Stan Chambers - KTLAs News At 10: Sixty Years with Stan Chambers

I've been anchoring the news in Los Angeles for thirty-five years. That must be some kind of record for longevity in a business known for its revolving-door policy on anchors and reporters. Nevertheless, when I started back in 1960, Stan Chambers had already been on television for thirteen years! He was there when it all began and is still there, reporting news in the morning and in the evening from all over Southern California. Viewers wonder if he ever rests.

The story of Stan Chambers is the story of television news. When Stan joined KTLA, Los Angeles was just beginning to emerge from its small-town mentality, and was viewed world-wide as some kind of lotus-land populated by retirees, citrus growers, and movie stars. Stan's career parallels Los Angeles becoming the megalopolis it is today. Stan was a television news reporter when the Big Red Cars traversed all of Southern California and trolleys ran along Hollywood Boulevard. And he was there as Los Angeles became the second most populous city in the country, capital of the Pacific Rim, and leader in aerospace and high-tech research and development.

Stan was also reporting to the people of Southern California during the tough times. Many readers will recall those powerful television images of the attempted rescue of little Kathy Fiscus. When you think about the Bel Air fire, the Baldwin Hills dam disaster, the Watts riots, the Sylmar earthquake, the airplane in the wires, the Laguna and Malibu fires, the Los Angeles riots, the Northridge quake, and a thousand other stories, you should know that only one reporter in the history of television covered them all, and his name is Stan Chambers.

Stan has also reported for us from Poland and Moscow. He covered the Pope's seventy-two hour visit to Los Angeles. He is known, recognized, and respected, not just locally, but all over the world.

This book is not merely a series of anecdotal presentations. It's essential and exciting reading for anyone who lives in Southern California and wants to gain a rare insight into their community and their own lives in relation to this vast multicultural society we call Los Angeles. It is also essential reading for anyone who watches television news anywhere in America. This book provides fascinating revelations about how news is gathered and presented to the public. After all, there is no more important source of information in our democratic society than television news, and the reader will find News At Ten a truly exciting book.

I can personally report to you that Stan Chambers is the same person off the air as you see on TV. His intelligence and boundless energy, his news judgment and professionalism, have helped make KTLA Prime News (formerly called News At Ten) the most successful prime time news program in the history of Los Angeles television. Most importantly, Stan is a true gentleman and deeply caring individual.