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Name: Judd McIlvain
Degree and Year: BJ '65 (Radio-Television)
Company: Troubleshooter Judd McIlvain, Consumer Rights Journalist
Company Web Site: http://www.troubleshooterjudd.com/
Title: Radio, Television, Internet Broadcaster
City and State: Los Angeles, Calif.
Judd McIlvain's award-winning career as a radio and television journalist spans nearly half a century. Known as a hard-driving investigative reporter for major stations in Houston and Los Angeles, McIlvain has now dedicated his talents to fighting for consumer rights.
An Early Start in Broadcasting
Judd McIlvain, BJ '65
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Judd McIlvain, BJ '65, has been in radio and TV for 45 years. He was first on TV when he was 12 years old and hosted a show called "Children's Digest." The show, sponsored by Blue Star Potato Chips of Chicago was 15 minutes long on WBLN-TV in Bloomington, Ill. McIlvain did radio shows as a disc jockey in Columbia, Mo., at radio stations KBIA and KFRU when he was 15 and 16 years of age.
Related
J-School Reunion Under Gunfire
Read about Judd McIlvain's adventures while covering Venezuelan riots in 1965.
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Judd McIlvain, BJ '65, plays records as a disc jockey at radio station KFRU in Columbia, Mo., around the age of 16. Photo courtesy of Judd McIlvain.
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At 17, he produced and hosted a television show called "Dance Party" at the Jefferson City, Mo., KRCG-TV station. Teenagers from area schools would come to the studios each week and dance to rock 'n' roll on television. The show was sponsored by Pepsi Cola and was 90 minutes long. McIlvain was the first TV producer to fight for African-American teenagers to dance on a so-called white TV show and win. A week later, the Ku Klux Klan showed up at the studios and demanded that the white teenagers not dance on the show if black teenagers were permitted to dance. It was 1959, and the white kids danced with white kids and the black kids danced with black kids, but for some members of the community, that was too much integration. Pepsi did not give in and cancel the show, and it continued until the end of the 13-week contract. However, McIlvain had to have one show with black dancers and one show with white dancers. Therefore, on the black show, he was the first white host of a black dance party TV show. After the 13-week contract, and many protests from the Klan, the show was not renewed.
After high school McIlvain joined the National Guard and immediately went on active duty with the U.S. Army. He graduated as a military police officer, served out his active duty and then returned to serve four years active reserve. McIlvain was one of the youngest military police to reach the rank of sergeant.
He worked part time in radio and TV news reporting when he went to the University of Missouri School of Journalism. During his college studies, McIlvain studied a summer semester in Monterrey, Mexico, where he learned Spanish.
Judd McIlvain, BJ '65, hosts the television show "Dance Party" on KRCG in Jefferson City, Mo. Photo courtesy of Judd McIlvain.
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A Career in Television and Radio
After getting his Bachelor of Journalism (BJ) in 1965, McIlvain headed for Central America to be a freelance news reporter. If there was a riot or a small war, he was there covering it and trying to find customers in the United States who would take his stories. McIlvain did some live feeds for ABC News from the riots in Panama City in 1965. He was paid $20 per radio story. While working for United Press International (UPI), McIlvain was arrested in Venezuela for taking pictures of the secret police beating demonstrators and of the trial of dictator Perez Jimenez. McIlvain was released on bond, and UPI's bureau chief suggested it would be a great idea for him to flee the country because the penalty he was facing was six years in jail. McIlvain took the advice and was out of Venezuela the next morning. He has not been back since.
McIlvain has worked at eight different TV stations throughout the country.
He worked at the CBS-TV affiliate in Houston, Texas, for 18 years. He was the assignment editor/ producer, general reporter and investigative reporter.
In 1986, Rupert Murdoch, the owner of FOX-TV, brought McIlvain to Los Angeles, Calif., to be the Troubleshooter on the FOX station, KTTV.
In 1988, he was hired by KCBS-TV in Los Angeles and moved his Troubleshooter operation to CBS, where he worked for 10 years.
McIlvain has done stories on CBS' 48 Hours with Dan Rather, with whom he worked in Houston, Texas, in the late 1960s. McIlvain also helped produce stories for Geraldo Rivera at ABC's 20/20. He was often on Geraldo's syndicated show until the fighting and chair throwing began.
McIlvain has won two L.A. Emmys, eight Golden Mikes and four L.A. Press Club awards for outstanding TV reporting. One was for outstanding reporting during the Los Angeles riots. He also received Texas' highest award for investigative reporting, the Headliners Award.
McIlvain now has a Web site, www.troubleshooterjudd.com, and he also hosts an Internet consumer action radio talk show on www.adviceradio.com.
McIlvain and his wife Linda have been married for 40 years and have three children, Aaron, Sean and Marisol. They live in Woodland Hills, Calif.
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