In Chattanooga, Luther Masingill was such an icon he was rarely called by anything other than “Luther.” The iconic newsman died Sunday night after a short illness. He was 92.
Masingill started working at WDEF Radio in 1940, and added duties at CBS affiliate WDEF-TV when the station signed on in 1954:
“To have the fortitude to be on the air for this long you have to have a love of people and a love of country and a love of God, and you have to keep your private life to yourself and present yourseld as a caring person and Luthers was that.
“Luther holds a lot of records in broadcasting that will never be topped.”
Hamilton County Mayor Jim Coppinger said in a prepared statement that “Luther is a Hamilton County icon, not only for his decades of broadcasting service, but for his community efforts throughout his memorable life.”