Way Back Wednesday: In the Beginning

By Annmarie Dean

In my search for all things nostalgic, I came across the history of WNED-TV in its birthing stages so of course I had to share with our readers.

In 1954, a group of leaders in education and business wanted to broadcast a TV channel that “encourage[d] the educational, intellectual, and cultural growth of the community.” The following year, that group was granted a charter by the State Board of Regents as the Western New York Educational Television Association, Inc.

In 1959, with the donations of a transmitter and antenna from the Buffalo branch of NBC, contributions from industry, the public, state and local government, Channel 17 signed onto the air. It was the first noncommercial educational TV station in New York State and the 40^th of its kind in the nation.