WZZM-TV

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WZZM-TV, "WZZM 13" is a television station affiliated with the ABC network, broadcasting on channel 13 in the Grand Rapids, Michigan metropolitan area. WZZM's transmitter is located in Newaygo County, eight miles (12 km) south of the town of Fremont, Michigan. WZZM transmits its signal from an antenna with a height of 1,064 feet (324 m). The station officially went on the air on November 1, 1962, at 6:30 p.m.. The station went off the air just twenty minutes later, due to transmitter tube failure, and went back on ten minutes later.

Contents

Availability

Its transmitter lies about forty miles to the north-northwest of the transmitter for most other TV signals in the Grand Rapids/Kalamazoo/Battle Creek market. Thus signals of competing WWMT-TV (CBS), WOOD-TV (NBC), WXMI-TV (FOX), and WOTV (ABC) reach about forty miles farther south into Michigan, indeed to the Indiana state line. The signal of WZZM barely reaches Kalamazoo, where it was often not shown on cable television until about 2000, and misses Battle Creek, so its signal is more strictly limited to the northern part of the Grand Rapids-Kalamazoo-Battle Creek television market. Any move of the WZZM-TV signal to the transmitter that WWMT, WOOD, WXMI, and WOTV use would result in interference with the signal of WTVG, the ABC O&O in Toledo, Ohio on channel 13 whose signal reaches Hillsdale, Michigan, a situation that will end when WZZM goes entirely to digital broadcasting on channel 39, as WTVG's digital signal is on channel 19. Those who live in the southern two tiers of counties in western Michigan other than Kalamazoo must rely upon WOTV or the ABC affiliate in South Bend for ABC programming and television stations in the South Bend, Lansing, or even Chicago markets for non-ABC sydicated programming that WZZM carries.

WZZM does not have a weak signal; unlike the aforesaid competitors it can be received easily across Lake Michigan in such places as Sheboygan, Wisconsin, although such access is of little value to WZZM. Businesses in Wisconsin do not have cause to advertise on a TV station that reaches but a sliver of the state served also by Milwaukee or Green Bay television stations; Michigan advertisers have little cause to seek access to persons in eastern Wisconsin which is not part of the Grand Rapids retail market. WZZM once made an attempt to buy the ABC affiliate station (then WUHQ-TV and now WOTV) in Battle Creek before LIN Television succeeded in buying the station.

History

The station certainly had humble beginnings; its first broadcasts were from a banquet room-turned studio at the Pantlind Hotel (now the Amway Grand Plaza Hotel). Live broadcasts included This Morning with Bud Lindeman, Shirley's Show and an evening news program, though the station's most notable show in many minds is The Bozo Show, which was broadcast for more than 30 years. The news program improved in 1971 with the addition of the first weather radar in the West Michigan area, upgraded in 1974 to a computerized color version.

In August 1971, a multi-million dollar state-of-the-art studio was opened in Walker, with Congressman Gerald Ford, a Grand Rapids native, presiding over the ceremony. In the following years, WZZM became a formidable force in the Grand Rapids viewing community, gathering high ratings and a reputation as one of the top news programs in the West Michigan area.

In the 1990s, WZZM made an array of changes with the new millennium looming. New news vehicles were purchased, a new tape format (Beta SP) was introduced to digitize all media, a new radar receiver and new weather cameras were added across the state, and a new set was built, coinciding with WZZM's introduction of a new logo. In 2003, WZZM first started broadcasting in High Definition.

For most of its history, the newscast was called Eyewitness News until the late 1990s when it was replaced by WZZM 13 News.

5:30 Edition was introduced in 1993. It had soft news features in addition to the day's headlines. Many of its features were phased out and it became a standard newscast by 1997. Many of the features returned in 2004 when Take 5 Grand Rapids premiered. Take 5 originally aired at 5 p.m. but later moved to 4:30.

In 2005, the station launched the 13 On Target Weather Network, a weather channel broadcast on Channel 13-2; on Comcast and Charter Communications cable systems in West Michigan on channel 247; and on wzzm13.com. My 13 On Target Weather is a customizable e-mail and website service powered by [myweather.net]. It features headlines, weather conditions, and severe weather warnings.

WZZM's logo as of May 2006.

In early spring of 2006, WZZM finalized a major station over-haul, complete with a new logo, graphics, and promotional campaign, in order to recover from low viewership and to compete with first place West Michigan station WOOD (Channel 8).

As a Gannett-owned television station WZZM continues to carry the entire ABC television lineup.

Jay Schadler worked at WZZM during the 1970s. He currently works at ABC News. CNBC's Scott Cohn was at WZZM a few years before CNBC's launched. John Keating, a sportscaster for Fox Sports Net, worked at WZZM in the 1980s. However, he was known on air as "Steve Knight". Patrice Formsby, a former anchor at CNN, also was at WZZM in the 1990s.

News

Newscasts

Monday-Friday: 5:00 to 7:00 a.m. during Good Morning America, noon, 5:30 p.m., 6:00 p.m., 11:00 p.m..
Saturday: during Good Morning America, 6:00 p.m. (7:00 p.m. during fall football season), 11:00 p.m..
Sunday: during Good Morning America, 6:30 p.m., 11:00 p.m.
Newscast announced for weekend mornings 6 to 8 am starting September 9, 2006 [link].

Slogans

"The Breaking News Leader" (current)
"People Make the Difference" (current)
"The WZZM 13 News Difference" (2003-2004)
"Feel the Difference" (1998-2003)
"13 Works for You" and "Working for You" (1996-1997)

Partners

Awards

Over the years, WZZM has received numerous awards for journalistic excellence. Some of these include:

United Press International's Michigan News Station of the Year, 1980-1985.
Michigan Association of Broadcasters' Best Newscast and Best Coverage of Spot News awards, 1998
Michigan Association of Broadcasters' Station of the Year award, 2002.
Michigan Television News Photographers Association' Station of the Year award, 2002.
WZZM13 continues to fall behind number 1 station WOOD TV8 in its news product. The lack of a 5:00 p.m. newscast, airing Take 5, and lacking more reports are all factors.

Take 5 Grand Rapids

Take 5 Grand Rapids is a live talk and entertainment show on WZZM weekdays at 4:30 p.m. (from its premiere in early 2004 to September 2005, it aired at 5:00 p.m.). It is hosted by Catherine Behrendt with reporter/substitute host Stephanie Webb.

Its slogan is "Learn a little. Live a little. Have some fun." It has some of the same soft news features that were on 5:30 Edition in the 1990s, such as movie reviews and cooking segments.

A key segment of this series is "Rescue My Home", which is similar to . Several times a year, a house is chosen for the makeover of a specific room. In early 2005, there was an "Extreme Mini-Makeover," which is similar to Extreme Makeover. In addition to a week's worth of segments about the project, they air primetime "Rescue My Home" specials. Past projects included the living room, bedroom, and the yard.

In addition to segments about gardening, cooking, being a mother, healthy lifestyle, movies, restaurants, money management, and auto maintenance, the show features celebrity interviews and performances by local artists and national artists who are visiting Grand Rapids.

Weather

OnTarget Forecast

The WZZM 13 team of meteorologists holds themselves accountable with a well-known target. The meteorologist reviews his or her forecast everyday from the previous day in comparison to the actual weather. If they were exactly right, an arrow shoots and hits the bullseye. If they were only a degree or two off, it is called a "Very Close" forecast. If they were 3-5 degrees off or if they were wrong in their prediction of sunlight or precipitation, it is called a "Close" forecast. If they were more incorrect than that, it is called a "Try Again," and the arrow shoots past the target completely.

Advance Newspapers

Meteorologist George Lessens writes a weekly column for Advance Newspapers. The column includes the forecast for the upcoming week, as of February 2006. It originally had a review of the previous week.

Weatherball

The WZZM 13 Weatherball.

The original weatherball was perched on top of the Michigan National Bank building in downtown Grand Rapids. The colors it displayed were representative of the coming weather pattern. A poem was written about the weatherball's colors:

:Weatherball red, warmer weather ahead.

:Weatherball blue, cooler weather in view.

:Weatherball green, no change foreseen.

:Colors blinking bright, rain or snow in sight.

However, due to questions about its stability, it was removed in 1987, after 20 years of existence. WZZM located the weatherball, which had resided in a Kalamazoo junkyard since its removal, and purchased it in 1999. In 2002, plans were announced to refurbish the stainless steel ball, and add new neon lights. The weatherball was perched on a 100-foot (30 m) monopole, and was lit on May 7, 2003. It is visible from both Interstate 96 and U.S. Highway 131, the two major freeways in the area.

Shortly after the reintroduction of the WZZM 13 Weatherball, a contest was held where viewers submitted video recordings of songs to coincide with the meanings of the weatherball. The winner chosen had their song on a new commercial that aired to inform the viewership of the significance of the colors.

The station also has a costume character mascot of the Weatherball named "Blinkie". A similar weatherball is also located on the Citizen's Bank building in Flint.

Weather Chaser

The Weather Chaser was introduced in 2001. It is a mobile version of the in-studio weather office capable of live broadcasts from anywhere in the broadcast area. During severe weather, the meteorologist using the Chaser can track and report storm conditions on location. It has not been mentioned on air in recent months.

Weather Deck

The weather deck is a deck set up for weather reports. Most weather reports are done outside, except when the weather makes it unsafe for the meteorologist to go outside, such as severe weather situations. The weather deck was introduced in 1999. From 1995 to 1999, the evening meteorologist reported from the parking lot. Once a week, the noon newscast has a "Weather Deck Guest" segment - a live interview from the deck.

Sports

WZZM started expanded coverage of high school football in 1995 with Friday Night Football. A few years later, the name was changed to 13 On Your Sidelines.

During the 5:30 and 6:00 p.m. newscasts, a meteorologist does a weather report from the "Game of the Week" location with Blinkie the Weatherball mascot. During the 6:00 p.m. newscast, the "Game of the Week" is previewed.

The 11:00 p.m. newscast is shortened to one news segment and one weather segment. During the weather segment, cheerleaders join the meterologist on the weather deck.

The current format for 13 On Your Sidelines is:

"Game of the Week"
Reports on 12 other games, giving a total of 13.
The in-studio audience is composed of cheerleaders and marching bands.
Scoreboard segments announcing the results of all other games.
Commentary on the 13 games.
Ticker showing scores from all sports, not just high school football.
Other sports news.

Major personalities

Take 5 Grand Rapids

Catherine Behrendt joined the station in 1987. During the 1990's, she anchored the news in the morning and noon. She is currently head of the Community and Local Programming Department and host of "Take 5 Grand Rapids", a talk and entertainment show airing weekdays at 4:30 p.m..

WZZM 13 News

Lee Van Ameyde is the co-anchor for the 5:30 p.m., 6:00 p.m., and 11:00 p.m. newscasts. He first joined WZZM in 1977. He also hosts DIY Grand Rapids on Sunday at noon[link]. This program is produced by DIY Network, a spinoff of Scripps-Howard-owned HGTV.
Juliet Dragos is the co-anchor of the 5:30 p.m., 6:00 p.m. and 11:00 p.m. news. First joining WZZM in 1991, she often goes to different locations to broadcast major stories. She has traveled to New York City, Hollywood, and most notably to Bosnia in the wake of their civil war.
George Lessens is the chief meteorologist for WZZM. He first joined the station in 1980. He appears on the 5:30 p.m., 6:00 p.m., and 11:00 p.m. newscasts.
Tom Clyde is the sports director [link] as of January 10, 2006. Clyde has been at the station since 2003 and was the sports director at Denver's KDVR before moving to Grand Rapids. He appears on the 6:00 p.m. and 11:00 p.m. newscasts.
Peter Ross worked at the station since 1986 [link]. He also hosts West Michigan Week on WGVU-TV.

Ownership

The station was founded by an investment group who called themselves West Michigan Telecasters. Over the years, the station was bought and sold numerous times:

Sold in 1978 to Wometco Enterprises.
Sold in 1985 to Kohlberg, Kravis, Roberts and Company.
Sold in 1986 to Price Communications.
Sold in 1989 to Northstar Television.
Sold in 1995 to Argyle, Inc.
Sold in 1997 to Gannett.

Gannett is the current owner of WZZM, as well as numerous other television stations.

References

External links

Terrestrial television>Broadcast television in the Grand Rapids/Kalamazoo-Battle Creek/Muskegon area [(Nielsen DMA #39)]
WWMT 3 (CBS - The CW on DT2 September 2006) - WOOD 8 (NBC) - WZZM 13 (ABC) - WXSP 15 (UPN - to be MNTV 09/06) - WXMI 17 (Fox) - WUHQ 29 (A1/MMA) - WGVU 35 / WGVK 52 (PBS) - WUHO 36 (Ind.) - WMKG 38 (FamilyNet / UATV) - WOTV 41 (ABC) - WZPX 43 (i / The WB - to be i only September 2006) - W48CL 48 (3ABN) - WTLJ 54 (TBN) - WLLA 64 (FamilyNet)

Broadcast television in the Northern Michigan (Traverse City-Cadillac-Sault Sainte Marie) market [(Nielsen DMA #113)]

American stations WPBN 7/WTOM 4 (NBC) (The Tube on DT2) - WWTV 9/WWUP 10 (CBS) - WLLZ 12 (ind.) - WZZM 13 (ABC, Gd Rapids) - WCMW 21/WCMV 27 (PBS) - WGTU 29/WGTQ 8 (ABC) - WFQX 33/WFUP 45 (Fox/UPN)
Canadian stations CHBX 2 (CTV) - CBLT 5 (CBC) - CIII 12 (Global) - CICO 20 (TVOntario) - CBLFT 26 (SRC) - CHCH 38 (CH)
Cable television channels "WBVC" 61 (The WB) - CBMT 6 (CBC) - WNMU 13 (PBS)
Defunct channels
CJIC 5 (CBC)

ABC Network Affiliates in the state of Michigan

WBKP 5 / WBUP 10 () - WXYZ 7 () - WJRT 12 () - WZZM 13 () - WGTU 29 / WGTQ 8 () - WOTV 41 () - WLAJ 53 ()
See also: , , , , , and stations in Michigan and , , , and stations in Ontario

Gannett Company, Inc.

National News Publications: USA Today | USA Weekend

Other Publications: Army Times Publishing Company | Clipper Magazine | Newsquest Media Group | Nursing Spectrum

ABC Network Affiliates: KXTV | WJXX | WZZM

UPN Network Affiliate: KTVD¹

WB Network Affiliate: WATL^{1^{^,²}}

¹Will affiliate with My Network TV starting September 5, 2006.

²Acquisition from Tribune Company is now awaiting FCC approval.

Other Assets: 101.com | Gannett Foundation

Annual Revenue: .4 billion USD (2004) | Employees: 52,500 | Stock Symbol: NYSE: [GCI] | Website: [www.gannett.com]

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