| Revision as of 22:07, 28 March 2014 editCorkythehornetfan (talk | contribs)Autopatrolled, Extended confirmed users, Page movers, File movers, New page reviewers, Rollbackers, Template editors105,369 edits Removed redirect and added ALL content from WJW (TV) because stations do not use "( )'s" around TV. It is usually a hyphen "-".← Previous edit | Latest revision as of 22:39, 28 March 2014 edit undoWcquidditch (talk | contribs)Autopatrolled, Extended confirmed users, Pending changes reviewers132,010 edits Reverted good faith edits by Corkythehornetfan: Cut-and-paste move; naming conventions do in fact reccomend the parentheses in this circumstance. (TW) | ||
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| #REDIRECT ] | |||
| {{for|the Cleveland radio station which identified as WJW from 1928 to 1985|WKNR}} | |||
| {{Infobox broadcast | |||
| | call_letters = WJW | |||
| | station_logo = ] | |||
| | station_slogan = ''Cleveland's Own'' {{small|(general)}}<br>''The Most Powerful Name in Local News'' {{small|(news)}} | |||
| | station_branding = Fox 8 {{small|(general)}}<br>Fox 8 News {{small|(newscasts)}} | |||
| | digital = 8 (])<br>]: 8 (]) | |||
| | subchannels = 8.1 ]<br>8.2 ] | |||
| | other_chs = {{small|21 (]) ]<br>46 (UHF) ] <br>(Applications)}} | |||
| | affiliations = | |||
| | airdate = December 19, 1949 | |||
| | location = ], ] | |||
| | callsign_meaning = '''W'''-"'''J'''ohn F. '''W'''eimer"<br>{{nowrap|<small>owner of ]</small>}}<ref name="callsign-origin">{{cite web |url=http://infoweb.newsbank.com/iw-search/we/InfoWeb?p_action=doc&p_docid=0EDF49D1370B857D&p_docnum=89&p_queryname=NaN&p_product=NewsBank&p_theme=aggregated4&p_nbid=H67D5EHYMTE3OTE2OTQxNy44NjA4MDA6MToxMzoxOTIuMjMyLjMwLjgw |title=Mystery of WJW call letters solved: Grandfather's initials launched station, woman says |accessdate=2007-04-29 |author=Bob Dyer |publisher='']'' |page=B2 |date=1988-08-07}}</ref> | |||
| | former_callsigns = WXEL (1949–56)<br>WJW-TV (1956–77)<br>WJKW-TV (1977–85)<br>WJW-TV (1985–98) | |||
| | former_channel_numbers = Analog:<br>9 (VHF, 1949–53)<br>8 (VHF, 1953–2009)<br>Digital:<br>31 (], 1998–2009) | |||
| | owner = ] | |||
| | licensee = WJW License, LLC | |||
| | former_affiliations = ]/] (1949–55)<br>] (1955–94) | |||
| | effective_radiated_power = 11 ] | |||
| | HAAT = 342 ] | |||
| | facility_id = 73150 | |||
| | coordinates = {{Coord|41|21|48|N|81|42|58|W|type:landmark_scale:2000|name=WJW}} | |||
| | licensing_authority = ] | |||
| | homepage = | |||
| }} | |||
| '''WJW''' (]/digital channel 8), is a commercial television station located in and licensed to ], serving as the ] affiliate for the Cleveland/] television market. Subchannel 8.2 serves as the area affiliate for the classic TV network ]. The station is owned by ], subsidiary of the ]. Its studios are located just northeast of downtown Cleveland, on South Marginal Road (now ] Way) near the shore of ], and its transmitter is located in suburban ]. Syndicated programming on WJW includes '']'', '']'', and '']'', as well as programs hosted by native Clevelanders ] and ]. | |||
| ==Digital television== | |||
| ===Digital channels=== | |||
| The station's digital signal is multiplexed: | |||
| {| class="wikitable" | |||
| |- | |||
| ! ] | |||
| ! ] | |||
| ! ] | |||
| ! ] | |||
| ! Programming | |||
| |- | |||
| | 8.1 || ] || ] || WJWDT-1 || Main WJW programming / Fox | |||
| |- | |||
| | 8.2 || ] || ] || WJWDT-2 || ] | |||
| |} | |||
| ===High-definition programming=== | |||
| {| class="toccolours" class="wikitable" | |||
| |- style="vertical-align: top; text-align: left;" | |||
| | '''Syndicated''' | |||
| | Yes | |||
| |- style="vertical-align: top; text-align: left;" | |||
| | '''Newscasts''' | |||
| | Yes | |||
| |} | |||
| WJW is an affiliate of ], which is carried on digital subchannel 8.2.<ref>{{dead link|date=November 2012}}</ref> Channel 8.2 is also carried on several NE Ohio cable systems. | |||
| ===Analog-to-digital conversion=== | |||
| WJW shut down its analog signal, over ] channel 8, on June 12, 2009, the official date in which full-power television in the United States ] under federal mandate. The station's digital signal relocated from its pre-transition ] channel 31 to its former analog VHF channel 8.<ref> {{cite web|url=http://hraunfoss.fcc.gov/edocs_public/attachmatch/DA-06-1082A2.pdf |title=DTV Tentative Channel Designations for the First and the Second Rounds |format=PDF |date= |accessdate=2012-03-24}}</ref><ref>{{dead link|date=November 2012}}</ref> | |||
| ==History== | |||
| ===WXEL=== | |||
| {{Distinguish2|] in West Palm Beach, Florida}} | |||
| The television station launched on December 19, 1949 on channel 9 as '''WXEL''', owned by the Empire Coil Company, a ] manufacturer of radio coils and transformers.<ref>http://home.comcast.net/~kptv/History/history.htm</ref> In its early years, WXEL was a primary ] affiliate, and later became a secondary provider of ] programs, sharing that affiliation with ] (channel 5). WXEL also carried a number of CBS programs that WEWS declined to air. | |||
| WXEL also carried an affiliation with the short-lived ], and in fact was one of that network's strongest affiliates. The station aired such Paramount Network programs as ''Hollywood Wrestling'',<ref name="TCT1953">{{cite news|title=Television|date=1953-12-11|work=The Coshocton Tribune|page=14|location=Coshocton, OH}}</ref> ''Bandstand Revue'',<ref name="TCT1955b">{{cite news|title=Television|date=1955-08-27|work=The Coshocton Tribune|page=4|location=Coshocton, OH}}</ref> and ''Time For Beany''.<ref name="NCN1950">{{cite news|date=1950-06-08|work=New Castle News|page=30|location=New Castle, PA}}</ref> During the late 1950s, the station was also briefly affiliated with the ].<ref name="Boxoffice7">{{Cite journal| last = | first = | title = Require Prime Evening Time for NTA Films| journal = Boxoffice| volume = | issue = | page = 13| date = November 10, 1956| url = http://issuu.com/boxoffice/docs/boxoffice_111056-1| doi = | id =| postscript = <!--None--> }}</ref> | |||
| Following the 1952 release of the ]' s ''Sixth Report and Order'', a realignment of VHF channels in the Midwest forced WXEL to move to channel 8 on December 10, 1953. Its former channel 9 allocation was moved to ] and given to a new station, WSTV-TV (now ]); the switch took place only two weeks before WSTV-TV went on the air. | |||
| In 1954 Empire Coil sold two of its television interests—WXEL and ] in ], the United States' first ] station—to ]. George B. Storer, the company's founder and president, was a member of the board of directors of ], and used his influence to take the CBS television affiliation from WEWS in March 1955.<ref>"CBS-TV big switches." '']'', January 10, 1955, pg. 28. </ref> | |||
| ===WJW-TV (1956–77)=== | |||
| Storer changed channel 8's call letters to '''WJW-TV''' on April 15, 1956, to complement Cleveland sister stations {{nowrap|]}} and {{nowrap|]}}—now radio stations ] and ], respectively. All three stations later moved to the former Esquire Theater building at 1630 ], near Playhouse Square. | |||
| In its early years, the station lagged behind its competitors in producing local programming, perhaps because its studio was located at the transmitter in Parma, while the other stations had studios downtown. A young ], previously at ] radio in ], worked for WXEL starting in 1949. Freed hosted an afternoon movie and performed live commercials for several years before he became the self-titled ''] "]"'' while as an evening host on WJW radio, before moving on to radio jobs in ]. ], then known as Soupy Hines, had a weekday variety program called ''Soup's On'' where he started his pie-in-the-face routines. | |||
| The station also broadcast a popular and unique 11:00 p.m. newscast, ''The ] Reporter'', featuring a ] speech professor named Warren Guthrie who delivered the entire newscast from memory, speaking directly into the camera long before the days of the ]. In 1960, WJW-TV became the broadcast rights holder of the ]. Channel 8's partnership with the team continued until 1979, when the Indians moved to then-independent station ] (channel 43). WJW also carried Indians games that were part of the ], and later, ] network packages of ] games. | |||
| In 1964, WJW-TV was one of the first stations to use a two-man news anchor team, ] and ], in the studio together. The newscast was called ''City Camera News'', and reporters were equipped with ] to photograph news events, so that pictures could be quickly broadcast when they returned to the studio. Station programming also featured ''Adventure Road'' hosted by Jim Doney, which presented filmed travelogues narrated by the filmmakers. Daly and Adair reigned as Cleveland's top news team until 1967, when Daly was hired away by ] in ]. Adair remained at channel 8 until the early 1970s, when he joined ] (channel 3), which was then owned by ]. Later in 1964, WJW-TV was the first full CBS affiliate in Ohio, and the first Cleveland TV station, to start local color broadcasts. | |||
| ]—the immensely popular Cleveland ].]] | |||
| One of the most memorable programs produced by WJW-TV was the Friday late night ] hosted by "]", a character created by ]. Wearing a bad fright ] and phony beard and a pair of sunglasses with only one lens, he interacted with the movies and created an on-going patter and rehearsed skits during the movie breaks. The program began in February 1963 and created a generation of fans who could recite catch phrases such as "Turn Blue", "Stay Sick", "Camera Four" and "Ova Dey." Before Ghoulardi, Anderson had a weekday morning program on channel 8 starting in 1961 called ''Ernie's Place'' with sidekick ] (then credited as "Tom Conway"), that included live skits reminiscent of ]. | |||
| When Anderson left for lucrative voice-over work in ] in September 1966, the Friday night movie slot was succeeded by ''The Hoolihan and Big Chuck Show''—cohosted by ], who did the station weather forecasts as "Hoolihan the Weatherman"; and ], a station engineer who had risen to director and had appeared in some of Ghoulardi's skits. After Bob Wells departed channel 8 in September 1979, his position was filled by local jeweler and ] ], who had also previously performed in skits on the show. The program was renamed as the ''The Big Chuck and Lil' John Show'', and it continued airing on Friday nights before moving to Saturday nights in the early 1990s. The show ended its run on June 16, 2007, as Chuck Schodowski retired after a 47-year career at channel 8. At the time of its conclusion, ''The Big Chuck and Lil' John Show'' had been the only locally produced television show in the Cleveland market that was primarily entertainment, that is not news or informational (Big Chuck & Lil' John have since made a comeback of sorts by hosting a new 30 minute program featuring their classic skits Saturday mornings that began 9/10/11). | |||
| ===WJKW-TV=== | |||
| The station moved to its present studios at 5800 South Marginal Road on November 2, 1975. While {{nowrap|]}} was sold in the late 1960s, Storer kept {{nowrap|]}} until late 1976. The AM station's new owners were allowed to keep the WJW call letters, forcing channel 8 to change theirs. At the time, the FCC did not allow radio and television stations with different owners to share the same base call letters—this is not the case today. As a result, channel 8 changed its callsign to '''WJKW-TV''' on April 22, 1977. The added "K" did not stand for anything. | |||
| At the same time, the station hired former WKYC-TV and NBC Radio news anchor Virgil Dominic as its news and public affairs director (a position which he held until 1983 when he became the general manager for WJKW/WJW until his retirement in 1995), and also began to pump considerable money into its news operation. The name of the newscasts even underwent a transition as well, going from ''City Camera News'' to ''Newscenter 8'' around the summer of 1977. Within a year, channel 8 had overtaken longtime leader WEWS as the highest-rated news station in Cleveland – a lead it kept for almost 20 years. | |||
| ===WJW-TV (1985–98)=== | |||
| On September 16, 1985, the station reacquired the '''WJW-TV''' callsign, as {{nowrap|]}} had changed its callsign following its own transfer of ownership. | |||
| After Storer Broadcasting was bought out by ] in 1985, the station underwent a series of ownership changes. KKR sold the stations to ] in 1987; shortly thereafter, SCI Television was spun off from Gillett to take over the stations after Gillett's bankruptcy. ] purchased WJW-TV and the other SCI Television stations in 1993. Like most of its sister stations, channel 8 pre-empted portions of the CBS schedule, usually the late morning daytime shows. In the 1990s, WJW-TV and its fellow New World stations prepared to launch their own morning newscasts, and as a result, channel 8 began to pre-empt '']'' as well. The station also gained notoriety in 1993 by being one of the few CBS affiliates to tape-delay the '']'' by half an hour in favor of '']'' reruns. Despite the preemptions, CBS was generally satisfied with WJW, which was one of the network's strongest affiliates. | |||
| ====Fox network affiliation==== | |||
| In September 1994, as part of a deal between New World and the ], WJW-TV swapped affiliations with ] (channel 19), taking that station's Fox affiliation. The station expanded its news production to over 40 hours a week. It initially filled local non-news time with such programming as low budget syndicated first-run talk/reality shows and off-network sitcoms. The major reason for Fox and New World's deal was that CBS had lost the ] to air the ] of the ] to ]. However, the ] were part of the ], which was on ] at that time. As a result, WJW only is guaranteed up to two Browns games each year, whenever they host an NFC team in the afternoon, but only if they sell out - the 1994 game against the ] did not sell out, neither did the 1995 games against the ] or ], and thus were blacked out locally. Since the opening of ] and the re-activation of the Browns, however, all games have sold out - the only interconference home game for the Browns ''not'' aired locally on WJW in that era was the 2003 game against the ], which aired on ] as part of ABC's '']''. Since 2006, WJW has been the over-the-air home for Browns games aired on cable channels. | |||
| However, both Cleveland viewers and WJW realized a major weakness with the new affiliation in April 1995 at the time of the ]. When the news broke, all of the other stations in Cleveland were able to switch to national network coverage of the attacks. At the time Fox was still a year and a half away from the launch of ] and had no national news service to report straight news events, and WJW was only aligned with CNN for external feeds and some international news coverage. WJW was able to send reporter Martin Savage to Oklahoma City to cover the attack; his coverage would lead to his hiring by CNN later that year to co-host a relaunched morning show. But, unlike all other stations that had network coverage, WJW could offer only limited recap coverage of the events on their newscasts. <!-- The whole ordeal resulted in a major ratings decline for channel 8 and many viewers moved back to WEWS. This left WJW in a daze, and the news department was unsure where to go next.{{Citation needed|date=January 2010}} --> | |||
| Later that year, WJW dropped its "Newscenter 8" branding and adopted a hard-hitting format under the phrase ''"ei<sub><big>8</big></sub>ht is News"'' for the title of its newscasts. The ''"ei<sub><big>8</big></sub>ht"'' logo was itself a revival an old WJW logo used from 1966 until 1977. However, in many people's minds the phrase was used on the station a little too often (one Plain Dealer story even started, "some viewers squawking that 'ei<sub><big>8</big></sub>ht is enough', already"), and even more people moved away from WJW's newscasts.{{Citation needed|date=January 2010}} The "ei<sub><big>8</big></sub>ht is News" branding ended upon Fox's purchase of the station, after which it was replaced by "Fox 8 News", which remains the current newscast title for the station today. | |||
| One triumph for WJW was the morning newscast. Without a national morning show, WJW could produce an all-local 3.5 hour morning newscast. Many Cleveland viewers preferred the local show over the other stations' national broadcasts. This was especially true since WEWS' long-standing '']'' was preempted until 9 a.m. around the same time of the Fox/CBS switch. With the exception of a brief period from late 1994 through late 1995 when it was titled ''Good Day Cleveland'', ''Fox 8 News in the Morning'' has constantly been Cleveland's top rated morning newscast since the time of its debut. | |||
| ] | |||
| In 1997 Fox bought New World Communications, making WJW a Fox owned-and-operated station. Fox added stronger syndicated shows as well as stronger off-network sitcoms to the programming mix. | |||
| ===WJW callsign=== | |||
| WJW-TV dropped the "-TV" suffix in 1998 to become '''WJW'''—the very same callsign long held by channel 8's former sister station at ] (now WKNR). This made WJW one of four television stations with a three-letter callsign to have omitted the "-TV" suffix since the 1990s, the others being ] in ], ] in ], and ] in ]. | |||
| In news programming, the station retook the top position from WEWS in 2001. By mid-2002, all of WJW's newscasts placed first. This continued until January 2004, when viewers began turning away from WJW's hard-hitting style to the more traditional WKYC-TV. Even ''Fox 8 in the Morning'' lost its top spot to WKYC's morning newscast for about two months. As a result of the overall decline, WJW replaced long time 6 p.m. and 10 p.m. lead anchors Wilma Smith and Tim Taylor with Bill Martin and Stacy Bell at 10 p.m., hoping the two would attract a younger audience to the program. The change paid off for channel 8, and today its newscasts frequently rank number-one in the important 18-49 demographic. | |||
| In 2006, WJW also debuted its new website - ''MyFox Cleveland'', which follows a format that is also used by other Fox-owned stations. This lasted until the end of January 2009 – several months after Fox Television Stations sold the station and seven others – when WJW and six other former Fox O&O stations which previously used the myFox interface (plus co-owned NBC television affiliate ] in ]) launched redesigned Web sites through ] Interactive. This was a result of a management agreement between Local TV and ], forming a separate division (controlled by Tribune) called Community Television (which became the licensee for seven of the former Fox O&Os), which operates all of the television stations owned by Local TV (until late June 2009, ] in ] continued to use the myFox interface for its website even though that station is now a sister station to ]-owned WOIO and ]). Although its former radio sisters had dropped the WJW calls some years before, Fox dropped the ''-TV'' suffix from channel 8's legal callsign shortly after it assumed full ownership of the station (it had been minority owner of New World since the 1994 affiliation switch) although the station continued to use the ''-TV'' suffix on-air for several years afterward. | |||
| On December 22, 2007, the News Corporation announced that it had entered into an agreement to sell WJW-TV and seven other Fox-owned stations to ], a subsidiary of private equity firm ].<ref></ref> The sale was closed on July 14, 2008. Early in 2009, WJW began clearing the entire Fox network schedule—including '']''—as it does to this day. The station was handed ''Weekend Marketplace'' partly due to a lack of a weekend morning newscast at the time, and partly because WBNX had declined the two-hour infomercial block. Local TV LLC had prior to the Fox acquisition a majority of its stations as CBS affiliates. There was significant talk that WJW would go back to CBS, partially due to CBS's much higher ratings and its holding the broadcast rights to the ]'s ] and the Browns' rivals in its conference, and that CBS would stipulate that WJW would go to CBS in the deal. However, Fox locked in a long-term deal for Local TV LLC to keep the sold Fox O&O's as Fox affiliates. | |||
| On February 1, 2012, WJW redesigned and relaunched its Web site using a format that's also used by the recently redesigned Web sites of its sister stations ] in ] and ] in ]. The new Local TV sites are hosted by ] instead of Tribune Digital (renamed from Tribune Interactive). On July 1, 2013, Local TV announced that its stations would be acquired by the ].<ref name=ct-saletotribune>{{cite news|last=Channick|first=Robert|title=Acquisition to make Tribune Co. largest U.S. TV station operator|url=http://www.chicagotribune.com/business/breaking/chi-tribune-buying-local-tv-20130701,0,3402241.story|accessdate=July 1, 2013|newspaper=]|date=July 1, 2013}}</ref> The sale was completed on December 27.<ref>, Tribune Company, 27 December, 2013</ref> | |||
| During Fox ownership, WJW was the only (fully) network owned-and-operated station among the "Big 4" networks in the Cleveland area, and was the only Fox-owned station to carry a ] ]. It remains the only Fox television affiliate in existence, as well as one of three current Tribune-owned television stations, to carry such a three-letter call sign. | |||
| ===On-air staff continuity=== | |||
| ] has served as the station's chief ] since 1966.]] | |||
| WJW-TV has long had the slogan of "Cleveland's Own", promoting how many of its on-air staff grew up in northeast Ohio and have been with the station for 20 years or more. | |||
| For instance, Howard Hoffman was the first on-air voice heard at WXEL's sign-on in 1949. Handling a myriad of duties such as newscaster, weatherman and live booth announcer, Hoffman stayed at the station until October 1986. Hoffman's successor, Bill Ward, joined then-WJKW in 1984 and would serve as WJW's main booth announcer until March 2011. | |||
| Cleveland City Hall beat reporter Bob Cerminara and field reporter Neil Zurcher, both of which joined WJW in the late 1960s, stayed until the early 2000s. Zurcher is most famous for the "One Tank Trips" travel series that began in the late 1970s, highlighting vacation destinations close to home due to the energy crisis at that time (the feature continues to this day with different staffers, and Zurcher himself continues a similar feature biweekly in newspaper '']'s'' Automotive advertising section, with an accompanying book series and weblog); he departed the station in August 2004.<ref>{{cite news |first=Julie E |last=Washington |authorlink= |coauthors= |title=End of the road for Zurcher’s 'One Tank Trips' |url=http://infoweb.newsbank.com/iw-search/we/InfoWeb?p_action=doc&p_topdoc=1&p_docnum=1&p_sort=YMD_date:D&p_product=NewsBank&p_text_direct-0=document_id=(%201040CC8AC90942CB%20)&p_docid=1040CC8AC90942CB&p_theme=aggregated5&p_queryname=1040CC8AC90942CB&f_openurl=yes&p_nbid=X58S4CXHMTIwODM3MTc0Ny41MTI1NjoxOjEyOjE5OC4zMC4yMjguMA&&p_multi=CPDB |work=] |publisher= |date=2004-07-24 |accessdate=2008-04-16 }}</ref><ref>{{cite news |first=Julie E |last=Washington |authorlink= |coauthors= |title=Tales from the trips: Zurcher book offers Ohio tidbits and trivia |url=http://infoweb.newsbank.com/iw-search/we/InfoWeb?p_action=doc&p_topdoc=1&p_docnum=1&p_sort=YMD_date:D&p_product=NewsBank&p_text_direct-0=document_id=(%2010ACE776B8187762%20)&p_docid=10ACE776B8187762&p_theme=aggregated5&p_queryname=10ACE776B8187762&f_openurl=yes&p_nbid=Y65F59FUMTIwODM3MTkwOC4zNzg4MzI6MToxMjoxOTguMzAuMjI4LjA&&p_multi=CPDB |work=] |publisher= |date=2005-06-17 |accessdate=2008-04-16 }}</ref> Feature reporter Gary Stromberg had been with channel 8 since 1977. He announced his retirement on April 1, 2008. Stromberg has since written two books. ''Aren't You That News Man? ''shares stories of his years at Channel 8. ''Every Tiger Has a Tale'' presents the life stories of 48 amazing graduates of Cleveland Heights High over the decades. Sports anchor John Telich has been at WJW since 1981. | |||
| In addition, ] has been chief weatherman since 1966, joining the station after spending the previous five years at WKYC-TV, then known as KYW-TV. Following the reversal of a 1956 station swap with NBC, Westinghouse reacquired WRCV-TV in ] and moved the ] calls there. Goddard went along with nearly all of Westinghouse's former Cleveland staffers, but came back to Cleveland after only a few months. Goddard has said that he joined WJW-TV due to the fact that CBS carried ] games through its contract with the ] (rights to which were ironically lost to WKYC in 1970 upon the team's move to the AFC). Goddard later became the team's ], a position he held until 2011. On February 24, 2011, Dick Goddard turned 80 years old. The station presented a special party live on air during the 6 p.m. newscast. On May 23, 2011, he marked 50 years of being on the air in the Cleveland market. To honor that milestone, the street running in front of the WJW studios was renamed "Dick Goddard Way".<ref>{{dead link|date=November 2012}}</ref> | |||
| ] joined WJW-TV as consumer reporter in the summer of 1977, having been hired away from a similar role at WEWS. The following year, Taylor became ]'s partner on the station's 6 and 11 p.m. evening newscasts. He was one of the station's top anchormen, serving alongside several female anchors (including Tana Carli, Denise D'Ascenzo, Robin Swoboda, Denise Dufala and Wilma Smith) until his retirement on December 23, 2005. Taylor's 27-year run as an anchor at WJW was the second longest in Cleveland television history, behind WEWS' Ted Henry. One month prior to Taylor's retirement, a special feature was broadcast during ''Fox 8 News in the Morning'' which reunited him with what was quoted as one of "Cleveland's most successful news teams" during the 1980s—Taylor, Swoboda, Goddard and former sports anchor ]. In many people's eyes (as well as high ratings to back it up), this news team led ''Newscenter 8'' to number one in the Cleveland market.<ref name="youtube.com">{{dead link|date=November 2012}}</ref> | |||
| Taylor's replacement on the 6 p.m. newscast was Lou Maglio, another long-time Cleveland TV newsman. In November 2006, it was announced that Robin Swoboda was returning once again to host a new hour long show in the morning (originally titled ''That's Life'', then known as ''The Robin Swoboda Show'', which lasted from 2007-2011 before being revamped as ''New Day Cleveland'' with new hosts). In September 2007, Stefani Schaefer, also a popular Cleveland newscaster, returned to WJW to co-anchor the morning newscasts. | |||
| ==News operation== | |||
| ] | |||
| As of July 8, 2013, WJW broadcasts a total of 65½ hours of local news a week (with 11 hours on weekdays, five hours on Saturdays, and 5½ hours on Sundays), more than any other television station in the United States. In addition, the 10 p.m. newscast is repeated at 2 a.m.; counting ''New Day Cleveland'' at 10 a.m. and the 10 p.m. newscast replay, WJW airs 13 hours of local programming per weekday.<ref name="WJW 4pm">http://www.cleveland.com/tv-blog/index.ssf/2013/03/melissa_mack_returning_to_wjw_channel_8_for_new_4_pm_newscast.html</ref><ref>http://wjw.titantv.com</ref> | |||
| During football season, WJW airs ''Friday Night Touchdown'', a weekly recap of all of the area high school football games, Friday nights at 11 p.m. Sundays at 11 p.m., WJW airs ''The Rizzo Show'', a year round weekly sports/talk/comedy program starring Tony Rizzo (former longtime sports director at WJW) featuring comedian ].<ref>http://fox8.com/category/sports/the-rizzo-show/</ref> | |||
| From the time WJW affiliated with Fox in 1994, the station has put more emphasis on its local newscasts keeping a newscast schedule very similar to a CBS, ABC or NBC affiliate. Local newscasts were expanded to 3½ hours (and eventually to 4, then 5, and presently 5½ hours as of January 3, 2011) on weekday mornings, plus the extension of the 5 p.m. newscast by a half-hour, and the moving of the 11 p.m. newscast to 10 p.m. In December 2004, WJW became the first station in the Cleveland market (and the third station in the United States) to produce local news in high definition.<ref name="hd third">{{cite web|url=http://www.independentfilm.com/technology/wjw-tv-cleveland-jvc-hd250.shtml|title=WJW-TV in Cleveland purchases JVC GY-HD250U Pro HD Cameras|last=Boutilier|first=Corey |date=1 February 2007|accessdate=2008-04-21}}</ref> This made WJW the only Local TV-owned station to have already been airing high-definition newscasts prior to Local TV's purchase of the station since the upgrade was made while it was still owned and operated by Fox. Unlike several of WJW's Local TV stablemates, most of WJW's field video is still shot in widescreen standard definition as of June 2011. | |||
| In 2007, ''SkyFox HD'' debuted. WJW used a ] Astar 350 Helicopter. WJW had the fastest TV helicopter in Cleveland (all the other Cleveland stations owned ] helicopters), but due to budget cuts in late 2008, WJW had to get rid of ''SkyFox HD''. After a tornado touched down in Wooster, Ohio on September 16, 2010, the station resumed sporadic usage of the chopper. In February 2011, ''SkyFox'' was refurbished with a new paintjob, and resumed being used for weekday morning traffic reports. However, it reverted to shooting video in 16:9 SD. | |||
| In the February 2006 ratings period WJW's newscasts placed first in the morning, second at 6 p.m., and first at 10 p.m.. WJW also had the highest rated newscast at 5 p.m., but it still fell behind WKYC's broadcast of '']''. In the November 2006 ratings period, WJW's morning newscast continued its dominance over its competitors, while its other newscasts remained very competitive in their timeslots. WJW's remodeled news set officially debuted on July 16, 2007. Along with the new set, WJW adopted a new graphics package, new music (OSI Music's ''Fox Affiliate News Theme''), and a new logo (which had been on some promotional items months prior to the revamp), similar to what has become standard on the other Fox-owned stations. | |||
| In the February 2008 ratings period, WJW's newscasts finished in first place in all of their timeslots except for its noon newscast, which finished third behind the noon newscasts of WEWS and WOIO. WJW's 5 p.m. newscast even managed to win its timeslot, knocking WKYC's airing of ''Dr. Phil'' (which had been winning the timeslot until recently) down to third place behind WJW's and WEWS' 5 p.m. newscasts.<ref>{{cite news |first=Julie E |last=Washington |authorlink= |coauthors= |title=Channel 8's morning shows win big in February sweeps |url=http://www.cleveland.com/entertainment/plaindealer/julie_washington/index.ssf?/base/entertainment-0/1206779560229150.xml&coll=2 |work=] |publisher= |date=2008-03-30 |accessdate=2008-05-12 }}</ref> | |||
| On July 12, 2010, WJW began a weeknight, half-hour 7 p.m. newscast, making it the second station to air news in Cleveland in that time slot, behind ], which had a ten-year head start. On January 3, 2011, WJW began airing their weekday morning newcasts at 4:30 a.m., WKYC expanded its morning newscast into that timeslot that same day (ABC affiliate WEWS was the first station in Cleveland to do 4:30 a.m. newscasts in November 2010). On September 10, 2011, WJW launched weekend morning newscasts, becoming the second station in the Cleveland market to do so, the first being WKYC in 1992.<ref>, '']'', August 30, 2011.</ref> On July 8, 2013, WJW became the second station in Cleveland to air a 4 p.m. newscast, after ] which had a nine-year head start.<ref name="WJW 4pm"/> | |||
| ===Newscast titles=== | |||
| *''The ] Reporter'' (1951 (ca.)–1965) | |||
| *''Channel 8 Report'' (early 1960s) | |||
| *''City Camera News'' (1964–1977) | |||
| *''NewsCenter 8'' (1977–1995, WJW used this newscast after the switch from CBS to FOX)<ref name="youtube.com"/> | |||
| *''ei<sub><big>8</big></sub>ht is News'' (1995–1996)<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=--UAlQOB5C8 |title=WJW Aug 1996 |publisher=YouTube |date= |accessdate=2012-11-08}}</ref> | |||
| *''Fox 8 is News'' (1996) | |||
| *''Fox 8 News'' (1996–present)<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GtyTo1smYWM |title=WJW Fox 8 News 5:00PM Close/6:00PM Open - 11/04 |publisher=YouTube |date= |accessdate=2012-11-08}}</ref> | |||
| ===Station Slogans=== | |||
| *''Look for Us'' (1977–1979) | |||
| *''You Sure Look Like a Winner!'' (1980s) | |||
| *''TV-8, The Winners!'' (1980–1981) | |||
| *''NewsCenter 8: The Team to Watch'' (1982–1985) | |||
| *''Come on Home to NewsCenter 8'' (1984–1985) | |||
| *''Proud to be Your News'' (1985–1988) | |||
| *''Cleveland's Own'' (1988–present) | |||
| *''ei8ht is News'' (1995–1996) | |||
| *''The Most Powerful Name In Local News'' (2007–present) | |||
| ===Current on-air staff=== | |||
| The primary news anchors on WJW include Elisa Amigo and Mark Zinni weekend mornings, ], ], Stefani Schaefer, and Todd Meany (update desk) weekday mornings, Natalie Herbick (co-host of ''New Day Cleveland''),<ref>http://fox8.com/category/on-air/new-day-cleveland/</ref> Lou Maglio weeknights at 6 p.m., Bill Martin weeknights at 5, 7 and 10 p.m., Tracy McCool weeknights at 5, 6 and 10 p.m., David "Mossman" Moss (host of ''New Day Cleveland''; also entertainment reporter), Jennifer Jordan weekdays at noon, Gabe Spiegel weekdays at noon and 4 p.m. and Bill Sheil weekend evenings. (also lead "I-Team" investigative reporter). | |||
| The Fox 8 weather team features Chief Meteorologist ] (] Seal of Approval) weeknights at 6 p.m., ] (AMS Seal of Approval) weeknights at 5 and 10 p.m., Melissa Mack (AMS Seal of Approval) weekdays at 4 and 7 p.m., Angelica Campos Wednesdays-Fridays at noon and weekend evenings, Scott Sabol (AMS Seal of Approval) weekday mornings, and Mondays-Tuesdays at noon and A.J. Colby (AMS ]) weekend mornings. | |||
| The Fox 8 sports team includes sports director John Telich weeknights, P.J. Ziegler weekend evenings, high school football analyst ], and Sunday night host Tony Rizzo . | |||
| WJW's field reporters include Enrique Correa, Kenny Crumpton (morning feature reporter), Bliss Davis, Kevin Freeman, Stacey Frey, Patty Harken (traffic), Brittnay Harris, Dave Nethers (] Bureau Chief), ] and ] (contributors on ''The Rizzo Show''), Melissa Reid, Maria Scali, Jack Shea, Peggy Sinkovich ("I-Team" investigative), Suzanne Stratford, LeeAnn Sommers (evening feature reporter), Lorrie Taylor ("I-Team" investigative/consumer), Emily Valdez, and Autumn Ziemba.<ref>http://fox8.com/contact/people</ref> | |||
| ====Notable former staff==== | |||
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| *]<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.cnn.com/CNN/anchors_reporters/savidge.martin.html|title=Martin Savidge bio|publisher=]|accessdate=10 March 2013}}</ref> | |||
| *]<ref>http://fox8.com/2013/05/22/fox-8-celebrates-wilma-smith/</ref> | |||
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| ==Out-of-market coverage== | |||
| Over the air, WJW-TV can be easily received in neighboring areas such as ] and ]; ]; and as far north as ], ], and ]. When atmospheric conditions are right, WJW's signal can be picked up as far as ] and ]; during the ], Detroit-area viewers were able to tune in WJW's analog signal, when the blackout silenced adjacent ] (channel 7) and Windsor's ] (channel 9). | |||
| The station was once one of the three stations from Cleveland carried on local cable in Kingsville, Pelee Island, and Leamington. (The others were WEWS and WKYC-TV, until 2000 when ] displaced ] as the cable provider for ].) WJW was also seen on cable in ] until the 1970s. On October 16, 2009, the '']'' notified readers that digital subchannels of the Detroit and Toledo stations would be added, while the Cleveland stations (such as WJW) and some Toledo stations would have to be dropped from the listings to make room for them, starting with the next issue of the TV Times, released the next day. The only Cleveland local station remaining in the Windsor-area ''TV Times'' is WUAB. | |||
| After WJW moved from CBS to Fox, WJW served as the de facto Fox affiliate in much of the Youngstown-Warren market until Youngstown's ] (a longtime CBS affiliate) put ] on the air in 1998. | |||
| ==References== | |||
| {{Reflist}} | |||
| ==Further reading== | |||
| * Coughlin, Dan (2010). ''Crazy, With the Papers to Prove It''. Cleveland, OH: Gray & Company, Publishers. ISBN 978-1-59851-068-3 | |||
| * Feran, Tom and Heldenfels, Rich (1997). ''Ghoulardi: Inside Cleveland TV's Wildest Ride''. Cleveland, OH: Gray & Company, Publishers. ISBN 978-1-886228-18-4 | |||
| * Schodowski, Chuck (2008). ''Big Chuck: My Favorite Stories from 47 Years on Cleveland TV''. Cleveland, OH: Gray & Company, Publishers. ISBN 978-1-59851-052-2 | |||
| * Zurcher, Neil (2010). ''Tales from the Road: Memoirs from a Lifetime of Ohio Travel, Television, and More.'' Cleveland, OH: Gray & Company, Publishers. ISBN 978-1-59851-064-5 | |||
| ==External links== | |||
| *{{Official website|http://www.fox8.com/}} | |||
| *{{TVQ|WJW}} | |||
| {{Cleveland TV}} | |||
| {{Fox Ohio}} | |||
| {{Tribune}} | |||
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Latest revision as of 22:39, 28 March 2014
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