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WECT
Wilmington, North Carolina
Branding	WECT TV 6 (general) WECT News (newscasts)
Slogan	Where News Comes First
Channels	Analog: 6 (VHF) Digital: 44 (UHF)
Affiliations	NBC WX+ (on DT2)
Owner	Raycom Media
Founded	April 9, 1954
Call letters meaning	Eastern Carolina Television
Former callsigns	WMFD-TV (1954-1958)
Former affiliations	ABC (secondary 1954-1964) CBS (secondary 1954-1970s)
Transmitter Power	100 kW (analog) 575 kW (digital)
Website	wect.com

WECT is the NBC-affiliated television station for Wilmington, North Carolina. Licensed to the city, the station broadcasts an analog signal on VHF channel 6. The transmitter is located southeast of Elizabethtown on the southeast side of Singletary Lake. WECT broadcast a digital signal on UHF channel 44 from a transmitter located in Delco. The station is owned by Raycom Media as part of a duopoly with the area's FOX affiliate WSFX-TV. The two stations share studios that are located on Shipyard Blvd. south of Downtown Wilmington.

WECT offers NBC Weather Plus on its DT2 digital subchannel and Time Warner digital cable channel 939.

WECT was the first television station in Wilmington when it began broadcasting on April 9, 1954. This preceded rival WWAY by more than 10 years.

From the station's start until 1958, it had the call letters WMFD-TV and was co-owned with WMFD-AM-FM. In 1958, the station's calls changed to the current WECT-TV. The WMFD calls are currently used by a television station in Mansfield, Ohio.

Since September 22, 2003, WECT has been producing a daily 10 PM newscast for sister station WSFX known as FOX 26 News at 10. It is currently the only 10 PM newscast in the market. On September 13, 2006, WECT began to produce an hour-long 7 AM edition of its Carolina in the Morning newscast for WSFX.

The station serves as the default NBC affiliate for the northern and eastern portions of the nearby Florence - Myrtle Beach market since that area does not have an affiliate. However, WECT's reception in the northern parts of the market (such as Laurinburg) is not as good as other stations. This will change in 2008 when new station WMBF-TV begins broadcasting. That station will also be owned by Raycom Media.

The southern and western portions of the Florence - Myrtle Beach market are served by WIS in Columbia (yet another Raycom-owned station). As a result of the station's popularity, WECT is carried on cable systems in Fayetteville and Jacksonville even though their respective markets have their own NBC affiliates.

At one point, WECT was also carried on cable systems in the Triangle Area of North Carolina (Raleigh, Durham, and Chapel Hill) for a time when NBC did not have a full affiliate in that market.

WECT usually airs the entire NBC schedule except for NBC's late night repeats of The Tonight Show with Jay Leno and Late Night with Conan O'Brien. Instead, the station airs "Shop At Home TV" during those hours. The station also produces an outdoor-type program called Downeast Gardener that airs in segments during the morning newscast on Wednesdays as well as a full program on Saturdays at 7:30 AM.

WECT's weeknight 6 and 11 PM anchors.

WECT's weekday morning and Noon meteorologist. This person is also seen weekday mornings at 7 AM on WSFX.

WECT's regional weather radar is called "First Alert Digital Doppler". The WSFX newscasts broadcast from a secondary news set at WECT's studios.

Anchors

• Bob Townsend - weekday mornings
  • producer and co-host of Downeast Gardener
• Kim Ratcliff - weekday mornings and Noon
• Frances Weller - weeknights at 5 (5:00 to 5:20), 6, and 11 PM
  • monthly "Buddy Check 6" segment producer and reporter
• Jim Hanchett - weeknights at 5 (5:20 to 5:40), 6, and 11 PM
• Kim Lehman - weeknights at 5 (5:40 to 6) and 10 PM on WSFX-TV
• Joe Keiley - Saturdays
• Sarah Warlick - Sundays
  • "LifeWatch" segment reporter
  • daily 10 PM WSFX producer
  • substitute WECT producer

First Alert Meteorologists

• George Elliott (NWA and CBM certified)
• Craig Carnesi (AMS Seal of Approval) - Weeknights on WECT and at 10pm on WSFX
• Eric Davis (AMS Seal of Approval) - weekday mornings and Noon

Sports

• Bob Bonner - Director seen weeknights at 6, 10 (on WSFX), and 11 PM
• Kevin Hull - weekends

Reporters

• Kim Gebbia - also substitute WECT anchor
• Heather Setzler - Theater / Arts reporter
• Kelli O'Hara
• Bernadette Jay
• Max Winitz
• Joe Keiley
• Sarah Warlick

• Ken Murphy - Anchor (retired on December 31, 2004 after 40 years at the station, died in January 2007 at the age of 67)
• Colin Hackman, reporter, photog, P.A., went to anchor weather at KRNV, Reno NV's NBC.
• Maureen O’Boyle, reporter - had a nationally syndicated talk show for a time. Now main co-anchor at WBTV in Charlotte.
• Jeff Goldblatt, anchored Carolina in the Morning – Moved on to a number of positions from Richmond, Virginia to Washington, DC. Correspondent for the nationally syndicated show, American Journal. Currently with FOX News.
• Ken Lemon - One time Myrtle Beach Bureau Chief, then general assignment reporter. Moved to WSOC-TV in Charlotte.
• Genevieve Barker – Former weekend anchor, appeared on several programs and films including NBC's Dateline as well as the Warner Brother's hit series, Dawson's Creek and USA Network's "The Perfect Crime." She also was inspired by the script writer of Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon video game series to play the news reporter, Jen Barkley.
• Beth Parker, weekend anchor – Reporter for WTTG in Washington, DC.
• Ned Bauer, reporter – Has worked at numerous stations and produced special programming for C-SPAN and CNN.
• Bryan Moore, anchored Carolina in the Morning – Moved onto WLFL Fox 22, and News 14 Carolina in Raleigh, NC. Now Manager of Marketing Communications and Special Events with Northrop Grumman in Newport News, Virginia.
• Elizabeth Gardner, weather, currently a morning meteorologist with WRAL-TV in Raleigh.
• Mitch Davis, Bureau Chief/reporter 1991-1997. Went on to anchor weekends and later serve as Executive Producer at WBTW in Myrtle Beach 1999-2006. Now Daybreak Executive Producer with [WSOC-TV][1] in Charlotte.
• Chad Headley, Photojournalist/Truck Op -- Now Aerial Photojournalist for WGN in Chicago, IL
• John Field - Photographer/Editor/Tape Roller from 1993-1998 for WECT News at 5, 6, and 11 p.m.
• Nicole Ferguson, reporter -- Now a reporter for WGHP in Greensboro, NC
• Kim Fields, Anchor -- Now anchors at WTVC-TV in Chattanooga, TN
• Maggie Alexander, Reporter -- Now is a reporter with WIS-TV in Columbia, SC
• Ashley Hayes, Reporter -- Now is a reporter for WSB-TV in Atlanta GA
• Ellen Goldberg -- Now is a reporter for KXAS-TV in Dallas/Fort Worth TX

• Thom Postema - Vice President / General Manager
• Raeford Brown - News Director
• Doug Wahl - Assignment Editor
• Ryan Koresko - Chief Photographer
• Tom Cheatham - Production Manager
• Heather Setzler - Executive Producer
• Jason Drew - Executive Director
• Clara Dittmer - Human Resource Manager
• John Smith - Master Control Supervisor
• Kimberly Herring - Traffic Programming Manager
• Claudette Lee - Traffic Programming Assistant
• Donna Padgett - National / Local Sales Assistant
• Johnny Williams - Local Sales Manager
• Robin Jenkins - Senior Account Executive
• Tara McKittrick- Account Executive
• Dustin McDaniels - Account Executive
• Ashley Denton- Account Executive

WECT logo used from May 8, 1986 until 1995.

WECT logo used from 1995 until 2005.

Current WECT logo used since 2005.

• Station Website
• WECT Wireless
• WSFX Website
• Query the FCC's TV station database for WECT