WHNS

Infobox_Broadcast
call_letters = WHNS
city =
station_
station_slogan =
station_branding = Fox Carolina
analog = 21 (UHF)
digital = 57 (UHF), returning to 21 in 2009
other_chs =
affiliations = Fox
network =
founded =
airdate = April 1, 1984
location = Greenville/Spartanburg/Anderson, South Carolina
callsign_meaning = Harry 'N Stella (Pappas)
(original owners)
former_callsigns =
former_channel_numbers =
owner = Meredith Corporation
licensee =
sister_stations =
former_affiliations = Primary:
independent (1984–1988)
Secondary:
UPN (1995–1997)
Pax TV (1998–2003)
effective_radiated_power = 3390 kW (analog)
1000 kW (digital)
160 kW (after 2009)
HAAT = 761.4 m (analog)
744 m (digital)
class =
facility_id = 72300
coordinates = coord|35|10|56.5|N|82|40|56|W|type:landmark_scale:2000
homepage = [http://www.foxcarolina.com/ www.foxcarolina.com]

WHNS (known on-air as Fox Carolina) is the Fox affiliate licensed to Asheville. It also serves Greenville, South Carolina,Spartanburg, and large portions of western North and South Carolina. It is owned by the Meredith Corporation. It broadcasts its analog signal on UHF channel 21, and its digital signal on UHF channel 57. Its transmitter is located near Brevard, North Carolina.

The station airs first-run programming from Fox, including prime time, weekend sports, and weekend children's programming. It also runs off-network sitcoms, talk shows, reality shows, court shows, and local news.

History

A construction permit was issued for channel 21 in Asheville as early as 1953. The permit went through about a dozen owners and many legal hurdles needed to be cleared, which prevented the station from being built. After several false starts, Pappas Telecasting of Fresno, California, which owned and still ownes KMPH there, bought the channel 21 license in 1979. They too had difficulties with legal and environmental issues, which prevented the station from being built. In 1981, Pappas found a transmitter sight in the Spartanburg area closer to Greenville and with grade A signal strength in all three cities. Construction began in 1982 and the station went on the air on April 1, 1984 as independent WHNS. The call letters stand for Harry 'N Stella--after company founder Harry Pappas and his wife Stella. The new station displaced a low-powered Asheville relay of Christian station WGGS, which moved to channel 62 (which by coincidence eventually would be owned by Pappas as well).

The station ran a typical UHF independent schedule consisting of cartoons, sitcoms, old movies, drama shows and some sports. It became the dominant independent station in the region, ahead of WAXA-TV (channel 40, now WMYA-TV). Its first slogan was "It's Your Station", which was changed to "We're Your Station" (also used on WHNS-TV's then sister-station KMPH in Fresno and KPTM in Omaha). WHNS-TV's first logo consisted of the call letters in a Subway-esque logo with the channel number on the center bottom. That logo was used until the late 1980s.

WHNS became the area's Fox affiliate in 1988 after original Fox station WAXA went dark, and quickly dropped its original on-air name of "TV21" in favor of "Fox 21". In 1990, the station was sold to Cannell Communications. First Media Television acquired the station in 1994, and it acquired a secondary UPN affiliation in January 1995, airing UPN programming in the late-night hours. (The UPN affiliation moved in 1997 to WASV (channel 62), which was coincidentally owned by Pappas, WHNS' original owner.)

From around 1996 to 1999, WHNS carried a 10pm newscast produced by WSPA-TV. The partnership between the two stations ended in 1999, when WHNS launched its own news department.

WHNS was acquired by Meredith Corporation in 1997 as part of a group deal. In 2002, it began calling itself "Fox Carolina".

WHNS is the latest television station in the market to begin 24/7 broadcasting, having done so since late April/early May 2006. Before that, WHNS signed off from 3-5 AM late Sunday night/early Monday morning.

On May 14, 2007, Assignment Editor Joe Loy was killed while on assignment. On a local highway, he was filming the aftermath of one accident when another occurred right behind him. He managed to get it on video as a white van, possibly made out-of-control by a red pickup truck, spun towards him. Police are seeking information about the red pickup, a "vehicle of interest".

In 2004, WHNS aired a Nightline broadcast showing the names and faces of the dead from the Iraq war, after ABC station WLOS-TV pre-empted it on orders from its owner, Sinclair Broadcast Group.

Connie LeGrand was the main female anchor from 1998 to 2003 before leaving for SPEED Channel. She is now anchoring with WSPA.

WHNS began broadcasting its digital signal at 834.7 kW on channel 57 and because WHNS's digital channels are currently on a band of UHF which will be no longer in use after the February 17, 2009 cutoff date for analog television broadcasting (channels 52 to 69), it seems likely that WHNS will move its digital signals from Channel 57 to Channel 21 after 2009

Current Personalities

News

*Cody Alcorn, FOX Carolina Reporter
*Margaret Burnquist, FOX Carolina Weekend Anchor/Reporter
*Jade Hindmon, FOX Carolina Reporter
*Ben Hoover,FOX Carolina The Morning News Co-Anchor
*Stephanie Maxwell, FOX Carolina The Morning News Co-Anchor
*Jeff Moreau, FOX Carolina 10PM Co-Anchor
*Jennifer Phillips, FOX Carolina Reporter
*Lidia St. Mark, FOX Carolina Reporter
*Heather Vaughan, FOX Carolina The Morning News Reporter
*Diana Watson, FOX Carolina 10PM Co-Anchor

Weather

*Kendra Kent, FOX Carolina Chief Meteorologist (AMS seal)
*Melissa Jones, FOX Carolina The Morning News Meterologist
*Andy Wood, FOX Carolina Weekend Meterologist

ports

*Dan Bubany, FOX Carolina Sport Director/Anchor
*Anthony Cox, FOX Carolina Weekend Sports Anchor

Repeater stations

In order to reach viewers in valleys of North Carolina, WHNS has 6 low power repeater stations:
* W14AS channel 14 West Asheville
* W35AV channel 35 Black Mountain
* W57BG channel 57 Canton/Waynesville
* W64BO channel 64 Franklin
* W66BU channel 66 Sylva
* W69CN channel 69 Bryson City

External links

* [http://www.foxcarolina.com/ WHNS homepage]
*TVQ|WHNS
*BIA|WHNS|TV|TV