Steve Kindred to be Honored by Society of Professional Journalists

The Greater Los Angeles Chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists will honor four local journalists and a media attorney at its 30th annual awards banquet this spring.

SPJ-LA presents the Distinguished Journalist Award to members of the profession who demonstrate good news judgment, a strong sense of ethics and a passion for getting the story right. "They represent the best and the brightest of journalists working in the greater Los Angeles area today," says SPJ-LA President Mariel Garza.

One of the honorees is RTNA President Steve Kindred.

Steve Kindred has been a radio reporter and anchor since 1975. Since joining KFWB-AM (980), he has covered Operation Desert Shield, the San Francisco and Northridge earthquakes and the 1992 L.A. Riots. His coverage of the 1997 North Hollywood bank shootout earned him a Mark Twain Award from The Associated Press. He is KFWB's City Hall reporter but may be best known for covering trials, from Rodney King to Robert Blake. He's the winner of an Edward R. Murrow award from the Radio-TV News Directors Association and 18 Golden Mikes.

Details about the date and location of the banquet will soon be announced. The information will be posted at: www.spj.org/losangeles

The Society of Professional Journalists is the nation's largest and most broad-based journalism organization, dedicated to promoting high standards of ethical behavior and encouraging the free practice of journalism.

CBS Chief: 'Technology Is Not A Threat'

Speaking today during an investor's meeting, CBS Corp. CEO Les Moonves included the expansion of the company's traditional media platforms into new outlets as one of three "personal commitments" he is making to steer the newly independent company into the future.

"Technology is a powerful new opportunity that we can and will thrive on," Moonves said. "We will use new media to drive the world's best and most-popular content across a whole range of platforms to viewers, listeners and webheads." He adding, bullishly, "Most importantly, and at all times, we'll be paid for it."

Moonves listed efficient operations as another goal: "CBS is committed to operating our world-class assets with total distinction, doing the blocking and tackling to drive revenue in everything we do, traditional and new-media alike. We're a double threat — a powerhouse of core businesses in established media that are at the top of their game and will grow consistently over time. We are also a great content company that will build more vital as audiences continue to fragment. Content really is king — particularly content that has mass appeal, and that is what we do."

Lastly, Moonves says he's committed to returning value to the company's shareholders in the form of a dividend, noting, "No matter what else we do, or how else we grow and thrive, we will pay attractive dividends and increase those dividends whenever we can." In fact, CBS announced yesterday an increase the amount of its quarterly dividend from 14 cents to 16 cents per share. The new amount is payable on April 1 to shareholders of record as of Feb. 28.— Joe Howard

Stars Shine at the 56th Annual Golden Mike Awards!

The best of the best in the news industry were honored at the Golden Mike Awards on January 21, 2006. More than three hours and 100 categories of exceptional news casting in both radio and television.

Steve Kindred, president of RTNA, was the master of ceremonies. He shared the stage with several well-known talents such as Laura Diaz of Channel 2 and Carlos Amezcua of Channel 5. The evening flew by as the winners were announced and the trophies handed out.

Some of the Awards:
Best Radio Newscast - over 15 minutes: KFWB - "KFWB 7AM News"
Best Radio Newscast - under 15 minutes: KFI - "5 pm News on KFI"

Best TV News Broadcast, 60 minutes: KNBC for "Channel 4 News at Five"
Best TV News Broadcast, 30 minutes: KCBS for "CBS2 News at Eleven"
Best Daytime TV News Broadcast: KVEA for "Buenos Dias"

KFWB Radio took home six trophies, and KNX took home seven.

All in all, it was a great night. Congratulations to all the winners! We look forward to seeing you again next year!

KNX 1070 News Veteran Ed Pyle Retires

January 10, 2006 - 9:30 a.m.

"After 45 years in this business, starting at an Army TV station in Alaska; after 33 years of working for either KFWB or KNX; and after 5 years of leading the KNX newsroom, Ed Pyle has decided to retire," wrote David G. Hall, head of AM Infinity stations/LA, in an internal note to his staff.