WTAE 50 Anniversary Special a true gem

The baby of “the big 3” local affiliates in Pittsburgh – not to mention VHF outlets, WTAE-TV (4) celebrated it’s upcoming 50th Anniversary last night with a look back over the years. Sally Wiggin did a marvelous job of capturing an hour’s worth of footage. (I could have gone for another three or four hours myself!) The special, which repeats on Saturday at 1:00 PM and is available in three segments at the station’s website, recalls the children’s programming of yesteryear when the ABC affiliation was in its infancy and most programs were locally produced. Extensive interviews with John G. Comomikes, Joe DeNardo and Bill Hillgrove remember the late Paul Long and long-time co-anchor Don Cannon – the team Conomikes brought together in 1969 to make the station’s newscasts more competative. One segment also recalls the late Myron Cope who died earlier this year.

The station signed on September 14, 1958 from its current studio location at 400 Admore Boulevard in Wilkinsburg. For the last several weeks the station has been touting that it will begin High Definition news broadcasts within the next few weeks.

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