WTRF celebrates seven decades on the air

WHEELING, W.Va. (WTRF) –

In just a few days, WTRF will be celebrating its 70th anniversary.

WTRF brings seven decades of stories told from voices, organizations, leaders, and friends from around the Ohio Valley.

7News reporter Baylee Martin takes us back through the early years and how that’s shaped where we are today at WTRF.

The AM/FM radio station in Bellaire was sold 70 years ago and granted a TV broadcasting license in Wheeling.

From the first day on the air on October 24th, 1953, to the present day in 2023, WTRF-TV 7 has been on the leading edge of news coverage and technology for the last seven decades.

In the early years of 7News, most of the shows were live or on film – that programming included wrestling, the roller derby, and cooking show.

WTRF has covered major events from John Kennedy’s presidential campaign swing to the Northern Panhandle, to the world-wide shutdown of the COVID-19 pandemic and the transition on the other side throughout recent years.

We’ve covered heartbreaking stories like the June 1990 Shadyside flash flood that took 26 lives in the dead of the night, and the Sago Mine disaster in 2001 that saw 12 coal miners lose their lives in a mine explosion.

We’ve covered sports, professional and amateur since the very beginning, from the Wheeling Ironman, Ohio Valley Greyhounds and the Wheeling Nailers with college and high school sports being a cornerstone of WTRF and 7Sports.

We’ve also covered the hopeful stories, working with the Muscular Dystrophy Association and Easterseals Rehabilitation Center to raise awareness of childhood illness.

At WTRF, we are deeply committed to the Ohio Valley.

Our community involvement is very personal to each and every one of us and our news bureaus in Charleston, Columbus, and Washington, DC.

WTRF is proud to serve and tell the stories of the people in the Ohio Valley, and we will continue for another 70 years to come.