In 1969 WKPT-AM (1400) and WKPT-FM (98.5) were known in the Kingsport, TN, area as "The Nation's Model Stations"
when WKPT-TV (Channel 19) signed on the air to become the first full-time ABC-TV affiliate in the Tri Cities area of northeast
Tennessee.
Welcome to a site devoted to WKPT in 1969 that includes information on the station at the time and photos
of a model of the WKPT studios and offices my wife Betty and I built.
I was employed at WKPT AM and FM when WKPT-TV began operations on August 20, 1969. I had the privilege
to work with some talented broadcasting personnel during a five year span (1966-71); accordingly, I dedicate this tribute
site in honor of the staff of WKPT-AM, FM, and TV who worked there between 1969 and 1971, a list that includes but
is not limted to Martin Karant, Charlie Deming, Bill Freehoff, Bill Trailer, Harold T. Dougherty, Phil J. Weaver, George DeVault,
and Robert I. Ratcliff.
Please visit the pages linked to this non-profit site for more information on how I remember WKPT in
1969. Betty and I worked together in designing and building the O-scale (1:48) model and in developing this
web site. We took the pcitures of the model and hope the photos give a good idea of how the studios appeared in
1969.
Also, please visit the link to amateur radio (KI4OJO and KI4PWN), a fascinating hobby of my wife Betty and
me.
Although this site is not affiliated with today's WKPT Radio and Television stations or with the Holston
Valley Broadcasting Corporation, a subsidiary of Glenwood Communications Corporation which owns and operates the stations, we
invite you to visit our favorite links to WKPT-AM and WKPT-TV that can provide additional connections to all
the corporation's stations:
www.wkptam.com and www.wkpttv.com
Another interesting link is the Wikipedia entry on WKPT-TV at
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/WKPT-TV
Mike Jackson
WKPT Employee (1966-71)
Betty Jackson
