Eduardo Kachskovsky had a long career at KMEX-TV (Univision) starting in 1980 and serving the Latino community. He worked from 1989 to 2004 in various roles from producer/director to creative director of live news and events. Such events ranged from award shows and political debates to the annual Rose Parade. Spanish-language TV stations were committed to co-sponsoring and televising events that promoted education, health, and civic understanding among communities of viewers. In addition, they invested in the needed staff, reporters, and technology to go on location and connect audiences to live events. If there was an event in LA, “Kach” was probably there. His collection includes not only press badges and a KMEX jacket, but also photographs and an oral history.
In the 1950s, consumers made television the centerpiece of the home, fueling competition among broadcasters to create new products, new programming, new stations, and even new networks. Innovators, such as those behind the creation of independent Spanish-language stations and eventually the Spanish International Network (SIN), challenged established broadcasting companies by creating new programming in Spanish and catering to underserved audiences. Established in the early 1960s, SIN knit together independents and created new stations to serve a national audience. With a complex business and legal history, SIN eventually became Univision in the 1980s. In the decades after 1980, Spanish-language programing options grew with recognition of Latinx communities as powerful consumer groups and the advent of new broadcasting technologies such as cable and digital TV.
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