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WEWS-TV (channel 5) 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 ea ...
in
Cleveland, Ohio Cleveland ( ), officially the City of Cleveland, is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Cuyahoga County. Located in the northeastern part of the state, it is situated along the southern shore of Lake Erie, across the U.S ...
, United States, affiliated with ABC. It has been owned by the E. W. Scripps Company since its inception in 1946, making it one of two stations that have been built and signed on by Scripps (alongside company
flagship A flagship is a vessel used by the commanding officer of a group of naval ships, characteristically a flag officer entitled by custom to fly a distinguishing flag. Used more loosely, it is the lead ship in a fleet of vessels, typically the ...
WCPO-TV WCPO-TV (channel 9) is a television station in Cincinnati, Ohio, United States, affiliated with ABC. It is the flagship A flagship is a vessel used by the commanding officer of a group of naval ships, characteristically a flag officer ...
in
Cincinnati Cincinnati ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Hamilton County. Settled in 1788, the city is located at the northern side of the confluence of the Licking and Ohio rivers, the latter of which marks the state line w ...
). WEWS-TV's studios are located on Euclid Avenue (near
I-90 Interstate 90 (I-90) is an east–west transcontinental freeway and the longest Interstate Highway in the United States at . It begins in Seattle, Washington, and travels through the Pacific Northwest, Mountain West, Great Plains, Midwest, an ...
) in
Downtown Cleveland Downtown Cleveland is the central business district of Cleveland, Ohio. The economic and symbolic center of the city and the Cleveland-Akron-Canton, OH Combined Statistical Area, it is Cleveland's oldest district, with its Public Square laid out ...
, and its transmitter is located in suburban
Parma Parma (; egl, Pärma, ) is a city in the northern Italian region of Emilia-Romagna known for its architecture, music, art, prosciutto (ham), cheese and surrounding countryside. With a population of 198,292 inhabitants, Parma is the second m ...
.


History

The station first signed on the air on December 17, 1947, as the first television station in Ohio, and the 16th overall in the United States. The call letters denote the initials of the parent company's founder,
Edward Willis Scripps Edward Willis Scripps (June 18, 1854 – March 12, 1926), was an American newspaper publisher and, together with his sister Ellen Browning Scripps, founder of The E. W. Scripps Company, a diversified media conglomerate, and United Press ne ...
. The station is the oldest in Cleveland to maintain the same channel position (as an analog broadcaster), ownership and call letters since its sign-on. A few weeks before WEWS-TV's sign-on, Scripps launched WEWS-FM 102.1 (the frequency is now occupied by WDOK) as an outlet for WEWS-TV personalities to gain on-air experience before the launch of the television station. Channel 5's first broadcast was of a
Christmas Christmas is an annual festival commemorating the birth of Jesus Christ, observed primarily on December 25 as a religious and cultural celebration among billions of people around the world. A feast central to the Christian liturgical year ...
pageant run by the station's corporate cousin, '' The Cleveland Press''. Its staff included capable producers Jim Breslin and Betty Cope, who would later become president of
WVIZ WVIZ (channel 25) is a PBS member television station in Cleveland, Ohio, United States. It is owned by Ideastream Public Media alongside classical music station WCLV (), and co-managed with Kent State University–owned WKSU (), an NPR member. ...
(channel 25). WEWS originally operated as a CBS affiliate, with secondary ABC and DuMont affiliations; it shared the secondary ABC affiliation with WXEL-TV (now WJW-TV, channel 8). WEWS lost the CBS affiliation to WJW-TV in 1955 after that station's then-owner,
Storer Broadcasting Storer Broadcasting, Inc. was an American company which owned several television and radio stations in the Northeastern United States. It was incorporated in Ohio 1927, and was broken up in 1986. History 1920s–1940s In 1927, George B. Storer ...
, used its influence with CBS to land the affiliation; ABC then became channel 5's primary network. The station later lost the DuMont affiliation when that network ceased operations in 1956. WEWS was also an affiliate of the short-lived Paramount Television Network; the station was one of the network's strongest affiliates, airing such Paramount programs as ''Time For Beany'', ''Hollywood Reel'', and ''Frosty Frolics''. WEWS also aired two NBC programs, both of which had been preempted by Westinghouse-owned NBC affiliate KYW-TV (now WKYC): the network's evening newscast '' The Huntley-Brinkley Report'', during the 1959–1960 season; and ''
The Tonight Show ''The Tonight Show'' is an American late-night talk show that has aired on NBC since 1954. The show has been hosted by six comedians: Steve Allen (1954–1957), Jack Paar (1957–1962), Johnny Carson (1962–1992), Jay Leno (1992–2009 and 201 ...
'', with hosts
Jack Paar Jack Harold Paar (May 1, 1918 – January 27, 2004) was an American talk show host, author, radio and television comedian, and film actor. He was the second host of '' The Tonight Show'' from 1957 to 1962. ''Time'' magazine's obituary of Paar rep ...
and later
Johnny Carson John William Carson (October 23, 1925 – January 23, 2005) was an American television host, comedian, writer and producer. He is best known as the host of '' The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson'' (1962–1992). Carson received six P ...
, from October 1957 to February 1966. In 1977, WEWS-TV went before the U.S. Supreme Court for recording and broadcasting the entire human cannonball act of Hugo Zacchini. He performed his circus routine at the Geauga County Fair in Burton, Ohio and the station did not compensate him, as was required by Ohio law. In ''
Zacchini v. Scripps-Howard Broadcasting Co. ''Zacchini v. Scripps-Howard Broadcasting Co.'', 433 U.S. 562 (1977), was an important U.S. Supreme Court case concerning rights of publicity. The Court held that the First and Fourteenth Amendments do not immunize the news media from civil li ...
'', the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that the First Amendment did not shield WEWS from liability from
common law copyright Common law copyright is the legal doctrine that grants copyright protection based on common law of various jurisdictions, rather than through protection of statutory law. In part, it is based on the contention that copyright is a natural right ...
claims. On May 23, 1994, as part of an overall deal in which network parent
News Corporation News Corporation (abbreviated News Corp.), also variously known as News Corporation Limited, was an American multinational mass media corporation controlled by media mogul Rupert Murdoch and headquartered at 1211 Avenue of the Americas in New ...
also purchased a 20% equity interest in the group,
New World Communications New World Pictures (also known as New World Entertainment and New World Communications Group, Inc.) was an American independent production, distribution, and (in its final years as an autonomous entity) multimedia company. It was founded in 197 ...
signed a long-term affiliation agreement with Fox to switch thirteen television stations that New World owned or was acquiring from a Big Three network, including WJW-TV, to Fox. The deal was motivated by the
National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the majo ...
(NFL)'s awarding of the rights to the
National Football Conference The National Football Conference (NFC) is one of the two conferences of the National Football League (NFL), the highest professional level of American football in the United States. The NFC and its counterpart, the American Football Conference ( ...
(NFC) television package to Fox on December 18, 1993, in which the conference's broadcast television rights moved to the network effective with the
1994 NFL season The 1994 NFL season was the 75th regular season of the National Football League. To honor the NFL's 75th season, a special anniversary logo was designed and each player wore a patch on their jerseys with this logo throughout the season. Also, a ...
, ending a 38-year relationship with CBS. As Fox was seen at the time on lower-profile UHF station WOIO (channel 19), CBS immediately targeted WEWS, as well as sister station
WXYZ-TV WXYZ-TV (channel 7) is a television station in Detroit, Michigan, United States, affiliated with ABC. It is owned by the E. W. Scripps Company alongside independent station WMYD (channel 20). Both stations share studios at Broadcast House on ...
in Detroit as its new affiliates in those markets. On June 16, however, Scripps signed a long-term deal with ABC that would keep WEWS-TV and WXYZ-TV as affiliates of the network; Scripps also agreed to affiliate
WMAR-TV WMAR-TV (channel 2) is a television station in Baltimore, Baltimore, Maryland, United States, affiliated with American Broadcasting Company, ABC and owned by the E. W. Scripps Company. The station's studios and offices are located on York Road ( ...
in
Baltimore Baltimore ( , locally: or ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland, fourth most populous city in the Mid-Atlantic, and the 30th most populous city in the United States with a population of 585,708 in 2020. Baltimore was ...
, KNXV-TV in Phoenix, and WFTS-TV in
Tampa Tampa () is a city on the Gulf Coast of the U.S. state of Florida. The city's borders include the north shore of Tampa Bay and the east shore of Old Tampa Bay. Tampa is the largest city in the Tampa Bay area and the seat of Hillsborough C ...
with ABC in the deal.


Dual network affiliates

From 1955 until December 31, 1996, WEWS held a distinction of being one of two primary ABC affiliates for the Cleveland market. WAKR-TV (channel 49) began operations on June 7, 1953, as a primary ABC affiliate, two years prior to WEWS joining the network. WAKR-TV's ties to ABC dated back to when radio adjunct WAKR signed on in 1940 as a NBC Blue/Blue Network affiliate and were incentivized by ABC's merger with United Paramount Theaters. For the network's part, they were engaged in a push to sign up as many affiliates as possible in order to compensate for NBC, CBS and Dumont having stronger affiliate bases. WAKR-TV's launch was delayed for several years: originally intended as a VHF license on a channel 11 allocation assigned to Akron, that allocation was removed as a result of the FCC's 1952 ''Sixth Report and Order'' in favor of two
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 ...
allocations, one of which was not considered operable at the time. The station largely lost money in its early years and relied on profits from WAKR in order to remain solvent even after it moved from channel 49 to channel 23 in 1967. The ABC-TV schedule began to be carried in pattern by WAKR-TV with minimal deviations starting with the 1963–64 television season and carried ''
Good Morning America ''Good Morning America'' (often abbreviated as ''GMA'') is an American morning television program that is broadcast on ABC. It debuted on November 3, 1975, and first expanded to weekends with the debut of a Sunday edition on January 3, 1993. ...
'' in its entirety for the market as WEWS opted out for '' The Morning Exchange'' at 8 a.m., a distinction that ended in September 1994. When founding owner Summit Radio/Group One Broadcasting sold off their radio assets in 1986, the TV station was renamed WAKC. After nearly 40 years of continuous ownership by Summit/Group One, WAKC was sold to
ValueVision ShopHQ (formerly ValueVision, ShopNBC, Evine Live, and Evine) is an American cable, satellite and broadcast home shopping television network and multi-channel video retailer owned by iMedia Brands Inc., in which Comcast holds a 12.5% stake in ...
in late 1993; ABC immediately renewed their affiliation after the sale closed, forcing the
home shopping Home shopping is the electronic retailing and home shopping channels industry, which includes such billion dollar television-based and e-commerce companies as Shop LC, HSN, Gemporia, TJC, QVC, eBay, ShopHQ, Buy.com and Amazon.com, as well as ...
programmer into operating the station as a conventional network affiliate. Following consummation of a subsequent sale to Paxson Communications, the station's entire news department was fired outright on February 28, 1996, and all ABC programming was dropped that December 31. Paxson ultimately used the renamed WVPX-TV as a charter affiliate for the Pax TV network—a direct antecedent of
Ion Television Ion Television is an American broadcast television network owned by the Katz Broadcasting subsidiary of the E. W. Scripps Company. The network first began broadcasting on August 31, 1998, as Pax TV, focusing primarily on family-oriented en ...
—which launched on August 31, 1998. Due to Scripps' purchase of Paxson's successor company
Ion Media Ion Media (formerly known as Paxson Communications Corporation and Ion Media Networks) was an American broadcasting company that owned and operated over 71 television stations in most major American markets (through its television stations group ...
in September 2020, WVPX was divested to Inyo Broadcast Holdings but has retained affiliations with Ion and other digital subchannel networks operated by Scripps subsidiary Katz Broadcasting. Among WAKR-TV/WAKC's most notable alumni are two long-tenured WEWS staffers: Ted Henry, who began his career at WAKR-AM-TV as a reporter, * and Mark Johnson, who worked at WAKC as a weatherman prior to joining WEWS in 1993 as a
meteorologist A meteorologist is a scientist who studies and works in the field of meteorology aiming to understand or predict Earth's atmospheric phenomena including the weather. Those who study meteorological phenomena are meteorologists in research, while t ...
.


Programming


Syndicated and network

WEWS carried the 90-minute ABC premiere of ''
The Edge of Night ''The Edge of Night'' is an American television mystery crime drama series and soap opera, created by Irving Vendig and produced by Procter & Gamble Productions. It debuted on CBS on April 2, 1956, and ran as a live broadcast on that netwo ...
'' on December 1, 1975. On December 3, it started ''Edge'' at 10:00 a.m. on a one-day
delay Delay (from Latin: dilatio) may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * ''Delay 1968'', a 1981 album by German experimental rock band Can * '' The Delay'', a 2012 Uruguayan film People * B. H. DeLay (1891–1923), American aviator and ac ...
, and then later pushed up to 10:30 to make way for the national syndication of the
talk show A talk show (or chat show in British English) is a television programming or radio programming genre structured around the act of spontaneous conversation.Bernard M. Timberg, Robert J. Erler'' (2010Television Talk: A History of the TV Talk Sh ...
'' Donahue''. ''Edge'' was dropped in April 1977 when ABC expanded ''
All My Children ''All My Children'' (often shortened to ''AMC'') is an American television soap opera that aired on ABC from January 5, 1970, to September 23, 2011, and on The Online Network (TOLN) from April 29 to September 2, 2013, via Hulu, Hulu Plus, and ...
'' to one hour and revised the daytime lineup. In 1969, the station gained some national attention for airing only the first half of '' Turn-On'', because they stated it did not return to the show after the first commercial break, which guest host
Tim Conway Thomas Daniel "Tim" Conway (December 15, 1933 – May 14, 2019) was an American actor, comedian, writer, and director. From 1966 to 2012 he appeared in more than 100 TV shows, TV series and films. Among his more notable roles, he portrayed the ...
said was after "15 minutes" but the station claimed had happened after 10 minutes. The rest of the time slot was the emergency procedure, a black screen with live organ music that had not been used in over 20 years. The station's spokesman claimed that the station's switchboard was "lit up" with protest calls, and general manager Donald Perris derided ''Turn-On'' as being "in excessive poor taste." The station sent Perris sent to ABC president
Elton Rule Elton H. Rule (June 13, 1917-May 5, 1990) was an American television executive and former president of the American Broadcasting Company. Assuming the presidency at a time when ABC was a distant third in the Nielsen ratings, Rule is credited with g ...
an angry
telegram Telegraphy is the long-distance transmission of messages where the sender uses symbolic codes, known to the recipient, rather than a physical exchange of an object bearing the message. Thus flag semaphore is a method of telegraphy, whereas ...
: "If your naughty little boys have to write dirty words on the walls, please don't use our walls. ''Turn-On'' is turned off, as far as WEWS is concerned." In 2004, all the Scripps-owned ABC stations preempted a showing of ''
Saving Private Ryan ''Saving Private Ryan'' is a 1998 American epic war film directed by Steven Spielberg and written by Robert Rodat. Set during the Battle of Normandy in World War II, the film is known for its graphic portrayal of war, especially its depicti ...
''. On May 23, 2010, WEWS-TV's broadcast of the series finale of ''
Lost Lost may refer to getting lost, or to: Geography * Lost, Aberdeenshire, a hamlet in Scotland *Lake Okeechobee Scenic Trail, or LOST, a hiking and cycling trail in Florida, US History *Abbreviation of lost work, any work which is known to have bee ...
'' was almost completely interrupted and rendered unwatchable by a number of technical difficulties with the station's digital signal. This caused numerous viewer complaints, leading the station to issue numerous apologies both on-air and on its website. From the mid-1980s until 2011, WEWS was the Cleveland outlet for popular syndicated programs such as ''
The Oprah Winfrey Show ''The Oprah Winfrey Show'', often referred to as ''The Oprah Show'' or simply ''Oprah'', is an American daytime syndicated talk show that aired nationally for 25 seasons from September 8, 1986, to May 25, 2011, in Chicago, Illinois. Produced ...
'', ''
Wheel of Fortune The Wheel of Fortune or '' Rota Fortunae'' has been a concept and metaphor since ancient times referring to the capricious nature of Fate. Wheel of Fortune may also refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Art * ''The Wheel of Fortune'' (Burne-J ...
'', ''
Jeopardy! ''Jeopardy!'' is an American game show created by Merv Griffin. The show is a quiz competition that reverses the traditional question-and-answer format of many quiz shows. Rather than being given questions, contestants are instead given genera ...
'', and ''Live with Regis and Kathie Lee/Kelly'', and throughout that time frame, there was little change in the daytime lineup, as those programs consistently drew good ratings. In 2011,
Oprah Winfrey Oprah Gail Winfrey (; born Orpah Gail Winfrey; January 29, 1954), or simply Oprah, is an American talk show host, television producer, actress, author, and philanthropist. She is best known for her talk show, ''The Oprah Winfrey Show'', b ...
ended her show after a successful 25-year run. In order to fill the void, WEWS put '' The Dr. Oz Show'' (an ''Oprah'' spin-off hosted by Cleveland native
Dr. Mehmet Oz Mehmet Cengiz Öz (; born June 11, 1960), known professionally as Dr. Oz (), is an Turkish American former professor of cardiothoracic surgery at Columbia University, television presenter, author and former political candidate. The son of Tur ...
), which was airing at 10 a.m., in the 4 p.m. time slot., and in subsequent years aired various other programs in that slot until settling in with a 4 p.m. newscast in fall 2018. (''Dr. Oz'' ended up moving to WJW until the show ended its run in 2022 due to Oz's commitments to running for the
United States Senate The United States Senate is the upper chamber of the United States Congress, with the House of Representatives being the lower chamber. Together they compose the national bicameral legislature of the United States. The composition and po ...
.) On September 14, 2012, the station dropped both ''Wheel'' and ''Jeopardy!'' after airing both shows for almost three decades, replacing them with ''The List'' and '' Let's Ask America'', two more internally produced shows from Scripps. The reason behind the removal of the two hit game shows was because Scripps was looking to stray away from shows that carried a high cost to air on their stations, and instead air shows where Scripps was able to control advertisement, and as a result, are much cheaper to air on their stations. Both game shows ended up moving to WOIO. ''Let's Ask America'' would eventually be canceled in 2015, and WEWS would replace it with the long running celebrity gossip program '' Access Hollywood''. The station also acquired
Katie Couric Katherine Anne Couric ( ; born January 7, 1957) is an American journalist and presenter. She is founder of Katie Couric Media, a multimedia news and production company. She also publishes a daily newsletter, ''Wake Up Call''. From 2013 to 2017, ...
's new talk show and placed it at 3 p.m. following ''General Hospital''s shift to 2 p.m., a move that many other ABC affiliates also made. Couric's show would be canceled two years later, and WEWS has aired various other syndicated programs in that time slot ever since. At present, only the program now known as ''
Live with Kelly and Ryan ''Live with Kelly and Ryan'' (or simply ''Live'') is an American syndicated morning talk show hosted by Kelly Ripa and Ryan Seacrest. Executive produced by Michael Gelman, the ''Live with...'' show formula has aired under various hosts since ...
'' continues to air on channel 5 from the original stable of hit syndicated shows.


Local programming

In its early days as an ABC affiliate, the station produced its own shows in the afternoon, as ABC offered little daytime network programming. Among the local programs offered during the 1950s and 1960s included news analysis from Dorothy Fuldheim, children's programs featuring the "Uncle Jake" character played by Gene Carroll and the " Captain Penny" character played by Ron Penfound, and exercise programs with
Paige Palmer Paige Palmer (January 17, 1916 - November 21, 2009) was a pioneer American fitness and exercise expert, author, columnist, writer, model, television personality, and entrepreneur. Biography Palmer was born Dorothy C. Rohrer and raised in Akron, ...
. Alice Weston had one of the first live television cooking shows, and Barbara Plummer was "Miss Barbara" for a generation of young viewers on the local version of '' Romper Room''. The most popular show was ''The Gene Carroll Show'', a program that showcased Cleveland area talent which aired Sundays at noon beginning in 1948 and ran well into the 1970s. WEWS also offered a 90-minute afternoon variety show ''The One O'Clock Club'' weekdays hosted by Fuldheim and Bill Gordon. The program was so popular that competitor KYW-TV was prompted to organize a competing variety show which was the beginning of ''
The Mike Douglas Show ''The Mike Douglas Show'' was an American daytime television talk show that was hosted by Mike Douglas. It began as a local program in Cleveland before being carried on other stations owned by Westinghouse Broadcasting. The show went into natio ...
''. During the late 1960s and early 1970s, WEWS produced several programs that eventually entered into national syndication. The first program was ''
Upbeat Up beat may refer to: *Upbeat, in music, the last beat in the previous bar which immediately precedes the downbeat *Anacrusis, a note (or sequence of notes) which precedes the first downbeat in a bar in a musical phrase * ''Upbeat'' (album), by t ...
''. Considered by some to be one of the most significant early rock-and-roll variety television shows, ''Upbeat'' featured a live audience, a group of dancers and lip-synched (but occasionally live) performances by popular acts of the era.Don Webster profile – Cleveland Seniors.com
/ref> The program began locally as ''The Big 5 Show'', and the name was changed to ''Upbeat'' when it went national, altogether running from 1964 to 1971. Among the program's hosts was Don Webster, who later doubled as the station's lead weather forecaster. At its peak, ''Upbeat'' was seen in over 100 television markets. Artists who appeared on ''Upbeat'' included
Aretha Franklin Aretha Louise Franklin ( ; March 25, 1942 – August 16, 2018) was an American singer, songwriter and pianist. Referred to as the " Queen of Soul", she has twice been placed ninth in '' Rolling Stone''s "100 Greatest Artists of All Time". Wit ...
,
The Beatles The Beatles were an English Rock music, rock band, formed in Liverpool in 1960, that comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They are regarded as the Cultural impact of the Beatles, most influential band of al ...
,
The Supremes The Supremes were an American girl group and a premier act of Motown Records during the 1960s. Founded as the Primettes in Detroit, Michigan, in 1959, the Supremes were the most commercially successful of Motown's acts and the most successf ...
,
Simon and Garfunkel Simon & Garfunkel were an American folk rock duo consisting of the singer-songwriter Paul Simon and the singer Art Garfunkel. They were one of the best-selling music groups of the 1960s, and their biggest hits—including the electric remix of ...
,
Otis Redding Otis Ray Redding Jr. (September 9, 1941 – December 10, 1967) was an American singer and songwriter. He is considered one of the greatest singers in the history of American popular music and a seminal artist in soul music and rhythm and blues. ...
and
Stevie Wonder Stevland Hardaway Morris ( Judkins; May 13, 1950), known professionally as Stevie Wonder, is an American singer-songwriter, who is credited as a pioneer and influence by musicians across a range of genres that include rhythm and blues, pop, s ...
. In fact, Redding's final appearance ever came on the show's December 9, 1967, episode. The next afternoon, his twin-engine airplane crashed in the icy waters of Lake Monona in
Madison, Wisconsin Madison is the county seat of Dane County and the capital city of the U.S. state of Wisconsin. As of the 2020 census the population was 269,840, making it the second-largest city in Wisconsin by population, after Milwaukee, and the 80th ...
, killing all but one of the eight passengers on board. Another show seen throughout the country was ''Polka Varieties'', an hour-long
polka music Polka is a dance and genre of dance music originating in nineteenth-century Bohemia, now part of the Czech Republic. Though associated with Czech culture, polka is popular throughout Europe and the Americas. History Etymology The t ...
program that ran locally on Sundays at 1 p.m. from 1956 into the early 1980s, and was syndicated during its later years to 30 television markets. The program featured various popular bands that played
Slovenian-style polka Slovenian-style polka (also known as Cleveland Style polka) is an American style of polka in the Slovenian tradition. It is usually associated with Cleveland and other Midwestern cities. Instruments The Slovenian style polka band always includes ...
, Polish, Italian and
Bohemia Bohemia ( ; cs, Čechy ; ; hsb, Čěska; szl, Czechy) is the westernmost and largest historical region of the Czech Republic. Bohemia can also refer to a wider area consisting of the historical Lands of the Bohemian Crown ruled by the Bohem ...
n-style music. "America's Polka King",
Frank Yankovic Frank John Yankovic (July 28, 1915 – October 14, 1998) was an American accordion player and polka musician. Known as "America's Polka King", Yankovic was considered the premier artist to play in the Slovenian style during his long career. He ...
, was the original band to perform on the show. Other bands included Richie Vadnal, George Staiduhar, Markic-Zagger, and Hank Haller. Original host Tom Fletcher was replaced by Paul Wilcox, whose presence became an indelible part of the show. Uttering the well-known show-opening phrase, "From America's Polka Capital of Cleveland, Ohio, this is ''Polka Varieties'', now in its ___ year on the air!" were several famous voices associated with the station over the years, including Cort Stanton, Ralph Gunderman, and David Mark. ''Black on Black'', which examined issues of importance to African American communities, was syndicated to several markets. From the early 1970s until July 1, 2011, WEWS was Cleveland's television outlet for the Ohio Lottery. On June 2, 2011, NBC affiliate
WKYC WKYC (channel 3) is a television station in Cleveland, Ohio, United States, affiliated with NBC and owned by Tegna Inc. Its studios are located on Tom Beres Way (a section of Lakeside Avenue in Downtown Cleveland named after the station's lon ...
(channel 3) announced that the station had acquired the rights to air the lottery drawings, as well as its Saturday night game show '' Cash Explosion''. After two years on channel 3, WEWS re-assumed the local television lottery rights on July 1, 2013.


''The Morning Exchange''

One program in particular, ''The Morning Exchange'', which ran from 1972 to 1999, changed the face of morning television. It was the first morning show to utilize a "living room" set, and the first to establish the now familiar concept of news and weather updates at the top and bottom of the hour. During its peak in the 1970s, nearly 70% of all television households in Cleveland were tuned to the program. The format also served as a template for ABC's ''
Good Morning America ''Good Morning America'' (often abbreviated as ''GMA'') is an American morning television program that is broadcast on ABC. It debuted on November 3, 1975, and first expanded to weekends with the debut of a Sunday edition on January 3, 1993. ...
''.


Sports programming

WEWS-TV has a long history of covering Cleveland sports teams both produced in-house by the station or through ABC's network coverage. From
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 April ...
to present, channel 5 is the official station for the NFL's
Cleveland Browns The Cleveland Browns are a professional American football team based in Cleveland. Named after original coach and co-founder Paul Brown, they compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conferenc ...
, airing all non-network preseason games as well as year-round team centered programming.WEWS Browns Programming - News Net 5.com
WEWS has aired two MLB
World Series The World Series is the annual championship series of Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canada, contested since 1903 between the champion teams of the American League (AL) and the National League (NL). The winner of the Worl ...
during the station's existence: it broadcast the
Cleveland Indians The Cleveland Guardians are an American professional baseball team based in Cleveland. The Guardians compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League Central, Central division. Since , they have ...
' home games in the 1948 World Series against the
Boston Braves The Atlanta Braves, a current Major League Baseball franchise, originated in Boston, Massachusetts. This article details the history of the Boston Braves, from 1871 to 1952, after which they moved to Milwaukee, and then to Atlanta. During it ...
, as well as the 1995 World Series in which the Indians lost to the
Atlanta Braves The Atlanta Braves are an American professional baseball team based in the Atlanta metropolitan area. The Braves compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) East division. The Braves were founded in ...
. During the 1995 World Series, the local broadcast was split with WKYC-TV due to the ABC/ NBC-shared Baseball Network. WEWS also aired select Indians games as part of ABC's MLB broadcast contract from 1976 to
1989 File:1989 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The Cypress Street Viaduct, Cypress structure collapses as a result of the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake, killing motorists below; The proposal document for the World Wide Web is submitted; The Exxo ...
. All
Cleveland Cavaliers The Cleveland Cavaliers (often referred to as the Cavs) are an American professional basketball team based in Cleveland. The Cavaliers compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference Central ...
games that air through ABC's NBA broadcast rights are aired on channel 5; the team's 2016 NBA Finals victory (which gave the city its first major sports championship in 52 years) aired on WEWS-TV.


News operation

WEWS presently broadcasts 39 hours of locally produced newscasts each week (with 6 hours each weekday, four hours on Saturdays and three hours on Sundays). In addition, the station produces the sports highlight and discussion program ''News 5 Sports Sunday'', which airs Sunday nights following its 11:00 p.m. newscast.


Early news coverage

WEWS started covering news events soon after it went on air. The winter after it signed on, Cleveland experienced a
blizzard A blizzard is a severe snowstorm characterized by strong sustained winds and low visibility, lasting for a prolonged period of time—typically at least three or four hours. A ground blizzard is a weather condition where snow is not falling ...
, and for the first time WEWS had provided extended coverage for hours. During the early and mid-1950s, channel 5's first newscasts and weather reports were delivered by Tom Field. In 1959, Dorothy Fuldheim—who had been with the station before it even first signed on—began to formulate her own newscast. Fuldheim centered her newscast around her interviews, a general overview of the news, and her commentaries (the very opinionated Fuldheim frequently inserted her own opinions about the stories). Fuldheim was the first female in the United States to have her own television news analysis program.


''Eyewitness News''

27-year-old
John Hambrick John James Hambrick (June 21, 1940 – September 10, 2013) was an American broadcast journalist, reporter, actor, voice over announcer and TV documentary producer. Career Broadcast journalist Hambrick began his television career in 1963 at KR ...
took over as lead anchor on WEWS' evening newscasts on Christmas Day in 1967, with Fuldheim staying on as a commentator. Don Webster presented the weather and
Gib Shanley Gib Shanley (August 6, 1931 – April 6, 2008) was an American sportscaster, most prominently known as sports director for ABC affiliate WEWS-TV, Channel 5 in Cleveland, Ohio, and as the longtime play-by-play announcer for the Cleveland Browns of ...
was the sports anchor. In 1968, WEWS changed the format of its newscasts slightly to a version of ''
Eyewitness News ''Eyewitness News'' is a style of television news presentation that emphasizes visual elements and action video, replacing the older "man-on-camera" newscast. History Pioneered by Westinghouse The earliest known use of the ''Eyewitness Ne ...
''. In 1970, Dave Patterson joined Hambrick on the early newscast and then became co-anchor on the 11:00 p.m. newscast in 1971. Ted Henry, who joined WEWS in 1972 as a behind-the-scenes producer, got his start on the air later in 1975 as a weekend weatherman. In later years, Henry would admit that he, not knowing the slightest thing about forecasting, basically copied his forecasts from a Detroit radio station. Prior to joining WEWS, Henry worked on-air at several stations in Canton, Akron and Youngstown, and also as a weatherman at WAKR-TV. That same year, Bill Jacocks—said to be Cleveland's first full-time
African-American African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American" generally denotes descendants of ensl ...
anchorman—joined WEWS. Jacocks started as assistant public affairs director, and became weekend anchor in January 1975. For a solid decade (until 1985) Jacocks remained the one constant weekend anchor while many co-anchors came and went. Among those doing their first Cleveland co-anchor stints with Jacocks were Tim Taylor and Wilma Smith (both of whom, coincidentally, would later anchor together at rival WJW). Hambrick and Patterson continued to anchor the newscasts together until Hambrick left for
KABC-TV KABC-TV (channel 7) is a television station in Los Angeles, Los Angeles, California, United States, serving as the West Coast of the United States, West Coast Flagship (broadcasting), flagship of the American Broadcasting Company, ABC network. ...
in
Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world ...
in 1975. At that time, Ted Henry became the weekend anchor, and then a year later in 1976, co-anchor on the weekday evening newscasts with Patterson. Henry continued as the lead anchor until his retirement on May 20, 2009. This era marked the start of dominance for the WEWS news programs that lasted until well into the 1980s. In 1977, weekend co-anchor Tim Taylor left WEWS to become a weeknight anchor at WJW-TV. Fuldheim's role decreased as she only presented her interviews and commentaries, but still appeared on the air three times a day until retiring in July 1984 at the age of 91. WEWS was the first Cleveland TV station to use a news helicopter, introducing "Chopper 5" in 1978. At the time, a cameraman sat partially outside the helicopter door in order to film the story being covered. TV 5 has used helicopters (on and off) ever since, including the current "Air Tracker 5" - which was introduced in 2016. The WEWS news department underwent another major change in 1982. Previously, the 5–6 p.m. slot was occupied by ''The Afternoon Exchange'', the afternoon companion to ''The Morning Exchange''. That year, the program adopted a new format, and was renamed ''Live on Five''. The broadcast was originally hosted by Wilma Smith and Don Webster, and retained many elements from ''The Afternoon Exchange'', such as interviews, movie reviews, health reports, and some cooking segments. Added to the mix were news updates from Ted Henry. In 1985, longtime sports director Gib Shanley—who attained national notoriety six years earlier when he burned an
Iran Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran, and also called Persia, is a country located in Western Asia. It is bordered by Iraq and Turkey to the west, by Azerbaijan and Armenia to the northwest, by the Caspian Sea and Turkmeni ...
ian
flag A flag is a piece of fabric (most often rectangular or quadrilateral) with a distinctive design and colours. It is used as a symbol, a signalling device, or for decoration. The term ''flag'' is also used to refer to the graphic design empl ...
live on the air during a sportscast in the wake of the
Iran hostage crisis On November 4, 1979, 52 United States diplomats and citizens were held hostage after a group of militarized Iranian college students belonging to the Muslim Student Followers of the Imam's Line, who supported the Iranian Revolution, took over ...
—left the station, and was replaced by
Nev Chandler Neville A. "Nev" Chandler, Jr. (October 2, 1946 in Lakewood, Ohio – August 7, 1994 in Rocky River, Ohio) was a Cleveland, Ohio-area sports broadcaster. Life and career Chandler graduated from Rocky River High School and, in 1968, Northwestern ...
, who became a noted sportscaster in his own right.


''News Channel 5''

In 1991, WEWS dropped the long-standing "Eyewitness News" branding, adopting "News Channel 5" as a universal branding for newscasts and station promotion. The new branding helped emphasize a format developed by the station the year prior, when WEWS positioned itself as "Cleveland's (Live) 24 Hour NewsSource." Providing news headlines to viewers at times when the station was not carrying regularly scheduled, long-form newscasts, the "24-Hour News Source" concept saw WEWS produce news updates running 30 seconds in length at or near the top of each hour and brief weather updates every half-hour during local commercial break inserts within syndicated and ABC network programs, in addition to the existing half-hourly updates it aired during ''Good Morning America''. The concept would be adopted by network-affiliated television stations in other markets during the early 1990s, as a convenient means for stations to provide news coverage when syndicated or network programming aired. WEWS discontinued production of these hourly updates in 1998. In 1994, longtime anchor Wilma Smith left the station to sign with rival WJW-TV.Wilma Smith inducted into HOF – Cleveland Press Club
/ref> The same year, longtime sports director Nev Chandler died of cancer. 1995 saw a modification to the long-running "Circle 5", tilting it at an angle. At this time, a major promotional campaign was launched for the station, "Give Me 5", as it faced competition from WJW (then-recently having switched to Fox), WKYC (rebuilding themselves after years of being used as NBC's farm team), and WOIO (which had just launched their own news department, in partnership with WUAB). This included a two-minute promotional video featuring James Ingram,
Carly Simon Carly Elisabeth Simon (born June 25, 1943) is an American singer-songwriter, memoirist, and children's author. She rose to fame in the 1970s with a string of hit records; her 13 Top 40 U.S. hits include " Anticipation" (No. 13), " The Right Th ...
and Andrea McArdle, along with numerous athletes, as well as both station personalities and ABC personalities from Cleveland. Edd Kalehoff produced the promo, as well as a comprehensive music package for the station's newscasts and other programming.


"On Your Side" era

In 1998, WEWS adopted "On Your Side" as its slogan (which it currently still uses). More noticeable, however, was the discontinuance of the station's longtime ''Circle 5'' logo. That year, WEWS also became the first television station in Cleveland to launch a website�
NewsNet5
In 1999, longtime station weather forecaster Don Webster retired from the station after 35 years. In 2000, longtime sports anchor/sports director
Matt Underwood Matt Underwood is an American sportscaster currently serving as the television play-by-play announcer for the Cleveland Guardians of Major League Baseball (MLB). Broadcasting career Prior to joining the Guardians broadcast team on a full-tim ...
left to become an announcer for the Cleveland Indians. On January 7, 2007, WEWS became the third Cleveland television station to begin broadcasting newscasts in high-definition. At present, all locally produced portions of the station's newscasts, including live remote field footage, are presented in HD. It was also around this time that channel 5 introduced the modified version of the classic "Circle 5" logo that was used until 2016. Sister station WPTV also uses the classic "Circle 5" logo. On May 21, 2009, Ted Henry retired as the primary news anchor at channel 5, after holding the post for 33 years. Henry is the longest serving news anchor in Cleveland television history. In November 2010, WEWS became the first Cleveland television station to follow a growing national trend in starting its weekday morning newscasts at 4:30 a.m.


''News 5'' era

On September 26, 2016, the station retired the ''NewsChannel 5'' name for its newscasts, becoming simply ''News 5''. At the same time, the station began using a graphic identity similar to that of British television network Channel 5 (which used a similar logo from February 2011 to February 2016). In 2017, longtime WEWS anchors
Leon Bibb Leon Bibb (born October 5, 1944 in Butler, Alabama) is an American news anchor and commentator for WKYC in Cleveland, Ohio, and was a member of the BGSU Board of Trustees. Leon Bibb was the first African American primetime news anchor in Ohio. ...
and Lee Jordan both announced their retirements from the station. Bibb had served as an anchor/reporter at the station since 1995 (coming over from WKYC where he had spent 16 years previous), while Jordan started at WEWS in 1987 as a co-host of '' The Morning Exchange'' before becoming an evening news anchor in 1993. To honor their tenures at the station, WEWS renamed their newsroom the Leon Bibb Newsroom, and their main studio the Lee Jordan News Studio.


Honors

Two plaques outside the WEWS building commemorate the station's historical contributions. The Ohio Historical Society placed a marker right outside TV 5's building, specifically noting Dorothy Fuldheim's career at the station. The second marker (located on the wall leading up to the front door of the station) is from the
Rock and Roll Hall of Fame The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame (RRHOF), sometimes simply referred to as the Rock Hall, is a museum and hall of fame located in downtown Cleveland, Ohio, United States, on the shore of Lake Erie. The museum documents the history of rock music and ...
, honoring the station (along with producer Herman Spero and host Don Webster) as being the home of the popular music series ''Upbeat!'' and that program's contributions to Rock and Roll's history.


Notable current on-air staff

* Rob Powers – anchor


Notable alumni

*
Ernie Anderson Ernest Earle Anderson (November 12, 1923 – February 6, 1997) was an American radio and television personality, horror host, and announcer. Known for his portrayal of " Ghoulardi", the host of late night horror films on WJW Channel 8 on Clev ...
*
Leon Bibb Leon Bibb (born October 5, 1944 in Butler, Alabama) is an American news anchor and commentator for WKYC in Cleveland, Ohio, and was a member of the BGSU Board of Trustees. Leon Bibb was the first African American primetime news anchor in Ohio. ...
(now at
WKYC WKYC (channel 3) is a television station in Cleveland, Ohio, United States, affiliated with NBC and owned by Tegna Inc. Its studios are located on Tom Beres Way (a section of Lakeside Avenue in Downtown Cleveland named after the station's lon ...
as senior reporter and commentator) *
Nev Chandler Neville A. "Nev" Chandler, Jr. (October 2, 1946 in Lakewood, Ohio – August 7, 1994 in Rocky River, Ohio) was a Cleveland, Ohio-area sports broadcaster. Life and career Chandler graduated from Rocky River High School and, in 1968, Northwestern ...
* Liz Claman * Joel Daly (later at
WLS-TV WLS-TV (channel 7) is a television station in Chicago, Illinois, United States, airing programming from the ABC network. Owned and operated by the network's ABC Owned Television Stations division, the station maintains studios on North Stat ...
in
Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = List of sovereign states, Count ...
) *
Dick Feagler Richard Feagler (July 29, 1938 – July 1, 2018) was an American journalist, playwright and television personality from Cleveland, Ohio. After attending Ohio University, he entered journalism in 1963, writing obituaries for the ''Cleveland Press' ...
* Dorothy Fuldheim *
John Hambrick John James Hambrick (June 21, 1940 – September 10, 2013) was an American broadcast journalist, reporter, actor, voice over announcer and TV documentary producer. Career Broadcast journalist Hambrick began his television career in 1963 at KR ...
* Ted Henry * Chris Hernandez *
Bill Jorgensen Bill Jorgensen (born 1927) was the founding and longtime anchor of New York City's WNEW-TV's (now WNYW Fox 5) ''Ten O'Clock News'' from its inception on March 13, 1967, until he left in the spring of 1979. Jorgensen moved to WPIX-TV, also in New Y ...
*
Paige Palmer Paige Palmer (January 17, 1916 - November 21, 2009) was a pioneer American fitness and exercise expert, author, columnist, writer, model, television personality, and entrepreneur. Biography Palmer was born Dorothy C. Rohrer and raised in Akron, ...
* Michael Reghi * Michael Settonni *
Gib Shanley Gib Shanley (August 6, 1931 – April 6, 2008) was an American sportscaster, most prominently known as sports director for ABC affiliate WEWS-TV, Channel 5 in Cleveland, Ohio, and as the longtime play-by-play announcer for the Cleveland Browns of ...
(later at
WUAB WUAB (channel 43) is a television station licensed to Lorain, Ohio, United States, serving the Cleveland area as an affiliate of The CW. It is owned by Gray Television alongside low-power Telemundo affiliate WTCL-LD (channel 6) and Shaker Hei ...
) * Wilma Smith (later at WJW) * Robin Swoboda * Tim Taylor (later at WJW) *
Matt Underwood Matt Underwood is an American sportscaster currently serving as the television play-by-play announcer for the Cleveland Guardians of Major League Baseball (MLB). Broadcasting career Prior to joining the Guardians broadcast team on a full-tim ...
* Don Webster


Technical information


Subchannels

The station's digital signal is multiplexed: On May 26, 2011, it was announced that WEWS (along with other Scripps stations around the country) had signed a deal to carry the Live Well Network on their digital subchannels. the network began to be carried on digital subchannel 5.2 on September 5, 2011. The subchannel is also currently available on select northeast Ohio cable providers. Live Well Network announced they would be going off the air in April 2015, and as a result 5.2 switched to the classic TV network
Cozi TV Cozi TV (stylized on-air as COZI TV) is an American free-to-air television network owned by the NBC Owned Television Stations division of NBCUniversal. The network airs classic television series from the 1960s to the 2000s. The network ori ...
at 10:00 AM on April 8. The comedy network
Laff Laff (legal name: Laff Media, LLC) is an American digital multicast television network headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia and is owned by the Katz Broadcasting subsidiary of the E. W. Scripps Company. The network specializes in comedy program ...
debuted on the newly activated 5.3 subchannel a week later. 5.3 was activated on April 7 and ran continuous promos for the network's launch prior to the official premiere date. On April 14, 2017, WEWS discontinued COZI on 5.2 and replaced it with Grit. On March 1, 2021, 5.5 was activated, airing HSN programming. A year and a half later in September 2022, 5.6 was activated, airing QVC programming.


Analog-to-digital conversion

WEWS-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 5, 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 continued to broadcast on its pre-transition UHF channel 15. Through the use of PSIP, digital television receivers display the station's
virtual channel In most telecommunications organizations, a virtual channel is a method of remapping the ''program number'' as used in H.222 Program Association Tables and Program Mapping Tables to a channel number that can be entered via digits on a receiver's ...
as its former VHF analog channel 5.


References


External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Wews-Tv ABC network affiliates Grit (TV network) affiliates Laff (TV network) affiliates TrueReal affiliates E. W. Scripps Company television stations Television channels and stations established in 1947 1947 establishments in Ohio EWS-TV Historic Rock and Roll Landmarks