BATON ROUGE - Seventy years ago this week, WBRZ went on the air, and over the last years there have been many men and women who sat at the anchor desk, but one of them was the face of Channel 2 for 20 years. 

John Mahaffey anchored at WBRZ for two decades and earned a reputation as the "Walter Cronkite" of Baton Rouge. 

"He was a legend," said Margaret Lawhon, another former WBRZ anchor. "He really was. He had that quality that was very special you can't teach. I mean, he lit up when that camera went on. He was all there, 100 percent."

News was in Mahaffey's blood. His father was a longtime newspaper man in Texas and he began his television career in Texarkana where he worked his way up to the anchor desk.

Mahaffey loved people, and people loved him — he cherished relationships with the public and viewers who tuned in to WBRZ each night. 

Through his calm leadership and fierce loyalty, Mahaffey helped guide the WBRZ news team to excellence during the period some call the "Golden Age" of Baton Rouge news. 

On Wednesday, WBRZ will catch up with Andrea Clesi, someone who anchored with Mahaffey and inspired a new generation of women to go into journalism. 

Watch more of WBRZ’s celebration of 70 years of local and community-driven coverage on YouTube at the playlist below: