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WIS
Columbia, South Carolina
Branding	WIS News 10
Slogan	Count on WIS News 10
Channels	Analog: 10 (VHF) Digital: 41 (UHF)
Affiliations	NBC NBC Weather Plus on DT2 signal
Owner	Raycom Media (Licensed as WIS License Subsidiary, LLC)
Founded	November 7, 1953
Call letters meaning	Wonderful Iodine State (from WIS radio)
Former affiliations	ABC (secondary, 1953-61)
Website	wistv.com

WIS, channel 10 is the NBC television affiliate for Columbia, South Carolina. It is owned by Raycom Media. WIS' transmitter is located in Lugoff, South Carolina. The station's studios are located on Bull Street in downtown Columbia, three blocks east of the South Carolina Statehouse, and directly next to the Rutledge Building, home of the South Carolina Department of Education.

Because the Florence/Myrtle Beach television market doesn't have an NBC affiliate, WIS serves as the NBC affiliate for the western portion of the market. It operates a "virtual station" on most Pee Dee cable systems and sells advertising in Florence. This will change when WMBF-TV, a new NBC affiliate for the Florence-Myrtle Beach area, goes on the air; it will also be owned by Raycom.

WIS is also the Columbia home of the Sunday morning football highlights shows for the South Carolina State University Bulldogs and the University of South Carolina Gamecocks. WIS is also the home of Southeastern Conference football and basketball (which, in some cases, makes the station the home of the South Carolina Gamecocks).

Contents 1 History 1.1 Logos 2 News Operation 3 Personalities 3.1 News 3.2 Storm Alert Weather 3.3 Sports 3.4 Past Personalities 4 Digital Television 5 External links

The station signed on the air on November 7, 1953 with a football game between the Gamecocks and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Tar Heels. It was owned by the Broadcasting Company of the South, a subsidiary of the Liberty Life Insurance Company, along with WIS radio (AM 560, now WVOC). It was South Carolina's fourth television station and the third in Columbia, signing on just four months after WCOS-TV (channel 25) and two months after WNOK-TV, channel 67 (now WLTX, channel 19). It is currently the third-longest continuously operating station in the state and the second-longest in Columbia, since WCOS went dark in 1956. WIS radio received the last new three-letter call sign in the U.S. on January 23, 1930, and the call sign was later shared with its television sibling. WIS was chosen to stand for "Wonderful Iodine State" because of the abundance of iodine in the South Carolina soil. It has always been an NBC affiliate, owing to its radio sister's long affiliation with NBC Radio. However, in the early years before channel 25 returned to the air as WCCA-TV (now WOLO-TV), it was a secondary ABC affiliate, sharing ABC shows with WNOK.

WIS-TV was a major beneficiary of an exception to the FCC's "2 1/2 + 1" plan for allocating VHF television bandwidth. In the early days of broadcast television, there were 12 VHF channels available, and 69 UHF channels (later reduced). The VHF bands were more desirable because they carried a longer distance. Because there were only twelve VHF channels available, there were limitations as to how closely the stations could be spaced. After the FCC opened the UHF band in 1952, it devised a plan for allocating VHF licenses. Under this plan, almost all of the country would be able to receive two commercial VHF channels plus one noncommercial channel. Most of the rest of the country ("1/2") would be able to receive a third VHF channel. Other areas of the country would be designated as "UHF islands," since they were too close to larger cities for VHF service. The "2" networks became CBS and NBC, "+1" became PBS, and "1/2" became ABC, which, as the weakest network, usually wound up with the UHF allocation where no VHF was available.

However, Columbia was sandwiched between Charlotte to the north, Florence and Charleston to the east, Augusta to the west and Savannah to the south. This created a huge "doughnut" in central South Carolina where there could be only one VHF license. WIS-TV was fortunate to gain that license, providing many people in that part of South Carolina with their first clear television reception. One of the country's most dominant television stations, it has been the far-and-away market leader for most of its history.

Channel 10 originally broadcast from a self-supporting tower atop its studios on Bull Street. In 1959, WIS-TV activated its tall tower in Lugoff. The tallest structure east of the Mississippi River at the time, it more than doubled the station's coverage area and provided at least secondary coverage of all but five of the state's 46 counties. It would remain the tallest structure in South Carolina until Florence's WPDE-TV activated its tower in 1981. The station's original tower is still used as a backup; it is longtime fixture of Columbia's skyline and is turned into a "Christmas tree of lights" during the holiday season.

In 1963, the station's long running children's program, "Mr. Knozit," made its debut, hosted by weatherman Joe Pinner, who had joined the station a few months before. Four years later, the show would receive the Peabody Award for excellence in public service by way of children's programming. The show would run for 37 years, airing its final episode in 2000. Pinner, the station's best-known personality, remains at the station today; now semi-retired, he provides weather reports and feature segments on Friday's Midday newscast.

The Broadcasting Company of the South acquired several other television stations over the years. It was renamed Cosmos Broadcasting Corporation in 1965, with WIS-AM-TV as the flagship stations. Later in the decade, Liberty Life reorganized itself as The Liberty Corporation, with Liberty Life and Cosmos as subsidiaries. Cosmos exited radio in 1986, but kept the WIS calls for channel 10. Liberty sold off its insurance businesses in 2000, bringing channel 10 directly under the Liberty Corporation banner.

In 1970, WIS premiered "Awareness," a weekly public affairs program aimed towards the issues that concern the minority population of the Midlands, both socially and politically. The program is currently hosted by evening anchor Craig Melvin.

In the 1990s under the direction of General Manager Ron Loewen and News Director Randy Covington, the station purchased its own live Doppler radar (dubbed originally as Storm Track Doppler Radar), launched the first television news website for Columbia, and in 1998, the station introduced the first and only news helicopter (the WIS NewsHawk) in Columbia.

In 1991, after being known on-air as "WIS-TV10" for most of its history, the station began branding itself as simply "WIS" (though it was another year before it officially dropped the "-TV" suffix from its callsign). This is because it is located on channel 3, rather than 10, on most cable systems in the Midlands, and station management felt it would be a better way to brand the station. This lasted until 2003.

WIS-DT went on the air in February 2003 as the last of the "Big Three" commercial stations to go digital in the Columbia market. WLTX-DT was first, going on less than a year earlier in May 2002, and WOLO-DT went on later on in 2002.

On August 25, 2005, Liberty agreed to merge with Raycom Media of Montgomery, Alabama. One of Raycom's stations at the time was Columbia's Fox affiliate, WACH. WIS had produced "WACH FOX News at 10" since its launch in 1996. Raycom could not keep both stations due to FCC rules which forbid common ownership of two of the four largest stations in the market. Raycom opted to keep WIS and sold WACH to Barrington Broadcasting. The news agreement between the two stations ended in March 2007; WACH now produces its own 10PM newscast independent of WIS.

In 2006, WIS built a new studio set in preparation to air its newscasts in High Definition, debuting the new set in January 2007.

WIS has won numerous awards for station quality and its news productions, including the Southeast Emmy Award for Best Newscast, the Edward R. Murrow award, and the South Carolina Broadcaster Association's "Best Station of the Year" designation several times. In August 2007, Craig Melvin was named "Anchor of the Year" by SCBA. The station is popular among Columbia viewers, as its personalities are named in the Best of the Media awards by the Columbia Free Times, and the station has been voted the "Best" by readers of "The State" newspaper several times.

WIS' famous "Red/Blue" 10 logo, used from 1974 to 1984. All of the Cosmos stations used similar logos during this time.	This was the same logo but with a 3D "10". There was a famous trumpet and chimes sounder that went with this ident, which was used from 1978 to 1984.	Logo used from 1984 to 1991.	Logo used from 1991 to 1997
Logo used from 1997 to 2003.	Current logo, used since 2003.

WIS has led the news ratings in Columbia for as long as records have been kept. Its dominance was helped by the fact that it was and still is the only VHF station in the market--in fact, until the arrival of cable television in the market in the late 1970s, WIS was one of only two stations that brought a clear picture to some parts of the area.

Cosmos/Liberty made it a point to invest a large amount into its stations' news departments from the 1950s onward. This resulted in a higher-quality product than conventional wisdom would suggest for Columbia, which has always been a small-to-medium market (despite being based in the state's largest city). The station also took full advantage of its near-statewide coverage to establish a tradition for strong local news coverage that continues today.

Another factor behind WIS' long dominance has been talent continuity. Many of its personalities stayed at the station for 10 years or more. However, WIS now has very few staff members with that long a tenure, including Joe Pinner, Jack Kuenzie, David Stanton, Judi Gatson, Dawndy Mercer, and Rick Henry.

WIS was the first station in the market to launch a news helicopter, live Doppler radar, and local news website.

In 1963, WIS moved its main newscast from 6 pm to 7 pm, in hopes of taking advantage of The Huntley-Brinkley Report as a lead-in. It was one of the few stations in the country to air a local newscast at 7 pm. It added a 6 pm newscast in 1991 as part of increased Persian Gulf War coverage.

While WIS continues to dominate the television news scene, its dominance is not as absolute as it once was. In recent years, it has consistently lost the noon newscast to WLTX, and the early morning ratings crown has switched between the two stations multiple times. In February of 2007, WIS lost all key demographics to WLTX at 11:00pm, but regained the lead in most key demographics by the May sweeps.

• Hannah Horne - Sunrise and Midday Anchor - Joined in 2000
• Brian DeRoy - Sunrise Anchor - Joined in 2007
• David Stanton - Breaking News, Midday, and 7:00 Report Anchor, Newswatch Moderator - Joined in 1987
• Judi Gatson - Live @ 5 and News at 6 Anchor, WIS Troubleshooter - Joined in 1996
• Craig Melvin - Live @ 5, News at 6, and Nightcast Anchor, Host of Awareness - Joined in 2001
• Dawndy Mercer - 7:00 Report and Nightcast Anchor, Health Alert Reporter - 1991-1996, Rejoined in 2001
• Stewart Moore - Saturday Morning Anchor, Reporter - Joined in November 2007
• Kara Gormley - Weekend Evening Anchor, Reporter - 1990s, Rejoined in 2002
• Jack Kuenzie - Senior Reporter - Joined in 1984
• Jennifer Wilson - Reporter - Joined in 2000
• Dan Tordjman - Reporter - Joined in September 2006
• Lucas McFadden - Reporter - Joined in July 2004
• Trey Paul - Reporter - Joined in January 2007
• Brandi Cummings - Reporter - Joined in September 2007
• Fay Taylor - Reporter - Joined in June 2007
• Stewart Moore - Reporter - Joined in November 2007

• Joe Pinner - Anchors weather Fridays on Midday - Joined in 1963, Host of "Mr. Knozit" 1963-2000, Semi-retired since 2000
• Ben Tanner (AMS & NWA) - Morning Meteorologist - Joined in 1998
• Brooks Garner - Evening Meteorologist (NWA) - Joined in 2005
• Alicia Roman - Weekend Evening Weather Anchor - Joined in 2006
• Brandon Lokits - Saturday Morning Meteorologist - Joined in 2007

• Rick Henry - Sports Director, Weekday Sports Anchor - Joined in 1988
• Mandy Mitchell - Weekend Sports Anchor, Sports Reporter - Joined in 2007
• Drew Stewart - Fill-in Sports Anchor, Sports Reporter/Producer - Joined in 2001, Sports full-time in 2006

• Ed Carter (News Anchor, 1972-98)
• Susan Audé (Weekend Weather Anchor 1978-80, Weekend News Anchor 1980-82, News Anchor 1982-2006; known as Susan Audé Fisher from 1984-2000)
• Carolyn Sawyer (Weekend and Morning News Anchor, early 1990s)
• Don Upton (Weather Anchor/Host, 1956-1960s)
• Bob Austin (Feature Reporter, late 70's, Hosted PM Magazine in Chattanooga)
• Sean Callebs (Reporter & Weekend Anchor, 1980s, now at CNN)
• Diane Roberts (Reporter & Weekend Anchor, 1980s)
• Shanai Harris (News Anchor, 1990s, now at WOLO)
• Joe Daggett (Sports Director, 1981-96)
• Jim Gandy (Chief Meteorologist, 1984-98, now at WLTX)
• Ann Davis (Midday Anchor & Health Reporter, 1980s)
• Ken Aucoin (Chief Meteorologist, 1999-2007)
• Malachi Rodgers (Weekend Weather Anchor, 2003-2006, now at WESH)
• Sagay Johnson (Weekend Meteorologist, 2000s, now at WWBT)
• Steve Caparotta (Weekend Meteorologist, late 1990s-2003, now at WAFB)
• Brady Smith (Weekend and Morning Meteorologist, 1996-2001)
• Mark Johnson (Weekend Meteorologist, 1990s)
• Ric Garni (Weekend Sports Anchor, 2000s)
• Mark Quinn (Weekend Sports Anchor, mid-2000s-2007)
• Angela Mallen (Weekend Sports Anchor/Videographer, mid-2000s)
• Maggie Alexander (Reporter, 2005-2007)
• Angie Goff (Reporter/Saturday Morning Anchor, 2004-2007, now at WUSA)

WIS-DT is an ATSC digital television signal broadcast over channel 41 available over-the-air with a digital tuner, or through digital cable service from Time Warner Cable. With either, there is an offering of two sub-channels:

High-Definition

• WIS HD on DT 10.1 / 41.1 (Time Warner 805)

Standard-Definition

• WIS 10 NBC Weather Plus on DT 10.2 / 41.2 (Time Warner 806)

As of March 20, 2007, the Newscasts on WIS are not broadcasted in High Definition. Most NBC programs broadcast after 8 PM ET, are broadcast in HD, as are many sports programs broadcasted on weekends.

• WIStv.com: Official Website for WIS
• WIS Page on Raycom Media Web Site
• Query the FCC's TV station database for WIS

v • d • e Broadcast television in the Columbia market  (Nielsen DMA #81)
WIS 10 (NBC, WX Plus on DT2) - WLTX 19 (CBS, WX NOW on DT3) - WOLO 25 (ABC) - WRLK 35/WRJA 27 (PBS/SCETV) - W39CL 39 (TBN) - WZRB 47 (The CW) - W55CQ 55 (TBN) - WACH 57 (Fox, The Tube on DT2)- WKTC 63 (MNTV) - W67DP 67 (TMD)

v • d • e NBC Network Affiliates in the state of South Carolina
WCBD 2 (Charleston) - WYFF 4 (Greenville) - WIS 10 (Columbia) - WMBF 32 (Florence)1 1-- To sign on in 2008 as a digital-only channel.
See also: ABC, CBS, Fox, PBS, CW, MyNetworkTV and Other stations in South Carolina

v • d • e Raycom Media
Corporate Staff	Paul McTear (President & CEO) · Wayne Daugherty · Marty Edelman · Leon Long · Jeff Rosser · Anne Adkins · Clyde Baucom · Rebecca Bryan · David Folsom · Mary Carloe McDonnell · Billy McDowell · Susana Schuler · Melissa Thurber
Network Affiliates	ABC Network Affiliates: KAIT · KLTV · KTRE · WLOX · WTVM CBS Network Affiliates: KFVS · KOLD · KSLA · WAFB · WBTV3 · WCSC3 · WOIO · WTOC · WTOL · WTVR4 The CW Network Affiliates: WQWQ · WUPV1 Fox Network Affiliates: WDFX · WFLX · WFXG1 · WPGX · WSFX1 · WTNZ · WXIX · WXTX1 MyNetworkTV Affiliates: KFVE · WBXH · WUAB NBC Network Affiliates: KCBD · KHNL/KHBC/KOGG  · KPLC · WAFF · WALB · WAVE · WDAM  · WECT · WFIE · WIS · WLBT · WMBF2  · WMC · WSFA · WWBT3 1Raycom Media owns and operates these stations through Southeastern Media Holdings. 2Scheduled to begin broadcasting in 2008. 3Acquisition of these stations from Lincoln Financial Media is awaiting FCC approval. 4Subject to sale once a buyer is found.
Annual Revenue: Unknown at this time. · Employees: 4,200 · Stock Symbol: None, privately held. · Website: www.raycommedia.com