A strong television network affiliate is not built overnight. In fact, for Milwaukee CBS affiliate WDJT-TV (Channel 58), construction is still in progress after more than six years.

When CBS lost its affiliation with WITI-TV (Channel 6) in Milwaukee in 1994 due to ownership changes at the station, the network sought a new outlet here and, after failing to make a deal with stronger alternatives, turned to an obscure independent station with a bad signal. WDJT, owned by Weigel Broadcasting Co., Chicago, specialized in marginal reruns and cheap commercials and broadcast from cramped quarters atop the Milwaukee Hilton.

Today, Channel 58 has its headquarters at a spacious, stylish facility in a remodeled warehouse on Milwaukee's west side off Interstate 94. The station's newsroom and studio look slicker than the rustic digs of the local newscast that debuted in March 1996.

Channel 58 transmits from a tall tower completed in fall 1996. WDJT's cable channel has moved to 5 in most Time Warner Cable communities, so it is positioned among the top network affiliates in the Milwaukee market.

In other words, the platform for a full-fledged network affiliate is...