Local TV news won't be the same. Especially coverage of the next earthquake and car chase. KCBS/KCAL announced Monday that Kent Shocknek, who now anchors KCAL's primetime news, is retiring:
Longtime KCBS (Channel 2) and KCAL-TV (Channel 9) news anchor Kent Shocknek today announced his plans to retire at the end of September 2014.
A veteran of more than 36 years in television news, Shocknek has been a fixture in Los Angeles for 31 years and is believed to have anchored more hours of news on local television than anyone else in the history of the market.
The first and longest-serving morning TV news anchor in Los Angeles, Shocknek was the original anchor of “Today in L.A.,” which debuted in 1986. He joined CBS 2 in 2001 and anchored morning and evening newscasts for the station until November 2013, when he became co-anchor of sister station KCAL 9’s top-rated 8 and 10 p.m. newscasts.
Earlier this year, the Los Angeles City Council honored Shocknek for his decades of service by proclaiming January 10 “Kent Shocknek Day.”
“For years at CBS 2 and KCAL 9, I’ve had the pleasure and privilege of working with the best producers in morning TV; and more recently, the best prime-time anchor team anywhere,” Shocknek said. “Now it’s time to catch up with the people I love, and check out some places I’ve always wanted to go.”
“From Leslie Moonves on down, I thank everyone at CBS for their friendship and support. Southern Californians are the best neighbors in the world, and I will be forever grateful to them for inviting me into their homes for so long.”
“Kent Shocknek is a Los Angeles TV news institution,” said Steve Mauldin, President and General Manager, CBS 2 and KCAL 9. “He’s a consummate professional who has distinguished himself as an outstanding breaking news anchor with an encyclopedic knowledge of the history of Southern California.”
As I mentioned to CBS' Kelly Kahl yesterday, I do hope someone now hires Kent to anchor the Car Chase Channel, an idea I think we all agree is too obvious not to happen.
Now... classic Kent, the infamous time he jumped under his anchor desk, as immortalized by David Letterman:
1 comment:
The days of high-profile anchor moves in Los Angeles -- million-dollar personality leaves one station and heads to another -- are done in this era of budget slashings and low viewership, I guess, but to plot a scenario, for fun:
Kent was deemed too expensive for KCAL and agreed to "retire" at contract's end. Rick Garcia, a little too stiff and serious for KCBS' faux-rollicking morning block, goes back to evenings on 9, where he is better suited. Carlos Amezcua is signed to take over mornings with Sharon Tay.
Never believe that stuff about LA anchors "retiring" to "spend more time" with the things they'd always "wanted to do."
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