RIP Stan Chambers, Los Angeles Broadcast Legend

This has been a rough week for journalism. The Brian Williams scandal; Jon Stewart's Daily Show retirement; the death of foreign correspondent Bob Simon; and yesterday, the sad death of the New York Times' David Carr.

Now comes the sad news that local TV legend Stan Chambers has died, at 91. Chambers retired in 2010 after 63 years at KTLA -- hold up, lemme repeat that: 63 YEARS AT KTLA!

Chambers wasn't just a local TV legend -- he was a Los Angeles legend. If you're not up on your Los Angeles history, just Google "Kathy Fiscus." Here's what I wrote about Stan in 2010:

Writes KTLA colleague Eric Spillman: "Stan still comes in just about every day, putting together feature stories on topics that interest him... Don't worry, though, Stan promises you'll still see him on the air from time to time."

My colleague Cynthia Littleton has the details over at Variety:

Chambers said that he felt his birthday marked a "good time" to sign off. He's looking forward to having plenty of freedom to travel, play golf and spend time with his large family -- which includes 11 kids and a large brood of grandchildren and great-grandchildren. Grandson Jaime Chambers, a KTLA correspondent, is so far the only one to follow him into the media biz.

KTLA is planning a series of sendoffs for Chambers. A billboard across the street from the station today will salute Chambers on the occasion of his retirement. An hourlong special featuring highlights of Chambers' career will air Aug. 23, and a tribute event at the Paley Center for Media in Beverly Hills is in the works.

As Spillman notes, it's extremely doubtful that anyone else in local TV anywhere has had the run that Stan has. Chambers, of course, is remembered for having put live, on-the-spot TV news coverage on the map thanks to his pioneering marathon coverage in 1949, when 3-year-old Kathy Fiscus fell into an abandoned water well in San Marino.

My Variety colleague Jon Weisman talked to Stan and the late Hal Fishman in 2007, on KTLA's 60th anniversary, about their career highlights. Here's what Stan had to say about the Fiscus story:

I was giving a speech down at the Biltmore Hotel, and while we were there we got a call from my mother saying, "They're trying to get ahold of you," and to go out to San Marino. So it was one of those things where luckily I was near a telephone, because of course we didn't have beepers or cell phones or things like that, and also I didn't drive -- I didn't have a car. So, the lady at the luncheon (asked) her husband, who agreed to take me out to San Marino.

There was this huge rescue operation going, with dozens of people, cameras were getting ready to go, and from the time we started until the time we finished, it was 27½ hours (though the rescuers) had been there like a day before. But the key was Klaus Landsberg, who was our station manager. He was a great engineer -- very creative. ... He had success (once before) taking all these big huge cameras and the big trucks and going out there and finding power and getting 'em all working.

But of course, no one had a television set -- there were just a few hundred.

I have a very vivid memory of maybe 2 o'clock in the morning, sitting in one of the trucks out there, just with (the) question: "Who in the world would be watching this?" ...

We thought there was no one listening, but in reality, the whole city was listening. Everybody knew somebody who had a television set. They were over there. They were sleeping on the floor.

More: Cynthia Littleton talks about her own personal memories of meeting Stan as a young, aspiring journo here.

Retro Friday: April 29, 1992 Edition

20 years ago, I was a freshman at Northwestern University, glued to my TV screen and feeling a bit helpless as I watched the world explode 2,000 miles away. I had already taken a few sociology classes centered on the study of race, class and power, and found myself watching the end result of everything I'd been studying. By the time I had moved to L.A. in 1996, the city had subsequently also suffered a terrible earthquake and was slowly getting its senses back.

Here are some YouTube selections from coverage within the first 24 hours of the riots:



Live coverage from KTLA on April 30, 1992, with the late Hal Fishman and late Larry McCormick in the studio, and Stan Chambers up in the helicopter (!).

"I imagine this looks like London at the Blitz," Fishman says. "It's a tragedy for everyone who is viewing this."



Edward James Olmos, voice of reason, meets with Hal and Larry in the KTLA studio. "It's a very sad time right now," he says. "I made up my mind a couple moments ago, I'm going to be at the First A.M.E. Church with a broom in my hand and start the process of cleaning this place up." Also: "We must understand these are our children. They may be heavily armed but they are children. That's the sadness, we're going to find ourselves in a deep sense of sorrow before this night is over." But when the female anchor refers to it as a "craziness," he takes her to task. "I don't find it to be a craziness at all. I think it's a frustration and an anger."



Arsenio Hall with the Rev. Cecil Murray at the First A.M.E. Church. "You cannot get peace with violence. We are not a violent people. We can't tear up our neighborhood. Nobody cares if we tear down our neighborhood. If we burn down a building, we take jobs from black people. Friends, neighborhoods. Don't burn down the buildings, burn down the ballot boxes."



Talk about strange timing: KNBC interrupts live coverage of the riots to air the final episode of "The Cosby Show." That day, as Jess Marlow notes here, Mayor Tom Bradley urged the city to stay indoors and watch the episode. "We need this time. A little bit of a cooling off period."



From KABC: Live coverage of the Reginald Denny beating.



"Can we all get along?" 20 years later, Rodney King's plea for calm.

City Council Celebrates Stan Chambers' Career

Friend of Franklin Avenue Tess Inman -- who's been chronicling the demise of the Ambassador Hotel (see her past pics here) was on hand last week as retiring KTLA staple Stan Chambers was honored by the L.A. City Council.


Stan and his wife, Gege.


Stan and Gege, along with City Council president Eric Garcetti.


Stan Chambers' family (including grandson Jamie, now a KTLA reporter) along with Garcetti.

End of An Era: KTLA's Stan Chambers to Retire

After 63 years at KTLA -- hold up, lemme repeat that: 63 YEARS AT KTLA! -- living local TV legend Stan Chambers is retiring. (Watch a great recap of Stan's time at KTLA -- including an early variety show he appeared in -- above.)



KTLA will announce the news on Wednesday -- Stan's 87th birthday. Writes KTLA colleague Eric Spillman: "Stan still comes in just about every day, putting together feature stories on topics that interest him... Don't worry, though, Stan promises you'll still see him on the air from time to time."

My colleague Cynthia Littleton has the details over at Variety:

Chambers said that he felt his birthday marked a "good time" to sign off. He's looking forward to having plenty of freedom to travel, play golf and spend time with his large family -- which includes 11 kids and a large brood of grandchildren and great-grandchildren. Grandson Jaime Chambers, a KTLA correspondent, is so far the only one to follow him into the media biz.

KTLA is planning a series of sendoffs for Chambers. A billboard across the street from the station today will salute Chambers on the occasion of his retirement. An hourlong special featuring highlights of Chambers' career will air Aug. 23, and a tribute event at the Paley Center for Media in Beverly Hills is in the works.

As Spillman notes, it's extremely doubtful that anyone else in local TV anywhere has had the run that Stan has. Chambers, of course, is remembered for having put live, on-the-spot TV news coverage on the map thanks to his pioneering marathon coverage in 1949, when 3-year-old Kathy Fiscus fell into an abandoned water well in San Marino.

My Variety colleague Jon Weisman talked to Stan and the late Hal Fishman in 2007, on KTLA's 60th anniversary, about their career highlights. Here's what Stan had to say about the Fiscus story:

I was giving a speech down at the Biltmore Hotel, and while we were there we got a call from my mother saying, "They're trying to get ahold of you," and to go out to San Marino. So it was one of those things where luckily I was near a telephone, because of course we didn't have beepers or cell phones or things like that, and also I didn't drive -- I didn't have a car. So, the lady at the luncheon (asked) her husband, who agreed to take me out to San Marino.

There was this huge rescue operation going, with dozens of people, cameras were getting ready to go, and from the time we started until the time we finished, it was 27½ hours (though the rescuers) had been there like a day before. But the key was Klaus Landsberg, who was our station manager. He was a great engineer -- very creative. ... He had success (once before) taking all these big huge cameras and the big trucks and going out there and finding power and getting 'em all working.

But of course, no one had a television set -- there were just a few hundred.

I have a very vivid memory of maybe 2 o'clock in the morning, sitting in one of the trucks out there, just with (the) question: "Who in the world would be watching this?" ...

We thought there was no one listening, but in reality, the whole city was listening. Everybody knew somebody who had a television set. They were over there. They were sleeping on the floor.

More: Cynthia Littleton talks about her own personal memories of meeting Stan as a young, aspiring journo here.

UPDATE: Here's KTLA's tribute ad to Stan, from today's Variety:

Stan Chambers Ends the Analog TV Era

And so goes analog TV. Legendary KTLA newsman Stan Chambers helped shut down that station's analog signal Friday night at 10:45 p.m., as he and grandson Jamie Chambers reported live from KTLA's Mt. Wilson transmitter site.



Chambers, like I mentioned below, is one of the few individuals who can say their career spanned the entire length of the analog broadcasting era. He joined KTLA in 1947, soon after the station signed on the air. And now, in 2009, he was there to take part in the transition to digital.



Of course, this was a non-story for most of us who subscribe to cable or satellite. But for the folks who rely on over-the-air signals to watch TV, it's going to be interesting to see how the new digital era is received. People with HD receivers will likely be pleased with the crisp picture... but the digital signals are supposedly more problematic at times -- especially in bad weather, or when there is some sort of obstruction. Will that make it harder to pick up TV stations, even if you're properly hooked up? I guess we'll see how people react in the coming months.

Meanwhile, here's a video someone on YouTube took of KTLA's final moments on the analog air:



And here's how KTTV/Channel 11, with no pomp or circumstance, cut its analog signal:

Several Chances to Meet Local TV Legend Stan Chambers

KTLA's Stan Chambers is a living legend, a TV reporter who dates all the way back to the dawn of the medium. He'd be in the history books even if his career ended with the live coverage of the 1949 Kathy Fiscus well tragedy... but his career has continued for nearly 60 years beyond that.

Now, Stan has released the book "KTLA's News At Ten: Sixty Years With Stan Chambers," which focuses on his role in covering much of Los Angeles' coming of age:

Interweaving television history with a legendary reporter¹s back story and perspective, "KTLA's News At Ten: Sixty Years With Stan Chambers" focuses on events familiar to viewers in Southern California and sure to fascinate readers nationwide. With an engaging, up-close and personal style, Chambers recreates the everyday challenges of a television news reporter¹s job back in the days before mini-cams and cell phones. He also recaptures the excitement of being among the first to experience technical breakthroughs -- like KTLA's top-secret engineering feat: the first-ever news "Telecopter" -- and the being the first to break many stories. Among the memorable events in the spotlight:

--The monumental story of the Rodney King beating, which Chambers¹ broke when amateur photographer George Holiday entrusted his videotape to the trusted reporter

--Chilling and heartbreaking high-profile stories, including the case of the Hillside Strangler, the Manson family murder of Sharon Tate, and the kidnapping of Frank Sinatra, Jr.

--Harrowing live coverage of the A-Bomb test in the Nevada prove-up grounds, the Baldwin Hills Dam disaster, the Northridge earthquake, and the Malibu fires

--Haunting reports on two destructive riots with disturbing similarities:
the Watts Riots of 1965 and the Los Angeles Riots of 1992

Stan will be signing the book this winter throughout the Southland:

January 19 - Dutton's, LA
February 2 - Vroman's, Pasadena
February 7 - Barnes & Noble, Long Beach
February 11 - Burbank Public Library, "Coffee & Conversations"
February 23 - Chevalier's Books, LA
February 26 - Newport Beach Public Library Foundation
February 28 - Barnes & Noble, LA (The Grove)
March 15 - Cal State Fullerton's Assistance League, "A Day of Authors"
April 2 - UCI Inside Edge
April 10 - Brendeis University Luncheon, Beverly Hills April 18 - Huntington Beach Library

Retro Friday: L.A. TV History, As Recounted in 1981

Here's a great "2 On The Town" package (split into two YouTube videos), as Steve Edwards interviews three legendary L.A. TV personalities in 1981. KTLA's Stan Chambers, of course, is still on TV, believe it or not! Great rememberances by Chambers, as well as KTTV's Bill Welsh (standing in front of the Pan Pacific Auditorium, which was still standing in 1981!) and KHJ's Ted Myers. As aired on KNXT-TV (now KCBS) on March 6, 1981.

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.