Celebrating KTLA 5 Morning News’ 30th anniversary with Eric Spillman.

We’re celebrating the 30th anniversary of the KTLA 5 Morning News with a look back at some of the people and moments that helped define the award-winning newscast.

The KTLA 5 Morning News is an American morning television news program airing on KTLA (channel 5), a CW-affiliated television station in Los Angeles, California owned by the Nexstar Media Group. The program broadcasts each weekday morning from 4 a.m. to 12 p.m. Pacific Time. The 4-7 a.m. portion is a general news/traffic/weather format; the 7 a.m.-12 p.m. portion also features news, traffic and weather, but emphasizes entertainment and other light-hearted stories (incorporating celebrity interviews – both in-studio and occasionally via satellite – as well as features such as fashion and food segments). Weekend editions of the program also air on Saturday and Sunday mornings from 6-11 a.m.

The 7-10 a.m. portion of the program was simulcast on its San Diego sister station KSWB-TV (channel 69, also owned by Tribune and at the time the simulcast began, was an affiliate of The WB) from March 7, 2005 to July 31, 2008 (under the name The WB Morning Show, and then to The CW Morning Show upon becoming a CW affiliate); KSWB later relaunched an in-house news department on August 1, 2008, after switching its affiliation from The CW to Fox and debuted its own locally produced morning newscast on the date of the affiliation switch.

The program began on July 8, 1991 as The KTLA Morning News, anchored by Carlos Amezcua and Barbara Beck, with weathercaster Mark Kriski, and Eric Spillman and Michele Ruiz reporting from remote locations. It was created under the direction of then-general manager Steve Bell and produced by Raymond J. Brune. Originally a two-hour program airing from 7-9 a.m., the show's emphasis was mostly on news, with very little on lighter features. With the emphasis on hard news, the show received poor ratings and some negative reviews. Near the end of 1991, Joel Tator, a new executive producer, had been brought in to help revive the show, by giving the show a more relaxed atmosphere by spreading out newspapers on the desk. The anchors, feeling that the show was in its final weeks, also relaxed and they started joking around.

With the new relaxed atmosphere and a need to provide live, local news when the other stations could not, the show survived. The program continued to succeed even as the newscast saw new competition with the debut of Good Day L.A. on Fox-owned KTTV (channel 11) in July 1993. Around 1998, Michele Ruiz left for NBC-owned KNBC (channel 4) and Jim Newman also left for ABC-owned KABC (channel 7). On May 2, 2001, Barbara Beck resigned from KTLA with Giselle Fernandez later becoming co-anchor. In 2003, Fernandez left and was replaced by Michaela Pereira. In September 2007, Carlos Amezcua left KTLA for KTTV to replace John Beard as anchor on that station's 10 p.m. newscast. In May 2013, Pereira left KTLA, to become an anchor for CNN's morning news program New Day.

Eric Spillman is a reporter for the KTLA 5 Morning News.

An original member of the Morning News team, Eric began at KTLA in May of 1991. Since then, he has covered virtually every major news event in Southern California.

Eric is the recipient of several Emmys, Golden Mikes, Los Angeles Press Club and other awards. His commitment to live reporting has earned him several Los Angeles Area Emmy Awards for best live news coverage. In 2004, he was part of the KTLA Morning News: First Edition team to win an Emmy for best regularly scheduled newscast. In 2000, he received a Golden Mike Award from the Radio & Television News Association for his coverage of the North Valley Jewish Community Center shooting. In 2002 and 2005, he received an Associated Press Television-Radio Award for best live news coverage. He’s also a recipient of a Los Angeles Press Club Award for best television breaking news coverage.

Even after years of waking up at 2:30 a.m., Eric says he still enjoys his job and finds it a privilege to see the city come to life every morning.

Eric and his wife Lynne are the proud parents of two adult children, Ben and Sara.

Eric regularly donates his time at community events, including the annual MS Bay to Bay bike ride. In his limited free time, he enjoys mountain biking, rollerblading and sleeping.

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