WJLA-TV (channel 7) is a
television station
A television station is a set of equipment managed by a business, organisation or other entity, such as an amateur television (ATV) operator, that transmits video content and audio content via radio waves directly from a transmitter on the earth ...
in
Washington, D.C.
)
, image_skyline =
, image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...
, affiliated with
ABC
ABC are the first three letters of the Latin script known as the alphabet.
ABC or abc may also refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media Broadcasting
* American Broadcasting Company, a commercial U.S. TV broadcaster
** Disney–ABC Television ...
. It is one of two
flagship stations of
Sinclair Broadcast Group
Sinclair Broadcast Group, Inc. (SBG) is a publicly traded American telecommunications conglomerate that is controlled by the descendants of company founder Julian Sinclair Smith. Headquartered in the Baltimore suburb of Cockeysville, Maryland, t ...
(alongside dual
Fox
Foxes are small to medium-sized, omnivorous mammals belonging to several genera of the family Canidae. They have a flattened skull, upright, triangular ears, a pointed, slightly upturned snout, and a long bushy tail (or ''brush'').
Twelve sp ...
/
MyNetworkTV
MyNetworkTV (unofficially abbreviated MyTV, MyNet, MNT or MNTV, and sometimes referred to as My Network) is an American commercial broadcast television syndication service and former television network owned by Fox Corporation, operated by its ...
affiliate
WBFF
WBFF (channel 45) is a television station in Baltimore, Maryland, United States, affiliated with Fox and MyNetworkTV. It is one of two flagship stations of Sinclair Broadcast Group (based in nearby Hunt Valley), alongside ABC affiliate WJLA-TV ...
hannel 45in
Baltimore
Baltimore ( , locally: or ) is the List of municipalities in Maryland, most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland, fourth most populous city in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, and List of United States cities by popula ...
), and is also
sister
A sister is a woman or a girl who shares one or more parents with another individual; a female sibling. The male counterpart is a brother. Although the term typically refers to a familial relationship, it is sometimes used endearingly to refer to ...
to
Woodstock, Virginia
Woodstock is a town and the county seat of Shenandoah County, Virginia, United States. It has a population of 5,212 according to the 2017 census. Woodstock comprises 3.2 square miles of incorporated area of the town, and is located along the ...
–licensed
low-powered,
Class A TBD
To be announced (TBA), to be confirmed (TBC), to be determined or decided or declared (TBD), and other variations, are placeholder terms used very broadly in event planning to indicate that although something is scheduled or expected to happen, a ...
station
WDCO-CD
WDCO-CD, virtual channel 10 ( UHF digital channel 24), is a low-powered, Class A TBD owned-and-operated television station licensed to Woodstock, Virginia, United States and serving the Washington, D.C. metropolitan area. Owned by the Hunt Val ...
(channel 10) and local
cable
Cable may refer to:
Mechanical
* Nautical cable, an assembly of three or more ropes woven against the weave of the ropes, rendering it virtually waterproof
* Wire rope, a type of rope that consists of several strands of metal wire laid into a hel ...
channel
WJLA 24/7 News
WJLA 24/7 News is an American regional cable news television channel in Washington D.C. by ABC-affiliated station WJLA-TV (channel 7) owned by the Sinclair Broadcast Group. The channel provides 24-hour news coverage primarily focused on Washingt ...
. WJLA-TV's studios are located on Wilson Boulevard in the
Rosslyn section of
Arlington, Virginia
Arlington County is a county in the Commonwealth of Virginia. The county is situated in Northern Virginia on the southwestern bank of the Potomac River directly across from the District of Columbia, of which it was once a part. The county is ...
, and its transmitter is located in the
Tenleytown
Tenleytown is a historic neighborhood in Northwest, Washington, D.C.
History
In 1790, locals began calling the neighborhood "Tennally's Town" after area tavern owner John Tennally. Over time, the spelling has evolved and by the 19th century th ...
neighborhood of
northwest Washington.
History
The District of Columbia's third television station began broadcasting on October 3, 1947 as WTVW, owned by the ''
Washington Star
''The Washington Star'', previously known as the ''Washington Star-News'' and the Washington ''Evening Star'', was a daily afternoon newspaper published in Washington, D.C., between 1852 and 1981. The Sunday edition was known as the ''Sunday Star ...
'', along with WMAL radio (630 AM, now
WSBN
WSBN (630 kHz) is a commercial AM sports radio station licensed to Washington, D.C. and serving the Washington metro area. It operates with 10,000 watts in the daytime and 2,700 watts at night using a directional antenna around the clock. WSBN's ...
, and 107.3 FM, now
WLVW
WLVW (107.3 FM) – branded as ''K-Love'' – is a non-commercial Christian adult contemporary radio station licensed to serve Washington, D.C. Owned and operated by the Educational Media Foundation, WLVW does not broadcast any local programmin ...
). It was the first
high-band VHF television station (channels 7-13) in the United States. A few months later, the station changed its call letters to WMAL-TV after its radio sisters. WMAL radio had been an affiliate of the
NBC Blue Network
The Blue Network (previously known as the NBC Blue Network) was the on-air name of a now defunct American Commercial broadcasting, radio network, which broadcast from 1927 through 1945.
Beginning as one of the two radio networks owned by the N ...
since 1933, and remained with the network after it was spun off by NBC and evolved into ABC. However, channel 7 started as a
CBS
CBS Broadcasting Inc., commonly shortened to CBS, the abbreviation of its former legal name Columbia Broadcasting System, is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the CBS Entertainmen ...
station since ABC had not yet established its television network. When ABC launched on television in 1948, WMAL-TV became ABC's third primary affiliate; the station continued to carry some CBS programming until WOIC (channel 9, now
WUSA) signed on in 1949. During the late 1950s, the station was also briefly affiliated with the
NTA Film Network
The NTA Film Network was an early American television network founded by Ely Landau in 1956. The network was not a full-time television network like CBS, NBC, or ABC. Rather, it operated on a part-time basis, broadcasting films and several first ...
.
In 1975,
Houston
Houston (; ) is the most populous city in Texas, the most populous city in the Southern United States, the fourth-most populous city in the United States, and the sixth-most populous city in North America, with a population of 2,304,580 in ...
businessman
Joe Allbritton
Joe Lewis Allbritton (December 29, 1924 – December 12, 2012) was an American banker, publisher and philanthropist.
Early life
Joe Allbritton was born on December 29, 1924, in D'Lo, Mississippi, the sixth of seven children. His family soon reloc ...
, the owner of the now-defunct Washington-based
Riggs Bank
Riggs Bank was a bank headquartered in Washington, D.C. For most of its history, it was the largest bank headquartered in that city. On May 13, 2005, after the exposure of several money laundering scandals, the bank was acquired by PNC Financ ...
, purchased a controlling interest in the ''Star''s media properties, which by that time also included
WLVA radio and
WLVA-TV
WSET-TV (channel 13) is a television station licensed to Lynchburg, Virginia, United States, serving as the ABC affiliate for the Roanoke–Lynchburg market. The station is owned by Sinclair Broadcast Group, and has studios on Langhorne Ro ...
in
Lynchburg, Virginia
Lynchburg is an independent city (United States), independent city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Virginia in the United States. First settled in 1757 by ferry owner John Lynch (1740–1820), John Lynch, the city's populati ...
; and
WCIV
WCIV (channel 36) is a television station in Charleston, South Carolina, United States, affiliated with MyNetworkTV and ABC. The station is owned by Sinclair Broadcast Group, and maintains studios on Allbritton Boulevard along US 17/701 (Johnnie ...
in
Charleston, South Carolina
Charleston is the largest city in the U.S. state of South Carolina, the county seat of Charleston County, and the principal city in the Charleston–North Charleston metropolitan area. The city lies just south of the geographical midpoint o ...
. As a condition of the purchase, Allbritton was given three years to break up the Washington newspaper/broadcast combination, which the
Federal Communications Commission
The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) is an independent agency of the United States federal government that regulates communications by radio, television, wire, satellite, and cable across the United States. The FCC maintains jurisdiction ...
(FCC) was seeking to prohibit under the tightening of its
concentration of media ownership
Concentration of media ownership (also known as media consolidation or media convergence) is a process whereby progressively fewer individuals or organizations control increasing shares of the mass media. Contemporary research demonstrates in ...
policy. WMAL-TV was separated first from its radio sisters when ABC purchased WMAL radio in March 1977. As FCC regulations at the time prevented separately-owned stations from sharing the same call sign, WMAL-TV became WJLA-TV, after Allbritton's initials. In April 1977, Allbritton negotiated a deal to trade the station to
Combined Communications Corporation in return for
KOCO-TV
KOCO-TV (channel 5) is a television station in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, United States, affiliated with ABC and owned by Hearst Television. Its studios and transmitter are located on East Britton Road (Historic Route 66)—between North Kelley ...
in
Oklahoma City
Oklahoma City (), officially the City of Oklahoma City, and often shortened to OKC, is the capital and largest city of the U.S. state of Oklahoma. The county seat of Oklahoma County, it ranks 20th among United States cities in population, a ...
, but called off the deal due to last-minute complications despite receiving FCC approval. Allbritton instead sold the ''Washington Star'' to
Time Inc.
Time Inc. was an American worldwide mass media corporation founded on November 28, 1922, by Henry Luce and Briton Hadden and based in New York City. It owned and published over 100 magazine brands, including its namesake ''Time'', ''Sports Illu ...
in January 1978 (the paper would shut down in 1981), and retained WJLA-TV and the Lynchburg and Charleston television stations for what would eventually become
Allbritton Communications
The Allbritton Communications Company was an American media company. Based in Arlington, Virginia, Allbritton was the leading subsidiary of Perpetual Corporation, a private holding company owned by the family of company founder and former Riggs B ...
.
Rumors abounded from the mid-1990s onward that ABC might buy WJLA-TV, effectively reuniting it with its former radio sisters. Indeed, in the summer of 1998, ABC's corporate parent
The Walt Disney Company
The Walt Disney Company, commonly known as Disney (), is an American multinational mass media and entertainment conglomerate headquartered at the Walt Disney Studios complex in Burbank, California. Disney was originally founded on October ...
discussed a possible acquisition of Allbritton Communications, but a sale agreement failed to materialize. ABC eventually sold most of its radio properties, including WMAL and its FM sister station (by then WRQX), to
Citadel Broadcasting Corporation
Citadel Broadcasting Corporation was a Las Vegas, Nevada-based broadcast holding company. Citadel owned 243 radio stations across the United States and was the third-largest radio station owner in the country. Only iHeartMedia and Cumulus Media ...
in June 2007. Even so, WJLA remained an ABC affiliate under Allbritton's ownership because the company had an exclusive affiliation deal with the network. After
WJZ-TV
WJZ-TV (channel 13) is a television station in Baltimore, Maryland, United States, airing programming from the CBS network. It is owned and operated by the network's CBS News and Stations division, and maintains studios and offices on Televi ...
in
Baltimore
Baltimore ( , locally: or ) is the List of municipalities in Maryland, most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland, fourth most populous city in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, and List of United States cities by popula ...
switched to CBS in 1995, WJLA-TV became ABC's longest-tenured television affiliate.
In August 2002, Allbritton merged News Channel 8 with WJLA-TV's news department, resulting in some staff layoffs. The unified entity moved into an office complex in the Rosslyn section of Arlington. News Channel 8 was originally based in
Springfield, Virginia
Springfield is a census-designated place (CDP) in Fairfax County, Virginia, United States. The Springfield CDP is recognized by the U.S. Census Bureau with a population of 30,484 as of the 2010 census. Homes and businesses in bordering CDPs includ ...
.
As of July 2008, WJLA-TV had an independent weather channel, Weather Now, under meteorologist Doug Hill. Until July 28, 2008, WJLA-TV offered Local Point TV on 7.2 featuring five-minute video segments created by area residents. Abby Fenton, the station's Director of Community Relations said in an interview with ''
Broadcasting & Cable
''Broadcasting & Cable'' (or ''Broadcasting+Cable'') is a weekly telecommunications industry trade magazine published by Future US. Previous names included ''Broadcasting-Telecasting'', ''Broadcasting and Broadcast Advertising'', and ''Broadcast ...
'' media industry magazine that "the station likes the 'Local Point' programming and is pondering where else it might fit". Retro Television Network ("
Retro TV
Retro TV (stylized as retrotv), formerly known as Retro Television Network, is an American broadcast television network owned by Get After It Media. The network mainly airs classic television sitcoms and drama series from the 1950s through th ...
") replaced Local Point TV.
In late October 2008, WJLA-TV began simulcasting on local low-powered station
WWTD-LP; the station continued to broadcast an analog feed of WJLA-TV after the digital transition. In late July 2009, WJLA-TV dropped its locally produced "WeatherNow" channel for
The Local AccuWeather Channel
AccuWeather Inc. is an American media company that provides commercial weather forecasting services worldwide.
AccuWeather was founded in 1962 by Joel N. Myers, then a Pennsylvania State University graduate student working on a master's degree ...
on its second subchannel under the "Doug Hill's WeatherNow" brand. On March 13, 2012, WJLA-TV dropped the Local AccuWeather Channel in favor of forecasts from their own meteorologists. With that, the name of the channel was slightly changed to "ABC7's WeatherNow".
On May 1, 2012, WJLA-TV announced it would add the Disney/ABC-owned
Live Well Network
Localish (formerly Live Well Network, stylized as LOCALISH) is a lifestyle TV network owned by ABC Owned Television Stations, part of Walt Disney Television, a subsidiary of The Walt Disney Company.
Localish's 24/7 channel streams on Hulu Live ...
to digital subchannel 7.3 on July 1, 2012, replacing RTV.
WJLA-TV began carrying
MeTV
MeTV, an acronym for Memorable Entertainment Television, is an American broadcast television network owned by Weigel Broadcasting. Marketed as "The Definitive Destination for Classic TV", the network airs a variety of classic television program ...
, a competing classic digital broadcast TV network on March 1, 2013 on WJLA-TV's second subchannel,
[ replacing WeatherNow.
]
Sinclair ownership
On May 1, 2013, reports surfaced that Allbritton was planning to sell its television stations so it could put more of its focus on running its political website Politico
''Politico'' (stylized in all caps), known originally as ''The Politico'', is an American, German-owned political journalism newspaper company based in Arlington County, Virginia, that covers politics and policy in the United States and intern ...
. Allbritton announced nearly three months later that it would sell all of its stations to Sinclair Broadcast Group
Sinclair Broadcast Group, Inc. (SBG) is a publicly traded American telecommunications conglomerate that is controlled by the descendants of company founder Julian Sinclair Smith. Headquartered in the Baltimore suburb of Cockeysville, Maryland, t ...
for $985 million. After nearly a year of delays, the deal was approved by the FCC on July 24, 2014. The deal was finalized on August 1, 2014.
The station's second digital subchannel was an initial but secondary affiliate of the American Sports Network
American Sports Network (ASN) was a sports brand owned by the U.S. television station owner Sinclair Broadcast Group through its Sinclair Networks subsidiary. Formed in July 2014, the multicast network component of ASN produced broadcasts of sp ...
with its first broadcast on August 30, 2014. The station switched its subchannels over to Sinclair's owned digital networks, Charge! on .2, Comet
A comet is an icy, small Solar System body that, when passing close to the Sun, warms and begins to release gases, a process that is called outgassing. This produces a visible atmosphere or coma, and sometimes also a tail. These phenomena ar ...
on .3 and TBD
To be announced (TBA), to be confirmed (TBC), to be determined or decided or declared (TBD), and other variations, are placeholder terms used very broadly in event planning to indicate that although something is scheduled or expected to happen, a ...
on .4.[ WJLA-TV rebranded NewsChannel 8 as WJLA 24/7 News on Tuesday July 24, aligning it further with the call letters of its broadcast station, WJLA-TV.]
Logos and imaging
Since 1970, WMAL-TV/WJLA-TV has used a variation of the ''Circle 7
The Circle 7 logo is an often-used television station logo in the United States. Designed in the early 1960s for the American Broadcasting Company's five owned-and-operated stations (all of which broadcast on Very high frequency, VHF channel ...
'' logo, which has long been primarily associated with ABC affiliates located on Channel 7. From 1970 to 2001, WMAL-TV/WJLA-TV used its own version of the logo, with the "7" modified to accommodate the circle. In 1984, it saw a minor update with rounded ends on the "7" being modified to use sharp, straight edges, like the logo later used by Australia
Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...
's Seven Network
The Seven Network (commonly known as Channel Seven or simply Seven) is a major Australian commercial free-to-air Television broadcasting in Australia, television network. It is owned by Seven West Media, Seven West Media Limited, and is one of ...
. This version of the logo was probably the longest continuously used numeric logo in Washington's television history. The only real modification came in 1998, after it began calling itself "ABC 7" on-air and added the ABC logo to the left side. In 2001, WJLA-TV adopted the standard version of the "Circle 7" logo, refueling speculation that ABC would purchase the station, a deal that would never come to pass. WJLA-TV is the largest ABC affiliate to use the ''Circle 7'' that is not an ABC owned-and-operated station
In the broadcasting industry, an owned-and-operated station (frequently abbreviated as an O&O) usually refers to a television or radio station owned by the network with which it is associated. This distinguishes such a station from an affiliate ...
. In addition, sister station KATV
KATV (channel 7) is a television station in Little Rock, Arkansas, United States, affiliated with ABC and owned by Sinclair Broadcast Group. The station's studios are located at the former Worthen Bank Building on East 4th and Main Streets in d ...
in Little Rock, Arkansas
(The Little Rock, The "Little Rock")
, government_type = council-manager government, Council-manager
, leader_title = List of mayors of Little Rock, Arkansas, Mayor
, leader_name = Frank Scott Jr.
, leader_ ...
, has used the standard ''Circle 7'' since the 1960s, longer than all WJLA-TV versions combined.
Programming
Sports programming
Beginning in September 1984, WJLA-TV became the Washington-area affiliate for Atlantic Coast Conference
The Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) is a collegiate athletic conference located in the eastern United States. Headquartered in Greensboro, North Carolina, the ACC's fifteen member universities compete in the National Collegiate Athletic Associa ...
football
Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...
and men's basketball
Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appr ...
along a syndicated network that was operated by Jefferson-Pilot Communications
Lincoln Financial Media was a subsidiary of Lincoln National Corporation that owned radio stations in the United States. The division was formed in 2006 following the company's acquisition of Jefferson-Pilot's television and radio operations, whi ...
and eventually jointly produced with Raycom Sports
Raycom Sports is an American producer of sports television programs. It is headquartered in Charlotte, North Carolina, and owned and operated by Gray Television.
It was founded in 1979 by husband and wife, Rick and Dee Ray. In the 1980s, Raycom ...
. These games later moved to WDCA
WDCA (channel 20), branded on-air as Fox 5 Plus, is a television station in Washington, D.C., airing programming from MyNetworkTV. It is owned-and-operated station, owned and operated by Fox Television Stations alongside Fox Broadcasting Company ...
(channel 20).
In the 2014 season, WJLA-TV began to air additional college football games through Sinclair's American Sports Network.[
In ]2015
File:2015 Events Collage new.png, From top left, clockwise: Civil service in remembrance of November 2015 Paris attacks; Germanwings Flight 9525 was purposely crashed into the French Alps; the rubble of residences in Kathmandu following the Apri ...
, D.C. United
D.C. United is a professional soccer club based in Washington, D.C. that competes in the Eastern Conference of Major League Soccer, the top tier of American soccer. Domestically, the club has won four MLS Cups (league championships), four Suppo ...
of Major League Soccer
Major League Soccer (MLS) is a men's professional soccer league sanctioned by the United States Soccer Federation, which represents the sport's highest level in the United States. The league comprises 29 teams—26 in the U.S. and 3 in Canada ...
reached a new multi-year deal with Sinclair Broadcast Group to broadcast all of the team's regionally televised matches on WJLA-TV and NewsChannel 8 (now WJLA 24/7 News), succeeding CSN Mid-Atlantic
NBC Sports Washington is an American regional sports network owned by Ted Leonsis's Monumental Sports & Entertainment, and operates as an affiliate of NBC Sports Regional Networks. Headquartered in Bethesda, Maryland, the channel broadcasts regio ...
.
WJLA-TV airs select Washington Wizards
The Washington Wizards are an American professional basketball team based in Washington, D.C. The Wizards compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference (NBA), Eastern Conference Southeast D ...
NBA games and, since 2021, Washington Capitals
The Washington Capitals (colloquially known as the Caps) are a professional ice hockey team based in Washington, D.C. The team competes in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division in the Eastern Conference (NHL) ...
NHL games through the leagues' contracts
A contract is a legally enforceable agreement between two or more parties that creates, defines, and governs mutual rights and obligations between them. A contract typically involves the transfer of goods, services, money, or a promise to tran ...
with ABC.
News operation
WJLA-TV presently broadcasts a total of 34 hours, 55 minutes of locally produced newscasts each week (with 6 hours, 35 minutes each weekday; and one hour each on Saturdays and Sundays). The station has the largest news team in the Washington area, which includes around 40 on-air staff members. As the flagship station of the Allbritton Communications station group, WJLA-TV provided all news reports for the Allbritton station group via its news-gathering service.
Prior to 2001, WJLA-TV's newscasts had long placed third in the market's news ratings, behind WUSA and NBC-owned WRC-TV
WRC-TV (channel 4) is a television station in Washington, D.C., airing programming from the NBC network. It is owned-and-operated station, owned and operated by the network's NBC Owned Television Stations division alongside Class A television se ...
. The station hired Maureen Bunyan
Maureen Bunyan (born 1946 in Aruba) is an Aruban-American Washington, D.C.-based television journalist. She was the lead co-anchor at WUSA for 22 years from 1973-1995. In 1999 she returned to television when she co-anchored WJLA-TV, helping t ...
, former longtime anchor at WUSA, and in 2003, former CNN
CNN (Cable News Network) is a multinational cable news channel headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia, U.S. Founded in 1980 by American media proprietor Ted Turner and Reese Schonfeld as a 24-hour cable news channel, and presently owned by the M ...
anchor Leon Harris
Leon Harris (born April 20, 1961, in Akron, Ohio) is an American journalist and newscaster. Harris was born to Leon Sr. and Lorrene Harris in Akron, Ohio. He has three brothers: Marcus, Jerry, and J.J., who still reside in Akron; and a sister, K ...
joined the station as an anchor. In 2004, WJLA-TV hired Bunyan's former anchor desk partner, Gordon Peterson
Gordon Peterson (born 1938) is an American broadcast journalist and Washington, D.C.-based television news anchor. He was most recently the 6 p.m. co-anchor for ABC affiliate WJLA-TV and from 1988 to 2013 was also moderator and producer of ' ...
; and reunited the two as anchors for the 6:00 p.m. newscast. These personnel moves, combined with WUSA's recent ratings troubles, led to a resurgence in the ratings. In the May 2010 sweeps, it placed number one at 5:00 p.m. in total viewers, and in the 25–54 demo.
WJLA-TV became the second television station in the Washington, D.C. market (behind WUSA) to begin broadcasting its local newscasts in high definition
High definition or HD may refer to:
Visual technologies
*HD DVD, discontinued optical disc format
*HD Photo, former name for the JPEG XR image file format
*HDV, format for recording high-definition video onto magnetic tape
* HiDef, 24 frames-pe ...
on December 8, 2008. The upgrade included the introduction of a new on-air graphics package as well as minor changes made to the news desk for better viewing quality with high definition. Field reports and promotions for WJLA-TV's newscasts continued to be broadcast in standard definition
Standard-definition television (SDTV, SD, often shortened to standard definition) is a television system which uses a resolution that is not considered to be either high or enhanced definition. "Standard" refers to it being the prevailing sp ...
until the end of March 2013, when the station upgraded to HD field cameras for field shots and some news promotions.
On January 23, 2009, WJLA-TV laid off
A layoff or downsizing is the temporary suspension or permanent termination of employment of an employee or, more commonly, a group of employees (collective layoff) for business reasons, such as personnel management or downsizing (reducing the ...
26 staff members, including several on-air reporters, due to financial constraints. The laid off reporters included Andrea McCarren, Sarah C. Lee, Alisa Parenti, Emily Schmidt, Jennifer Donelan, and weekend sports anchor Greg Toland. Most of the dismissals took effect immediately, but some were allowed to serve out their contracts. WJLA-TV also announced a 4.9% salary cut for all remaining staff and a halt to company contributions to 401(k) retirement plans.
Post-acquisition, concerns began to emerge surrounding how Sinclair's historic right-wing
Right-wing politics describes the range of political ideologies that view certain social orders and hierarchies as inevitable, natural, normal, or desirable, typically supporting this position on the basis of natural law, economics, authorit ...
slant may affect WJLA-TV's news coverage. After Sinclair took over the station, WJLA-TV began to air conservative commentaries by Sinclair executive Mark E. Hyman
Mark E. Hyman is an American political commentator and former television executive. He was vice president for corporate relations for Sinclair Broadcast Group, the largest chain of local television stations in the United States, until 2005. Hyman b ...
, along with stories from Sinclair's Washington bureau—all of which were critical of the Obama administration
Barack Obama's tenure as the 44th president of the United States began with his first inauguration on January 20, 2009, and ended on January 20, 2017. A Democrat from Illinois, Obama took office following a decisive victory over Republican ...
. The station also partnered with the conservative ''Washington Times
''The Washington Times'' is an American conservative daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C., that covers general interest topics with a particular emphasis on national politics. Its broadsheet daily edition is distributed throughout ...
'' to feature its weekly "Golden Hammer" award—highlighting "the most egregious examples of government waste, fraud and abuse", as a segment during its newscasts. WJLA-TV staff members felt that it was inappropriate for a station in Washington, D.C. to air stories that are critical of the federal government; one employee told ''The Washington Post
''The Washington Post'' (also known as the ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'') is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C. It is the most widely circulated newspaper within the Washington metropolitan area and has a large nati ...
'' that with these changes, the station may "lose the trust they built up with people over years and years. We've told people, 'We're just like you,' not, 'We're looking out for the tea party
A tea party is a social gathering event held in the afternoon. For centuries, many societies have cherished drinking tea with a company at noon. Tea parties are considered for formal business meetings, social celebrations or just as an afternoon ...
.'"
WJLA-TV started producing the Syndicated-news program for Sinclair stations, ''The National Desk
''The National Desk'' (''TND'') is a daily American television news program produced by the Sinclair Broadcast Group. The program premiered nationally on January 18, 2021, and utilizes the journalistic resources of Sinclair's news operations thro ...
'', on January 18, 2021. Locally, the program airs on WJLA 24/7 News
WJLA 24/7 News is an American regional cable news television channel in Washington D.C. by ABC-affiliated station WJLA-TV (channel 7) owned by the Sinclair Broadcast Group. The channel provides 24-hour news coverage primarily focused on Washingt ...
, which is available over-the-air on WIAV-CD 58.2.
Notable current on-air staff
* Lisa Fletcher
Lisa Fletcher is an American television journalist. She is an investigative reporter and news anchor who has covered stories around the world - both for ABC News as a correspondent and various major-market television stations. She was previously t ...
– investigative reporter
* Veronica Johnson
Veronica Johnson is an American meteorologist who is the chief meteorologist at WJLA-TV. She was named a Fellow of the American Meteorological Society since 2011.
Biography
As a child, at the age of 12, Johnson became interested in the weather ...
– lead meteorologist
* Alison Starling
Alison Starling-Alexander (born October 28, 1973) is an American television news anchor and journalist. She is a co-anchor of WJLA-TV's weekday 4 PM and 5PM newscasts, and an anchor semi-regularly on the noon newscast.
Early life
Starling is fro ...
– anchor
Notable former on-air staff
* Paul Berry (retired in May 1999)
* Tim Brant
Tim Brant (born February 26, 1949) is a retired American sportscaster. Brant most recently worked for Raycom Sports and was formerly Vice President, Sports for WJLA-TV in Washington, DC. He has spent more than forty years covering sports nationa ...
(left station in May 2015 after his contract was not renewed)
* Pamela Brown
* Maureen Bunyan
Maureen Bunyan (born 1946 in Aruba) is an Aruban-American Washington, D.C.-based television journalist. She was the lead co-anchor at WUSA for 22 years from 1973-1995. In 1999 she returned to television when she co-anchored WJLA-TV, helping t ...
(left station in January 2017)
* Nancy Chen
Nancy Chen is an American television journalist and correspondent with CBS News in New York.
Early life
Nancy Chen was born in Texas and raised in Tulsa, Oklahoma. She attended Oklahoma School of Science and Mathematics, studied Chinese at P ...
* Carol Costello
Carol Costello (born October 11, 1961) is an American television anchor and former host of '' CNN Newsroom''. In 2017, she left CNN to join sister network HLN, based in Los Angeles. In October 2018, HLN announced that Costello would be let go, ...
* Kendis Gibson
Kendis Gibson (born September 6, 1972, in Belize City), is a Belizean-born journalist and an anchor for WFOR-TV. He has won two Emmy Awards for "outstanding news reporting" and "sports feature". He has been an anchor and correspondent for CNN, ...
* Mike Hambrick
Mike Hambrick (born in Tyler, Texas) is an American television anchor, reporter, and correspondent who has worked on network television stations such as WJLA-TV in Washington, D.C., WRC-TV in Washington, D.C., KTVT-TV in Dallas, KTAR-TV (now K ...
* Leon Harris
Leon Harris (born April 20, 1961, in Akron, Ohio) is an American journalist and newscaster. Harris was born to Leon Sr. and Lorrene Harris in Akron, Ohio. He has three brothers: Marcus, Jerry, and J.J., who still reside in Akron; and a sister, K ...
(left station in October 2016)
* Erin Hawksworth Erin Hawksworth is an anchor and reporter. She is a former sports anchor for Sportsnet and CNN International.
Hawksworth worked for KCPQ, the Fox affiliate in her hometown of Seattle as both a sports and morning news anchor and reporter. She also ...
* Frank Herzog
Frank Herzog is a former American sportscaster known for his role as a play-by-play announcer for Washington Redskins
The Washington Commanders are a professional American football team based in the Washington metropolitan area. The Comma ...
(also the longtime radio play-by-play broadcaster for the Washington Redskins
The Washington Commanders are a professional American football team based in the Washington metropolitan area. The Commanders compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) N ...
, later with WTOP-AM
WTOP-FM (103.5 FM) – branded ''WTOP Radio'' and ''WTOP News'' – is a commercial all-news radio station licensed to serve Washington, D.C. Owned by Hubbard Broadcasting, the station serves the Washington metropolitan area, extending its rea ...
; retired)
* Doug Hill (AMS AMS or Ams may refer to:
Organizations Companies
* Alenia Marconi Systems
* American Management Systems
* AMS (Advanced Music Systems)
* ams AG, semiconductor manufacturer
* AMS Pictures
* Auxiliary Medical Services
Educational institutions
* A ...
seal of approval) – chief meteorologist (died on November 23, 2021)
* Megyn Kelly
Megyn Marie Kelly (; born November 18, 1970) is an American journalist and media personality. She currently hosts a talk show and podcast, ''The Megyn Kelly Show'', that airs live daily on SiriusXM. She was a talk show host at Fox News from 200 ...
* Kevin Kiley
* Susan King
* Kathleen Matthews
Kathleen Ann Matthews (née Cunningham; born August 9, 1953) is the former chief communications and public affairs officer for hotel company Marriott International. Prior to joining Marriott International, she was a reporter for 25 years at WJLA ...
* Andrea McCarren Andrea McCarren is a television journalist and educator.
Education and private life
After attending Vassar College in Poughkeepsie, New York, McCarren attended the London School of Economics. She earned an anthropology degree, cum laude. Thereafter ...
* Britt McHenry
Brittany May "Britt" McHenry (born May 28, 1986) is television personality.
She is the host of a show on WTTG Fox 5 in Washington, D.C.
McHenry was formerly an ESPN correspondent and a commentator on Fox Nation.
Personal
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(was at ESPN
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until April 26, 2017)
* Doug McKelway
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* Mike Patrick
Michael Patrick (born September 9, 1944) is a retired American sportscaster, known for his long tenure with ESPN.
Early career
Patrick began his broadcasting career in the fall of 1966 at WVSC-Radio in Somerset, Pennsylvania. In 1970, he was ...
(former sportscaster and sports director with WJLA and former play-by-play announcer for ESPN
ESPN (originally an initialism for Entertainment and Sports Programming Network) is an American international basic cable sports channel owned by ESPN Inc., owned jointly by The Walt Disney Company (80%) and Hearst Communications (20%). The ...
and Raycom Sports
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It was founded in 1979 by husband and wife, Rick and Dee Ray. In the 1980s, Raycom ...
; retired)
* Gordon Peterson
Gordon Peterson (born 1938) is an American broadcast journalist and Washington, D.C.-based television news anchor. He was most recently the 6 p.m. co-anchor for ABC affiliate WJLA-TV and from 1988 to 2013 was also moderator and producer of ' ...
(retired in December 2014; also host of ''Inside Washington
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'')
* Bob Ryan
Robert P. Ryan (born February 21, 1946) is an American sportswriter, formerly with ''The Boston Globe'', and author. He has been described as "the quintessential American sportswriter" and a basketball guru, and is well known for his coverage of ...
– meteorologist (retired in May 2013)
* David Schoumacher David Schoumacher ( ; October 13, 1934 – March 24, 2023) was a former newspaper and television journalist. He was also a television anchor in Washington D.C. from the 1970s until he retired. He started out as a newspaper journalist, until moving i ...
(retired in 1988)
* Lori Stokes
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anchor. She was the evening news anchor for the 5, 6, and 10 O’Clock news at Fox 5 NY WNYW in New York City from 2021 to 2022. She formerly co-hosted ''Good Day Ne ...
(was most recently at WNYW
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; retired on September 30, 2022)
* Joe Witte
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Technical information
Subchannels
The station's digital signal is multiplexed
In telecommunications and computer networking, multiplexing (sometimes contracted to muxing) is a method by which multiple analog or digital signals are combined into one signal over a shared medium. The aim is to share a scarce resource - a ...
:
Analog-to-digital conversion
WJLA-TV shut down its analog signal, over VHF
Very high frequency (VHF) is the ITU designation for the range of radio frequency electromagnetic waves (radio waves) from 30 to 300 megahertz (MHz), with corresponding wavelengths of ten meters to one meter.
Frequencies immediately below VHF ...
channel 7, on June 12, 2009, the official date in which full-power television stations in the United States transitioned from analog to digital broadcasts under federal mandate. The station's digital signal relocated from its pre-transition UHF
Ultra high frequency (UHF) is the ITU designation for radio frequencies in the range between 300 megahertz (MHz) and 3 gigahertz (GHz), also known as the decimetre band as the wavelengths range from one meter to one tenth of a meter (on ...
channel 39 to VHF channel 7 for post-transition operations. While 90% of the station's viewers received WJLA-TV's signal via cable or satellite, many of the over-the-air viewers had problems after the final transition. Some needed to rescan, and others needed a VHF antenna. WJLA-TV applied on August 29, 2009 for special authorization by the FCC to increase its effective radiated power
Effective radiated power (ERP), synonymous with equivalent radiated power, is an IEEE standardized definition of directional radio frequency (RF) power, such as that emitted by a radio transmitter. It is the total power in watts that would hav ...
(ERP) to 52 kW. The power increase was put into effect on September 18, 2009. WJLA-TV already ran 30 kW of ERP, which was higher than the other three VHF stations in the area: WUSA (12.6 kW), WBAL-TV
WBAL-TV (channel 11) is a television station in Baltimore, Maryland, United States, affiliated with NBC. It is the flagship property of Hearst Television, which has owned the station since its inception, and is sister to the company's sole radio ...
(5 kW), and WJZ-TV (28.8 kW) (post transition power levels).FCC TV Query: WJLA
/ref>
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Wjla-Tv
ABC network affiliates
Comet (TV network) affiliates
Charge! (TV network) affiliates
TBD (TV network) affiliates
JLA-TV
Television channels and stations established in 1947
Sinclair Broadcast Group
1947 establishments in Washington, D.C.
Major League Soccer over-the-air television broadcasters