So Long Hal

Active in LA newsrooms since 1965, Hal Fishman came into prominence by taking over the anchor position for a radically new concept - the ten o'clock news. Starting in 1975 at local station channel 5 (KTLA), Fishman remained at the job until just eight days before he was overtaken by colon cancer. A voice of reason, calm, and fatherly advice, Fishman presided over a city that was in transition from a white conservative power structure to one that would become multicultural and spread political power to many bastions of growing ethnicity. Year after year, Fishman with his prominent glasses, rumpled newsroom look, and professorial manner was a fixture for hundreds of thousands who wanted their news straight without any fillers. His young good looking (and often blond) co anchors would come and go but Fishman would remain in the seat of authority that allowed channel 5 to beat all comers in the overly competitive news wars. Along with his long time reporters Stan Chambers and Larry McCormick, KTLA had a simple but powerful lineup that could not be beat. That he worked almost to the last day of his life was a testament to Fishman's professional approach and his obvious loyalty to his many viewers to bring them the news in a way that one could make sense out of confusion and chaos. Thanks Hal and Godspeed.