WJAR - News Operation

News Operation

For most of its history, WJAR has led the market with its top-rated newscasts. This can be attributed to being the oldest television channel in Rhode Island and an association early on with two well established radio stations. For the February and May 2012 Nielsen ratings period, this station was number one in all time slots.

More recently, however, WPRI has mounted a spirited challenge to this channel's longtime dominance. For a period in late-2007 and again since early-2009, WPRI has traded ranks in the weeknight 5 and 11 time slots. Specifically, the broadcast weeknights at 11 has gained popularity. As of the November 2010 sweeps period, that newscast on WPRI is the most watched in Rhode Island while WJAR continues its dominance in all other time periods. For most of its history, WLNE has been and continues to be a distant third. This is despite recent significant format and personnel changes.

On two occasions, WJAR has produced a prime time newscast at 10. The first began in April 1997 (entitled TV 28 News at 10) and was seen weeknights on WLWC in competition to the WPRI-produced show on Fox affiliate WNAC-TV. The broadcast was dropped that September when the LMA with WLWC ended. The second attempt has been airing on weeknights since October 1, 2007 when the station began producing NBC 10 News 10 at 10 on its NBC Weather Plus digital subchannel. It was originally a live ten minute production consisting of top stories of the day along with an updated weather forecast.

When WJAR-DT2 switched to RTV, the show expanded to a half-hour and was renamed NBC 10 News 10 at 10 on RTV. A new segment was added called "Flashback" which features vintage footage of past personnel. WLNE occasionally aired news at that time when it operated Cox channel 5 as NewsChannel 5, primarily when sports preempted WNAC's newscast. On September 6, 2010, WJAR began airing the area's second newscast weeknights at 7 joining WLNE. However, it also airs on Saturday nights unlike the other channel's weeknight production. WLNE's newscast was officially cancelled in April 2011.

WJAR is notable for having employed three NBC Today Show personalities. Both the current co-host of Today, Matt Lauer and former co-hostess Meredith Vieira worked at WJAR. Vieira started out as a reporter on the station in the late-1970s while Lauer was co-host of WJAR's version of PM Magazine in the early-1980s. In 2012, former WJAR meteorologist Dylan Dreyer became began doing weekend weather on Today. Other notable alumni include CNN Chief International Correspondent Christiane Amanpour and ESPN anchor Steve Berthiaume. In 2008, WJAR was awarded the National Edward R. Murrow Award for Overall Excellence for a small-market television station. In 2010, the station's website won a second national Murrow. In 2011, the station won its third national Murrow in a row, this time in the "Breaking News" category for its coverage of recent historic flooding. In 2012, the station's web site won a regional Edward R. Murrow Award.

On May 16, 2011, WJAR became the first station in the Providence market to air newscasts in high-definition. A new set was constructed for the transition to HD and debuted on NBC 10 News Sunrise that morning. Photos of the set as it was being built were posted on the station's Facebook page. During construction, newscasts were broadcast from a temporary set in the station's Studio B. Several technological upgrades were also made. Only in-studio video is in HD; the field cameras still shoot in 4:3 SD but the field video is enlarged and cropped to match the aspect ratio of HD television screens.

In addition to its main studios, WJAR operates three news bureaus. The Southeastern Massachusetts Bureau is based at The Standard Times newsroom on Elm Street in New Bedford. The South County Bureau is in The Westerly Sun newsroom on Main Street in Westerly. The Downcity Bureau is on Dorrance Street in Downtown Providence. The station uses a live weather radar feed from the National Weather Service's Local Forecast Office on Myles Standish Boulevard in Taunton, Massachusetts. In weather segments, this data is presented in a forecasting system known as "Storm Team 10 VIPIR".