What’s “ABC Columbia?”

I just left the room where the boob tube resides because local TV news was on, and my wife had the remote. I can’t bear local TV news. Never could, but it does seem to get worse as time passes.

Anyway, before I left the room, I noticed that the station I had labeled as WOLO when I set up our tube years ago is now identifying itself — repeatedly, to the point of being really monotonous about  it — as "ABC Columbia."

What’s that all about? What did I miss? Whatever it is, it sounds really generic, as though the station itself has no sense of identity.

Oh, yeah. Now I remember reading about this. Wow. As bad as local TV news can be, it’s even worse when you know it’s not even local.

But wait — it seems they came back. Whatever. In any case, back to my original question: Why is it "ABC Columbia?" Their Web site doesn’t explain. In fact, it doesn’t even use that term.

Wikipedia mentions it, but doesn’t explain. It’s implied that this is another bright idea of this Bahakel guy, or rather of the company that bears his name. They seem to have a lot of such "bright ideas."

Anyway, I think I’ll go back and see if something else is on.

2 thoughts on “What’s “ABC Columbia?””

  2. Brad Warthen

    An addendum: Here’s a story
    about when WOLO went to the "ABC Columbia" moniker. I didn’t have access to the database when I wrote the post at home last night.

    So we know a little more. But we still don’t know why the lowest-rated station in town would think it would help them with the local market to use a name that makes them sound like a cookie-cutter network clone.

    It shows a lack of understanding of South Carolina. It seems even more tone-deaf than broadcasting from Charlotte. WOLO, lackluster though its performance was, was a recognizable, even pronounceable (unusual among call letters), local brand. "ABC Columbia" is generic and sounds like it’s produced in New York.

    They have local reporters, and a stated commitment to the community. Why throw away people’s ability to perceive that with such a name?

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