The News Files: WLBZ-TV, Sometime in April 1988 · 2:52pm Jun 11th, 2016
We do not know the exact date of when this NBC affiliate's newscast aired (the video gave us the month, April, and the year, 1988), but it offers plenty of nostalgia from perhaps the most-watched newscast in the Bangor, Maine market.
On September 12, 1954, a Bangor, Maine businessman named Murray Carpenter signed on Bangor's first TV station, WTWO-TV. Mr. Carpenter ran it as an independent before affiliating it with CBS the following year, inheriting the affiliation from WABI-TV (channel 5), which became a primary NBC affiliate. During this time, it became primarily known for its locally-produced live programming. It made a star out of Eddie Driscoll, who became famous for his array of quirky characters and offbeat skits. WLBZ also brought the Bangor area its first live children's program, 'Aunt Edna's Lollypop Shop.' Mr. Driscoll was inducted in the Maine Association of Broadcasters Hall of Fame after retiring from the station in 1986. He died from complications Alzheimer's in 2006.
In 1958, WTWO was sold to the Rines family's Maine Broadcasting System, owner of WLBZ radio (620 AM), WCSH-AM-TV in Portland, and WRDO in Augusta, all within the state of Maine. WTWO subsequently made a permanent change of call-sign to that of its new radio sister. It also became the market's NBC affiliate and remains one today.
In 1998, after 40 years, the Rines-Thompson family sold WLBZ 2 and sister station (now a semi-satellite) WCSH 6 to the Gannett Company, publishers of USA Today.
In 2012, the station made national headlines when its logo was used in a running sketch series for Saturday Night Live called Maine Justice, which spoofed courtroom shows by featuring a judge and a bailiff with Louisiana accents who attempt to behave like New Englanders.
On June 29, 2015, the Gannett Company split in two, with one side specializing in print media and the other side specializing in broadcast and digital media. WCSH and its semi-satellite WLBZ were retained by the latter company, named TEGNA.
