WAFB

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WAFB
Baton Rouge, Louisiana
Branding	9 News
Slogan	Louisiana's News Channel
Channels	9 (VHF) analog, 46 (UHF) digital
Affiliations	CBS The Tube (on DT4)
Owner	Raycom Media
Founded	April 19, 1953
Call letters meaning	American Family Broadcasting (former owner)
Former affiliations	NBC (secondary, 1953-55), ABC (secondary, 1953-71), DuMont (secondary, 1953-1955)
Transmitter Power	316 kW Analog 46 kW Digital
Website	wafb.com

WAFB, channel 9, is a CBS television affiliate that broadcasts from Baton Rouge, Louisiana to most of south-central and southeast Louisiana and parts of southwestern Mississippi. The station is seen via satellite through DirecTV and Dish Network. Since 1997, it has been owned and operated by Raycom Media. The station, which is known on-air as "9 News", has its transmitter located in Baton Rouge. The station is sister to WBXH-CA channel 39, the area's MyNetworkTV affiliate.

Contents 1 History 2 Newscasts 3 News Staff 3.1 Former Staff 4 External links

[edit] History

The station began on April 19, 1953 as the second television station in Louisiana. Originally broadcasting on channel 28, WAFB moved to channel 9 in 1960. The station has always been a CBS affiliate, but carried some NBC programs until WBRZ signed on in 1955, some ABC programs until WRBT (now WVLA) signed on in 1971, and some programs from DuMont until that network folded.

The station's news department produces 25 hours of news programming each week, with a two-hour weekday morning newscast at 5 AM and three half-hour newscasts at 12 PM, 5 PM, and 6 PM, as well as a 35 minute newscast at 10 PM. The station currently produces a 9 PM newscast for sister station WBXH-CA. WAFB currently produces an hour-long newscast at 8 AM on Saturdays that airs on WBXH. Encore airings of most recent newscast can be found on WAFB's DT2 digital subchannel and cable channel 9. WBXH also rebroadcasts the weekday morning WAFB newscast at 7 AM and the Noon newscast at 12:30 PM. Radio station WJBO-AM broadcasts the 6 PM news over the radio on a daily basis. Station alumni include Jennifer Donelan of CBS News, sportscaster Tim Brando, Isiah Carey of FOX News and filmmaker Jay Gormley.

WAFB is one of a handful of stations that shifts the air times of various CBS programming. The Price Is Right airs at 11 AM instead of 10 AM (back-to-back episodes of Family Feud airs from 10-11 AM) and The Young and The Restless airs at 4 PM instead of 11 AM.

The station's current syndicated library includes: Montel, Friends, CSI, Soul Train, Taxi, The Odd Couple, Who Wants to be a Millionaire, and others. The station aired Jeopardy! and Wheel of Fortune until 1995. It used to also air The Phil Donahue Show, Hard Copy, and Sally Jesse Raphael, among other syndicated shows. It also airs the Sunday services from the First United Methodist Church in Baton Rouge.

[edit] Newscasts

Weekdays

• WAFB 9 News This Morning: 5-7 AM; rebroadcast on WBXH 7-9 AM
• WAFB 9 News at 12 Noon: 12-12:30 PM; rebroadcast on WBXH 12:30-1 PM
• WAFB 9 News at 5: 5-5:30 PM
• WAFB 9 News at 6: 6-6:30 PM
• WAFB 9 News at 10: 10-10:35 PM

Saturdays

• WAFB 9 News at 6: 6-6:30 PM
• WAFB 9 News at 10: 10-10:35 PM

Sundays

• WAFB 9 News at 5:30: 5:30-6 PM
• WAFB 9 News at 10: 10-10:35 PM

On weekends, WAFB produces "9 News Saturday Morning" and "9 News Sunday Morning" for sister station WBXH. They are from 7-9 am Saturday and 8-9 am Sunday, respectively.

[edit] News Staff

Anchors

• Donna Britt - 6 and 10 pm weekdays
• Jeanne Burns - 9 News This Morning
• Jacques Doucet - sports; weekends
• Paul Gates - 5 pm weekdays
• Kellee Henessey - 9 News Saturday/Sunday Morning and noon Saturday
• Phil Rainier - Noon Anchor/"Healthline"; medical reporter
• Steve Schneider - sports director; weekdays
• George Sells - 6 and 10 pm weekdays
• Matt Williams - 9 News This Morning; also is Crime Stoppers reporter

Meteorologists/Forecasters

• Steve Caparotta - 5 pm weekdays and weeknights on WBXH's "My 9 News at 9"
• Dianne Deaton - weekday mornings and noon
• Jay Grymes - chief meteorologist; 6 and 10 pm weekdays
• Scott Oswalt - weekend mornings; also co-hosts "Saturday/Sunday 9 News This Morning"

Reporters

• Avery Davidson
• Cheryl Mercedes
• Greg Meriwether - "Street Beat" reporter; also anchors WBXH's "My 9 News at 9"
• Keitha Nelson
• Jim Shannon
• Allen Tumey - "Tumey's Travels" reporter
• James Verrett - sports; substitute anchor

Management

• Robbie Chandler - newsroom operations
• Monica Craig - assignment editor
• Robb Hays - assistant news director
• Nick Simonette - general manager
• Vicki Zimmerman - news director

[edit] Former Staff

• Julie Baxter - now practicing law with Moore, Walters, Thompson in Baton Rouge; adjunct Media Law professor at LSU's School of Mass Communication
• Glynn Boyd - now at WGNO New Orleans
• Tim Brando - sports. Now broadcasts for various sports outlets, including CBS Sports and Jefferson Pilot Sports.
• Isiah Carey - now at KRIV Houston
• Marie Centanni - now on LA Governor Kathleen Blanco's staff
• Matt Clough
• Jennifer Donelan - now at CBS News
• Mike Graham - retired meteorologist, has since become active in performance arts.
• Victor Howell - now a basketball analyst at Cox Sports Television. He is also the host of the "CST Tonight!" and "Saints Tonight!" studio shows.
• Cyndi Nguyen - now at WGNO in New Orleans
• Nancy Parker - now at WVUE New Orleans
• Vernon Roger - anchor of 12pm and 5pm broadcasts. Remembered for his cajun cooking segments and his "taste test." Committed suicide in 2002. [1]
• Pat Simon - now anchoring evening news at WLOS in Asheville, North Carolina
• Valentina Wilson - now at WVLA-TV

[edit] External links

• WAFB.com - The station's official website
• WAFB TV Lineup and Demographic Data
• Photos of WAFB's and WBXH My BR TV news set
• Query the FCC's TV station database for WAFB