Famed broadcast journalist talks news

Stan Chambers shares memories of his 50-year career as reporter for KTLA News with CSULB students

By Ana Tintocalis, On-Line Forty-Niner

Wednesday, November 4, 1998

Stan Chambers, one of the most legendary newsmen in Southern California, visited Cal State Long Beach Tuesday afternoon and candidly shared some personal moments of his 50-year career as a reporter for KTLA News.

Speaking to a handful of students in the Small Auditorium at the University Student Union, Chambers verbally took the audience through five decades of news events that have shaped not only Southern California, but the world today.

From the development of Los Angeles as an industrial city to the invention of television, and from John F. Kennedy's presidency to the infiltration of the Internet, Chambers captivated the audience with his historical accounts much like a grandfather fascinates his grandchildren with old stories.

"When I first started out, it was a time before freeways and before high-rise buildings," Chambers said. "Clark Gable was still the star of the silver screen, and Lucille Ball and Million Berle were the stars of the new TV set."

After detailing almost every important event in each decade, the resilient reporter stressed one important element that he said individuals must always face and that he has been able to overcome: change.

"Change is what it's all about," Chambers said. "You don't know which way its going. But if you can go with the change, you're ahead of everyone else."

Chambers' illustrious career as a reporter at KTLA first began in December 1947, but it was not one of the first professions he had in mind.

After serving in the military, Chambers initially wanted to pursue a career as a lawyer and decided to enroll at USC.

However, Chambers' dreams of becoming a lawyer soon faded when he saw the long registration line for USC's law school.

"I promised myself one thing in the military," Chambers recalled. "I would never stand in another line again. And there went my law career."

Looking for another alternative, Chambers saw a sign down the road from the registration line that read KUSC-FM.

"I had no idea what FM meant, but I knew KUSC sounded like a radio station," he said. "This was a very important event for me, and I thought, 'Well, I think I'll just take some radio courses,' because it sounded very exciting."

The rest is history.

Chambers signed on with KTLA, the first commercial TV station in the Western United States, and spent his first months working as a stagehand.

He quickly climbed KTLA's ladder and began reporting and working on live variety shows.

Since then, Chambers has been working for the same station for more than 50 years and has covered almost every major news event in Los Angeles.

"We've been through some turbulent times here in L.A.," Chambers said. "But it's the most wonderful city in the world."