Local broadcasting legends discuss past, present, and future of TV news
Four legendary figures in New Orleans television broadcasting will reunite on stage at Loyola on Tuesday, October 12, at 7:30 p.m. in Nunemaker Auditorium. WDSU-TV's first three news directors, Bill Monroe, John Corporon, and Ed Planer, and the station's founder, Edgar B. Stern Jr., will reflect on the past, present, and future of broadcast journalism, including its early roots in New Orleans, in a panel discussion titled "Founding Fathers: The Past, Present & Future of TV News." The event is free and open to the public and will be followed by a reception on the fourth floor of the Communications/Music Complex.
The event is organized by the Loyola University Department of Communications and the Press Club of New Orleans. It is co-sponsored by the Loyola student chapters of the Radio-Television News Directors Association and Society of Professional Journalists. The panel discussion will be moderated by WDSU-TV news anchor Norman Robinson.
As station owner and founder, Stern helped build WDSU-TV, the first television station in Louisiana. Stern's leadership and vision led WDSU to become the dominant station in New Orleans broadcasting, beginning in 1948 when it signed on the air. In a 1998 article, The Times-Picayune explained: "Owner Edgar Stern, Jr. set out to make WDSU the national abbreviation for broadcast excellence, no matter the cost." Stern left New Orleans shortly after selling WDSU-TV to out-of-town owners in 1972.
