TV personality Sam Rubin and author Joel Tator attend the book launch of "Los Angeles Television" by author Joel Tator, presented by The Museum of Broadcast Communications at Universal City Hilton & Towers on January 21, 2015 in Universal City, California. ; Credit: Alberto E. Rodriguez/Getty Images
The history of television in Los Angeles started with a station called W6XA0, which broadcasted from a transmitter at the intersection of Seventh and Bixel streets.
It was on the air one hour a day, except Sunday. The station was the brainchild of a Cadillac dealer named Don Lee, and would eventually become KCBS-TV.
Tom Brokaw, Betty White, Bob Hope, news anchor Connie Chung all got their start here, and the nascent industry was a pioneer particularly in the field of television news—it was the first place in the nation to use helicopter for news-gathering and it broadcasted the first live coverage of an atomic bomb test.
Author Joel Tator will be signing copies of his new book, "Los Angeles Television" this Friday, Feb. 6 at the Last Bookstore in Downtown.
Guest:
Joel Tator, author, “Los Angeles Television” (Arcadia Publishing, 2015), A multiple Emmy Award winner, Tator has produced and directed more than 8,500 broadcasts