Local L.A. Anchor Hal Fishman Diagnosed With Cancer

This story saddens me. I'm not a big fan of much of the media, but there's one anchor in Los Angeles who has always seemed to try and get the story right, without spin or opinion, and has done that the vast majority of the time. That reporter is Hal Fishman who has been the anchor of the KTLA Channel 5 10pm news since 1975. I've probably tuned into Hal's broadcast several times a week almost as long. Today it was announced that Hal has cancer:

Veteran KTLA Channel 5 anchor Hal Fishman, who was hospitalized this week after collapsing at his home, has been diagnosed with colon cancer, station officials said today.

Doctors were treating Fishman, 75, for an infection he suffered after the collapse when they discovered the cancer, which has spread to his liver, said interim news director Rich Goldner.

Added Goldner: "Hal is awake and thanks everyone for their well wishes and says he is going to fight this illness. He is looking forward to coming back when he gets better."

Fishman, a news veteran of more than 45 years, has anchored the station's 10 p.m. newscast since 1975. He is a former political science professor and renowned aviation enthusiast, holding several records for speed and altitude.

He joined KTLA in 1965 and reported on the assassination of Robert F. Kennedy, the Northridge earthquake and the Rodney King beating.

Hal is quite the pilot and has on occasion flown his own plane for various news stories, such as showing us how easy it would be to fly a small plane into a building in L.A. or into the San Onofre Nuclear Power Plant. He is also a big proponent of the Super Scooper firefighting planes and has for years opined on that subject, most often to complain that the state should buy some for full-time use rather than lease them for three months a year.

Hal has also appeared in several movies, including a role as the news anchor in the latest Spiderman film. As news broadcasts moved into the "happy talk" era, you could tell that Hal was not comfortable with that. He is a newsman, not an entertainer, and even the last time I saw him on air earlier this week he tended to avoid the banter and head right into the next story.


I wish him well and hope he can beat this thing. Weeknights at 10pm won't be the same without Hal at the anchor desk.

UPDATE 8/7/07 - Hal Fishman passes away only days after the diagnosis.