Originally posted Friday, September 21, 2018 by RODNEY HO/rho@ajc.com on his AJC Radio & TV Talk blog
On September 29, 1948, at the dawn of the television era, WSB-TV launched, calling itself the “Eyes of the South.” TV sets had gone on sale commercially in Atlanta four months earlier and about 2,500 receivers were in homes when the station debuted. It was one of the first stations to air nationwide.
Channel 2 Action News has put together a one-hour special on the history of the station to celebrate its 70th anniversary. It will air Sunday, September 30, at 7 p.m., hosted by Jovita Moore and Justin Farmer.
"This has been a pure work of love," said Tracey Christensen, WSB-TV's Director of Local and Digital Programming. "We could have produced many more hours with the rich resources of history WSB-TV has preserved. And, frankly, there are so many veterans of Channel 2 who spent their careers here available, we're at no shortage of first-hand knowledge of most of the 70 year history.
During the 5 p.m. Channel 2 Action News programs, there will be anniversary stories on key topics such as weather, civil rights, technology, sports, politics and major news events. On social media and other digital platforms, the station will showcase old station promos, former anchors and key moments in time from its vast video archives.
Someone compiled all the WSB-TV ID logs in this YouTube video:
In 1998, WSB-TV aired a 50th anniversary special. Many of the key players, including Elmo Ellis and former news director Ray Moore, were still alive at the time. That's not the case anymore.
WSB-TV and the Atlanta Journal-Constitution are both part of Cox Media Group.
