Columbus native inducted into Mississippi Association of Broadcasters Hall of Fame

COLUMBUS, Miss. (WCBI) – Five pioneers in broadcasting in Mississippi were inducted into the Mississippi Association of Broadcasters Hall of Fame this week.

Columbus native Birney Imes Jr. is part of the 2022 class.

Imes began his career in broadcasting with WCBI radio in Columbus.

He opened other radio stations in Tupelo, Clarksdale, Winona, and West Point from 1940 to 1950. It was known as the Mid-South Network.

We know him best for building this television station. You may know our story by now. The station was housed in a cement block building in a cow pasture just off Military Road, later moving downtown into a renovated department store.

WCBI-TV, a CBS affiliate and the first television station in Northeast Mississippi, began broadcasting on July 12, 1956.

Imes went on to buy television stations in El Paso, Texas, Clarksburg, West Virginia, and in Manchester, New Hampshire.

He also owned and managed the Commercial Dispatch in Columbus. The Dispatch remains in the Imes family.

Birney Imes, Jr. died in 2003 following a long and distinguished career in broadcasting and publishing.

WCBI General Manager and MAB Chairman Derek Rogers said that Mississippi radio and television broadcasters owe these pioneers a debt of gratitude as they paved the way for broadcasting in the state.