The Beginnings of the KTLA Morning News from the 6th Anniversary Show (1997)

The KTLA Morning News celebrated its 6th anniversary (on July 25, 1997) by looking back at some of the top stories and events. In this package from that show, they talk about the beginnings, which all started on July 8, 1991.
The KTLA Morning News is an American morning news program airing on KTLA (channel 5), a CW-affiliated television station in Los Angeles, California, owned by the Nexstar Media Group. The program broadcasts each weekday morning from 4 a.m. to 12 p.m. Pacific Time. The 4-7 a.m. portion is a general news/traffic/weather format; the 7 a.m.-12 p.m. portion also features news, traffic, and weather, but emphasizes entertainment and other light-hearted stories (incorporating celebrity interviews - both in-studio and occasionally via satellite - as well as features such as fashion and food segments). Weekend editions of the program also air on Saturday and Sunday mornings from 6-11 a.m.
The 7-10 a.m. portion of the program was simulcast on its San Diego sister station KSWB-TV (channel 69, also owned by Tribune and at the time the simulcast began, was an affiliate of The WB) from March 7, 2005, to July 31, 2008 (under the name The WB Morning Show, and then to The CW Morning Show upon becoming a CW affiliate); KSWB later relaunched an in-house news department on August 1, 2008, after switching its affiliation from The CW to Fox and debuted its own locally produced morning newscast on the date of the affiliation switch.
The program began on July 8, 1991, as The KTLA Morning News, anchored by Carlos Amezcua and Barbara Beck, with weathercaster Mark Kriski, Eric Spillman, and Michele Ruiz reporting from remote locations. It was created under the direction of then-general manager Steve Bell and produced by Raymond J. Brune. Originally a two-hour program airing from 7-9 a.m., the show's emphasis was mainly on news, with very little on lighter features. With the focus on hard news, the show received poor ratings and some negative reviews. Near the end of 1991, Joel Tator, a new executive producer, was brought in to help revive the show by giving the show a more relaxed atmosphere by spreading out newspapers on the desk. The anchors, feeling that the show was in its final weeks, also relaxed and started joking around.
The critical moment for the Morning News came in February 1992, when a series of rainstorms hit the Southland, causing severe flooding in the San Fernando Valley. At that time, the only other news programs on in the morning were the national news shows on ABC (Good Morning America), NBC (Today), and CBS (CBS This Morning), which were all broadcast on a three-hour tape delay in the Pacific Time Zone, with limited live coverage during the local news segments. Filling a need, KTLA set aside its regular programming and provided extensive coverage of the flooding. That brought in large numbers of Southland viewers; once the flood crisis ended, the viewers stayed with the show. And as a result, ratings improved dramatically.
Another critical moment for the Morning News occurred on January 17, 1994, when the Northridge earthquake rocked the area, causing widespread damage, collapsing freeways, sparked power outages, ruptured water, and gas lines, prompting the stoppage of television and film production, and altered public events and flight schedules due to precaution closures in Hollywood and Los Angeles International Airport. The quake almost trashed the KTLA newsroom when reporters Eric Spillman, Larry McCormick, Stan Chambers and Michele Ruiz produced special reports throughout the morning. ~ Wikipedia
© 1997 KTLA, Inc.
(www.ktla.com/)
Posted for entertainment and educational purposes only.
No copyrights were infringed.
Sam Rubin, Entertainment Report, KTLA 5 News
Jennifer York, Traffic Reporter, KTLA 5 News
Gayle Anderson - Features Reporter, KTLA 5 News
Ron Olsen - Reporter, KTLA 5 News
Sharon Tay - Ancho
Zsa Zsa Gábor - Actress
Bill Cosby - Comedian
Little Richard - Songwriter
Verne Troyer - Actor
Murphy Brown - Television Show
James Danforth Quayle - 44th vice president of the United States from 1989 to 1993
Andrew Phillip Cunanan - American serial killer
Dom DeLuise - Actor
Edgar McLean Stevenson Jr. - Actor
William Edward "Billy" Crystal - Actor
Milton Teagle "Richard" Simmons - Fitness Instructor
MA*S*H
Keywords:
CNN
Cable News Network
Today Show
Good Morning America
Los Angeles City Riot
A Look-Back
Los Angeles News
Warner Bros.
Planet Hollywood
KLCS
LAUSD
Ventura County Floods (1992)
Live News
College Dorm Room
Superstation
KTLA Morning News Theme Music
"KTLA 1990 News Theme" (1990 - 1996)
Composer: Unknown
"Day One" (1996 - 1997)
Composer: John Tesh
Congratulations from the anchors at Today In LA on KNBC 4
Kent Shocknek
Kathy Vara
Christopher Nance
#ktla #ktla5 #KTLANews #ktlamorningnews #BarbaraBeck #CarlosAmezcua #MarkKriski #SamRubin #EricSpillman #JenniferYork #GayleAnderson #LosAngelesTelevision #tvnews #Newsvan #cowmissing

[@Gisada033012]

Thanks for sharing ❤RIP Sam Rubin

[@tnawcwvictoria]

I miss Jennifer York, she's the reason why I LOVE KTLA 5 Morning News

[@cowmissing]

She's currently on KNX AM 1070 in Los Angeles.

[@tnawcwvictoria]

@@cowmissing I know and I hear her on their, still has that same energetic voice

[@jimapple5448]

I never missed a morning show . There zaniness kept me laughing my ass off . I miss watching them .

[@bobbowie9350]

Awww thr good old days before lu Parker arrived .

[@anthonyramirez9003]

Yeah, I won't watch that skank. I remember sitting my alarm clock every morning to wake up and watch what Barbara and Carlos were going to say and do next.

[@SayAhh]

RIP Sam

[@newine62]

Rest in peace Sam Rubin 😢

[@dmotta2811]

It just hasn’t been the same without Sam 😢 he is so missed. Now Mark is out.

[@cowmissing]

Very sad indeed. Always enjoy the time you have with loved ones.

[@Conspirotruth]

Woah core memory for sure!