Bill Text: MS HR38 | 2017 | Regular Session | Engrossed
Bill Title: WTVA television station; commend and congratulate upon 60th anniversary.
Spectrum: Moderate Partisan Bill (Republican 7-1)
Status: (Passed) 2017-02-24 - Enrolled Bill Signed [HR38 Detail]
Download: Mississippi-2017-HR38-Engrossed.html
MISSISSIPPI LEGISLATURE
2017 Regular Session
To: Rules
By: Representatives Steverson, Aguirre, Arnold, Bain, Boyd, Holland, Hood, Turner
House Resolution 38
(As Adopted by House)
A RESOLUTION CONGRATULATING TUPELO'S WTVA TELEVISION STATION UPON THE OCCASION OF ITS 60TH ANNIVERSARY.
WHEREAS, 2017 marks the grand occasion of the 60th anniversary of Tupelo's own WTVA television station, celebrating six decades of excellent service to the Tupelo community and surrounding areas; and
WHEREAS, WTVA was the brainchild of Frank K. Spain, an engineering graduate of Mississippi State University, who, while serving as Technical Director of WHEN-TV in Syracuse, New York, in the early 1950s, dreamed of bringing a television station to Tupelo, where he spent most of his childhood; and
WHEREAS, Spain applied for a license to run his station in 1953 and the FCC granted his request in 1956, and on March 18, 1957, his station began airing with the call letters WTWV; and
WHEREAS, the station's original equipment, including the antenna, transmitter and cameras, was hand-built in Spain's garage, backyard and basement in Syracuse; and
WHEREAS, in the early years of the station, Spain had a hard time talking NBC officials into getting his new station an affiliation with the network, but NBC said that if he could figure out a way to obtain a network signal he could carry it; and
WHEREAS, through alleged under-the-table deals with WMC-TV, Spain set up a network of microwave relays and repeater systems to carry the WMC-TV signal to Tupelo, enabling WTWV to bring NBC programming to northeastern Mississippi and northwestern Alabama; and
WHEREAS, in the mid 1960s, the station was approached by ABC about becoming a full affiliate of that network, but Spain told NBC executives about ABC's offer and that prompted NBC to finally negotiate a formal deal with Spain, which made WTWV an official NBC affiliate, one of only three in Mississippi at the time; and
WHEREAS, on July 4, 1979, WTWV changed its call letters to WTVA in honor of Tupelo's recognition as the first Tennessee Valley Authority city in the southeast; and
WHEREAS, in addition to its other achievements, the station was the first commercial television station in Mississippi to devote its entire morning broadcast schedule to educational programming, and was also the first in Mississippi to broadcast a live basketball game; and
WHEREAS, today, the station is owned by Heartland Media, which acquired the station on September 16, 2014, ending 57 years of Spain family ownership; and
WHEREAS, it is the policy of the House of Representatives to recognize the truly wonderful moments in the history of our state's television stations, which provide our citizens with entertainment and help connect them to the world's current events:
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE STATE OF MISSISSIPPI, That we do hereby congratulate WTVA upon the occasion of its 60th anniversary, and extend best wishes for continued success in all future endeavors.
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, That copies of this resolution be furnished to Heartland Media, WTVA and to the members of the Capitol Press Corps.
