THAT THAT I DIDN’T SEE HOW TELEVISION COULD MISS. THE 1946 ONE MAN, A NEW ORLEANS TRANSPLANT, HAD THE IDEA TO BRING TELEVISION TO THE CRESCENT CITY. IT IS BECAUSE OF HIM THAT WDSU GOT ITS START LONG BEFORE THE REST LEADING US ON THE 75 YEAR PATH. TONIGHT, WE HAVE A 1990 INTERVIEW THAT HAS BEEN IN THE VAULT FOR ALL THESE YEARS. WDSU ANCHOR RANDI RANDI OUTLINES THE BIRTH OF BROADCASTING HERE IN NEW ORLEANS AND THE MAN WHO MADE IT HAPPEN. I HAD SOMETHING TO DO WITH ALL OF THIS BUSINESS DOWN HERE. REALLY A LOT OF SOMETHING. LESTER KABAKOV, A NEW JERSEY NATIVE, CAME DOWN TO NEW ORLEANS DURING HIS STINT IN WORLD WAR TWO, WORKING ALONG THE RIVER AND QUICKLY BECOMING FRIENDS WITH EDGAR STERN, A PROMINENT LOCAL BUSINESSMAN AND FUTURE OWNER OF WDSU. ALL THROUGH HIS LOVE OF TENNIS. THAT’S HOW I MET THE STERNS GOING OUT THERE TO PLAY TENNIS. BUT IT WAS HIS SKILLS AS A LAWYER AND ENTREPRENEUR THAT REALLY WOWED STERN HIRING KABAKOV AS AN EXECUTIVE ASSISTANT IN 1946 AND GIVING HIM AN IMPORTANT JOB, HE SAID TO ME, HE SAYS, CABBIE, WHY DON’T WE GO FIND EDGAR, A BUSINESS TO ENTER INTO WHEN HE SAID WE, HE SENT ME KABAKOV WENT HOME THAT DAY AND PICKED UP LIFE MAGAZINE AND SAW SOMETHING THAT WOULD NOT ONLY CHANGE HIS LIFE, BUT THE LIVES OF EVERYONE IN LOUISIANA FOR A FEATURE ON THE MAGICAL MEDIUM CALLED TELEVISION. I SAID, MY GOD, THAT’S THE THING FOR EDGAR TO DO. HE’S ELECTRONIC ENGINEER. HE UNDERSTANDS IT. AND MAYBE WE COULD GET A TELEVISION STATION DOWN HERE AND HE COULD GO IN THE TELEVISION BUSINESS. HE WALKED OVER TO EDGAR STERN JUNIOR’S HOUSE, MAGAZINE IN HAND WITH THAT MAJOR PROPOSAL. AND I SAID TO HIM, HOW WOULD YOU LIKE TO GET IN THE TELEVISION BUSINESS? HE SAID, THAT WOULD BE WONDERFUL. HE SAYS, HOW DO WE DO THAT? I SAID, I’LL BE -- IF I KNOW, BUT I SURE CAN FIND OUT. KABAKOV SET OFF TO WASHINGTON, D.C., AND THEN NEW YORK MEETING WITH EXECUTIVES FROM CBS AND NBC. AND THE MORE I TALKED ABOUT TELEVISION, THE MORE I EXCITED I BECAME ABOUT IT BECAUSE I HAD THE INITIAL REACTION THAT THAT I DIDN’T SEE HOW TELEVISION COULD MISS. HE SOON LEARNED THAT A LICENSE FOR TELEVISION HAD BEEN GIVEN TO THE WDSU RADIO STATION ALREADY IN OPERATION, AND WENT ON A QUEST TO BUY IT. THE TIMES PICAYUNE WAS WAS GOING ABOUT IT THE SAME WAY THEY WERE INTERESTED IN IN RADIO AND IN TELEVISION. STERN AND THE LEADERS AT THE TIMES-PICAYUNE LOOKED INTO A POSSIBLE PARTNERSHIP. BUT ULTIMATELY, THE PAPER DECIDED TO WALK AWAY. THEY SAID THEY WANTED TO THINK IT OVER AND AND FINALLY THEY CAME BACK AND SAID NO. THEY DECIDED THAT THEY WOULD MAYBE SOMEDAY THERE WAS NO HURRY. THEY THEY WOULD THEY WANTED TO GET IN THE BUSINESS. THEY WOULD GO IT ON THEIR OWN. STERN PURSUED THE ACQUISITION AND ACQUIRED IT. AND DECEMBER 18TH, 1948, THE STATION WAS PUT ON THE AIR. KABAKOV WAS EVEN CHARGED WITH LEASING THE 14TH FLOOR OF THE HIBERNIA BANK BUILDING BEFORE FINDING WDSU, A NEW HOME ON ROYAL STREET. WE BOUGHT THAT ICE HOUSE AND TORE IT DOWN AND BUILT THE STUDIOS OF THE STATION RIGHT ADJACENT TO THE BLUE TOWER BUILDING. BEFORE HIS PASSING, KABAKOV SAT DOWN FOR THIS INTERVIEW WITH PAUL YASSA, A FORMER WDSU DIRECTOR AND PRODUCER, AND PAUL WERNER ABOUT LEADING THE CHARGE AND HOW EDGAR STERN CHANGED HIS LIFE FOREVER. I DON’T THINK I WAS EVER CLOSER TO ANY MAN IN MY WHOLE LIFE. HE WAS LIKE A FATHER AND A BROTHER AND EVERYTHING ELSE. RANDI RANDI, WDSU NEWS. WELL, FROM THE FIRST TIME THAT WE SIGNED ON AIR TO THE FIRST TIME WE BROUGHT YOU YOUR NEWS IN COLOR, WE ARE TAKING A TRIP DOWN MEMORY LANE. SO INTERESTING TO WATCH ALL OF OUR 75TH ANNIVERSARY STORIES RIGHT NOW ON WDSU.COM. THEN ON MONDAY, JOIN US FOR A 30 MINUTE SPECIAL, THEN. NO