About WLTX
About TEGNA
WLTX is owned and operated by TEGNA Inc., an innovative media company that serves the greater good of its communities. Across platforms, TEGNA delivers relevant and trusted content by telling empowering stories, conducting impactful investigations and providing innovative and unparalleled solutions for advertisers through TEGNA Marketing Solutions. For more information, visit www.TEGNA.com.
Mission and Coverage Priorities
MISSION
TEGNA's purpose is to serve the greater good of our communities.
We will provide the news and information that people need to function as
effective citizens.
We will seek solutions as well as expose problems and wrongdoing.
We will provide editorial and community leadership.
We will seek to promote understanding of complex issues.
We will be advocates for our communities.
DIVERSE VOICES
At TEGNA, you will find people from all backgrounds, interests and abilities, united by a common purpose to make a difference in our work, our company and our community.
We are committed to making editorial decisions with input from a variety of voices that reflect our community. We seek sufficient understanding of the communities, individuals and stories we cover to inform the public. We are persistent in pursuit of the whole story.
DIVERSITY STAFFING REPORT
At TEGNA, we believe that attracting a talented and diverse workforce is one of the keys to our success. We strive to create for our employees an environment which offers professional and intellectual challenges, which encourages innovation and creativity, and which rewards success and effective teamwork. Read our latest EEO Diversity Report.
Ethics, Standards and Practices
ETHICS
TEGNA is committed to the highest ethical standards and dedicated to the principles of truth, independence, fair play and integrity. These principles apply to everything we do, from gathering content to reporting and producing content. Read TEGNA's Principles of Ethical Journalism.
TEGNA journalists observe the following principles:
INDEPENDENCE
We will remain free of outside interests, investments, business relationships
or personal relationships that may compromise the credibility of our news
reports.
We will seek to avoid potential conflicts of interest and promptly disclose
any that arise.
We do not accept gifts, meals or entertainment from any individuals or
organizations that may be covered by our stations.
We do not allow sponsors of news to determine, change or restrict content.
We do not make political contributions, participate in political advocacy or
publicly share political views.
TRANSPARENCY
We are transparent about paid or sponsored content.
We clearly identify and differentiate commentary from news.
We will explain our journalistic processes to our audience.
PUBLIC INTEREST
We will uphold and defend the First Amendment.
We will be vigilant watchdogs of government and institutions that affect the
public.
We will fight to insure the public's business is conducted in public.
FAIRNESS
We will treat people with dignity, respect and compassion.
We will be fair with people unaccustomed to dealing with the media. (*)
We will seek all sides relevant to a story.
(Also diverse voices)
INTEGRITY
We will act honorably, transparently and ethically in dealing with news
sources, the public and our colleagues.
We will obey the law.
We will not skew facts, distort reality or sensationalize events (ETHICS).
We will not manipulate images or sound in misleading ways.
We will not present images that are reenacted without informing the
audience.
We will use hidden cameras or similar techniques only if there is no other way
to tell a significant story effectively, and only with news management
approval.
We will respect the copyrights of others.
VERIFICATION & FACT-CHECKING
We report the news accurately, thoroughly and in context on all platforms. We
vet sources, verify facts and challenge assumptions before reporting news. We
hold factual information on all platforms to the same standards of accuracy.
We are honest. We do not mislead sources, story subjects or the public.
We attribute information received from others, and we are transparent with
sourcing. We do not plagiarize.
We do not misstate our identity or intentions. We keep our word.
We do not intentionally slant the news.
We value being right over being fast.
UNNAMED SOURCES
We will use unnamed sources as the sole basis for reporting only as a last resort when it best serves the public's right to know, and only with prior news management approval.
CORRECTIONS
We will make corrections promptly and proportionate to the original reporting.
CONTACT US
MASTHEAD/EDITORIAL LEADERSHIP
Click here to meet our Editorial Leadership team
ACTIONABLE FEEDBACK
We value feedback from our community, including story ideas as well as comments and corrections on our coverage. Click on the appropriate link below to route your feedback to the correct team in our newsroom.
NEWSROOM CONTACT INFORMATION
Trust Project Participation
TEGNA is proud to be a participant in the Trust Project. The Trust Project is an international consortium of news organizations collaborating to use transparency to build a more trustworthy and trusted press. For more information visit https://thetrustproject.org/.
Station History
On Tuesday, September 1, 1953, WNOK-TV, Channel 67 signed on the air as a CBS/Dumont affiliate with studios located in the old Jefferson Hotel in downtown Columbia. This was the Golden Age of television as viewers tuned into programs like Art Linkletter's House Party, The Arthur Godfrey Show, The Red Skelton Show, and of course, I Love Lucy. Soon after signing on, WNOK-TV began broadcasting the Sunday services of The First Baptist Church. Those live broadcasts, still on the air today, represent one of the longest continually running local programs in the USA. WNOK-TV was also the first Midlands television station to air a live, local baseball game (the Columbia Reds).
In the early 1960's, the station changed channel numbers by moving to the much stronger Channel 19. In 1969, a new facility was constructed on Garners Ferry Road for both WNOK-TV and WNOK-AM and FM. In 1977, Lewis Broadcasting purchased WNOK-TV and changed the call letters to WLTX-TV. At the same time, WNOK radio was sold. In 1985, WLTX-TV constructed a new 1,780 foot tall tower that nearly doubled the signal strength of the station and delivered a signal into 24 counties.
In April of 1998, Gannett purchased WLTX-TV and an immediate effort was undertaken to grow the station's news operations into one of the premiere news departments in the Southeast. In November 1999, a morning edition of News 19 was added from 5am - 7am. The 5am start was a first for The Midlands. On December 31, 1999, WLTX ushered in the new millennium with the addition of Jim Gandy, the most trusted name in South Carolina weather. Soon thereafter, News 19's live Double Doppler was introduced with one location atop the Lexington Medical Center and the other location in Atlanta. The Double Doppler sweeps of the Georgia/Carolina skies meant that WLTX viewers were protected by the most advanced severe weather warning system in the state.
In 2001, to accentuate our commitment to news, WLTX-TV completed a major construction project that doubled the size of the station and added a new and much larger newsroom for News19, along with news support facilities, and a new studio control room.
On May 3, 2003, WLTX-DT became the first commercial station in Columbia to sign on with a digital signal. WLTX-TV broadcasts on Channel 17, but digital receivers receive it as Channel 19-1, 19-2 and 19-3. CBS' The Price is Right was the first program to be broadcast in digital and the first true HDTV program (High Definition Television) was The Young and The Restless. WLTX was one of the first stations in the country to broadcast all games of the March Madness Tournament. Through the use of digital technology, WLTX broadcast up to 4 games, simultaneously, using the analog channel 19 plus digital channels 19.1, 19.2 and 19.3. In November of 2005, WLTX launched News 19 Weather Now, the only all-local 24/7 weather channel in Columbia.
On January 24, 2011, WLTX began originating all News 19 broadcasts in high definition. The transition to local HD origination meant viewers were treated to the best possible video. On July 1, 2013, News 19 expanded to include a 4:30am Newscast. In 2015, Gannett spun its publishing properties from its broadcast and digital properties, making WLTX part of TEGNA, one of the largest most geographically diverse broadcasters in the U.S.
WLTX has been an early adapter of a multi-platform approach to the dissemination of news. wltx.com, is a major source of information as is the WLTX App for smart phones The station's digital team has multiple daily posts on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. July 20, 2022, saw the launch of WLTX+, a streaming service available on Amazon Fire and Roku. The WLTX YouTube page is has the largest subscription base of any station in South Carolina.
Awards
News 19 has been recognized by various groups for specific news stories and for excellence in broadcasting. These include multiple EMMY Awards, multiple Edward R. Murrow regional awards, awards from the Associated Press, the Radio Television Digital News Association of the Carolinas, and the South Carolina Broadcasters Association.
The most prestigious national award received by WLTX came in January of 2015 when we were honored with the 2015 Alfred I. duPont-Columbia University Award for Outstanding Local Television Investigative Reporting - in the United States. News 19's journalists were honored for their series of over 50 reports on South Carolina's Department of Social Services - DSS: The System Failed.
WLTX was named South Carolina Television Station of the Year in 2001, 2002, 2018, 2021, and 2022.
WLTX broadcasts eight channels of programming:
- 19.2 True Crime
- 19.3 Shop LC
- 19.4 Quest
- 19.5 The Nest
- 19.6 Nosey
- 19.7 Confess
- 19.8 - Open
For all content licensing inquiries, please contact our representatives at TEGNA@nimia.com.