WCBI-TV

Infobox_Broadcast
call_letters = WCBI-TV
city =
station_
station_slogan = On Your Side
station_branding = WCBI News
analog = 4 (VHF)
digital = 35 (UHF)
other_chs =
affiliations = CBS
MyNetworkTV (DT2)
The CW (DT3)
network =
founded =
airdate = July 13, 1956
location = Columbus/Tupelo, Mississippi
callsign_meaning = Columbus
Birney Imes
(the station's founder)
former_callsigns =
former_channel_numbers =
owner = Morris Multimedia, Inc.
licensee = WCBI-TV, LLC
sister_stations =
former_affiliations = Secondary:
NBC (1956-1979)
ABC (1956-1983)
DT2:
UPN (2003?-2006)
effective_radiated_power = 100 kW (analog)
708 kW (digital)
HAAT = 610 m (analog)
583.9 m (digital)
class =
facility_id = 12477
coordinates = coord|33|45|7|N|88|52|40|W|type:landmark_scale:2000
homepage = [http://www.wcbi.com/ www.wcbi.com]

WCBI-TV is the CBS television affiliate for the Tupelo-Columbus-West Point television market. The station is owned by Morris Multimedia. Its transmitter is located about 11.7 miles (18.8 km) southeast of Houston.

History

When WCBI-TV signed on the air on July 13, 1956, it was the first television station in north Mississippi. It was owned by Birney Imes, Jr., a Columbus businessman and publisher of the "Commercial Dispatch" newspaper. The station broadcast from a group of cheaply constructed cement block buildings in a pasture off State Highway 12, just east of Columbus. WCBI was originally affiliated with all three networks, but has always been a primary CBS affiliate. NBC disappeared from the schedule in 1979 after WTVA in Tupelo expanded its city-grade signal to include Columbus. It continued to carry some ABC programs until 1983, when WVSB (now WLOV-TV, a FOX affiliate) signed on.

The station remained in its rural location for more than thirty years. In the early 1990s, Frank Imes, Birney's son, supervised the renovation of the former Egger's Department Store in downtown Columbus. The three-story building opened in 1993. In November 2003, Imes Communications sold WCBI to its current owner, Morris Network. WCBI recently celebrated it's 50th anniversary, airing a three-part retrospective on the history of the station, as well as a segment showcasing various on and off-air bloopers.

Besides being the first television station in north Mississippi, it is also the first digital television station in the region. It began digital broadcasts in 2002 and has since added two additional subchannels. The first subchannel was on 35.2 and was originally a UPN station, "UPN MS". The UPN subchannel became My MS, a MyNetworkTV affiliate, on September 5, 2006. The other channel, channel 35.3, was originally a 24-hour weather station, "WCBI WeatherCheck". On September 18, 2006, it became CW North Mississippi, a CW affiliate.

Newscast Titles

Weekday Programs

* "WCBI News Sunrise" - Variety show comprised of news and special guests on various topics. The show is hosted by Bill Gamel and Jackie Finch. Justin Stapleton provides VIPIR weather forecasts.
* "WCBI News Midday" - Anchored by Bill Gamel and Jackie Finch. Justin Stapleton provides VIPIR weather forecasts.
* "WCBI News at Five" - Anchored by Aundrea Self. Rob Smith provides VIPIR weather forecasts.
* "WCBI News at Six" - Anchored by Aundrea Self and Andrew Harrison. Rob Smith provides VIPIR weather forecasts and Derek Cody gives a look at the day's sports.
* "WCBI News at Ten" - Anchored by Michelle Lowe and Andrew Harrison. Rob Smith provides VIPIR weather forecasts and Derek Cody gives a look at the day's sports.

Weekend Programs

* "WCBI News at Six" - Anchored by Joey Barnes. Heather Sophia provides VIPIR weather forecasts and Tim Kelchner gives a look at the weekend's sports. The 6:00 p.m. newscast only airs on Saturdays.
* "WCBI News at Ten" - Same format as 6:00 p.m. newscast on Saturday. Airs Saturday and Sunday evenings.

Current Personalities

* Aundrea Self, anchor/reporter
* Bill Gamel, anchor/producer
* Jackie Finch, anchor/reporter/meteorologist
* Andrew Harrison, anchor/reporter
* Michelle Lowe, anchor/reporter
* Joey Barnes, anchor/reporter
* Rob Smith, chief meteorologist
* Justin Stapleton, meteorologist
* Heather Sophia, meteorologist
* Derek Cody, sports director
* Tim Kelchner, sports anchor/reporter
* R.H. Brown, reporter
* Siobhan Riley, reporter
* Christin Jackson, Tupelo bureau reporter
* Paulo Salazar, reporter

Past Personalities

* Ross Adams, former reporter; now reporter for WJTV-News Channel 12 in Jackson, MS
* Ashton Altieri, former meteorologist; now at KUSA-TV in Denver, Colorado
* Derek Beasley, former meteorologist; now Chief Meteorologist at WLWT-TV in Cincinnati, Ohio
* Dennis Hudson, former nightly newscast anchor; quit due to health concerns; died in November 2005
* Karen Roberts, former nightly newscast anchor and executive producer; quit in August 2007
* Will Kollmeyer, former sports director; now sports information director at Itawamba Community College
* Bryan Owings, former chief meteorologist
* Jeffrey Rupp, former news director and anchor; now special assistant to the president of Mississippi State University
* Robert "Uncle Bunky" Williams, longtime host of Fun Time with Uncle Bunky
* Pete Webb, former reporter.
* Jim Thompson, former reporter; deceased, 2006.
* Cynthia Bowers, former news anchor; now reporter for CBS News.
* Sabrina Register, former news anchor; now anchor for Northwest Cable News, Seattle.
* Joe Furia, former sports director; now reporter for KOMO-TV, Seattle.
* Bill Carter, Former News Director and Anchor; now New Operations Manager for WTLV/WJXX in Jacksonville, Florida
* Jeff Shepard, former sports director and reporter; now sports anchor at WLOX-TV in Biloxi, Mississippi
* Marcus Hunter, former sports anchor and reporter; now sports reporter for WHBQ-TV FOX 13 in Memphis, Tennessee
* Stoney Sharp, former reporter and Tupelo bureau chief; now reporter for WBIR-TV in Knoxville, Tennessee
* Ron Brown, former nightly newscast anchor; quit in June 2007
* Brian Fowler, former Sunrise and Midday meteorologist, now chief meteorologist at WMGT-TV in Macon, Georgia
* Solomon Hinton, former reporter and morning update anchor, 2003
* Drew Powell, former sports director; dismissed in March 2008, now part-time photographer at WTVA in Tupelo, Mississippi
* Jessica Nesbitt, 10pm anchor, now reporter at WKRG-TV in Mobile, Alabama (as Jessica Taloney)
* Randi Rico, Meteorologist, now with WLWT-TV in Cincinnati, Ohio

High-Definition and the Digital Revolution

WCBI started broadcasting a full power digital signal in late 2002. Shortly thereafter, the station was streaming three broadcast channels:

* WCBI-DT 35-1: a high-definition transmission of the CBS affiliate. Syndicated programming, local commercials, and local news programs remain in standard (4x3) definition.

* WCBI-DT 35-2: the north Mississippi area's MyNetworkTV affiliate, My MS, that is operated and owned by Morris Multimedia, Inc. as well. The signal is also in standard definition. This channel was formerly a UPN affiliate until September 4, 2006. It was branded UPN MS.

* WCBI-DT 35-3: North Mississippi's CW affillate, appropriately branded CW North Mississippi. It is also in standard definition. The channel was formerly WCBI WeatherCheck, a 24-hour local weather station done in conjunction with the AccuWeather service. The status of this channel is not known as of 9/17/2006.WCBI is required to cease transmission of its analog signal, as the FCC's "go-black" deadline is February 17, 2009, or until 85% of its viewership is capable of receiving a digital signal.

External links

* [http://www.wcbi.com/ WCBI Homepage]
* [http://nmscw.wcbi.com/ North MS CW]
* [http://myms.wcbi.com/ My MS]
* [http://wcbi411.wcbi.com/ WCBI 411 Directory]
*TVQ|WCBI
*BIA|WCBI|TV|TV