Tennessee Senate honors WDEF after 70 years with resolution
CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. (WDEF) — Four local Tennessee lawmakers signed a joint Senate Resolution recently, honoring and congratulating WDEF-TV on its 70th anniversary.
“Be it resolved by the Senate of the 113th General Assembly of the State of Tennessee, the House of Representatives concurring, that we honor and congratulate the owners and staff of WDEF-TV as they celebrate 70 years of broadcasting and service to their community and extend to them our best wishes for much continued success.”
It was a joint resolution by Sen. Bo Watson, Sen. Todd Gardenhire, Rep. Greg Vital and Rep. Greg Martin.
WDEF signed on the air for the first time on April 25, 1954.
The resolution honors the legacy of Luther Masingill as well.
“One of those shows was hosted by Luther Masingill, who was already a star on the radio and continued working on both WDEF-TV and radio until his death in 2014 at the age of 92.”
“Luther, as he was known on the air, held the mark for the longest broadcasting career at 74 years; On the air for both Pearl Harbor in 1941 and 9/11 in 2001, Mr. Masingill received a bevy of awards during his career, including two Marconi Awards and induction into the National Radio Broadcasters Hall of Fame.”
In addition, the resolution points to the various shows hosted on WDEF throughout its history. Those included talk shows, teen dance programs, horror movie showcases and live wrestling in the News 12 studio.
It also recognizes that WDEF has expanded vastly throughout the years to include five hours of local news on weekdays and an online presence.
Read the full resolution here:
