Post-Newsweek Stations

Post-Newsweek Stations is the official name of the broadcasting division of the Washington Post Company and is a self-contained corporation within that company. The company is headquartered in Detroit, Michigan in headquarters shared with Post-Newsweek's station in that market, NBC affiliate WDIV-TV and is headed by president and chief executive officer Alan Frank, formerly general manager of WDIV.

In 1992, Post-Newsweek bought the now defunct Detroit regional sports station PASS Sports from former Detroit Tigers owner and Domino's Pizza founder Tom Monaghan. FSN Detroit put the channel out of business in October of 1997.

As of 2006, Post-Newsweek owns 6 VHF stations, all of which are in the Top 50 markets. All but one has a network affiliation.

History

What today is Post-Newsweek Stations originated as WTOP, Inc. in 1949 when CBS sold 55% (controlling interest) of WTOP-AM 1500 in Washington, D.C. to the "Post." CBS retained a 45% stake. In 1950, WTOP bought WOIC-TV, Washington's CBS affiliate, and changed the calls to WTOP-TV. CBS was forced to sell its remaining interest in WTOP in 1954. The "Post" then merged WTOP-AM-FM-TV with recently-purchased WMBR-AM-TV in Jacksonville, Florida and changed the company's name to Post Stations, Inc. WMBR-AM was later sold off; the "Post" changed WMBR-TV's calls to WJXT. The company adopted the Post-Newsweek name after the "Post" bought "Newsweek" in 1961. Soon thereafter, Post-Newsweek purchased radio station WCKY in Cincinnati, Ohio which was sold in 1978.

In the wake of a panic swap of its Washington broadcast properties to the (Detroit) Evening News Association for their Detroit stations in 1978, the "Post" decided to spin off their broadcasting interests into a company of its own. The Post-Newsweek name itself would later spread to the "Post"-owned cable operations (now known as CableOne and a company identical in structure to Post-Newsweek Stations).

tations

Currently owned stations

: ** Purchase from NBC Universal pending FCC approval. If approved, this acquisition will create Post-Newsweek's first duopoly operation.

Formerly owned stations

Post-Newsweek also owned two other television stations in the past, ironically both were at one time or another company flagships.

Post-Newsweek also formerly operated WTWP during its time as "Washington Post Radio".

Call letter meanings

The call letters of several Post-Newsweek stations are symbolic of persons who have had associations with the group.
*WPLG: Phillip L. Graham, former publisher of the "Post" who died in 1963.
*WKMG: Katharine Meyer Graham, widow of Phillip Graham who would take his place heading the group.
*WFSB: Frederick Scott Beebe, then-president of Post-Newsweek Stations.

External links

* [http://www.washpostco.com/business-broadcasting.htm Post-Newsweek Stations official homepage]