WFMY-TV

Infobox_Broadcast
call_letters = WFMY-TV
station_
station_slogan = Get Answers
station_branding = WFMY, News2
analog = 2 (VHF)
digital = 51 (UHF)
affiliations = CBS
founded = September 22, 1949
location = Greensboro - High Point -
Winston-Salem, North Carolina
callsign_meaning = began as the TV arm of a now-defunct FM radio station
owner = Gannett Company
licensee = WFMY Television Corporation
former_affiliations = All secondary:
ABC (1949-1963)
NBC (1949-1953)
DuMont (1949-1956)
effective_radiated_power = 100 kW (analog)
1000 kW (digital)
HAAT = 550.8 m (analog)
568.8 m (digital)
facility_id = 72064
coordinates = coord|35|52|13.3|N|79|50|24.1|W|type:landmark_scale:2000
homepage = [http://www.digtriad.com/ www.digtriad.com]

WFMY-TV, channel 2, is a television station in Greensboro, North Carolina. Owned by the Gannett Company, WFMY-TV is the CBS affiliate for the Greensboro/High Point/Winston-Salem (also known as the Piedmont Triad) area. WFMY-TV's studios are located on Phillips Avenue in downtown Greensboro, and its transmitter is located in Randleman, North Carolina.

History

The station began operation on September 22, 1949 as the second television station in North Carolina, just a few months after fellow CBS affiliate WBTV in Charlotte. It was owned by the Greensboro News Company, publishers of the "Greensboro Daily News" and "Daily Record" (now merged as the "Greensboro News & Record"). The News Company had put WFMY-FM on the air in 1947, but the radio station shut down in the 1950s. It aired programs from all four networks (CBS, NBC, ABC, and DuMont), but has always been a primary CBS affiliate. NBC moved to WSJS-TV (now WXII-TV) when it signed on in 1953 and WFMY shared ABC with WSJS until WGHP signed on in 1963.

Sportscaster Charlie Harville worked at WFMY from 1949 to 1963, when he joined WGHP, and from 1977 to 1988 [Patrick Wilson, "Special Person - Broadcaster Charlie Harville Was 'Respected by Everyone in Sports,'" "Winston-Salem Journal", March 3, 2002.] .. In 1965, the News Company was bought by what became Landmark Communications. The station was acquired by Harte-Hanks Communications in 1976, and by Gannett in 1989.

WFMY's local programming, including the long-running news program "Good Morning Show" with Lee Kinard, and children's program "The Old Rebel Show" pre-empted CBS' various attempts at morning programming from the 1957 through the 1980s. WGGT (now WMYV) aired the CBS Morning News until 1985, and afterwards WFMY began to run the broadcast on delay from 8-10am following "The Good Morning Show". Lee Kinard later moved to the weeknight news until his retirement in the 1990s. WFMY does not carry CBS's "Saturday Early Show"; instead, it carries a Saturday edition of "The Good Morning Show," followed by the CBS kids' block.

Another important local daytime program from the 1970s was "Sandra and Friends", hosted by current news anchor Sandra Hughes. This was one of the first shows in the region to be hosted by a black woman.

On September 25, 1984, the station's number one newsgathering tool, SKY 2, did itself become news. The Bell Jet Ranger Helicopter, piloted by Tom Haroski, was attempting to assist in the rescue of a construction worker trapped atop a water tower in Kernersville, near Winston-Salem. The tower was being dismantled when a piece of steel snapped and trapped the worker for hours. He was bleeding profusely when late that night, SKY 2 was called in to assist. The pilot began lowering the chopper above the tower. An EMS worker on board was going to attempt the rescue. As the chopper hovered over the tower the tail rotor hit one of the steel beams of the tower sending the helicopter nose first into the ground. The images were captured on tape by competitor WXII and broadcast around the country. The pilot and rescue worker were killed instantly. In a sad footnote it was determined that the worker they were attempting to reach had bled to death before the chopper ever took off. [http://www.ntsb.gov/ntsb/brief.asp?ev_id=20001214X40964&key=1]

WFMY began using a new version of SKY 2 (painted black) after the accident, but eventually retired the chopper altogether.

WFMY boasts one of the largest coverage areas in the Southeast; the channel 2 signal travels a long distance under most conditions. It can be seen as far east as the Triangle and as far south as Charlotte under most circumstances.

Recent News

WFMY was one of a handful of stations to pre-empt the May 31, 2008 broadcast of , the first-ever mixed martial arts program on network television. Program director David Briscoe cited the program's graphic content as a reason for not showing the event. A made-for-TV movie, " [http://us.imdb.com/title/tt0104332 Getting Up and Going Home] ", aired in its place. [http://www.greensborosports.com/2008/05/29/thank-you-wfmy-channel-2-for-not-showing-us-the-kimbo-slice-fight-this-saurday-night/ ] [http://www.latimes.com/sports/printedition/la-sp-kimbo2-2008jun02,0,2170946.story ]

atellite and Out-of-Market Cable Carriage

WFMY is carried in many counties outside of the DMA for cable and satellite customers. DirecTV customers in North Carolina can watch WFMY in the counties of Chatham, Durham, Lee, Person and Orange. Also in these counties, WFMY is also carried on cable as well except in Durham, Orange and Person counties. In addition, Albemarle and Salisbury (Time Warner Cable (TWC) - Camp Wesley only) carry WFMY on cable but not on DirecTV in Stanley and Rowan counties. TWC (formely Cablevision) used to carry WFMY in Southern Pines and later, the Seven Lakes/West End area around the mid 1990s. Also more recently, TWC in Carrboro also dropped WFMY but did not remove WGHP from the lineup. In Virginia, DirecTV customers can watch WFMY in the counties of Carroll, Grayson and Henry. The Virginia independent cities that can watch WFMY on DirecTV are in Danville and Martinsville. In these Virginia locations, WFMY is also carried on cable as well.

Current Personalities

Anchors:
* Sandra Hughes
* Kent Bates
* Tanya Rivera
* Rosemary Plybon
* Frank Mickens

Weather:
* Eric Chilton
* Ed Matthews
* Leigh Brock
* Robb Ellis

Sports:
* Greg Kerr
* Jamie Baldwin

Reporters:
* Julia Bagg
* Brian Formica
* Kerri Hartsfield
* Mac Ingraham
* Tracey McCain
* Justin Quesinberry
* Ashley Smith

Traffic:
* Isabel Caldwell

News/Station Presentation

Newscast Titles

*"Channel 2 Evening News" (1967-1980)
*"News 2" (1980-2001)
*"WFMY News 2" (2001-present)

Past Logos

References

External links

* [http://www.digtriad.com/ WFMY News2]
* [http://www.digtriad.com/company/tour.aspx Video Tour Of WFMY]
*TVQ|WFMY
*BIA|WFMY|TV|TV