Well, they're getting closer.
WJMN, the CBS station in the Upper Peninsula, has announced it'll be starting its first-ever UP newscasts in April.
April 1st? April 10th? April 30th?
Don't pin them down. They're still trying to hammer together a studio and offices off the highway west of Marquette. They're referring to it as WJMN-TV Plaza, a bit grandiose perhaps when you consider that its actually a triple unit at a strip plaza across the street from a gas station.
Still, it's exciting for UP news viewers. Nexstar Broadcasting, which owns WJMN, is a serious broadcasting conglomerate with 74 stations nationwide. They're clearly hoping to make a dent in the domination of WLUC in this market. They'll also be taking on ABC-10 which has also been showing signs of life in the last couple of years.
Cynthia Thompson, who's worked at both ABC-10 and WLUC, is the new news director at WJMN. She's in the process of hiring her staff.
The station will be offering only Monday through Friday newscasts at 6 and 11, at least initially.
While the construction and the hiring continues, the branding is complete: WJMN will now be known as "Local 3." Kinda catchy it although it's not as cuddly as "Someplace Special."
