As WJKA, the station had virtually no news department for most of its tenure as a CBS affiliate. In the mid-1980s, it did air a weekday noon show called "Midday" offering local news headlines and entertainment reports. In the early-1990s, WJKA actually operated a short-lived news department branded as "WJKA Action News 26". It attempted to create another source for newscasts besides longtime dominant WECT and runner up WWAY. Despite the efforts of WJKA and WWAY, WECT maintained a strong lead in the market ratings and viewership counts by consistently holding the top spot in Nielsen marks.