KCAL, KNBC Take Top Emmy Awards

KCAL-TV Channel 9 collected the most honors but KNBC-TV Channel 4 picked up the two with the most promotional cachet--for best daily newscasts--at the 48th annual Los Angeles Area Emmy Awards over the weekend.

As it has for the past several years, KCAL led the field with 10 awards, including Emmys for live coverage of an unscheduled news event, live sports coverage, best news special and best entertainment programming.

KNBC garnered four, but those included awards for its 5 p.m. news as best daily 60-minute newscast and its 11 p.m. news as best daily 30-minute newscast. The station also was honored for its coverage of the O.J. Simpson trial.

KCBS-TV Channel 2’s noon news was named best daytime newscast at the ceremonies Saturday night at the Pasadena Civic Auditorium.

KTTV-TV Channel 11 won eight Emmys to finish as runner-up, with KABC-TV Channel 7 getting six and four each going to KCBS, KNBC and KCET-TV Channel 28. KCOP-TV Channel 13 was the only other multiple winner with three.

Steve Hartman of KCBS won two individual awards, for best hard-news reporting and for best news writing.

The Governors Emmy Award for career achievement went to Gene Autry, the former cowboy actor and singer who was both a television star and a television executive, having owned KTLA-TV Channel 5 from 1964 to 1983.

The Emmys, honoring local TV programming produced in 1995, were handed out by the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences.

Here is the complete list of winners:

Regularly scheduled daily news (30-minute format): “Channel 4 News at 11,” KNBC.

Regularly scheduled daily news (60-minute format): “Channel 4 News at 5,” KNBC.

Regularly scheduled daytime newscast: “Channel 2 Action News at Noon,” KCBS.

Live coverage of an unscheduled news event: “January Floods,” KCAL.

News special: “Survival! The Northridge Quake,” KCAL.

Live special event: “Live From the Hollywood Bowl,” KCOP.

Information/public affairs series (remote): “Vista L.A.,” KABC.

Information/public affairs series (studio-based): “O.J. Simpson: The Trial,” KNBC.

Entertainment programming: “Your Guide to the Academy Awards,” KCAL.

Investigative reporting: Chris Blatchford (reporter), Dan Leighton (producer), KTTV.

Hard-news reporting: Steve Hartman, KCBS.

News feature reporting: Barbara Schroeder, KTTV.

Sports reporting: Rick Garcia (reporter), Rick Marquardt (producer), Keith Lebowitz (producer), KTTV.

Sports special: “Raid Gauloises: Beyond Endurance,” KCAL.

Sports series: “Fox Overtime,” KTTV.

Live sports coverage: “Fight Night,” KCAL; “Oakland Raiders Pre-Season Football,” KCAL.

Education: “Getting Out Alive,” KCAL.

Instructional programming: “U.S. Citizenship: A Dream Come True,” KSCI.

Children/youth special: “AIDS & U,” KCOP.

Children/youth series: “L.A. Kids,” KCOP.

Crime/social issues: “Dying for Respect,” KTTV.

Arts and culture/history: “Things That Aren’t Here Anymore,” KCET.

L.A. local color: “Air Squad,” KABC.

Health and science/environment: “Saber Es Poder (Knowledge Is Power),” KABC.

Serious news story: “Sondra’s Reunion,” KTTV.

Light news story: “Kieu Chinh: A Journey Home,” KTTV.

Feature segment: “On a Wing and a Sail,” KCET.

Information segment: “Fighting to Be Heard: Sue Rubin,” KCET.

Public, municipal and operator produced cable: “Conversation Peace,” KPAS.

Short promo/public-service announcement: “Money Mobile,” KCBS; “Photo Album,” KRCA.

Graphics: “An Evening at the Academy Awards,” KABC.

News writer: Steve Hartman, KCBS.

Non-news writer: Ralph Story, KCET.

News videographer: Robert Pastoriza, KCAL.

Non-news videographer: Robert Ballew, KABC; Joel R.S. Fallon, KCAL.

News editor: Nancy Rosenblum, KCAL.

Non-news editor: Peter Fillmore, KABC.

News director: Ben Dominguez, KNBC.

Non-news director: Kathy Perez, KTTV.

Governors award: Gene Autry.