WIBW-TV

WIBW-TV is the CBS-affiliated television station for Topeka, Kansas. It broadcasts a digital signal on VHF channel 13 and its digital translator on UHF channel 44. Both operating frequencies are transmitted in Maple Hill. Owned by Gray Television, the station has studios at Southwest Commerce Place next to the I-70/I-470/U.S. 40/U.S. 75/KS 4 interchange.Syndicated programming on WIBW includes: Wheel Of Fortune, Two and a Half Men, Ellen, andLet's Make a Deal. It operates the area's MyNetworkTV affiliate on its second digital subchannel. Known on-air asMy Network Topeka, it can also be seen on Cox channel 11. Syndicated programming on WIBW-DT2 includes: Scrubs, America's Funniest Home Videos, George Lopez, and The People's Court.

History
WIBW-TV, the second television station in Kansas, debuted on November 15, 1953. It was originally owned by the family of the late Senator Arthur Capper along with the Topeka Daily Capital and WIBW-AM 580. The station carried programming from all four networks at the time but was a primary CBS affiliate. Although Topeka was originally part of the Kansas City market, the Cappers persuaded the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to make Topeka its own market. While the city itself and its close-in suburbs receive the Kansas City stations very well, some parts of Northeastern Kansas get a marginal signal at best.

It was the only commercial station in town for fifteen years. However, area viewers did not have to worry about missing their favorite shows since the Kansas City stations all decently cover Topeka and started appearing on cable in the rest of the market in the 1960s. It lost DuMontwhen that network shut down in 1955, lost NBC when KTSB (now KSNT) signed-on in 1967, and lost ABC when KLDH (now KTKA) signed-on in 1983.

In 1957, Stauffer Publications (owner of Topeka's other newspaper the Topeka State Journal) bought Capper Publications. The two newspapers, which later merged as the Topeka Capital-Journal, and WIBW-AM-FM-TV remained the flagships of Stauffer Publications (later renamedStauffer Communications) until 1995 when the company merged with Morris Communications ofAugusta, Georgia. As a condition of the sale, Morris had to sell Stauffer's television holdings. Most of the former Stauffer television holdings, including WIBW, were sold to Benedek Broadcasting in 1996. In 2002, Benedek merged with this station's current owner, Gray Communications, now Gray Television. The radio stations are still owned by Morris today along with the Capital-Journal.

Beginning on September 18, 2006, its second digital subchannel signed-on with programming from MyNetworkTV (a network launched by Fox parent News Corporation) and a secondary affiliation with Colours TV which was eventually dropped. On February 16, 2009, WIBW moved back to its pre-analog allotment for their digital operations from UHF channel 44 to VHF channel 13. [1] [2] But since the transition, some viewers in the urban areas are having difficulty receiving their signal over-the-air on channel 13. The FCC granted WIBW a construction permit for a fill-in digital translator on their pre-transition channel 44. [3] The translator serves the immediate part of the city and the nearby areas west of Topeka from the same transmitter as the main signal.

It is still only commercial station in Topeka on the VHF band (Public Broadcasting Systemaffiliate KTWU is on channel 11). It has dominated the market for as long has records have been kept. Currently, Wheel of Fortune airs on WIBW. Jeopardy!, on the other hand, airs on rival ABC affiliate KTKA. Topeka is one of the very few markets to carry Jeopardy! and Wheel of Fortuneon separate stations. WIBW, along with co-owned Wichita ABC affiliate KAKE-TV and Cox Communications, were one of two partners in "Kansas Now 22", a cable channel that aired throughout Kansas. WIBW and KAKE would originate five minute segments of taped news every fifteen minutes then an additional three minute taped weather segment. The two stations had alternating time slots for both news and weather segments. Live news or weather bulletins from KAKE in Wichita would interrupt normal taped operations on the channel. This service ended on January 2, 2009. The channel was relaunched on January 28 2009 as "Kansas 22" with content originating from New Vision Television stations KSNW and KSNT (both NBC affiliates).

WIBW is one of the few stations west of the Mississippi River whose call sign begins with the letter "W". There are two explanations for this anomaly. One dates to WIBW-AM's roots as a station in Logansport, Indiana. It moved to Topeka in 1927. The move was sponsored by Capper, who added a "W" to the initials of the Indiana station's owner, Indiana Broadcast Works. However, the "W/K" divide for call signs was not always the Mississippi River and Kansas was on the eastern side of the original call divide. Thus it was perfectly acceptable to have a "W" in Kansas.

News team
Anchors


 * Melissa Brunner - weeknights at 5, 6, and 10 p.m.
 * Ralph Hipp - weeknights at 4, 6, 9, and 10 p.m.
 * Dave Johnson - weekday mornings and noon
 * Amanda Lanum - weekday mornings and noon (also reporter)
 * Ryan Smith - weekends
 * Stephanie Ramos - weekend mornings

SkyWatch 13 Team


 * Jeremy Goodwin (AMS Certified Broadcast Meteorologist Seal of Approval) - Chief Meteorologist; weeknights at 5, 6, 9 and 10 p.m.
 * Drew Switzer (AMS Certified Broadcast Meteorologist Seal of Approval) - Meteorologist; weekday mornings and noon
 * Amy Schmidt - Meteorologist; weekends
 * Rob Peppers (AMS Seal of Approval) - Meteorologist; fill-in

Sports Team


 * J.B. Bauersfeld - Sports Director; weeknights at 6, 9, and 10 p.m.
 * Matt Blanchette - Sports Anchor; weekends and sports reporter
 * Kinch O'Kelly - Sports reporter/anchor
 * Adam Runyan - sports reporter

Reporters


 * Doug Brown - Chief Photographer
 * Rick Felsburg - photographer
 * Eric Ives - photographer
 * Suzie Gilbert
 * Stephanie Ramos
 * Ryan Smith
 * Marques White

Former on-air staff

 * Brian Dorman
 * Al Austin
 * Michelle Bandur (now at KMTV-TV in Omaha)
 * Ben Bauman (now at KTKA-TV)
 * Gary Bender
 * Mike Binkley
 * Heather Claybrook (now at WDAF-TV in Kansas City)
 * Homer Cunningham
 * Mark Davidson (now at KSNW-TV in Wichita)
 * Rae Chelle Davis (now at WQAD-TV)
 * Linda Edwards
 * Terri-Rae Elmer (at KFI Radio in Los Angeles)
 * Mike Elliot
 * Don Free (now at the Kansas City Royals)
 * Ron Harbaugh (now at Topeka Public Schools)
 * Amy Hawley (now at KSHB-TV in Kansas City)
 * Jim Doblin (back anchoring at WIBW (AM) radio, former reporter/producer jimdoblin.com)
 * Lee Gregory
 * Hilton Hodges
 * Jim Hollis (now at Washburn University)
 * John Holt (now at WDAF-TV in Kansas City)
 * Mike Jerrick (now at Fox News Channel)
 * Gordon Jump
 * Bob Kearns
 * Bernie Koch (now at the Wichita Metro Chamber of Commerce)
 * Pat Krueger
 * Bill Kurtis
 * Jason Lamb (now at WDAF-TV in Kansas City)
 * Jolene Leiker
 * Mary Loftus
 * Mike Marusarz (now freelance anchor at ABC News Now in New York City)
 * Sandra Olivas (now at KCTV-TV)
 * David Oliver (now at KOLR-TV in Springfield, Missouri)
 * Ron Paradis
 * Steve Physioc
 * Russ Ptacek (now at KCTV in Kansas City)
 * Roger Ready
 * Dave Relihan (now at WIBW (AM))
 * Anne Rubenstein-Tisch
 * Devin Scillian (now at WDIV in Detroit, Detroit and a children's author)
 * Greg Sharpe (now at Husker Sports Network in Lincoln, Nebraska)
 * Russ Shellabarger (now Russ Jamieson) (Left to work at WAGA-TV (Atlanta) in 1981, left WAGA in 1993 to freelance, work for CNN SE Bureau from 1996-1998. Now co-owns a production company in Atlanta (Broadcast Solutions))
 * Lisa Stites (now at KETV ABC Omaha)
 * Tai Takahashi
 * Stella Thurkill
 * Dara Trum
 * Gerry Wallace (retired from KFI in Los Angeles)
 * Fred White (now at the Kansas City Royals)
 * Dana Wright (now at KCTV-TV in Kansas City)

Newscast titles

 * News 13
 * WIBW News (1985-1994)
 * 13 News (1994-present)

Station slogans

 * "The Spirit of Kansas on WIBW" (1985-1988)
 * "13, The Original!" (1988-1990?)
 * "Where Northeast Kansas Turns For News" (1996-2000)
 * "Where News Comes First" (2000-2005)
 * "Kansas' News Leader" (2005-present)