WJXT TV-4 will be adding new locally generated programming in the fall and it will be aimed directly at the arts and entertainment community.

WJXT General Manager Bob Ellis confirmed Thursday to the Times-Union that hiring is already underway to bring on more on-air and production personnel to generate the show. Ellis acknowledged the program is still in the planning stages but it will reflect the television station’s claim that it is “The Local Station.”

“Sometime, ideally this fall, although a start-time has not yet been determined, we are going to be trying to launch a lifestyle, entertainment locally focused program to fit the bill,” Ellis said.

Ellis said the program will likely be one hour long and probably will run in the morning hours before noon. He said they’ll hire about 10 people to staff the program which will push the total employee figure of the station to about 160 people.

The new program will not fall under the auspices of the WJXT news department which already produces over nine hours of news programming every day for the independent station that has no network affiliation. The new arts and entertainment show which has yet to be named will be overseen by the station’s programming department.

“I think it’s going to be celebrating and highlighting lots of things that are happening in town,” Ellis said. “The things we do and the stories we will be telling will all be through the lens of Jacksonville.

“There’s room for a show in this market, in my estimation, to spend more time talking about the events and things that are going on and highlight some of the smaller, less publicized stuff that happens in all pockets of our community,” Ellis said.

The show will be a daily program, Ellis said. Ultimately, the new program will seek to unveil many attributes of Jacksonville that don’t get screaming headlines.

“There’s lots of really interesting stories that are out there that people just don’t know about; restaurants or activities,” Ellis said.

Drew Dixon: (904) 359-4098

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