Now, this is a source of inspiration! April Ross, alumni of Alabama State University (ALU), has bought a local television station that she once interned in.
In May 2021, Ross bought WJCN TV-33. This LaGrange, Georgia-based station is always on the air 24 hours a day through Spectrum.
It has a reach of over 600,000 households, and 11 counties view it, from East Alabama to West Georgia.
Before becoming a TV station owner, Ross majored in communications. She also gained TV industry experience as a behind-the-scenes, low-level production assistant.
Ross’ main desire in purchasing the TV station is to develop something in the TV market that has never been done before.
This includes the creation and production of decent local programming for the community that consists of home-area content.
Ross changed her career back in 2017. At the time, she was working as a reporter for WRBL News-3, a CBS affiliate.
A young woman contacted her and asked her to go to the scene of a shooting of a Troup County deputy so she could report on it.
There were no other reporters available to cover this story, so Ross’ reporter instincts kicked in as she realized that she needed to put her journalism degree to use in this situation.
She performed an exclusive live report using just her cell phone and Facebook Live.
This helped grow her followers to more than 15,000, and it was the catalyst for the formation of Bee-TV.
That is the day Ross founded Bee-TV. The channel has eventually grown into the Bee TV Network, which is her parent company.
After some time, Ross was approached to fill in at the morning program of WJCN. After she made her appearance, her husband gave her very positive feedback.
This got her thinking that maybe she should pursue a business venture.
She then got the idea of delivering breaking news stories on a television station that she herself owned instead of just using social media.
She asked if the WJCN’s owner was willing to sell the station, and the response was positive.
Ross experienced some delays and roadblocks, but in May this year, the station was hers.
Ross’s advice to others is never to give up on themselves.
If she could start out with just a cell phone, others can also realize their dreams if they start small and remain consistent.
