, channel 7, is the
ABC television affiliate in
Washington, D.C. . It is the flagship station of the
Allbritton Communications Company , which also operates local cable station
News Channel 8 . The two stations share broadcast facilities in
Arlington, Virginia . WJLA-TV shares a tower with
WUSA in the
Tenleytown section of Washington.
On
October 3 ,
1947 , the
District Of Columbia 's second television station began broadcasting as , owned by the ''
Washington Star '' along with WMAL radio (
630 AM and 107.3 FM, now
WRQX ). It was the first
Band III VHF station (channels 7-13) in the United States (and the world as well). A few months later, the station renamed itself '''WMAL-TV''' after its radio sisters.
WMAL radio had been an affiliate of the
NBC Blue Network since
1933 , and remained with the network after it was spun-off by NBC and evolved into ABC. However, channel 7 started as a
CBS station since ABC hadn't gotten into television yet. When ABC launched its television network in
1948 , WMAL-TV became ABC's third primary affiliate. It continued to carry some CBS programming until WOIC-TV (later WTOP-TV and now
WUSA ) signed on in
1949 .
In
1976 , Texas businessman
Joseph L. Allbritton , the owner of Washington-based
Riggs Bank , purchased the ''Star'' along with the WMAL stations. As a condition of the purchase, Allbritton had to break up the newspaper/broadcast combination, which the
Federal Communications Commission was seeking to prohibit under its "
One-to-a Market " rule. WMAL-TV was separated from its radio sisters when ABC purchased WMAL-AM-FM in March 1977. Upon the radio transfer, channel 7 changed its call letters to the current after Allbritton's initials since
July 2 ,
1976 . Allbritton then sold the ''Star'' to
Time, Inc. in February 1978.
Rumors abounded from the mid-1990s onward that ABC might buy WJLA, thus reuniting it with its former radio sisters. However, ABC recently announced it was selling most of its radio properties, including WMAL and WRQX, to
Citadel Communications , and there is virtually no likelihood that ABC will purchase the station. Even so, WJLA is still an ABC affiliate to this day under Allbritton because the company has had a unique affiliation deal with the network.
After
WJZ-TV in
Baltimore switched to CBS in
1995 , WJLA became ABC's longest-tenured affiliate.
In 2007, WJLA became the last station in the market to launch a news helicopter, when it launched "NewsChopper 7" for morning traffic reports and breaking news reports.
Despite its newspaper roots, WJLA's newscasts have long rated third in the market, behind WUSA and
WRC-TV .
The station scored a major coup in
1999 , when it hired
Maureen Bunyan , former longtime anchorwoman at WUSA. In
2003 ,
Leon Harris , formerly of
CNN , joined the station as an anchor. In
2004 , WJLA hired Bunyan's former anchor desk partner,
Gordon Peterson ; they have since been reunited for the 6:00 p.m. news.
These personnel moves, combined with WUSA's recent troubles, have led to a resurgence in the ratings, and it currently leads at 5:00 p.m. It currently has the largest news team in the Washington area. As the flagship station of the Allbritton chain, WJLA provides national news headlines for other Allbritton-owned stations.
Since 1970, WMAL-TV/WJLA has used a variation of the ''
Circle 7 '' logo, which has long been associated with ABC affiliates. From 1970 to 2001, WMAL/WJLA used its own version of the ''Circle 7'' logo, with the "7" modified to accommodate the circle. This version was probably the longest continuously used numeric logo in Washington's television history. The only real modification came in 1998, after it began calling itself ''ABC 7'' on-air and added the ABC logo to the left. In 2001, WJLA adopted the standard version of the ''Circle 7'' logo, which looks strikingly similar, to ABC O&O WABC-TV in New York City, re-fueling speculation that ABC would buy the station. Ironically, WJLA is the largest ABC affiliate to use the ''Circle 7'' that is not an ABC owned-and-operated station; also, its sister station
KATV in
Little Rock, Arkansas has used the standard ''Circle 7'' since the 1960s, longer than all WJLA versions combined.
- , Weeknights 6 and 11 p.m.
- , Weeknights 5 and 11 p.m. and co-host of "Capital Sunday"
- , Good Morning Washington and ABC 7 NEWS @ NOON
- , Weeknights 6 p.m. and "Inside Washington" Host
- , Good Morning Washington and ABC 7 NEWS @ NOON
- , Weeknights @ 6, ABC 7 NEWS Entertainment Reporter
- , NewsTalk Live host
- , afternoons
- , evenings
- , mornings and middays, also "Capital Golf Weekly" Host
- , GMW Traffic Reporter
- ,
- '''Roberta Baskin, I-Team reporter
- , Prince George's County Bureau Chief
- , DC Bureau Chief
- , Medical Reporter
- , Montgomery County Bureau Chief
- , I-Team reporter
- , 7 On Your Side investigator
- , also Weekend Morning Anchor
- , NC8 Traffic Reporter
- : Meteorologist
- : WJLA-TV Chief Meteorologist
- : Weather Producer
- : NewsChannel 8 Weatherman
- : NewsChannel 8 Weatherman
- : WJLA-TV Meteorologist
- : WJLA-TV Meteorologist
- : Weekend Morning Weatherman
- , WJLA-TV Weeknight Sports Anchor/Reporter
- , NewsChannel 8 Sports Anchor/Reporter/"Sports Talk" host
- , WJLA-TV Weekend Sports Anchor/Reporter
- Donald Allen - Anchor/Reporter (1969-1974, deceased)
- Louis Allen - Chief Meteorologist (1955-1974), deceased). the first meteorologist to appear on television.
- Lauren Ashburn - Reporter/Anchor (1996-2000, now at USA Today Live )
- Gary Axelson - Reporter (1972-1984)
- Jim Berry - Sports Anchor/Reporter (1981-1988, now at WFOR-TV in Miami)
- Paul Berry - Anchor/Reporter (1971-1999, now in public relations {Link without Title} )
- Rea Blakey - Health Reporter (1988-2001, recently at CNN, now with Discovery Health Channel )
- James Brown - Sports Reporter (1984, now at CBS Sports )
- Mike "Buck" Buchanan - General Assignment Reporter (2004-2006, now at WTOP radio; father of WUSA reporter Doug Buchanan; has been seen doing opinion reports on WJLA.)
- Jack Bowden - Reporter/Anchor - MD Bureau Chief 1990-1998 (retired)
- Mike Cairns - Sports Reporter/Anchor (1992-2000, now a sports announcer for Cleveland State University in Cleveland)
- Jim Clarke - Special Correspondent (1964-2003, retired)
- Jack Conaty - National Correspondent (1980-1986, now at WFLD-TV in Chicago)
- Carol Costello - Morning Anchor (1996-2001, now appears on CNN's Situation Room)
- Chris Curle Farmer - Anchor/Reporter (1977-1980, retired in Florida)
- Elliott Francis - Weekend Anchor/Reporter (1997-2007)
- Charles Gibson , Anchor/Reporter (1970-1973, now an anchor for ABC 's '' World News With Charles Gibson '')
- Jeff Gilbert - Meteorologist (1991-2001)
- Chris Gordon - Anchor/Reporter (1980-1983, now at WRC-TV ( NBC ) in Washington, DC)
- Mike Hambrick - Co-anchor (1992-1995, now with the National Association of Manufacturers {Link without Title} )
- Jim Harriott - Anchor (1989-1990, deceased)
- John Harter - Reporter (1974-2006, retired)
- Dan Henry - Meteorologist (1997-2002, now at KDFW-TV in Dallas)
- Frank Herzog - Sports Director/Reporter (1983-1992, now at WTOP Radio)
- Kerri Kazarba - Anchor/Reporter (1993-1994, now at KCPQ -TV in Seattle)
- Dennis Ketterer - Meteorologist (1988-1995, now at WBOC-TV in Salisbury, Maryland)
- Susan King - Anchor/''Cover Story'' Reporter (1987-1997)
- Christianne Klein , Weekend Anchor/Reporter (2005-2006, now an anchor and correspondent for ABC News )
- Rene Knott - Sports Director (1992-2003, now at KSDK-TV in St. Louis)
- Dan Lewis - Anchor (1981-1987, now at KOMO-TV in Seattle)
- Josh Mankiewicz - Reporter (1980-1982, now at NBC News )
- Elizabeth Manresa - Consumer Reporter (2001-2004, now at CNN Newsource )
- Kathleen Matthews - 5 p.m. Anchor/''Capitol Sunday'' Co-Host/Reporter (1982-2006, wife of MSNBC's Chris Matthews , now works for Marriott Hotels but still an occasional contributor)
- Melissa McDermott - Weekend Anchor/Reporter (1998-1999) (now a reporter/anchor for CBS News )
- Lark McCarthy - Anchor/Reporter (1976-1984, formerly of WTTG )
- Derek McGinty - Anchor/Reporter (1998-2000, now at WUSA-TV )
- Chris McKendry - Sports Reporter/Anchor (1994-1996, now in same position for ESPN 's '' SportsCenter '')
- Marilyn Mitzel - Health/Investigative Reporter (1984-1986)
- Monica Pellegrini - Sports Reporter/Anchor (1992-1993, most recently in same position at WWOR in New York)
- Renee Poussaint - Anchor/Reporter (1978-1992)
- Gary Reals - General Assignment Reporter (1983-1990, now in same position at WUSA-TV )
- Susan Roberts - Reporter (2000-2003, now at CBS News )
- Dan Ronan - Reporter (1982-1989, now at WFAA-TV in Dallas)
- Nancy Russo - Meteorologist (1987-1989)
- Angela Russell - Weekend Anchor/Reporter (2003-2005, now at KYW-TV in Philadelphia)
- Wes Sarginson - Anchor (early 70s and 1985-1988, now at WXIA-TV in Atlanta)
- Jim Schaefer - Reporter/Producer (1993-2003)
- David Schoumacher - Anchor/Reporter (1976-1988)
- Kevin Schultze - Reporter (1996-2005)
- Gary Shore - Meteorologist (1981-1983)
- Dale Solly - Anchor/Reporter (1988-1993 and 1997-2002, deceased)
- Alexandra Steele - Meteorologist (1999-2003, now in same position at The Weather Channel )
- Lori Stokes - Anchor/Reporter (1992-1996, now with WABC-TV in New York
- Dave Sweeney - Meteorologist (1985-1987, most recently at KOIN-TV in Portland, OR )
- Henry Tenenbaum - Reporter (1987-1990, now at KRON-TV in San Francisco)
- Fred Thomas - Anchor/Reporter (1967-1975)
- Ruth Todd - Meteorologist/Anchor (1990-1992, now semi-retired in Salt Lake City)
- Steve Udelson - Meteorologist (1988-1990, now at WSOC-TV in Charlotte, NC)
- Mary Jo Walsh - Anchor/Reporter (1994-2000)
- Del Walters - Co-anchor/Investigative Reporter (1985-2003, then to WMAR-TV (ABC) in Baltimore, MD until 2006, now a documentary producer/director)
- Fred Weiss - Meteorologist (1963-1988, deceased)
