Founded in 1947 by the Evening Star Newspaper Company, the station that is now WJLA came into being to bring the first television broadcasts to the nation's capital. The idea sparked when the newspaper's owners, who already successfully ran a radio station, decided they needed to expand into the emerging technology of TV to reach more people in Washington D.C. Originally launched as WMAL-TV, the station was later purchased by a businessman named Joe L. Allbritton, who completely rebranded it. Today, the station is owned and operated by the Sinclair Broadcast Group. Today, WJLA (often called 7News) is run by a large team of anchors and reporters and is mainly focused on local news, national politics, weather, and sports. They are based in Arlington, Virginia, just across the river from Washington D.C., and serve as a primary news source for the District, Maryland, and Northern Virginia. One interesting fact: A unique fact about WJLA is the secret behind its name. The call letters W-J-L-A are actually the initials of its famous former owner, Joe L. Allbritton. When he bought the station in the 1970s, he changed the name from WMAL to his own initials to mark the station as his personal flagship business.