WNAC-TV Anniversary

[Donna Halper]

At 08:58 PM 6/10/2009, Cdsull502@aol.com wrote:
>WNAC-TV commenced operation just 12 days after WBZ-TV began  operation.  I
>wonder know if there was as much hype,  ballyhoo, etc. associated with that
>sign-on as there was with  WBZ-TV.

There was some excitement, but obviously not as much as when WBZ went 
on the air in early June-- there was a "Countdown to T" Day-- T 
meaning the day television officially arrived-- and while the Boston 
Post was the official newspaper that was aligned with WBZ, all of the 
local newspapers got into the act and generated lots of buzz about 
TV.  By the time WNAC went on the air on the 21st, television was a 
fait accompli here and it wasn't as big a story.  But yes, there was 
friendly competition between WBZ and WNAC from then on.

Chris also asked if "Jean Shepard" was still the  owner of 
WNAC.  John Shepard 3rd was still alive and nominally in charge, but 
he was already in failing health.  He lived to see TV go on the air 
in Boston, and several radio personalities from the Yankee Network 
also made the move to TV.  But Shepard didn't live long enough to see 
WNAC really gain any kind of footing in Boston -- by mid 1950, he was 
dead of heart disease.