MISSISSIPPI LEGISLATURE

1997 Regular Session

To: Rules

By: Senator(s) Bryan, Gordon, Nunnelee, White (5th), Tollison, Turner, Browning, Burton, Hamilton, Smith, Johnson (19th)

A RESOLUTION TO COMMEND CHANNEL 9 TELEVISION IN TUPELO FOR FORTY YEARS OF EXCELLENCE IN BROADCASTING. 

WHEREAS, this year marks the fortieth anniversary of Channel 9 Television in Tupelo, Mississippi; and

WHEREAS, the station was conceived by Frank K. Spain when he was working as the technical director of a television station in Syracuse, New York, and envisioned a station for his boyhood home, Tupelo; and

WHEREAS, in the 1950's no other town in the county which was the size of Tupelo had its own television station, but the expertise, determination and dedication of Frank Spain led to Federal Communications Commission approval in December 1956 and in March 1957 the first live pictures were broadcast to viewers in northern Mississippi; and

WHEREAS, since its inception, Channel 9 has produced some of Mississippi's "firsts" that are still remembered as landmarks, including, being the first commercial television station to devote its entire daily morning schedule to educational programming, being the first television station in the state to broadcast a live basketball game and being the first station to broadcast a live telethon for an entire broadcasting day raising money for cerebral palsy; and

WHEREAS, today with a new transmitter and tower and an increase in power to the maximum allowable wattage, Channel 9 covers one of the largest geographical areas in the country, and its coverage and quality is among the best in the United States; and

WHEREAS, it is the policy of the Legislature to recognize and commend excellence:

NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE MISSISSIPPI STATE SENATE, That we hereby commend Channel 9 Television in Tupelo, Mississippi, for forty years of excellence and express our confidence in the continuation of its tradition of service to its viewers in North Mississippi and portions of Alabama and Tennessee.