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KFVS/WQWQ - Cape Girardeau,
Missouri
For nearly 75 years the KFVS call
letters have been part of the fabric of America's Heartland. In 1924,
one of America's true broadcast pioneers, Mr. Oscar Hirsch, founded KFVS
radio. Then on October 3rd, 1954, KFVS-TV signed on the air in Cape
Girardeau, and the recreational and leisure habits of people in the
Southeast Missouri, Southern Illinois, and Western Kentucky area would
be forever changed.
In 1960, Hirsch finished construction
on a brand new transmitting tower near Egypt Mills, Missouri, 8 miles
north of Cape Girardeau. At the time of completion, this "miracle of
physics" was the world's tallest man-made structure. Towering 2000 feet
above average terrain, the new KFVS-TV tower pumped a high quality
signal to viewers in parts of six states. Today, the massive tower still
reigns as the region's tallest structure and remains in the top 10
tallest structures in the world.
In 1968, Hirsch moved KFVS-TV from
the current KZIM Radio studio to its present location at 310 Broadway.
This new state-of-the-art studio building stood 13 stories above
downtown Cape Girardeau, and remains today as one of the most
significant features of historic downtown Cape.
KFVS-TV was sold in 1979 to the AFLAC
Broadcast Division, part of AFLAC, Inc. headquartered of Columbus,
Georgia. While Mr. Hirsch laid the foundation for quality broadcasting,
AFLAC was able to allocate the additional resources necessary to take
KFVS-TV to its current dominant position. Under AFLAC management, the
station won numerous industry awards including Emmys, Tellys, Addys,
Missouri and Illinois Broadcasters' Awards, the CBS Service to Community
Award, the National Association of Broadcasters' Service To Children
Award, the Missouri State Teachers' Association Media Award for covering
education, the prestigious IRIS Award for local children's programming,
and the coveted Griffin Award for Community Service.
In 1997, AFLAC sold their broadcast group of seven stations,
including KFVS-TV, to Raycom Media, Inc. headquartered in Montgomery,
Alabama. Currently Raycom Media owns 35 broadcast stations throughout
the country. Being owned by a pure broadcaster company means the future
for KFVS looks brighter than ever.
Through the years and
ownership changes, KFVS-TV has consistently stood for quality
broadcasting at the local level. Most of the staff are local to the
market and are integrated in their communities. The management at KFVS-TV
and Raycom Media know that to be successful in broadcasting today means
providing the best local news and weather coverage available, along with
quality entertainment.
KFVS-TV has been part of life
in the Heartland for 45 years. The television industry is more
competitive today than most broadcasters ever thought possible, but with
loyal viewers and employees, we feel confident that we'll be
entertaining and informing people for many more years to come.
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