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WBIR celebrates its 60th anniversary

WBIR celebrates its 60th anniversary Friday.

WBIR celebrates its 60th anniversary Friday.

In honor of the milestone, we dug into our archives to see how the station has changed over the years, to remember those who helped shape Channel 10 and to look back on the many stories we’ve covered in the past six decades.

The station began on Aug. 12, 1956, as a CBS television affiliate.

The station's call letters come from Jesse W. 'Jay' Birdwell, who founded WBIR radio in 1941. Initially, all programming was broadcast from the basement of the transmitter building on Sharps Ridge.

The WBIR studios were completed in May 1957, and the station moved to its present location at 1513 Bill Williams Ave.

WBIR became an NBC television affiliate on Sept. 10, 1988.

Gannett Co., Inc. purchased WBIR in December 1995.

WBIR became part of TEGNA Media when Gannett spun its publishing properties from its broadcast and digital properties in 2015.

"Straight from the Heart" is an ideology that is exemplified in both WBIR’s product and its culture.

In all that we do, we strive to do it ethically with sincerity, honesty, integrity and compassion.

WBIR celebrated 30 years of our Straight From The Heart culture in 2013.

We look forward to many more years of serving our viewers and our East Tennessee community.

WBIR’s mission and purpose

WBIR is committed to serving the greater good of our community by being the local content provider across all media platforms, reaching our viewers anytime and anywhere. We strive to be good citizens, to do what is right, and to be fair and honest. We care. What we do comes “Straight From The Heart.”

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