WGSR-LD (channel 19) is a low-power independent television station in Reidsville, North Carolina, United States. Owned by the Star News Corporation, it is sister to fellow independent station WMDV-LD in Danville, Virginia. WGSR-LD's transmitter is located in downtown Reidsville, although live programming no longer emanates from the studio building there. Programming is sent from the company's main offices and studios located in Martinsville, Virginia.
History
The station traces its history back to 1982 when "WCTV-3", a public-access television station on what was then Alert Cable in Reidsville launched. On March 7, 1988, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) granted an original construction permit to then-station manager Robert Tudor to broadcast on UHF channel 14, under the call letters W14AU. Over-the-air programming was largely supplied by satellite networks, but the station produced its own nightly newscast. W14AU also began airing a weekly call-in program, Monday Night Live.
The station was sold to Carolina Blue Communications, owned by Daniel Falinski, in early 1996; the FCC approved the purchase that August. Under Falinski's leadership, the station expanded its programming to a more regional focus. Following an established custom of television stations in the Greensboro market (following WXII-TV, WXLV-TV