2024 -- S 3153

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LC006214

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     STATE OF RHODE ISLAND

IN GENERAL ASSEMBLY

JANUARY SESSION, A.D. 2024

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S E N A T E   R E S O L U T I O N

JOYOUSLY CELEBRATING THE 75TH ANNIVERSARY OF NBC 10 WJAR ON JULY 10,

2024

     Introduced By: Senators Ruggerio, Raptakis, Felag, Euer, Picard, Burke, Bell,
Sosnowski, LaMountain, and Lawson

     Date Introduced: June 10, 2024

     Referred To: Placed on the Senate Consent Calendar

     WHEREAS, For 75 years, NBC 10 WJAR has been a leading television station, serving

Rhode Island and Southeastern Massachusetts everyday with accurate news, consumer and

weather information, and quality entertainment. They remain a vital source of breaking news and

information, and a revered news and media television station, serving its southern New England

audience at all times of the day and night on all platforms; and

     WHEREAS, WJAR-TV was the first television station in Rhode Island, broadcasting its

initial television show on July 10, 1949, beginning as Channel 11, but transitioning to Channel 10

in 1952. The very first program aired by WJAR-TV was a baseball game between the Boston Red

Sox and the Philadelphia Athletics. WJAR originally broadcast from the fifth floor of the

landmark Outlet Department Store building in downtown Providence, and later moved to the

Broadcast House on Dorrance Street, and subsequently to Kenney Drive in Cranston; and

     WHEREAS, WJAR-TV has always been an innovator within the media broadcast

industry. Some of its many important innovations and milestones since 1949, include producing

some of the first film processed and broadcast by a local tv station within the same day, airing

one of the first live video broadcasts from a helicopter in 1955, and having the first television

meteorologist in Rhode Island, John Ghiorse. WJAR-TV’s first ever color telecast occurred in

October of 1963, when it broadcast a tour of the Rhode Island State House with Governor John

Chafee; and

     WHEREAS, WJAR’s reputation for innovation and always going the extra mile to serve

their audience was never more evident than when their microwave truck was able to provide a

live vital link between Governor. J. Joseph Garrahy at the State House and the people of Rhode

Island during the Blizzard of 1978. WJAR also had the great honor of broadcasting a live Town

Hall special in 1994 with President Bill Clinton, who appeared in the Cranston studios; and

     WHEREAS, Legendary WJAR-TV personnel have included the late news announcer and

weather forecaster, Art Lake, news anchor, Doug White, and investigative reporter, Jim Taricani,

all of whom left a rich legacy of community service and quality journalism. Current WJAR-TV

staff members include news veterans with as many as fifty years of experience, who work

alongside and mentor young journalists. One of these talented staff members includes broadcast

engineer, Larry Silva, who will be retiring on July 11, after more than 57 years of stellar service

in the Rhode Island broadcast industry; and

     WHEREAS, Over the past 75 years, WJAR-TV has earned many deserved awards in

recognition of its journalistic excellence including national and regional Edward R. Murrow

Awards, Emmy Awards and nominations, and Associated Press Awards and nominations. In

1954, WJAR TV received the prestigious Peabody Award for its coverage of Hurricane Carol;

and

     WHEREAS, To this day, NBC 10 WJAR remains an industry leader thanks to its focus

on providing accurate news and information at all times. They tirelessly strive to provide needed

information immediately, accurately, and responsibly, from breaking weather or news

information to important community updates. WJAR has a reputation for staying on their stories

as they consistently follow developments and update new information as it occurs on important

stories to their audience. Their investigations have exposed corruption, held the powerful

accountable, and separated fact from fiction during election season. This is why it remains a most

trusted source of news and information for so many people living in Rhode Island and

Southeastern Massachusetts; now, therefore be it

     RESOLVED, That this Senate of the State of Rhode Island hereby joyously celebrates the

75th Anniversary of NBC 10 WJAR on July 10, 2024, and wishes them many more years of

providing quality journalism and entertainment to the people of Rhode Island and Southeastern

New England; and be it further

     RESOLVED, That the Secretary of State be and hereby is authorized and directed to

transmit a duly certified copy of this resolution to NBC 10 WJAR News Director Scott Isaacs.

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