KTLA Adds Evening Newscast

In one of its first moves since Don Corsini took over as KTLA’s general manager, the Tribune-owned station is adding a 6:30 p.m. newscast starting this Monday.

The new half-hour broadcast will be anchored by Emmett Miller and Leila Feinstein, who also anchor the station’s 10 p.m. “Prime News” telecast.

Hopefully this is a good sign that KTLA is once again starting to invest in its news product. The station has cut back dramatically on its news team in recent years — even before Tribune’s current woes — and suffered two major blows when Hal Fishman passed away and Carlos Amezcua jumped to rival KTTV.

The new KTLA broadcast represents the first 6:30 p.m. local newscast in more than a decade.

ALSO: Elsewhere in the local TV news scene, LA Observed reports that KNBC’s Laurel Erickson has announced her retirement, and has the back story on why the station isn’t exactly giving her the same lavish send-off that it gave to fellow retiree Furnell Chatman.

KTTV Viewers Not So Keen on John Beard’s Departure

The chatboards on Fox 11′s website are running mostly against the station’s decision to bring in KTLA’s Carlos Amezcua to replace John Beard.

Actually, if you can read the graphic above, it’s getting downright nasty. (I’m actually surprised KTTV has kept those comments up there, at least as of late yesterday.) Here’s an example of the rough response:

KTLA did not want Carlos. I don’t want Carlos. His face on ch 11 is as good a reason as any reason not to watch ch 11 news. Bizarre choice to be the face of a newsteam. Makes me wonder whose neck is going to get severed after this hiring decision!

***
Carlos Amezcua…is a fat faced talking head. In fact his neck fat folds over his shirt collar which is disgusting.
Looks like hes going to have a stroke with that tight neck collar and tie…maybe.

***
Carlos Amezcua?..Wow thats the best they could come up with as John Beards replacement?..I for one can’t stand Carlos Amezcua, he’s the sole reason I stopped watching ktla’s morning show, and now the sole reason I will not watch Fox 11 news at 10!!
Good move Fox 11, whats next Carlos Amezcua on Good Day L.A….Geez, I sure hope that NEVER happens!

Ouch. Meanwhile, it’s looking more and more like KTLA will promote from within for its 10 p.m. anchor (to replace the late Hal Fishman). More to come…

BREAKING NEWS: Carlos Amezcua In, John Beard Out at Fox 11

Carlos Amezcua, new Fox 11 anchor (left) and soon-to-be-ex-Fox 11 anchor John Beard (right)

I just posted the news over at Variety: KTTV/Fox 11 has stolen longtime KTLA anchor Carlos Amezcua, who will take over the station’s 10 p.m. newscast (alongside Christine Devine) on Oct. 1. John Beard’s contract was not renewed.

The story:

Longtime “KTLA Morning Show” host Carlos Amezcua has hopped to rival KTTV, where he’ll co-anchor the Fox-owned station’s 10 p.m. newscast beginning Oct. 1.

Out in the anchor shuffle is longtime KTTV anchor John Beard, whose contract was set to expire. The 14-year KTTV vet – who before that had a long run at KNBC – will appear on Fox 11 for the last time on Sept. 28.

Amezcua’s move was a surprise, given that he was until recently considered the heir apparent to the KTLA 10 p.m. slot left empty by the recent passing of lengendary anchor Hal Fishman.

In the days following Fishman’s death, Amezcua was seen anchoring KTLA’s 10 p.m. broadcast, and some thought the move would be made permanent. But Amezcua hasn’t been seen in the chair for the last few days – and now it’s apparent why.

According to KTTV, Amezcua had been operating without a contract at KTLA for some time, and the channel saw an opportunity to steal him away.

“Carlos is someone that we’ve had our eye on,” said KTTV general manager/VP Kevin Hale. “We think he’s an exceptional talent. Oddly enough we found out that his contract had expired, so we saw a window of opportunity. We thought he’d be a great addition to our staff. We had some conversations with him, and very quickly got a long-term contract out of him.”

Amezcua will join Christine Devine at the KTTV desk. Asked why the station would make a change when its program is already rated No. 1 at 10 p.m., Hale said he “wanted to continue to try to grow this newscast.”

“We want to look at ways to increase ratings, and sometimes that involves change,” he said. “We felt the timing was right to make a change.”

It’s unclear where Beard will wind up next, or if he’ll continue in the local TV news market.

“He’s been here 14 years and done a great job,” Hale said. “He was instrumental in building the 10 p.m. news into an award winning-powerhouse.”

Amezcua, a seven-time Emmy winner, helped launch the “KTLA Morning Show” – then called “KTLA Morning News” – in 1991, and has been with the ayem broadcast ever since. Before KTLA, Amezcua worked as a CBS News correspondent and an “NBC Nightly News” reporter. He has also worked for CNN and HBO’s “America Undercover,” as well as stations in New York, San Diego and Denver.

“This is a tremendous opportunity,” Amezcua said. “I look forward to contributing to one of the most well-respected television newscasts and stations in Los Angeles.”

With Amezcua out of the running for the KTLA anchor slot alongside Leila Feinstein, candidates to replace Fishman include weekend anchor Frank Buckley.

Readers in the rest of the country may best remember John Beard for his frequent appearances as a news anchor on “Arrested Development.”

John Beard in the late 1970s — “Stay sexy, Los Angeles!”

BREAKING NEWS: Carlos Amezcua In, John Beard Out at Fox 11

Carlos Amezcua, new Fox 11 anchor (left) and soon-to-be-ex-Fox 11 anchor John Beard (right)

I just posted the news over at Variety: KTTV/Fox 11 has stolen longtime KTLA anchor Carlos Amezcua, who will take over the station’s 10 p.m. newscast (alongside Christine Devine) on Oct. 1. John Beard’s contract was not renewed.

The story:

Longtime “KTLA Morning Show” host Carlos Amezcua has hopped to rival KTTV, where he’ll co-anchor the Fox-owned station’s 10 p.m. newscast beginning Oct. 1.

Out in the anchor shuffle is longtime KTTV anchor John Beard, whose contract was set to expire. The 14-year KTTV vet – who before that had a long run at KNBC – will appear on Fox 11 for the last time on Sept. 28.

Amezcua’s move was a surprise, given that he was until recently considered the heir apparent to the KTLA 10 p.m. slot left empty by the recent passing of lengendary anchor Hal Fishman.

In the days following Fishman’s death, Amezcua was seen anchoring KTLA’s 10 p.m. broadcast, and some thought the move would be made permanent. But Amezcua hasn’t been seen in the chair for the last few days – and now it’s apparent why.

According to KTTV, Amezcua had been operating without a contract at KTLA for some time, and the channel saw an opportunity to steal him away.

“Carlos is someone that we’ve had our eye on,” said KTTV general manager/VP Kevin Hale. “We think he’s an exceptional talent. Oddly enough we found out that his contract had expired, so we saw a window of opportunity. We thought he’d be a great addition to our staff. We had some conversations with him, and very quickly got a long-term contract out of him.”

Amezcua will join Christine Devine at the KTTV desk. Asked why the station would make a change when its program is already rated No. 1 at 10 p.m., Hale said he “wanted to continue to try to grow this newscast.”

“We want to look at ways to increase ratings, and sometimes that involves change,” he said. “We felt the timing was right to make a change.”

It’s unclear where Beard will wind up next, or if he’ll continue in the local TV news market.

“He’s been here 14 years and done a great job,” Hale said. “He was instrumental in building the 10 p.m. news into an award winning-powerhouse.”

Amezcua, a seven-time Emmy winner, helped launch the “KTLA Morning Show” – then called “KTLA Morning News” – in 1991, and has been with the ayem broadcast ever since. Before KTLA, Amezcua worked as a CBS News correspondent and an “NBC Nightly News” reporter. He has also worked for CNN and HBO’s “America Undercover,” as well as stations in New York, San Diego and Denver.

“This is a tremendous opportunity,” Amezcua said. “I look forward to contributing to one of the most well-respected television newscasts and stations in Los Angeles.”

With Amezcua out of the running for the KTLA anchor slot alongside Leila Feinstein, candidates to replace Fishman include weekend anchor Frank Buckley.

Readers in the rest of the country may best remember John Beard for his frequent appearances as a news anchor on “Arrested Development.”

John Beard in the late 1970s — “Stay sexy, Los Angeles!”

Retro Friday: Hal Fishman, 1984

In honor of Hal Fishman’s passing on Tuesday, here’s a 1984 open for KTLA’s News at 10, featuring Hal, the late Larry McCormick, and others.

R.I.P., Hal Fishman

The longtime KTLA newsman, who took over the 10 p.m. anchor desk at the station in 1975, died this morning. He was 75.

Fishman was the dean of L.A. anchors, having sat in the same chair longer than anyone else here — actually, according to KTLA, longer than anyone else in TV history.

Local TV news has changed a lot in the 47 years since he first entered the business.. some good (the technology that has made reporting around the region a lot easier) and a lot bad (the general fluffiness and “if it bleeds, it leads” mindset of modern newscasts). But even as KTLA grew less newsy and more feature-y (and became more and more populated by amateurs will few reporting chops), Hal remained the conscience of the station. You knew that, with Hal and Stan Chambers still at KTLA, all was not lost.

Well, something now has been lost.

Background on Hal, from KTLA:

Hal was on track for a career as a college professor when television station KCOP invited him to teach an on-air class in politics in 1960. He agreed, and “American Political Parties in Politics” became so successful that the station asked him back to anchor his own segment on the news. Hal made the jump to KTLA in 1965, the year of the Watts riots. His coverage of that event helped KTLA win an Emmy and a Peabody Award.

A 47-year news veteran, Hal anchored KTLA Prime News (known previously as “News @ Ten”) continuously since 1975, making him the longest-running anchor in television history. Along with serving as an anchor for Prime News, Hal was also the show’s managing editor.

More than 1,500 viewers have already payed tribute to Hal on the KTLA’s website.

Meanwhile, on his blog, Eric Spillman — one of KTLA’s best reporters — payed tribute:

(Hal) believed in Journalism and The News, capitalized. Those of us in broadcasting had an almost-sacred task of delivering important information to the viewers so that democracy could survive.

He honestly believed that.

Would a Hal Fishman be able to get a job in TV news today? I’m afraid to answer that question.

Those of us still employed in this business need to think about the values he stood for and figure out how to convince our bosses it still matters.

It’s been widely assumed that when Fishman eventually passed the anchor baton, “KTLA Morning Show” anchor Carlos Amezcua would take over the 10 p.m. newscast.

But the station will probably wait a few weeks before announcing its plans, particularly because Fishman’s death was so sudden. He was only diagnosed with colon cancer a week ago, but the illness had already spread to his liver.

It’s a rough time for KTLA, which also recently saw the departure of longtime news director Jeff Wald.

One more tidbit about Hal: As a pilot and aviation buff, Hal holds 12 official world aviation records for speed and altitude.

Previously on Franklin Avenue: Hal Fishman in Hospital, Just Days After KTLA Honors Him

Hal Fishman in Hospital, Just Days After KTLA Honors Him

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Just days after KTLA threw a bash celebrating the career of Hal Fishman, the longtime anchorman is in the hospital suffering from a serious infection. KTLA announced Fishman’s hospitalization on Thursday’s 10 p.m. newscast, and the L.A. Times has more here.

Apparently Fishman collapsed in his home on Wednesday. Just a day before, on Tuesday night, KTLA honored Fishman with a gala at the Autry Center, tied to the station’s 60th anniversary and celebrating Fishman’s 47 years on TV in Los Angeles.

Check out here to see a video prepared for the tribute, featuring celebs such as Jay Leno and Arnold Schwarzenegger; the link also includes video of Hal’s thank yous.

Fishman, 75, has been with KTLA since 1965, and has anchored the 10 p.m. newscast since 1975 (to put it in perspective, I was 2 years old when he became anchor. And my mom was 15 when he joined KTLA). He’s not even KTLA’s longest tenured broadcaster– that title, of course, goes to Stan Chambers, who’s been with the station since 1947.

Click here to see some of KTLA’s past news coverage, including clips from a 1982 KTLA special in which Stan and Hal revisit the scene of many key L.A. news stories.

Should Hal opt to retire, or at least pull back from the 10 p.m. grind, it’s been assumed for many years that longtime “KTLA Morning Show” anchor Carlos Amezcua is line to move up to the job (now opposite Leila Feinstein).

UPDATE: KTLA reports on its website that doctors have discovered that Fishman has colon cancer, which has already spread to his liver.

“Hal is awake and thanks everyone for their well wishes and says he is going to fight this illness,” the station said.