If you enjoyed the stability of knowing where to find your favorite shows or stories on television, the past few weeks have not been for you, and the changes aren’t slowing down.
Let’s start in Birmingham, where viewers were affected by a major national shift in network affiliations.
Nexstar and CBS didn’t come to terms on renewing affiliation agreements. Instead, in markets where there were Hearst stations, CBS went there.
Birmingham — which includes Etowah County — is one such market, and the change set off a domino effect.
CBS programming shifted to WVTM Channel 13, which already had a network affiliation. So, NBC programming is on 13.1 and CBS is on 13.4.
WIAT, which had perennially struggled in the ratings in central Alabama and once even canceled its newscast in favor of a clock, lost its CBS affiliation and will pick up the CW Network on Sept. 1.
The CW currently is on WTTO Channel 21 in Birmingham. That station used to be on the cable in Albertville and I remember it best for showing “I Love Lucy,” “The Andy Griffith Show” and “Perry Mason” middays around a bunch of commercials for Standard Furniture and an eyeglass company that had a cartoon of Ben Franklin.
Of course, the majority of our readers are in the Huntsville market, which is about to see its own major shift.
Atlanta-based Gray Media completed a purchase of Allen Media earlier this year. That meant Gray’s WAFF Channel 48 and Allen’s WAAY Channel 31 suddenly were sibling stations after 60 or so years of competition.
WAFF weather segments have aired on WAAY in recent weeks, and the stations have announced that as of Thursday, they’ll share news under the “48 News” brand.
That’s one set of newscasts to air on both the NBC (48) and ABC (31) channels. Most importantly for people in north Alabama and our need to know the latest in weather, the merger means both Brad Travis and Jeff Castle remain on screen, along with other meteorologists from both stations (although it doesn’t look like all will be making the shift).
I know I remember watching Channel 31 coverage of the 1989 tornado that killed 21 people in Huntsville. I also remember Gary Dobbs coming to Big Spring Lake Elementary School and telling us if he ever came on the air and interrupted our afternoon cartoons because of weather, to go and tell an adult instead of getting mad and changing the channel. For some reason — maybe because I’d already been in that situation and my grandfather was in a tornado the year before — that tickled me and I laughed about it when I was supposed to be taking a nap.
Sorry, Mrs. Sprouse.
The Nexstar-Tegna merger, which is held up in the courts, could lead to further TV news consolidation in the market. Nexstar owns WHNT Channel 19 and WHDF Channel 15, and Tegna owns WZDX Channel 54.
I’m told Channel 54 will be moving into the building 19 and 15 already share in downtown Huntsville, and another rebrand of a news channel would be forthcoming.
Newspapers
Electronic media aren’t the only outlets seeing change. A father-son duo in Chattanooga bought the Chattanooga Times Free Press last month and have begun making changes at breakneck pace.
Craig Fuller, founder of FreightWaves, and his dad, Max, are the new owners.
“We run fast. It’s one of the reasons we’re successful,” Craig Fuller said. “That speed is probably going to feel very uncomfortable, maybe a little chaotic, maybe very chaotic. But when we have gotten through that process, we will have a healthy, vibrant editorial product.”
That’s good to hear. Obviously I’m a big fan of newspapers and the TFP has been a good one over the years. But articles about the sale by Little Rock-based WEHCO Media showed steep declines in revenue and a circulation of just 12,000.
The Hussmans have found great success with the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette but that apparently never translated to Tennessee. Hopefully the Fullers’ fail-fast-and-break-things philosophy will lead to quick success and a blueprint for other newspapers.
Speaking of other newspapers, I must mention my disappointment with the article in The Sand Mountain Reporter and its 71st anniversary on Aug. 5.
While the writer did a fine job telling the early history of the newspaper, there were a couple of glaring errors.
For one, it is malpractice to try and tell the story of The Reporter without Ben Shurett, publisher from 2006-14. The man won a Lifetime Achievement Award from the Alabama Press Association, for crying out loud.
Also, Shannon J. Allen served the paper as sports editor, then publisher, from 1988 to 2025. He was sports on Sand Mountain, although he’d demur from that statement and put the credit where he always did, on the student-athletes.
Both men had a profound impact on my life, but don’t hold that against them.
David Clemons is an Albertville native who published newspapers in Alabama and Georgia and now works in healthcare marketing in Atlanta. His email address is [email protected].
While media organizations all around it see major change, Sand Mountain Broadcasting – owner of WQSB, Power 107.5 and WKXX – continues to serve its communities. The company recently celebrated its first-place finish for Best Radio Station in this paper’s Leader’s Choice Awards. ‘We are incredibly grateful to everyone who took the time to vote for us,’ said Tyler May, Sand Mountain Broadcasting’s general manager. SPECIAL TO THE LEADER
