David Horowitz (consumer advocate)


David Charles Horowitz was an American consumer reporter and journalist 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 has been on the boards of directors of the National Broadcast Editorial Conference, City of Hope, and the American Cancer Society. He has been on the FCC advisory board and advisory board for the Los Angeles District Attorney.
Horowitz has been described as a consumer advocate; he personally shunned the description, noting that he always tried to maintain an objective point of view toward both the consumer and the businesses he profiled.

Early life

David Horowitz attended Bradley University, where he became a member of Alpha Epsilon Pi, and graduated with high honors in 1959. Horowitz earned a master's degree in journalism from Northwestern University in 1961, then worked at newspapers and TV stations in the Midwest, including KRNT-TV in Des Moines, Iowa. He was a writer for The Huntley–Brinkley Report. He opened the first news bureau for NBC News during 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.

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, ALF, the Golden Girls, The Munsters Today, and Saved by the Bell. Horowitz was also a regular guest on The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson.

Hostage situation

On August 19, 1987, during KNBC's 4 p.m. newscast, a gun-wielding man named Gary Stollman got into NBC's Burbank Studios as a guest of an employee, and took Horowitz hostage live on the air. With the gun pressed on his side, Horowitz calmly read the gunman's statements on camera but unbeknownst to the gunman, the news feed had been taken off the air. The unidentified man revealed at the end of his statement that the gun was an empty BB gun and set the gun down on the news desk, at which point anchorman John Beard quickly confiscated it. The incident led Horowitz to start a campaign to ban realistic toy guns.

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.

Quote

"Stay aware and informed, Fight Back, and don't let anyone rip you off!"

Death

Horowitz died Thursday, February 14, 2019 from complications due to dementia. He is survived by his wife, two daughters, and two grandchildren. David Horowitz's daughter Amanda Horowitz owns and has continued work under the Fight Back! brand.