Some viewers later recalled seeing the shadowy figure of the former governor superimposed upon the broadcast.Ī later investigation by KATV engineers, state officials, and the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) concluded that the most likely scenario by which the interruption was achieved was the use of a low-power transmitter to override the signal emanating from the KATV tower-which was near Jefferson (Jefferson County) at the time (a new tower would be completed in 1965 near the Jefferson County community of Redfield )-causing the intruding signal to be carried farther than it would have been on its own. You have but a short time to learn to live together in peace and goodwill.”Īt the end of this message, the audio portion of the program returned to normal, and later in the news segment, Robert Doubleday, the station manager, appeared on air to apologize for the signal interruption and promised viewers that the station would be investigating the source of the disturbance. The time for conflict is now past, and the state of which you are a part may proceed to the higher stages of its evolution if you show yourselves worthy to do this. Be still now and listen, for your chance may not come again. This New Age can be a time of great peace and evolution for you, but only if your rulers are made aware of the evil forces that can overshadow their judgments. This is in order that you may share in the great awakening, as Arkansas passes into a New Age. I come to warn you of the destiny of Arkansas so that you may communicate to your fellow citizens the course you must take to avoid the disaster which threatens your state. “This is the voice of Powell Clayton, your former governor, speaking to you from the land beyond. Approximately three minutes into the news, while the newscasters were covering the latest events at the legislature, the audio portion of the broadcast devolved into heavy static, which was shortly replaced by a deep, breathy voice that relayed the following message in slow, patient speech, as if determined to be heard clearly: news segment began as usual that Wednesday night. On April 1, 1959, the audio portion of the evening’s KATV news broadcast was overridden by a pirated signal in which someone claiming to be the late Civil War Union general and Arkansas governor Powell Clayton urged his listeners to change their ways to “avoid the disaster which threatens your state.” Now widely regarded as a hoax or prank, the broadcast interruption at the time fueled an array of segregationist conspiracy theories and sparked legislative threats to outlaw the medium of television in the state of Arkansas.
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