[Congressional Record Volume 168, Number 186 (Thursday, December 1, 2022)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1194]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                TRIBUTE TO KTLA ON ITS 75TH ANNIVERSARY

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                          HON. ADAM B. SCHIFF

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                       Thursday, December 1, 2022

  Mr. SCHIFF. Madam Speaker, I rise today to offer my heartfelt 
congratulations to KTLA television station, ``L.A.'s Very Own,'' as it 
celebrates 75 years of broadcasting from the heart of my district on 
Sunset Boulevard in Hollywood, California.
  Founded on January 22, 1947 as the very first television station west 
of the Mississippi licensed for commercial broadcasts, KTLA-TV Channel 
5 blossomed and flourished right alongside the city of Los Angeles as 
the area's population grew during the post-war years. Entering a media 
landscape then dictated by theater and radio, its televised broadcasts 
were--and remain--groundbreaking, illustrated by an inaugural telecast 
that featured legends like Cecil B. DeMille and Bob Hope. KTLA has 
since been an integral force in shaping L.A.'s diverse media landscape, 
Southern Californians' conversations around the issues that matter 
most, and the trajectory of the television news industry writ large.
  KTLA is particularly famous for being on the cutting edge of new 
technology over its many decades on air. Beyond being a pioneer of 
live, breaking-news coverage, the station prides itself on many firsts: 
first broadcast on-the-spot news from the field, first telecast from a 
ship at sea, first simulcast in Spanish, and first use of a helicopter 
to broadcast news--the latter of which has become an L.A. news calling 
card.
  KTLA reporters have also been some of the first on the scene for 
every history-making event in Southern California, with a well-
established reputation for unflinching, accurate, and reliable 
coverage. When a three-year-old fell into an abandoned well in San 
Marino in 1949, reporter and legend Stan Chambers was there to 
broadcast the tragedy for 27 consecutive hours--the world's first 
extended broadcast. KTLA was the first to broadcast the tape showing 
Rodney King's beating at the hands of police, earning the station a 
prestigious Peabody Award for its handling of the footage. It was the 
only television station to provide ``gavel-to-gavel'' coverage of the 
infamous O.J. Simpson criminal trial. And in more recent memory, the 
station has provided Southern Californians with invaluable minute-by-
minute coverage of local and national politics, wildfires and the 
COVID-19 pandemic.
  These achievements have earned KTLA numerous awards, including many 
Golden Mikes, over 150 Emmys, a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, and 
an Academy Award--the first and only Oscar ever given to a TV station. 
And beyond its enriching reporting, KTLA finds ways to give even more 
to our communities by supporting numerous charitable organizations 
throughout Southern California.
  Today, KTLA produces over 100 hours of local programming each week, 
and the station regularly draws thousands of viewers who rely on its 
informative daily broadcasts--along with the millions of viewers who 
enjoy its special coverage of premier events, like the annual Pasadena 
Tournament of Roses Parade.
  Our city and its residents are so fortunate to benefit from such a 
prestigious, purposeful, and dynamic local news institution right in 
our backyard. I cannot wait to watch KTLA continue to grow and flourish 
for many more decades to come, especially as it prepares to air from 
its revamped set.
  I am proud to recognize ``L.A.'s Very Own'' for its immeasurable 
contributions to the television and news industry and to the greater 
Los Angeles area, and I ask all members to join me in congratulating 
KTLA on its 75th anniversary.

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