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Wikipedia

WDJT-TV

January 01, 1970

WDJT-TV (channel 58) is a television station in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, United States, affiliated with CBS. It is owned by Weigel Broadcasting alongside three other stations in southeastern Wisconsin: independent station WMLW-TV (channel 49), MeTV station WBME-CD (channel 41), and Telemundo affiliate WYTU-LD (channel 63). The stations share studios in the Renaissance Center office complex on South 60th Street in West Allis (with a Milwaukee postal address); WDJT-TV's transmitter is located in Milwaukee's Lincoln Park.

WDJT-TV
Channels
BrandingCBS 58
Programming
Affiliations
Ownership
Owner
WBME-CD, WMLW-TV, WYTU-LD
History
First air date
November 10, 1988
(35 years ago) (1988-11-10)
Former channel number(s)
  • Analog: 58 (UHF, 1988–2009)
  • Digital: 46 (UHF, until 2019)
Independent (1988–1994)
Call sign meaning
Original permit holders Debra Jackson and John Torres[1]
Technical information[2]
Licensing authority
FCC
Facility ID71427
ERP1,000 kW
HAAT351 m (1,152 ft)
Transmitter coordinates43°6′42″N 87°55′50″W / 43.11167°N 87.93056°W / 43.11167; -87.93056
Links
Public license information
  • Public file
  • LMS
Websitewww.cbs58.com

Channel 58 went on the air in November 1988 as a lower-tier independent station subsisting on classic reruns and movies, as well as programs not aired by Milwaukee's network affiliates. The construction permit had originally been awarded to a company owned by two minority stockholders, whose initials are preserved in the station's call letters. However, the terminal illness of one of the partners created funding problems only solved when the surviving partner sold controlling interest to Weigel, who eventually became sole owner. WDJT-TV gradually increased its profile in the market over the course of the early 1990s, notably by carrying gavel-to-gavel coverage of the murder trial of Jeffrey Dahmer.

In 1994, Milwaukee's then-CBS affiliate, WITI, announced it would switch to Fox. This decision led to an especially lengthy search by CBS for a new affiliate in Milwaukee. The other Milwaukee independents and WDJT-TV alike initially rebuffed the network's overtures, leaving CBS scrambling for a new affiliate with only weeks before WITI was due to join Fox. Channel 58 finally committed to becoming a CBS affiliate just six days before doing so on December 11, 1994. Over the next two years, WDJT-TV started a local news operation—which has since expanded to provide news programming for two additional Weigel stations in the market and throughout the day—and built a new transmitter tower to provide a full-market signal, which it had previously lacked. The station has since helped Weigel launch new national digital multicast networks.

History edit

Launch and early struggles edit

In 1983, Harry C. Powell Jr., a Florida man, successfully petitioned the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to add a new allocation for ultra high frequency (UHF) channel 58 in Milwaukee. Powell stated that he intended to apply for a license with the help of a Knoxville, Tennessee, consulting firm if the commission approved.[3] With channel 58 now allocated to Milwaukee, the commission took applications for the station, ending with a 13-party field which included Powell, five applicants residing in Knoxville, and several groups consisting of local investors. One of these groups included then-state senator Gary George.[4] This field thinned quickly to six applicants and then to two in October.[1] In March 1985, the FCC rejected another applicant and issued a decision in favor of TV 58 Limited, a minority-owned firm headed by Debra M. Jackson and Milwaukee media veteran John Torres, who had worked for multiple radio stations and local Spanish-language newspaper La Guardia.[5] Debra Jackson originally suggested naming the station WJMT—Torres's initials—but the designation was not available, thus the selection of WDJT-TV, combining both their initials.[1]

TV 58 Limited faced financial trouble from the start when it agreed to pay out settlements to other applicants, including George, in exchange for them withdrawing their applications.[6] A new burden surfaced when Jackson was diagnosed with a terminal illness—dying in January 1987—and the lenders that had originally committed interim financing backed out of their deals.[1] In February 1986, one of the applicants with which TV 58 Limited had settled forced the company into involuntary bankruptcy.[1] The Carley Capital Group of Madison negotiated to provide funding to keep the business afloat,[7] but it withdrew by early August, and a new company entered the picture: Weigel Broadcasting, the Chicago-based owner of WCIU-TV in that city.[8] Torres agreed to sell controlling interest in the station to Weigel, while the call letters were retained.[9]

 
WDJT-TV signed on from studios and transmitter in the Marc Plaza Hotel downtown.

Weigel, in association with Torres, spent the next two years trying to put WDJT-TV on the air. Weigel proposed construction of facilities in various suburbs, including Glendale,[10] where it was rebuffed twice in two years,[11] and Germantown, where the village rejected Weigel's plans. Objections to the proposed 1,000-foot (300 m) tower called it unsightly.[12] To get the station on the air, Weigel instead decided to locate at a downtown site with a lengthy history of television in the city: the Marc Plaza Hotel. The antenna on the original mast atop the building—first used as a transmitting site by early UHF station WCAN-TV in 1953[13] and at the time utilized by low-power outlet W08BY—was replaced in October in preparation for the station's launch.[9]

After a $2.3 million expenditure,[14] WDJT-TV began broadcasting on November 10, 1988. Known as "Classic 58", it presented a mix of older sitcoms and movies with a family orientation, a programming philosophy favored by Torres.[15] The next year, Weigel also launched W46AR, a low-power station carrying Univision, giving it three signals in the area along with a preexisting WCIU translator, W65BT, and WDJT-TV.[16] The station also resurrected The Bowling Game, a bowling program that had previously enjoyed an 11-year run on established Milwaukee independent WVTV (channel 18) and continued on channel 58 until 1993.[16][17]

At the station's launch, Torres served as the vice president of operations;[9] he later sued Weigel for forcing him out of the company by having him sell to an affiliated company, a case that resulted in an out-of-court settlement.[18][19] A Delaware court ruled in favor of Torres in a case involving undervaluation of his stock in the partnership in 1993.[20]

The station's programming of syndicated shows and movies was bolstered by a variety of network programs preempted by the networks' Milwaukee affiliates; in late 1990, WDJT-TV was airing America Tonight from CBS, Loving and Match Game from ABC, and four shows from NBC.[21] In 1992, WDJT-TV put itself on the map by teaming up with WITI, then the CBS affiliate in Milwaukee, to air nonstop coverage during the trial of Jeffrey Dahmer, a serial killer from Milwaukee, thus making it available to non-cable homes in the Milwaukee area and allowing WITI to air its normal programming.[22] The trial coverage was credited by station management with making people aware that there was even a station on channel 58 in the first place; at times during the weeks-long trial, 15 to 20 percent of Milwaukee TV homes were tuned to WDJT-TV, and it also was added to at least one cable system as a result at a time when must-carry rules were not in effect.[23] Local programming efforts included the first locally produced children's TV program in Milwaukee in decades: SeaToons with Captain Al Gee, which presented segments between cartoons weekday mornings but lasted only eight weeks.[24][20]

With its limited presence, WDJT-TV was barely mentioned in the same breath as its more established competitors, independent WVTV and Fox affiliate WCGV-TV (channel 24). For example, a 1992 feature in The Milwaukee Journal on independent television programming in Milwaukee (at the time, WCGV, like other early Fox affiliates, was still considered an independent) consigned channel 58 to one lone mention.[25] Its signal was only a fraction of those of channels 18 and 24; the Marc Plaza transmitter effectively limited channel 58's coverage area to Milwaukee itself and its inner-ring suburbs.[26] On cable systems, it was on high channel positions, including channel 29 in Milwaukee and channel 48 on Warner Cable systems in suburban areas.[27]

CBS courtship edit

On May 23, 1994, Fox announced an agreement with New World Communications in which most of New World's stations would become affiliates of that network. Among those due to switch affiliations was Milwaukee's WITI.[28] The deal, which triggered a years-long realignment process in cities nationwide, left CBS needing a new affiliate in the Milwaukee market. It approached NBC affiliate WTMJ-TV and ABC affiliate WISN-TV (which had previously carried CBS from 1961 to 1977), but each renewed their existing contracts.[29] This left three commercial independent or soon-to-be-independent stations operating in Milwaukee as potential CBS affiliates: WVTV, WCGV-TV (about to lose Fox), and WDJT-TV.[30]

The year before, Gaylord Broadcasting, owner of WVTV, had signed a local marketing agreement to allow WCGV-TV, then owned by ABRY Communications, to handle its programming functions.[31] WCGV-TV moved into WVTV's building, from which it had produced a 9 p.m. local newscast until 1993.[30] The week the New World deal was announced, however, Sinclair Broadcast Group of Baltimore closed on its previously agreed purchase of WCGV-TV.[26][32] Though this would normally have made WCGV-TV a frontrunner to be the CBS affiliate,[29] Sinclair owned no major network affiliates at the time but three Fox affiliates and two independents.[32] CBS had an hourlong conversation with Sinclair representatives in early June, but Sinclair president David D. Smith repeatedly stated his lack of interest in aligning his station with the network;[29] this stance was reaffirmed in early October.[33]

Sinclair's lack of interest in the available CBS affiliation left one other viable partner—WDJT-TV—but CBS first made a longshot attempt to purchase another local station. It offered to buy Christian television station WVCY-TV, owned by Wisconsin Voice of Christian Youth, for $10 million to convert it into its new Milwaukee affiliate. However, VCY turned the offer down. Founder and chairman Vic Eliason said that even without CBS's offer being "unreasonably low", a sale to a mainstream network would have been a hypocritical "act of consummate irresponsibility".[34][35]

By the end of September, talks with WDJT-TV had also broken down. On September 30, Weigel announced it would no longer pursue a CBS affiliation, saying it could not wait any further to firm up the station's future direction. Weigel president Howard Shapiro noted that the station had already entered into preliminary conversations about picking up Milwaukee Brewers baseball games and planned to implement promotional and program purchasing strategies for its existing independent lineup.[36] It was also starting the process of fixing its comparatively weak transmitting facility by conducting a site search; it had asked to share space on WISN-TV's tower and was rebuffed.[37] However, ownership and management did not completely rule out the possibility of CBS affiliating with WDJT-TV; Shapiro noted that "nothing is irretrievable".[36] Even as the station inquired about affiliating with The WB, general manager Bill Le Monds stated on October 7, "You never turn off anything."[38] The station also stepped in to carry The Late Show with David Letterman, which WITI had not aired live since its debut and which WCGV-TV had been airing.[39]

By the start of November, Milwaukee was the only market affected by the New World-Fox deal that had not secured a replacement CBS affiliate. Even though CBS had been forced to buy a second-tier station in Detroit and nearly had to do so in Atlanta to replace a New World-owned station, the network was at least assured of having affiliates in those cities once the outgoing affiliates switched to Fox. Tony Malara, head of affiliate relations for CBS, noted that time was becoming of the essence with WITI due to switch to Fox on December 11. Of Milwaukee, he said, "It certainly isn't a market where we have a plethora of choices. But the fact of the matter is that it's not necessarily the quantity, but who's available to do what and what kind of agreement, what kind of relationship can you establish?"[40] With just two weeks to go before WITI was due to switch to Fox, the possibility increased that there might not be any CBS affiliate at all in Milwaukee.[41] CBS was prepared to have Milwaukee cable systems pipe in nearby CBS-owned stations, WBBM-TV in Chicago and WFRV-TV in Green Bay, as a stopgap.[42]

On November 28, Howard Shapiro met for the first time with Malara in New York City.[43] On December 6, Shapiro and Malara jointly announced that WDJT-TV would join CBS on December 11—five days later. Weigel persuaded CBS to agree to a 10-year affiliation agreement, believing it needed time to build out channel 58 to a level commensurate with a major-network affiliate.[43] The deal came as a relief even at WITI, where officials were waiting for a replacement CBS affiliate to be announced to help guide viewers to relocated programs through both a station helpline and print advertising.[44] The deal also saw more CBS programs being aired in Milwaukee, as WDJT-TV agreed to clear the entire CBS schedule in pattern;[43] for instance, WITI had not aired CBS This Morning for months and preempted Face the Nation.[27] Some 30 percent of the station's syndicated program inventory was displaced by CBS network programming, with some shows moving to W65BT (now WBME-CD channel 41) and others to overnight time slots.[45] As many expected with any move of CBS off VHF in Milwaukee, the network's ratings did fall precipitously. In January 1995, the CBS Evening News drew a 1.4 rating and 3 percent share of the audience, a far cry from the 9.9 rating and 17 share in January 1994 on WITI.[46]

Rebuilding for the CBS age edit

Even [seven months after the switch], it's disorienting. It's like the sun rising in the West ... CBS being at the wrong end of the dial is still a little jarring.

Joanne Weintraub, television critic, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, to Ed Bark of The Dallas Morning News on the effect of CBS moving to channel 58[47]

While WDJT-TV signed with CBS in time to ensure the continued over-the-air availability of CBS programming in Milwaukee, much work was needed to upgrade the station to a level befitting its new status. Its transmitter was nowhere near adequate enough to reach the entire market, and its studios did not approach the scope of a full-service network affiliate that projected to hire 60 additional people.[48] In late December 1994, the station wrote to Milwaukee County officials suggesting three county parks as locations for a new 1,200-foot (370 m) transmission tower.[49] WISN objected, claiming that the close proximity of WDJT-TV's proposed mast to its own facility would cause engineering and safety issues.[50] A judge issued a preliminary injunction that upheld WISN's arguments, claiming a second tower would violate channel 12's land use agreement with Milwaukee County.[51] Several nearby residents also objected, concerned about environmental impacts to the park.[52] Despite these objections, the FCC dismissed WISN's petition to deny and approved the tower site in May 1996, finding that WISN was unable to prove there would be new interference and that the concerns of neighbors did not justify a denial.[53]

 
Weigel's Milwaukee studio center in West Allis

While the station had hoped to begin broadcasting full-length newscasts by the end of 1995, the station was behind on setting up the city's fourth news department because it wanted to confirm a tower site before it selected a location for new studios.[54] While WDJT-TV initially maintained its downtown offices for sales and administrative personnel,[55] local news debuted on March 18, 1996,[56] from facilities in the former Allis-Chalmers complex in West Allis belonging to television production company The Enterprise, Ltd.[57][58] The total investment in the news operation came to $10 million.[55]

Additionally, the new transmitter facility was activated in November 1996, giving channel 58 a coverage area comparable to the other major Milwaukee stations. The dispute with WISN-TV continued, forcing the station to install a $500,000 steel bridge over nearby Lincoln Creek just to access the tower because WISN-TV would not permit WDJT-TV's engineers to cross its land.[59] A further technical improvement making the station more accessible came in 1998, when most local cable systems moved WDJT from higher positions to the lower channel 5.[60]

Despite improvements in the technical facility, news, syndicated programming, and positioning, WDJT-TV has continued to trail its competitors in local ratings since becoming an affiliate.[61] In 2001, for instance, it struggled to retain viewers for its newscasts after CBS network programs, and its 6 p.m. local newscast finished seventh or even eighth in the market.[62] The station did have success with some new syndicated programs, notably the 2005 acquisition of game shows Jeopardy! and Wheel of Fortune as a lead-in to prime time programming, which in turn boosted ratings for the CBS prime time lineup.[63]

In July 2010, a flash flooding event caused damage to the Lincoln Park transmitter facility, leaving the station unable to normally broadcast for three days. While local cable systems received a direct feed from the studios and were unaffected, WTMJ-TV broadcast the station as a subchannel,[64] reciprocating after a 2009 lightning strike disabled WTMJ-TV's transmitter and Weigel offered the station the use of a WBME subchannel temporarily.[65]

Subchannels and multicast experiments edit

In the late 2000s, Weigel began adding digital subchannels to WDJT-TV, a preview of what would later become one of its most important businesses. Aside from a simulcast of WMLW-CA, then only broadcast in analog, the first unique subchannel offering on that station was MeTV, which debuted in March 2008.[66] Soon after, Weigel purchased WJJA-TV, then a small station primarily airing home shopping programming, and relaunched it as WBME-TV, moving MeTV there.[67] When that transition was completed, the subchannel was freed up, and WDJT-TV was then among the first carriers of This TV, a new diginet launched from the start as a national service by Weigel and MGM on November 1, 2008.[68][69]

Two subchannel ventures involving WDJT-TV have been local, not national, services. In 2009, Weigel brokered subchannel 58.4 to Shorewest Realtors of Brookfield, Wisconsin, which since 2005 had been producing a local cable channel showing real estate listings.[70][71] Shorewest TV ceased broadcasting over the air in 2013 as the real estate agency concentrated on its website, including a new streaming channel.[72] The subchannel was then used to launch TouchVision, a loop of news and weather information produced under a separate company led by former radio and Tribune Company executive Lee Abrams.[73] This continued until 2015, when Weigel instead opted to use the subchannel to launch its new national service Decades.[74]

Programming edit

Newscasts edit

As of August 2023, WDJT-TV currently broadcasts 30 hours of locally produced newscasts each week (with five hours each weekday and 2+1⁄2 hours each on Saturdays and Sundays). After offering a five-minute newsbreak at 10 p.m. as a stopgap,[54] WDJT-TV debuted weeknight early and late evening newscasts from its new West Allis facilities on March 18, 1996.[56] The original news team consisted largely of younger on-air personalities, including a reporter on the local entertainment beat, while the total news staff numbered 35.[75][58] The intention was to match a shift in CBS's network programming at the time toward young audiences. However, when CBS shifted toward older viewers, WDJT-TV found itself needing to retool the news operation; as part of the changes, in 1997, the station also added weekend newscasts.[55] A morning newscast was added in 2001, but the station was still not considered a contender in the Milwaukee market.[62] More recent news expansions include a noon newscast in 2011,[76] an expansion of the morning news to a 4:30 a.m. start in 2013,[77][78] the introduction of 4 p.m. news in 2015,[79] and additional newscasts on weekend mornings in 2021.[80]

The WDJT newsroom provides news aired on three of Weigel's local stations. In 1997, when W46AR (now WYTU-LD) moved to the new Lincoln Park tower, WDJT began offering Spanish-language local news updates given by a bilingual reporter, Saúl Garza.[81] A regular nightly newscast in Spanish debuted in 2007.[82] Since 2008, the station has produced a 9 p.m. newscast for WMLW, which began as a trial during the 2007 World Series (when Fox affiliate WITI was committed to baseball coverage)[83][84] and became an hour-long program in 2016.[85] In 2020, a 7 a.m. morning news extension also debuted on WMLW.[86] WDJT-TV also produced the newscast aired by WBND-LD, Weigel's ABC affiliate in South Bend, Indiana,[87] until Weigel established its own newsroom there in April 2011.[88]

In 2007, one of the station's newsgathering vehicles, parked on ice during a story on ice safety at Big Muskego Lake in Muskego, fell through the ice and sank, a loss worth as much as $250,000.[89]

Sports programming edit

In 2024, WDJT parent company Weigel Broadcasting announced an agreement to broadcast ten Milwaukee Bucks games during the 2023–24 NBA season; the station already had an agreement to provide news and weather updates for fans in attendance at Fiserv Forum as the team's official weather forecaster. All 10 games will air on sister network WMLW-TV, though the February 23 game will be simulcast on WDJT-TV and the March 4 game will be aired in Spanish by sister network WYTU-LD.[90]

Notable current on-air staff edit

Notable former on-air staff edit

Technical information edit

Subchannels edit

The station's signal is multiplexed with standard-definition versions of the main feeds of WBME-CD, WMLW-TV, and WYTU-LD, as well as Weigel's Start TV diginet, which are only broadcast at low power on their originating stations.

Subchannels of WDJT-TV[93]
Channel Res. Aspect Short name Programming
58.1 1080i 16:9 WDJT-HD CBS
58.2 480i MeTV-SD MeTV (WBME-CD)
58.3 WMLW SD WMLW-TV (Independent)
58.4 WYTU SD Telemundo (WYTU-LD)
58.5 StartTV Start TV (WYTU-LD 63.2)
  Simulcast of subchannels of another station

Analog-to-digital conversion edit

WDJT-TV shut down its analog signal on channel 58, at 11:59 p.m. on June 12, 2009, the official date on 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 broadcasts on its pre-transition channel 46, using virtual channel 58.[94] For the rest of 2009, WYTU-LP served as an analog simulcast of WDJT-TV's main subchannel.[95][96]

References edit

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Bibliography edit

  • Golembiewski, Dick (2008). Milwaukee television history: the analog years (PDF). Milwaukee, Wisconsin: Marquette University Press. ISBN 978-1-4416-1215-1. OCLC 404166147. (PDF) from the original on October 8, 2021. Retrieved January 22, 2023.

External links edit

  • Official website  

January 01, 1970
wdjt, channel, television, station, milwaukee, wisconsin, united, states, affiliated, with, owned, weigel, broadcasting, alongside, three, other, stations, southeastern, wisconsin, independent, station, wmlw, channel, metv, station, wbme, channel, telemundo, a. WDJT TV channel 58 is a television station in Milwaukee Wisconsin United States affiliated with CBS It is owned by Weigel Broadcasting alongside three other stations in southeastern Wisconsin independent station WMLW TV channel 49 MeTV station WBME CD channel 41 and Telemundo affiliate WYTU LD channel 63 The stations share studios in the Renaissance Center office complex on South 60th Street in West Allis with a Milwaukee postal address WDJT TV s transmitter is located in Milwaukee s Lincoln Park WDJT TVMilwaukee WisconsinUnited StatesChannelsDigital 29 UHF Virtual 58BrandingCBS 58ProgrammingAffiliations58 1 CBSfor others see SubchannelsOwnershipOwnerWeigel Broadcasting WDJT TV Limited Partnership Sister stationsWBME CD WMLW TV WYTU LDHistoryFirst air dateNovember 10 1988 35 years ago 1988 11 10 Former channel number s Analog 58 UHF 1988 2009 Digital 46 UHF until 2019 Former affiliationsIndependent 1988 1994 Call sign meaningOriginal permit holders Debra Jackson and John Torres 1 Technical information 2 Licensing authorityFCCFacility ID71427ERP1 000 kWHAAT351 m 1 152 ft Transmitter coordinates43 6 42 N 87 55 50 W 43 11167 N 87 93056 W 43 11167 87 93056LinksPublic license informationPublic fileLMSWebsitewww wbr cbs58 wbr com Channel 58 went on the air in November 1988 as a lower tier independent station subsisting on classic reruns and movies as well as programs not aired by Milwaukee s network affiliates The construction permit had originally been awarded to a company owned by two minority stockholders whose initials are preserved in the station s call letters However the terminal illness of one of the partners created funding problems only solved when the surviving partner sold controlling interest to Weigel who eventually became sole owner WDJT TV gradually increased its profile in the market over the course of the early 1990s notably by carrying gavel to gavel coverage of the murder trial of Jeffrey Dahmer In 1994 Milwaukee s then CBS affiliate WITI announced it would switch to Fox This decision led to an especially lengthy search by CBS for a new affiliate in Milwaukee The other Milwaukee independents and WDJT TV alike initially rebuffed the network s overtures leaving CBS scrambling for a new affiliate with only weeks before WITI was due to join Fox Channel 58 finally committed to becoming a CBS affiliate just six days before doing so on December 11 1994 Over the next two years WDJT TV started a local news operation which has since expanded to provide news programming for two additional Weigel stations in the market and throughout the day and built a new transmitter tower to provide a full market signal which it had previously lacked The station has since helped Weigel launch new national digital multicast networks Contents 1 History 1 1 Launch and early struggles 1 2 CBS courtship 1 3 Rebuilding for the CBS age 1 4 Subchannels and multicast experiments 2 Programming 2 1 Newscasts 2 2 Sports programming 3 Notable current on air staff 4 Notable former on air staff 5 Technical information 5 1 Subchannels 5 2 Analog to digital conversion 6 References 7 Bibliography 8 External linksHistory editLaunch and early struggles edit In 1983 Harry C Powell Jr a Florida man successfully petitioned the Federal Communications Commission FCC to add a new allocation for ultra high frequency UHF channel 58 in Milwaukee Powell stated that he intended to apply for a license with the help of a Knoxville Tennessee consulting firm if the commission approved 3 With channel 58 now allocated to Milwaukee the commission took applications for the station ending with a 13 party field which included Powell five applicants residing in Knoxville and several groups consisting of local investors One of these groups included then state senator Gary George 4 This field thinned quickly to six applicants and then to two in October 1 In March 1985 the FCC rejected another applicant and issued a decision in favor of TV 58 Limited a minority owned firm headed by Debra M Jackson and Milwaukee media veteran John Torres who had worked for multiple radio stations and local Spanish language newspaper La Guardia 5 Debra Jackson originally suggested naming the station WJMT Torres s initials but the designation was not available thus the selection of WDJT TV combining both their initials 1 TV 58 Limited faced financial trouble from the start when it agreed to pay out settlements to other applicants including George in exchange for them withdrawing their applications 6 A new burden surfaced when Jackson was diagnosed with a terminal illness dying in January 1987 and the lenders that had originally committed interim financing backed out of their deals 1 In February 1986 one of the applicants with which TV 58 Limited had settled forced the company into involuntary bankruptcy 1 The Carley Capital Group of Madison negotiated to provide funding to keep the business afloat 7 but it withdrew by early August and a new company entered the picture Weigel Broadcasting the Chicago based owner of WCIU TV in that city 8 Torres agreed to sell controlling interest in the station to Weigel while the call letters were retained 9 nbsp WDJT TV signed on from studios and transmitter in the Marc Plaza Hotel downtown Weigel in association with Torres spent the next two years trying to put WDJT TV on the air Weigel proposed construction of facilities in various suburbs including Glendale 10 where it was rebuffed twice in two years 11 and Germantown where the village rejected Weigel s plans Objections to the proposed 1 000 foot 300 m tower called it unsightly 12 To get the station on the air Weigel instead decided to locate at a downtown site with a lengthy history of television in the city the Marc Plaza Hotel The antenna on the original mast atop the building first used as a transmitting site by early UHF station WCAN TV in 1953 13 and at the time utilized by low power outlet W08BY was replaced in October in preparation for the station s launch 9 After a 2 3 million expenditure 14 WDJT TV began broadcasting on November 10 1988 Known as Classic 58 it presented a mix of older sitcoms and movies with a family orientation a programming philosophy favored by Torres 15 The next year Weigel also launched W46AR a low power station carrying Univision giving it three signals in the area along with a preexisting WCIU translator W65BT and WDJT TV 16 The station also resurrected The Bowling Game a bowling program that had previously enjoyed an 11 year run on established Milwaukee independent WVTV channel 18 and continued on channel 58 until 1993 16 17 At the station s launch Torres served as the vice president of operations 9 he later sued Weigel for forcing him out of the company by having him sell to an affiliated company a case that resulted in an out of court settlement 18 19 A Delaware court ruled in favor of Torres in a case involving undervaluation of his stock in the partnership in 1993 20 The station s programming of syndicated shows and movies was bolstered by a variety of network programs preempted by the networks Milwaukee affiliates in late 1990 WDJT TV was airing America Tonight from CBS Loving and Match Game from ABC and four shows from NBC 21 In 1992 WDJT TV put itself on the map by teaming up with WITI then the CBS affiliate in Milwaukee to air nonstop coverage during the trial of Jeffrey Dahmer a serial killer from Milwaukee thus making it available to non cable homes in the Milwaukee area and allowing WITI to air its normal programming 22 The trial coverage was credited by station management with making people aware that there was even a station on channel 58 in the first place at times during the weeks long trial 15 to 20 percent of Milwaukee TV homes were tuned to WDJT TV and it also was added to at least one cable system as a result at a time when must carry rules were not in effect 23 Local programming efforts included the first locally produced children s TV program in Milwaukee in decades SeaToons with Captain Al Gee which presented segments between cartoons weekday mornings but lasted only eight weeks 24 20 With its limited presence WDJT TV was barely mentioned in the same breath as its more established competitors independent WVTV and Fox affiliate WCGV TV channel 24 For example a 1992 feature in The Milwaukee Journal on independent television programming in Milwaukee at the time WCGV like other early Fox affiliates was still considered an independent consigned channel 58 to one lone mention 25 Its signal was only a fraction of those of channels 18 and 24 the Marc Plaza transmitter effectively limited channel 58 s coverage area to Milwaukee itself and its inner ring suburbs 26 On cable systems it was on high channel positions including channel 29 in Milwaukee and channel 48 on Warner Cable systems in suburban areas 27 CBS courtship edit On May 23 1994 Fox announced an agreement with New World Communications in which most of New World s stations would become affiliates of that network Among those due to switch affiliations was Milwaukee s WITI 28 The deal which triggered a years long realignment process in cities nationwide left CBS needing a new affiliate in the Milwaukee market It approached NBC affiliate WTMJ TV and ABC affiliate WISN TV which had previously carried CBS from 1961 to 1977 but each renewed their existing contracts 29 This left three commercial independent or soon to be independent stations operating in Milwaukee as potential CBS affiliates WVTV WCGV TV about to lose Fox and WDJT TV 30 The year before Gaylord Broadcasting owner of WVTV had signed a local marketing agreement to allow WCGV TV then owned by ABRY Communications to handle its programming functions 31 WCGV TV moved into WVTV s building from which it had produced a 9 p m local newscast until 1993 30 The week the New World deal was announced however Sinclair Broadcast Group of Baltimore closed on its previously agreed purchase of WCGV TV 26 32 Though this would normally have made WCGV TV a frontrunner to be the CBS affiliate 29 Sinclair owned no major network affiliates at the time but three Fox affiliates and two independents 32 CBS had an hourlong conversation with Sinclair representatives in early June but Sinclair president David D Smith repeatedly stated his lack of interest in aligning his station with the network 29 this stance was reaffirmed in early October 33 Sinclair s lack of interest in the available CBS affiliation left one other viable partner WDJT TV but CBS first made a longshot attempt to purchase another local station It offered to buy Christian television station WVCY TV owned by Wisconsin Voice of Christian Youth for 10 million to convert it into its new Milwaukee affiliate However VCY turned the offer down Founder and chairman Vic Eliason said that even without CBS s offer being unreasonably low a sale to a mainstream network would have been a hypocritical act of consummate irresponsibility 34 35 By the end of September talks with WDJT TV had also broken down On September 30 Weigel announced it would no longer pursue a CBS affiliation saying it could not wait any further to firm up the station s future direction Weigel president Howard Shapiro noted that the station had already entered into preliminary conversations about picking up Milwaukee Brewers baseball games and planned to implement promotional and program purchasing strategies for its existing independent lineup 36 It was also starting the process of fixing its comparatively weak transmitting facility by conducting a site search it had asked to share space on WISN TV s tower and was rebuffed 37 However ownership and management did not completely rule out the possibility of CBS affiliating with WDJT TV Shapiro noted that nothing is irretrievable 36 Even as the station inquired about affiliating with The WB general manager Bill Le Monds stated on October 7 You never turn off anything 38 The station also stepped in to carry The Late Show with David Letterman which WITI had not aired live since its debut and which WCGV TV had been airing 39 By the start of November Milwaukee was the only market affected by the New World Fox deal that had not secured a replacement CBS affiliate Even though CBS had been forced to buy a second tier station in Detroit and nearly had to do so in Atlanta to replace a New World owned station the network was at least assured of having affiliates in those cities once the outgoing affiliates switched to Fox Tony Malara head of affiliate relations for CBS noted that time was becoming of the essence with WITI due to switch to Fox on December 11 Of Milwaukee he said It certainly isn t a market where we have a plethora of choices But the fact of the matter is that it s not necessarily the quantity but who s available to do what and what kind of agreement what kind of relationship can you establish 40 With just two weeks to go before WITI was due to switch to Fox the possibility increased that there might not be any CBS affiliate at all in Milwaukee 41 CBS was prepared to have Milwaukee cable systems pipe in nearby CBS owned stations WBBM TV in Chicago and WFRV TV in Green Bay as a stopgap 42 On November 28 Howard Shapiro met for the first time with Malara in New York City 43 On December 6 Shapiro and Malara jointly announced that WDJT TV would join CBS on December 11 five days later Weigel persuaded CBS to agree to a 10 year affiliation agreement believing it needed time to build out channel 58 to a level commensurate with a major network affiliate 43 The deal came as a relief even at WITI where officials were waiting for a replacement CBS affiliate to be announced to help guide viewers to relocated programs through both a station helpline and print advertising 44 The deal also saw more CBS programs being aired in Milwaukee as WDJT TV agreed to clear the entire CBS schedule in pattern 43 for instance WITI had not aired CBS This Morning for months and preempted Face the Nation 27 Some 30 percent of the station s syndicated program inventory was displaced by CBS network programming with some shows moving to W65BT now WBME CD channel 41 and others to overnight time slots 45 As many expected with any move of CBS off VHF in Milwaukee the network s ratings did fall precipitously In January 1995 the CBS Evening News drew a 1 4 rating and 3 percent share of the audience a far cry from the 9 9 rating and 17 share in January 1994 on WITI 46 Rebuilding for the CBS age edit Even seven months after the switch it s disorienting It s like the sun rising in the West CBS being at the wrong end of the dial is still a little jarring Joanne Weintraub television critic Milwaukee Journal Sentinel to Ed Bark of The Dallas Morning News on the effect of CBS moving to channel 58 47 While WDJT TV signed with CBS in time to ensure the continued over the air availability of CBS programming in Milwaukee much work was needed to upgrade the station to a level befitting its new status Its transmitter was nowhere near adequate enough to reach the entire market and its studios did not approach the scope of a full service network affiliate that projected to hire 60 additional people 48 In late December 1994 the station wrote to Milwaukee County officials suggesting three county parks as locations for a new 1 200 foot 370 m transmission tower 49 WISN objected claiming that the close proximity of WDJT TV s proposed mast to its own facility would cause engineering and safety issues 50 A judge issued a preliminary injunction that upheld WISN s arguments claiming a second tower would violate channel 12 s land use agreement with Milwaukee County 51 Several nearby residents also objected concerned about environmental impacts to the park 52 Despite these objections the FCC dismissed WISN s petition to deny and approved the tower site in May 1996 finding that WISN was unable to prove there would be new interference and that the concerns of neighbors did not justify a denial 53 nbsp Weigel s Milwaukee studio center in West Allis While the station had hoped to begin broadcasting full length newscasts by the end of 1995 the station was behind on setting up the city s fourth news department because it wanted to confirm a tower site before it selected a location for new studios 54 While WDJT TV initially maintained its downtown offices for sales and administrative personnel 55 local news debuted on March 18 1996 56 from facilities in the former Allis Chalmers complex in West Allis belonging to television production company The Enterprise Ltd 57 58 The total investment in the news operation came to 10 million 55 Additionally the new transmitter facility was activated in November 1996 giving channel 58 a coverage area comparable to the other major Milwaukee stations The dispute with WISN TV continued forcing the station to install a 500 000 steel bridge over nearby Lincoln Creek just to access the tower because WISN TV would not permit WDJT TV s engineers to cross its land 59 A further technical improvement making the station more accessible came in 1998 when most local cable systems moved WDJT from higher positions to the lower channel 5 60 Despite improvements in the technical facility news syndicated programming and positioning WDJT TV has continued to trail its competitors in local ratings since becoming an affiliate 61 In 2001 for instance it struggled to retain viewers for its newscasts after CBS network programs and its 6 p m local newscast finished seventh or even eighth in the market 62 The station did have success with some new syndicated programs notably the 2005 acquisition of game shows Jeopardy and Wheel of Fortune as a lead in to prime time programming which in turn boosted ratings for the CBS prime time lineup 63 In July 2010 a flash flooding event caused damage to the Lincoln Park transmitter facility leaving the station unable to normally broadcast for three days While local cable systems received a direct feed from the studios and were unaffected WTMJ TV broadcast the station as a subchannel 64 reciprocating after a 2009 lightning strike disabled WTMJ TV s transmitter and Weigel offered the station the use of a WBME subchannel temporarily 65 Subchannels and multicast experiments edit In the late 2000s Weigel began adding digital subchannels to WDJT TV a preview of what would later become one of its most important businesses Aside from a simulcast of WMLW CA then only broadcast in analog the first unique subchannel offering on that station was MeTV which debuted in March 2008 66 Soon after Weigel purchased WJJA TV then a small station primarily airing home shopping programming and relaunched it as WBME TV moving MeTV there 67 When that transition was completed the subchannel was freed up and WDJT TV was then among the first carriers of This TV a new diginet launched from the start as a national service by Weigel and MGM on November 1 2008 68 69 Two subchannel ventures involving WDJT TV have been local not national services In 2009 Weigel brokered subchannel 58 4 to Shorewest Realtors of Brookfield Wisconsin which since 2005 had been producing a local cable channel showing real estate listings 70 71 Shorewest TV ceased broadcasting over the air in 2013 as the real estate agency concentrated on its website including a new streaming channel 72 The subchannel was then used to launch TouchVision a loop of news and weather information produced under a separate company led by former radio and Tribune Company executive Lee Abrams 73 This continued until 2015 when Weigel instead opted to use the subchannel to launch its new national service Decades 74 Programming editNewscasts edit As of August 2023 WDJT TV currently broadcasts 30 hours of locally produced newscasts each week with five hours each weekday and 2 1 2 hours each on Saturdays and Sundays After offering a five minute newsbreak at 10 p m as a stopgap 54 WDJT TV debuted weeknight early and late evening newscasts from its new West Allis facilities on March 18 1996 56 The original news team consisted largely of younger on air personalities including a reporter on the local entertainment beat while the total news staff numbered 35 75 58 The intention was to match a shift in CBS s network programming at the time toward young audiences However when CBS shifted toward older viewers WDJT TV found itself needing to retool the news operation as part of the changes in 1997 the station also added weekend newscasts 55 A morning newscast was added in 2001 but the station was still not considered a contender in the Milwaukee market 62 More recent news expansions include a noon newscast in 2011 76 an expansion of the morning news to a 4 30 a m start in 2013 77 78 the introduction of 4 p m news in 2015 79 and additional newscasts on weekend mornings in 2021 80 The WDJT newsroom provides news aired on three of Weigel s local stations In 1997 when W46AR now WYTU LD moved to the new Lincoln Park tower WDJT began offering Spanish language local news updates given by a bilingual reporter Saul Garza 81 A regular nightly newscast in Spanish debuted in 2007 82 Since 2008 the station has produced a 9 p m newscast for WMLW which began as a trial during the 2007 World Series when Fox affiliate WITI was committed to baseball coverage 83 84 and became an hour long program in 2016 85 In 2020 a 7 a m morning news extension also debuted on WMLW 86 WDJT TV also produced the newscast aired by WBND LD Weigel s ABC affiliate in South Bend Indiana 87 until Weigel established its own newsroom there in April 2011 88 In 2007 one of the station s newsgathering vehicles parked on ice during a story on ice safety at Big Muskego Lake in Muskego fell through the ice and sank a loss worth as much as 250 000 89 Sports programming edit In 2024 WDJT parent company Weigel Broadcasting announced an agreement to broadcast ten Milwaukee Bucks games during the 2023 24 NBA season the station already had an agreement to provide news and weather updates for fans in attendance at Fiserv Forum as the team s official weather forecaster All 10 games will air on sister network WMLW TV though the February 23 game will be simulcast on WDJT TV and the March 4 game will be aired in Spanish by sister network WYTU LD 90 Notable current on air staff editPavlina Osta anchor reporterNotable former on air staff editDawn Mitchell sports anchor reporter 91 Tammie Souza chief meteorologist 92 Technical information editSubchannels edit The station s signal is multiplexed with standard definition versions of the main feeds of WBME CD WMLW TV and WYTU LD as well as Weigel s Start TV diginet which are only broadcast at low power on their originating stations Subchannels of WDJT TV 93 Channel Res Aspect Short name Programming 58 1 1080i 16 9 WDJT HD CBS 58 2 480i MeTV SD MeTV WBME CD 58 3 WMLW SD WMLW TV Independent 58 4 WYTU SD Telemundo WYTU LD 58 5 StartTV Start TV WYTU LD 63 2 Simulcast of subchannels of another station Analog to digital conversion edit WDJT TV shut down its analog signal on channel 58 at 11 59 p m on June 12 2009 the official date on 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 broadcasts on its pre transition channel 46 using virtual channel 58 94 For the rest of 2009 WYTU LP served as an analog simulcast of WDJT TV s main subchannel 95 96 References edit a b c d e Golembiewski 2008 p 456 Facility Technical Data for WDJT TV Licensing and Management System Federal Communications Commission Business Around Wisconsin Milwaukee Sentinel October 1 1983 p 2 7 Archived from the original on January 21 2023 Retrieved January 21 2023 13 apply to FCC for TV channel license Milwaukee Sentinel January 11 1984 p 1 5 Archived from the original on January 21 2023 Retrieved January 21 2023 Minority firm gets OK for TV station Milwaukee Sentinel March 7 1985 p 1 13 Archived from the original on January 21 2023 Retrieved January 21 2023 Disclosure issue raised for state Ethics Board Stevens Point Journal Associated Press July 21 1986 p 10 Archived from the original on January 21 2023 Retrieved January 21 2023 via Newspapers com Carleys looking into TV 58 deal Wisconsin State Journal June 24 1986 p 2 6 Archived from the original on January 21 2023 Retrieved January 21 2023 via Newspapers com TV 58 problems Wisconsin State Journal August 5 1986 p 3 4 Archived from the original on January 21 2023 Retrieved January 21 2023 via Newspapers com a b c Golembiewski 2008 p 457 TV tower construction is endorsed in Glendale Milwaukee Sentinel April 14 1987 p 1 8 Archived from the original on January 21 2023 Retrieved January 21 2023 Glendale rejects tower ordinance Milwaukee Sentinel April 12 1988 p 1 6 Archived from the original on January 21 2023 Retrieved January 21 2023 Darling Ken March 15 1988 Glendale council gets plan on new TV tower Milwaukee Sentinel p 1 4 Archived from the original on January 21 2023 Retrieved January 21 2023 Tower for TV on Hotel Roof WCAN Tells Plans The Milwaukee Journal July 16 1953 p L 5 Archived from the original on October 16 2022 Retrieved January 21 2023 Letter 4 FCC Rcd 15 FCC Record 4 16 Federal Communications Commission 6200 6201 August 9 1989 Archived from the original on January 21 2023 Retrieved January 21 2023 Golembiewski 2008 p 457 458 a b Dudek Duane October 30 1989 New low power TV station serving Hispanic community Milwaukee Sentinel p 3 2 Archived from the original on January 21 2023 Retrieved January 21 2023 Cuprisin Tim February 7 1995 Show not spared WTMJ cancels bowling program after 40 years The Milwaukee Journal p News 1 Zahn Michael August 25 1991 Channel 58 co founder settles civil suit Milwaukee Journal p Entertain 19 Golembiewski 2008 p 458 a b Golembiewski 2008 p 460 TV scurries after Bembenek Milwaukee Journal October 19 1990 p Entertain 9 Zahn Michael January 18 1992 Channels 6 58 team up on coverage Milwaukee Journal p News 5 Weintraub Joanne February 21 1992 Discovering the other end of the TV dial Milwaukee Journal p News 5 Dudek Duane June 30 1993 WDJT is out to launch a new children s show Milwaukee Sentinel p 5C Drew Mike April 2 1992 Independents are making waves Milwaukee Journal p Entertain 4 a b Drew Mike May 24 1994 Channel changing Fox trades up for power demographics Milwaukee Journal p 1A a b Drew Mike December 7 1994 Now comes last minute rush as Channel 58 readies for CBS Milwaukee Journal p News 1 Channel 6 leaving CBS to join Fox Milwaukee Sentinel May 23 1994 p A1 a b c Dudek Duane August 10 1994 NBC WTMJ TV reach 7 year agreement Milwaukee Sentinel p 7A a b Drew Mike June 2 1994 We ll have a CBS channel somewhere Milwaukee Journal p D13 Freese Mildred August 20 1993 Pittsburgh firm may purchase Channel 18 Milwaukee Journal p Business 5 a b Dudek Duane May 26 1994 Station situation under study new owner of WCGV TV says Milwaukee Sentinel p 3D Dudek Duane October 11 1994 Channels 18 24 next to snub CBS Milwaukee Sentinel p News 5 Flint Joe October 3 1994 Nay for Eye on affil buy Variety p 168 ProQuest 1401389916 Kirchen Rich October 1 1994 In CBS search for a mate Channel 24 still plays hard to get Milwaukee Business Journal Gale A16335176 a b Dudek Duane October 1 1994 Channel 58 says CBS is too late Owners no longer wooing network Milwaukee Sentinel p News 4 CBS still looking for a home Milwaukee Journal October 4 1994 p Features 1 Cuprisin Tim October 7 1994 New Paramount net signs 2 more in state Milwaukee Journal p Features 1 Dudek Duane October 8 1994 Letterman show finds home on 58 Milwaukee Sentinel Dudek Duane November 1 1994 CBS executive speaks out on Milwaukee search Milwaukee Sentinel p Features 4 Dudek Duane November 22 1994 Brewers to spend winter preparing for own broadcasts on Channel 18 Milwaukee Sentinel p Features 4 Battaglio Stephen December 2 1994 CBS ensures Milwaukee feed The Hollywood Reporter pp 3 50 ProQuest 2362015453 a b c Kirchen Rich December 10 1994 Down to the wire deal kept Milwaukee on CBS map Milwaukee Business Journal p 2 Gale A16541130 ProQuest 222390177 Cuprisin Tim December 6 1994 CBS gets home on Channel 58 Affiliation to start Sunday when Channel 6 goes Milwaukee Journal p News 1 Dudek Duane December 12 1994 Network shuffle buffaloes TV audience Milwaukee Sentinel p News 7 Cuprisin Tim February 3 1995 CBS Dan and Connie are the big losers in Milwaukee s ratings game The Milwaukee Journal p Features 1 Bark Ed June 25 1995 Shift may be easier for D FW viewers The Dallas Morning News p 14M Dretzka Gary December 7 1994 CBS turns to UHF in Milwaukee Chicago firm s station to get network s shows as Fox prompts shuffle Chicago Tribune p 3 3 Archived from the original on January 21 2023 Retrieved January 21 2023 via Newspapers com Schuldt Gretchen December 28 1994 3 parks eyes as site for Channel 58 tower Milwaukee Sentinel p News 5 WISN is suing to stop WDJT antenna project Station claims that plan of new CBS affiliate would cause problems Milwaukee Journal February 15 1995 p News 3 Zahn Michael R March 2 1995 Channel 12 can block WDJT tower Milwaukee Journal p News 6 Marcus Lindsey July 22 1995 Park neighbors oppose new TV tower Meeting set today to discuss Channel 58 transmitter proposal Milwaukee Journal Sentinel p News 7 Cuprisin Tim May 20 1996 Channel 58 is helped by FCC ruling Milwaukee Journal Sentinel p News 6 a b Cuprisin Tim December 4 1995 Location Problems Channel 58 news launch hits a snag Jan 1 deadline won t be met station general manager says Milwaukee Journal Sentinel p Cue and Health 3 a b c Kirchen Rich March 21 1997 WDJT news strives to be a welcome home for local TV viewers The Business Journal Gale A19394145 a b Cuprisin Tim June 21 1997 Father of 58 s news moves on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel p 8 ProQuest 260568124 Aschoff Lee June 9 1996 TV SHOW IS BASED HERE Housing news hits the airwaves Milwaukee Journal Sentinel p Real Estate 1 a b Kirchen Rich March 9 1996 Channel 58 targets youth with nouveau newscast Milwaukee Business Journal Gale A18248383 Kirchen Rich July 25 1999 A grim fairy tale The tempest in the TV tower Milwaukee Business Journal Archived from the original on January 22 2023 Retrieved January 22 2023 Larson Megan May 25 1998 Improvements galore but loyalty is real test Mediaweek Kirchen Rich September 3 2020 New GM Brown building up Milwaukee s CBS station Milwaukee Business Journal Archived from the original on September 26 2022 Retrieved January 21 2023 a b Kirchen Rich April 27 2001 Channel 58 wishes for more welcome homes Milwaukee Business Journal Gale A75508605 Kirchen Rich September 25 2005 Fortunes shifting in local TV The Business Journal of Milwaukee Archived from the original on April 2 2015 Retrieved March 22 2015 Dudek Duane July 25 2010 Storms show local TV radio can work for viewers listeners Milwaukee Journal Sentinel Malone Michael June 22 2009 Weigel Gives WTMJ a Hand Broadcasting amp Cable Archived from the original on January 15 2014 Retrieved January 21 2023 Cuprisin Tim Channel 58 s new sub channel a sign of the coming digital revolution Milwaukee Journal Sentinel Archived from the original on February 17 2008 Retrieved April 21 2008 Cuprisin Tim April 21 2008 Shopping channel gets new owner MeTV format of nostalgic shows Milwaukee Journal Sentinel Archived from the original on April 25 2008 Retrieved April 22 2008 Cuprisin Tim July 28 2008 Rebooting may help when mystery bugs bedevil Time Warner channels Milwaukee Journal Sentinel Archived from the original on August 5 2008 Retrieved August 4 2008 Malone Michael October 27 2008 Weigel MGM Hope This Thing s a Hit Archived from the original on December 26 2008 Retrieved October 26 2008 Kirchen Rich September 29 2005 Shorewest starts its own cable channel Milwaukee Business Journal Archived from the original on January 21 2023 Shorewest Realtors Archived from the original on July 16 2011 Hagey Paul June 4 2013 Shorewest launches Internet TV channel Inman News Archived from the original on October 16 2013 Retrieved July 4 2013 Theilman Sam July 8 2013 Abrams Saslow Prepare to Launch News Network This Month AdWeek Archived from the original on July 10 2013 Retrieved July 9 2013 Foran Chris January 13 2015 TV flashback Weigel to add new nostalgia channel in Milwaukee Milwaukee Journal Sentinel Archived from the original on January 15 2015 Retrieved January 13 2015 Cuprisin Tim January 25 1996 Gearing up for March debut Channel 58 news to have an entertainment spin Milwaukee Journal Sentinel p Cue 3 Dudek Duane July 25 2011 Weigel introduces new TV newscast Milwaukee Journal Sentinel Archived from the original on September 11 2011 Milwaukee s WDJT Expands Morning Newscast TVSpy September 23 2013 Archived from the original on September 26 2013 WDJT Starting Morning Newscast Earlier TVNewsCheck September 23 2013 Archived from the original on October 20 2013 Foran Chris March 21 2015 WDJT TV adds newscasts at 4 p m weekdays Sunday mornings Milwaukee Journal Sentinel Archived from the original on March 23 2015 Retrieved March 21 2015 Foran Chris August 17 2021 Milwaukee CBS affiliate WDJT TV Channel 58 is adding weekend morning newscasts Milwaukee Journal Sentinel Archived from the original on October 1 2022 Retrieved January 21 2023 Pabst Georgia October 25 1997 Spanish TV station boosts power news staff More frequent reports will flow to wider area Milwaukee Journal Sentinel p B News 8 Cuprisin Tim June 5 2007 Inside TV amp Radio Telemundo goes local with Milwaukee addition to nightly newscast Milwaukee Journal Sentinel p B News 6 Cuprisin Tim Channel 58 to fill 9 p m news gap Cuban s season over on Dancing Milwaukee Journal Sentinel Archived from the original on October 26 2007 Retrieved October 24 2007 Milwaukee CBS affiliate adds 9 p m newscast Milwaukee Business Journal December 3 2007 Archived from the original on February 24 2008 Retrieved January 22 2023 Foran Chris January 13 2016 WDJT expands 9 p m newscast on WMLW to a full hour Milwaukee Journal Sentinel Archived from the original on January 16 2016 Retrieved January 14 2016 Foran Chris January 23 2020 Milwaukee CBS affiliate WDJT TV Channel 58 is adding more news on weekend evenings Milwaukee Journal Sentinel Archived from the original on January 28 2020 Retrieved February 11 2020 Blasko Erin December 11 2010 WBND TV banking on area The South Bend Tribune p B1 B2 Archived from the original on January 22 2023 Retrieved January 22 2023 via Newspapers com Fosmoe Margaret August 1 2011 New local TV news station plans to grow The South Bend Tribune p B1 Archived from the original on January 22 2023 Retrieved January 22 2023 via Newspapers com Seibel Jacqueline January 30 2007 Loss of TV van estimated at 250 000 Milwaukee Journal Sentinel Archived from the original on February 10 2007 WMLW The M to air 10 premium Milwaukee Bucks games WMLW January 28 2024 Feder Robert April 19 2000 Channel 5 newscasts soon to pop up on Pax Chicago Sun Times p 51 Feder Robert August 28 2001 Channel 5 leads shifts in TV weather patterns Chicago Sun Times p 47 RabbitEars TV Query for WDJT Archived from the original on January 16 2014 Retrieved January 14 2014 DTV Tentative Channel Designations for the First and Second Rounds PDF Archived from the original PDF on August 29 2013 Retrieved March 24 2012 Channels 58 41 to keep analog broadcasts Milwaukee Business Journal June 5 2009 Archived from the original on June 7 2009 CBS 58 simulcast for over the air Channel 63 to end Racine Journal Times December 30 2009 Archived from the original on January 2 2010 Bibliography editGolembiewski Dick 2008 Milwaukee television history the analog years PDF Milwaukee Wisconsin Marquette University Press ISBN 978 1 4416 1215 1 OCLC 404166147 Archived PDF from the original on October 8 2021 Retrieved January 22 2023 External links editOfficial website nbsp Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title WDJT TV amp oldid 1221127381, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,

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