- WTXL-TV
Infobox_Broadcast
call_letters = WTXL-TV
city =
station_
station_slogan =
station_branding = ABC 27
analog = 27 (UHF)
digital = 22 (UHF)
other_chs =
affiliations = ABC
network =
founded =
airdate =September 16 ,1976
location =Tallahassee, Florida
callsign_meaning =
former_callsigns = WECA-TV (1976-1984)
former_channel_numbers =
owner = Calkins Media, Inc.
licensee = WTXL-TV License, LLC
sister_stations =
former_affiliations =
effective_radiated_power = 2690 kW (analog)
8.7 kW (digital)
HAAT = 518 m (analog)
487 m (digital)
class =
facility_id = 41065
coordinates = coord|30|40|7.3|N|83|58|10.3|W|type:landmark_scale:2000
homepage = [http://www.wtxl.tv/ www.wtxl.tv/] |WTXL-TV is the ABC affiliate station for
Tallahassee, Florida ,Thomasville, Georgia , andValdosta, Georgia , broadcasting on channel 27. The station is owned by Calkins Media, Inc., aPennsylvania -basedmass media company that owns several smallnewspapers in Pennsylvania and two other television stations:WWSB in Sarasota andWAAY-TV inHuntsville, Alabama . It was previously owned by Media Ventures Management, and operated by theSinclair Broadcast Group pursuant to an outsourcing agreement [ [http://www.sbgi.net/press/2001/10_01_2001.pdf Sinclair Press release regarding WTWC/WTXL outsourcing agreement, 1 October 2001] ] [http://www.craini2i.com/em/archive.mv?count=3&story=em421356243792469710] , the first of its kind in the United States. This agreement merged virtually all of WTXL-TV's operations with that of Sinclair'sNBC affiliateWTWC . Denis LeClair, General Manager of WTXL-TV and WBXT-TV at the time, was made General Manager for WTXL, WBXT and WTWC under this agreement. He would be followed by Chris Butterick and then Bob Franklin. Eventually, Kim Urbuteit (who was fired in May, 2007) would be named General Manager of WTXL only as Bob Franklin (now in Mobile, AL) oversaw WTWC. Gary Wordlaw is the current General Manager of WTXL-TV.History
WTXL-TV debuted in
September 16 ,1976 as WECA-TV, owned by local businessman Evans Craig Allen. In the early years, its slogan was "We can do it!" -- a play on the call letters. By its fourth year of broadcasting, the station used the slogan "Up & Coming" [ [http://www.mcsittel.com/html/tvg-sga.htm 1980 WTXL logo and slogan (bottom of page)] ] .In
1984 , Allen sold the station to Tallahassee 27 Limited Partnership, led by former SenatorJoseph Tydings and former Congressman Lou Frey. They changed the call letters to the current WTXL-TV. The station's history page claims the new owners took over in1985 , but according to the FCC files, the call letters changed in 1984.As a result of the
2001 outsourcing agreement with Sinclair, WTXL moved from its original studios on Thomasville Road into theWTWC building in Killearn Lakes Plantation (on Deerlake Road) onMarch 17 ,2002 . OnFebruary 20 ,2006 , the partnership between the stations was dissolved after Southern Broadcast Corporation of Sarasota gave notice of termination to the agreement to Sinclair Broadcasting. As a result, WTXL moved out of the WTWC building and discontinued producing news briefs, severe weather cut-ins, and Today Show local weather updates for the station, which it had done since 2001.WTXL is currently broadcasting a high definition signal to Tallahassee residents over the air waves (channel 22) and on all cable systems in the region, such as
Comcast .WTXL was renting studio space from
Florida State University 'sPBS station, WFSU [http://www.tdo.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060210/BREAKINGNEWS/60210005] , with its master control operated off-site byEquity Broadcasting inLittle Rock, Arkansas . WTXL broke ground on their new facility onJune 20 ,2006 in the 10/90 Commerce Park in nearby Midway [http://www.tallahassee.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060628/NEWS01/606280314/1010] . The station fully moved into the new facility in August 2007, debuting a news set with the same design as sister stationWAAY , as well as becoming the first television station in the Tallahassee market to broadcast local news in high definition.WB News at Ten
On
January 15 ,2000 , WTXL produced the first newscast for a local cable-only WB station, called the "WB 28 News at Ten". [http://www.craini2i.com/em/archive.mv?count=3&story=em170175569997799672] It was a 30-minute newscast which aired Monday through Friday and was produced and anchored by WTXL staff. The newscast aired only onComcast cable ("WB 28" was an affiliate ofThe WB 100+ Station Group ), and billed as Tallahassee's only 10pm newscast. As the WB station changed channels on the Comcast system, the name was changed to reflect this; it was later called "WB 11 News at Ten" and then "WB 6 News at Ten". The local WB newscast was cancelled in September 2003.June 2, 2006 arrests
On June 2, 2006, a reporter and photographer from WTXL, photographer Phyllis Joy Ho and reporter Brandon York Beyer, were arrested in
Doerun, Georgia for obstruction at the scene of a military helicopter crash at the tower ofAlbany, Georgia television stationWFXL . They were booked at the Colquitt County Jail inMoultrie, Georgia , and later released on a $750 bond. All charges were later dropped. [http://www.walb.com/Global/story.asp?S=4977428&nav=5kZQ]eptember 24, 2007
WTXL videojournalist/fill-in sports anchor Eric Thompson received a citation in Panama City while providing coverage of the
Martin Lee Anderson trial's jury selection process. [http://tallahassee.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070925/NEWS01/709250340/1010/NEWS01]Digital TV
Post-analog shutdown
After the analog television shutdown and digital transition, which is scheduled to take place on February 17, 2009 http://hraunfoss.fcc.gov/edocs_public/attachmatch/DA-06-1082A2.pdf] , WTXL-TV will move its digital broadcasts back to its present analog channel number, 27. [http://fjallfoss.fcc.gov/cgi-bin/ws.exe/prod/cdbs/forms/prod/cdbsmenu.hts?context=25&appn=101234753&formid=387&fac_num=41065 CDBS Print ] ]
Current personalities
*News at Sunrise & Noon Anchor: Lenita Wesson (2008-Present; 5 & 5:30 PM News Anchor 2003-2006, reporter 2006-2007)
*News at Sunrise Anchor: Rex Hodge (2008-Present; 6 & 11 PM Anchor 2007-2008)
*5 PM News Anchor: Lauren Dorsett (2007-Present; 5, 6 & 11 PM from 2005-2006)
*6 & 11 PM News Anchor: Lauren Elise (2006-Present; Weekends 2006)
*Weekend 6 & 11 PM News Anchor: Marco Villarreal (2008-Present)
*Sports Director: Brad Dalton (2006-Present)
*Fill-in Sports Anchor: Eric Thompson (2006-Present)
*Weekend Sports Anchor: David Taylor (2008-Present)
*Chief Meteorologist: Casanova Nurse (2008-Present) (2003-2006 Weekends, then mornings)
*News at Sunrise & Noon Forecaster: Dave Priem (2006-Present; fill-in weather anchor 2003-2004; Weekends 2005-2006)
*Weekend Forecaster: Jason Adams (2008-Present)
*Reporter: Rebecca Baer (2005-Present)
*Reporter: Abbey Phillips (2006-Present)
*Reporter: David Taylor (2008-Present)Past personalities
Main anchors
*Lee Mainella (1978) (deceased)
*Ken Lass (1978-83) (Currently atWDJC-FM in Birmingham, Alabama)
*Jerry Brown (years unknown) (Currently atWMBB )
*Tom Campbell (years unknown) (Currently atWRDW-TV )
*Beverly Lewis (1984?-?)
*Joe Larkins (1984-86)
*Donna (Hicken) Deegan (1984-1985) (Mornings) (Currently atWTLV /WJXX )
*Allen Moore (late 1980s?)
*Steve Ring (1993-?; 2000-2003) (6 and 11 p.m.) (Currently atWRBL )
*Betsy Singer (mid 1990s) (Currently working at Faith Christian School in Rochester, Minnesota)
*Patricia Scott (1995-1997) (5, 6, 11 p.m.) (Currently hosting a show called "It's All Good" onKPTS as Sierra Scott)
*Kelly Harvey (1996-1999) (6, 11 p.m. Anchor) (Currently in law school at theUniversity of Pittsburgh School of Law)
*Ethan Forhetz (1997-1999) (Currently atKYTV (TV) )
*Tammy Robiconti (1997-2003) (5, 6, 11 p.m.) (Currently Director of Marketing & Public Relations for St. Petersburg General Hospital, St. Petersburg, FL)
*Myra Monroe (1997-2001) (5 and 5:30 p.m.) (Currently atWCJB )
*Tammie Fields (1998-2001) (Weekends) (Currently atWTSP )
*Sydney Fisher (?-2000) (Mornings)
*Rod Carter (1990s) (Weekends) (Currently atWVTM-TV )
*Bob Trotter (?-2000) (Weekends)
*Rick Boone (1999-2002) (Mornings & 5 p.m.) (Currently atKTAL-TV )
*Cathleen O'Toole (2000-2003) (Mornings) (Currently atWPBF )
*Stacey Brenan (2002-2004) (Weekends)
*Amy Basista (2002-2005) (5, 6, and 11 p.m.) (Currently atWCMH )
*James Jackson (2002-2005) (Weekends, then mornings) (Currently atWEAR-TV )
*Shonda Knight (1999-2006: Reporter 2000-2003; Anchor 2003-2006) (Mornings) (Currently atWCTV )
*Robert Burns (2003-2006) (5:30, 6 and 11 p.m.) (Currently the editor for the New Smyrna Beach Obsrver newspaper)
*Valerie Lacy (2007-2008) (Mornings, then weekends)
*Brandon Beyer (2005-2008) (Mornings) (5 PM News Anchor 2007-During sweeps only)Meteorologists/Weather anchors
*Dan Hogan (1979-1980)
*Mark Reynolds (early 1980s) (Currently atWJHL )
*Charles Paxton (1983-1984) (weekends) (now with National Weather Service Tampa Bay)
*Connor Vernon (1984-1988) (Formerly at KTBC-TV in Austin, TX. Currently atWTVY-TV )
*David Neal (1988-early 1990s)
*John Scalzi (early 1990s-1995) (weekends) (Currently atWWSB )
*Glenn Willey (1990s?) (Currently atWTVD )
*Justin Kiefer (1994?-1997) (Currently atWMBB )
*Dave Anthony (Cocchiarella) (?-1997?) (Currently atCentral Florida News 13 )
*Tom Siler (1994-2004) (Chief)
*Gerald Brinkley (mid 1990s?) (Fill-in)
*Mike Nichols (1997-2000) (Mornings) (Currently atKBMT )
*Chris Zelman (1999-2001) (Weekends) (Currently atWALB )
*Mike Rucker (2001-2002) ("Director of Weather Operations") (Currently works for theWingate Inn hotel in Tallahassee)
*Stephanie Abrams (2002-2003) (Mornings) (Currently atThe Weather Channel )
*Jordan DeTillio (2002-2004) (Weekends)
*Joe Sigman (2002-2006) (Fill-in)
*Joe Smith (2002-2003) (Weekends) (Currently atKGW as Joe Michaels)
*Craig Gold (2005) (Weekends) (Currently atKTKA )
*Don Harrigan (2006-2008) (Weekends) (Currently at FSU for M.S.)
*Matt Tanner (2008) (freelance/weekends) (Currently atWAKA-TV )
*Nancy Dignon (2004-2008) (Chief Meteorologist)ports anchors
*Gene Deckerhoff (1976-1978) (original sports director) (Current play-by-play announcer for the
Tampa Bay Buccaneers andFlorida State University Seminoles )
*Tom Mees (1978-1979) (ESPN anchor, drowned August 14, 1996)
*Rich Lenz (sports director) (1980s) (Currently atKOTV )
*John (J.P.) Peterson (sports director) (1987-1995) [http://nl.newsbank.com/nl-search/we/Archives?p_product=GB&p_theme=gb&p_action=search&p_maxdocs=200&p_topdoc=1&p_text_direct-0=0EAF8634E0EBF41C&p_field_direct-0=document_id&p_perpage=10&p_sort=YMD_date:D&s_trackval=GooglePM] (later worked atWTOG-TV andWFLA-TV ; currently atWQYK-AM )
*Dave Neal (early 1990s) (Currently withFox Sports South andJefferson Pilot Sports)
*Wayne Evans (?-1997)
*Tom Block (1995-1998) (Sports Director) (Currently with Florida State University and Seminole Radio Network and Sun Sports)
*Mike Nabors (1997-1998)
*Sean Woodland (sports director) (1998-2000) (Currently atWJXT )
*Seth Grossman (1998-2000)
*Preston Scott (2000-2006) (Sports Director) (Currently at 100.7 FMWFLA-FM in Tallahassee)
*Jimm Patterson (?-2006?) (Weekend Sports Anchor)
*Matt Stitsinger (1999-2003) (Sports Anchor) (Currently works in the University of Louisville Athletic Department)
*Sean Smith (2006-2008) (Currently works atWBAL-TV in Baltimore, MD)Reporters and fill-in anchors
*Jeff Hager (mid 1990s)
*Erika (Rikki) Ragland (1996-1998)
*Rudy Cooks (mid 90's)
*Keith Ingram (1997-1999) (Currently Owner "Number One Son Media" Fort Myers, Fl.)
*Greg Davis (?-1997?)
*Brittany Lund (1997?-2000?)
*Thema Ponton (1998-1999) (Currently atWBTW )
*Kim Fettig (1999-?) (Currently atWGCL-TV )
*Ryan Young (2000-2001?) (Currently atWSB-TV )
*Sandra Edmond (1999-2002) (Currently owns two Real Estate Companies)
*Kimberly Curth (2000-2002) (Currently atWKRG )
*Lisa Remillard (2003-2005) (Currently atWFTS )
*Carolyn Kluck (2004) (Fill-in Weekend Reporter) (Currently atWLOS as Carolyn Ryan)
*Carley Wegner (2004-2005) (Friday morning entertainment reporter) (Currently atWNCT-TV )
*Stacy White (2004-2005)
*Brandon Tucker (2004-2005) (Currently a writer/editor for Golf Publisher Syndications)
*Arnitrice Harrison (2005) (Fill-in reporter) (Currently at Smooth JazzWJZT 97.9FM)
*Stewart Moore (2006-Nov. 2007) (Currently atWIS )
*Alex DiPrato (2006-2008) (Currently atWPRI-TV )
*Amanda Anderson (2002-2008)(Senior Reporter / Weekend Anchor)
*Todd Morrill (2005-2008), Weekend Anchor (2007?-2008)External links
* [http://www.wtxl.tv/ Station Website]
*TVQ|WTXL
*BIA|WTXL|TV|TVReferences
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