WDAF Channel 4
1947-65

From Test Patterns to Insight

WDAF-TV went on the air at 6:00 p.m. on October 16, 1949. It was the first television station in Kansas City at that time, and there were an estimated 8,000 television sets in the signal area. The station carried three to four hours of programming everyday. The rest of the time, they broadcast a test pattern.

Early programming, which began in mid-afternoon, consisted of locally produced children's shows, followed by a newscast at 6 p.m.

Walt would work as news anchor, talk show host and news director before eventually being named Director of the Department of Informational Services for Radio and Television in 1961.

"Tonight in Kansas City" with Randall Jesse 1954

Insight (1960-65) - A prime time talk show co-hosted with anchor Bill Leeds.

After experiencing troubles with station management and advancing blindness Walt would decide to leave WDAF in 1965, returning to radio as the host of Nitebeat on WHB.

See also: Mr. Nightbeat

See also: Moving on

It would be four years before Walt ventured back into television at KCIT Channel 50.