Clete Roberts
Encyclopedia
Clete Roberts was a pioneer in Los Angeles local broadcast journalism
. The urbane, mustachioed newscaster was a fixture on Southern California
television screens for over thirty years.
in World War II
and Korea
, Roberts settled in the Los Angeles area and became a respected radio news reporter, eventually turning to television in the mid-1950s at KNXT Channel 2 (now KCBS-TV
), the local CBS-owned affiliate. He anchored
a nightly newscast and occasionally ventured to far-flung locations to report on national and international stories, taking with him his own Bell and Howell movie camera with which he shot his own news footage. With him on KNXT's newscasts in that time were three other Los Angeles television stalwarts, anchor and reporter Bill Stout
, weather forecaster Bill Keene
and sports reporter Gil Stratton (who at the time also doubled as a radio and television, and movie actor).
Channel 5 as news director and primary anchor, along with news producer/director Julian Macdonald, virtually remaking that independent station's news operation. The newscast Roberts and Macdonald oversaw included such respected figures as Stout (who followed Roberts to KTLA in 1960), sports reporter and former football star Tom Harmon
, and veteran reporter Stan Chambers
(who is still with KTLA after 60 years). Roberts' signature conclusion to the early new broadcast was, "I bid you a pleasant evening", for the late news is was " I bid you goodnight."
, Maury Green, Ralph Story
, Keene, and Stratton. Roberts contributed news and feature reports and anchored the weekend newscasts. Early in 1974 he once again left KNXT for KTLA and took over the station's hour-long 10 p.m. newscasts. After two years Roberts decided to step back from nightly television news and left KTLA; after a hiatus he joined PBS affiliate KCET
, contributing feature reports and commentaries. His long tenure in Los Angeles comprised reports and travels ranging from offbeat local stories to the war in Vietnam
.
Roberts appeared as himself in the lengthy introduction to the crime syndicate expose film The Phenix City Story
in 1955. He interviewed on camera several of the actual townspeople of Phenix City, Alabama
, who had been witness to the events there in the 1930s, '40s and early '50s.
Roberts portrayed a San Francisco television newscaster in the 1983 nuclear war film Testament
.
The Associated Press Television and Radio Association of California
, Nevada
, and Hawaii
has established a $1,500 scholarship in Roberts' memory.
Broadcast journalism
Broadcast journalism is the field of news and journals which are "broadcast", that is, published by electrical methods, instead of the older methods, such as printed newspapers and posters. Broadcast methods include radio , television , and, especially recently, the Internet generally...
. The urbane, mustachioed newscaster was a fixture on Southern California
Southern California
Southern California is a megaregion, or megapolitan area, in the southern area of the U.S. state of California. Large urban areas include Greater Los Angeles and Greater San Diego. The urban area stretches along the coast from Ventura through the Southland and Inland Empire to San Diego...
television screens for over thirty years.
KNXT Channel 2
After serving as a war correspondentWar correspondent
A war correspondent is a journalist who covers stories firsthand from a war zone. In the 19th century they were also called Special Correspondents.-Methods:...
in World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
and Korea
Korean War
The Korean War was a conventional war between South Korea, supported by the United Nations, and North Korea, supported by the People's Republic of China , with military material aid from the Soviet Union...
, Roberts settled in the Los Angeles area and became a respected radio news reporter, eventually turning to television in the mid-1950s at KNXT Channel 2 (now KCBS-TV
KCBS-TV
KCBS-TV, channel 2, is an owned-and-operated television station of the CBS Television Network, located in Los Angeles, California. KCBS-TV shares its offices and studio facilities with sister station KCAL-TV inside CBS Studio Center in the Studio City section of Los Angeles, and its transmitter...
), the local CBS-owned affiliate. He anchored
News presenter
A news presenter is a person who presents news during a news program in the format of a television show, on the radio or the Internet.News presenters can work in a radio studio, television studio and from remote broadcasts in the field especially weather...
a nightly newscast and occasionally ventured to far-flung locations to report on national and international stories, taking with him his own Bell and Howell movie camera with which he shot his own news footage. With him on KNXT's newscasts in that time were three other Los Angeles television stalwarts, anchor and reporter Bill Stout
Bill Stout
William Job "Bill" Stout was an American broadcast journalist. A veteran for over thirty years, Stout's career began after World War II at the Los Angeles Times, from which he moved to CBS News.Stout moderated Richard Nixon's press conference following his defeat in the California governor's race...
, weather forecaster Bill Keene
Bill Keene
Bill Keene was a television and radio personality who became famous in the Los Angeles, California market as a traffic and weather announcer...
and sports reporter Gil Stratton (who at the time also doubled as a radio and television, and movie actor).
KTLA Channel 5
Roberts left KNXT in 1959 and joined Los Angeles station KTLAKTLA
KTLA, virtual channel 5, is a television station in Los Angeles, California, USA. Owned by the Tribune Company, KTLA is an affiliate of the CW Television Network. KTLA's studios are on Sunset Boulevard in Hollywood, and its transmitter is located atop Mount Wilson...
Channel 5 as news director and primary anchor, along with news producer/director Julian Macdonald, virtually remaking that independent station's news operation. The newscast Roberts and Macdonald oversaw included such respected figures as Stout (who followed Roberts to KTLA in 1960), sports reporter and former football star Tom Harmon
Tom Harmon
Thomas Dudley Harmon was a star player in American college football, a sports broadcaster, and patriarch of a family of American actors...
, and veteran reporter Stan Chambers
Stan Chambers
Stanley Holroyd Chambers is a retired American television reporter who worked for KTLA in Los Angeles from 1947 to 2010....
(who is still with KTLA after 60 years). Roberts' signature conclusion to the early new broadcast was, "I bid you a pleasant evening", for the late news is was " I bid you goodnight."
"The Big News"
In 1966, Roberts returned to KNXT, joining the station's highly-esteemed 6 p.m. "The Big News" broadcast and its late-night companion "The Eleven O'Clock Report." Roberts joined a staff that included anchor Jerry DunphyJerry Dunphy
Jerry Dunphy was an American television news anchor in the Los Angeles/Southern California media market. He was best known for his catchy intro "From the desert to the sea, to all of Southern California, a good evening."...
, Maury Green, Ralph Story
Ralph Story
Ralph Story, originally Ralph Bernard Snyder was an American television and radio personality. He was best remembered as the host of The $64,000 Challenge, a spin off of the game show The $64,000 Question, from 1956 until 1958.-Biography:Story was born Ralph Bernard Snyder in Kalamazoo, Michigan...
, Keene, and Stratton. Roberts contributed news and feature reports and anchored the weekend newscasts. Early in 1974 he once again left KNXT for KTLA and took over the station's hour-long 10 p.m. newscasts. After two years Roberts decided to step back from nightly television news and left KTLA; after a hiatus he joined PBS affiliate KCET
KCET
KCET, channel 28, is an independent, non-commercial public television station licensed to Los Angeles, California, USA. KCET's studio is located on West Sunset Boulevard in Hollywood, and its transmitter is atop Mount Wilson. Al Jerome is the current CEO and President, serving since 1996.KCET was...
, contributing feature reports and commentaries. His long tenure in Los Angeles comprised reports and travels ranging from offbeat local stories to the war in Vietnam
Vietnam War
The Vietnam War was a Cold War-era military conflict that occurred in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. This war followed the First Indochina War and was fought between North Vietnam, supported by its communist allies, and the government of...
.
Acting career
Roberts also carried his polish and expertise on to the "silver screen", and TV drama as well, most notably in select episodes of M*A*S*H, in which he played himself, a war correspondent.Roberts appeared as himself in the lengthy introduction to the crime syndicate expose film The Phenix City Story
The Phenix City Story
The Phenix City Story is a film noir directed by Phil Karlson and written by Daniel Mainwaring and Crane Wilbur. The drama features John McIntire, Richard Kiley, among others.-Plot:...
in 1955. He interviewed on camera several of the actual townspeople of Phenix City, Alabama
Phenix City, Alabama
Phenix City is a city and the county seat in Russell County in the U.S. state of Alabama. Portions of Lee County are addressed as Phenix City, 36870 ZIP code, for the sole purpose that Smiths Station does not have full incorporation to annex the area...
, who had been witness to the events there in the 1930s, '40s and early '50s.
Roberts portrayed a San Francisco television newscaster in the 1983 nuclear war film Testament
Testament (film)
Testament is a drama film directed by Lynne Littman and starring Jane Alexander.The film tells the story of how one small suburban town near the San Francisco Bay Area slowly falls apart after a nuclear war destroys outside civilization....
.
The Associated Press Television and Radio Association of California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
, Nevada
Nevada
Nevada is a state in the western, mountain west, and southwestern regions of the United States. With an area of and a population of about 2.7 million, it is the 7th-largest and 35th-most populous state. Over two-thirds of Nevada's people live in the Las Vegas metropolitan area, which contains its...
, and Hawaii
Hawaii
Hawaii is the newest of the 50 U.S. states , and is the only U.S. state made up entirely of islands. It is the northernmost island group in Polynesia, occupying most of an archipelago in the central Pacific Ocean, southwest of the continental United States, southeast of Japan, and northeast of...
has established a $1,500 scholarship in Roberts' memory.