WWJ-TV facts for kids
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| Detroit, Michigan United States |
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| Channels | Digital: 21 (UHF) Virtual: 62 |
| Branding | CBS Detroit; CBS News Detroit |
| Programming | |
| Affiliations |
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| Ownership | |
| Owner | CBS News and Stations (Paramount Global) (CBS Broadcasting Inc.) |
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Sister stations
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WKBD-TV |
| History | |
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First air date
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September 29, 1975 |
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Former call signs
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WGPR-TV (1973–1995) |
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Former channel number(s)
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Former affiliations
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Independent (1975–1994) |
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Call sign meaning
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derived from former sister station WWJ radio |
| Technical information | |
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Licensing authority
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FCC |
| Facility ID | 72123 |
| ERP | 380 kW |
| HAAT | 326.7 m (1,072 ft) |
| Transmitter coordinates | 42°26′52.5″N 83°10′23.1″W / 42.447917°N 83.173083°W |
| Links | |
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Public license information
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Profile LMS |
WWJ-TV (channel 62), known as CBS Detroit, is a television station in Detroit, Michigan. It is owned and run by the CBS television network. The station is part of the CBS News and Stations group. It shares studios in Southfield with WKBD-TV, another station. WWJ-TV's transmitter is in Oak Park.
The station started in 1975 as WGPR-TV. It was founded by Dr. William V. Banks and the International Free and Accepted Modern Masons. WGPR-TV was the first Black-owned television station in the United States. It aimed to create programs for the Black community. Even with money problems, it produced local shows and had a news team. Many Black TV hosts and executives, like Pat Harvey and Shaun Robinson, started their careers here. The original WGPR-TV studios are now a museum and a historical landmark.
In 1994, CBS bought WGPR-TV. This happened because CBS needed a new station in Detroit. They changed the station's name to WWJ-TV in 1995. Since then, WWJ-TV has tried to create local news shows. For a long time, it mainly showed CBS network programs. In January 2023, a full news department called CBS News Detroit began.
Contents
Channel 62's Early History
Before WGPR-TV, another station used channel 62 in Detroit. This station was WXON-TV. It started broadcasting on September 15, 1968. WXON-TV used channel 62 for four years. In 1972, WXON moved to channel 20. This left channel 62 open for a new station.
WGPR-TV: A New Beginning
Built by a Special Group
We don't believe anybody else can do as well presenting black culture as we ourselves.
After channel 62 became available, W.G.P.R., Inc. applied for it. This group owned WGPR (107.5 FM) radio. The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) approved their application in May 1973. W.G.P.R., Inc. was owned by the International Free and Accepted Modern Masons. This group was for Black members.
Dr. William V. Banks founded the Masons in 1950. By the 1970s, they had many members. WGPR-FM was one of the few Black-owned radio stations in Detroit. It played gospel music and religious shows. Banks wanted the TV station to focus on Detroit's Black community. He said it would show "the problems, goals, aspirations and achievements of Blacks." This was important because Black people watched a lot of TV.
Building the station took almost two years. It was hard to get loans. But in 1975, the Masons sold property to get money. They bought a building on East Jefferson Avenue for the radio and TV stations. The government also helped get steel for the transmitter. WGPR-TV started broadcasting on September 29, 1975. President Gerald Ford and Senator Robert P. Griffin sent greetings. President Ford called it "a symbol of successful Black enterprise."
Focusing on Local Shows
(Detroit) is a city of 1.4 million people, more than half of whom are Black. Yet, if you watch the other stations, you find that the programming is only about one or two percent Black. We felt that there was room for another station one that speaks to a Black audience.
When channel 62 started, there were few Black people on TV. WGPR-TV's vice president, James Panagos, had trouble finding Black ad salespeople. So, he started a school to train them. The station got advertising money from big companies. This helped cover costs for the first year.
I remember when I told my [parents] I wanted to go into journalism, but they had other ideas. They were used to women being in positions of... being a nurse, a very honorable profession, or a teacher, which is what my mother was. I told my father a broadcast journalist, he looked at me strangely, and said, 'well Pat I don't know about that. I mean, you don't look anything like Walter Cronkite...'
There were not many syndicated shows with Black actors. So, channel 62 made many of its own local programs. They planned shows like a soap opera, a morning show, and a children's show. Local shows made up 90 percent of their schedule. This was very unusual for a TV station. Bill Humphries hosted Speaking of Sports, which covered local and high school sports.
One popular show was The Scene. It was a live dance music program. People would line up to see the stars. It was like American Bandstand or Soul Train. Many famous musicians, like James Brown and Prince, appeared on the show. Pat Harvey, who later became a famous news anchor, started as a fill-in host on The Scene. Another show, Rolling Funk, featured dance music in a roller rink.
WGPR-TV also had a news department called Big City News. It covered topics important to Detroit's urban population. It focused on positive stories about the Black community. Sharon Crews was the first weather presenter. Amyre Makupson, who later hosted news for WKBD-TV, started here. Many employees learned their skills at WGPR-TV. The news department helped more Black writers and anchors get jobs at other stations. WGPR-TV was also the first in Detroit to use videotape for news.
Facing Challenges
After a year on the air, the fanfare and some of the more ambitious goals have been lost in the dust. In retrospect the station has done better than some expected—simply by surviving. But it has not lived up to all the rhetoric of those first weeks.
The station had a tough start. Equipment often broke. They had to cut back broadcast hours. Many planned shows were canceled because of money problems. Advertising was also a big issue. Some national companies pulled their ads because of poor equipment.
The news department was cut from twelve people to six. Many employees left. The station lost a lot of money each week. Equipment could not be replaced. Even the use of videotape became a problem. The tapes were reused so much that early shows were lost.
In 1977, a station vice president said that Black-owned media faced unfair treatment. Few White-owned businesses advertised with Black-owned media. This limited the local shows WGPR-TV could make. Detroit's changing population and economy also made things hard. Many Black-run businesses struggled. Still, some ad agencies supported WGPR-TV.
Religious and Diverse Programming
To stay open, WGPR-TV sold airtime to religious groups. The Masons, who owned the station, were very religious. They even changed the meaning of WGPR to "Where God's Presence Radiates." The PTL Club was a popular religious show that bought many hours of airtime.
Different ethnic groups also bought time on WGPR-TV. Shows like Arab Voice of Detroit, Dino's Greece, and Polish Panorama aired. This allowed other minority voices to be heard. However, some people criticized this, saying the station was ignoring the Black community.
Some religious shows were controversial. But the station defended airing them. They said they needed to offer different opinions. One church used the station to raise money. They bought an hour of prime time and raised over $400,000.
In 1977, WGPR-TV started showing all-night movies. This made it the first station in Detroit to broadcast 24 hours a day. Local horror host Ron "The Ghoul" Sweed had a show here. Black Film Showcase showed movies starring Black actors. Detroit politician Charles Diggs hosted a public service show. By 1983, after eight years, channel 62 finally started making a profit. It offered over 60 hours of local shows each week. The station also began airing some sports events.
After Dr. Banks
The idea was they could be a black entry onto the airwaves. But Channel 62 has fallen far short of what the black community hoped for in Detroit. I hope something happens to get them off dead center. There won't be any change, however, until the black community approaches management and says, 'We want change and are willing to support you.'
Dr. William V. Banks died in 1985. His death caused some disagreements among the Masons. There were lawsuits about the station's finances. During this time, other companies wanted to buy WGPR-TV. Some thought it could be very successful with more investment. But no sale happened. The station continued to focus on religious programming.
CBS Buys the Station
- Further information: 1994–1996 United States broadcast television realignment
In 1994, a big change happened in TV. Many stations switched which network they were connected to. CBS's station in Detroit, WJBK-TV, decided to join Fox. This left CBS without a station in Detroit. CBS tried to get other stations, but it didn't work. They tried to buy the NBC and ABC stations, but they refused. They also tried to buy WKBD-TV and WXON-TV, but those deals failed.
It's difficult to part with anything you love. But we don't have the financial capabilities to do what we'd like to here. And we take pride in the fact that we're now making it possible to bring some new jobs to the City of Detroit.
Finally, CBS decided to buy WGPR-TV. On September 23, 1994, CBS announced they would buy channel 62 for $24 million. This was seen as a "last resort" for CBS. The purchase promised 140 new jobs and better signal quality. It also saved the station from being removed from cable systems in Canada. The sale made national news because CBS was in a difficult spot.
On December 11, 1994, WGPR-TV became the new CBS station in Detroit. CBS spent a lot of money promoting the change. Some cable viewers had trouble seeing the station at first. Ratings for CBS shows dropped in Detroit. CBS removed all of WGPR-TV's original shows. Programs like The New Dance Show and Arab Voice of Detroit disappeared. The religious shows also stopped airing.
Some groups tried to stop the sale. They wanted the station to remain Black-owned. One group, Spectrum Detroit, even offered more money. But the Masons said no other offer was made when CBS came to them. Despite objections, the FCC approved the sale.
The sale of WGPR-TV marked the end of a station that started with a special purpose. Many people felt it had not reached its full potential. A writer named Adolph Mongo said, "Programming was a joke. Technical problems were an everyday occurrence."
WGPR-TV's Lasting Impact
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WGPR-TV/FM Studio
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| Location |
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| MPS | The Civil Rights Movement and the African American Experience in 20th Century Detroit MPS |
| NRHP reference No. | 100006101 |
| Added to NRHP | January 27, 2021 |
Even with its struggles, WGPR-TV was a starting point for many careers. Amyre Makupson, Sharon Crews, Pat Harvey, and Shaun Robinson all began here. The station's owner, Ivy Banks, was happy for them to move on. She knew they could earn more money elsewhere. Former program director Joe Spencer said, "they'd come in here, get their first year or two under their belts, learn how to operate a camera, perform before the camera and write for TV. Then other stations would snap them up."
CBS buying channel 62 also led to changes in FCC rules. These changes made it harder for minority groups to own TV stations. The number of Black-owned TV stations decreased over the years.
You start losing people, and you lose the history. It's a story that needs to be told. Without Karen [Hudson-Samuels] and Joe [Spencer], [the museum] would never have happened. They're the Esther Gordy Edwards of Motown.
Former employees and organizations have worked to preserve WGPR's history. Amyre Makupson, Joe Spencer, and Karen Hudson-Samuels started the WGPR-TV Historical Society in 2011. They planned to create a museum at the old studios. Spencer called the station "a trailblazer." Samuels said, "We thought if we didn't tell the story, who would?"
In 2016, the Detroit Historical Museum had an exhibit about WGPR-TV. The former studios opened as the William V. Banks Broadcast Museum in 2017. The building was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 2021. Karen Hudson-Samuels, who helped preserve the history, passed away shortly after. ESPN personality Stephen A. Smith visited the museum in 2022. He said, "Everything starts somewhere and when it comes to things that are owned and operated by African-Americans, this is where it started."
Everything starts somewhere and when it comes to things that are owned and operated by African-Americans, this is where it started... WGPR is not just about on-air talent, they produced producers and directors, people that are behind the cameras, making decisions about who should be in front of the cameras and the kind of content that should be put out to our communities.
Hundreds of episodes of The Scene were re-broadcast in 1995. Nat Morris, the show's host, often appears at public events. He said, "We captured a period of Detroit... We were captured at our finest." In 2021, a hip-hop group called Bruiser Brigade released an album named TV62. It featured WGPR's old butterfly logo.
WWJ-TV: The CBS Era
New Name, More Power, Few Local News Shows
There are some places where we're going into markets where there are literally no news department and the channel position is like almost triple digits. Where that's happening, we're obviously going to take a hit.
CBS worked to relaunch channel 62. They called it "CBS Detroit" or "62 CBS." They didn't use the WWJ-TV name much at first. Some CBS stars even joked about the high channel number. CBS wanted to turn the high number into a unique feature. Joe Spencer, from WGPR-TV, helped set up the new schedule.
CBS moved channel 62's offices to River Place. Many WGPR-TV staff stayed and were retrained. The station had to use other studios for some local shows. CBS knew it was a fast start for a major market station. Viewers were confused about where their favorite CBS shows moved. Initial ratings showed some CBS shows did well, but the CBS Evening News ratings dropped.
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On July 24, 1995, the FCC approved the sale to CBS. They also let CBS keep its Detroit radio stations, WWJ (950 AM) and WYST (97.1 FM). CBS then changed channel 62's call letters to WWJ-TV. This brought the WWJ name back to TV.
CBS faced many challenges. Detroit was a tough market. CBS ratings dropped a lot. The station's signal also needed to be improved. In 1997, CBS built a new, taller transmitter in Oak Park. This new facility cost $10 million. It allowed WWJ-TV to reach more areas. It also started digital TV broadcasts.
In 1995, CBS said it would start a news department for WWJ-TV. They hired a news director. CBS realized they needed local news when a big event happened. They were slow to report because they had no local news team. By 1996, news plans were on hold. For years, the station's main local show was a weekly newsmagazine called In Depth Detroit. WWJ-TV still struggled to start a full news operation.
Merging with WKBD-TV
Channel 50 has actually used the same approach for three years on its 10 p.m. newscast, but nobody noticed because that hour pulls the approximate ratings of a 3 a.m. infomercial about chinchilla breeding on The Discovery Channel.
In 1999, Viacom bought CBS. Viacom also owned WKBD-TV. This allowed the two stations to combine some operations. WKBD-TV was a larger station with a news department. WWJ-TV still had no news. Many people said WWJ-TV was just a "CBS relay transmitter" (meaning it just showed network programs).
In 2001, WKBD started producing an 11 p.m. newscast for WWJ-TV. They used WKBD's news team. This happened because WWJ-TV was losing popular syndicated shows. The new newscast promised "tonight's local news, straight to the point." But it didn't get good ratings. In 2002, the news anchors were moved only to WWJ-TV. The newscast was called "62 CBS Eyewitness News." But the news shows were too similar to WKBD's.
Because of low ratings, the news effort ended. In September 2002, Viacom decided to stop the WKBD–WWJ news operation. WXYZ-TV then produced a 10 p.m. newscast for channel 50. WWJ-TV aired reruns instead. The last full newscast on WWJ-TV aired on December 3, 2002.
"First Forecast" and Other Local Shows
In 2008, the station changed its name to "WWJ-TV." It stopped using "CBS Detroit." It started local weather updates called "First Forecast." These aired during the morning and at 11 p.m. The station also started broadcasting Detroit Lions preseason games. In 2009, "First Forecast" expanded to a two-hour morning show. It included news headlines from the Detroit Free Press.
First Forecast Mornings ended in 2012. It was replaced by other shows. WWJ-TV said it would still do local programming "where it makes sense." The station continued to air "Eye on Detroit" segments and a Sunday morning public affairs show called Michigan Matters.
In 2017, WWJ radio and WWJ-TV became separate. CBS kept the "WWJ" name rights.
CBS News Detroit: A New Era
The demand now is to be able to consume content when and where viewers want it. And this is a great opportunity to do that and really offer them content that flows like water, from streaming to linear and to digital and to social platforms.
On December 14, 2021, WWJ-TV's parent company, Paramount Global, announced a new full news service. It would be called CBS News Detroit. This news service would focus on streaming first. It would also air on WWJ-TV.
CBS News Detroit produces many hours of online streaming news each week. About 40 of those hours are also shown on WWJ-TV. Reporters are assigned to different communities. They have special vehicles with editing systems. This allows them to create reports without going back to the studio. A special truck is used for weather reports. The newsroom itself is designed to be the news set. The goal is to have longer, more conversational news reports.
In January 2022, Paul Pytlowany became the news director. The first on-air talent was announced in July 2022. This included Amyre Makupson's daughter, also named Amyre. She followed in her mother's footsteps. Veteran broadcaster Ronnie Duncan became the lead sports anchor. His son, Jericka Duncan, is a CBS News correspondent.
On September 1, 2022, WWJ-TV changed its branding to "CBS Detroit." This was before CBS News Detroit launched. The launch was delayed due to supply chain issues. Weeknight newscasts started on January 23, 2023. More local news shows followed in the morning and afternoon. The morning newscast launched early to cover a shooting at Michigan State University.
WWJ-TV also produces Michigan Matters. This weekly show discusses issues important to Detroit. It airs on Sunday mornings and is rebroadcast on CBS News Detroit.
Technical Information
The station's signal has several subchannels:
| Channel | Res. | Aspect | Short name | Programming |
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| 62.1 | 1080i | 16:9 | WWJ-HD | Main WWJ-TV programming / CBS |
| 62.2 | 480i | StartTV | Start TV | |
| 62.3 | DABL | Dabl | ||
| 62.4 | FAVE TV | Fave TV | ||
| 62.5 | Story | Story Television |
WWJ-TV started broadcasting a digital signal in 1999. Analog broadcasts on channel 62 ended on June 12, 2009. This was part of the digital TV switch. On March 13, 2020, the station moved its signal from channel 44 to channel 21. In 2020, WWJ became one of five Detroit stations to use ATSC 3.0 (Next Gen TV).
See also
