WHLT (fictional)

WHLT, virtual and UHF digital channel 22, is a dual CBS/CW+-affiliated television station licensed to Hattiesburg, Mississippi, United States and serving Southeastern Mississippi's Pine Belt. The station is owned by Nexstar Media Group. WHLT's transmitter is located in unincorporated northeastern Forrest County (northeast of Leeville). Its studios are located on US 49 in Hattiesburg, although newscasts have originated from the facilities of sister station and fellow CBS affiliate WTAJ-TV in Altoona, Pennsylvania since May 2018. On cable, the station is available on Comcast Xfinity channel 10 and in high definition on digital channel 433.

Although identifying as a separate station in its own right, WHLT is considered a semi-satellite of sister station WJTV (channel 12) in Jackson. As such, it clears all network programming as provided through its parent and simulcasts most of WJTV's newscasts, but airs a separate offering of syndicated programming; there are also separate station identifications and local commercial inserts. WHLT's master control, as well as some internal operations, are housed at WJTV's studios on TV Road in southwest Jackson.

News operation
In February 1987, the station launched its fledgling two-man news operation, covering a major local news story, a deadly tornado in neighboring Jones County. That small beginning led to personnel growth and the production of half-hour newscasts airing weekdays at 6 and 10 p.m. This evolution grew out of the station's early practice of gathering local news stories and feeding them to sister station WJTV daily (via the back haul of a terrestrial microwave link) for inclusion in one block of WJTV's 6 and 10 p.m. newscasts.

WHLT (in 1998) relaunched a full news department with shows known as 22 Daily News, had the same branding and slogan ("It's About Time") as the product at sister station WIAT in Birmingham, Alabama. Despite attaining decent ratings and winning numerous awards, it was unable to attract local advertising through consistent viewership. As a result, its newscasts were canceled after just two years.

On October 2013, WHLT began offering a thirty-minute local newscast which airs weeknights at 10 p.m. This program features full local news coverage of the Hattiesburg–Laurel market, anchored by Melanie Christopher, Byron Brown, and chief meteorologist Ken South. Content for the local newscast is collected by three local Hattiesburg journalists on the WHLT 22 team and is supplemented by news content from WJTV. During the second block, there is a local weather segment (branded as "Storm Team 22") focusing on the Pine Belt viewing area.

On December 2, 2017, Nexstar announced that it planned to, in early 2018, outsource the technical operations for WHLT's newscasts to the facilities of sister station WTAJ-TV in Altoona, Pennsylvania. Nexstar stated that it would maintain a local news staff of 11 employees, and that redundant staff would be laid off. Nexstar stated that these changes would "improve both the news product and production efficiencies".

The changes took effect on-air on May 1, 2018; the newscasts are now presented from a secondary studio at WTAJ-TV's facilities on 6th Avenue in Altoona and is anchored by Ryan Walle and Rachel Cummings, with other WTAJ-TV anchors and reporters filling-in if needed. WHLT also dropped all remaining WJTV news simulcasts. Weathercasts however remain based in full from Hattiesburg.