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ATLANTA TV STATIONS
No more "if it bleeds, it leads" for local news on Atlanta's CBS affiliate. The Meredith-owned station received new call letters on the Fourth of July, switching from WGNXTV to WGCL-TV The move capped off a shift over the past several months toward newscasts that downplay murder, fire and accident stories.
The station's research showed that viewers in the nation's fastest-growing TV market are turned off by irrelevant and meaningless news stories, explained general manager Allen Shaklan. "There's too much crime news and twisted auto wrecks with little meaning, and very little substantive news about government, the environment and education," Shaklan said.
WGCL's recent ratings seem to support Shaklan's claims and the station's moves. During the week following the station's official change to...