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Download the winners press release (Word)
KMEX, the country’s leading Spanish-language station, shared top honors at the Los Angeles Area Emmy Awards with Fox 11, with each snapping up seven statuettes. The flagship station of Univision Television Group, KMEX also captured the coveted Governors Award.
In the competitive newscast categories, KMEX’s Noticias 34 Primera Edicion was honored as outstanding regular daytime newscast, while Fox 11’s 10 O’Clock News took the award for regular newscasts over thirty-five minutes. The Emmy for a regularly scheduled half-hour news show went to KTLA News First Edition.
KMEX received the Governors Award for “34 A Su Lado” (“34 By Your Side”), a public-affairs series that runs within its newscast. Jorge Delgado, the station’s president and general manager, accepted the honor from last year’s recipient, veteran meteorologist Dr. George Fischbeck, along with Los Angeles City Council member Antonio Villaraigosa.
“Our goal is to be a catalyst of change in the community,” said Delgado, who invited his station colleagues onstage to share the award. “Some people question whether we should help the people we cover. We say it is not our job, it is our responsibility.
The August 28 ceremony at the Television Academy’s Leonard H. Goldenson Theatre was emceed by former Newlywed Game host Bob Eubanks, who made a running joke of pitching his upcoming autobiography, It’s in the Book, Bob. Eubanks received an Emmy himself, for his cohosting of KTLA’s coverage of the Tournament of Roses Parade.
Reporter Stan Chambers, a fixture on KTLA since 1947, introduced a tribute to KTLA anchor Larry McCormick, who had died the previous day at age seventy-one. One of the first African-American newscasters in Los Angeles, McCormick had been a fixture at the station since 1971, when he joined as a weathercaster. In a taped segment, fellow anchor Hal Fishman hailed McCormick as a man of “integrity, professionalism, class and style in everything he did.” Those sentiments were echoed by Eubanks, who had worked with McCormick in the ‘60s when they were both deejays. “He excelled in everything,” Eubanks said. “He will be missed.”
Earlier, Robin Gee, station manager of CityTV of Santa Monica, paid tribute to the late filmmaker Brian Murphy, who had documented his battle with ALS (Lou Gehrig’s disease) in the station’s special The Lucky Man. The program subsequently won the award for outstanding public, municipal and operator-produced cable, and Murphy’s widow and two children stepped to the podium for an emotional acceptance.
CBS2 and sister KCAL9, both of the Viacom Television Stations Group, took second place in the station countdown with six Emmys each. Fox Sports Net, KTLA and NBC4 shared third place with four Emmys apiece,. ABC7, KCET and KVEA followed with two awards each, and UPN13, KWHY, CityTV and KOCE each earned one.
Presenters for the fifty-sixth annual gala included former L.A. Laker star James Worthy, 1976 Olympic decathlon gold medalist Bruce Jenner and his wife Kris Jenner, Mariette Hartley, James Avery (All of Us), Gary Valentine (King of Queens) and Jonathan Adams and Arlen Escarpeta (both of American Dreams).
Suzanne Jorgensen-Torgerson, a governor of the Academy’s L.A. Area peer group, was executive producer of the evening; her co-governor is Harry Kooperstein. Mitch Waldow is vice-chair of the Academy for the L.A. Area peer group. The show was produced by Tri-Crown Productions, headed by Jeff Androsky and Carol Sherman.
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