The TriCities Media Group is your one-stop-shop for information, connections and convenience in northeast Tennessee and Southwest Virginia.  Powered by three media partners at the Bristol Herald Courier, 11Connects and TriCities.com we cover the latest news, weather, sports, health, education and entertainment news in the Tri-Cities wherever and whenever you want it. Learn more about our individual groups below!

If you're looking for contact information check out our News Team and Contact pages. Would you like to send us a news tip or make a suggestion? Fill out our suggestion form.

We want to get interactive with our readers and viewers! With that in mind, social media is another method for sharing and discussing information. The term "Social Media" most often refers to activities that integrate technology, telecommunications and social interaction, and the construction of words, pictures, videos and audio........that's what we want. 

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TriCities.com is your one-stop-shop for information, connections and convenience in northeast Tennessee and Southwest Virginia.  Powered by our partners at the Bristol Herald Courier and WJHL-TV, this is the site where you’ll find the latest news, weather, sports, health, education and entertainment information in the Tri-Cities wherever and whenever you want it.   Whether you want text alerts with the latest school closings, to follow the latest development in a breaking news story or to share your opinion on the big issue in your community, this multimedia destination is the region’s premiere site to meet your needs.  

For businesses, Tricities.com offers a unique opportunity to reach customers in an on-the-go world.  We  capitalize on the power and reach of our media partners to customize advertising solutions online, mobile marketing, custom applications as well as in print and on tv.  To explore the options that will work best for your business -  reach the Tricities.com sales team by calling (423) 232-6150.

The news teams of Tricities.com, the Bristol Herald Courier and 11Connects have crews on the streets gathering information 24/7 to bring you the latest updates on the happenings in your community.  Their efforts and the facts they gather come together on Tricities.com, along with the online extras like video, photos and documents that enhance each story.  Whether you’re in search of the latest news story, want to add your opinion to one of our blogs or seeking the most up-to-date information on one of our local teams, we’ve got you covered on Tricities.com. 

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WJHL-TV aired its first television broadcast on October 26, 1953. Hanes Lancaster, Jr. and Sr. and Jay Birdwell founded the station. Eventually the Lancaster's bought Birdwell's interest in the station and operated it from a location in downtown Johnson City that is now demolished.

The early days of television were exciting and packed with unexpected surprises. Since television was in its infancy, the station crew had to feel its way along, often improvising and making adjustments to deal with the situation. One situation that developed even before the station went on the air was the devastating fall of the tower on Tannery Knob.

Literally, just a few weeks were left to sign on when the guy lines which held the tower snapped, causing the tower to lose its support and come crashing down. Now in the early days, this sort of accident was catastrophic because television was new and unknown.

Bankers and lenders were skeptical; so most television pioneers had to seek investment sources that were willing to back risky, unproven ventures. The Lancaster's scrambled and had the station on the air by its due date even though they had to mount the antenna on a telephone pole!

As the years progressed, WJHL-TV's associationCBS with CBS helped make it one of the strongest stations in the area. WJHL-TV was blessed with employees who came aboard in the 1950s and worked into the 1990s.

Hanes Lancaster, Jr. managed the station from 1953 until April 30th, 1989. On May 1, 1989, Jack Dempsey was named General Manager and remains so today. This means that in more than 50 years, WJHL-TV has had only two general managers, a very rare occurrence in the world of television today.

WJHL-TV/Newschannel 11 is owned by Media General, Inc., an independently owned communications company situated primarily in the Southeast with interests in newspapers, television stations and interactive media.

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The beginning of the present Bristol Herald Courier came in 1865. That was the year John Slack founded the Bristol News, a publication which continued until after the turn of the century. In 1870, Slack launched the Bristol Courier, a weekly which became Bristol's first daily paper in 1888.

George L. Carter, founder of the Clinchfield Railroad, moved to Bristol in 1903 and founded the Bristol Herald. When Carter left Bristol in1907 the Herald was combined with the Courier and became the Bristol Herald Courier.

On October 16, 1949, T. Eugene Worrell and a number of the city's leading businessmen, launched the Bristol Virginia-Tennessean, first published in direct competition with the Herald Courier and the evening News Bulletin. After many months of intense rivalry, the Herald Courier and Virginia-Tennessean joined in a printing agreement allowing both to carry on competitively in news and editorial fields while enjoying economies afforded by joint operations.

In 1986, after 36 years of home deliveries, the Bristol Virginia-Tennessean succumbed to the trend of dying afternoon newspapers and was combined with the morning editions of the Bristol Herald Courier. The combined morning publication with three editions covered and circulated in nine Southwest Virginia counties and Upper East Tennessee.

January 1, 1998 marked the sale of the Bristol Herald Courier to Media General, Inc., a Richmond Virginia based corporation, headed by chairman, J. Stewart Bryan III, with media holdings throughout the Southeast.

April 24, 2006 - The Bristol Herald Courier launches the first edition of the new Bristol Herald Courier, from their new $22-million production facility. Full color pages now accent the entire paper, with new features throughout.