For broadcast stations that previously used the WJBK call sign, see WJBK (disambiguation)

WJBK
Detroit, Michigan
Branding	FOX 2, FOX 2 Detroit
Slogan	News that Works for You
Channels	Analog: 2 (VHF) Digital: 58 (UHF), moving to 7 (VHF) in 2009
Affiliations	Fox
Owner	Fox Television Stations Group
Founded	October 24, 1948
Call letters meaning	W Jesus, Be Kind
Former affiliations	DuMont (1948-1955), CBS (1948-1994)
Transmitter Power	100 kW/305 m(analog) 1000 kW/274 m (digital)
Website	www.myfoxdetroit.com

WJBK ("FOX2") is the Fox-owned and operated television station in Detroit, Michigan. Its studios and 1003-foot (305.7 m) tower are co-located in Southfield, Michigan while its signal covers the Metro Detroit area. WJBK's signal can also be picked up as far away as Flint, Toledo, Adrian, Chelsea, and, with transitory severe interference, London, Ontario.

On cable, WJBK can be seen on Comcast Detroit channel 12, Bright House Livonia channel 2, and on WOW! channel 2 And channel 202. WJBK also serves as a FOX affiliate for several other Canadian cable markets, including Cogeco Windsor channel 7, and Rogers Ottawa channel 13. In addition, it is one of five local Detroit TV stations seen in Canada on the StarChoice satellite provider.

History

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.

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, 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 (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 is no longer shown on weekdays, and is now only seen on Sunday mornings on WMYD).

In 2003, WJBK became the broadcast home of the Detroit Red Wings. The station broadcasts up to ten games a season.

For the 2007 MLB season, WJBK became the over-the-air TV broadcaster for the Detroit Tigers (WMYD was the broadcaster for the 2006 season). Tigers games are produced by WJBK's sister cable network, FSN Detroit.

Digital Channels

Digital channels

Channel	Programming
2.1 / 58.1	Main WJBK Programming (High Definition)
2.2 / 58.2	Main WJBK Programming (Standard Definition)

Newscasts

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 11 PM (now 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.

WJBK operates an Aerospatiale AS350BA A-star news helicopter called Sky Fox.

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

On January 8, 2007, WJBK started to simulcast parts of its FOX 2 News Morning newscasts on WFQX, Northern Michigan's FOX affiliate based in Cadillac. On WFQX, the simulcast runs 6 to 8 AM weekday mornings and is known as Michigan's FOX News Morning. The simulcast is possible as a result of a new cooperative arrangement offering local advertising opportunities to Northern Michigan businesses. As of February 5, 2007, after the completion of its own 10 PM newscast, WFQX now simulcasts the second half of WJBK's weekday newscast from 10:30 to 11 PM.

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.

For many years, WJBK's newscasts have usually rated third in the Detroit market, behind WXYZ and WDIV.

Sportscasts

Currently WJBK televises some Tigers and Red Wings games, which are produced by sister station, FSN Detroit. In March of 2007, WJBK began showing Red Wings games in High Definition.

On Sunday night, WJBK does a sports highlights/discussion show called "Sportsworks". Often there is a round table discussion between the Detroit media and Dan Miller or Woody Woodriffe.

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

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. [1]

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.

Notable Personalities

Current On-Air Talent

Anchors

• Kerry Birmingham: Sunday 6PM and 10PM Anchor/Investigative Reporter
• Kam Carman: Weekday Morning Anchor
• Murray Feldman (5:30PM Anchor, "Money Savers", "Money Minute" and "Feldman Report" Feature) Reporter
• Monica Gayle: Weekday Evening Anchor
• Alan Lee: Weekday Morning Anchor
• Sherry Margolis: 11AM and 5:30PM Anchor
• Huel Perkins: Weekday Evening Anchor
• Robin Schwartz: Weekend Anchor/Reporter
• Charles Pugh: Weekend Anchor/"Problem Solvers" Investigative Reporter
• Fanchon Stinger: Weekday Morning Anchor/"Problem Solvers" Investigative Reporter

Reporters

• Al Allen: General Assignment Reporter
• Camille Amari: General assignment Reporter
• Taryn Asher: General Assignment Reporter
• Jason Carr: General Assignment Reporter/"Cheap Eats" Feature Reporter
• Deena Centofanti: Health Reporter
• Brad Edwards: General Assignment Reporter
• Andrea Isom: General Assignment Reporter
• Lila Lazarus: Health Reporter
• Scott Lewis: General Assignment Reporter
• Jackie Paige: Traffic Reporter
• Ron Savage: "Michigan's Most Wanted" Crime Reporter
• Simon Shayket: General Assignment Reporter
• Lee Thomas: Entertainment Reporter
• Jay Towers: Feature Reporter

Problem Solvers Unit

• Bill Gallagher: "Problem Solvers" Investigative Reporter
• Amy Lange: "Problem Solvers" Investigative Reporter
• Rob Wolchek: "Problem Solvers" Investigative Reporter

Meteorologists

• Rich Lutherman: Chief Meteorologist
• Ben Bailey: Morning Meteorologist
• Justin Ryan: 11AM Weekday/Weekend Meteorologist

Sports

• Dan Miller: Sports Director
• Woody Woodriffe: Weekend Sports Anchor/Reporter
• Ryan Ermanni: Sports Reporter
• Jennifer Hammond: Sports Reporter

Former On-Air Talent

• Kathy Adams - anchor (1983-1991)
• Bill Bonds - commentator, interviewer
• 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)
• Sandra Dickson - anchor/reporter (1974-1983 and 1988-1993)
• Anne Doyle - first female sports reporter in Detroit (1978-1983)
• Beverly Draper - anchor/reporter (1979-1982)
• Lordes Duarte - Reporter (Now at WGN TV)
• Chris Edwards - chief meteorologist (1989-2004)
• Sonny Eliot - weather anchor (1978-1982, now at WWJ-AM)
• Dayna Eubanks - anchor (1988-1992, now at WKRC-TV in Cincinnati)
• Wyatt Everhart - weekend meteorologist (2004-2007)
• Rich Fisher - anchor (1990-1997)
• Ken Ford - reporter
• John Fossen - sports anchor/reporter (1985-1988)
• Chuck Gaidica - meteorologist (1982-1987, now at WDIV-TV)
• Sir Graves Ghastly, played by Lawson J. Deming - horror movie host (1967-1983)
• Joe Glover - anchor (1979-1983 and 1987-1993)
• Nikki Grandberry - reporter
• Gerald Harrington - anchor/reporter
• Jerry Hodak - meteorologist (1965-1977), now at WXYZ-TV)
• Jennifer Howe - anchor/reporter (1991-1996, now at WTSP-TV in Tampa)
• Fred Heumann - sports anchor/reporter (1987-1994, now at WLNS-TV in Lansing, MI)
• 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 - reaffic reporter (1996-1998, now at KVVU in Las Vegas)
• Virg Jacques - sports anchor/reporter (1982-1993, now at WTTG in Washington, DC)
• Bruce Kirk - anchor (1984-1990, currently in the process of moving to WINK-TV in Ft. Myers, FL)
• Don Lark - anchor/reporter (1974-1976)
• Ray Lane - sports anchor
• Catherine Leahan - reporter (1986-1996)
• Jac LeGoff - anchor (1953-1959 and 1962-1974)
• Josh Littman - business reporter (deceased)
• Kay Lowry - reporter (mid 1990s)
• Mike Lyons (meteorologist, now at West Palm Beach's WPBF-TV)
• Micah Materre (1989-1997, now at WGN-TV in Chicago)
• Jack McCarthy - anchor/reporter (1966-19xx)and(198x-199x) Retired in Florida
• Fred McLeod - sports anchor/reporter (1981-1989, now at FSN Ohio)
• 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)
• Don Paul - meteorologist (1979-1984, now at WIVB-TV in Buffalo)
• Beverly Payne - Detroit's first black anchorwoman (1973-1982, deceased)
• 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), now a radio & television reporter for the AAA Michigan Broadcast News Network
• Brian Smith - morning/noon anchor (2001-2007; now at WPVI-TV in Philadelphia)
• Lee Thornton - anchor (1982)
• Robbie Timmons - anchor/reporter (1975-1981, now at WXYZ-TV)
• Mike 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)
• Joe Weaver - anchor/reporter (1963-1994)
• Mark Wilson - sports anchor/reporter (1992-1997)
• David Wittman - anchor/reporter (early 1980s)
• Eli Zaret - sports anchor (1988-1995)

Logo history

TV2 CBS From 1968.	TV2 logo (1970s)	Circle TV2 Logo From 1978.	WJBK logo from approximately 1983 to 1988.
WJBK logo from 1988 to 1994. Originally a yellow '2', it became silver in 1990. There was a slight variation of this logo from 1994-1995, right before WJBK was branded 'Fox 2 Detroit.'	WJBK logo from 1995 to 1998 as a result of the rebranding from 'TV 2' to 'Fox2'	Former WJBK logo from 1998 to 2007; color scheme was added based on previous logo.	New WJBK logo; started September 24, 2007 along with 10pm newscast. The general version of the new logo, which is used for general programming purposes, is also similar in design to sister stations KMSP-TV and KTVI-TV, where Fox 2's call letters, WJBK, is used at the bottom of the logo.

References

• Inside Fox2: Did You Know That (2003, 2004). Fox2Detroit.com.

External links

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

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Broadcast television in the Detroit / Southfield, MI / Windsor market (Nielsen DMA #11)

American stations WJBK 2 (Fox) - WDIV 4 (NBC, NBC WX+ on DT2) - WXYZ 7 (ABC) - WDWO 18 / W27CJ 27 (TCT / COR) - WMYD 20 (MNTV, 4KidsTV) - WUDT 23 (UNI) - WLPC 26 (FN) - WFUM 28 (PBS) - WPXD 31 / W48AV 48 (ION) - W33BY 33 / W68CH 68 (Ind) - WADL 38 (Ind / JTV, Word on DT2) - WKBD 50 (The CW, Kids WB) - WTVS 56 (PBS, Kids on DT2, Create on DT3) - WWJ 62 (CBS) - W66BV 66 (TBN) - W67AJ 67 / WLNS 6 (CBS)

Canadian stations CBET 9 (CBC) - CHWI 16 / 60 (A-Channel) - CIII 22 / 29 (Global) - CICO 32 / 59 (TVO) - CBLN 34 / 64 (CBC) - CFTV 34 (Ind) - CKCO 42 (CTV) - CBLFT 48 / 68 (SRC) - CBEFT 54 (SRC)

Local Cable Television Channels US: Michigan Channel (PBS, U of M) - WOLV (U of M Student TV) - FSN Detroit Former: PASS Sports Canada: Leafs TV - Sportsnet Ontario - TFO - TVCogeco Windsor (Windsor & Leamington) - TVCogeco (Chatham & Sarnia)

Significantly Viewed Out-of-Market Broadcast Stations Reception may vary by geographical location : WTOL 11 (CBS) - WTVG 13 (ABC / News / AW) - WNWO 24 (NBC / The Tube / WX+) - WGTE 30 (PBS) - WUPW 36 (Fox) - WLMB 40 (Ind) | : WNEM 5 (CBS / MNTV) - WJRT 12 (ABC) - WEYI 25 (NBC) - WSMH 66 (Fox) | : WILX 10 (NBC) - WKAR 23 (PBS) - WSYM 47 (Fox) - WLAJ 53 (ABC) | : WKYC 3 (NBC) - WEWS 5 (ABC) - WJW 8 (Fox) - WOIO 19 (CBS) - WUAB 43 (MNTV / The Tube) - WBNX 55 (The CW) - WQHS 61 (UNI) | : CFPL 10 (A-Channel)