OPINION

UPDATE

KTLA IN LA
BRINGS BACK
STEPHANIE EDWARDS

ROSE PARADE COVERAGE
TURNING UP ROSES AGAIN!

(Sept 17th, 2008 9:00AM PST)

BY ERS NEWS

And they say you can never go home again… In a long overdue move, KTLA has done the right thing and restored Stephanie Edwards to her longtime role as co-host of the New Years’ Day Tournament of Roses Parade. On January 1, 2009, Edwards will be back above Colorado Boulevard next to her longtime Rose Parade partner, Bob Eubanks.  Edwards was demoted in 2005 by then-KTLA General Manager Vinnie Malcolm to a “roving reporter” role on the pre-parade show that found her under an umbrella in a torrential rain storm.  Longtime LA TV viewers were enraged to see one of their favorites, an L.A. broadcasting icon, literally, left out in the cold.

The team of Bob Eubanks and Stephanie Edwards was familiar and comfortable and a part of New Years’ Day in Los Angeles.  They were, quite simply one of the most recognizable teams in Southern California broadcasting history.

KTLA-TV announced the re-hiring of Edwards late Tuesday (9/16/08).  Edwards reclaims her hosting duties from Michaela Pereira. The KTLA Morning News anchor who was tapped by former KTLA General Manager, Vinnie Malcolm to be one of the new faces of  “KTLA, Where LA Lives” in 2005.  KTLA sources say one of Malcolm’s favorite quotes was —“I got rid of the old people,” his penchant for getting rid of people seemed to apply to viewers as well as talent, as ratings dropped and uproar over the decision to drop Edwards from the Rose Parade jammed the switchboard and generated thousands of emails from angry viewers.  Malcolm and Tribune parted ways this past February.  The only reason Bob Eubanks seemed to have survived the bloodbath is because Malcolm didn’t.  The new KTLA motto for talent was “cool, young, hip and sexy.” 

In January of 2007 ERS previously reported on the declining ratings that ensued after Edwards was dumped by KTLA. You can see the story below.

Now at least in Los Angeles – as it has been and should be on News Years Day, a time tested News Year Day tradition will be back in place.  ERS spoke to Edwards late today (9/16/08) and she told us that she “is thrilled to be back”.  Welcome home Stephanie.  We’ve missed you!!  

OPINION

RATINGS NOT TURNING UP ROSES FOR KTLA CHANNEL-5 IN LOS ANGELES ON ROSE PARADE COVERAGE

SECOND YEAR IN A ROW RATINGS DECLINE AFTER CHANGES MADE TO BROADCAST

(Jan 5th, 2007 9:00AM PST)

BY ERS NEWS

For the second year in a row, KTLA-TV’s Rose Parade coverage has suffered a decline in the ratings of the televised coverage of the world renowned Pasadena event. The station has been bedeviled with decreasing ratings since they decided to boot longtime co-anchor Stephanie Edwards from the broadcast and replaced her with KTLA Morning News Anchor Michaela Pereira.

Over the years the broadcast has dominated the ratings on the annual New Years Day broadcast in Los Angeles.

Bob Eubanks, well known TV personality and the other long time host of the KTLA parade coverage touts the long running success of KTLA’s parade coverage on his own web site telling his fans: “Each year Bob can be seen on the Tournament of Roses New Year's Day Parade, for Tribune Broadcasting. His multiple Emmy Award winning coverage traditionally receives a fifty plus share, making it one of the highest-rated television shows in Southern California, many years surpassing the ratings of the Super Bowl and the Academy Awards.”

It’s been widely rumored that this will be the last year long-time host of the parade Bob Eubanks.  His former co-anchor Stephanie Edwards was tossed to the curb two years ago, after co-hosting the parade with Eubanks since the late 1970’s. 

Edward’s fans mounted an email writing campaign to the management of KTLA when Edwards was replaced. This year, long time Edwards fans started a new email effort directed at Sam Zell the new boss at Tribune in an attempt to have Edwards reinstated to the broadcast.

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