FOX 4 Archive

10pm Show Open

1950s Program Production

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Randall Jesse interviews Mary Ellen Kopp for one of the many early programs taped at WDAF-TV.
In the several months before NBC's national hook-up was expanded to the Kansas City area, the only live programming that was seen on WDAF-TV was filmed localy.  During that time, WDAF-TV relied on kinescopes shipped from NBC in New York or other affilitaes for programming that had been produced a few days before it would air in Kansas City.

WDAF-TV Goes High Def

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At 11 a.m. on September 23, 2005, WDAF-TV FOX4 began broadcasting a high power HDTV signal.  The new antenna, located at 1,160 ft on top of the tower, provided 50-60 mile signal coverage.  All viewers that received FOX 4's analog signal could receive the HD signal as well.  The top-mounted antenna provided a better signal coverage than our competitors, whose side-mounted antennas create a blind spot in the coverage radius due to tower interference.

Election Night - 1960

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WDAF's studio was transformed into election central during the 1960 presidential race.  Seated at the main desk are Steve Murphy, News Director Bill Leeds and Newsman Walt Bodine.  In one of the closest presidential races in history, Kennedy won Missouri with a mere 50.3 percent of the votes, mirroring how close the vote was nationally.

1968 Live Shot

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The WDAF-TV Mobile Unit is broadcasting from the Liberty Memorial during a civil right's gathering.  After the assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King, race riots occurred nationwide.  In Kansas City, WDAF tried to do its part in easing tensions by inviting a group of African Americans to the studio for a 75-minute panel discussion, which was later simulcast on radio and television.