UPDATE

DAVID JACKSON
FORMER LA ANCHORMAN
BUZZES BACK TO ERS NEWS

It looks like the word about ERS News is getting out there in cyberspace. David Jackson, longtime former KCAL and KABC anchor had our November 7th, 2007 story forwarded to him by "someone". So he decided to drop us a line. Here's what Jackson had to say about what he's been up too since he left the KCAL anchor chair last year (2006):

 

 

OPINION

THREE LA NEWS "OLD SCHOOL" ANCHORS

WHERE HAVE YOU GONE?

IS THIS A TREND?

By ERSNews

In April of 2006, KCAL anchor David Jackson left KCAL/KCBS. At the time it was reported by the late Ron Fineman of the former L.A. TV News website "On the Record." Fineman, who sadly succumbed to colon cancer over the holidays of 2006 reported that Jackson was unhappy with the kind of reporting assignments he was getting. He was also unhappy his extensive international reporting experience was being underutilized. Jackson's experience overseas was extensive and widespread. He reported from the Persian Gulf, Vietnam, Korea, Japan, Bosnia, Somalia, Israel, the West Bank, Gaza, Syria and Afghanistan. The Falkland War was his personal favorite.

This time, in 2006, Fineman reported Jackson chose to opt out of his gig at KCAL after only 2 years. Jackson had previously worked at KCAL in its early days when the station was owned Disney. He was a main anchor and left the station to work at KABC-TV, the ABC O&O in Los Angeles. He returned to KCAL in mid- 2004 after it had become a "duoply" with its sister station KCBS, the CBS station in LA. Lately, Jackson hasn't been seen much on LA TV, although he did file a few reports as a freelance correspondent for KABC-TV during the Israel-Lebanon War recently.

In May of 2006, Fineman had another scoop: KCAL's Kerry Kilbride, an anchor at the station for more than 16 years was gone. Little in the way of detail ever emerged on what led to Kilbride's departure from KCAL after such as long run. He just disappeared. Thus far he has not resurfaced in town or elsewhere that ERS has been able to determine.

Then early this year, longtime LA anchor John Beard was booted from KTTV-Fox11. Beard was replaced by KTLA's morning anchor Carlos Amezcua who took over Beard's spot on the Fox prime 10PM newscast at a time when it was assumed Amezcua would fill the vacancy left when legendary newsman Hal Fishman died suddenly in August. The details of that change were well reported in ERSnews.com. Beard now has his own website where he talks about what he claims led to his departure at KTTV-Fox11. Sources tell ERS Beard is interested in an anchor job at KTLA where he believes he could fill the "old school" shoes of Hal Fishman, but it's highly questionable whether KTLA wants to pay "old school" LA anchor prices for Beard's services.

ERS got to wondering, what happened to these three longtime established LA anchormen who had been fixtures on the airwaves for years in Los Angeles? With the death of LA icon Hal Fishman of KTLA this past summer, it seems being over 40 could be hazardous to the health of your career if you're in TV News in L.A.

Then again, there's seemingly no shortage of hot, young, vapid "L.A . Anchor Babes" to fill the void. Journalistic icons like Mary Beth McDade and Mia Lee at KCAL and Lauren Sanchez of KCOP, and others around town. Thank goodness for that, they come cheap (or at least cheaper as they say) and what would LA TV "infotainment" be without a few anchor "babes" to keep viewers happy while management "rearranges the deck chairs on Titanic" and the majority of the audience continues to tune out local TV news and continues to disappear. We here at ERS believe we can count on that trend to continue for sure.