Channel 9 celebrates 65 years of covering the Carolinas

It’s a special week at Channel 9 -- we’re celebrating 65 years of covering the Carolinas.

WSOC-TV first went on air back on April 28, 1957. We have covered every major story, event and development in the area over the past 65 years.

To honor the station’s commitment to local news, the city of Charlotte proclaimed Thursday, April 28 as WSOC-TV Day.

>> PHOTOS: Channel 9 through the decades

All week, we’ll be taking you back through some of the biggest moments in history that we’ve covered. You’ll also be hearing from some of the Channel 9 alumni who worked in our studios in years past.

On Thursday, in honor of Channel 9′s anniversary, the lights on the Wells Fargo building at 550 South Tryon were blue and yellow, which are WSOC-TV’s trademark colors.

Wells Fargo building lights up blue, yellow in uptown to honor Channel 9′s 65th anniversary Wells Fargo building lights up blue, yellow in uptown to honor Channel 9′s 65th anniversary

How technology has changed through the years

Our first ever live shot was in 1975, located in uptown Charlotte. There was a microwave dish on top of a building in uptown that sent the signal back to our station.

Throughout the years, technology has changed greatly in terms of where we can go live from. We’ve deployed microwave capable news vans, satellite trucks and different configurations of Chopper 9.

Now, we utilize bonded cellular technology that fits in a backpack and are experimenting with how drone technology will help us cover news from the air.

>> WATCH BELOW: How technology has changed through the years at Channel 9

Channel 9's 65th Anniversary: How technology has changed through the years Channel 9's 65th Anniversary: How technology has changed through the years

Videos from the Vault

Sixty-five years of covering the Carolinas make for quite a few stories we have captured and stored in our video vault.

>> Click through and watch the videos below as some of our Channel 9 alumni look back at those moments.

WATCH: Channel 9 favorites from over the years

As we celebrate Channel 9′s 65th Anniversary, we’re looking back at some of the alumni who worked in our studios throughout the decades.

>> Click through and watch the videos below as our alumni highlight some of their most important, memorable and favorite stories they’ve covered.

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