Wednesday, April 01, 2009

Detroit's WWJ-TV re-enters the new game - sort of

CBS-owned WWJ-TV in Detroit is returning to the news business.

This is not a April Fool's joke.

Really.

WWJ, which has been out of the news business since 2002, is hooking with the Detroit Free Press to produce a new morning newscast airing from 5 to 7 a.m. with cut-ins during The Early Show (you mean its no longer called CBS This Morning?)

Titled First Forecast Mornings, the new newscast will provide the staples of local wakeup news - headlines, weather, traffic, and sports on the go, all provided by the Freep. The new effort debuts next month.

The station hopes this arrangement elevates the status of this pernnial also-ran network affiliate on Channel 62, which became a CBS-owned outlet in 1994 after the network lost former affiliate WJBK-TV to Fox in the Fox-New World deal, forcing CBS to buy WWJ (then WGPR-TV.) WWJ launched a news operation shortly thereafter, but it and sister station WKBD-TV's were shut down in Decemeber 2002.

WJBK usually finishes first in households from 5 to 9 a.m.

Despite the new venture between WWJ and the paper, there are no plans to expand to other dayparts, where other Detroit stations regularly air newscasts.

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