Best TV Station: WBIR

Best TV Station Runners-Up: WATE, WKOP, WVLT

Ed Rupp’s desk. There is no better visual representation of WBIR’s greatness than that. The zany morning traffic guy’s desk is cluttered to the point of overflowing with clever, eye-catching knick-knacks. It’s a collection that never seems to diminish, new things piled on top of, rather than replacing, the old. Likewise, WBIR itself is a collection of clever promos, features, and rhyming sub-brands that seems to be growing all the time. That applies even when circumstances seem to demand that old ideas be replaced. Live at Five is moving to 4 p.m.? That can’t be! What about the name? Live at Five at Four. Done. Watch for a couple of hours, Knoxville, and tremble at the abundance of copyrights: Witcher’s Pictures, Buddy Check 10, “Tennessee Road,” Monday’s Child, Ed Rupp’s “Hump Day” camel drawing, Ed Rupp’s honking song, Ed Rupp’s mustache, 10 Amazing Kids, The Heartland Series. Keep it up WBIR, and keep doing it Straight from the Heart.

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