Later he joined the news team at WVTM TV, but returned to WBRC as News Director. That's up more than 30 cents from a month ago. I An error has occurred, please try again later. Langston started at Birmingham's WBRC in 1963 as the first reporter/anchor hired at the station. 2023 Advance Local Media LLC. This email address is already subscribed to the selected list(s). WBRC-TV's signal provided at least secondary coverage as far north as Decatur and extending south to near Montgomery, and from the Mississippi border in the west to the Georgia border in the east. It also preempted the ABC Evening News (the forerunner to World News Tonight) from the program's debut in 1968 until August 7, 1972 (when both it and WJRT-TV in Flint, Michigan, became the last two ABC affiliates to begin airing the network newscast), as well as daytime network programs at aired during the 10:00a.m. hour. Langston was a native of Tuscaloosa County and attended the University of Alabama. Beginning in 1966 he was assigned to host the Saturday morning children's show "Birthday Party", which lasted for two years. Joe Langston - anchor (1955-1981 and 1983-1987; retired) Andrea Lindenburg - weekend anchor, later weekday evening anchor (1993-2004; now at WVTM-TV) Harry Mabry - anchor (1960s-1970s; deceased) Brandy Malone - general traffic reporter (2005-2008; last at WZTV in Nashville) Linda Mays - daybreak and noon anchor (1988-1996; now at WBMA/WCFT/WJSU) May 18, 2022 . He accepted an endowed chair in the Department of Communication at Jacksonville State University, where he remained until his retirement in 1998. On September 17 of that year, the WBRC stations moved to a new, much larger studio facility located on Red Mountain that was built by Storer, where channel 6 continues to operate from to this day. Copyright 2014 WBRC. All rights reserved. "Without missing a beat, Joe said, 'Go get another pot of water' and I did and he said, 'Pour it slowly over my jacket' and he made it the same color as his water specks were. Langston is survived by his wife, Margaret, and two children, Joey and Susan. In 2009, WBRC became a founding member station of the Raycom News Network, a service created to allow the sharing of news resources among the four Raycom-owned television stations that serve Alabama including NBC affiliate WSFA in Montgomery, NBC affiliate WAFF in Huntsville and ABC affiliate WTVM in Columbus, Georgia (the latter of which includes a portion of eastern Alabama in its service area) which combined, cover almost half of Alabama's population. Langston started at Birmingham's WBRC in 1963 as the first . While a textbook was required for Langston's class, Hathcock recalls Langston not relying on it very heavily, choosing instead to talk about his real world work. For a time, it incorporated the ABC circle logo inside its own "6" logo (just as it had done with the CBS eye in the 1950s). In 1978, WBRC became the first television station in the Birmingham market to acquire a microwave truck for electronic news-gathering purposes, and became the first to provide live breaking news coverage on-scene. Channels in parentheses were originally designated by black bullets; those in brackets by white. His funeral is today at 2 p.m. at Mountain "I don't think he worried about anything. Help tell the story of your loved ones unique life. [23], On June 25, 2018, Atlanta-based Gray Television announced it had reached an agreement with Raycom to merge their respective broadcasting assets (consisting of Raycom's 63 existing owned-and/or-operated television stations, including WBRC), and Gray's 93 television stations) under the former's corporate umbrella. Langston died at the age of 82 over the weekend. He served on the Board of Directors for numerous broadcasting organizations and served as President of the University of Alabama School of Communication Alumni Association. While in TV, Langston received every major award from the Associated Press and United Press International Broadcasters Associations. Langston, longtime WBRC-TV anchor and reporter, died Friday at the age of 82. Joe Langston was born in Tuscaloosa in 1932. He graduated from the University in 1954. In 1964, Joe joined the staff of WBRC TV in Birmingham as a news reporter/news anchor. [14][15], Although it was now owned by the O&O group of another network, Fox now had to run channel 6 as an ABC affiliate for more than a year after the purchase was announced as WBRC's affiliation agreement with that network was not set to expire until August 31, 1996. Weathercaster Bart Adrian will be leaving Channel 6 at the end of August in what news director Jim Lemon described as a "mutual decision." Adrian joined Channel 6 on June 22, 1982 -- just four . It also has three bureaus: Decatur, Sand Mountain After New World merged with Fox in 1997, WBRC was reunited with four of its sister stations from the Storer era: WJBK, WAGA-TV in Atlanta, WJW in Cleveland and WITI in Milwaukee . The service allows the stations to pool story content seen on the stations' newscasts and websites, as well as share information and newsgathering equipment (such as satellite trucks). The company's chairman was a personal friend of ABC's president Leonard Goldenson, and several of Taft's other stations, including flagship WKRC-TV in Cincinnati (which would rejoin CBS in 1995), had recently switched to ABC. Langston briefly switched over to WVTM-TV in 1980, sharing the anchor desk with Pam Huff. The second best result is Joe Judy Langston age 60s in Aurora, IL in the Tomcat 4th Ward neighborhood. [32], The station would not begin producing half-hour evening newscasts until 1979, eleven years after ABC expanded its national evening newscast to 30 minutes. Channel 6 also launched a prime time newscast at 9:00p.m. to compensate for the lack of prime time programming provided by Fox during that hour; however, it filled the 9:30p.m. half-hour with syndicated programs (originally reruns of Seinfeld, then from 1997 afterward, Jeopardy!) BIRMINGHAM, AL (WBRC) - Longtime WBRC news anchor Joe Langston has passed away. Royer said was a consummate broadcaster. Langston started working at WBRC in 1963. All rights reserved. WBRC was the first Birmingham station to use a microwave-transmitting live news truck for newsgathering in 1978. ", "He was such a sweet and funny guy," she said from her home in California. Langston died at the age of 82 over the weekend. With over 1,900 locations, Dignity Memorial providers proudly serve over 375,000 families a year. In 1983, Bev Montgomery made history as the first African American to anchor a newscast in the Birmingham market when he was appointed anchor of the station's weekend evening newscasts. to buy three stations; affiliation shuffle continues", "The FCC last week approved New World's plans to transfer WGHP-TV Greensboro, N.C., and WBRC-TV Birmingham, Ala., into a trust for eventual sale to Fox", "Citicasters, Inc., announces completion of sale of three television stations", "Fox Television Stations last week closed its deal to acquire WBRC-TV Birmingham", "Allbritton takes another route to Birmingham", "Allbritton Communications Co. and ABC have signed a 10-year affiliation agreement", "News Corporation Completes Sale of Eight Television Stations", "The New York Times Company Announces Plan to Sell Its Broadcast Media Group", "News Corp. to Sell U.S. TV Stations for $1.1 Billion", "Oak Hill Capital Partners Completes Acquisition of 8 TV Station sales", "GRAY AND RAYCOM TO COMBINE IN A $3.6 BILLION TRANSACTION", "Gray Acquiring Raycom For $3.65B, Forming No. He just had a good time but was a smart fellow, too, and I loved him," Bolen said. Main Menu. WBRC has been the ratings leader in the market for most of the last half-century, dating back to its tenure as an ABC affiliate. Mickey Ferguson says keep your umbrella handy for scattered showers today. As a Fox station, WBRC has continued to maintain higher viewership than the other television news outlets in the market, although it has experienced tighter competition since the early 2000s against WBMA-LD and a resurgent WIAT (both of which currently engage in a spirited competition for second place); WBRC's 9 p.m. newscast has consistently ranked as one of the most-watched prime time newscasts in the U.S. for most of its run since its debut in 1996. Thanks for watching Fox6 WBRC. I highly recommend Joe. The station launched a full-scale news department in 1952, when it began operating from the former studios of the original WBRC-FM. His funeral is today at 2 p.m. at Mountain Brook Baptist Church. In 1969, former WSGN radio anchor Bill Bolen joined WBRC to replace Harry Mabry as the station's main news anchor; Bolen would remain a fixture at channel 6 (eventually becoming anchor of the station's weekday morning newscast in 1990) for 42 years until his retirement in 2010. Following graduation, he joined the army and served two years in Special Ops at Fort Bragg, North. The Federal Aviation Administration today anounced the last of six test sites is ready to conduct research vital to integrating UAS into the nations airspace. To celebrate the occasion, FAA Administrator Michael H Sydney Benter is set to join Cincinnati CBS affiliate WKRC as an anchor and reporter, tomorrow. WHMA TV-40, later WJSU-TV: The Cousin Cliff Show (with Cliff Holman) Birmingham. "I think that is what made him special. On May 23, 1994, New World signed an affiliation agreement with Fox to switch twelve television stations six that New World had already owned and eight that the company was in the process of acquiring through the Argyle and Citicasters deals, including WBRC to the network, in exchange for the latter's then-parent company News Corporation purchasing a 20% equity stake in New World; the stations would become Fox affiliates once their affiliation contracts with existing network partners expired (with the first stations involved in the deal switching to the network in September 1994). This page was last modified on 12 April 2015, at 15:00. Langston started at Birmingham's WBRC in 1963 as the first reporter/anchor hired at the station. Its newscasts were also among the highest-rated local news programs in the United States during the 1960s and 1970s; WBRC had won practically every news timeslot for many years, with WAPI-TV/WVTM-TV coming in at a distant second until the mid-2000s; CBS affiliate WBMG/WIAT was not a factor for either station for most of its history (to the point where it did not even air any newscasts at three different periods between the early 1980s and February 1998). Joe Langston remembered for his years at JSU, Reality TV stars Todd and Julie Chrisley report to prison, Langston, longtime WBRC-TV anchor and reporter, died Friday. When a tanker truck exploded in west Nashville, some of the fuel leaked into the citys storm drains. On March 1, 1961, WBRC-TV signed an agreement with ABC to become a full-time affiliate of the network. It may take up to 1 hour for your comment to appear on the website. The coffee giant is raising its prices. Lived In Ocala FL, Flagstaff AZ, Greenville SC, Spartanburg SC. In January 1996, ABC struck a deal with Allbritton Communications to affiliate with CBS stations WCFT-TV (channel 33, now Heroes & Icons affiliate WSES) in Tuscaloosa and WJSU-TV (channel 40, now Heroes & Icons affiliate WGWW) in Anniston (the latter of which Allbritton had agreed to operate under a local marketing agreement with then-owner Osborne Communications Corporation weeks prior); because Tuscaloosa and Anniston were then separate markets, which would result in neither station being counted in Nielsen ratings reports for Birmingham, Allbritton purchased low-power station W58CK (channel 58, now WBMA-LD), creating a triple-simulcast with WCFT and WJSU, which would act as its satellite stations.[16][17]. Langston retired in 1989 as anchorman at WBRC, where he . He also appeared on the Tom York Morning Show. BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (WBRC) - Alabama broadcasting pioneer, Pat Gray, has died. In May 2008, David Neal (who had been with WBRC since 1997) filed a breach of contract and fraud lawsuit against WBRC and members of the station's management team, after he was fired as chief meteorologist of the station's weather department without explanation that March. By Janet Hall. BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (WBRC) - WBRC FOX6 News pioneer, Pat Gray, has passed away. 50-year-old Kent Wesley Franklin was boating with friends late Saturday night at Lake Logan Martin, when he jumped off the boat and was not seen again. BIRMINGHAM, AL (WBRC) - Family and friends said goodbye to Birmingham broadcast legend Joe Langston on Monday. That series, Country Boy Eddie, which was aimed at rural Alabama viewers, featured local country, bluegrass and Southern Gospel music artists during its 36-year run from 1957 until December 31, 1993. Langston died at his home Saturday. Joe Leonard Langston, Sr., age 82, of Birmingham, passed away at his home on Friday, June 20, 2014. "There's the Joe Langston you got on the air, serious, sometimes stern," JSU assistant professor Jerry Chandler recalled. Parker previously worked at WBKW from 1993-2000. He was there during Governor George Wallace's famous "Stand in the School House Door.". For example, according to local legends, the station initially turned down Bewitched, not because it was concerned about witchcraft, but because it concerned a mixed marriage (between a witch and a mortal); there were fears that Bewitched would encourage what some segregationists referred to as "cross-breeding"; channel 6 would not clear Bewitched until 1967 (although, according to the October 15, 1965, issue of The Birmingham News, Bewitched was shown airing at its in-pattern time of Thursdays at 8:00p.m. (Central) on WBRC). He began his broadcasting career in 1950 while a student at the University of Alabama. The FCC later granted WBRC to reclaim the top level of the tower for its main antenna, improving its digital coverage area (the former main antenna remains in use as an auxiliary antenna). It is owned by Gray Television alongside low-power, Class A Telemundo affiliate WTBM-CD (channel 24). However, in what would be the catalyst to a change in the carriage policies for Fox Kids that allowed stations the option of either airing the block or being granted the right to transfer the rights to another station in the market, Sinclair Broadcast Group approached WBRC about retaining the rights to Fox Kids for WTTO, which became an independent station on September 1; Fox allowed WTTO to retain the local rights to the block. After his discharge he took a job as station manager of WNPT-AM in Northport. Her son, M. D. Smith III, who worked at the radio stations in advertising sales and was later promoted to program director and vice president, ran the television station as its operations manager. Unusual for a commercial broadcaster, Storer supported educational television, and the company donated two transmitters and frequencies in the Birmingham market (channels 7 and 10, which were respectively occupied by WCIQ and WBIQ when both stations signed on in 1955) to Alabama Educational Television (now Alabama Public Television). Copyright 2014 WBRC. On July 14, 2009, the station eliminated its Saturday evening 5:00p.m. newscast due to budget cutbacks at the station spurred by the economic downturn. In a follow-up interview with AL.com this evening, Royer said he has a standard six-month non-compete clause in his contract with NBC 13, but he won't rule out the opportunity to come back at another station in the Birmingham market after those six months expire in mid-December. [18][19][20][21] On January 6, 2009, Local TV announced that it would trade WBRC to Raycom Media in exchange for acquiring CBS affiliate WTVR-TV in Richmond, Virginia from that group. York's program, meanwhile, was so popular that, when ABC debuted AM America in January 1975, WBRC declined to carry itpreferring not to alter, let alone cancel, what had become a local television institution in The Morning Show; this continued after ABC replaced the more news-driven AM America with Good Morning America, which maintained a format similar to York's program, in November of that year. "He would talk about his real life experiences. The station first signed on the air on July 1, 1949, originally broadcasting on VHF channel 4 as WBRC-TV (standing for Bell Radio Company, after Fountain Heights physician J. C. Bell, founder of radio station WBRC (960 AM). Channel 6 could make a plausible claim to be not only the most-watched station in the Birmingham market but in the entire state of Alabama, thanks in part to unusually weak competition. A service will be held Monday at 2 p.m. at Mountain Brook Baptist Church, with visitation to follow in Hudson Hall. After retiring she returned to Birmingham, the Magic City, where she is fondly remembered as a trailblazing pioneer for women in broadcasting. Veteran WBRC anchor Joe Langston died Saturday. The four stations also comprise the Raycom Weather Network and the Raycom Alabama Weather Blog, where meteorologists from all four stations post forecasts and storm reports, and which provide live feeds from cameras and Doppler weather radar systems that each of the stations operate (the only Raycom-owned station in Alabama that did not participate in the arrangement was fellow Fox affiliate WDFX-TV in Dothan, whose news programming was produced by WSFA under a news share agreement and is no longer a sister station to those other stations). He was 82 Langston, a native of Tuscaloosa County and a graduate of the University. Langston graduated from Tuscaloosa County High School and began his career in broadcasting at WJRD-AM in 1950 while a student at the University of Alabama. 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