KFSM Celebrates 50 Years On Air
by August 4, 2003 12:00 am 87 views
KFSM-TV, Channel 5, celebrated its 50th anniversary on July 22 with a buffet and reception in Fort Smith featuring Bob Schieffer, longtime chief Washington correspondent for the CBS News television show “Face the Nation.”
KFSM also co-produced a special newspaper section with the Southwest Times Record of Fort Smith as part of the celebration. The special was distributed to 46,000 readers on July 20.
KFSM first aired on July 22, 1953, as KFSA-TV in Fort Smith. In 1968, KFSA was the first station to open a newsroom in Northwest Arkansas. KFSA changed its call letters to KFSM in 1969. The New York Times Co. bought the station in 1979.