Harold Greene Kicks Off New Job on Super Bowl Sunday

KCBS Channel 2 will use Super Bowl Sunday with its extraordinarily high viewer tune-in--to introduce former KABC news anchor Harold Greene as the lead co-anchor of its news team.

Greene, an 18-year KABC veteran who departed last August following reports of a dispute with management, will first appear Jan. 28 on the 11 p.m. newscast following the Super Bowl and the premiere of the heavily hyped “Survivor: The Australian Outback.”

The following day, Greene will start his regular schedule of anchoring the weekday 5 p.m. news with Ann Martin, and the 11 p.m. news with Gretchen Carr.

John Severino, KCBS general manager, said, “Our research showed that Harold is one of the most highly respected news people. He had a strong news image at a strong news station, and now he will bring that over here. He will have a strong halo effect.”

Severino is confident Greene will help boost ratings for the newscasts, which have trailed its rivals for several years.

The hiring of Greene was not totally unexpected. Greene for several years worked under Severino, a former general manager of KABC who helped create that station’s “Eyewitness News” franchise. His arrival will also mark a reunion with another ex-KABC anchor, Martin.

Jonathan Elias, who currently anchors the 5 p.m. newscast with Carr, and the 6 p.m. and 11 p.m. news with Martin, will still anchor the 6 p.m. news, Severino said. Elias will also have his own segment weeknights during the 11 p.m. newscast where he will explore the top news story of the day or do investigative pieces. Severino noted that Elias’ contract was recently renewed.

As for Greene’s reported problems at KABC, Severino said, “Harold worked under me, and I never had a problem with any of his actions. He’s an ex-producer of news programs, and he demands professionalism. From what I understand, there were some people there who were doing less than a professional job and were not giving 100% effort. He took them to task for that.”