J. Birney Blair, a longtime president and general manager of KHQ in Spokane, died Saturday, The Spokesman Review reports. He was 92.
Blair started working at KHQ as a radio reporter. In 1952, when the station transitioned to television, Blair became the station’s first general sales manager in 1952. He served as the president and general manager of KHQ from 1970 until he retired in 1988, The Spokesman Review reports:
Patricia McRae, the current KHQ general manager, said that until the day of his passing, he was as bright as ever. She commended him for his work in helping KHQ evolve as technology changed.
Advertisement“I think he brought us into today’s technology,” McRae said. “He was always very proactive about the TV industry. Whatever change we faced ahead of us, he was always right there.”
KHQ’s tribute to Blair is after the jump.