WVPX-TV

[40] Formally opened that December as the "WAKR Television Center",[41] the complex boasted an ultra-modern front lobby and interior designed by Viola Berk,[39] and a second floor viewing room with windows where advertisers could watch programs being produced in the studios below.

[45] Due to both the station's permanent studios still being under construction and ABC not yet programming on a full-time basis, WAKR-TV acquired a film package consisting of high-profile Republic Pictures and United Artists releases to fill airtime via a nightly "double-feature" showcase.

"[12] From the beginning, WAKR-TV eschewed the Cleveland market proper in favor of Akron and Canton, boasting the only television newscast that focused specifically on both cities, sharing resources with WAKR, which had earned the distinction of being one of the first radio stations in the United States to house an active news department at its 1940 establishment.

[62] The following week, the station broadcast film of the 1953 Beacon Journal Soap Box Derby and All-American Finals in prime time, with Bob Wylie providing play-by-play.

WAKR morning host Torey Southwick became the emcee of an early-evening children's television program on WAKR-TV titled The Hinky-Dinks, which debuted on December 14, 1953, as part of an expansion of the station's broadcast day.

[67] Placing an emphasis on participation among the youngsters in the studio audience, The Hinky-Dinks featured puppetry, pet parades, birthday parties and a circus act on Fridays,[68] in addition to Santa Claus reading letters throughout the month of December.

[85] The program ended on April 1, 1966, after Bennett was denied a raise by station management; this followed a potential hiring by KYW-TV as a replacement for Linn Sheldon falling through due to a subsequent court-ordered ownership change.

"[94] Such sentiment was supported by a study one month after the station launched, showing almost one-third of television sets in the city had been converted to receive UHF, figures much higher than expected for a market serviced by VHF channels.

[98] This was not exactly new: in a 1961 request to the FCC that Akron should be at the "highest priority" for future potential VHF allocations, Summit Radio declared that channel 49 had "suffered very substantial operating losses" from the beginning.

[108] Management referred to the revenue disparity that resulted as a "Catch-23," preventing the station from acquiring any high-profile syndicated programming and having to resort to less-desirable off-network reruns like McHale's Navy and I Dream of Jeannie.

[112] The station won the 1973 Ohio Associated Press award for best regularly scheduled news program,[113] with Anthony receiving credit for helping instill "a renewed sense of pride" among the staffers.

[117] Future CNN anchor Carol Costello, a Minerva native, got her start at the WAKR stations in 1984 as a reporter, covering the Akron police beat and multiple court trials.

[64] Eventual lead anchor and news director Mark Williamson started his tenure with channel 23 in 1979; one of the first major stories he covered while doing helicopter-based traffic reports for the WAKR stations was the August 2, 1979, plane crash that killed Thurman Munson.

Tim Daugherty—who had been hired by Summit/Group One as part of WONE-FM's initial airstaff following its conversion from WAEZ on January 1, 1985[138]—was retained by WAKC as their lead weatherman,[139] despite minimal on-camera experience and, like Jack Ryan before him, no meteorological background.

[146] Roger G. Berk, Jr. took public exception to the speculation over WAKC's future, saying that ValueVision would be able to retain a news operation because it would own the station, as opposed to affiliates in other markets that had different owners.

[146] By mid-December, two ValueVision representatives visited the station and made multiple pledges to the staff, including no reduction in newscast output, no layoffs, and that WAKC would not become a 24-hour home shopping channel; other promises even included the establishment of a news bureau in Washington, D.C.[148] Despite the assurances, Beacon Journal TV columnist Bob Dyer questioned the company's motives based on their prospectus, suggesting that WAKC was bought to help get their home shopping programming on cable thanks to the FCC's "must-carry" regulations for full-power television stations that apply to all cable systems.

[10] This sudden change again attracted the ire of Bob Dyer, who openly asked in his June 22, 1994, column why their initial plans for WAKC becoming a home shopping outlet of some sort—all of which were publicly announced to investors, the FCC and the Securities and Exchange Commission—had been abandoned with no explanation.

[124] Billy Soule later admitted that Nite Videos was cancelled because Mike Jones "did not want me on the air, period", and was reassigned to off-air duties that included public affairs.

[168] Then-Akron mayor Don Plusquellic, who subsequently hired Williamson as the communications director for the Akron Public Schools,[169] compared the shuttering of WAKC's news operations to the closure of the O'Neil's department store seven years earlier, musing "people said it was such a shame, and I asked, 'when was the last time you shopped there?

[121] Billy Soule was also retained and returned to on-camera work fronting a nightly interview program titled Community News, but resigned on June 28, 1996, in order to meet a deadline Paxson had for remaining staffers that wanted a severance package.

[177] Indeed, the former studios were used as storage; a onetime employee broke in to the building several times throughout 1997 to steal $75,000 worth of equipment once used by the news department for resale, only to be discovered by former colleagues who managed a Tallmadge electronics store.

[187] Bolstered by a Supreme Court decision affirming the "must-carry" FCC regulations, Paxson began developing plans for a network anchored by their chain of UHF stations, including WAKC,[188] announcing the creation of Pax TV on November 18, 1997, following the acquisition of multiple off-network rerun packages.

[189] Consequently, WAKC assumed its current WVPX-TV callsign on January 13, 1998, to reinforce the Pax TV branding, while it was also seen as a symbolic severing of the station's last remaining connection to Akron.

[13] Conversely, WOIO general manager Tony Ballew likened this newfound demand to "Captain Kangaroo Syndrome" when people complained after CBS canceled the long-running children's television show, while the network had made the move due to low ratings, a fate largely similar to WAKC's newscasts.

[196] WAOH-LP (channel 29), a low-power television station with a Cleveland simulcast, started rebroadcasting WOIO and co-owned WUAB's newscasts on an hour tape-delay and promised five-minute Akron-centered segments.

[197] PBS member stations WNEO/WEAO initially considered starting a nightly newscast but deemed it financially impossible after estimates placed the annual cost for such a venture at a minimum of $1.5 million.

[192] The existing transmitter for WVPX was nearing the end of its lifespan, with the station having suffered multiple over-the-air signal outages throughout December 1999 and January 2000, at one point having been off-the-air for three times in one week for prolonged periods.

"[206] While ratings for the 6:30 p.m. broadcast were relatively small, production of a 10 p.m. newscast began in January 2003,[205] and WKYC general manager Brooke Spectorsky made known at launch that the station was fully committed to Pax 23 News for the long-term.

[205] Concurrent with the termination of the joint sales agreement with WKYC, Pax TV was rebranded as i,[208] then as Ion Television the following year,[211] with WVPX carrying the network schedule in pattern with no deviations.

Ion Media agreed to be acquired by the E. W. Scripps Company—founding owner of onetime competing ABC affiliate WEWS-TV—in a $2.65 billion deal announced on September 24, 2020, with financing provided by Berkshire Hathaway.