22News, a television station based in western Massachusetts, is celebrating its 70th anniversary today, March 17th.
The station has been informing and serving the people of western Massachusetts since it first went on the air on this day in 1953 as an NBC affiliate on UHF channel 61.
22News was one of the first UHF television stations in the country, founded by William L.
Putnam and his company, Springfield Television, who named the station after themselves.
In 1955, the station switched frequencies to channel 22 and moved its original studios from Provin Mountain in Feeding Hills to its current location in Chicopee on New Year’s Eve in 1999.
Over the years, 22News has been home to many notable names, including Tom Colton and the Big News, Bill Putnam and his editorials, at home with Kitty Broman, John Quill, Rollie Jacobs, Keith Silver, as Schools Match Wits, Sy Becker, and Barry Kriger.
Today, the station is part of the Nexstar Media Group, the largest television station owner in the country, and is rated as the most watched news operation in western Massachusetts, with a presence on all screens and platforms, including on the air, online at WWLP.com, and on the 22News mobile app.
To celebrate its 70th anniversary, 22News will be marching in the Holyoke St.
Patrick’s Parade this Sunday, and viewers are encouraged to come out and say hello.
The station’s mission continues to be improving, informing, and working for the people of western Massachusetts.
