Dateline: Sunday, November 1, 1953. “Something New on New Orleans Airwaves” was just over the horizon. What is currently known as WVUE-TV FOX 8 began life on this All Saints Day as the second television station to sign on in the city of New Orleans, Louisiana, and originally under the call letters WJMR-TV and on the dial position Channel 61 (The Crescent City’s first UHF signal). Chester F. Owens, president of Supreme Broadcasting (the station’s first owner), stated that WJMR-TV was “dedicated to the service of the public, intent on preserving the best in television emphasis on live TV programs from CBS, ABC and DuMont networks.” The transmitter (capable at the time of delivering 50,000 watts of radiated power), originating atop the famed Jung Hotel on Canal Street, switched on at 12:30 PM, with vice-president and general manager James E. Gordon greeting viewers with a brief “hello”. Then the station forged ahead with its first broadcast day: a Bill Stern sportscast at 12:45, an ABC Sports pro football game at 1:00 PM (New York Giants versus Chicago Cardinals), CBS-TV’s Omnibus at 4:00 PM, The George Jessel Show at 5:30 PM, You Asked For It at 6:00 PM, Private Secretary (or Jack Benny) at 6:30 PM, Ed Sullivan’s Toast Of The Town @ 7:00 PM, and Water Winchell at 8:00 PM.
Posted on: Thu, 03 Apr 2014 13:41:58 +0000
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