[2] Although WBRC-TV was the first television station in Birmingham to be granted a license by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), it is the second-oldest television station in Alabama, signing on just over one month after WAFM-TV (channel 13, now WVTM-TV), which debuted on May 29. Chandler remembered Langston being relaxed and approachable during his years at Jacksonville State. He was such a sweet and funny guy, former co-anchor Fannie Flagg told al.comWe had a lot of fun. He was inducted into the Alabama Broadcasters Hall of Fame in 2009. Mike Hathcock, the school's director of television services, remembers Langston's rapport, especially with students. The school made the most of its association with the longtime television news anchor. WBRC's Channel 6 Joe Langston News Anchor Promo from 1985 Station ID (1985) WBRC-TV's Channel 6's Alabama's Great video image promo from 1985 WBRC-TV's BRC6 News video opening from 1985 WBRC 6 News open (1985-1989) WBRC-TV's WBRC 6 News' Scott Richards Video Promo From 1986. "I think that is what made him special. Joe Langston in Texas. Longtime Buffalo meteorologist Andy Parker is switching stations, returning to ABC affiliate WKBW after 11 years at NBC affiliate WGRZ. It is owned by Gray Television alongside low-power, Class A Telemundo affiliate WTBM-CD (channel 24). Langston's longtime friend Mike Royer spoke at the service at Mountain Brook Baptist Church. WBRC currently carries the majority of the Fox network schedule, though it delays the network's Saturday late night block (currently a repeat of a prime time reality show) one hour due to the station's 10:00p.m. newscast and its carriage of the syndicated sports interview program In Depth with Graham Bensinger; in addition, following the program's move from Fox Sports 1 to Fox in September 2015, WBRC formerly was one of several Fox affiliates that has declined carriage of the Sunday pre-game show Fox NFL Kickoff during the NFL regular season due to existing programming contracts (unlike in other markets where a Fox station has declined carriage of Fox NFL Kickoff, the program was not broadcast by any other station in the BirminghamTuscaloosaAnniston market). In the late 70s Pat Gray continued her career in Florida. At the time, the FCC forbade any broadcasting company from owning two commercial television stations in the same market; in addition, the concurrent acquisitions of the Argyle and Citicasters stations put New World three stations over the national television ownership cap that the agency enforced at the time, which allowed broadcasters to own a maximum of twelve stations nationwide. 3 Local TV Group", "Gray Completes Acquisition of Raycom Media and Related Transactions", "EXCLUSIVE: Fox 6 has another round of layoffs, drops Saturday 5 p.m. newscast", "DTV Tentative Channel Designations for the First and Second Rounds", Huntsville Rewound-Huntsville AL TV Memories, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=WBRC&oldid=1134262498, This page was last edited on 17 January 2023, at 20:17. In September 1950, at which time newscasts were expanded to 15 minutes, anchor segments began to be conducted in-studio after it acquired camera equipment to recorded live programming; kinescopes of 16-mm film footage shot by a photographer for local stories and still photographs for illustration of national and international stories were used for story content. WBRC Fox 6 Chief Meteorologist JP Dice Leaving Fox 6 in July By David Smith. (AL.com file photo) JOE LANGSTON Joe Langston joined the staff of WBRC-TV/Channel 6 in 1963,. . 44 people named Joe Langston found in Dallas-Fort Worth, Houston-Galveston-Brazoria and 12 other cities. According to . Langston started at Birmingham's WBRC in 1963 as the first reporter/anchor hired at the station. "He was the best newsman I ever knew, always a stickler for using the right words. In 1982, WBRC began receiving ABC network and syndicated programming, and news footage via satellite. CANDLE HAS BEEN LIT CANDLES HAVE BEEN LIT, We are reviewing your submission. Smith III, who read wire copies of local news headlines over a slide of the station's logo. In addition to compensating for the absence of daily national morning and evening newscasts on Fox's schedule, the expansion of WBRC's news lineup also filled timeslots vacated by the departures of Good Morning America and World News Tonight through the discontinuance of its ABC affiliation. In September 1950, WBRC established a coaxial cable link with fellow NBC-DuMont affiliate WRGB (now a CBS affiliate) in Schenectady, New York, allowing the station to broadcast NBC and DuMont network programs both live and live-to-air. The cause of death is not known and funeral arrangements are pending. Langston started at Birmingham's WBRC in 1963 as the first . Joe was an active member and Deacon at Mountain Brook Baptist Church. Langston was president of the Alabama Associated Press Broadcasters Association and on the board of directors of the Birmingham Press Club and University of Alabama School of Communication Alumni Association. If you purchase a product or register for an account through one of the links on our site, we may receive compensation. The subchannel became affiliated with Bounce TV on September 26, 2011, as part of the network's affiliation agreement with WBRC owner Raycom Media.[30]. This also marked a significant turnaround for channel 6's relationship with the network, as during the later 1950s, the amount of ABC programming on WBRC had been dramatically reduced from about 50% of its schedule to only a very limited selection of shows, seemingly headed toward an exclusive CBS affiliation by 1960; even still, WBRC retained some of CBS' higher-rated soap operas on its daytime schedule until about 1968, when those programs moved to either WAPI-TV or WBMG. > I seem to recall Channel 6 airing "Marshal Dillon" in place of "Bewitched" at one time. Joe was named Outstanding Alumnus of the University of Alabama School of Communication in 1982, the Tuscaloosa County High School Distinguished Alumni Award in 1986, and also received the Distinguished Service Award from the University in 1988. [1] [2] Langston was also an Army veteran. He also appeared on the Tom York Morning Show. The station launched a full-scale news department in 1952, when it began operating from the former studios of the original WBRC-FM. 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. His funeral is today at 2 p.m. at Mountain WBRC-TV (06-21-14)Long-Time WBRC-TV Anchor, Joe Langston, DiesBy WBRC-TV Anchor Janet Hall---(Editor Judson Garner) AboutPressCopyrightContact usCreatorsAdvertiseDevelopersTermsPrivacyPolicy. Related To Iris Langston, Serena Langston, Cari Langston. According to al.com, he was best known as t An error has occurred, please try again later. "He would talk about his real life experiences. [1] the "-TV" suffix was dropped from the call sign in June 1999). Send a note, share a story or upload a photo. "Joe did something no other person would have done at that time. DMA 45 (BIRMINGHAM, AL) Longtime WBRC Anchor Joe Langston Dies At 82. al.com | June 24, 2014 | 6:39 am EDT by TVNewsCheck . The terms of the settlement were not immediately disclosed. This is the big time,'" Royer recalled. Bell called Langston a friend and a big brother. I highly recommend Joe. BIRMINGHAM, AL (WBRC) - Family and friends said goodbye to Birmingham broadcast legend Joe Langston on Monday. He was a charter member of the Thursday morning Has Been Coffee Club. [6] This was very unusual for a market with only two commercial stations; usually, one or both stations carried ABC as a secondary affiliation, since that network would not be on anything resembling an equal footing with CBS and NBC until the 1970s. 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. [24][25][26][27] The sale was approved on December 20 and completed on January 2, 2019. [34] The station denied any wrongdoing, and began defending the lawsuit. WBRC is a Raycom sister station to WSFA, and is located in Birmingham.. Visitation will follow in Hudson Hall. 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. This page was last modified on 12 April 2015, at 15:00. as a tentpole between the 9:00 and 10:00p.m. newscasts from the September 1996 switch until September 2002, when it expanded the prime time newscast to one hour (WBRC is one of several Fox stations that offer newscasts in both the final hour of prime time and the traditional late news timeslot, one of the few affiliated with the network that runs a nightly newscast in the latter slot and one of the few to continue its Big Three-era late-evening newscast after switching to Fox). However, Taft had very good relations with ABC. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. [40] Through the use of PSIP, digital television receivers display the station's virtual channel as its former VHF analog channel 6. These moves, though, did not immediately affect WBRC's high standing in the ratings or its reputation in the community. Originally broadcasting for three hours per day, it operated as a primary NBC affiliate (earning the affiliation as a result of WBRC radio's longtime affiliation with the NBC Red Network), and also carried secondary affiliations with ABC and the DuMont Television Network; during the late 1950s, the station was also briefly affiliated with the NTA Film Network. He joined the Jacksonville State University Department of Communication and retired from there as chairman of the department in 1998. Leave a memory or share a photo or video below to show your support. 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). In 1966, WBRC-TV began broadcasting local programming in color, after the station purchased two color cameras; among the first local programs to be produced in color was the Alabama Crimson Tide football coaches' program, The Bear Bryant Show (originated from CBS affiliate WCOV-TV (now also a Fox affiliate) in Montgomery, the first television station in the state to begin color broadcasts), which aired on WBRC until 1970, when it moved to WAPI-TV. The sheriff's office is using K-9's, sonar, and are dragging the area looking for Franklin. Tim Hollis documented about 1,400 local children's shows in a 2002 book called Hi There, Boys and Girls! 6 On Your Side Investigates. 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. Joe Langston was born in Tuscaloosa in 1932. "I've known him for a lot of years and most of all, he was a good man, and I will miss him," York said. WBRC: Birthday Party(with Joe Langston) WBRC: Bozo the Clown(Bart Darby, Ward McIntyre) WBRC: The Bugs Bunny Show(with Benny Carle) WTTO, WDBB: Cartoon Clubhouse(with Cliff Holman) WVTM-TV, WABT: Channel 13 Theatre(Bill Wright) WBRC: Circle Six Ranch(with Benny Carle) WIAT, WBMG: The Dick Tracy Show(with Neal Miller) [12][13] Under the arrangement, New World owned the licenses of both stations, while Citicasters continued to control their operations under outsourcing agreements. The Dignity Memorial brand name is used to identify a network of licensed funeral, cremation and cemetery providers that include affiliates of Service Corporation International, 1929 Allen Parkway, Houston, Texas. He graduated and soon after went on to join the army. He was also a member of the Alabama Broadcasters Association Hall of Fame. In 1969 Langston was promoted to "Director of News and Editorial Policy" for the station. Joe was born in Tuscaloosa County, Alabama and graduated from the University of Alabama in 1954. Preemptions and out-of-pattern scheduling of some ABC programs would continue in later years; for example, WBRC aired All My Children on a one-day delay from its 1970 debut until it became a Fox station, and preempted the soap opera Loving throughout its 1986 to 1994 run. WBRC and WGHP were the only Fox-owned stations that did not air the network's children's program blocks until 2003, when now-former sister stations KTTV in Los Angeles and WFLD in Chicago moved the block to their UPN-affiliated sister stations (KCOP-TV and WPWR-TV). Visitation will follow in Hudson Hall. "My heart breaks to report that my friend, mentor and the most solid broadcaster I've ever known, Joe Langston passed away early this morning," Royer wrote on Facebook. However, ABC largely brushed off the preemption issue, even though it would eventually become the No. On average, a Starbucks drink will cost between 5 and 20 cents more. However, on December 22, 2007, Fox announced that it had entered into an agreement to sell WBRC and seven other Fox owned-and-operated stations (WDAF-TV, WGHP, WJW, WITI, KTVI in St. Louis, KDVR in Denver and KSTU in Salt Lake City) to Local TV, a holding company operated by equity firm Oak Hill Capital Partners that had earlier purchased The New York Times Company's television station division; the sale was finalized on July 14, 2008. Parker previously worked at WBKW from 1993-2000. He was 82 Langston, a native of Tuscaloosa County and a graduate of the University. Joe Langston (1932) was born in Tuscaloosa county. 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). 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. Langston started at Birminghams WBRC in 1963 as the first reporter/anchor hired at the station. The station became exclusively affiliated with ABC on September 7, 1961; on that date, channel 13 (by then known as WAPI-TV) assumed rights to CBS and NBC programming, although WBRC continued to occasionally carry certain CBS shows that WAPI chose not to carry through 1965. Joe Langston, whose voice was a signature of Alabama broadcasting news for three decades, died early today. All rights reserved. Joe Langston joined WBRC in 1963. 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. A family member confirmed Gray died Monday, according to an announcement from WBRC. We used to play jokes on one another, do silly things. 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]. Citicasters then decided to put most of its television stations up for sale. He was named news director in 1969. He did not look at me as a black person," Al Bell said. The search was called off sunday because the weather. Langston started working at WBRC in 1963. The material on this site may not be reproduced, distributed, transmitted, cached or otherwise used, except with the prior written permission of Advance Local. Joe Langston, an award-winning Birmingham television journalist whose career spanned more than 30 years, died Friday at the age of 82. . The two stations studios atop Red Mountain (between Vulcan Trail and Valley View Drive) in southeastern Birmingham, where WBRC's transmitter is also located. Langston's voice could be heard narrating that video, and he even appeared on camera for part of it. 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!) Veteran WBRC anchor Joe Langston died Saturday. View contact information: phones, addresses, emails and networks. In December 1993, Great American Communications was restructured again into Citicasters after filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy. Joe Langston. This is a return to WKRC for Benter, who interned in the newsroom while working on her degree from the University of Cincinnati. 2023 SCI SHARED RESOURCES, LLC. 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. Joe Leonard Langston, Sr., age 82, of Birmingham, passed away at his home on Friday, June 20, 2014. In addition, WBRC produces Fox 6 WBRC Law Call, a weekly call-in programhosted by former WBRC reporter Tiffany Bittner, and airing live after the station's 10:00p.m. newscast on Sunday nightsin which viewers ask members of a panel (usually consisting of personal injury attorneys) for advice on various legal issues; and Absolutely Alabama, a weekly programairing after Law Call on Sundaysconsisting of feature stories about people and places around Alabama.[31]. Royer said was a consummate broadcaster. All rights reserved (About Us). Editor Phone: 301-773-0058. "You got to know him and you got to love the guy," he said. Help tell the story of your loved ones unique life. By Janet Hall. This type of programming began in the late 1940s and continued into the late 1970s; some shows continued into the 1990s. 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. University department of Communication and retired from there as chairman of the station story of your loved unique. 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