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WSFA - Montgomery, Alabama
WSFA-TV
signed on the air Christmas Day 1954. A brief sign-on announcement by
announcer Ralph Williams led into the first program, "A Christmas
Carol." The telecast was sponsored by Montgomery Fair (now Dillard's).
The
call letters WSFA were already a landmark in Montgomery. Gordon Persons
(later to become Governor of Alabama) opened Alabama's fourth radio
station in 1930. The station was located in what is now the Gunter
Annex, but then was the city's airport. He publicized the station with
the slogan, "With the South's Finest Airport" (WSFA). When the
television studios were built in 1954, the radio station moved into the
facility along with the new TV station.
In
February 1955, just two months after going on the air, the radio and
television stations were purchased by the Oklahoma Publishing Company.
At that time, the stations were operated by a staff of 35. In 1956, the
radio station was sold, changed its call letters to WHHY, and moved to a
downtown location. Several expansions of the Delano Avenue facility now
provide room for a staff of more than 100 and two large telecasting
studios.
From
the beginning, WSFA has had a serious commitment to news coverage.
Former WSFA News Director and Anchor Charles Caton said, "the Oklahoma
Broadcasting people had a newspaper background and news was big with
them, unlike a lot of stations at the time. Many stations had no local
news programming at first. WSFA, however, had the ingredients for an
outstanding news operation: the commitment of ownership, the most
advanced equipment available, talented leadership in the person of first
News Director Frank McGee, and perhaps most importantly, a riveting
story to tell." The story was the Montgomery Bus Boycott which launched
Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., to national prominence. It also was a
proving ground for McGee, who later anchored NBC's "Today" show and all
the early space shots.
WSFA
was one of the first stations outside the top ten markets to own film
processing equipment. During the late 50's, WSFA fed many stories to the
networks each week and processed more film than any station south of the
nation's Capitol. During the early years of the Civil Rights movement,
NBC, CBS, ABC, and the Canadian Broadcasting Company used the WSFA
facilities to transmit stories.
The
Broadcasting Company of the South purchased WSFA in 1959. That company
did not have a strong background in news in those early days. When the
ownership realized that news was such a strong part of WSFA's focus,
they went on to develop strong news stations in other markets, too.
The
60's were exciting times in television. The old black-and-white pictures
gave way to color, and videotape changed the way stations operated.
Then, in the mid-70's, WSFA erected its "tall tower." At the time, it
was the third tallest man-made structure in the world.
In
addition to outstanding news coverage, WSFA presented many live programs
still remembered fondly in Central and South Alabama. Children's
programming included "Fun for the Young" and "Young World" with Marge
Payne, "Cartoon Carl," "Popeye Theater," "Adventure," and "Junior
Auction." Betsy Plummer, the first lady of Montgomery television, was
host of "How Do You Do It?" Catherine Wright interviewed many
nationally-known guests on the "Guest Room," and her teen-aged daughter
Toni Tennille played the piano and sang on many of the local programs.
She later became world famous as part of "Captain and Tennille."
"The
Auburn Football Review" was one of the first coach's shows in the
nation, going on the air with Coach "Shug" Jordan in 1955. It is still
broadcast to this day on WSFA.
WSFA
has continually built its news department. In the early days, it was one
half-hour newscast a day. Now, WSFA airs more than 19 hours of local
newscasts each week. Some of the most popular additions to WSFA news
were a series of tower-cams, giving viewers aerial views of weather and
traffic, and Advanced Super Doppler 12, the city's only live
local weather radar.
IWSFA
was also the first television station in the state to upgrade to
digital, non-linear video news gathering equipment and the transition to
High-Definition is now underway. News coverage and the technology that
accompanies it are mainstays at WSFA, however the station is equally
grounded in community support projects throughout the year.
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