WWSB

Infobox_Broadcast
call_letters = WWSB
city =
station_
station_slogan = Your Suncoast News
station_branding = ABC 7 "(cable)"
subchannels = 7.1 ABC
analog = 40 (UHF)
digital = 24 (UHF)
digital_temporary = 52 (UHF)
other_chs =
affiliations = ABC
network =
founded =
airdate = October 23, 1971
location = Sarasota, Florida
callsign_meaning = Southern Broadcasting
former_callsigns = WXLT-TV (1971-1986)
former_channel_numbers =
owner = Calkins Media, Inc.
licensee = WWSB License, LLC
sister_stations =
former_affiliations = CBS, NBC (secondary throughout the 1970s, see article)
effective_radiated_power = 2880 kW (analog)
12 kW (digital)
90 kW (after 2009)
HAAT = 235 m (analog)
214 m (digital)
class =
facility_id = 61251
coordinates = coord|27|33|30.4|N|82|21|57.2|W|type:landmark_scale:2000
homepage = [http://www.mysuncoast.com/ www.mysuncoast.com]

WWSB, Channel 40 (Cable and Virtual channel 7), is the ABC affiliate for Sarasota, Florida.

WWSB is owned by Calkins Media, Inc., a Pennsylvania-based mass media company that owns several small newspapers in Pennsylvania and two other television stations: WTXL-TV in Tallahassee (which Calkins acquired in December 2005) and WAAY-TV in Huntsville, Alabama (acquired in February 2007).

WWSB's transmitter is located on a 248 m (814 ft) high tower in Parrish - a small community about 19 miles (30 km) north of the station's studios in downtown Sarasota. As a consequence to its location, its coverage area expands as far north as northern Hillsborough County and Lakeland, giving some aerial viewers a choice of two or three ABC affiliates, depending on location.

A slightly directional antenna broadcasts the station's UHF signal south toward the cities served by WWSB. The largest of those cities are Sarasota, Bradenton, Venice, and North Port. The station's news department focuses its coverage on five counties: Sarasota, Manatee, Charlotte, Hardee, and DeSoto.

The station can not be viewed on satellite TV, which has been frustrating for many people in the Sarasota-Manatee area, and WWSB has been asking people with satellite systems to petition their providers to show WWSB. Recently, when Verizon started its FiOS cable lines in the area, WWSB was not originally included, but was added to channel 7 on the FiOS systems in late October 2006 which included Hillsborough and Pasco counties. [http://www22.verizon.com/NROneRetail/NR/rdonlyres/A6D51319-17A2-4D3D-9BF1-B060DCDA9F25/0/FLGulfCoast.pdf]

History

The station first went on the air as WXLT-TV (for W XL (40 in roman numerals) Television) in 1971, being the first television affiliate in the area based neither in Tampa nor St. Petersburg. WWSB signed on to provide ABC programming in an area insufficiently covered by WLCY-TV (now WTSP), when that station broadcasted at a lower power. The early days of the station's news coverage focused on local news and events, but, to improve ratings, later expanded to "blood and guts" journalism, focusing mainly on crime stories. [http://www.manship2.lsu.edu/perkins/Handouts/chubbucknew.pdf] The station became notorious in 1974 when news anchor and talk-show host Christine Chubbuck committed suicide by shooting herself in the head on the air, making reference to the station's "blood and guts" policies in her final monologue; her suicide occurred the day after a story that she filed was cut for a story on a shootout at an area restaurant. [cite news|last=Quinn|first=Sally|date=4 August 1974|title=Christine Chubbuck: 29, Good-Looking, Educated. A Television Personality. Dead. Live and in Color (PDF)|publisher=Washington Post|url=http://www.manship2.lsu.edu/perkins/Handouts/chubbucknew.pdf]

In the 1970s, WXLT also cleared some CBS and NBC programming passed on by WTVT or WFLA, respectively. For example: in 1972, when "The Joker's Wild" debuted on CBS, it was pre-empted on WTVT, but picked up by WXLT. The call letters became WWSB in 1986.

On cable, WFTS was not carried south of the Sarasota area, while WWSB was not available on cable north of the Sunshine Skyway Bridge (until Verizon FiOS added WWSB to all of their Gulf Coast lineups) -- the latter was due to contractual conditions drawn up in the early-1990s by WTSP and, later, WFTS.

Until WTSP upgraded their facilities in the late-1970s, both WLCY/WTSP and WXLT competed for viewers in Hillsborough and Pinellas counties. It was not uncommon to see WXLT's billboards in Tampa, St. Petersburg or Largo.

Today, WWSB still provides ABC programming to Manatee and Sarasota counties, even though they're in the shadow of WFTS, whose transmitter is only about 20 miles north of WWSB's. On cable, WWSB is the sole ABC affiliate on Comcast's southern Sarasota County systems, while it competes with Fort Myers' WZVN-TV in Desoto County and Port Charlotte, and Orlando's WFTV in Hardee County.

Changes

In 2001, the station changed studio locations to a new building in downtown Sarasota. In 2002, they changed logos, and Until March 2004, the station's news department operated under the brand "News 40", and the station as a whole branded as "Channel 40." The brand was changed to ABC 7, because most viewers watch the station on Brighthouse Networks or Comcast Cable and both providers carry WWSB on channel 7. The conversion to ABC 7 involved a redress of the station's news sets, a new logo (to a unique version of the well known Circle 7 logo) and color scheme, a new slogan ("Local news. Every day. Every newscast."), from its longtime slogan "ABC for the Suncoast", and a major local promotion and advertising campaign.

However, not all cable systems carry WWSB on cable 7 -- Comcast's Wauchula system carries WWSB on cable 2; also, its Port Charlotte system offers WWSB on cable 10, since its home-market station, WZVN-TV (which also brands as ABC 7 for the same reason), is seen on cable 7.

The station also uses channel 7 as its PSIP virtual channel on its digital signal; such use is contrary to FCC regulations, in which its analog channel number (in this case, 40) must be used for PSIP.

Black Almanac

Black Almanac is a locally-produced public affairs program that airs at 7:30 a.m. Sundays on WWSB. It is hosted by Ed James, a longtime anchor and personality of the station who has been with the station just after its sign on as WXLT, and the show focuses on the issues that African Americans face in the community. The program has aired since 1972, making it the longest running locally-produced public affairs program in the Southeastern United States. [http://www.mysuncoast.com/station/staffDisplay.cfm?staID=33]

Newscast Lineup

Weekdays

* ABC 7 News at Sunrise: 6-7 AM:Anchors: Ken Jefferson, Michelle Rieg:Weather: John Scalzi
* ABC 7 News at Noon: 12-1 PM:Anchor: Ken Jefferson:Weather: John Scalzi
* ABC 7 News at 5:00: 5-6 PM:Anchor: Heidi Godman:Weather: Bob Harrigan:Sports: Don Brennan:Business: Richard Stern
* ABC 7 News at 6:00: 6-6:30 PM:Anchors: Scott Dennis, Monica Yadav:Weather: Bob Harrigan:Sports: Don Brennan
* ABC 7 News at 11:00: 11-11:35 PM:Anchors: Scott Dennis, Monica Yadav:Weather: Bob Harrigan:Sports: Don Brennan

Weekends

*" ABC 7 Weekend Edition " - 6:30-7 PM :Anchor: Linda Carson:Weather: Wendy Ross

*" ABC 7 Weekend Edition " - 11-11:35 PM:Anchor: Linda Carson:Weather: Wendy Ross

Current personalities

*6:00, 11:00 News Anchor: Scott Dennis (1985-present)
*5:00, 5:30 News Anchor: Heidi Godman (1988-present)
*6:00, 11:00 News Anchor/Investigative Reporter: Monica Yadav (1999-present)
*Chief Meteorologist: Bob Harrigan (1985-present)
*Weekend PM Anchor: Linda Carson (1995-present) (widow of former NFL coach Bud Carson)
*Weekend Forecaster: Wendy Ross (1976-1979, 1997-present)
*Sunrise, Noon News Anchor: Ken Jefferson (2002-present)
*Sunrise, Noon Meteorologist: John Scalzi (1995-present)
*Photojournalist/Reporter/fill-in anchor: Josh Taylor (2002-present)
*Photojournalist/Reporter/Sunrise Anchor: Michelle Rieg (2004-present)
*Reporter: Shannon Cornwell (2008-present)
*Weekday Sports Anchor: Don Brennan (2006-present)
*Substitute Sports Anchor: Leah Secondo (2004-present)
*Business Commentator: Richard Stern (1987-present)
*Host of "Black Almanac": Dr. Ed James (1972-present)

Past personalities

*Christine Chubbuck (1971-1974) (Anchor, shot self live on air)
*Craig Sager (1970s) (reporter)
*John Hill (1986-1995) (5, 6 and 11 p.m. Anchor) (Currently at SNN News 6)
*Kathy Winkler-Leon (1993-2003) (News Anchor) (Currently at SNN News 6)
*Kristi Krueger (1986-1990) (6 and 11 p.m. co-anchor 1988-1990) (Currently at WPLG)
*Peter Linton-Smith (late '80s-early 90s) (reporter) (Currently at WTVT)
*Kevin Daniels (late '80s-early 90s) (reporter)
*Valerie Amsterdam (1989-1990) (Weekend news anchor)
*Kelly McGee (1989-1990) (morning and noon anchor)
*Nancy White (1990-1997) (producer, anchor)
*Jason Howe (1995-1997) (Reporter)
*Lynn Huston (?-1999) (Currently at KOIN)
*Tony Cornish Jr (1998-2003) (Sports Anchor) (Currently at WZBN)
*Michelle Jordan (2003-July 2005) (News Anchor)
*Jackie Barron (?-1998) (Reporter) (Currently at WFLA-TV)
*Grayson Kamm (2003-2005) (Reporter) (Currently at WTSP)
*Sheryl Greene (1997-2005) (Reporter) (Currently at WJBF as Sheryl Williams)
*Vida Urbonas (1999-2003) (Anchor) (Currently at KWGN)
*Liz Weaver (2000-2003) (Reporter) (Currently producer at The Morning Show with Mike & Juliet)
*Dan Smart (2004-2005) (Reporter) [ [http://www.heraldtribune.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20050609/NEWS/506090497/1006/SPORTS HeraldTribune.com - News - News stories about Sarasota, Manatee and Charlotte counties in Florida, from the newspapers of record. - HeraldTribune.com ] ]
*Cathi Carson (2003-2005) (Reporter, daughter of anchor ABC 7 Linda Carson and NFL coach Bud Carson) (Currently the consumer reporter "Cathi on the Case" WTEV/WAWS)
*Richelle Ridgeway (2002-2005) (Sunrise and Noon Anchor)
*Erik Von Ancken (2000-2003) (Reporter) (Currently at WKMG-TV)
*Kyle Kraska (late 1980s) (Sports) (Currently at KFMB-TV)
*Don Bell (2002-2003) (Sports Anchor) (Currently at KYW-TV)
*Kevin Negandhi (1999-2002, 2004-2006) (Weekday Sports Anchor) (Currently at ESPN)
*Fred Mead (Weekend Anchor) 1975-1978 - currently international development consultant (see Wikipedia)
*Dave Knops (2005-2006) (fill-in Forecaster) (Currently at SNN News 6)
*Kim Dean (1999-?) (reporter) (Currently at Inside Edition)
*Dionne Miller (2006-2007) (weekend Sports anchor) (Currently at Columbus Sports Network) [ [http://www.columbussportsnetwork.com/news/releases/20070418_Columbus%20Sports%20Network%20Adds%20Co-Anchor%20and%20Reporter.asp Columbus Sports Network = Press Release ] ]
*Alcides Segui (2004-2007) (Reporter) (Currently at WAAY)
*Vickie Oldham (?-?)
*Monica Buchanan (2006-2007) (Reporter) (Currently at WVIT)
*Travell Eiland (2005-2007) (Reporter) (Currently at KLAS-TV)
*Eli Kuo (late 1990s) (Reporter)
*Dave Deeley (1991-1996) (Sports Anchor/Reporter), Sports Anchor/Director WAAY, WNCF (1996-2002), professor, Truman State University (2002-2004), Ph.D. Alumni Graduate Fellow, University of Florida, (2004-present).
*Brad Giffen (2003-2008) (5:30pm Anchor/Reporter) (Currently at CFTO-TV)
*Tania Dall (2007-2008) (Reporter) (Currently at KXLY-TV)
*Amanda Stanzilis (2005-2008) (Reporter/Fill-in Anchor) (Currently at KENS-TV)
*Ben Kaplan (Weekend Sports Anchor/News Reporter) (2007-2008) (Currently at KXLY-TV)
*Silke Rible (2002-2003, 2005-2008) (Sunrise, Noon News Anchor) - Currently at American Cancer Society in Charlotte, NC.
*Mark Boyle (2007-2008) (Reporter) (Currently at WFTV)
*Takara Fuller (2007-2008) (Reporter)
*Lindsay Bramson (2008) (Photojournalist/Reporter) :)

References

External links

* [http://www.mysuncoast.com WWSB-TV official site]
*TVQ|WWSB
*BIA|WWSB|TV|TV