David Horowitz (consumer advocate)
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| David Horowitz | |
|---|---|
| Born | June 26, 1937 Bronx, New York, USA |
| Occupation | Consumer Advocate |
| Spouse | Suzanne E. McCambridge (August 26, 1973 - Present) |
David Horowitz (born June 30, 1937) is an American consumer advocate and former reporter for KNBC-TV in Los Angeles, whose Emmy-winning TV program Fight Back! would warn viewers about defective products, test advertised claims to see if they were true, and confront corporations about customer complaints. He is currently on the board of directors of the National Broadcast Editorial Conference, City of Hope, and the American Cancer Society.[1]
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[edit] Early life
Horowitz earned a master's degree in journalism from Northwestern University, then worked at newspapers and TV stations in the Midwest. He later worked for NBC News and became a correspondent for the Vietnam War. Horowitz was then offered a chance to develop a consumer-awareness segment for NBC's Los Angeles newscast, but nearly turned it down because they had offered it to six other people before him.[2]
[edit] Appearances
Horowitz made a guest appearance on the Super Mario Bros. Super Show! in 1989. He also appeared as himself on an episode of Silver Spoons. Horowitz was also a regular guest on The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson (which also occasionally parodied him as "David Howitzer").
[edit] Hostage situation
On August 19, 1987, during KNBC's 4 p.m. newscast, a gun-wielding mental patient got into the NBC Studios in Burbank, California, as a guest of an employee on the set and took Horowitz hostage live on the air. With the gun pressed on his side, Horowitz calmly read the gunman's statements on camera. However, the unidentified man revealed at the end of his statement that the gun was fake, and later set the gun down on the newsdesk, at which point anchorman John Beard quickly confiscated it. It led Horowitz to start a successful campaign to help ban "look-alike" toy guns in several states, including California and New York.
[edit] Controversies
In 1998, Horowitz joined a political campaign to urge voters to defeat a California ballot initiative calling for a 20% cut in electricity rates for private utility customers and ending surcharges on ratepayers to pay for nuclear power plants. Horowitz later admitted he was paid $106,000 by the campaign.[3] A few years later, he reportedly received an unknown sum to fight an L.A. City Council proposal to force cable TV companies to allow competitors to use their high-speed internet lines.[4]
[edit] Quote
"Stay aware and informed. Fight back and don't let anyone rip you off!"
[edit] References
- ^ http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0395285/bio
- ^ Benet, Lorenzo (1987-02-19). "Life is One Long Mass of Fine Print for Consumer Advocate Horowitz". Chicago Tribune. http://articles.chicagotribune.com/1987-02-19/entertainment/8701130664_1_coupons-grocery-david-horowitz. Retrieved 2012-02-28.
- ^ Rosenberg, Howard (1998-10-28). "The High Price of Advocacy". latimes.com. http://articles.latimes.com/1998/oct/28/entertainment/ca-36715. Retrieved 2012-02-28.
- ^ Elliott, Christopher (2010-10-06). "Consumer watchdogs face an uncertain future--so does customer service". onyoursi.de. http://onyoursi.de/2010/10/consumer-watchdogs-face-an-uncertain-future-so-does-consumer-service/. Retrieved 2012-02-28.
[edit] External links
- Detailed biographical information is available from FightBack.com
- David Horowitz at the Internet Movie Database
