WECT

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WECT
Wilmington, North Carolina
Branding	WECT-TV6/WECT News
Slogan	Where News Comes First
Channels	6 (VHF) analog, 44 (UHF) digital
Affiliations	NBC
Owner	Raycom Media
Founded	1954
Call letters meaning	W East Coast Television or W Eastern Carolina Television
Former callsigns	WMFD-TV (1954-58)
Former affiliations	ABC (secondary 1954-64), CBS (secondary 1954-70s?) [1]
Website	www.wect.com

WECT is the NBC affiliate in Wilmington, North Carolina. It broadcasts its analog signal on VHF channel 6, and its digital signal on UHF channel 44.

The station's transmitter is located in Colly Township near White Lake. Its powerful signal reaches much of southeastern North Carolina and northeastern South Carolina partially due to the fact that the WECT TV6 Tower is one of the tallest structures east of the Mississippi River.

WECT also serves as the NBC affiliate for the northern and eastern portion of the Florence/Myrtle Beach market, since that area does not have an NBC affiliate. (The southern and western portion of that market is served by WIS in Columbia, South Carolina; another Raycom-owned NBC affiliate.) Because of the station's popularity, WECT is also carried on cable providers in Fayetteville and Jacksonville, even though their respective markets do have their own NBC affiliates.

WECT was also carried in the Triangle (Raleigh Area) for a time when NBC did not have a full affiliate in that market.

Contents 1 History 2 Newscasts 2.1 Weekdays 2.2 Weekends 3 Other programming 3.1 Magazine 3.2 NBC programs 4 Personalities & Crew 4.1 Current 5 News Room Staff 6 Production Staff 6.1 Past 7 Logos 8 See also 9 External links

[edit] History

WECT was the first television station in Wilmington, and since then it has remained the #1 station in the region. It first signed on the air on April 9, 1954, preceding rival WWAY by more than 10 years.

From the station's start until 1958, the station was known as WMFD-TV and was co-owned with WMFD-AM-FM. WMFD-TV are currently the call letters of a television station in Mansfield, Ohio.

Since September 22, 2003, WECT has been producing Fox 26 News at 10 for WSFX-TV. It is currently the only 10 o'clock news program in the market.

Beginning September 13, 2006, WECT produces a one-hour edition of Carolina in the Morning newscast for WSFX-TV from 7 a.m. to 8 a.m.

[edit] Newscasts

[edit] Weekdays

• Carolina in the Morning Early Edition - 5 a.m. to 6 a.m.
  • Anchors: Bob Townsend, Kim Ratcliff
  • Weather: Meteorologist Eric Davis
• Carolina in the Morning - 6 a.m. to 7 a.m.
  • Anchors: Bob Townsend, Kim Ratcliff
  • Weather: Meteorologist Eric Davis
• Carolina in the Morning on Fox 26 - 7 a.m. to 8 a.m. on sister station WSFX-TV
  • Anchors: Bob Townsend, Kim Ratcliff
  • Weather: Meteorologist Eric Davis
• WECT News at Midday - 12 noon to 12:30 p.m.
  • Anchor: Kim Ratcliff
  • Weather: Meteorologist Eric Davis
• WECT News at 5 - 5 p.m. to 6 p.m.
  • Anchors: Frances Weller (5:00-5:20), Jim Hanchett (5:20-5:40), Kim Lehman (5:40-6:00)
  • Weather: Chief Meteorologist George Elliott
  • Sports Preview: Bob Bonner
• WECT News at 6 - 6 p.m. to 6:30 p.m.
  • Anchors: Frances Weller, Jim Hanchett
  • Weather: Chief Meteorologist George Elliott
  • Sports: Bob Bonner
• Fox 26 News at 10 - 10 p.m. to 10:35 p.m. on sister station WSFX-TV
  • Anchor: Kim Lehman
  • Weather: Chief Meteorologist George Elliott
  • Sports: Jessica Blanton
• WECT News at 11 - 11:00 p.m. to 11:35 p.m.
  • Anchors: Frances Weller, Jim Hanchett
  • Weather: Chief Meteorologist George Elliott
  • Sports: Bob Bonner

[edit] Weekends

• WECT News at 6 - 6 p.m. to 6:30 p.m.
  • Anchors: Joe Keiley (Saturdays), Sarah Warlick (Sundays)
  • Weather: Meteorologist Craig Carnesi
  • Sports: Kevin Hull
• Fox 26 News at 10 - 10 p.m. to 10:30 p.m. (Saturdays) / 10 p.m. to 10:35 p.m. (Sundays) on sister station WSFX-TV
  • Anchor: Joe Keiley (Saturdays), Sarah Warlick (Sundays)
  • Weather: Meteorologist Craig Carnesi
  • Sports: Kevin Hull
• WECT News at 11 - 11 p.m. to 11:30 p.m.
  • Anchors: Joe Keiley (Saturdays), Sarah Warlick (Sundays)
  • Weather: Meteorologist Craig Carnesi
  • Sports: Kevin Hull

[edit] Other programming

[edit] Magazine

• Downeast Gardener - Saturdays 7:30 a.m. to 8 a.m.
  • Hosts: Bruce Williams, Bob Townsend

[edit] NBC programs

WECT usually airs the entire NBC schedule, except it does not air NBC's late night repeats of The Tonight Show with Jay Leno and Late Night with Conan O'Brien, instead airing infomercials during those hours.

Also, 1 vs. 100 has been pre-empted twice, once for a documentary on cleft lip, and another time for 2007's Billy Graham special.

The station carries NBC Weather Plus on its digital subchannel 6.2.

[edit] Personalities & Crew

[edit] Current

• Jessica Blanton - Sports Anchor (Fox) / Producer
• Bob Bonner - Anchor / Sports Director
• Craig Carnesi - Meteorologist
• Eric Davis - Meteorologist
• George Elliott - Chief Meteorologist
• Nicole Ferguson - Reporter
• Kacey Gaumer - Reporter
• Kim Gebbia - Reporter
• Jim Hanchett - Anchor
• Kevin Hull - Sports Reporter
• Joe Keiley - Reporter / Anchor
• Kim Lehman - Anchor (Fox)
• Kelli O'Hara - Reporter
• Kim Ratcliff - Anchor CIM
• Bob Townsend - Anchor CIM
• Sarah Warlick - Reporter
• Frances Weller - Anchor

[edit] News Room Staff

• Clint Bullock - Executive Video Editor
• Marvette Coley - Producer
• David Hattman - Photographer
• Steve Kidera - Producer
• Ryan Koresko - Chief Photographer
• Robin Lowe - Editor / Producer
• Kevin Neu - Editor
• Chris Lunsford - Editor
• Jennifer Moore - Producer
• Samantha Neely - Producer
• Steve Powell - Photographer
• Heather Setzler - Executive Producer
• Doug Wahl - Assignment Editor
• Justin West - Photographer

[edit] Production Staff

• Tom Cheatham - Production Manager / Director
• Jason Drew - Director
• Jon Etheridge - Executive Director
• Victoria Jacobs - Camera / Studio Director
• Anne-lise Jacobsen - Prompter
• Donald (DJ) Meyers - Audio
• Amy Miller - Camera / Studio Director
• Derrick Payseur - Prompter
• Steve Smith - Graphics
• Randy Swartz - Audio
• Stephanie Williams - Camera / Studio Director
• Chris Winger - Director

[edit] Past

• Michael Cogdill began his news anchoring career on WECT around the mid 1980s. In 1989 he left WECT to work at WYFF-TV in Greenville, SC. Today, he still works at WYFF-TV as a 5:00pm, 6:00pm, and 11:00pm weekday news anchor.
• WECT announcer/newsanchor Ken Murphy retired on December 31, 2004 after 40 years at the station. He passed away in January 2007 at the age of 67. [2]

Some other WECT alumni include:

• Colin Hackman, reporter, photog, P.A., went to anchor weather at KRNV, Reno NV's NBC.
• Maureen O’Boyle, reporter - had a nationally syndicated talk show for a time. Now main co-anchor at WBTV in Charlotte.
• Jeff Goldblatt, anchored Carolina in the Morning – Moved on to a number of positions from Richmond, Virginia to Washington, DC. Correspondent for the nationally syndicated show, American Journal. Currently with FOX News.
• Ken Lemon - One time Myrtle Beach Bureau Chief, then general assignment reporter. Moved to WSOC-TV in Charlotte.
• Genevieve Barker – Former weekend anchor, appeared on several programs and films including NBC's Dateline as well as the Warner Brother's hit series, Dawson's Creek and USA Network's "The Perfect Crime." She also was inspired by the script writer of Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon video game series to play the news reporter, Jen Barkley.
• Beth Parker, weekend anchor – Reporter for WTTG in Washington, DC.
• Ned Bauer, reporter – Has worked at numerous stations and produced special programming for C-SPAN and CNN.
• Bryan Moore, anchored Carolina in the Morning – Moved onto Fox 22 and News 14 Carolina in Raleigh, NC. Now Manager of Marketing Communications and Special Events with Northrop Grumman in Newport News, Virginia.
• Elizabeth Gardner, weather, currently a morning meteorologist with WRAL-TV in Raleigh.
• Mitch Davis, Bureau Chief/reporter 1991-1997. Went on to anchor weekends and later serve as Executive Producer at WBTW in Myrtle Beach 1999-2006. Now Daybreak Executive Producer with [WSOC-TV][3] in Charlotte.
• John Field - Photographer/Editor/Tape Roller from 1993-1998 for WECT News at 5, 6, and 11 p.m. Moved out of the television industry and into research.

[edit] Logos

WECT logo, used from May 8, 1986 until 1995

WECT logo, used from 1995 until 2005

Current WECT logo, used since 2005

[edit] See also

WECT TV6 Tower

[edit] External links

• WECT News6 Online
• Query the FCC's TV station database for WECT

Broadcast television in the Wilmington market  (Nielsen DMA #136)
WWAY 3 (ABC) - WECT 6 (NBC) - WILM-LP 10 (CBS) - WSFX 26 (Fox) (The Tube on DT2) - WUNJ 39 (PBS/UNC-TV) - WMYW-LP 47 (MNTV) - W51CW 51 (TBN)
Local cable television channels
WBW 29 (The CW)
See also: Broadcast television in the Raleigh/Durham/Fayetteville, Greenville/New Bern/Washington, and Florence/Myrtle Beach markets

NBC Network Affiliates in the state of North Carolina
WECT 6 (Wilmington) - WITN 7 (Washington) - WXII 12 (Winston-Salem) - WNCN 17 (Goldsboro / Raleigh) - WCNC 36 (Charlotte)
See also: ABC, CBS, Fox, PBS, UPN, WB and Other stations in North Carolina