While he’s new to the job, WJCL president/GM Benjamin Hart is easing into the role of providing on-air editorials. His most recent ones, going for about 90 seconds, stressed the importance of voting and urged Americans to come together after the divisive presidential election. 

“You and I are a part of the most glorious country in the world,” Hart said in the one about coming together. “Free and fair elections are the key to what makes us the best country on earth. Now that we’ve all had our say, it's time for us to listen to each other, work together and move forward.”

Also Read: Georgia on Everyone’s Mind

Hearst TV general managers are encouraged to address viewers directly with editorials. Hart, who succeeded Tim Morrissey atop WJCL, said the editorials “articulate who we are as a station and a company.”

Hart hopes to make them a weekly thing when he knows the market better. For now, he steps up when he feels he can add an informed voice to the dialogue. “When there’s something important to say, it’s time to say something,” Hart said.

As the two Senate races in Georgia will decide which party will rule the chamber in Washington, the spending is positively pouring in at stations in the state. It started in Savannah the day after Election Day, according to one general manager, and will continue until the runoff elections Jan. 5. 

“This is unbelievable,” Benjamin Hart, WJCL president and general manager, said. “Money is pouring into this state in ungodly amounts.”

The four candidates and assorted PACs will spend more than $100 million across the state in the two months leading up to the runoffs, according to Kantar/CMAG. Larry Silbermann, VP and general manager of WTOC, said the spending across those two months will amount to more than the station gets in a typical election year. “We’re certainly the eye of the storm right now,” he said. 

Also Read: WJCL GM Hart Addresses Viewers Directly

Gray Television’s WTOC, a CBS affiliate, is the market leader. Nexstar has NBC outlet WSAV, which runs The CW and MyNetworkTV on its subchannels. Hearst Television owns ABC affiliate WJCL. Sinclair holds Fox affiliate WTGS. 

Comcast is the dominant pay TV operator in DMA No. 89. 

WTOC, which does not subscribe to Nielsen, has ruled Savannah news for decades. It features anchor stability, more local news than the competitors and what Silbermann calls “a special connection” to the community. “We continually work at trying to be better,” he said. “We appreciate the legacy status but we don’t take it for granted. We don’t get complacent.”

WTOC dominated household ratings in November, per Comscore, winning the
6-7 a.m. and 5 and 6 p.m. news races handily, and posting a 6.0 rating at 11 p.m., ahead of WSAV’s 3.3 and WJCL’s 1.6. 

With “On Your Side” branding, WSAV also offers viewers considerable anchor tenure. Station talent can often be found out and about in Savannah, not only covering news but turning up at community events. “Our anchors connect with the market in ways well beyond on air,” said Marc Hefner, VP and general manager. 

WJCL had been an also-ran in Savannah, but the station has been picking up ground. Hart, a former news director at WISN Milwaukee, was named WJCL general manager in September. WJCL tenaciously covers politics, and offers a level of newsroom professionalism that most stations cannot muster, Hart said. WJCL is an active participant in Hearst TV’s bridge-building Project CommUNITY initiative. “We are trying to find the things that divide us, and the things that are holding us together,” said Hart. 

Cory Culleton, WTGS VP and general manager, splits his time between Savannah and Sinclair’s stations in Gainesville, Florida. WTGS offers 10 p.m. nightly news. 

The news battle has heated up in Savannah, and that’s how Silbermann — like Hart, he’s a former news director — likes it. “I’m all for a competitive market,” he said. “For journalism to thrive, there needs to be a competitiveness among the stations. It’s healthy.”

Nestled on the Georgia-South Carolina border, on the Atlantic Ocean, the Savannah market includes a chunk of South Carolina, including Hilton Head. Tourism is a giant economic driver in the picturesque Coastal Empire. “When you go through downtown Savannah, there’s nothing like it on earth,” Hefner said. 

Every tourist destination is going through a tough time in the pandemic, Savannah included. Its enormous St. Patrick’s Day parade may not happen, but Savannah is also a lively port city, and features a strong military presence. That balanced portfolio smoothes out many of the economic potholes. 

Savannah oozes charm and character. Hart likens its architectural beauty to New Orleans, where he was a producer at WDSU, but said the measured pace of Savannah is better suited to take it all in. “It’s the most uniquely beautiful city I’ve been to,” he said. 

Georgia said it is back open for content production business, with the requisite COVID-19 era protections. 

Those include six-feet spacing for production meetings that can't be remote, use of stairs instead of elevators, temperature checks, and much more.  

Gov. Brian Kemp announced Friday (June 12) that major TV, streaming and film companies are planning to hire some 40,000 production workers in the state for 75 productions and more than $2 billion investment in the state economy. 

The governor cited the Motion Picture Association for those stats, as well as the major production companies queueing up to return, which include MPA members The Walt Disney Company, NBCUniversal, Netflix, Sony Pictures Entertainment, Paramount Pictures, and Warner Bros.

“The entertainment production industry is coming back and ready to jumpstart the Georgia economy by creating jobs and generating greatly needed investment and spending in communities across the Peach State,” Kemp said in a statement.  

That return will be in accordance with the state's COVID-19: Georgia Best Practices for Film and Television guide along with the safety protocols of the Industry-Wide Labor-Management Safety Committee Task Force.

ESPN dramatic Georgia-Oklahoma Rose Bowl telecast led what were huge social media numbers for college football bowl games on New Year’s Day. 

Georgia’s double overtime win over Oklahoma to secure a spot in the College Playoff championship game generated 8.5 million Facebook and Twitter interactions to top all TV shows airing on Jan. 1, according to Nielsen’s Social Content Ratings Daily report.

ESPN’s Alabama-Clemson Sugar Bowl telecast drew 5.2 million social media interactions. Alabama defeated last year’s champion Clemson to advance to the College Playoff Championship game for the third straight year.

ESPN’s Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl (3.1 million social media interactions), ESPN2’s Outback Bowl (1.6 million) and ABC’s Citrus Bowl (1.1 million) rounded out the top five. 

On the entertainment front, USA’s WWE Monday Night Raw was the most social show for the day, drawing 545,000 Facebook and Twitter interactions, according to Nielsen.

As Hurricane Matthew made its way out to sea Sunday night and Monday morning, Comcast said it has begun the process of restoring service to its customers in the affected areas.

Hurricane Matthew, which killed more than 1,000 people in Haiti when it ripped through that island nation Oct. 4, has been attributed to about 22 deaths in Florida, North Carolina, South Carolina and Georgia as it made its way through those states over the weekend.

The hurricane brought heavy rains and flooding due to storm surges as high as 11 feet in some areas. As of Monday afternoon, the storm moved out to the open sea, but areas of North Carolina were hit hard by flooding ad damage from high winds. A levee breach in Lumberton, N.C., left about 1,500 people stranded on the rooftops of their homes on Monday, as rescue workers moved in.

Comcast Central Division spokesman Brian Farley said most of the service issues in the cable company’s territories in Florida, Georgia and South Carolina were tied to commercial power outages and restricted access to facilities due to hazardous conditions and closures.  In an e-mail message, Farley said for most customers services should be restored after power comes back and access to damaged facilities and downed lines have been cleared.

“Once cleared and access is gained, we will continue to work around the clock until services are fully restored for every customer,” Farley said in the message.

Technical crews are well underway placing and refueling generators and are starting to assess damage and beginning repairs where it’s safe to do so.

“We thank our employees who have been preparing for days and are now working non-stop to best serve our customers,” Farley added. “We’re also working very closely with state and local governments and power companies to coordinate efforts during the restoration process. We hope our customers are safe and we appreciate their patience as we know how important our services are to them.”

On Saturday Comcast activated free XFinity WiFi hotspots in all three states, making the wireless high-speed data network available to all residents in the affected areas, including non-Comcast customers.

“During times like this, it is critical that we keep residents connected to family, friends and emergency resources,” Farley said in the mail message. “By creating WiFi access, we hope we’re able to provide some degree of support during this difficult time.

Comcast customers can get outage updates via their My Account app, online at www.comcast.com , or via phone at 1-800-COMCAST.