WXLV-TV: Difference between revisions

On June 5, 1984, 32-year-old Ronnell Leverne Jackson drove to the studios of WJTM-TV in Winston-Salem. He fatally shot 48-year-old William Norbert Rismiller, the station's general sales manager, then kidnapped a secretary and took her to his great-aunt's house, where he lived. Having previously made an unsuccessful demand of the station, the hostage-taker agreed to surrender if Winston-Salem station [[WXII-TV]] apologized to him. Jackson believed that the two stations and the Christian television program ''[[The 700 Club]]'', which they aired, were spying on him through his TV set. WXII broadcast a fake apology to his house in cooperation with a local cable system, and he released the hostage that afternoon after more than six hours.<ref>{{Cite news|work=Greensboro News & Record|pages=A1, [https://www.genealogybank.com/newspaper-clippings/killing/flueylqdbgdhkcxsltdpgyklpwdwnllf_wma-gateway018_1679119227750 A7]|first=Ed|last=Williams|title=Gunman captive, hostage free after TV station 'apologizes'|date=June 6, 1984|url=https://www.genealogybank.com/newspaper-clippings/gunman-captive-hostage-free-after-tv-station-apologizes/aldzzyxvppjrffdmcpqgctvevluyuile_wma-gateway009_1679119150871|access-date=March 22, 2023|archive-date=March 22, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230322075254/https://www.genealogybank.com/newspaper-clippings/gunman-captive-hostage-free-after-tv-station-apologizes/aldzzyxvppjrffdmcpqgctvevluyuile_wma-gateway009_1679119150871|url-status=live}}</ref> Two days after the murder, TVX applied to change WJTM-TV's call sign to WNRW (William Norbert Rismiller, Winston-Salem), which became effective on June 25 and was accompanied by memorial advertising in such publications as ''[[Broadcasting & Cable|Broadcasting]]''.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://worldradiohistory.com/Archive-BC/BC-1984/BC-1984-07-16.pdf|page=2|id={{ProQuest|1014712318}}|title=On June 25, 1984 WJTM-TV became WNRW-TV.|work=Broadcasting|date=July 16, 1984|access-date=March 22, 2023|archive-date=January 31, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230131024711/https://worldradiohistory.com/Archive-BC/BC-1984/BC-1984-07-16.pdf|url-status=live}}</ref> It also increased security at the station.<ref name="Gree840607">{{Cite news|work=Greensboro News & Record|page=C3|date=June 7, 1984|first=Julie|last=Gilberto|url=https://www.genealogybank.com/newspaper-clippings/faced-dangerous-gunman-station-workers-acted-heroically/ihcypwyijryfmfomgldcnxckfkcejezx_wma-gateway020_1679118621762|title=Faced with dangerous gunman, station workers acted heroically; Call letters would be memorial|access-date=March 22, 2023|archive-date=March 22, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230322075253/https://www.genealogybank.com/newspaper-clippings/faced-dangerous-gunman-station-workers-acted-heroically/ihcypwyijryfmfomgldcnxckfkcejezx_wma-gateway020_1679118621762|url-status=live}}</ref>