Editing WIAT (section)

===''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>