Hubbry Logo
WDJT-TVWDJT-TVMain
Open search
WDJT-TV
Community hub
WDJT-TV
logo
8 pages, 0 posts
0 subscribers
Be the first to start a discussion here.
Be the first to start a discussion here.
WDJT-TV
WDJT-TV
WDJT-TV
View on Wikipedia
from Wikipedia

WDJT-TV (channel 58) is a television station in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, United States, affiliated with CBS. It is owned by Weigel Broadcasting alongside three other stations in southeastern Wisconsin: independent station WMLW-TV (channel 49), MeTV station WBME-CD (channel 41), and Telemundo affiliate WYTU-LD (channel 63). The stations share studios in the Renaissance Center office complex on South 60th Street in West Allis; WDJT-TV's transmitter is located in Milwaukee's Lincoln Park.

Key Information

Channel 58 went on the air in November 1988 as a lower-tier independent station subsisting on classic reruns and movies, as well as programs not aired by Milwaukee's network affiliates. The construction permit had originally been awarded to a company owned by two minority stockholders, whose initials are preserved in the station's call letters. However, the terminal illness of one of the partners created funding problems only solved when the surviving partner sold controlling interest to Weigel, who eventually became sole owner. WDJT-TV gradually increased its profile in the market over the course of the early 1990s, notably by carrying gavel-to-gavel coverage of the murder trial of Jeffrey Dahmer.

In 1994, Milwaukee's then-CBS affiliate, WITI, announced it would switch to Fox. This decision led to an especially lengthy search by CBS for a new affiliate in Milwaukee. The other Milwaukee independents and WDJT-TV alike initially rebuffed the network's overtures, leaving CBS scrambling for a new affiliate with only weeks before WITI was due to join Fox. Channel 58 finally committed to becoming a CBS affiliate just six days before doing so on December 11, 1994. Over the next two years, WDJT-TV started a local news operation—which has since expanded to provide news programming for two additional Weigel stations in the market and throughout the day—and built a new transmitter tower to provide a full-market signal, which it had previously lacked. The station has since helped Weigel launch new national digital multicast networks.

History

[edit]

Launch and early struggles

[edit]

In 1983, Harry C. Powell Jr., a Florida man, successfully petitioned the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to add a new allocation for ultra high frequency (UHF) channel 58 in Milwaukee. Powell stated that he intended to apply for a license with the help of a Knoxville, Tennessee, consulting firm if the commission approved.[3] With channel 58 now allocated to Milwaukee, the commission took applications for the station, ending with a 13-party field which included Powell, five applicants residing in Knoxville, and several groups consisting of local investors. One of these groups included then-state senator Gary George.[4] This field thinned quickly to six applicants and then to two in October.[1] In March 1985, the FCC rejected another applicant and issued a decision in favor of TV 58 Limited, a minority-owned firm headed by Debra M. Jackson and Milwaukee media veteran John Torres, who had worked for multiple radio stations and local Spanish-language newspaper La Guardia.[5] Debra Jackson originally suggested naming the station WJMT—Torres's initials—but the designation was not available, thus the selection of WDJT-TV, combining both their initials.[1]

TV 58 Limited faced financial trouble from the start when it agreed to pay out settlements to other applicants, including George, in exchange for them withdrawing their applications.[6] A new burden surfaced when Jackson was diagnosed with a terminal illness—dying in January 1987—and the lenders that had originally committed interim financing backed out of their deals.[1] In February 1986, one of the applicants with which TV 58 Limited had settled forced the company into involuntary bankruptcy.[1] The Carley Capital Group of Madison negotiated to provide funding to keep the business afloat,[7] but it withdrew by early August, and a new company entered the picture: Weigel Broadcasting, the Chicago-based owner of WCIU-TV in that city.[8] Torres agreed to sell controlling interest in the station to Weigel, while the call letters were retained.[9]

A 1920s Art Deco hotel building with a large transmitter tower on top
WDJT-TV signed on from studios and transmitter in the Marc Plaza Hotel downtown.

Weigel, in association with Torres, spent the next two years trying to put WDJT-TV on the air. Weigel proposed construction of facilities in various suburbs, including Glendale,[10] where it was rebuffed twice in two years,[11] and Germantown, where the village rejected Weigel's plans. Objections to the proposed 1,000-foot (300 m) tower called it unsightly.[12] To get the station on the air, Weigel instead decided to locate at a downtown site with a lengthy history of television in the city: the Marc Plaza Hotel. The antenna on the original mast atop the building—first used as a transmitting site by early UHF station WCAN-TV in 1953[13] and at the time utilized by low-power outlet W08BY—was replaced in October in preparation for the station's launch.[9]

After a $2.3 million expenditure,[14] WDJT-TV began broadcasting on November 10, 1988. Known as "Classic 58", it presented a mix of older sitcoms and movies with a family orientation, a programming philosophy favored by Torres.[15] The next year, Weigel also launched W46AR, a low-power station carrying Univision, giving it three signals in the area along with a preexisting WCIU translator, W65BT, and WDJT-TV.[16] The station also resurrected The Bowling Game, a bowling program that had previously enjoyed an 11-year run on established Milwaukee independent WVTV (channel 18) and continued on channel 58 until 1993.[16][17]

At the station's launch, Torres served as the vice president of operations;[9] he later sued Weigel for forcing him out of the company by having him sell to an affiliated company, a case that resulted in an out-of-court settlement.[18][19] A Delaware court ruled in favor of Torres in a case involving undervaluation of his stock in the partnership in 1993.[20]

The station's programming of syndicated shows and movies was bolstered by a variety of network programs preempted by the networks' Milwaukee affiliates; in late 1990, WDJT-TV was airing America Tonight from CBS, Loving and Match Game from ABC, and four shows from NBC.[21] In 1992, WDJT-TV put itself on the map by teaming up with WITI, then the CBS affiliate in Milwaukee, to air nonstop coverage during the trial of Jeffrey Dahmer, a serial killer from Milwaukee, thus making it available to non-cable homes in the Milwaukee area and allowing WITI to air its normal programming.[22] The trial coverage was credited by station management with making people aware that there was even a station on channel 58 in the first place; at times during the weeks-long trial, 15 to 20 percent of Milwaukee TV homes were tuned to WDJT-TV, and it also was added to at least one cable system as a result at a time when must-carry rules were not in effect.[23] Local programming efforts included the first locally produced children's TV program in Milwaukee in decades: SeaToons with Captain Al Gee, which presented segments between cartoons weekday mornings but lasted only eight weeks.[24][20]

With its limited presence, WDJT-TV was barely mentioned in the same breath as its more established competitors, independent WVTV and Fox affiliate WCGV-TV (channel 24). For example, a 1992 feature in The Milwaukee Journal on independent television programming in Milwaukee (at the time, WCGV, like other early Fox affiliates, was still considered an independent) consigned channel 58 to one lone mention.[25] Its signal was only a fraction of those of channels 18 and 24; the Marc Plaza transmitter effectively limited channel 58's coverage area to Milwaukee itself and its inner-ring suburbs.[26] On cable systems, it was on high channel positions, including channel 29 in Milwaukee and channel 48 on Warner Cable systems in suburban areas.[27]

CBS courtship

[edit]

On May 23, 1994, Fox announced an agreement with New World Communications in which most of New World's stations would become affiliates of that network. Among those due to switch affiliations was Milwaukee's WITI.[28] The deal, which triggered a years-long realignment process in cities nationwide, left CBS needing a new affiliate in the Milwaukee market. It approached NBC affiliate WTMJ-TV and ABC affiliate WISN-TV (which had previously carried CBS from 1961 to 1977), but each renewed their existing contracts.[29] This left three commercial independent or soon-to-be-independent stations operating in Milwaukee as potential CBS affiliates: WVTV, WCGV-TV (about to lose Fox), and WDJT-TV.[30]

The year before, Gaylord Broadcasting, owner of WVTV, had signed a local marketing agreement to allow WCGV-TV, then owned by ABRY Communications, to handle its programming functions.[31] WCGV-TV moved into WVTV's building, from which it had produced a 9 p.m. local newscast until 1993.[30] The week the New World deal was announced, however, Sinclair Broadcast Group of Baltimore closed on its previously agreed purchase of WCGV-TV.[26][32] Though this would normally have made WCGV-TV a frontrunner to be the CBS affiliate,[29] Sinclair owned no major network affiliates at the time but three Fox affiliates and two independents.[32] CBS had an hourlong conversation with Sinclair representatives in early June, but Sinclair president David D. Smith repeatedly stated his lack of interest in aligning his station with the network;[29] this stance was reaffirmed in early October.[33]

Sinclair's lack of interest in the available CBS affiliation left one other viable partner—WDJT-TV—but CBS first made a longshot attempt to purchase another local station. It offered to buy Christian television station WVCY-TV, owned by Wisconsin Voice of Christian Youth, for $10 million to convert it into its new Milwaukee affiliate. However, VCY turned the offer down. Founder and chairman Vic Eliason said that even without CBS's offer being "unreasonably low", a sale to a mainstream network would have been a hypocritical "act of consummate irresponsibility".[34][35]

By the end of September, talks with WDJT-TV had also broken down. On September 30, Weigel announced it would no longer pursue a CBS affiliation, saying it could not wait any further to firm up the station's future direction. Weigel president Howard Shapiro noted that the station had already entered into preliminary conversations about picking up Milwaukee Brewers baseball games and planned to implement promotional and program purchasing strategies for its existing independent lineup.[36] It was also starting the process of fixing its comparatively weak transmitting facility by conducting a site search; it had asked to share space on WISN-TV's tower and was rebuffed.[37] However, ownership and management did not completely rule out the possibility of CBS affiliating with WDJT-TV; Shapiro noted that "nothing is irretrievable".[36] Even as the station inquired about affiliating with The WB, general manager Bill Le Monds stated on October 7, "You never turn off anything."[38] The station also stepped in to carry Late Show with David Letterman, which WITI had not aired live since its debut and which WCGV-TV had been airing.[39]

By the start of November, Milwaukee was the only market affected by the New World-Fox deal that had not secured a replacement CBS affiliate. Even though CBS had been forced to buy a second-tier station in Detroit and nearly had to do so in Atlanta to replace a New World-owned station, the network was at least assured of having affiliates in those cities once the outgoing affiliates switched to Fox. Tony Malara, head of affiliate relations for CBS, noted that time was becoming of the essence with WITI due to switch to Fox on December 11. Of Milwaukee, he said, "It certainly isn't a market where we have a plethora of choices. But the fact of the matter is that it's not necessarily the quantity, but who's available to do what and what kind of agreement, what kind of relationship can you establish?"[40] With just two weeks to go before WITI was due to switch to Fox, the possibility increased that there might not be any CBS affiliate at all in Milwaukee.[41] CBS was prepared to have Milwaukee cable systems pipe in nearby CBS-owned stations, WBBM-TV in Chicago and WFRV-TV in Green Bay, as a stopgap.[42]

On November 28, Howard Shapiro met for the first time with Malara in New York City.[43] On December 6, Shapiro and Malara jointly announced that WDJT-TV would join CBS on December 11—five days later. Weigel persuaded CBS to agree to a 10-year affiliation agreement, believing it needed time to build out channel 58 to a level commensurate with a major-network affiliate.[43] The deal came as a relief even at WITI, where officials were waiting for a replacement CBS affiliate to be announced to help guide viewers to relocated programs through both a station helpline and print advertising.[44] The deal also saw more CBS programs being aired in Milwaukee, as WDJT-TV agreed to clear the entire CBS schedule in pattern;[43] for instance, WITI had not aired CBS This Morning for months and preempted Face the Nation.[27] Some 30 percent of the station's syndicated program inventory was displaced by CBS network programming, with some shows moving to W65BT (now WBME-CD channel 41) and others to overnight time slots.[45] As many expected with any move of CBS off VHF in Milwaukee, the network's ratings did fall precipitously. In January 1995, the CBS Evening News drew a 1.4 rating and 3 percent share of the audience, a far cry from the 9.9 rating and 17 share in January 1994 on WITI.[46]

Rebuilding for the CBS age

[edit]

Even [seven months after the switch], it's disorienting. It's like the sun rising in the West ... CBS being at the wrong end of the dial is still a little jarring.

Joanne Weintraub, television critic, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, to Ed Bark of The Dallas Morning News on the effect of CBS moving to channel 58[47]

While WDJT-TV signed with CBS in time to ensure the continued over-the-air availability of CBS programming in Milwaukee, much work was needed to upgrade the station to a level befitting its new status. Its transmitter was nowhere near adequate enough to reach the entire market, and its studios did not approach the scope of a full-service network affiliate that projected to hire 60 additional people.[48] In late December 1994, the station wrote to Milwaukee County officials suggesting three county parks as locations for a new 1,200-foot (370 m) transmission tower.[49] WISN objected, claiming that the close proximity of WDJT-TV's proposed mast to its own facility would cause engineering and safety issues.[50] A judge issued a preliminary injunction that upheld WISN's arguments, claiming a second tower would violate channel 12's land use agreement with Milwaukee County.[51] Several nearby residents also objected, concerned about environmental impacts to the park.[52] Despite these objections, the FCC dismissed WISN's petition to deny and approved the tower site in May 1996, finding that WISN was unable to prove there would be new interference and that the concerns of neighbors did not justify a denial.[53]

A two-story office building with a prominent CBS eye sign and satellite dishes on the roof.
Weigel's Milwaukee studio center in West Allis

While the station had hoped to begin broadcasting full-length newscasts by the end of 1995, the station was behind on setting up the city's fourth news department because it wanted to confirm a tower site before it selected a location for new studios.[54] While WDJT-TV initially maintained its downtown offices for sales and administrative personnel,[55] local news debuted on March 18, 1996,[56] from facilities in the former Allis-Chalmers complex in West Allis belonging to television production company The Enterprise, Ltd.[57][58] The total investment in the news operation came to $10 million.[55]

Additionally, the new transmitter facility was activated in November 1996, giving channel 58 a coverage area comparable to the other major Milwaukee stations. The dispute with WISN-TV continued, forcing the station to install a $500,000 steel bridge over nearby Lincoln Creek just to access the tower because WISN-TV would not permit WDJT-TV's engineers to cross its land.[59] A further technical improvement making the station more accessible came in 1998, when most local cable systems moved WDJT from higher positions to the lower channel 5.[60]

Despite improvements in the technical facility, news, syndicated programming, and positioning, WDJT-TV has continued to trail its competitors in local ratings since becoming an affiliate.[61] In 2001, for instance, it struggled to retain viewers for its newscasts after CBS network programs, and its 6 p.m. local newscast finished seventh or even eighth in the market.[62] The station did have success with some new syndicated programs, notably the 2005 acquisition of game shows Jeopardy! and Wheel of Fortune as a lead-in to prime time programming, which in turn boosted ratings for the CBS prime time lineup.[63]

In July 2010, a flash flooding event caused damage to the Lincoln Park transmitter facility, leaving the station unable to normally broadcast for three days. While local cable systems received a direct feed from the studios and were unaffected, WTMJ-TV broadcast the station as a subchannel,[64] reciprocating after a 2009 lightning strike disabled WTMJ-TV's transmitter and Weigel offered the station the use of a WBME subchannel temporarily.[65]

Subchannels and multicast experiments

[edit]

In the late 2000s, Weigel began adding digital subchannels to WDJT-TV, a preview of what would later become one of its most important businesses. Aside from a simulcast of WMLW-CA, then only broadcast in analog, the first unique subchannel offering on that station was MeTV, which debuted in March 2008.[66] Soon after, Weigel purchased WJJA-TV, then a small station primarily airing home shopping programming, and relaunched it as WBME-TV, moving MeTV there.[67] When that transition was completed, the subchannel was freed up, and WDJT-TV was then among the first carriers of This TV, a new diginet launched from the start as a national service by Weigel and MGM on November 1, 2008.[68][69]

Two subchannel ventures involving WDJT-TV have been local, not national, services. In 2009, Weigel brokered subchannel 58.4 to Shorewest Realtors of Brookfield, Wisconsin, which since 2005 had been producing a local cable channel showing real estate listings.[70][71] Shorewest TV ceased broadcasting over the air in 2013 as the real estate agency concentrated on its website, including a new streaming channel.[72] The subchannel was then used to launch TouchVision, a loop of news and weather information produced under a separate company led by former radio and Tribune Company executive Lee Abrams.[73] This continued until 2015, when Weigel instead opted to use the subchannel to launch its new national service Decades.[74]

Programming

[edit]

Newscasts

[edit]
The CBS 58 logo in black, next to the word "NEWS", with the word "MILWAUKEE" larger and thinner beneath.
WDJT's current news logo

As of August 2023, WDJT-TV currently broadcasts 30 hours of locally produced newscasts each week (with five hours each weekday and 2+1⁄2 hours each on Saturdays and Sundays). After offering a five-minute newsbreak at 10 p.m. as a stopgap,[54] WDJT-TV debuted weeknight early and late evening newscasts from its new West Allis facilities on March 18, 1996.[56] The original news team consisted largely of younger on-air personalities, including a reporter on the local entertainment beat, while the total news staff numbered 35.[75][58] The intention was to match a shift in CBS's network programming at the time toward young audiences. However, when CBS shifted toward older viewers, WDJT-TV found itself needing to retool the news operation; as part of the changes, in 1997, the station also added weekend newscasts.[55] A morning newscast was added in 2001, but the station was still not considered a contender in the Milwaukee market.[62] More recent news expansions include a noon newscast in 2011,[76] an expansion of the morning news to a 4:30 a.m. start in 2013,[77][78] the introduction of 4 p.m. news in 2015,[79] and additional newscasts on weekend mornings in 2021.[80]

The WDJT newsroom provides news aired on three of Weigel's local stations. In 1997, when W46AR (now WYTU-LD) moved to the new Lincoln Park tower, WDJT began offering Spanish-language local news updates given by a bilingual reporter, Saúl Garza.[81] A regular nightly newscast in Spanish debuted in 2007.[82] Since 2008, the station has produced a 9 p.m. newscast for WMLW, which began as a trial during the 2007 World Series (when Fox affiliate WITI was committed to baseball coverage)[83][84] and became an hour-long program in 2016.[85] In 2020, a 7 a.m. morning news extension also debuted on WMLW.[86] WDJT-TV also produced the newscast aired by WBND-LD, Weigel's ABC affiliate in South Bend, Indiana,[87] until Weigel established its own newsroom there in April 2011.[88]

In 2007, one of the station's newsgathering vehicles, parked on ice during a story on ice safety at Big Muskego Lake in Muskego, fell through the ice and sank, a loss worth as much as $250,000.[89]

On January 21, 2025, WDJT-TV meteorologist Sam Kuffel criticized businessman Elon Musk for making a gesture that many equated with a Nazi salute during the second inauguration of Donald Trump. She was fired from the station the next day.[90][91]

Notable current on-air staff

[edit]

Notable former on-air staff

[edit]

Sports programming

[edit]

In 2024, WDJT parent company Weigel Broadcasting announced an agreement to broadcast ten Milwaukee Bucks games during the 2023–24 NBA season; the station already had an agreement to provide news and weather updates for fans in attendance at Fiserv Forum as the team's official weather forecaster. All 10 games aired on sister station WMLW-TV, though the February 23 game was simulcast on WDJT-TV and the March 4 game was aired in Spanish by WYTU-LD.[95]

Technical information and subchannels

[edit]

WDJT-TV broadcasts from a transmitter facility in Lincoln Park in Milwaukee.[2] The station's signal is multiplexed with standard-definition versions of the main feeds of WBME-CD, WMLW-TV, and WYTU-LD, as well as Weigel's Start TV diginet, which are only broadcast at low power on their originating stations.

Subchannels of WDJT-TV[96]
Channel Res. Aspect Short name Programming
58.1 1080i 16:9 WDJT-HD CBS
58.2 480i MeTV-SD MeTV (WBME-CD)
58.3 WMLW SD WMLW-TV (Independent)
58.4 WYTU SD Telemundo (WYTU-LD)
58.5 StartTV Start TV (WYTU-LD 63.2)
  Simulcast of subchannels of another station

Analog-to-digital conversion

[edit]

WDJT-TV shut down its analog signal on channel 58, at 11:59 p.m. on June 12, 2009, the official date on which full-power television stations in the United States transitioned from analog to digital broadcasts under federal mandate. The station's digital signal continued to broadcasts on its pre-transition channel 46, using virtual channel 58.[97] For the rest of 2009, WYTU-LP served as an analog simulcast of WDJT-TV's main subchannel.[98][99]

References

[edit]

Bibliography

[edit]
[edit]
Revisions and contributorsEdit on WikipediaRead on Wikipedia

WDJT-TV

View on Grokipedia
from Grokipedia

WDJT-TV, branded on-air as CBS 58, is a CBS-affiliated television station licensed to Milwaukee, Wisconsin, United States, serving the southeastern portion of the state.
The station broadcasts on virtual channel 58 and maintains studios at the Weigel Broadcasting headquarters on South 60th Street in West Allis, with its transmitter atop the Hilton Milwaukee City Center.
WDJT-TV signed on in early 1994 initially as an independent station offering classic reruns and movies before securing the CBS affiliation on March 18 of the same year following a network realignment in the market.
Owned by Chicago-based Weigel Broadcasting Co. since its launch, the station produces local news programming under the CBS 58 News banner, covering Milwaukee-area weather, sports, and community events.
It operates alongside sister stations including independent WMLW-TV (channel 49) and MeTV affiliate WBME-CD (channel 41), sharing facilities and resources within the Weigel cluster.

History

Launch as an independent station (1988–1994)

WDJT-TV signed on the air as an on November 10, 1988, broadcasting on UHF channel 58 from a transmitter atop the Marc Plaza Hotel in . The station was initially owned by TV58 Ltd., a company formed by principals John Torres and Debra Jackson, whose initials informed the call sign selection. Operations began modestly amid a competitive market dominated by VHF outlets, with the station facing early hurdles in securing a suitable tower site after rejections in locations such as Glendale and Germantown. Programming emphasized low-cost content suited to a startup independent, including old movies, family-oriented cartoons, syndicated shows, and infomercials, positioning WDJT as a lower-tier player subsisting on reruns and filler unavailable on major network affiliates. The station struggled with low ratings and limited visibility due to UHF signal propagation challenges in the area, where established VHF stations held stronger audience loyalty. Internal issues compounded these difficulties, including the ousting of John Torres shortly after launch in late 1988, which disrupted early management stability. A brief uptick in relevance occurred in 1992 when WDJT provided supplementary coverage of the trial alongside WITI-TV, drawing some local attention to the fledgling outlet. However, the independent era remained marked by financial and operational constraints, with the station unable to compete effectively for prime advertising or viewership until broader industry shifts intervened. This period ended on December 11, 1994, when WDJT secured a affiliation following WITI's switch to amid the 1994–1995 network realignment, marking a pivot from standalone operations to network-backed programming without a change in ownership.

Shift to CBS affiliation and early network era (1994–1999)

In the midst of the 1994–1996 broadcast television realignment, driven by 's acquisition of NFC rights and affiliation deals with Communications stations, Milwaukee's WITI-TV (channel 6) ended its 37-year affiliation to join , effective December 11, 1994. , unable to secure primary affiliations with the market's other VHF outlets—WTMJ-TV (), WISN-TV (ABC), or WVTV (independent)—turned to Weigel Broadcasting's UHF independent station WDJT-TV (channel 58) as a last resort. On December 6, 1994, Weigel and finalized a 10-year affiliation agreement, enabling WDJT to assume programming duties starting December 11. As a UHF station launched only six years prior, WDJT faced inherent signal disadvantages compared to VHF competitors, particularly in rural and fringe areas of the market. To mitigate this, the station allocated $3 million for technical upgrades, including enhanced transmitter facilities to improve coverage. Initially prioritizing the full schedule—including primetime series, , and —the station supplemented with syndicated content in non-network slots, while announcing plans for a robust operation: a $2 million investment and 60 new hires slated to debut newscasts by spring 1995. The news department launch was delayed until March 18, 1996, when WDJT introduced its first newscast—a 10 p.m. program—from expanded studios in a repurposed commercial building on 's west side, coinciding with a relocation to bolster operations. This prime-time format represented an early for local television in , aiming to capture late-evening viewers amid competition from established network affiliates. Through the remainder of the decade, WDJT focused on integrating CBS's national content with growing local production, gradually addressing UHF issues through investments and programming consistency.

Weigel Broadcasting acquisition and operational rebuilding (1999–2010)

In 1999, Weigel Broadcasting became the sole owner of WDJT-TV after buying out the remaining partnership interests held by original co-founder John Torres, resolving prior litigation and providing the station with enhanced financial stability for expansion. To prepare for digital broadcasting, Weigel restructured its Milwaukee-area channel allocations in September 2000, shifting programming from channel 46 to enable WDJT-TV to launch its on that frequency, marking an early investment in transition infrastructure ahead of the federal analog shutdown mandate. During the mid-2000s, the station upgraded its technical facilities, including enhanced transmission equipment and integration with Weigel's regional operations, which supported improved signal coverage across southeastern . The operation, established in , saw incremental growth in staffing and resources under Weigel, contributing to rising viewership amid competition from established network affiliates. By the late 2000s, WDJT-TV pioneered development as part of Weigel's national strategy, launching on subchannel 58.3 on November 1, 2008, in partnership with , offering classic films to complement the main feed and tapping into multicast revenue opportunities. Additional subchannels followed, solidifying the station's role in Weigel's growing portfolio of diginets while maintaining focus on and network obligations through 2010.

Digital era expansions and challenges (2010–present)

Following the completion of the in 2009, WDJT-TV pursued expansions in programming by incorporating additional subchannels featuring Weigel Broadcasting's national digital networks, building on initial additions from the late 2000s. These included carriage of Movies!, launched via a partnership with in January 2013, and in September 2014, providing viewers with access to classic films and action-adventure series alongside the primary feed on 58.1. Such subchannel developments diversified revenue streams through syndicated reruns and reflected Weigel's growing emphasis on over-the-air as a core business model in the post-analog era. Local news operations saw significant growth during the , with expansions in newscast hours and production capabilities, enabling more comprehensive coverage of Milwaukee-area events. By , reflecting on 25 years of since its initial CBS-era broadcasts, the station highlighted "tremendous growth" including additional newscasts, staff enhancements, and infrastructure investments like a new tower and transmitter to bolster signal reliability and reach. These upgrades supported extended morning and evening programming, positioning CBS 58 as a key local information source amid rising competition from cable and outlets. The station enhanced its digital footprint with the introduction of services on its , cbs58.com, allowing cord-cutters and online audiences to access , weather, and network content in real time. Social media integration via platforms like and X (formerly ) further extended reach, with dedicated channels for live streams and community-focused segments such as "CBS 58 Hometowns." Challenges emerged from the FCC's 2016–2017 broadcast incentive auction and subsequent , which compressed UHF band assignments and required WDJT-TV to undertake costly equipment modifications and potential channel shifts to vacate for use. In 2019, transmitter adjustments led to temporary reduced-power operations across WDJT's streams, prompting viewer rescans and brief service disruptions as part of compliance. The station qualified for federal reimbursements totaling over $3.2 million to offset -related expenses, underscoring the financial and logistical strains on smaller-market broadcasters during the transition. Ongoing industry pressures, including viewer migration to streaming services, necessitated continued adaptations in content delivery and models.

Programming

News and public affairs

WDJT-TV launched its news department with the first newscast on March 18, 1996, approximately 15 months after acquiring the affiliation in late 1994. Initially operating from modest facilities, the station's early broadcasts featured basic formats focused on Milwaukee-area coverage, marking a transition from its roots to establishing a competitive presence. Over the years, CBS 58 expanded its newscast lineup to include multiple daily slots. Key additions encompassed a noon newscast introduced in 2011, morning news extensions in 2021 adding weekday hours from 8 to 9 a.m. and weekend mornings from 6 to 7 a.m., and an extension of the noon program to a full hour starting , 2023. These developments aimed to provide extended live , , and coverage, augmenting the network schedule with over four hours of daily local programming. Public affairs content at WDJT-TV primarily integrates with news operations, featuring investigative reports and community-focused segments rather than standalone programs. Specific ratings data for local newscasts remains limited in , though the station positions itself as a source for Milwaukee-area events, , and .

Newscast formats, expansions, and ratings performance

CBS 58's newscasts follow standard local TV formats, emphasizing live reporting, , and sports updates tailored to southeastern audiences. Expansions since the 1996 launch have prioritized morning, midday, and evening slots to capture commuter and daytime viewers, with recent enhancements including hour-long formats for broader story depth. While national metrics show declines, local performance specifics are not widely disclosed, reflecting competitive dynamics in Milwaukee's dominated by established outlets.

Current and former on-air staff

Current key personnel include evening anchor Natalie Shepherd, who handles the 5, 9, and 10 p.m. newscasts; Bill Walsh, anchoring noon and 4 p.m. since July 2025; and meteorologist Justin Thompson-Gee. Reporters and contributors encompass A.J. Bayatpour, Amanda Becker, Andie Bernhardt, Alex Corradetti, Rebecca Schuld, and Michael Schlesinger. Former notable staff includes Mike Strehlow, a long-serving anchor who transitioned to semi-retirement in summer 2025 after decades on air, including morning and midday roles.

Newscast formats, expansions, and ratings performance

Local newscasts on WDJT-TV debuted on March 18, 1996, initially featuring a modest format centered on evening broadcasts anchored by Mike Strehlow, who had joined the station earlier in the decade. The early newscasts emphasized straightforward reporting on Milwaukee-area events, with limited resources reflecting the station's transition from independent to affiliate status two years prior. Under Weigel Broadcasting's ownership starting in , the news department underwent gradual expansions to bolster local coverage and compete in the market. By , newscasts had grown to include morning and weekend slots, with further enhancements in 2020 adding extended weekend programming and extending the weekday morning show from 4:30 to 7:00 a.m. on WDJT. In April 2021, the morning newscast expanded by an additional hour from 8:00 to 9:00 a.m. on sister station , allowing shared production resources across Weigel's properties. The noon newscast lengthened to a full hour on September 11, 2023, prioritizing live local segments while preserving network airtime. These developments increased daily local news output to over four hours, incorporating weather, sports, and public affairs tailored to southeastern audiences. Ratings performance has positioned WDJT's newscasts as a consistent third- or fourth-place contender in the market, trailing dominant ABC affiliate and Fox affiliate WITI-TV. In the November 2019 sweeps period, the 9:00 p.m. newscast airing on achieved a 1.3 household rating, significantly behind WITI's 4.8. February 2021 data showed WISN's noon newscast outperforming WDJT's by 36% in key demographics. As of early 2023, late-evening newscasts averaged 5,400 impressions among adults 25-54, compared to WISN's 14,300 and WITI's 14,000. Expansions have supported incremental viewership gains in niche slots like mornings, but overall market leadership remains with established incumbents, per Nielsen metrics emphasizing total viewers and demo impressions.

Current and former on-air staff

The CBS 58 news operation features a team of anchors, reporters, meteorologists, and sports personnel, with key roles filled by experienced broadcasters focused on local Milwaukee-area coverage. Morning newscasts are anchored by Mike Curkov, who has led the program since 2016, alongside Frankie Jupiter, who joined as co-anchor in June 2022, Alex Corradetti, an Emmy-nominated morning anchor since at least 2022, and Kathryn Chappell, added to the team in August to contribute to the 4:30–8:00 a.m. broadcasts. Evening and midday programming includes Natalie Shepherd anchoring the 5, 9, and 10 p.m. newscasts with over 20 years in broadcast news, Jessob Reisbeck as evening anchor handling primary shifts, and Bill Walsh, who transitioned to weekday Noon and 4 p.m. anchor duties on August 25, 2025, following his prior weekend role since 2013. Weekend evening anchors are A.J. Bayatpour and Montse Ricossa, appointed in August 2025, both with prior local reporting experience. Pavlina Osta serves as an anchor and reporter contributing to various shifts. Sports coverage is directed by Lance Allan, who joined as sports director on , 2024, after 28 years at a competing Milwaukee station. The weather team comprises chief meteorologist Rebecca Schuld, along with Drew Burgoyne, Justin Thompson-Gee, Michael Schlesinger, and Alexis Staniec, handling forecasts across newscasts. Jessie Garcia oversees as news director, drawing from her background as a sportscaster. Notable former on-air staff include Mike Strehlow, a anchor who handled weekday Noon and 4 p.m. editions until entering semi-retirement on August 21, 2025, after a career spanning decades including prior roles at other outlets. Meteorologist Sam Kuffel departed in January 2025 following public comments on . Reporter-anchor Tajma Hall left in early 2025 after contributing to investigative and general assignment reporting. Earlier figures encompass Asa George, a morning anchor who died in 2013 amid station controversies, and Shari Dunn, who anchored mornings around 2009 before shifting paths.

Sports coverage

WDJT-TV carries programming as the network's affiliate, including regular-season games featuring the , which hold the broadcast rights for NFC contests. This includes live telecasts of Packers games when selected by , supplemented by pregame and postgame analysis within local news segments. The station's sports department provides on-site reporting for Packers matchups, such as exclusive interviews with players like ahead of games against Green Bay. Beyond network content, WDJT-TV has aired select basketball games through simulcasts arranged by parent company . For the 2025-26 NBA season, eight Bucks games are scheduled for over-the-air broadcast on WDJT-TV, , and Wisconsin (WYTU-LD), beginning November 15, 2025, against the Charlotte Hornets. Similar arrangements in prior seasons, such as the 2023-24 campaign, included at least one Bucks game simulcast on WDJT-TV, like the February 23, 2024, matchup versus the . The station's sports coverage emphasizes local professional teams through dedicated reporting rather than exclusive game rights for or other ; Milwaukee Brewers games, for instance, are not regularly programmed on WDJT-TV, which focuses instead on news updates and highlights. Sports segments are anchored by personnel including sports director Lance Allan, who joined in December 2024 after prior roles at , alongside reporters Scott Grodsky and Darius Joshua.

Syndicated, network, and subchannel content

WDJT-TV's main channel (58.1) carries the full slate of CBS network programming, including weekday mornings with from 7:00 to 9:00 a.m., daytime serials such as (12:00–1:00 p.m.) and (1:00–1:30 p.m.), game shows (11:00 a.m.–12:00 p.m.) and (3:00–4:00 p.m.), and the network talk program The Talk (2:00–3:00 p.m.). Primetime features CBS's lineup of scripted series, including NCIS (9:00–10:00 p.m. weekdays) and FBI (10:00–11:00 p.m.), alongside news magazines like on Sundays. Weekend network content includes sports events such as NFL games and PGA Tour coverage, with preemptions rare except for extended local news. The station airs syndicated programming in key access periods and mornings, featuring game shows Jeopardy! (typically 7:00 p.m. weekdays) and Wheel of Fortune (7:30 p.m.), both long-running staples drawing strong local ratings as viewer favorites for their format consistency and broad appeal. Additional syndicated talk includes The Drew Barrymore Show (9:00–10:00 a.m. weekdays), emphasizing celebrity interviews and lifestyle segments. Off-network reruns and other syndication fill late-night and weekend slots, such as episodes of 48 Hours in overnights, prioritizing content with proven demographic pull over experimental formats. Subchannel 58.2 operates , a national network focused on classic television from the 1950s to 1980s, airing sitcoms like MASH* and The Andy Griffith Show, dramas such as Columbo, and westerns, targeting older audiences with nostalgia-driven lineups that avoid modern content disruptions. Subchannel 58.3 simulcasts programming from sister station (channel 49), an independent outlet featuring syndicated sitcoms including (Sundays through Fridays post-9:00 p.m. news since August 2025, replacing ) and other off-network fare like family comedies. Subchannel 58.4 carries network content, including morning show , telenovelas, news from Noticiero Telemundo, and sports, serving Milwaukee's Hispanic community with Spanish-language programming emphasizing cultural relevance and live events. An additional subchannel, 58.5, has aired syndicated reruns such as . These multicast streams leverage digital capacity to diversify revenue through targeted demographics, with MeTV and Telemundo providing carriage fees alongside WMLW's local syndication focus.

Technical Information

Studios, transmitter, and facilities

WDJT-TV maintains its broadcast operations from studios located at 809 South 60th Street in , , within the complex on the border of West Allis. These facilities are shared with sister stations WBME-CD, , and WYTU-LD, all under ownership. The site includes production capabilities for and programming, featuring dishes for uplink and distribution. The station's transmitter is situated in Milwaukee's Lincoln Park neighborhood, adjacent to Interstate 43. This location supports on RF channel 29 with an of 1,000 kilowatts and a of 351 meters. The tower replaced earlier antenna placements, including one atop the Hilton Milwaukee City Center hotel, enabling improved signal coverage across the market. Additional facilities encompass engineering and operations integrated into the South 60th Street complex, supporting subchannels and over-the-air distribution. manages these assets to facilitate affiliation feeds, syndicated content, and local insertions.

Analog-to-digital conversion and signal upgrades

WDJT-TV ceased analog transmissions over channel 58 at 11:59 p.m. on June 12, 2009, aligning with the federally mandated full-power across the . The station had maintained dual analog and digital operations prior to this date, with digital broadcasts initially commencing on UHF channel 58 as required by FCC build-out deadlines in the early . In preparation for the transition, explored options to extend analog availability for WDJT-TV programming via channel 63, though full-power analog service ended as scheduled. Post-transition, the station's primary digital signal operated on RF channel 58 ( 58.1), enabling high-definition programming and subchannels while vacating for other uses. As part of the FCC's 2017-2020 broadcast incentive auction , WDJT-TV relocated its digital transmitter from RF channel 58 to RF channel 27 effective October 18, 2019, consolidating Milwaukee-area UHF signals into channels 27-32 for greater efficiency. This shift involved transmitter modifications, during which subchannels on the 58 multiplex operated at reduced power, prompting viewers to rescan antennas for restored full-strength reception. The upgrade maintained coverage comparable to prior operations but optimized national allocation without reported signal degradation in the primary market area.

Subchannels and multicast operations

WDJT-TV's digital signal, transmitted on RF channel 29 (UHF) at a power of approximately 290 kW, supports multiple subchannels via ATSC 1.0 multiplexing, enabling the carriage of diverse programming alongside its primary CBS affiliation. This multicast setup, managed by Weigel Broadcasting, leverages the full-power signal to extend coverage for affiliated low-power stations and national networks, providing additional over-the-air options in the Milwaukee market where spectrum efficiency maximizes viewer access to free content. The configuration reflects Weigel's strategy of using digital subchannels to distribute classic television, independent local fare, ethnic programming, and syndicated drama, a model pioneered by the company with networks like MeTV. As of October 2025, the subchannel lineup includes:
VirtualVideoAudioCallsign/NetworkProgrammingNotes
58.15.1WDJT-HD / CBS network and local newsPrimary HD feed; "CBS 58 Milwaukee" branding.
58.22.0MeTV-SD / Classic television reruns of WBME-CD (virtual 41.1); Weigel-owned network launched nationally via in 2010.
58.32.0WMLW-SD / IndependentLocal independent ("The M") of (virtual 49.1); features syndicated shows, movies, and games.
58.42.0WYTU-SD / Spanish-language network of WYTU-LD (virtual 63.1); includes telenovelas, news, and .
58.52.0StartTV / Crime and drama reruns of WYTU-LD subchannel (virtual 63.2); Weigel-distributed network focusing on female-led procedurals.
Subchannels 58.2 through 58.5 primarily operate in standard definition to accommodate bandwidth constraints while delivering SD-optimized content, with audio available on select feeds for multilingual support. This arrangement dates to the post-digital transition era, with expansions tied to Weigel's acquisition of affiliations; for instance, MeTV's integration enhanced viability by repurposing unused subchannel capacity for national syndication. Periodic adjustments, such as a 2019 transmitter modification that temporarily reduced power across the multiplex, have required viewer rescans but maintained operational continuity. No implementation is active on WDJT-TV as of 2025, preserving the ATSC 1.0 framework for broad compatibility.

Ownership and Business Operations

Ownership history and corporate structure

WDJT-TV signed on the air in as a full-power in , , constructed and owned from inception by Chicago-based Co. The station's construction permit was originally granted to local applicants, but Weigel acquired the necessary interests to launch operations. No subsequent ownership transfers have occurred; Weigel has maintained continuous control. The licensee of record is , a entity structured under Co., which serves as the general partner. Co. operates as a privately held, family-owned media company founded in 1964, with headquarters at 26 North in , . The company owns 25 full-power and low-power television stations across the , alongside national multicast networks including and , but WDJT-TV remains operated as part of Weigel's cluster of four stations in southeastern .

Revenue sources, affiliations, and market performance

WDJT-TV serves as the affiliate for the market, a role it has held since December 11, 1994, following the affiliation switch triggered by WITI's acquisition of programming rights. The station receives network compensation from for airing its primetime, daytime, and sports programming, which forms a core component of its broadcast schedule. As a commercial broadcast station owned by , WDJT-TV generates primary revenue through local sales, national spot , and retransmission consent fees negotiated with cable, , and streaming providers for carriage of its signal. These fees, mandated under federal regulations, compensate the station for the value of its local content and affiliation in the pay-TV ecosystem. Weigel Broadcasting, operating multiple stations including WDJT-TV, reports estimated annual revenues ranging from $95 million to $258 million across its portfolio, reflecting the aggregated contributions from and affiliation agreements. In market performance, WDJT-TV operates within the Milwaukee designated market area (DMA), ranked 38th by Nielsen for the 2024–2025 television season with 944,900 television households. The station's newscasts, branded as CBS 58 News, compete in a fragmented local news landscape where ABC affiliate WISN has dominated key evening time slots and sweeps periods, such as leading among adults 25–54 in May 2025. WDJT-TV has maintained competitive household ratings in primetime and late news, particularly bolstered by CBS network strength, though specific 2025 Nielsen data for its local programming shows it trailing leaders in overall news viewership.

Controversies

Sam Kuffel dismissal and free speech debates (2025)

On January 22, 2025, WDJT-TV, the affiliate owned by , terminated the employment of meteorologist Sam Kuffel following her posts criticizing 's arm gesture during a post-inauguration rally for President on January 20, 2025. Kuffel, who had worked at the station for five years, posted on her account—described by her as private—multiple times accusing Musk of performing a "" or similar gesture, including statements such as "Elon Musk just did the " and using profanity to denounce the action as fascist. The gesture in question involved Musk raising his right arm straight outward while on stage, which Kuffel and some observers interpreted as evoking historical fascist symbols, though Musk's supporters, including conservative radio host Dan O'Donnell, dismissed it as a benign wave or enthusiastic motion and accused critics of . The dismissal prompted widespread debate over free speech boundaries for broadcast employees, with Kuffel defending her comments as "just voicing my personal opinion" on a non-work platform, arguing they did not reflect station content or violate any explicit policy. Station representatives did not publicly detail the rationale but indicated the decision stemmed from the posts' potential to harm viewer trust and the station's professional image, a view echoed by media experts who noted that while the First Amendment protects against , private employers retain broad at-will termination rights, particularly when employee speech risks alienating audiences or advertisers. Critics of the firing, including a MoveOn.org petition that garnered thousands of signatures by January 31, 2025, framed it as corporate overreach stifling dissent against perceived authoritarian signals from influential figures like , while supporters argued Kuffel's use of inflammatory language and unverified historical analogies justified the action to preserve journalistic neutrality. Legal analysts emphasized that no Wisconsin or federal law mandates reinstatement, as broadcasters operate under FCC guidelines prioritizing public interest over individual expression, though some columnists raised concerns about a chilling effect on off-duty speech in polarized media environments. O'Donnell, who publicly called out Kuffel's posts on January 22, 2025, contended they propagated "the lie" of a deliberate Nazi reference, amplifying scrutiny that led to her swift exit. By April 15, 2025, WDJT-TV had hired Alexis Staniec as Kuffel's replacement, signaling a return to routine operations amid ongoing public discourse. The incident highlighted tensions between personal political expression and professional obligations in local news, with outlets across the spectrum attributing the outcome variably to accountability versus censorship, though empirical evidence of policy violations remained tied to internal station standards rather than external mandates.

References

  1. https://www.cbs58.com/
  2. https://www.rabbitears.info/market.php?request=print_station&facility_id=71427
  3. https://www.instagram.com/cbs58news/?hl=en
  4. https://www.cbs58.com/about-us
  5. https://www.zippia.com/weigel-broadcasting-co-careers-992749/history/
  6. https://mediabiasfactcheck.com/wdjt-cbs-milwaukee-bias/
  7. https://www.worldradiohistory.com/BOOKSHELF-ARH/History/Milwaukee-Television-History-Analog-Years-Golemabiewski-2008.pdf
  8. https://broadcasting.fandom.com/wiki/Miscellaneous_unorganized_material/WDJT-TV
  9. https://www.chicagotribune.com/1994/12/07/cbs-turns-to-uhf-in-milwaukee/
  10. https://www.cbs58.com/news/cbs-58-news-marks-25-years-on-the-air
  11. https://milwaukeehorrorhosts.com/MilwTV.html
  12. https://visions4netjournal.com/wp-content/uploads/journal/WTMJ-TV-Part-two-PDF.pdf
  13. https://cbs58.com/news/cbs-58-news-marks-25-years-on-the-air
  14. https://ideas.fandom.com/wiki/New_Line_Broadcasting_Company
  15. https://www.cbs58.com/news/cbs-58-news-celebrates-25-years-on-air
  16. https://www.cbs58.com/stream/live-stream-1
  17. https://www.cbs58.com/news/due-to-transmitter-modifications-all-stations-on-58-stream-transmitting-at-reduced-power
  18. https://docs.fcc.gov/public/attachments/FCC-22-68A1_Rcd.pdf
  19. https://cbs58.com/news/take-a-trip-down-memory-lane-cbs-58-celebrates-29-years-of-news-broadcasting
  20. https://cbs58.com/news/cbs-58-expands-with-hour-long-noon-newscast
  21. https://urbanmilwaukee.com/pressrelease/cbs-58-announces-morning-news-expansion-adding-additional-hour-weekdays-8-9-a-m-on-wmlw/
  22. https://urbanmilwaukee.com/pressrelease/cbs-58-announces-weekend-morning-news-expansion-and-adds-anchor-reporter-melissa-zygowicz/
  23. https://www.weigelbroadcasting.com/local/cbs58/
  24. https://www.adweek.com/tvnewser/here-are-the-evening-news-ratings-for-the-2024-2025-tv-season/
  25. https://www.cbs58.com/news/bill-walsh-named-anchor-of-cbs-58-news-at-noon-and-4
  26. https://www.linkedin.com/in/natalie-shepherd-64506814
  27. https://www.cbs58.com/bios
  28. https://www.cbs58.com/bios/mike-strehlow
  29. https://www.jsonline.com/story/entertainment/television-radio/2025/04/09/mike-strehlow-is-cutting-back-anchoring-duties-at-wdjt-tv-cbs-58-milwaukee/83007946007/
  30. https://www.cbs58.com/news/take-a-trip-down-memory-lane-cbs-58-celebrates-29-years-of-news-broadcasting
  31. https://www.cbs58.com/news/cbs-58-news-to-expand-weekend-and-morning-newscasts
  32. https://www.jsonline.com/story/entertainment/television-radio/2019/12/03/wisn-tv-newscasts-lead-nielsens-november-sweeps-ratings/2591730001/
  33. https://htv-prod-media.s3.amazonaws.com/files/wisn-12-release-feb21-ratings-lsd-demo-1615315636.pdf
  34. https://www.nexttv.com/news/local-news-close-up-good-things-brewing-in-milwaukee
  35. https://urbanmilwaukee.com/pressrelease/wisn-12-is-southeastern-wisconsins-news-leader/
  36. https://www.cbs58.com/bios/mike-curkov
  37. https://www.cbs58.com/bios/frankie-jupiter
  38. https://www.facebook.com/AlexCorradettiNews/
  39. https://tvnewscheck.com/article/tag/wdjt-milwaukee/
  40. https://www.cbs58.com/bios/jessob-reisbeck
  41. https://www.bizjournals.com/milwaukee/news/2025/08/11/aj-bayatpour-montse-ricossa-anchor-gigs.html
  42. https://www.facebook.com/PavlinaFanPage/
  43. https://www.bizjournals.com/milwaukee/news/2024/11/18/lance-allan-joins-wdjt-tv-cbs-58-sports-director.html
  44. https://www.facebook.com/p/Jessie-Garcia-100063054888042/
  45. https://cbs58.com/news/fellow-anchors-talent-at-cbs-58-reflect-on-mike-strehlows-broadcast-career
  46. https://www.jsonline.com/story/news/politics/2025/01/22/cbs-58s-sam-kuffel-is-out-after-criticizing-elon-musk-arm-gesture/77883983007/
  47. https://www.facebook.com/journalsentinel/posts/hall-said-on-social-media-that-shes-leaving-milwaukees-cbs-affiliate-in-early-20/985763840253756/
  48. https://onmilwaukee.com/articles/wdjtasageorge
  49. https://onmilwaukee.com/articles/sharidunn
  50. https://www.cbs58.com/packers
  51. https://www.cbs58.com/news/aaron-rodgers-and-the-steelers-fall-short-in-qbs-reunion-with-green-bay-as-love-leads-35-25-win
  52. https://www.cbs58.com/news/pewaukees-tj-watt-ready-to-face-the-packers
  53. https://www.cbs58.com/news/cbs-58-wmlw-the-m-to-carry-milwaukee-bucks-games
  54. https://tvnewscheck.com/programming/article/weigels-wmlw-wdjt-telemundo-wisconsin-to-bring-milwaukee-bucks-games-back-to-free-over-the-air-tv/
  55. https://www.cbs58.com/sports
  56. https://www.jsonline.com/story/entertainment/television-radio/2024/11/18/lance-allan-is-named-sports-director-at-wdjt-tv-channel-58/76407298007/
  57. https://www.cbs58.com/bios/scott-grodsky
  58. https://www.linkedin.com/in/darius-joshua
  59. https://www.tvpassport.com/tv-listings/stations/cbs-wdjt-milwaukee-wi/2173
  60. https://www.ontvtonight.com/guide/listings/channel/69037524/wdjt.html
  61. https://tvstations.fandom.com/wiki/WDJT
  62. https://cbs58.com/news/wmlw-to-be-the-new-broadcast-home-of-seinfeld
  63. https://www.cbs58.com/pages/programming/
  64. https://www.mapquest.com/us/wisconsin/cbs-58-wdjt-354896457
  65. https://www.yelp.com/biz/cbs-58-wdjt-tv-milwaukee
  66. https://www.linkedin.com/company/weigel-broadcasting
  67. https://www.showmelocal.com/profile.aspx?bid=29910808
  68. https://www.livenewsworld.com/wdjt-tv-milwaukee-stream-live/
  69. https://www.fccinfo.com/CMDProFacLookup.php?tabSearchType=City&sCurrentService=TV&sCity=MILWAUKEE&sState=WI
  70. https://onmilwaukee.com/articles/hilton-rooftop-antenna
  71. https://www.weigelbroadcasting.com/local/
  72. https://enterpriseefiling.fcc.gov/dataentry/public/tv/publicFacilityDetails.html?facilityId=71427
  73. https://www.bizjournals.com/milwaukee/stories/2009/06/01/daily93.html
  74. https://docs.fcc.gov/public/attachments/DA-09-1794A1.doc
  75. https://northpine.com/2019/10/13/friday-is-moving-day-for-milwaukee-tv/
  76. https://www.rabbitears.info/market.php?request=station_search&callsign=WDJT
  77. https://www.cbs58.com/where-to-watch
  78. https://tvnewscheck.com/uncategorized/article/weigel-poised-to-roll-out-multicast-me-tv/
  79. https://archive.jsonline.com/entertainment/tvradio/sale-of-channel-6-reflects-bottom-line-value-of-local-tv-stations-b9949766z1-214835991.html
  80. https://www.fcc.gov/document/application-modification-license-station-wdjt-tv-channel-58
  81. https://www.rabbitears.info/ownermap.php?name=Weigel%2520Broadcasting
  82. https://www.weigelbroadcasting.com/about/
  83. https://enterpriseefiling.fcc.gov/dataentry/api/download/attachment/25076f918d85e81c018dada22eb32c99
  84. https://logos.fandom.com/wiki/WDJT-TV
  85. https://www.weigelbroadcasting.com/
  86. https://growjo.com/company/Weigel_Broadcasting_Co.
  87. https://rocketreach.co/weigel-broadcasting-co-profile_b5c6c662f42e0cd2
  88. https://ustvdb.com/seasons/2024-25/markets/
  89. https://www.wisn.com/article/wisn-12-is-southeastern-wisconsins-news-leader-for-the-sixth-consecutive-may-sweeps/64904765
  90. https://onmilwaukee.com/articles/tighttvrace
  91. https://nypost.com/2025/01/23/media/weather-reporter-sam-kuffel-fired-over-elon-musk-nazi-salute/
  92. https://www.jsonline.com/story/news/politics/2025/01/24/sam-kuffel-was-just-voicing-my-personal-opinion-on-elon-musk/77933197007/
  93. https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2025/jan/23/elon-musk-cbs-meteorologist-salute
  94. https://www.pennlive.com/news/2025/01/tv-weather-reporter-who-criticized-elon-musks-arm-gesture-is-no-longer-employed.html
  95. https://www.yahoo.com/news/ousted-meteorologist-sam-kuffel-just-205546343.html
  96. https://www.jsonline.com/story/news/politics/2025/01/24/was-sam-kuffels-exit-necessary-media-experts-lawyers-weigh-in/77909492007/
  97. https://www.wisconsinrightnow.com/sam-kuffel-cbs-58/
  98. https://www.newsweek.com/meteorologist-fired-elon-musk-salute-2024480
  99. https://badgerherald.com/opinion/column/2025/02/07/milwaukee-meteorologist-fired-after-calling-out-elon-musks-controversial-salute-sparking-free-speech-debate/
  100. https://www.jsonline.com/story/opinion/columnists/2025/01/25/sam-kuffel-fired-cbs-58/77932842007/
  101. https://www.bizjournals.com/milwaukee/news/2025/04/15/channel-58-hires-alexis-staniec-meteorologist.html
  102. https://www.yahoo.com/news/cbs58-had-no-choice-fire-110525025.html
  103. https://awfulannouncing.com/cbs/sam-kuffel-elon-musk-erin-andrews.html
Add your contribution
Related Hubs
User Avatar
No comments yet.