User:WBSG21

WBSG21 was a Brunswick, Georgia based television station. While the station existed as a number of affiliates over a 10 year period of time, the final incarnation of WBSG21 was that of the ABC affiliate WBSG/WJXX in 1996.

While the larger of the two facilities (WJXX ABC 25) was located in Jacksonville, it was the Brunswick facility (WBSG ABC 21) and local transmitter that served as the official home signal for the affiliate and the first of the operations to serve the Northeast Florida/Southeast Georgia news market. At the time of the takeover coordinated by Allbritton Communications, the existing staff at WBSG21 was hired by the new ownership making them the first news team for both WBSG and WJXX serving the entire market. Eventually, the Brunswick station was dismantled, and the entire news operation was relocated to the Jacksonville facility. The WBSG21 facility was used, primarily, as a business/traffic operations facility for the affiliate; however, the transmitter, located in tiny Hickox, Georgia, remained the home base for the affiliate signal throughout the duration of the Allbritton Communications ownership.

Turmoil within the company and dissatisfaction within the communities served by WBSG/WJXX would end Allbritton Communications' ownership of the ABC affiliate. While the corporation was experimenting with new digital technology after the purchase of WBSG, Allbritton Communications management allegedly didn't take in to account the size of the market area, thus making the signal coming from Georgia either weak and grainy or completely unable to reach a large portion of the Jacksonville land area. Not only did the local news not air in many parts of the market, but neither did the ABC programming. With Jacksonville being the largest city in actual size in the United States, the market area is so expansive that the signal never fully reached many portions of the market area and viewership all but vanished for the once thriving WBSG. And after dismantling the Brunswick facility and relocating most remaining staff members to Jacksonville, Allbritton Communications lost the last of its affiliate's loyal viewers in Southeast Georgia, and the company gave up the market to Gannett.

The entire staff, including the news team at WJXX, was not informed that the company was closing the doors on the affiliate until the day of the last broadcast, on March 17th, 2000 at 7:00am. After Gannett purchased the affiliate, a duopoly situation was created within the market with Gannett now owning NBC affiliate WTLV and ABC affiliate WJXX. WJXX was then staffed primarily with existing employees from WTLV, and the WBSG facility in Brunswick was sold to Paxson Communications (now Ion Television) and converted from WBSG/WJXX ABC 21/25 to WPXC 21.

Former WBSG/WJXX ABC 21 Employees:

Casey Jones (Anchor/Reporter) Bill Davis (News Director) Hector Garcia (News Director) Bill Shanks (Anchor) Karen Boudrie (Anchor/Reporter) Jennifer Waugh (Anchor/Reporter) Cindi Dohan Avila (Anchor/Reporter) Lacey Johnson-Leonardi (Reporter/Fill-in Anchor) Angela Williams-Gebhardt (Reporter/Fill-in Anchor) Andy Marcus (Sports Anchor) Brooke Haddock (Sports Reporter) Cathryn Gallaher-Ramsey (Reporter/Fill-in Anchor) Tommy Garcia (Video Photographer) Craig Davisson (Video Photographer) Tyson Davis (Reporter/Fill-in Anchor) Cathi Benton Moore (Reporter) Hector Garcia, Jr. (Teleprompter) Tyson Davis (Reporter/Fill-in Anchor) Angie Williams-Gebhardt