From left, on the new KTVX newsroom set, which had its official premiere on April 2, 1985, newscasters Clayton Brough, Karen Carns, Phil Riesen and Steve Brown.
Deseret News Archive
SALT LAKE CITY — It was the first TV in Salt Lake City. NBC sold the flamboyant radio-station owner Sidney S. Fox a set of equipment to set up a television demonstration, according to www.abc4.com.
Fox began demonstrations in the Paris Department Store in Salt Lake City in September of 1939. Utah has been in love with TV ever since.
A few years later, Fox began the first broadcast television station, KDYL (now KTVX 4) on April 19, 1948.
Photo historian Ron Fox (no relation to Sidney Fox) has assembled some photographs from the Deseret News archives that give a peek back at television in Utah — from local politicians to Pioneer Day parades.
Ron Fox found photographs from early days to modern days — from the first coast-to-coast broadcast from Salt Lake City (an Oct. 14, 1952, presidential campaign speech by Adlai Stevenson) to upgrading the antenna farm on Farnsworth Peak for digital television.
Along the way were local TV shows, the advent of cable TV in the early 1970s, and a multitude of news anchors and supporting technology — and a lot of TV dinners.
e-mail: mdegroote@desnews.com
DeseretNews.com encourages a civil dialogue among its readers. We welcome your thoughtful comments.
— About comments
I am a staff writer for the Deseret News. My current beat is financial responsibility. I also occasionally write on other topics such as faith. I graduated from Arizona State University and from J. Reuben Clark Law School more ..
- Davis County honor student arrested in deaths...
- Letters to family show Steven Powell still...
- Police locate West Point teen called 'person...
- Josh Powell made 'admission of guilt' in...
- Stump the Smith: Can you answer the questions...
- Chaffetz not willing to take impeachment off...
- ESPN trivia guru: University of Utah graduate...
- Steven Powell can't go back to his home,...
Subscribe
Mobile
RSS
- Chaffetz not willing to take...
60 - Mia Love announces she's officially... 43
- S.L. draws up airport plans 33
- Couples registry gets preliminary nod... 29
- XanGo co-founder accuses partners of... 24
- 'We're here to serve all boys,' Utah... 23
- Search for Susan Cox Powell is over,... 21
- Gov. Gary Herbert tells Washington... 17
Thanks for digging up all those cool, old photos of Utah's television history. Phil Riesen and Mark Eubank look like kids! Good job!
Remember the live kids programing after school in the TV studios on Social Hall Avenue in downtown Salt Lake City? There was Romper Room, Engineer Ron, Captain K C (then promoted to Admiral Bernie) played by Bernie Calderwood. Please pull out some More..
A few of us remember Kimbo the Clown on channel 5. Even fewer of us seem to remember Ooby Mouse, who had a local kiddie show that ran with "The Mickey Mouse Club" in the early 60s. (My folks tried to convince me that Kimbo and Ooby were the More..