“When I knock on that door and the person on the other side says yes, it’s phenomenal to me,” she said. And today we edit on computers and we shoot on a card … smaller than a postage stamp.” “When I started we used those big brick cell phones and we shot on three-quarter inch tape. “I look back on 40, 41 years and realize I have ridden the best wave of television news ever,” she continued. “And so I’ve decided to announce my retirement this way, the best way I know how. “There’s a saying that all good things must come to an end,” Vargas said standing before a camera with the ocean in the background. (Photo by Phil McCarten/Invision for the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences/AP Images)īut in an emotional video posted on social media, Vargas, who worked at the station for 41 years, confirmed that the news about her retirement is true. Vargas and four other longtime KNBC reporters have taken early retirement buyouts and will leave by the end of the year. Vikki Vargas and the NBC News Team accept the Emmy for live coverage of a mass shooting in Seal Beach in August 2012. KNBC officials did not respond to requests to comment on the departures and most of the reporters leaving have not made public statements either. The effort comes during Telemundo’s Spanish-language broadcasts of FIFA’s World Cup and less than three months after KNBC hired Lynette Romero from rival station KTLA-TV Channel 5 to co-anchor the early morning newscast.At least five veteran reporters at KNBC-TV Channel 4 will leave the station at the end of the year after accepting early retirement packages, according to news reports.Ĭhuck Henry, who first appeared on Southern California newscasts more than 50 years ago, as well as Beverly White, Vikki Vargas, Angie Crouch and Kim Baldonado are all said to be departing the station after this month, according to the Los Angeles Times and other news outlets. She covered the inauguration of President Obama, the investigation into the death of Michael Jackson, an earthquake in Haiti and California mudslides. She covered Pope John Paul II’s visit to Cuba and the Summer Olympics in Sydney, Australia.Ĭrouch, also a Los Angeles Area Emmy-winning reporter, joined the station in 2004. She also excelled in presenting human interest features. Murrow Award for her work on a special delving into a political battle for control of the Los Angeles Unified School District more than a decade ago. of Hispanic Journalists, Baldonado was honored with a National Edward R. She worked at independent station KCAL-TV Channel 9 before joining KNBC in 1995.Ī member of National Assn. Her first on-air reporting job was in Palm Springs. native, started her career in San Francisco as an assignment editor before returning to Southern California, where she worked as a field producer for Fox’s KTTV-Channel 11. His 39-year career is a window into local TV news’ bygone days.īaldonado, a Los Angeles Area Emmy-winning reporter and L.A. NBC4’s veteran weatherman Fritz Coleman marks his last day at the station on Friday. Forty years,” Vargas said in a video message, her voice choking with emotion.Įntertainment & Arts Fritz Coleman was a club act who knew nothing about weather. “I hope to take the skill of storytelling and maybe use it for the greater good, whatever that looks like, but mostly I thank you for being part of this, with me for 40 years. She announced her retirement to her fans on Twitter. Vargas, a Downey native and the station’s Orange County bureau chief, has been part of the Channel 4 news team for more than 40 years. The native of Killeen, Texas, received a lifetime achievement award from the National Assn. She delivered on-air reports during the deadly 1994 Northridge earthquake. White specializes in breaking news and has covered wildfires, mudslides, the COVID-19 pandemic, street protests, mass shootings and the deaths of music superstars Prince in Minneapolis and Michael Jackson in Santa Barbara. White, who joined the station in 1992 as a general assignment reporter, has long been among the most versatile and popular Channel 4 reporters, handling difficult assignments with poise and professionalism. Early on, he worked for NBC affiliates in Anchorage, Alaska and Chicago, where he also produced and hosted a community program called “Your Army Neighbor.” In the 1980s and early 1990s, he was host and producer of a travel program, “Eye on L.A.” Henry has spent more than 55 years in broadcasting, starting in 1966 at a Honolulu station. KNBC announces that anchor Lynette Romero, who abruptly left crosstown rival KTLA, will join its early newscast, ‘Today in L.A.,’ on Oct. Company Town Lynette Romero lands at KNBC after tumultuous KTLA departure
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