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WLBT-Channel 3's first broadcast was December 19, 1953. WLBT was the third TV station in Mississippi. WTOK-Channel 11 in Meridian was second in September 1953, and WJTV-Channel 25 in Jackson was first on January 20, 1953.
WLBT (LBT stands for Lamar Broadcasting Television) was originally known as WJBT and was changed to WLBT because WJBT and WJTV sounded too similar. Lamar operated WLBT until June 1971, when the Federal Communications Commission ordered that the license be vacated. The FCC turned the license over to a non-profit, bi-racial group known as Communications Improvement Inc. Lamar lost the license after allegations were made by African Americans and the United Church of Christ that the station did not fairly serve its large black audience. The FCC finally granted a permanent license to operate to TV-3 Inc. in 1980.
TV-3 was a group formed by five competing companies who were seeking the right to operate the station. WLBT is one of only two TV stations in the country to lose its broadcast license for violating the FCC's broadcast fairness license, a fact found in most broadcast textbooks.
