WJCT

WJCT is a non profit organization based in Jacksonville, Florida, which operates PBS member television station WJCT (channel 7), NPR member radio station WJCT-FM (channel 89.9), and WJCT Online.[1]

History

In 1952, following a four-year-long freeze on awarding station licenses, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) revised its channel allocation table and reserved 242 frequencies, including channel 7 in Jacksonville, for noncommercial educational use. In Jacksonville, podiatrist Dr. Heywood Dowling launched a campaign to bring educational television to the First Coast region. While many other public stations at the time were affiliated with universities, Dowling proposed that Jacksonville's station be owned and funded by the community. Civic leaders embraced the concept, and after years of fundraising, the FCC issued a construction permit for channel 7 on February 28, 1957.[2][3][4]

WJCT television first went on the air on September 10, 1958. Its first broadcast was a report by then-Florida governor LeRoy Collins on educational television. As Channel 7 initially had no production facility of its own, it used the studios of the city's two commercial stations, WMBR-TV (channel 4, now WJXT) and WFGA-TV (channel 12, now WTLV).[4] It was Florida's second public television station, following time-sharing outlets WTHS-TV and WPBT in Miami. Its service area extended past Jacksonville to Live Oak, St. Augustine, and Palatka, Florida, and Folkston, Georgia. Its first month was dedicated to national programs from National Educational Television.[5]

WJCT added a radio station, WJCT-FM, in 1972. Originally on air under the name "Stereo 90", WJCT-FM's broadcasting covered music, fine arts, news, and public affairs. In October 1973, WJCT produced its first television and radio simulcast of a concert by the Jacksonville Symphony Orchestra.[5][4]

In 2014, WJCT spearheaded the Digital Convergence Alliance Network Operations Center (DCA-NOC), a central master control operation funded by a grant from the Corporation for Public Broadcasting. This was the first network operations center developed in a partnership of 11 public broadcasting companies.[5]

Television
Main article: WJCT (TV)

WJCT's television station transmits on virtual and VHF digital channel 7, and is the PBS member station for the Jacksonville area. Its studio facilities are located on Festival Park Avenue, near EverBank Field in Downtown Jacksonville's Stadium District and its transmitter is located on Hogan Road in the Killarney Shores neighborhood. On cable, the station is available on Comcast Xfinity channel 8 (cable channel 7 is occupied by a leased access channel) and in high definition on digital channel 440.

The station first signed on the air on September 10, 1958. WJCT's schedule includes programming from PBS and other programming services, including the BBC and American Public Television. WJCT also produces and broadcasts local news, public affairs programs and documentaries.

On April 6, 2009, WJCT's analog signal on channel 7 left the air for good.[6][7]

Channel Video Aspect PSIP Short Name Programming[8]
7.11080i16:9WJCT-HDMain WJCT programming / PBS
7.2480i4:3CreateCreate
7.316:9KidsPBS Kids
7.4MoreWJCT More! (6 p.m.-6 a.m.)
The Florida Channel (6 a.m.-6 p.m.)
7.5WorldWorld

WJCT-TV (7.1)

WJCT Public Television began broadcasting on September 10, 1958. WJCT offers more than 52 hours per week of children's educational series and features primetime programming from PBS, American Public Television, BBC and NET. Drama, science, history, fine arts, music and public affairs are among the program genres featured. WJCT also produces and broadcasts local news and public affairs programs and documentaries.[9]

WJCT Create (7.2)

Create TV was launched in 2006 to serve viewers' interest in do-it-yourself programs. Program genres seen on Create® TV include public television series and specials on cooking, travel, home improvement, gardening, arts and crafts, and other lifestyle interests. The programs seen on Create TV come from American Public Television, The National Educational Telecommunications Association (NETA) and Public Broadcasting Service (PBS).[10]

WJCT Kids (7.3)

PBS Kids is a 24/7, full-service multicast channel featuring children's programming.[11][12]

WJCT More! (7.4)

WJCT's fourth television channel features two major blocks of programming. The first programming block is The Florida Channel. The second programming block is additional (hence the name "More!") programming similar to the kind seen regularly on WJCT-TV (7.1), which airs when the Florida Channel is not operating. This programming block is often either themed by genre or features marathons of a specific show.

Florida Knowledge Network

WJCT previously operated a fourth subchannel that operated in a timeshare format in the same manner as digital subchannel 7.4, consisting of Florida Knowledge Network (airing weekdays from 6:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m.) and "WJCT Informational" (airing weekdays from 6:00 p.m. to 6:00 a.m. and all day on weekends); this service was discontinued July 1, 2011 following the closure of the Florida Knowledge Network.

WJCT World (7.5)

WORLD℠ is a 24/7, full service multicast channel featuring public television's signature nonfiction documentary, science and news programming complemented by original content from emerging producers.[13]

Radio
Main article: WJCT-FM

WJCT-FM (89.9 MHz) is the NPR-member public radio station in Jacksonville, Florida. The station has been on the air since 1972, and airs NPR news and talk during the week and a mix of news, talk, eclectic music on weekends. Original programming includes First Coast Connect and locally produced music shows specializing in chill out, indie, blues, country, doo wop and more.

WJCT Public Radio (89.9 FM, HD1)

Launched in 1972, 89.9 WJCT-FM is WJCT's original radio channel. Programming consists of news and public affairs programming during the day and music programs at night.

WJCT Arts (89.9 HD2)

WJCT Arts is a 24/7 HD radio station featuring classical music.

Relax Radio (89.9 HD3)

Relax Radio is a 24/7 HD radio station featuring more than 3,500 easy listening songs that span the spectrum of time, from Bing Crosby to Michael Bublé.

When Jacksonville's premier easy listening radio station of half a century went off the air in late 2014, listeners contacted WJCT in hopes that something could be done to fill the void left in the community. WJCT created Relax Radio in response to these requests. Relax blends oldies, light jazz, orchestral pop, music from the Great American Songbook and new favorites in a fresh way intended to appeal to baby boomers and younger listeners alike. The 24-hour music service also features NPR News updates and weather information at the top of every hour.[14]

Online and digital services

WJCT Online

The official WJCT website offers extensive content including television and radio schedules, local news, corporate and station news, digital channel information, events, educational/kids pages, podcasts, blogs, access to on-demand video streaming of local productions,[15] and more.[16]

WJCT News

On April 1, 2013, WJCT launched WJCT News,[17] an online news source to complement the news reports and programming on 89.9 WJCT-FM. WJCT News features local and national news stories, photos and bios of WJCT's news team, podcasts, information about locally produced programs, and tools to stream 89.9 WJCT-FM live.[18]

The WJCT App

The WJCT App, launched in October 2015, provides access to PBS programs on demand (including PBS Kids programs), WJCT's radio and television schedules, WJCT News and more. Use of the app is not limited to WJCT's listening and viewing area. The WJCT App is free to download in the Apple App Store and Google Play.[14]

WJCT Radio Reading Service

Broadcast on a closed-circuit subchannel of 89.9 WJCT-FM, this 24/7 service provides readings of local and national newspapers, books and other materials to assist visually impaired individuals.

References
  1. "About WJCT". www.wjct.org. WJCT. 2016. Retrieved August 22, 2016.
  2. "FCC grants San Angelo ch. 3, educational Jacksonville ch. 7" (PDF). Broadcasting - Telecasting. March 4, 1957. p. 66. Retrieved June 6, 2020.
  3. "For the Record: Station authorizations, applications–New TV stations–Actions" (PDF). Broadcasting - Telecasting. March 11, 1957. p. 107. Retrieved June 6, 2020.
  4. Marbut, Max (September 10, 2008). "WJCT marks its golden anniversary". Jacksonville Daily Record. Retrieved June 19, 2019.
  5. "WJCT". American Archive of Public Broadcasting. 2019.
  6. http://hraunfoss.fcc.gov/edocs_public/attachmatch/DA-06-1082A2.pdf
  7. Jacksonville TV stations might not wait to switch to digital, The Florida Times-Union, February 6, 2009.
  8. "Digital TV Market Listing for WJCT". RabbitEars.Info. Retrieved January 26, 2017.
  9. WJCT's Media Showcase
  10. http://createtv.com/about/
  11. http://pbskids.org/
  12. "PBS 24/7 Kids Channel". WJCT. Retrieved 13 January 2017.
  13. http://worldchannel.org/about/
  14. http://www.wjct.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/02/2015-CPB-Report-Final_01.pdf
  15. http://www.wjct.org/ondemand/
  16. WJCT Media Showcase
  17. http://news.wjct.org/
  18. http://www.wjct.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/04/wjct-annual-report-2013.pdf
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