Schurz Communications ownership
In 1969, Times-World merged with Norfolk-based Landmark Communications.[10][11] The merger came one year after the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) barred the co-ownership of broadcast outlets and newspapers, while "grandfathering" existing newspaper-broadcasting combinations in several markets. With the Landmark merger, the WDBJ stations lost their grandfathered protection and could not be retained by the merged company. As a result, channel 7 was sold to South Bend, Indiana-based Schurz Communications.[12] It is not likely that the FCC would have allowed Landmark to keep WDBJ-TV in any event due to a significant signal overlap with Landmark-owned WFMY-TV in Greensboro, North Carolina.[13] Channel 7's analog city-grade signal reached Patrick County, which is part of the Triad market. It provided at least grade B coverage as far south as Reidsville, North Carolina. At the time, the FCC normally did not allow common ownership of two television stations with overlapping signals, and would not even consider granting a waiver for a city-grade overlap.
Times-World also sold the WDBJ radio stations to separate owners. Channel 7 retained the WDBJ-TV call sign, though it officially dropped the -TV suffix in November 1983.[14]
In 1979, WDBJ-TV opened a news bureau in Lynchburg, known as the Central Virginia Bureau, which provided reports focusing on the eastern part of the Roanoke–Lynchburg market (from Charlottesville to Danville); weekend anchor Graham Wilson served as the bureau chief. In the 1980s, the station aired a series of promotional programming and station image spots featuring the popular "Ernest P. Worrell" character portrayed by Jim Varney.
In 2000, WDBJ announced plans to construct a new studio facility on the site of the Best Products building in northwest Roanoke—which was demolished that June—which was designed for high definition broadcasting. WDBJ began broadcasting from the new facility on April 20, 2002.
On July 1, 2007, Jeffery A. Marks was named as the station's general manager, succeeding longtime GM Bob Lee (Marks became only the fourth general manager in the station's history). That same year, the station converted its news department to a tapeless operation, switching to a server-based playback system.
In the spring of 2010, Schurz Communications entered into a website management partnership with Tribune Interactive, in which the content management system operator would assume responsibilities for operating the websites of Schurz's media properties (with the exception of NBC affiliate WAGT in Augusta, Georgia, which was operated by Media General through a shared services agreement with ABC affiliate WJBF). Schurz's Kansas television properties (KWCH-DT and KSCW-DT) were the first to launch new Tribune-run sites in late June of that year, with WDBJ following suit in mid-July. This lasted until mid-2013, when Internet Broadcasting began operating the WDBJ website.
Schurz Communications announced on September 14, 2015, that it would exit broadcasting and sell its television and radio stations, including WDBJ, to Gray Television for $442.5 million. This would make WDBJ a sister station to WCAV (which it no longer is) and WHSV-TV in Charlottesville and Harrisonburg, respectively.[15][16] The FCC approved the sale on February 12, 2016.[17] and the sale was completed on February 16.[18]
