THERE will be more than a couple of tears shed on Sunday night when newsreader Jane Goldsmith signs off for the final time from NBN's Mosbri Crescent studio.
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After almost 60 years the Hunter's only television news service is moving from its home at The Hill to a refitted state-of-the-art broadcast studio in Honeysuckle.
Paul Lobb and Natasha Beyersdorf will anchor NBN's first bulletin from Honeysuckle on Monday at 6pm.
"It's really mixed emotions, to be honest with you," Nine NBN general manager Jenny Webber says.
"We're here in this amazing new building and yet we're saying goodbye to something that's been such a massive part of Newcastle and everyone's lives for almost 60 years.
"For a while we were like, 'please don't make us come out of there and work out of Honeysuckle because we love Mosbri so much', but now we're loving the new technology down here.
"Whilst we are very mixed about it and it's snuck up on us, as we've been working hard and had a few distractions along the way and now it's here."
NBN began fitting out their new Honeysuckle studio last December, which was formerly occupied by the Newcastle Herald.
Originally NBN planned to complete the move by August, but due to COVID, the station's 70 staff have slowly transitioned from Mosbri Crescent to Honeysuckle. On Sunday the news team will complete the move.
Webber says the move was dictated by a need to modernise NBN's coverage. She says viewers can expect plenty of changes on Monday night, including a new set, lighting and for the first time the news will be broadcast in high definition.
"You can't be in business for 59 years without the building falling down around us," she says. "Technology has come such a long way in our industry and with new technology it was time to have a new premises that had state-of-the-art technology so we can take Nine-NBN into the next modern chapter, especially for our news requirements.
"Our new ways of working will mean you'll see more live crosses than ever before because technology will allow us to be remote with modern equipment," she says.
"The move to this premises was due to technology and becoming more in line with the Nine Network."
To celebrate the end of an era Lobb and Beyersdorf will present a special documentary, Goodbye Mosbri, 5.30pm on Sunday.
The half-hour program takes a nostalgic look at the 59-year history of the Mosbri Crescent studio, where NBN3 went to air on March 4, 1962, making it the first regional commercial TV station in NSW.
The late Murray Finlay, who died last year aged 84, fronted the first bulletin and anchored NBN news until 1984.
Finlay and other renown NBN personalities like newsreader Ray Dineen, weatherman Des Hart and sports presenter Mike Rabbitt are expected to appear in the special as viewers relive how the station covered Newcastle's biggest news events such as the Sygna Wreck, Star Hotel Riots, Newcastle Earthquake, the Knights' grand finals wins and the Pasha Bulka Storm.
However, Mosbri Crescent wasn't just a news station. The studio once produced various TV shows like Swallows Juniors, Saturday Date, Travlin' Out West, Beating Around the Bush, Poppa Ryan Breakfast Club, Romper Room and Big Dog and Friends.
"It's just a beautiful trip down memory lane," Webber says. "People will get to relive and remember all of our beautiful personalities we've had along the way."
Goodbye Mosbri broadcasts 5.30pm Sunday on NBN.