investigations have led to reform after uncovering millions in unreported government bonuses, a utility allowed to charge customers during disconnections caused by storms, taxis refusing passengers based upon race, and potentially deadly restaurant food safety risks.
Beginning with the noon newscast on January 7, 2013, WUSA unveiled a new graphics package for the station's newscasts designed for Gannett's news-producing stations by design firm The Mill; the new graphics are designed to reduce on-screen clutter, which viewers complained about prior to the change to the new standardized graphics. With the change, WUSA began using the AFD #10 broadcast flag to present their newscasts in letterboxed widescreen for viewers watching on cable television through 4:3 television sets. Additionally, the station unveiled its new logo, which is now stylized as "wusa*9", in lower-case lettering.
News team
Current on-air staff
WUSA's primary news anchors are Anita Brikman (weeknights at 5, 6 and 11 p.m.; also "Living Well" health reporter), Lesli Foster (weeknights at 5 and 6 p.m.; also "Living Smart" consumer reporter), J.C. Hayward (weekdays at noon), Mike Hydeck (weekday mornings from 4:30-7 a.m., Bruce Johnson (Saturdays at 6, Sundays at 6:30 and weekends at 11 p.m.; also weekday reporter), Derek McGinty (weeknights at 5, 7 and 11 p.m.) and Andrea Roane (weekday mornings from 4:30-7 a.m.; also "Buddy Check" reporter).
The W*USA 9 First Alert Weather team includes chief meteorologist Topper Shutt (AMS Seal of Approval; weeknights at 5, 6, 7 and 11 p.m.), and meteorologists Howard Bernstein (AMS Seal of Approval; weekday mornings from 4:30-7 a.m. and weekdays at noon) and Erica Grow (AMS Certified Broadcast Meteorologist Seal of Approval; Saturdays at 6, Sundays at 6:30 and weekends at 11 p.m.; also general assignment reporter and weeknight fill-in meteorologist). All of WUSA's meteorologists provide weather updates for WNEW-FM (99.1).
The station's sports team (all of whom are also seen on Game On!) includes sports anchor Kristin Berset (Saturdays at 6, Sundays at 6:30 and weekends at 11 p.m.; also sports reporter and fill-in weeknight sports anchor), sports reporter Dave Owens (also fill-in sports anchor) and sports blogger Kevin Jones. The weeknight sports anchor/sports director position (weeknights at 6, 7 and 11 p.m.) is currently vacant.
WUSA's reporting staff includes Scott Broom (general assignment reporter), Surae Chinn (general assignment reporter), Jessica Doyle (business/consumer reporter; also fill-in weekday morning anchor), Kristin Fisher (general assignment reporter), Delia Goncalves (weekday morning reporter), Ko Im (general assignment reporter and weekend overnight producer/anchor), Andrea McCarren (general assignment reporter; previously with WUSA from 1992–1995), Ken Molestina (general assignment reporter), Bruce Leshan (general assignment reporter), Russ Ptacek (investigative reporter) and Monika Samtani (weekday morning traffic anchor). The station's investigative unit includes Russ Ptacek (investigative reporter), Felix Ortiz (investigative photographer), Erin Van der Bellen (investigative producer) and Samantha Martin-Ewing (investigative and special projects executive producer).
Notable former on-air staff
- Jess Atkinson - sports anchor (2000–2002, now works with the Maryland Terrapins)
- Patranya Bhoolsuwan - evening traffic anchor (?-2010; now at KLAS-TV in Las Vegas)
- Maureen Bunyan - anchor/reporter (1973–1995; now at WJLA-TV)
- Glenn Brenner - sports director (1977–1992)
- James Brown - sports anchor (1984–1990; now at CBS Sports)
- Walter Cronkite - Channel 9's first anchorman (1950–1954; died in July 2009)
- Sam Donaldson - anchor/reporter (1961–1967)
- Brett Haber - sports director (2004–2011; becoming editor-at-large at Washingtonian (magazine) and Tennis Channel play-by-play commentator)
- Frank Herzog - sports anchor and reporter (1969–1983 and 1992–2004, retired)
- Hillary Howard (Statter) - meteorologist (2000–2004; now at WTOP radio)
- Doug Llewelyn - anchor/reporter (1970–1976)
- Davey Marlin-Jones - film critic and entertainment reporter (1970–1987)
- Todd McDermott - anchor (2004–2008, now at WPXI in Pittsburgh)
- Andrea Mitchell - reporter (1976–1978)
- Ralph Penza - reporter (1979–1980)
- Gordon Peterson - anchor/reporter (1969–2004; now at WJLA)
- Levan Reid - sports reporter/weekend sports anchor (2003–2008)
- Max Robinson - anchor/reporter (1969–1978)
- Bob Strickland - anchor/reporter (1969–1996)
- Ruth Todd - meteorologist/anchor (1991–1992)
- Warner Wolf - sports anchor (1968–1976 and 1992–1996)
- Eun Yang - reporter/anchor (1995–2001, now at WRC-TV)
– Indicates person is deceased.
Footnotes and references
- By 2005, the Evening News Association had been renamed "Detroit Free Press, Inc.", after that Gannett subsidiary simultaneously bought the Free Press and sold the News.
- "Digital Signal Sources". The Washington Post. May 20, 2008.
- RabbitEars TV Query for W50BD-D
- "WOIC opens; Capital figures to take part in TV ceremonies." Broadcasting - Telecasting, January 17, 1949, pg. 35.
- "Bamberger change; name is now General Teleradio." Broadcasting - Telecasting, January 2, 1950, pg. 26.
- "WTOP buys WOIC (TV)." Broadcasting - Telecasting, June 26, 1950, pg. 57.
- "CBS sells interest in WTOP; WCCO bidding reported." Broadcasting - Telecasting, October 11, 1954, pg. 64.
- "Two more crossowners go thataway." Broadcasting, December 12, 1977, pp. 19-21.
- "WTOP-WDVM call letter change." YouTube. Retrieved 2012-07-15.
- "Gannett's magic touch wins Evening News." Broadcasting, September 2, 1985, pp. 31-32.
- "In brief." Broadcasting, June 9, 1986, pg. 161.
- WUSA-TV Breaking News Smoke and Fire Reported at the Pentagon (September 11, 2001) (Retrieved January 13, 2011)
- Shales, Tom. “On Television, the Unimaginable Story Unfolds.” Sep. 12, 2001. Washington Post. Pg. C01. LexisNexis. Web. Nov. 8, 2009.
- RabbitEars TV Query for WUSA
- Bounce TV Adds WUSA Washington, TVNewsCheck, November 1, 2011.
- Bounce TV is the first African American broadcast network; It's on Digital Channel 9.2 in DC WUSA-TV, December 16, 2011
- List of Digital Full-Power Stations
- FCC document: "APPENDIX B: ALL FULL-POWER TELEVISION STATIONS BY DMA, INDICATING THOSE TERMINATING ANALOG SERVICE BEFORE ON OR FEBRUARY 17, 2009."
- Dickson, Glen (July 13, 2009). "Special Report: Mobile DTV Heats Up". Broadcasting & Cable. Retrieved July 15, 2009.
- http://www.rabbitears.info/market.php?request=atscmph
- http://www.mdtvsignalmap.com/
- Washington D.C. | Investigative Reporter Russ Ptacek, WUSA. Retrieved June 8, 2013.
- ^ Meet The Staff
External links
- WUSA9.com - Official website
- Template:TVQ
- Template:TVQ
- Template:BIA
- Template:BIA
| Gannett | |||||||
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| People |
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| Predecessors | |||||||
- CBS network affiliates
- Bounce TV affiliates
- Gannett TV
- Television stations in Washington, D.C.
- Television stations in Virginia
- Television stations in Maryland
- Channel 9 digital TV stations in the United States
- Channel 9 virtual TV stations in the United States
- Television channels and stations established in 1949
- Major League Baseball over-the-air television broadcasters
- ATSC-M/H stations