Editing WIAT (section)

==Park Broadcasting ownership==
Park Broadcasting, the radio and television enterprise of [[Roy H. Park]], acquired WBMG in 1973, bringing its station group up to the then-limit of seven outlets.<ref name="Birm721018">{{Cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/birmingham-post-herald-new-york-firm-to/136777442/|date=October 18, 1972|page=1|title=New York firm to buy WBMG-tv for $5.5 million|newspaper=Birmingham Post-Herald|location=Birmingham, Alabama|via=Newspapers.com|access-date=December 17, 2023}}</ref><!-- Wed --><ref name="Birm730615">{{Cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/birmingham-post-herald-wbmg-tv-transfer/136777464/|date=June 15, 1973|page=A9|title=WBMG-tv transfer approved|newspaper=Birmingham Post-Herald|location=Birmingham, Alabama|via=Newspapers.com|access-date=December 17, 2023|archive-date=December 17, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231217055239/https://www.newspapers.com/article/birmingham-post-herald-wbmg-tv-transfer/136777464/|url-status=live}}</ref><!-- Fri --> Park continued to make capital investments in channel 42 in spite of its reduced coverage area, including new video tape equipment, [[electronic news gathering]], and a new antenna. However, these changes did not fully help WBMG, whose signal could not fully penetrate the hilly Central Alabama terrain.{{r|BirmN770617}}

The station produced a number of local programs; these included a public affairs series (''Spectrum''), live studio wrestling,<ref name="Birm710426">{{Cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/birmingham-post-herald-big-bad-john-to-t/137047497/|date=April 26, 1971|page=10|title=Big Bad John to team with Young Atlas|newspaper=Birmingham Post-Herald|location=Birmingham, Alabama|via=Newspapers.com|access-date=December 19, 2023|archive-date=December 19, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231219015434/https://www.newspapers.com/article/birmingham-post-herald-big-bad-john-to-t/137047497/|url-status=live}}</ref><!-- Mon --> a weekly church service, and annual coverage of Birmingham's Veterans Day parade.{{r|BirmN770617}} In the late 1960s and 1970s, channel 42 offered ''Sgt. Jack'', a children's show hosted by Birmingham disc jockey Neal Miller.<ref name="Birm020706">{{Cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/birmingham-post-herald-sgt-jack-star/137046366/|date=July 6, 2002|pages=11A, [https://www.newspapers.com/article/birmingham-post-herald-miller-also-know/137046385/ 12A]|title='Sgt. Jack' star dies at hospital|newspaper=The Birmingham News|location=Birmingham, Alabama|via=Newspapers.com|access-date=December 19, 2023|archive-date=December 19, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231219015436/https://www.newspapers.com/article/birmingham-post-herald-sgt-jack-star/137046366/|url-status=live}}</ref><!-- Sat --> Its studios were the home to the first programs produced by [[Mother Angelica]], founder of the [[Eternal Word Television Network]] (EWTN); she severed her relationship with WBMG in 1981 when it aired a CBS miniseries based on the 1972 novel ''[[The Word (novel)|The Word]]'', which she believed presented Jesus as a fake.<ref name="Birm860809">{{Cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/birmingham-post-herald-mother-angelicaf/137048993/|date=August 9, 1986|page=A3|title=Mother Angelica: Five years ago, she put aside the peanuts and started a successful television network|first=Carol Ann|last=Campbell|newspaper=Birmingham Post-Herald|location=Birmingham, Alabama|via=Newspapers.com|access-date=December 19, 2023|archive-date=December 19, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231219021839/https://www.newspapers.com/article/birmingham-post-herald-mother-angelicaf/137048993/|url-status=live}}</ref><!-- Sat -->

While WBMG debuted a local newscast when it signed on in 1965,{{r|Birm651016}} its news efforts were generally minimal. One of its first employees was Bill Bolen, who had worked at WSGN radio and later left to spend 41 years at WBRC; he recalled channel 42 as "primitive".<ref>{{Cite news|page=2-A|title=Fox 6 luminary Bill Bolen to retire|first=Bob|last=Carlton|work=The Birmingham News|date=January 17, 2010}}</ref> By 1977, the news staff numbered four people, while WBRC and WAPI-TV each had 20 or more employees in their news departments.<ref name="BirmN770617">{{Cite news|page=Punch 6|work=The Birmingham News|date=June 17, 1977|first=Julie|last=Held|title=Third station in three-station town acts like No. 1}}</ref> Few people watched. In 1981, WBMG's 6{{nbsp}}p.m. newscast attracted six percent of the audience at that hour to 49 percent for WBRC and 33 percent for the recently renamed WVTM-TV, and the station had no newscast at 10{{nbsp}}p.m. General manager Hoyle Broome touted the straightforward format of his newscast as an alternative.<ref name="Birm810403">{{Cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/birmingham-post-herald-wvtm-takes-late-l/136777933/|date=April 3, 1981|page=Kudzu 6|first=Thomas|last=Hargrove|title=WVTM takes late lead, but WBRC early king|newspaper=Birmingham Post-Herald|location=Birmingham, Alabama|via=Newspapers.com|access-date=December 19, 2023|archive-date=December 19, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231219015412/https://www.newspapers.com/article/birmingham-post-herald-wvtm-takes-late-l/136777933/|url-status=live}}</ref><!-- Fri --> The newscast, known as ''Metro News'', was then moved to 5{{nbsp}}p.m. in hopes of attracting an audience as the first newscast of the evening; WVTM dashed those hopes by debuting a 5{{nbsp}}p.m. newscast of its own, prompting station officials to reevaluate.<ref name="Birm820227">{{Cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/birmingham-post-herald-channel-42-consid/100515762/|date=February 27, 1982|page=A5|title=Channel 42 considers different news format|newspaper=Birmingham Post-Herald|location=Birmingham, Alabama|via=Newspapers.com|access-date=December 19, 2023|archive-date=December 19, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231219015349/https://www.newspapers.com/article/birmingham-post-herald-channel-42-consid/100515762/|url-status=live}}</ref><!-- Sat --> In March 1982, the newscast was replaced with short news updates during daytime and evening programming, and the news staff was reduced from five employees to two.<ref>{{Cite news|page=21D|work=The Birmingham News|first=Garland|last=Reeves|date=March 12, 1982|title=WBMG changes its news format|url=https://www.genealogybank.com/newspaper-clippings/wbmg-changes-its-news-format/wanlmtycjkhisyncflklprdorkaiqwld_ip-10-166-46-91_1711093495800}}</ref> The station did not air local newscasts for the next several years;<ref name="Birm840518">{{Cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/birmingham-post-herald-network-programmi/136948221/|date=May 18, 1984|pages=Kudzu 4, [https://www.newspapers.com/article/birmingham-post-herald-television/136948229/ 5]|first=Sam|last=Hodges|title=Network programming takes beating in city: Advertising revenue calls the tune when decisions are|newspaper=Birmingham Post-Herald|location=Birmingham, Alabama|via=Newspapers.com|access-date=December 20, 2023|archive-date=December 20, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231220062659/https://www.newspapers.com/article/birmingham-post-herald-network-programmi/136948221/|url-status=live}}</ref><!-- Fri --> Park instead invested in a new, taller tower and higher-power transmitter facility for WBMG, which were activated in 1983 and 1984, respectively.<ref name="Birm840614">{{Cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/birmingham-post-herald-wbmg-planning-to/136777980/|date=June 14, 1984|page=A8|title=WBMG planning to power up|newspaper=Birmingham Post-Herald|location=Birmingham, Alabama|via=Newspapers.com|access-date=December 20, 2023|archive-date=December 20, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231220062659/https://www.newspapers.com/article/birmingham-post-herald-wbmg-planning-to/136777980/|url-status=live}}</ref><!-- Thu -->

===''Action News Birmingham''===
In late 1986, WBMG began readying a return to local news production, prompting Tuscaloosa-based [[WDBB]] to cancel its low-rated 9{{nbsp}}p.m. local newscast.<ref name="Birm860910">{{Cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/birmingham-post-herald-channel-17-dumps/99827924/|date=September 10, 1986|page=E6|first=Grace|last=Fiorella Chandler|title=Channel 17 dumps 9 o'clock newscast: Channel 42 to resume local news operation at end of October|newspaper=Birmingham Post-Herald|location=Birmingham, Alabama|via=Newspapers.com|access-date=December 20, 2023|archive-date=December 20, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231220062700/https://www.newspapers.com/article/birmingham-post-herald-channel-17-dumps/99827924/|url-status=live}}</ref><!-- Wed --> Park invested $1.5 million to start ''WBMG Action News Birmingham'', which debuted on January 12, 1987. The news department, with weeknight 5 and 10{{nbsp}}p.m. newscasts as well as weekend editions, focused on news in the five-county Birmingham metro area, rather than the much larger news coverage areas of WBRC and WVTM; the goal was not to be number one but merely to occupy a niche.<ref name="Birm861223">{{Cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/birmingham-post-herald-wbmg-readies-re-e/100515825/|date=December 23, 1986|page=C6|first=Siona|last=Carpenter|title=WBMG readies re-entry into newscast atmosphere|newspaper=Birmingham Post-Herald|location=Birmingham, Alabama|via=Newspapers.com|access-date=December 20, 2023}}</ref><!-- Tue --> News director Frank Morock believed the expanding focuses of the other stations left Birmingham and its environs relatively underserved.<ref name="Birm870109">{{Cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/birmingham-post-herald-wbmg-prepares-to/136777533/|date=January 9, 1987|page=Kudzu 6|first=Mitch|last=Mendelson|title=WBMG prepares to sign on with new news program|newspaper=Birmingham Post-Herald|location=Birmingham, Alabama|via=Newspapers.com|access-date=December 20, 2023|archive-date=December 20, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231220063217/https://www.newspapers.com/article/birmingham-post-herald-wbmg-prepares-to/136777533/|url-status=live}}</ref><!-- Fri --> News viewership for ''Action News Birmingham'' hovered between five and nine percent of the audience, a far cry from the shares of 30 percent or above commanded by each of WBRC and WVTM.<ref name="Birm870620">{{Cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/birmingham-post-herald-television-statio/100515912/|date=June 20, 1987|page=B8|first=Susan|last=Keith|title=Television stations tote up wins, losses|newspaper=Birmingham Post-Herald|location=Birmingham, Alabama|via=Newspapers.com|access-date=December 20, 2023|archive-date=December 20, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231220063217/https://www.newspapers.com/article/birmingham-post-herald-television-statio/100515912/|url-status=live}}</ref><!-- Sat --> The newscasts were losing in the ratings to syndicated reruns on Birmingham's [[independent station]], [[WTTO]], though station management contended and a coincidental telephone survey found that viewership was higher than reflected in ratings diaries.<ref name="Birm890321">{{Cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/birmingham-post-herald-channel-13-rated/136948272/|date=March 21, 1989|page=C1|first=Michaelle|last=Chapman|title=Channel 13 rated the newscast king of Red Mountain, for now|newspaper=Birmingham Post-Herald|location=Birmingham, Alabama|via=Newspapers.com|access-date=December 20, 2023|archive-date=December 20, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231220063218/https://www.newspapers.com/article/birmingham-post-herald-channel-13-rated/136948272/|url-status=live}}</ref><!-- Tue -->

John Herrod left [[KTXS-TV]] in [[Sweetwater, Texas]], to become WBMG's news director in 1990. He sought to give the station a defined news image by airing longer, more in-depth stories.<ref name="Birm900627">{{Cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/birmingham-post-herald-wbmg-brings-on-ne/100516043/|date=June 27, 1990|page=D10|first=Cherry|last=Rich|title=WBMG brings on new golden boy: Channel 42 news director has plans to pull station from cellar|newspaper=Birmingham Post-Herald|location=Birmingham, Alabama|via=Newspapers.com|access-date=December 20, 2023|archive-date=December 20, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231220063221/https://www.newspapers.com/article/birmingham-post-herald-wbmg-brings-on-ne/100516043/|url-status=live}}</ref><!-- Wed --> Channel 42 also became known for aggressive reporting. When WBRC anchor Janet Hall became a spokeswoman for the [[Birmingham Zoo]], WBMG produced a news special openly asking whether WBRC could be considered a reliable source for reporting on the troubled facility.<ref name="Birm921001">{{Cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/birmingham-post-herald-zoo-pact-has-tv-s/136778090/|date=October 1, 1992|pages=C1, [https://www.newspapers.com/article/birmingham-post-herald-tv/136778107/ C3]|first=Elaine|last=Witt|title=Zoo pact has TV stations snapping|newspaper=Birmingham Post-Herald|location=Birmingham, Alabama|via=Newspapers.com|access-date=December 20, 2023|archive-date=December 20, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231220063221/https://www.newspapers.com/article/birmingham-post-herald-zoo-pact-has-tv-s/136778090/|url-status=live}}</ref><!-- Thu --> Doors being slammed in WBMG reporters' faces became a common sight on channel 42's newscasts, and the station did a series of reports on why Birmingham city officials were not talking to WBMG.<ref name="Birm940726">{{Cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/birmingham-post-herald-the-bad-news-ai/136948323/|date=July 26, 1994|pages=D1, [https://www.newspapers.com/article/birmingham-post-herald-herrod/136948331/ D4]|title=The 'bad' news airs: John Herrod: An underdog with attitude|newspaper=Birmingham Post-Herald|location=Birmingham, Alabama|via=Newspapers.com|access-date=December 20, 2023|archive-date=December 20, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231220063220/https://www.newspapers.com/article/birmingham-post-herald-the-bad-news-ai/136948323/|url-status=live}}</ref><!-- Tue --> Even though WBMG's news audience consisted of one to two percent of the market,<ref name="Birm930701">{{Cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/birmingham-post-herald-wbrc-6-evening-ne/100516353/|date=July 1, 1993|page=C2|first=Gail|last=Short|title=WBRC-6 evening news beats WVTM-13 in ratings|newspaper=Birmingham Post-Herald|location=Birmingham, Alabama|via=Newspapers.com|access-date=December 20, 2023|archive-date=December 20, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231220063222/https://www.newspapers.com/article/birmingham-post-herald-wbrc-6-evening-ne/100516353/|url-status=live}}</ref><!-- Thu --> a study by researchers at the [[University of Alabama at Birmingham]] found that WBMG's ''Action News'' aired more local news stories and longer stories than its higher-rated competitors in one week in April 1994, concluding, "Channel 42 was guilty of some editorializing but clearly offered more substance than the other two stations."<ref>{{Cite news|work=The Birmingham News|date=March 31, 1995|first=Alec|last=Harvey|page=3F|title=Researchers claim Channel 42 offers more local coverage}}</ref>

===Shifting affiliations elsewhere, shifting ownership at Park===
In 1994, Park Communications{{efn|Park Broadcasting renamed itself by 1983.<ref name="Rich830928">{{Cite news|url=https://newspapers.com/article/richmond-times-dispatch-park-communicati/150121898/|date=September 28, 1983|page=A-9|agency=UPI|title=Park Communications names Byrd to board|newspaper=Richmond Times-Dispatch|location=Richmond, Virginia|via=Newspapers.com|access-date=June 26, 2024}}</ref><!-- Wed -->}} sold itself to Donald R. Tomlin and Gary B. Knapp in a deal backed by the [[Retirement Systems of Alabama]] pension fund.<ref name="Birm941027">{{Cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/birmingham-post-herald-rsa-backs-big-tv/136778229/|date=October 27, 1994|pages=A1, [https://www.newspapers.com/article/birmingham-post-herald-wbmg/136778239/ A9]|first=David|last=Rynecki|title=RSA backs big TV deal: WBMG parent firm is sold|newspaper=Birmingham Post-Herald|location=Birmingham, Alabama|via=Newspapers.com|access-date=December 20, 2023|archive-date=December 20, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231220063224/https://www.newspapers.com/article/birmingham-post-herald-rsa-backs-big-tv/136778229/|url-status=live}}</ref><!-- Thu --> The sale of Park led to the end of Herrod's ''Action News'' format and combative approach in favor of a more mainstream news presentation with the same amount of crime news as other local stations. A new news director was hired in late 1995; the station initiated new weekend, morning, and 5{{nbsp}}p.m. newscasts in 1996; and the newsroom was expanded from {{convert|1500|ft2|m2}} to {{convert|3900|ft2|m2}}.<ref name="Birm960603">{{Cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/birmingham-post-herald-wbmg-mainstreams/136948370/|date=June 3, 1996|pages=B1, [https://www.newspapers.com/article/birmingham-post-herald-wbmg/136948376/ B4]|first=Nick|last=Patterson|title=WBMG mainstreams news: Facilities, coverage expanding|newspaper=Birmingham Post-Herald|location=Birmingham, Alabama|via=Newspapers.com|access-date=December 20, 2023|archive-date=December 20, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231220063727/https://www.newspapers.com/article/birmingham-post-herald-wbmg-mainstreams/136948370/|url-status=live}}</ref><!-- Mon -->

Meanwhile, a major realignment of television station affiliations and ownership was brewing in the market. In May 1994, [[New World Communications]] agreed to affiliate 12 stations with [[Fox Broadcasting Company|Fox]], including ABC affiliate WBRC-TV, which it had just agreed to buy from [[Citicasters]]. At the same time, New World agreed to buy Argyle Television, owner of NBC affiliate WVTM-TV; to resolve the conflict, WBRC-TV was sold directly to the Fox network. This deal set off a slow-motion affiliation shuffle in Birmingham as ABC sought a replacement affiliate.<ref name="Birm950920">{{Cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/birmingham-post-herald-foxs-hunting-cha/99837474/|date=September 20, 1995|pages=A1, [https://www.newspapers.com/article/birmingham-post-herald-fox/99837531/ A8]|first=Jed|last=Graham|title=Fox's hunting changes plans|newspaper=Birmingham Post-Herald|location=Birmingham, Alabama|via=Newspapers.com|access-date=December 20, 2023|archive-date=December 20, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231220063728/https://www.newspapers.com/article/birmingham-post-herald-foxs-hunting-cha/99837474/|url-status=live}}</ref><!-- Wed --> ABC negotiated with WBMG and was even reported to be near a deal.<ref>{{Cite news|work=Birmingham Business Journal|page=1|first=Michael|last=Tomberlin|title=ABC poised to scramble local TV affiliations|date=August 14, 1995}}</ref> Instead, Park Communications signed a long-term renewal with CBS, owing to its upcoming deal to carry [[Southeastern Conference]] college sports and the company's lengthy relationship with the network.<ref name="Birm951012">{{Cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/birmingham-post-herald-wbmg-42-will-stay/136778266/|date=October 12, 1995|page=B4|first=Jed|last=Graham|title=WBMG-42 will stay an affiliate of CBS|newspaper=Birmingham Post-Herald|location=Birmingham, Alabama|via=Newspapers.com|access-date=December 20, 2023|archive-date=December 20, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231220063730/https://www.newspapers.com/article/birmingham-post-herald-wbmg-42-will-stay/136778266/|url-status=live}}</ref><!-- Thu -->

As a replacement, ABC persuaded the CBS affiliates in Tuscaloosa and Anniston, WCFT and WJSU, to switch affiliations. They would act as full-power satellites of a low-power station in Birmingham, [[WBMA-LD|WBMA-LP]], with a new combined news operation in Birmingham. The new station, which debuted in September 1996 under the moniker "ABC 33/40", featured veteran Alabama news personalities including WBRC's [[James Spann]] and Brenda Ladun,<ref>{{Cite news |last=Joynt |first=Steve |date=July 12, 1996 |title=Spann gets hot; TV future cloudy |pages=B1–[https://www.newspapers.com/article/birmingham-post-herald-spann-gets-hot-t/124162320/ B2] |work=Birmingham Post-Herald |location=Birmingham, Alabama |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/birmingham-post-herald-spann-gets-hot-t/124162286/ |access-date=May 6, 2023 |via=Newspapers.com |archive-date=December 20, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231220063731/https://www.newspapers.com/article/birmingham-post-herald-spann-gets-hot-t/124162286/ |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |last=Joynt |first=Steve |date=December 28, 1996 |title=Year of visions, sights: The top 10 events had us cheering or groaning |pages=[https://www.newspapers.com/article/birmingham-post-herald-year-of-visions/124163028/ C1], C3 |work=Birmingham Post-Herald |location=Birmingham, Alabama |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/birmingham-post-herald-year-of-visions/124163051/ |access-date=May 6, 2023 |via=Newspapers.com |archive-date=December 20, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231220063732/https://www.newspapers.com/article/birmingham-post-herald-year-of-visions/124163051/ |url-status=live }}</ref> later poaching anchor Pam Huff from WVTM. The newscasts on WBMA immediately rose to third place in the Birmingham ratings, pushing channel 42 to fourth place.<ref name="Birm970808">{{Cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/birmingham-post-herald-switching-channel/99840537/|date=August 8, 1997|pages=A1, [https://www.newspapers.com/article/birmingham-post-herald-tv/99840519/ A9]|title=Switching channels: Changes still have television market in turmoil|newspaper=Birmingham Post-Herald|location=Birmingham, Alabama|via=Newspapers.com|access-date=December 20, 2023|archive-date=December 20, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231220063732/https://www.newspapers.com/article/birmingham-post-herald-switching-channel/99840537/|url-status=live}}</ref><!-- Fri --> [[Nielsen Media Research]], which measures television ratings, proceeded to announce that it would fold Tuscaloosa and Anniston into the Birmingham [[Designated Market Area]] as a result of their local stations being merged with WBMA; in addition, it would introduce meters instead of diaries to the enlarged market.<ref>{{Cite news|pages=14–15|title=Nielsen mulling expansion of market|work=Mediaweek|first=Claude|last=Brodesser|date=September 1, 1997|id={{ProQuest|213626577}} }}</ref><ref name="em121597">{{Cite magazine|title=Birmingham's WBMG-TV cleans house with news staff| first=Jon|last=Lafayette|periodical=[[Electronic Media]]|page=2|date=December 18, 1997|url=https://archive.org/details/sim_televisionweek_1997-12-18_16_50/mode/2up?q=WBMG}}</ref>