Walb
Prior to 1998, the station was the flagship for Gray Communication Systems' broadcasting group (which still has administrative offices in Albany today). The station began on December 25, 1954, as the television arm of radio station (WALB-AM), which had operated since 1941.
When the station's studios were built in 1953, Stuart Avenue was a dirt road running through a pecan grove. WALB's transmitter is located near Doerun, Georgia.
Until 1983, WALB doubled as the NBC affiliate for Tallahassee, Florida.
Although WTWC-TV has been Tallahassee's NBC affiliate since then, WALB still provides city-grade coverage to much of the Georgia side of the Tallahassee market and grade B coverage to Tallahassee itself.
Station timeline
1941: Began as radio station WALB-AM
1954: Began as NBC affiliate WALB-TV
1976: Fire destroyed main broadcasting facilities, but did not damage station offices. Began broadcasting the next day from a shop building on the premises.
1994: The Flood of 1994, resulting from record breaking rainfall from Tropical Storm Alberto.
A total of 78 counties were declared disaster areas (55 in Georgia, 10 in Alabama, 13 in Florida). 50,000 people were forced to evacuate their homes, 18,000 homes were damaged or destroyed.
WALB stayed on the air with non stop, 24 hour coverage to alert citizens and provide the vital link between the public and government agencies.
1998: Ownership sold from Gray Communications Systems (now Gray Television) to Cosmos Broadcasting, which later became Liberty Corporation.
2001: Began broadcasting digital television (DT) signal.
2005: A new set was built which replaced the old set used for at least twelve years.
2005: WALB 24-7 Weather (now WALB/NBC Weather Plus) was launched. This station gives continuous forecasts for up to 30 cities around Southwest Georgia.
2006: WALB officially sold from Liberty Corporation to Raycom Media after the 2005 acquisition of Liberty by Raycom.
2006: During demolition of WFXL's Television Tower, WALB's 1000 foot (305 m) tall tower was destroyed on June 7th.
2007: Construction began on the new 1,000 foot (305 m) TV tower that will hold both WALB and WFXL's Analog and Digital Antennas.
2007: WALB News 10 launched "WALB's Most Wanted" to showcase some of south Georgia's most wanted fugitives.
2007: The new WALB/ WFXL mega- tower began broadcasting on July 3 at 11:35 P.M.
Current Personalities
Anchors and Reporters
View Their Bios
Ruthie Garner, Morning and Noon Anchor
Karla Heath-Sands, Morning and Noon Anchor/ Host of Dialogue
Dawn Hobby, 5 & 6 p.m.
Anchor
Jim Wallace, Reporter/Anchor
Jennifer Emert, Reporter/Anchor
Len Kiese, Weekend Anchor/ Reporter
Karen Cohilas, Reporter/Anchor
Sarah Baldwin, Thomasville Bureau Reporter
Alicia Eaken, Valdosta Bureau Reporter
Joe Courson, "10 Country" Reporter
Cade Fowler, Morning and Weekend Reporter
Delivrine Registre, General Assignment Reporter
Christian Jennings, General Assignment Reporter
Wainwright Jeffers, General Assignment Reporter
Meteorologists
Yolanda Amadeo, Chief Meteorologist
Chris Zelman, Morning and Noon Meteorologist
Jay Polk, Weekend Meteorologist
Sports
Robert Hydrick, Sports Director
Joey Donia, Weekend Sports Anchor/ Sports Reporter
WALB's Current Personalities on Their Outdoor Set at ABAC College in Tifton, Georgia
Past personalities
* = Deceased
Mark Williams,Anchor, News Director, Executive Producer (Now at WNBD-AM Radio)
Mike Shiers, Weekend Sports Anchor/ Sports Reporter
Chris Nisinger, Weekend Meteorologist (1998-2008)
Nikki Gaskins, Morning Reporter/ Fill in Anchor (Now at the new NBC station, WMBF-TV, in Myrtle Beach, SC)
Brent Soloman, General Assignment Reporter/Anchor (now at KLRT in Little Rock, AR)
Greg Pallone, Anchor (Now at News 13 in Orlando)
Mesha Chance, Anchor
Andrea Ford meteorologist (Now at WJIZ 96.3 in Albany)
Gil Patrick, Chief Meteorologist and long time host of Today in Georgia *
Grady Shadburn,weathercaster/ host of WALB's "Captain Mercury Show" *
Kristina Abernathy, meteorologist (Now at the Weather Channel)
Tom Paylor, Weekend Meteorologist and News Photographer (1994-1995) (Now a commodity trader and meteorologist in Raleigh, NC)
Reginald Jones, reporter ( Now at WTVY-TV)
Kent Williams, Morning and Noon Meteorologist
Terri Smith, meteorologist. Went to The Weather Channel
Alan Sealls, meteorologist (Now at WKRG-TV)
Patrick Core, meteorologist (Now at WDEF-TV)
LeAnn Pope, meteorologist
Dawson Mathis, anchor
Jerry Cannady, Government reporter *
Joe Sports, sports director
Dave D'Marko, reporter (Now at WDTN Dayton, OH)
Nicole Johnson, Reporter (Now at WCSC-TV)
Kathryn Murchison, reporter/anchor (now at Albany Technical College)
Mathew Palmer, news reporter/photographer (now at Delta Airlines)
Ducky Wall, sports anchor
Kevin McDermond,weekend sports anchor/reporter (now at WPMI-TV)
Chris Smith, meteorologist (1996-1997, Now at WGCL-TV)
Jeff Crum, meteorologist (Now At News 14 Carolina)
Ashley Harper, Valdosta Bureau reporter
Casey Jones, anchor/ reporter (Now At WJCL-TV)
Joe Coffey, anchor
Dave Nethers, reporter (Now At WJW-TV, Cleveland, OH)
Greg Majewski, reporter (Now at WGCL-TV Atlanta)
Chuck Bell, meteorologist (now at WRC-TV)
Nancy Wright, anchor
Lisa George, anchor/reporter (now at the Georgia Innocence Project)
Yolonda Hawkins, reporter
Jennifer Hulsey, reporter
Tom Bryant, reporter *
Mercer Merrill, weekend anchor/reporter (now at News 14 Carolina)
Jocelyn Maner, reporter (now at WLTX-TV)
Scott Hunter, reporter
Brannon Stewart, reporter (now at The Birmingham News)
Amanda Fitzpatrick, reporter, producer (now at WCSC-TV)
Elaine Armstrong, reporter
Mitch Kimbrell, reporter
Steve Summers, reporter
Lisa Smith, reporter
Melissa Kill, Anchor/ reporter (now at WFXL-TV)
Nicole Bailey, reporter
Kristen Hill, reporter
Sloane Heffernan, reporter/anchor (Now At WRAL-TV)
Kathryn Simmons, reporter (Now at Bay News 9)
Stephen Ryan, Thomasville Bureau reporter
Michelle Boudin, reporter/anchor (Now at WCNC)
Yvette Jones, anchor/reporter
Joanna Hammer, reporter
Angelique Proctor, reporter (Now at WAGA)
Jan Saunderson, reporter
Jackie Ryan, reporter
Steve Bell, reporter/anchor (now at University of Georgia)
Steve O'Brien, anchor/news director
Chris Clark, reporter (retired in 2007 from WTVF, Nashville, Tenn.)
Jay Barbree, reporter (now at NBC News)
Greg Loyd, Valdosta Burea Chief (now a professor at Tallahasse College)
Amy Allday-Brice, producer/reporter (now Mental Health/Developmental Disabilities Professional)
New look
In 2004, WALB gave its newscast a makeover, renaming itself from NewsCenter 10 to WALB News 10.
They have also changed their logo as part of the graphic makeover. However, they kept the "little one, big zero" 10, which has been part of WALB's logo since the late-1970s, at the latest.
WALB also changed its theme to The Tower composed by 615 Music.
Logo Gallery
Weather Forecast Titles
Super Doppler 10 Forecast (1994-2004)
24/7 Weather Forecast (current)
June 7, 2006: WALB / WFXL towers crash
On June 1, 2006, a CH-47 Chinook military chopper traveling from Hunter Army Airfield in Savannah, Georgia to Fort Rucker in Alabama for a training mission crashed into a guy wire connected to WFXL's 1000 foot tall Doerun tower.
As a result, Raycom acquired auxiliary transmitters and antennas for both WFXL and WALB, which were installed at the tower at WALB's studios in Albany until the new tower began broadcasting. WALB's Television Tower was destroyed at 6:32 PM on Wednesday, June 7th, 2006 during an attempted demolition of WFXL's tower.
In early 2007, construction began on a new 1000-foot tower in Doerun, which will hold antennas for WALB and WFXL. The construction was finished in July 2007, and began broadcasting from the new mega-tower on July 3, 2007 at 11:35 P.M.
Trivia
WALB was Al Roker's pick station on September 26, 2007.
WALB's "Today in Georgia" was expanded to 2 hours from 5-7am on weekdays beginning September 10, 2007.
One of WALB's cameras used in the station's early years is on display in the Smithsonian Museum in Washington, D.C.
in the science and technology exhibit.
WALB was started by the Albany Herald as a radio station, WALB-AM, in May of 1941.
Former WALB weekend sportscaster Kevin McDermond had a small part in the movie Facing the Giants..