It would be easy for a TV station to turn its anniversary celebration into nothing more than a promotional platform for current stars and programming. Happily, that's not the case with "WTAE Celebrating 50 Years," a warm, nostalgia-soaked look back at a half-century of broadcasting on Channel 4 that began on Sept. 14, 1958.

Producer Richard Cook has assembled a wide array of archival interviews, footage and photos. He augments this material with new interviews conducted by news anchor Sally Wiggin, who's also an associate producer on this special with Michael Lazorko.

Viewers who saw the 40th-anniversary program 10 years ago may recognize many of these clips, but contemporary interviews with former staffers give context to the archival material.

Former WTAE mainstays spotlighted include Jean Connelly, Ricki Wertz, Adam Lynch, Eleanor Schano and Joe DeNardo, who is feted in one segment. The late Myron Cope receives a lengthy tribute.

Although Don Cannon is heavily featured in old footage, the special includes no new interview with him. Of course, he lives in San Diego now, but former WTAE reporter Lynn Cullen, who is in town, is glimpsed only briefly, in a classic diner spot.

To its credit, "Celebrating 50 Years" (8 tonight) is not all about the news operation. The special revisits non-news programs, including "Pittsburgh's Talking" (a funny clip shows Ann Devlin getting dough dumped on her head in a cooking segment), "Bowling for Dollars" and children's shows.

Wertz recalls the late Nick Perry leaving "risque jokes" in the tree stump on her children's show. She'd have to maneuver around rubber vomit and spiders, among other things, while reaching in to pull out a toy, all while keeping a straight face for the camera.

Local TV news buffs will especially enjoy the segment on old station promos, including "Joe Said It Would," a DeNardo Weather spot from the early '90s. Notably, that's the most recent promo included, a reminder that TV news promotions don't have the same impact as they once did.

Channel 4's anniversary special concludes with a look ahead to what the next 50 years might bring, including the promise that local newscasts will begin airing in high definition "in a matter of weeks."