WJBK

WJBK
Detroit, Michigan/Windsor, Ontario
City of license	Detroit, Michigan
Branding	Fox 2 Detroit / Fox 2 (general) Fox 2 News (newscasts)
Slogan	News that Works for You (newscasts) So Fox 2 (general)
Channels	Digital: 7 (VHF) Virtual: 2 (PSIP)
Affiliations	Fox
Owner	Fox Television Stations, Inc. (New World Communications of Detroit, Inc.)
First air date	October 24, 1948
Call letters’ meaning	Jesus, Be Kind
Sister station(s)	Fox Sports Detroit
Former callsigns	WJBK-TV (1948-1998)
Former channel number(s)	2 (VHF) (analog) (1948-2009) 58 (UHF) (digital) (1999-2009)
Former affiliations	Primary: CBS (1948-1994) Secondary: DuMont (1948-1955)
Transmitter Power	20 kW
Height	314 m (digital)
Facility ID	73123
Transmitter Coordinates	42°27′38.3″N 83°12′49.2″W / 42.460639°N 83.213667°W / 42.460639; -83.213667 (WJBK)
Website	www.myfoxdetroit.com

WJBK (branded Fox 2) is the Fox-owned and operated television station in Detroit, Michigan broadcasting on digital channel 7 (Virtual channel 2). Its studios and 1003-foot (305.7 m) tower are located in Southfield while its signal covers the Metro Detroit area.

WJBK also serves as a Fox station for several other Canadian cable markets, including Cogeco Windsor, and Rogers Ottawa. In addition, it was one of five local Detroit TV stations seen in Canada on the Shaw Direct satellite provider. As of April 30 2009, Shaw Broadcast Services (formerly CANCOM), is no longer transmitting the signal, replacing its signal with fellow Fox network affiliate Rochester, New York's WUHF.^[1]

History

As a CBS affiliate

The station debuted on October 24, 1948, as a dual CBS-DuMont affiliate owned by Storer Broadcasting (under George B. Storer) along with WJBK-AM 1500 (now WLQV) and WJBK-FM 93.1 (now WDRQ). WJBK became an exclusive CBS affiliate in 1955 after the DuMont network went out of business. In a 1985 corporate deal, the station came under the ownership of KKR. It was then sold as part of a group deal to Gillett Communications in 1987, and then sold to SCI.

WJBK was sold to New World Communications in 1993 as part of yet another group deal. In 1992, WJBK chose not to air CBS This Morning, in favor of showing local news. While WJBK had a history of showing most CBS programming, it began to pre-empt CBS programming a bit more than usual in 1993, around the time New World Communications bought the station. One example of this was when the CBS soap opera Guiding Light was moved from its network start time of 3:00pm ET to 10:00am, to allow for syndicated programming.

As a Fox station

In 1994, New World agreed to affiliate its stations, including WJBK, to Fox when that network won the contract to carry the NFC football package (including the Detroit Lions), which was originally carried on the station as a CBS affiliate. As a result, WJBK dropped the CBS affiliation and along with the other New World stations took on the Fox affiliation.

CBS moved to a weak independent station WGPR (which would be sold to CBS and renamed WWJ-TV). Like most other New World stations, WJBK also did not take Fox's children's programming, (Fox Kids/FoxBox/4KidsTV) which remained on the market's former Fox station (and charter UPN affiliate) WKBD-TV (before briefly moving to WADL, and ultimately, to WMYD). As a result of the network change, WJBK's branding switched from 'TV 2' to 'Fox 2 Detroit.' The actual rebranding did not take place until Fall 1995.

Fox bought out New World Communications in 1997, and WJBK became a Fox owned and operated station. The network brought stronger syndicated shows on WJBK. However, the station continued its practice of not running children's programming from the network, which was subsequently discontinued in January 2009 for a network-transmitted infomercial block also not aired by WJBK.

WJBK is one of the eight network-owned stations in Metro Detroit, the other two are CBS-owned WWJ-TV and CW-affiliate WKBD-TV, both are owned by CBS Corporation. There's also low-power stations WDWO-CA, owned by Tri-State Christian Television and W66BV, owned by the Trinity Broadcasting Network. The last three stations are Windsor-based CBET and French station CBEFT (although operates as a satellite of Ottawa's CBOFT -- which in turn rebroadcasts Toronto's CBLFT), both are owned by the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation -- parent company of CBC Television and lastly, Ann Arbor-based WPXD, owned by ION Media Networks.

Digital television

After the analog television shutdown and digital conversion was completed on June 12, 2009, and WXYZ-TV shut down its analog signal, WJBK-DT was moved to channel 7 from channel 58.^[2] Through the use of PSIP, digital television receivers will continue to display WJBK's virtual channel as 2. The shutdown of its analog signal marks the end of 60 years of broadcasting on channel 2 by WJBK.

Before the analog shutdown, WJBK-DT was broadcasting on UHF channel 58. This channel was one of the channels (52-69) being reclaimed by the FCC for public safety and advanced wireless services.[1] Their final broadcasting channel assignment, announced May 7, 2007, is VHF channel 7 - formerly occupied by the analog broadcasts of WXYZ-TV.

News operation

WJBK broadcasts a total of 52½ hours of local news a week (8½ hours on weekdays, five hours on Saturdays and 3½ hours on Sundays), more than any other station in Detroit, and more than any individual television station in Michigan; however as is standard with Fox stations that carry early evening weekend newscasts, WJBK's Saturday and Sunday 6PM newscasts are subject to delay due to sports coverage. WJBK operates an Aerospatiale AS350BA A-star news helicopter called Sky Fox, to cover breaking news and track severe weather.

After becoming a Fox affiliate station, WJBK maintained a newscast schedule that is very similar to a CBS, ABC, or NBC affiliated station. Upon the network switch, the station moved its late evening news broadcasts from 11 PM to 10 PM. The station is known in the area for its "Problem Solver" investigative unit that was started in 1998. Since the early 1990s, the station has repeated its 10 PM newscasts at 2 AM the following morning (four hours later).

WJBK's newscasts in the CBS-era were rebroadcasted on WADL under a partnership WJBK had with that station, and continued until 1998. The station also had an Eyewitness News format that was similar to sister station WHBQ-TV in Memphis, thus calling itself Fox2 Eyewitness News for sometime before shortening to the current Fox2 News.

In 2006, WJBK officially debuted their MyFox website, myfoxdetroit.com (similar sites have also been adopted by all the other News Corporation owned Fox affiliates).

On January 8, 2007, WJBK started simulcasting parts of its weekday morning news on Northern Michigan's Fox affiliate, WFQX-TV, based in Cadillac. On that station, the simulcast ran from 6 to 8 A.M. and was known as Michigan's Fox News Morning. This arrangement was possible as a result of a cooperative arrangement offering local advertising opportunities to Northern Michigan businesses. From February 5, 2007 to October 31 after the completion of its own 10 P.M. newscast, WFQX simulcasted the second half of WJBK's weeknight 10 o'clock news. It ended when new owners acquired WFQX and CBS affiliate WWTV gained control of the station. This lead to a new 10 P.M. newscast produced by WWTV that limited WJBK's newscasts to air on WFQX in the mornings. On January 14, the WJBK morning news simulcast was dropped as WFQX, on January 7, began airing a two hour long extension of WWTV's morning news at 7 A.M.

On September 24, 2007, WJBK launched its first ever 11pm newscast as a Fox affiliate, using the NewsEdge format originally used by WTVT. On the same day, WJBK redesigned their look to be more in line with other Fox O&O's, with a new set, new graphics, and new music that have also been used on other Fox-owned stations such as sister station KMSP-TV. The new logo, which debuted on the same day, is also similar in design to sister stations KMSP-TV and KDFW. This marks the biggest change to the station's image in ten years.

On April 22, 2008, WJBK joined competing stations WXYZ and WDIV in airing all newscasts in HD. While WJBK is the first Fox O&O station to broadcast in HD, but as of November 30, 2009, it now uses the new Fox O&O HD graphics currently used on sister Fox stations WNYW, KTTV, KDFW, WTTG, KRIV, WAGA, WFLD, KMSP, KSAZ and WFXT.

For many years, WJBK's newscasts have usually rated a competitive third in the Detroit market, behind WXYZ and WDIV. An exception was during the period of 1974-1978 when George Noory, now host of the syndicated radio show Coast to Coast AM was the executive producer; during this period, WJBK-TV was number one in the market. However, since the switch in network affiliation from CBS to Fox, WJBK's evening newscasts have been consistently in third place while the station's local morning news show and 10 PM newscast have usually won their time slots. There are only three local in-house news stations in the Detroit market (MyNetworkTV affiliate WMYD currently airs an outsourced newscast which originates from outside the Detroit media market). Since 2002, WKBD-TV has not produced any news programming (and since 2004 has not aired any news programming), while sister station and CBS affiliate WWJ-TV doesn't air any local news (only weather reports during The Early Show and the top of the 11pm hour).

On Monday, September 14, 2009, WJBK's morning news expanded to five and a half hours, running from 4:30am to 10:00am.

Sportscasts

WJBK televised some Detroit Tigers games in the 2007 season and Detroit Red Wings games during the 2003-2007 seasons, which were produced by sister station Fox Sports Detroit. In March 2007, WJBK began showing Red Wings games in High Definition. From 1953 to 1971, WJBK served as the flagship station of the Tigers' television network, with games broadcasted throughout Michigan, northern Indiana, and northwest Ohio. Currently, the only Tigers games aired on WJBK are Major League Baseball on Fox telecasts and the home opener for the Tigers (produced by Fox Sports Detroit).

Most regular season Detroit Lions games air on WJBK, since Fox holds the rights to broadcast games in which the road team is in the NFC (see also NFL on Fox). Even so, CBS O&O WWJ-TV is considered the "official station" of the Lions and produces its preseason games and airs the the weekly Ford Lions Report. With Detroit being the team's primary market, regular season home games on both stations are subject to the NFL's local television blackout policy, most recently during the 0-16 2008 Detroit Lions season, in which 5 home games were blacked out due poor performance and low ticket sales figures.

SportsWorks

On Sunday nights, WJBK airs a sports highlights and discussion show SportsWorks. Often there is a round table discussion between the Detroit media and Dan Miller or Woody Woodriffe. The SportsWorks brand is also used for other sports related segments during newscasts.

Typical round table media members, include; Drew Sharp from the Detroit Free Press, Sean Baligian from the Detroit News, Pat Caputo from the Oakland Press/WXYT-FM, Bob Wojnowski from the Detroit News and Tony Ortiz from WXYT-FM.

Famous shows

The station aired assorted sci-fi and horror movies on Saturday afternoons, hosted by the humorous personality Sir Graves Ghastly, played by actor Lawson J. Deming. Deming, who played Sir Graves on WJBK from 1967 to 1983 and made personal appearances well into the 1990s, died April 24, 2007, just one day after his 94th birthday.^[3]

With This Ring was a religious program produced at the studios of WJBK from approximately the early 1970s through the mid-1990s. Hosted by Roman Catholic priest Raymond Schlinkert, the 15-minute weekly show featured lectures and advice about marriage and family life. The program appeared in syndication on numerous U.S. commercial stations, usually shown immediately following the station's sign-on, or before sign-off, on Sundays.

Fox 2 Notable Personalities

Current On-Air Talent

(as of July 18, 2009)
Current Anchors

• Kam Carman - weekday mornings (7-9AM)
• Deena Centofanti - weekend mornings (also "HealthWorks" reporter)
• Murray Feldman - weeknights at 5:30PM (also business editor, and "Job Shop" and "Money Works" feature reporter)
• Monica Gayle - weeknights at 5, 6 and 10PM
• Anqunette Jamison - weekday mornings (4:30-9AM)
• Alan Lee - weekday mornings (5-9AM)
• Sherry Margolis - weekday mornings at 11AM and weeknights at 5:30PM
• Jackie Paige - weekday mornings (4:30-5AM) (also traffic reporter)
• Huel Perkins - weeknights at 5, 6, 10 and 11PM
• Roop Raj - Saturday mornings (also reporter)
• Ron Savage - weekends at 6 and 10PM (also reporter)
• Robin Schwartz - weekends at 6 and 10PM (also reporter)
• Jay Towers - Sunday mornings (also feature reporter)

Reporters

• Al Allen - general assignment reporter
• Taryn Asher - general assignment reporter
• Jason Carr - general assignment and feature reporter
• Ronnie Dahl - general assignment reporter
• Brad Edwards - general assignment reporter
• Andrea Isom - general assignment reporter
• Bill Gallagher - general assignment reporter
• Joy Redmond - general assignment and traffic reporter
• Simon Shaykhet - general assignment reporter
• Lee Thomas - entertainment reporter

Problem Solvers Unit

• Amy Lange - "Problem Solvers" investigative reporter
• Scott Lewis - "Problem Solvers" investigative reporter
• Rob Wolchek - "Problem Solvers" investigative reporter/"Hall of Shame" feature reporter

Weather Authority

• Rich Luterman (AMS Seal of Approval) - Chief Meteorologist; weeknights at 5, 6, 10 and 11PM
• Ben Bailey (AMS/NWA Seals of Approval) - Meteorologist; weekday mornings (4:30-9AM)
• Justin Ryan (AMS Certified Broadcast Meteorologist Seal of Approval) - Meteorologist; weekday mornings at 11AM, weekend mornings, and weekends at 6 and 10PM

Sports Team

• Dan Miller - Sports Director; weeknights at 5, 6, 10 and 11PM
• Woody Woodriffe - Sports Anchor; weekends at 6 and 10PM (sports reporter)
• Ryan Ermanni - sports reporter
• Jennifer Hammond - sports reporter

Former On-Air Talent

• Kathy Adams - anchor (1983-1991)
• Camille Amiri - reporter
• Chuckie Bergeson - news director/host of Ladies' Day (1952-1959)
• Bill Bonds - commentator, interviewer
• Otis Buchanan - reporter
• Vic Caputo - anchorman/morning show host (1968-1980)
• Carl Cederberg - news anchor/news editor (1960-1974)
• Kenny Cline - news director/longtime booth announcer (1949-1978)
• Mike Collins - reporter and weekend anchor (mid 1990s) - now fill-in anchor at WWJ-AM
• Gary Cubberley - former host of PM Magazine/morning anchor (1980s-1992; died August 15, 1992 of an apparent heart attack in his car en route to his shift)
• Sandy Dickson - anchor/reporter (1974-1983 and 1988-1993)
• Jill Ditmire - morning anchor/reporter (1992-1996)
• Anne Doyle - first female sports reporter in Detroit (1978-1983)
• Lourdes Duarte - Reporter (Now at WGN TV)
• Sonny Eliot - weather anchor (1978-1982, now at WWJ-AM)
• Dayna Eubanks - anchor (1988-1992)
• Wyatt Everhart - weekend meteorologist (2004-2007), now news anchor at WMDT-TV
• Rich Fisher - anchor (1990-1997)
• Kenneth Ford - reporter
• Johnny Fossen - sports anchor/reporter (1985-1988)
• Chuck Gaidica - meteorologist (1982-1987, now at WDIV-TV)
• Harry Gallagher - reporter/anchor (1979 until death in 1982)
• David Game - sports reporter (mid 1980s)
• Sir Graves Ghastly, played by Lawson J. Deming - horror movie host (1967-1983)
• Joe Glover - anchor (1978-1983 and 1987-1993) - now teaches journalism at the University of South Alabama
• Nicole Grandberry - reporter
• Gerald Harrington - anchor/reporter
• Jerry Hodak - meteorologist (1965-1977), morning anchor (1992-1996); now at WXYZ-TV)
• Jennifer Howe - anchor/reporter (1991-1996, now at WTSP-TV in Tampa)
• Frederick Heumann - sports anchor/reporter (1987-1994, now at WLNS-TV in Lansing, MI)
• Bwana Don Hunt - kids' show host
• Pallas Hupé - reporter/meteorologist (1999-2002, now at KOVR-TV in Sacramento)
• Amy Jacobson - reporter (1994-1996, went to WMAQ-TV in Chicago, resigned following a scandal)
• Monica Jackson - traffic reporter (1998 only, then to WXYZ-TV, now at KVVU in Las Vegas)
• Virg Jacques - sports anchor/reporter/noon news anchor (1982-1993, now at WTTG in Washington, DC)
• Red Jamison - sports director (1975-1976); later committed suicide on July 26, 1979^[4]
• John Kelly - reporter (1965-1972); later at WXYZ-TV
• Bruce Kirk - anchor (1984-1990)
• Stuart Klitenic - sportscaster - now at CNN Headline News
• Thomas Korzeniowski - reporter (1971-1978), semi-retired, working for WLS-TV Chicago.
• Don Lark - anchor/reporter (1974-1976)
• Ray Lane - sports anchor (1961-1982)
• Lila Lazarus - anchor/health reporter
• Cathy Leahan - reporter (1986-1996)
• Jac LeGoff - anchor (1953-1959 and 1962-1974)
• Joshua Littman - business reporter (deceased)
• Teddy Lloyd - "Sagebrush Shorty" - kids' show host (1947-1949)
• Kay Lowry - reporter (mid 1990s)
• Michael Lyons (meteorologist, now at West Palm Beach's WPBF-TV)
• Micah Materre (1989-1997, now at WGN-TV in Chicago)
• Jack McCarthy - anchor/reporter (1966-197x)- WXYZ-tv (197x-198x) - WJBK(198x-199x)"McCarthy's Menu"-Retired in Florida
• Nancy McCauley - reporter (1975-2000), now with Ford
• Fred McLeod - sports anchor/reporter (1981-1989, now at Fox Sports Ohio)
• Robert Murphy - daytime host (1955-1967)
• Terry Murphy - anchor/reporter (1974-1976)
• John Noel - reporter (1993-1998, now at WNBC-TV in New York)
• Lucy Noland - anchor (1997-2004; now at KHOU-TV in Houston)
• Kathy O'Brien - former PM Magazine host/morning show host (late '70s-early '80s)
• Van Patrick - sports director (1960-1974)
• Don Paul - meteorologist (1979-1984, now at WIVB-TV in Buffalo)
• Beverly Payne (Draper) - anchor/reporter (1973-1982) First female African-American anchor in Detroit now deceased from ovarian cancer.
• Dr. Everett R. Phelps - meteorologist (1951-1958)
• Charles Pugh - anchor/reporter (1999-2009) Left to pursue a new career in politics in Detroit.^[5]
• David Rogers - meteorologist (1987-1991. now at WVIR-TV in Charlottesville, VA)
• Jeff Rossen - reporter (1998-2001, now at WABC-TV in New York)
• Ron Sanders - anchor/reporter/PM Magazine co-host (1973-1979, now at WBZ-TV in Boston)
• George Sells - anchor (1983-1986, moved to WAFB-TV in Baton Rouge)
• Jo-Jo Shutty-MacGregor - news reporter/weather anchor (1978-1981), once again one of the Detroit Traffic Reporters on radio & television
• Fanchon Stinger - news anchor/reporter (1997-2008);
• Ryan Smith - morning/noon anchor (2001-2007; now at WPVI-TV in Philadelphia)
• Kenneth Thomas - anchor/reporter (1974-1976)
• Lee Thornton - anchor (1982)
• Robbie Timmons - anchor/reporter (1975-1981, now at WXYZ-TV)
• Marilyn Turner - weathercaster (1959-1972), later at WXYZ-TV
• Michael Tsolinas - reporter/morning meteorologist (1984-1989, now at KTNV in Las Vegas)
• Vince Wade - investigative reporter
• Rhonda Walker - morning/noon anchor (1998-2003, now at WDIV-TV)
• Joseph Weaver - anchor/reporter/special projects editor/program director/editorial director/writer/producer (1963-1994), he is still active on several community boards, including the Mental Illness Research Association (MIRA).
• Mark Wilson - sports anchor/reporter (1992-1997)
• David Wittman - anchor/reporter (early 1980s)
• Dale Young - host "Pirate Pete" (1955-1956) - host "Detroit Bandstand" (1958-1959)
• Eli Zaret - sports anchor (1988-1995)
• Barry ZeVan - weathercaster

Coverage

WJBK is carried on most cable systems in Southeast Michigan, Southwestern Ontario, and Northwestern Ohio.

Coverage on cable systems outside the Detroit / Windsor market may be subject to syndex and network blackouts in the United States, and simsubbing in Canada.

News/station presentation

Newscast titles

• TV-2 Eyewitness News (1960s-1977)
• TV-2 News (1977-1978)
• TV-2 (Channel 2) Eyewitness News (1978-1995)
• Fox 2 Eyewitness News (1995-1997)
• Fox 2 News (1997-present)

Station slogans

• Catch the Brightest Stars on TV-2 (1975-1976; customized version of the CBS campaign)
• TV-2 is Yours / Your TV-2 (1977-1978)
• We're Coming On (1979; customized version of the CBS campaign)
• Two's the One (1980-1982)
• Reach for the Stars on TV-2 (1981-1982; localized version of the CBS promotional slogan)
• We've Got the Touch, You and Channel 2 (1983-1985; customized version of the CBS campaign)
• Us Viewing You (1986-1988)
• It Takes Two, TV-2 (1989-1994; WMAR-TV in Baltimore also used the slogan in 1998)
• The Look of Detroit is TV-2 (1991-1992; localized version of the CBS promotional slogan)
• This is CBS, on TV-2 (1992-1994; used as a station ID during CBS programming)
• Where the Facts Tell the Story (1994-1996; news slogan)
• Think News, Think Fox 2 News (1996-1998; news slogan)
• News That Works for You (1998-present)
• So Fox 2 (2009-present; localized version of the Fox promotional campaign)

Newscast music

• WJBK 1984 News Theme - Unknown composer (1984-1986)
• WJBK 1986 News Theme - Unknown composer (1986-1989)
• Major Theme - Edd Kalehoff (1989?-1996)
• WJBK-Evening News - Edd Kalehoff (1989-1996)
• Dayna - Edd Kalehoff (1990-1991)
• Eyewitness Primetime - Edd Kalehoff (1996-1997)
• Fox '95 - Stephen Arnold Music (1997-1998)
• Absolute News - Non-Stop Music (1998-2007)
• Fox O&O News Theme - OSI Music (2007-present)

See also

• Media in metropolitan Detroit

References

• Inside Fox2: Did You Know That (2003, 2004). Fox2Detroit.com.
• Kiska, Tim. From Soupy to Nuts: A History of Detroit Television. 2005. Momentum Books.

ISBN# 18790-94703

External links

• WJBK
• Michiguide.com's listing for WJBK
• Query the FCC's TV station database for WJBK
• BIAfn's Media Web Database -- Information on WJBK-TV
• Anne Doyle - Pioneering Women in Sports Journalism

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