Atlanta was a city born running.

From her early days as a railroad town to today’s emergence as a new international city, Georgia’s capital has a reputation for quality, growth, initiative and urban innovation.

It was in this spirit that WSB Radio was born in 1922, becoming the South’s first radio station. The famous call letters stood for “Welcome South Brother” and during the decades since its debut, WSB and Atlanta have been inseparably linked as they’ve surged to prominence.

The relationship between WSB Radio and WSB-TV also go hand in hand. In 1948, as the new electronic frontier expanded, WSB was granted a license to operate a television station on channel 8 (now channel 2). It went immediately into production over closed circuit lines to show the public this “new fangled” thing called television. On Sept. 29, 1948, the station became one of the first television stations in the South.

“WSB-TV is on the air,” announcer John Cone boomed from a new studio just north of the point where West Peachtree and Peachtree intersect.

That first night, viewers watched the Baptist Hour Choir, saw a national news film, Ace Richman’s Sunshine Boys and marionettes manipulated by Don and Ruth Gilpin. They also got a preview of local news coverage, featuring a remarkable 8-day-old baby who could stand and President Harry S. Truman, both of whom were among the newsmakers that day.

In 1955, WSB-TV and WSB Radio moved into the building that housed the operations for the next 43 years. A shortage of materials, caused by the Korean War, had delayed construction for six years. The new structure became known as “White Columns” and was a magnificent blend of history and emerging technology. Its columned front entrance evoked the grandeur and tradition of the South, warmly welcoming visitors into a state-of-the-art facility. Behind that entrance was 40,000 square feet of floor space housing TV and radio studios and offices. It cost $1.5 million to build.

In 1975, Channel 2 Action News switched from film to videotape for recording news reports on the scene. This marked a dramatic increase in the speed at which news could be recorded, edited and put to air. Since photographers no longer had to develop film, stories could be shot much closer to air, increasing the number of local stories the station could cover for a newscast. It also improved archival systems for the news library of stories, allowing reporters to search and use historical footage to add depth and detail as stories progressed.

Channel 2 led the way in many other newsgathering technical improvements including live remote capabilities and the use of satellite technology to file live stories from areas too remote or distant for standard microwave signals.

On Jan. 1, 1981, WSB-TV switched its network affiliation from the NBC Television Network to the ABC Television Network, bringing comedy hits like “Happy Days” and “Laverne and Shirley” into the living rooms of the growing Atlanta area.

Channel 2 became the first station in Georgia, and among a handful in the nation, to lead the industry into the digital age of television and the enhanced quality of high definition broadcasting. WSB-TV demonstrated an early commitment to the expensive technology and notified the Federal Communications Commission that it would begin transmitting its digital channel by 1998, ahead of most of the country.

Jim Kennedy, chairman and CEO of Cox Enterprises, flipped the switch, putting WSB-DT, Channel 39, on the air on April 17, 1998, right on schedule. Very little programming was available in High Definition at first. Now, almost all of ABC’s primetime shows air in the new format, offering a clearer picture on a wider screen with theatrical sound in Dolby 5.1 audio. It is changing the way people watch and experience television.

In June of 1998, WSB-TV and WSB Radio completed the move into their new home, which was constructed right next to White Columns on the corner of Beverly Road and Peachtree Street. Fully digital and five times larger than White Columns, the 200,000 square-foot building was designed for the new millennium. The old building was razed once the new technical facility became operational. The station preserved four of the historic original white columns. They stand in the rear garden area of the midtown Atlanta building and commemorate the past accomplishments and community service of WSB TV and Radio. The columns also serve as a reminder of the responsibility to carry that legacy forward.

As the first television news operation in the South, Channel 2 Action News continues its position of leadership and strength. While many local competitors have joined the picture over the years, Channel 2 maintains the leadership role in the market that puts it in the top tier of stations in the country. From rating book to rating book, Channel 2 Action News draws more than 50 percent of the total local news audience in the Atlanta area. This overall dominance forced several competitors to pull their newscasts off the air at 5 p.m., programming syndicated talk shows instead.

With 5 ½ hours of news each weekday, the Channel 2 news operation delivers a comprehensive picture of the community, nation and world to its viewers.

The day begins with 2 hours of early morning local news from 5-7 a.m., a full hour of midday news from noon to 1 p.m., 2 hours of early evening news, and ends with Channel 2 Action News Nightbeat at 11 p.m.

The team doesn’t rest on the weekends. Saturday mornings begin with four hours of local news from 6 to 10 a.m., followed by a half-hour of news at noon. On Sunday mornings, the news runs from 7:30 to 11 a.m., followed up by the noon news.

According to the ratings as reported by Nielsen Media Research, Channel 2 epitomizes the word “dominance.” It wins 21 of 24 hours of the total broadcast day each weekday. That’s 88 percent of the daily programming!

Key perennial hit shows like “Oprah,” “Regis and Kelly,” and “Entertainment Tonight” along with ABC programs like “Good Morning America,” “The View” and “ABC World News Tonight,” draw the largest and most loyal audiences in the market. These programs, when layered in with the power of Channel 2 Action News, create strength in reach and coverage unparalleled in other large markets.

Channel 2’s award winning local programming department maintains a very active schedule, producing more than 20 original local primetime specials and live event programs each year.

“Monica Kaufman’s Closeups” and “Action News Prime Time with John Pruitt” lead the list of marquee local programs airing in prime time. The annual “Salute 2 America July 4th Parade” just celebrated its 45th year and ranks as the largest July 4th parade in the country. On July 4, 2004, the live telecast scored another first when it aired the event in HDTV.

Channel 2 also produces the weekly program, “Hot Topics.” Hosted by Kimberley Kennedy, the show focuses on what people are talking about: the hottest stories of the week. The show airs Saturday nights at 11:35 p.m. and regularly beats NBC’s “Saturday Night Live.”

Channel 2 remains committed to quality local productions, which reflect the ever-changing face of the community, its issues and the people working to make a difference. From Egypt to Argentina, the Bay of Fundy to Americus, Georgia, Channel 2’s local producers follow stories far and wide that affect this community.

For community outreach, nothing equals the unparalleled success of Channel 2’s “Family 2 Family” project. This ongoing, statewide public service campaign includes prime time special programs, community outreach, public service announcements, fundraising efforts and news coverage targeting family issues. Started in 1985, it has become a model for community-focused campaigns used by television stations around the country.

The new digital age opened the opportunity for Channel 2 to move into the Internet world and serve its viewers on the World Wide Web. Its Web site, wsbtv.com, leads the way in Atlanta as the most used, most frequently visited local television website in the market. It brings the world of late-breaking news to office workers through email alerts, streaming video of breaking news and important events, as well as personal weather forecasts.

Tripling in audience reach over the last three years, wsbtv.com continues to expand and add more depth and information, giving viewers more ways to gain access to news and information, and, affording advertisers a prime opportunity to reach their target markets. The high-speed connections of the office are moving into neighborhoods through DSL and cable creating greater accessibility. Families are making web-surfing a part of their daily activities. wsbtv.com is growing right there with them.

The Atlanta market continues to grow and recently rose to the ninth largest television market in the country when it overtook Detroit. Nielsen, the audience measurement research firm for the industry, projects Atlanta to surpass Washington, DC in 2 years. Atlanta is a city that is full of history, and throughout many of those historical moments, Channel 2 has been right there, documenting the stories, clarifying the issues, and supporting and leading its community.

For more information on the people and the programs, search wsbtv.com.

Channel 2, WSB-TV is a Cox Television station.

About Cox Television: Cox Television includes 15 television stations, 3 national television sales representation firms, a television production company, and a Washington D.C. news office. Cox Television is a subsidiary of Cox Enterprises, Inc., based in Atlanta.