Editing WSVN (section)

=== Signing on under Biscayne ===
[[File:WCKT_Peabody_award_1961_ad.jpg|thumb|475x475px|Advertisement promoting WCKT's 1960 Peabody Award, the station's first.]]
At launch, WCKT's newscasts were handled by Gordon Shaw in mornings, news director Charles Harrison in early evenings, and Phil Kelleher in late evenings. The station also boasted "a completely equipped" [[newsroom]] located adjacent to the main studio.<ref name="Miam560729p7H">{{Cite news|date=July 29, 1956|title=Top Newsmen Map Coverage Of South Florida For WCKT|page=7H|newspaper=The Miami Herald|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/94883872/top-newsmen-map-coverage-of-south/|access-date=February 13, 2022|via=Newspapers.com|archive-date=February 13, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220213205528/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/94883872/top-newsmen-map-coverage-of-south/|url-status=live}}</ref> WCKT's debut program was a news bulletin anchored by Shaw. Jack Anderson later wrote in his ''Herald'' column that Shaw continued to smile throughout the bulletin, which included a story on a [[train derailment]].<ref name="Miam570803">{{Cite news|last=Anderson|first=Jack|date=August 3, 1957|title=WCKT Came A Long Way in a Year Of Operation; Looks to Fall, Winter|page=22A|newspaper=The Miami Herald|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/94888383/wckt-came-a-long-way-in-a-year-of/|access-date=February 13, 2022|via=Newspapers.com|archive-date=February 13, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220213205518/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/94888383/wckt-came-a-long-way-in-a-year-of/|url-status=live}}</ref> The news team had radio backgrounds: Harrison was a distinguished reporter at [[Philadelphia]]'s [[WFIL]], Shaw and Kelleher were WQAM veterans, and assistant news director Gene Strul was previously WIOD's news director.{{r|Miam560729p7H}} Under Harrison's guidance, WCKT produced its first long-form [[documentary]]—''Whispered Menace'', about [[sex psychology]] and [[Sexual abuse|molesters]]—that premiered on August 7, 1957.{{r|Miam570803}} This documentary helped WCKT win its first national award by the [[Radio-Television News Directors Association]] for outstanding televised news story, citing the station "having courage to use a news story on sexual psychopaths"; ''Whispered Menace'' was also screened at area schools and [[PTA meeting]]s.<ref name="Miam571113">{{Cite news|date=November 13, 1957|title=National Honor Won By WCKT|page=9B|newspaper=The Miami Herald|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/94887914/national-honor-won-by-wckt/|access-date=February 13, 2022|via=Newspapers.com|archive-date=February 13, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220213205519/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/94887914/national-honor-won-by-wckt/|url-status=live}}</ref> After Harrison left WCKT in October 1957, veteran [[CBS News]] correspondent [[Bill Shadel]] was hired as his replacement.<ref name="Miam571024">{{Cite news|date=October 24, 1957|title=WCKT Names Newsman|page=10A|newspaper=The Miami Herald|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/94890268/wckt-names-newsman/|access-date=February 13, 2022|via=Newspapers.com|archive-date=February 14, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220214235058/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/94890268/wckt-names-newsman/|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="Miam5710242">{{Cite news|date=October 24, 1957|title=WCKT Gets Bill Schadel|page=4D|newspaper=The Miami News|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/94899138/wckt-gets-bill-schadel/|access-date=February 13, 2022|via=Newspapers.com|archive-date=February 15, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220215000220/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/94899138/wckt-gets-bill-schadel/|url-status=live}}</ref> Within the station's first year, WCKT succeeded in achieving ratings parity against WTVJ and [[WPST-TV]]:{{r|Miam570803}} WPST's launch was expedited when WGBS-TV shut down on April 13, 1957, and Storer sold off the station's assets to WPST owner [[National Airlines (1934–1980)|National Airlines]] after they won the Miami channel 10 permit.<ref name="Miam570406">{{Cite news|date=April 6, 1957|title=WGBS-TV Sells Out To NAL|page=2A|newspaper=The Miami Herald|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/94891583/wgbs-tv-sells-out-to-nal/|access-date=February 13, 2022|via=Newspapers.com|archive-date=February 13, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220213205526/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/94891583/wgbs-tv-sells-out-to-nal/|url-status=live}}</ref>{{r|StorerEquipSale}}

[[File:Wayne_Fariss.jpg|left|thumb|254x254px|Wayne Fariss]]
Bill Shadel left the station by May 1958 to join [[ABC News (United States)|ABC News]] after that network reportedly "made him an offer he couldn't resist".<ref name="Miam580514">{{Cite news|date=May 14, 1958|title=Shadel Quits Ch. 7|page=9B|newspaper=The Miami Herald|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/94899079/shadel-quits-ch-7/|access-date=February 13, 2022|via=Newspapers.com|archive-date=February 14, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220214061054/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/94899079/shadel-quits-ch-7/|url-status=live}}</ref> WCKT hired Wayne Fariss from [[WTVT]] in [[Tampa, Florida]], where he had been that station's first newscaster,{{r|Miam621230}} to be lead anchorman starting on June 30, 1958.<ref name="Miam580619">{{Cite news|last=Rau|first=Herb|date=June 19, 1958|title=Dateline Miami|page=1B|newspaper=The Miami News|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/94931213/dateline-miami/|access-date=February 14, 2022|via=Newspapers.com|archive-date=February 14, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220214061048/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/94931213/dateline-miami/|url-status=live}}</ref> Fariss competed against top-rated [[Ralph Renick]] at WTVJ, who in the August 1959 [[Arbitron ratings]] held a 23.8 share{{efn|According to [[Nielsen Media Research]], a share is a percentage of the total number of households with a television set in use that are tuned to a television network, station or program at a given time. A rating is a percentage of the total population tuned into a specific television network, station or program.<ref>{{cite web|title=Nielsen Media Research's Glossary of Media Terms|at=Glossary Search ''Share''|url=http://www.nielsenmedia.com/glossary/index.htm|author=Nielsen Media Research|access-date=November 27, 2017|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170713105550/http://www.nielsenmedia.com/glossary/index.htm|archive-date=July 13, 2017}}</ref>}} at 6:30&nbsp;p.m; this prompted WCKT to move Fariss's early-evening newscast to 6&nbsp;p.m., in between the station's late-afternoon movie<ref name="Miam591007">{{Cite news|last=Dunn|first=Kristine|date=October 7, 1959|title=News, Fords Buck Renick|page=7B|newspaper=The Miami News|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/94984463/news-fords-buck-renick/|access-date=February 15, 2022|via=Newspapers.com|archive-date=February 15, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220215050326/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/94984463/news-fords-buck-renick/|url-status=live}}</ref> hosted by [[Bob Clayton]].<ref name="MiamiH19650830p29">{{Cite news |last=Anderson |first=Jack E. |date=August 30, 1965 |title=Bob Clayton Ending Miami Commitments |page=5B |newspaper=The Miami Herald |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/96207793/bob-clayton-ending-miami-commitments/ |access-date=March 12, 2022 |via=Newspapers.com}}</ref> Fariss and reporter Ben Silver were selected by Gov. Collins to be a part of a fact-finding tour of the [[Soviet Union]] in June 1959, with Fariss providing reports to the station via radio and telephone.<ref name="Miam590607">{{Cite news|date=June 7, 1959|title=WCKT Staff Men Will Join Russia In Collins Group|page=13:Amusements Guide|newspaper=The Miami News|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/94980190/wckt-staff-men-will-join-russia-in/|access-date=February 15, 2022|via=Newspapers.com|archive-date=February 15, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220215045945/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/94980190/wckt-staff-men-will-join-russia-in/|url-status=live}}</ref> The station won the [[Peabody Award]] on April 19, 1961, for its coverage of the [[Cuban Revolution]] and its local ramifications including several long-form documentaries,<ref name="Miam610419">{{Cite news|date=April 19, 1961|title=WCKT-TV Honored for Cuban News|page=2A|newspaper=The Miami Herald|agency=Associated Press|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/74591292/wckt-tv-honored-for-cuban-news/|access-date=February 14, 2022|via=Newspapers.com|archive-date=February 15, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220215000224/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/74591292/wckt-tv-honored-for-cuban-news/|url-status=live}}</ref> which was the first time a Florida radio or television station won the award.<ref name="Miam610418">{{Cite news|date=April 18, 1961|title=WCKT-Ch. 7 Wins Peabody For Specials|page=8B|newspaper=The Miami News|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/95026462/wckt-ch-7-wins-peabody-for-specials/|access-date=February 15, 2022|via=Newspapers.com|archive-date=February 15, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220215225025/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/95026462/wckt-ch-7-wins-peabody-for-specials/|url-status=live}}</ref> Silver's reporting of the [[Battle of Santa Clara]] in particular, alongside NBC newsman [[Herb Kaplow]] and Ed Scott, was so well received by the [[26th of July Movement]] that they regarded Silver as one of their own.<ref name="Miam590103">{{Cite news|last=Anderson|first=Jack|date=January 3, 1959|title=TV and Radio Covered Cuba Like a Blanket|page=4E|newspaper=The Miami Herald|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/95036906/tv-and-radio-covered-cuba-like-a-blanket/|access-date=February 15, 2022|via=Newspapers.com|archive-date=February 15, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220215210514/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/95036906/tv-and-radio-covered-cuba-like-a-blanket/|url-status=live}}</ref> Fariss's newscasts were additionally translated in [[Spanish language|Spanish]] and simulcast over local radio beginning in 1962, with his scripts [[translated]] and [[Language interpretation|interpreted]] in real time.<ref name="Miam620807">{{Cite news|last=Anderson|first=Jack E.|date=August 7, 1962|title=Fariss' News Reports Due in Spanish, Too|page=14A|newspaper=The Miami Herald|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/74575739/farris-news-reports-due-in-spanish-too/|access-date=February 14, 2022|via=Newspapers.com|archive-date=February 15, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220215011543/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/74575739/farris-news-reports-due-in-spanish-too/|url-status=live}}</ref> While Fariss was originally said to deliver newscasts via notes instead of a prepared script,<ref name="Miam5806192">{{Cite news|date=June 19, 1958|title=Tampan Gets News Job At WCKT|page=13A|newspaper=The Miami News|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/94984180/tampan-gets-news-job-at-wckt/|access-date=February 15, 2022|via=Newspapers.com|archive-date=February 15, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220215011543/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/94984180/tampan-gets-news-job-at-wckt/|url-status=live}}</ref> he eventually allowed producer David Choate to assist with any advance preparation and [[copy editing]]; Fariss was regarded as Renick's chief competition by the end of 1962.<ref name="Miam621230">{{Cite news|last=Anderson|first=Jack E.|date=December 30, 1962|title=Portrait of A TV Newscaster, p2|pages=[https://www.newspapers.com/clip/94985294/portrait-of-a-tv-newscaster/ 6]–7:Sunday Magazine|newspaper=The Miami Herald|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/74576052/portrait-of-a-tv-newscaster-p2/|access-date=February 15, 2022|via=Newspapers.com|archive-date=February 15, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220215040439/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/74576052/portrait-of-a-tv-newscaster-p2/|url-status=live}}</ref>

Despite signing on, the legal battle over the WCKT license continued for nearly a full year. The Washington Court of Appeals temporarily set aside the grant of channel 7 to Biscayne on March 14, 1957, citing the FCC's failure to question any possible adverse effect from Trammell's past ties with NBC that could benefit the network. Trammell was considered by the court to be "the key figure" and "vital '[[Middle management|middle man]]'" in Biscayne's operations.<ref name="Miam570315">{{Cite news|date=March 15, 1957|title=Court Sets Aside Channel 7 Grant|page=16A|newspaper=The Miami News|agency=Associated Press|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/94977283/court-sets-aside-channel-7-grant/|access-date=February 14, 2022|via=Newspapers.com|archive-date=February 14, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220214235157/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/94977283/court-sets-aside-channel-7-grant/|url-status=live}}</ref> The court's ruling did not suspend or affect WCKT's license, with the FCC rejecting any proposal filed to order the station to do [[Dark (broadcasting)|dark]].<ref name="Miam570614">{{Cite news|date=June 14, 1957|title=FCC Directs Channel 7 To Stay On Air|page=1A|newspaper=The Miami News|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/94977153/fcc-directs-channel-7-to-stay-on-air/|access-date=February 14, 2022|via=Newspapers.com|archive-date=February 14, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220214231847/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/94977153/fcc-directs-channel-7-to-stay-on-air/|url-status=live}}</ref> Biscayne's license grant was reaffirmed by the FCC on June 21, 1957, by a 4–2 vote.{{r|Miam590404}} The FCC gave Biscayne a [[Demerit (school discipline)|demerit]] for "possible [[conflict of interest]]" with regards to Trammell but still considered the company to be the "best qualified applicant" for the license.<ref name="Miam570622">{{Cite news|date=June 22, 1957|title=Biscayne Television Corp. Grant Reaffirmed By FCC|page=2A|newspaper=The Miami News|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/94976966/biscayne-television-corp-grant/|access-date=February 14, 2022|via=Newspapers.com|archive-date=February 14, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220214231850/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/94976966/biscayne-television-corp-grant/|url-status=live}}</ref> The license application file was closed by the commission that December.<ref name="Miam571205">{{Cite news|date=December 5, 1957|title=FCC Closing File On Grant Of Channel 7|page=13A|newspaper=The Miami News|agency=Associated Press|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/94977596/fcc-closing-file-on-grant-of-channel-7/|access-date=February 14, 2022|via=Newspapers.com|archive-date=February 15, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220215005748/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/94977596/fcc-closing-file-on-grant-of-channel-7/|url-status=live}}</ref>