Moyer informed the KNBC newsroom Wednesday afternoon that he intended to anchor his last broadcast in the near future.
Moyer, who currently handles KNBC's 5 p.m. and 11 p.m. newscasts with Colleen Williams, has had a regular L.A. TV presence since 1972 – making him the market's longest-running anchor.
"I have given Los Angeles my loyalty and my professional best, and if I was able to illuminate a dark and dangerous corner with an investigation, or communicate a complex story in a meaningful way, I have been more than repaid for my devotion to this remarkable city," Moyer said in a memo to KNBC staffers.
"Los Angeles has sustained me and will continue to with a vast store of amazing memories that I will carry close to my heart as I move on to the next adventure."
Moyer is still mulling an exact departure date; station will also announce his successor at a later date.
In a newsroom note, KNBC news director Bob Long said Moyer "perfected the role of news anchor in the town that can lay claim to inventing it, becoming all an anchor can be: a team leader and a link to our community.
"Paul's contributions to KNBC over the years are many and profound, and we will watch with great interest as he contemplates his next adventure," he said. "Our personal bond of respect and affection for Paul will never diminish, and we thank him for everything he has done for our station and the industry."
This reps the end of his second tour of duty at KNBC, having rejoined the Peacock-owned station after a fierce bidding war with rival KABC in 1992.
Moyer is said to make as much as $3 million annually. As station groups like NBC look to cut costs, rumors had begun to float that Moyer and his NBC counterpart, Chuck Scarborough, were being bought out of their contracts. But Peacock insiders insist that Scarborough is staying, and that it was Moyer's decision to retire.
The phone banks lit up. An hour later, Kleiman’s rash offer led to a record number of pledges for the station. Mission accomplished.
But how do you feed more than 400 hungry people and not go out of business? First, Kleiman came up with some rules: The meals would be served on seven consecutive Monday nights only (March 2–April 6); no bringing wine or children; and only people who made pledges were eligible. To compensate the servers who had volunteered to work for free, a mandatory tip of $7 was part of the deal. Then she drew up a classic Angeli menu to be served family-style: antipasti misti with seasonal vegetables; a chard, spinach, and mizuna sauté with goat cheese and Marcona almonds; a béchamel-based lasagne (recipe below); Angeli’s sublimely lemony roast chicken; and a light salad of mixed greens. A few pastry chefs and bakers, who’d heard of Kleiman’s situation, donated desserts. George Cossette, co-owner of Silverlake Wines, offered to pinch hit as Monday-night sommelier.
“Thank you for your support—and for accepting my bribe,” Kleiman said to a group of donors who showed up recently for one of the dinners. Because of her only-those-who-pledged-get-to-eat ordinance, roughly 70 percent of diners came alone, many of them hanging around the edges of the restaurant looking shy and stiffly self-conscious. As if to acknowledge the awkwardness, Jennifer Ferro, executive producer of Good Food, kicked things off with a brief pep talk: “You guys think you’re all strangers. But you all have something in common and that’s KCRW and Good Food. So maybe you came in as strangers, but you’ll walk out as friends.” Almost as if to prove Ferro right, the noise in the room shot up immediately. By the time dessert (individual molten chocolate cakes from Susina Bakery’s Jenna Turner) was served, you’d have sworn you were eating in a room full of lifelong friends.
The Patina Spotlight Café will be serving a lunch of spam tacos tomorrow, Wednesday, April 1 at the “SPAMapalooza” event in downtown L.A. at Music Center Plaza. The Center Theatre Group is hosting the canned, salty meat event from 11:30 a.m. – 2:30 p.m. in honor of the first day of ticket sales for the musical Spamalot. There will also be killer rabbit throwing, cow tossing and can o’ Spam scavenger hunt. You can get two tacos for $3, or three tacos for $5.
The 1 p.m. newscast will be anchored by the "KTLA Morning News" duo, Frank Buckley and Michaela Pereira, with Jessica Holmes handling weather and entertainment news. It will also feature Los Angeles Times business columnist Tom Petruno reporting on Wall Street at the closing bell, and L.A. Times food editor Russ Parsons and test kitchen manager Noelle Carter covering local eateries and offering other food-related segments.
The on-air use of L.A. Times staffers continues the trend of cross-pollinating news resources between KTLA and the Times, which are both owned by Tribune Co.
The 4:30 a.m. broadcast will be anchored by Asha Blake, who already holds down the 5 a.m. newscast.
