WAST-LP

TV station in Ashland, Wisconsin (1997–2006)

46°41′16.98″N 90°54′23.05″W / 46.6880500°N 90.9064028°W / 46.6880500; -90.9064028

WAST-LP (channel 25) was a low-power television station in Ashland, Wisconsin, United States. The station was a semi-satellite of the UPN-affiliated second digital subchannel of KBJR-TV in Duluth, Minnesota, then-called Northland UPN and Northland 9, but was owned by a separate entity, Martinsen Investments. WAST-LP sold local advertising specifically for the Ashland area, preempting KBJR-DT2's advertising breaks.

Since 1997, WAST-LP had been owned by Superior Water Logged Lumber. It struggled financially. A 2001 attempt to sell the station to ESI Broadcasting Corporation of Montana failed; ESI hoped to combine the station with KDUL-LP, a UPN affiliate.[1] The station then went off the air.[2]

In December 2005, Hank Martinsen and Julie Nuutinen put WAST-LP back on the air. The station featured two daily newscasts focusing on Wisconsin-area news. It had news sharing agreements with KBJR-TV and KUWS radio in Superior.[2] The effort was short-lived. On May 2, news director Julie Moravchik was fired; she claimed she was dismissed for not making ownership-ordered staffing cuts. Newsroom employees refused to work for anyone else; 10 of them were fired the following day. To fill the void, newscast replays from KDLH-TV, commonly operated with KBJR, were added to the station's programming.[3] Moravchik was then hired to set up the newsroom at KQDS-TV in Duluth.[4]

On August 1, 2006, the station ended operations and went off the air, a month short of KBJR-DT2's conversion to MyNetworkTV. Despite being off the air for eight years, long after most stations licenses are canceled for not broadcasting, WAST-LP's license remained active until January 3, 2014, when its previous license to broadcast was fully exhausted.[5]

References

  1. ^ Casey, Chris (June 23, 2001). "Deal for Ashland TV station canceled: Link with Duluth's KDUL on hold for now". Duluth News Tribune. p. 2B.
  2. ^ a b "Ashland TV station going on air soon". The Sheboygan Press. Sheboygan, Wisconsin. Associated Press. December 6, 2005. p. A6. Retrieved April 10, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
  3. ^ Passi, Peter (May 23, 2006). "WAST ponders new direction - BROADCASTING: The Ashland TV station is trying to bounce back from the loss of its general manager and 10 other employees". Duluth News Tribune.
  4. ^ Passi, Peter (October 24, 2006). "Defunct Ashland station staffers win Emmy - No smoking: A pair from WAST-TV bring the former station recognition for directing and producing public service announcements to kick the habit". Duluth News Tribune. p. B5.
  5. ^ Hashemzadeh, Hossein (January 3, 2014). "In re: LPTV/TV Translator Station…" (PDF). CDBS Public Access. Federal Communications Commission. Retrieved January 6, 2014.

External links

  • Business North: "Mavericks plan to relaunch Ashland TV station" (from March 2005)
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Broadcast television in Northeast Minnesota and Northwest Wisconsin
This region includes the following cities: Duluth, MN
Hibbing, MN
International Falls, MN
Superior, WI
Reception may vary by location and some stations may only be viewable with cable television
DuluthSuperior
HibbingVirginia
Grand Rapids
(Iron Range)
International Falls
Adjacent locals
Defunct
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Broadcast television stations by affiliation in the state of Minnesota
ABC
CBS
Fox
NBC
The CW
MyNetworkTV
Ion Television
PBS
Minneapolis–St. Paul market
KTCA-TV 2.1 / KTCI-TV 2.3ATSC 3.0 (St. Paul)
KAWE 9 / KAWB 22 (Bemidji/Brainerd)
KWCM-TV 10 (Appleton)
WHWC 28 (Menomonie, WI)
Duluth market
WDSE 8 / WRPT 31 (Duluth/Hibbing)
Sioux Falls, SD market
KSMN 20 (Worthington)
Fargo–Grand Forks, ND market
KGFE 2 / KFME 13 / KCGE-DT 16 (Grand Forks/Fargo/Crookston)
Rochester–Mason City–Austin market
KSMQ-TV 15 (Austin)
Other
Defunct
See also
Wausau TV
Marquette TV
Ontario TV
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