the Nation. Some 30 percent of the station's syndicated program inventory was displaced by CBS network programming, with some shows moving to W65BT (now WBME-CD channel 41) and others to overnight time slots. Ratings for CBS shows fell precipitously. In January 1995, the CBS Evening News drew a 1.4 rating and 3 percent share of the audience, a far cry from the 9.9 rating and 17 share in January 1994 on WITI. Rebuilding for the CBS age While WDJT-TV signed with CBS in time to ensure the continued over-the-air availability of CBS programming in Milwaukee, its facilities were inadequate to reach the entire market and did not approach the scope of a network-affiliated operation that projected to hire 60 additional people. In late December 1994, the station wrote to Milwaukee County officials suggesting three county parks as locations for a new transmission tower. The proposed Lincoln Park site met with opposition from WISN, which claimed that the near-colocation of its mast and that which WDJT-TV sought to build would cause engineering and safety issues. A judge ruled in favor of WISN and issued a preliminary injunction, claiming a second tower would violate WISN's land use agreement with Milwaukee County. Several nearby residents also objected, concerned about environmental impacts to the park. Despite these objections, the FCC dismissed WISN's petition to deny and approved the tower site in May 1996, finding that WISN was unable to prove there would be new interference and that the concerns of neighbors did not justify a denial. While the station had hoped to begin broadcasting full-length newscasts by the end of 1995, the station was behind on setting up the city's fourth news department because it wanted to confirm a tower site before it selected a location for new studios. While WDJT-TV initially maintained its downtown offices for sales and administrative personnel, local news debuted on March 18, 1996, from facilities in the former Allis-Chalmers complex in West Allis belonging to television production company The Enterprise, Ltd. The total investment in the news operation came to $10 million. Additionally, the new transmitter facility was activated in November 1996, giving channel 58 a coverage area comparable to the other major Milwaukee stations. The dispute with WISN-TV continued, forcing the station to install a $500,000 steel bridge over nearby Lincoln Creek just to access the tower because WISN-TV would not permit WDJT-TV's engineers to cross its land.