WAPT-TV

WAPT-TV  is the  ABC -affiliated  television station  for  Central   Mississippi  that is  licensed  to  Jackson. It broadcasts a  high definition   digital  signal on  UHF  channel 21 (or  virtual channel  16.1 via  PSIP ) from a transmitter at its studios on Leggett Drive (next to former Fox  owned outlet  WDBD, now with WLBT ) in unincorporated  Hinds  County. Owned by  Hearst Television, the station can also be found on  Comcast  channel 4 and  Cable ONE  channel 12. There is a high definition feed provided on Comcast digital channel 431 and Cable ONE digital channel 455. Syndicated  programming on WAPT includes  Wheel of Fortune, Live with Ryan and Kelly ,  Judge Judy, Tamron Hall, The Dr. Oz Show, and  The Ellen DeGeneres Show , among others.

History
The station began broadcasting on Saturday, October 3, 1970 with ABC's coverage of an University of Mississippi football game; newscasts debuted in 1971. Prior to its debut, Jackson was one of the largest, if not the largest, markets in the U.S. to have only two television stations (WLBT and WJTV). It is possible (although no direct evidence exists) that the Federal Communications Commission delayed granting licenses to any potential broadcasters in central Mississippi until WLBT, which had a long history of discrimination against African-Americans in news coverage and advocacy against Civil Rights, either changed its ways or lost its license. The latter happened in 1969, and the following year saw this station and Mississippi Educational Television (now Mississippi Public Broadcasting) debut, doubling viewing choices for central Mississippians within a year's time.

WAPT was founded by the American Public Life Insurance Company, an insurer which is still in business today but is now an affiliate of American Fidelity Assurance. American Public Life sold the station to Clay Communications in 1979. That company then sold its television stations—WAPT, plus KJAC-TV (now KBTV-TV) in Port Arthur, Texas, KFDX-TV in Wichita Falls, Texas and WWAY in Wilmington, North Carolina--to Price Communications in 1987. Price Communications sold three of its stations—WAPT and then-sister stations WZZM-TV in Grand Rapids, Michigan and WNAC-TV in Providence, Rhode Island--to the newly-founded Northstar Television Group in 1989.

Northstar Television was bought out by Argyle Television Holdings II, a company which was formed in late 1994 by a group of managers and executives who left the first incarnation of Argyle Television (the former Times-Mirror Broadcasting) after that company sold all of its stations to New World Communications, in January 1995. In August 1997, Argyle merged with the Hearst Corporation's broadcasting unit to form what was then known as Hearst-Argyle Television (now Hearst Television after the Hearst Corporation became sole owner of the group in mid-2009).

In the 1990s, WAPT became one of many ABC affiliates (mostly in rural and Southern markets like Jackson) to ban Steven Bochco's controversial crime drama NYPD Blue. However, in January 1995, some sixteen months after its premiere, the station lifted its ban on the show. In 2004, all of Hearst-Argyle's ABC affiliates, including WAPT, preempted the network's airing of Saving Private Ryan.

In 2005, WAPT was the victim of a prank by Sacha Baron Cohen for the mockumentary, Borat: Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan.[1] In 2008, WAPT announced that it would begin a noon newscast, becoming the third noon newscast in Jackson.[2] WAPT also use to broadcasts its radar live on a digital subchannel. Now holds MeTV (Memorable Entertainment Television)

Digital television
The station's digital channel is multiplexed:

WAPT-DT
WAPT-DT broadcasts on digital channel 21.

Digital channels

Post-analog shutdown
After the analog television shutdown on June 12, 2009 [3], WAPT remained on its pre-transition channel number, 21,[4] using PSIP to display WAPT's virtual channel as 16.

News operation
WAPT currently broadcasts 191⁄2 hours of local news per week, with 31⁄2 of news on weekdays and only one hour on weekends. As of October 18, 2010, WAPT is one of seven remaining stations owned by Hearst that has yet to broadcast its local news in either widescreen or high definition, along with WMUR, WMTW, WGAL, WPTZ, KITV, and KHBS/KHOG. Also, WAPT does not offer newscasts at noon or on on weekend mornings.

Newscast titles

 * The Case-Jeffries Report (1971)
 * Television Sixteen News (1971–1975)
 * Action 16 News (1975-1978)
 * Action News 16 (1978-1982)
 * The News on WAPT (1982–1986)
 * Channel 16 News (1986–1993)
 * Eyewitness News 16 (1993–1997)
 * 16 WAPT News (1997–present)
 * Jackson’s 16 WAPT News (2019-present)

Station slogans

 * We're WAPT Television, Channel 16 (1970–1975)
 * Part of Your Life (1975–1978)
 * If it Happens in Mississippi, It Happens on Action News 16 (1978–1982)
 * You and Me and Channel 16 (1980–1981; local version of ABC campaign)
 * Now is the Time, Channel 16's the Place (1981-1982; local version of ABC campaign)
 * Come on Along with Channel 16 (1982-1983; local version of ABC campaign)
 * That Special Feeling on Channel 16 (1983-1984; local version of ABC campaign)
 * We're With You on Channel 16 (1984–1985; local version of ABC campaign)
 * Hello Jackson, Channel 16 Loves You (1984-1987)
 * You'll Love It on Channel 16 (1985–1986; local version of ABC campaign)
 * Always One Step Ahead (1986–1989)
 * Something's Happening on Channel 16 (1989-????)
 * Your 24 Hour News Source (1989–1993)
 * Mississippi's Watching Channel 16 (199?-199?; local version of ABC campaign)
 * If It's Mississippi, It Must Be Channel 16 (1992-1993; local version of ABC campaign)
 * Just Watch Us Now! (1992–1996)
 * Stories That Hit Home (1996-2000)
 * Building Our Station Around You (2000-2011)
 * Built Around You (short version of “Building Our Station Around You”) (2007–2011)
 * Tough Questions, Finding Who's Accountable (2008-2012)
 * The One to Watch (2012-present)

[edit] Current on-air staff
16 WAPT News Anchors


 * Erin Pickens- weekday mornings anchor from 4:30-7am; reporter
 * Allie Ware - weekday mornings anchor from 4:30-7am; reporter
 * Marcus Hunter - weekday mornings anchor from 4:30-7am; reporter
 * Megan West - weeknights at 5, 6, 9, and 10 p.m.
 * Keegan Foxx - weeknights at 6 and 10pm
 * Troy Johnson - weeknights at 5; nightly reporter
 * Scott Simmons - weekend evenings anchor from 6, 9, & 10pm; reporter

16 WAPT Weather Team


 * David Hartman (AMS Certified Broadcast Meteorologist Seal of Approval) - chief meteorologist; weeknights at 5pm, 6pm, 9pm, & 10pm
 * Adam McWilliams - meteorologist; weekday mornings at 4:30-7am
 * Christana Kay - meteorologist; weekend mornings at 5-7am and 8am, weekend evenings at 6pm, 9pm & 10pm

16 WAPT Sports Team


 * Joe Cook- sports director; weeknights at 6pm, 9pm, & 10pm
 * Nick Niehaus - sports anchor/reporter; weekend evenings at 6pm, 9pm, & 10pm

16 WAPT News Reporters/Fill Ins


 * Ross Adams - evening investigative reporter
 * Jewell Hillary - fill in anchor/reporter
 * Shaleeka Powell - morning/evening reporter; fill in morning or evening anchor
 * Cecil Hannibal - evening reporter

Hearst Television Washington Bureau


 * Aiza Diaz- Hearst Washington Bureau reporter
 * Sally Kidd - Hearst Washington Bureau reporter
 * Matt Prichard - Hearst Washington Bureau reporter
 * Jarred Hill - Hearst Washington Bureau reporter
 * Mark Albert - chief national investigative correspondent; Hearst Washington Bureau reporter
 * Brie Jackson - Hearst Washington Bureau reporter
 * Jeff Rossen - national correspondent; “Rossen Reports” segments

[edit] Past on-air staff

 * Frank Mickens - now anchor at WFMY in Greensboro, NC
 * Wayne Carter - now anchor at WVEC in Norfolk, VA
 * Greg Flynn- now public information officer with MEMA
 * Joyce Brewer - now runs her own multimedia company, JBTV, LLC in Atlanta, GA
 * Desare Frazier
 * Kayla Thomas
 * Jason Carter
 * Larry Ridley (now at WHDH in Boston)
 * Don Champion (now reporter at KMGH-TV in Denver)
 * Kevin Robinson (now chief meteorologist at WLWT in Cincinnati)
 * Barbie Bassett (now works at WLBT, former chief meteorologist for WLBT)
 * Tom Burse - Chief Meteorologist
 * Chantee Lans - also a producer
 * Meg Ryan (not to be confused with the movie actress)
 * Stephanie Doss
 * Adrienne Stein
 * Katina Rankin (now weekday morning anchor at WLBT)
 * Tony Bahou
 * Andrea Molloy
 * Cal Adams
 * Mike Rowe - Sports Director (1987–1997)
 * Cynthia Bowers (now at CBS News)
 * Stephanie Bell Flynt (worked at WLBT; now deceased)
 * Mike Woolfolk
 * Jamie Triplet
 * Gene Edwards
 * Whitney Vann
 * Rick Whitlow (moved to WJTV, but got fired)
 * Tiffany Tyler
 * Ros Runner
 * Melissa Tamplin
 * Tom Russo
 * Brett Bullers
 * Ken Johnson
 * Jennifer Cook
 * Elaina Jackson - producer
 * Craig Edwards
 * Brittany Diehl
 * Joseph Pleasant
 * Ethan Hudson (meteorologist; now works for WGAL in Lancaster, PA)
 * Travell Eiland
 * Andrew Kinsey
 * Aslan Hodges
 * Ray Coleman (works for MEMA)
 * Kara James (now on WeatherNation)
 * Josh Jackson
 * Marcel Walker - production supervisor/newscast director (2004-2020; deceased)
 * Jennifer Lott
 * Rob Jay (fill in sports anchor; also worked at WLBT before WAPT, now works for JSU TV Mass Communications)
 * Rob Jay (fill in sports anchor; also worked at WLBT before WAPT, now works for JSU TV Mass Communications)