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January 2, 2016 marked my 34th year on television in Los Angeles.

It was late 1981. I had worked in radio for many years in Texas and Louisiana. One of my old news directors had moved on to the new Cable News Network and wanted me to come to L.A. and take a job with him as a correspondent at the relatively new Cable News Network.  He offered me a couple of jobs with CNN, but having only been on radio I wasn’t sure I had the face for TV or what it took to do that kind of work.

My old boss, Larry LaMotte, believed in me. He was a fun-loving guy. I remember the good times we had at KRXV Radio in Fort Worth, Texas and I remember, when I got to Los Angeles for the interview, we were driving up Highland Blvd. toward the CNN Bureau at Sunset and Vine. The tall palm trees hovered above us and Larry sang “Hooray for Hollywood” – it was fun and, clearly, memorable.

I had never been to Los Angeles. The idea of being on TV and working in California was intriguing but daunting. Well, to make a long story short I took the job. Sure glad I did. The next three-plus decades have been nothing short of amazing!

My stint at CNN-L.A. led to my working at local L.A. station KTTV. This was a Metromedia Station that became the flagship station for what would become the FOX Television Stations group. From FOX 11 I later  joined KCOP Channel 13 which ultimately was purchased by FOX Television Stations landing me right back at FOX 11. I like to say this is a good example of why its not a good idea to burn your bridges. You might recross them!

Early on I also put in some time at KTLA, KPIX and INN (Independent News Network), but KTTV and KCOP have pretty much been my life in L.A. I’m grateful for the support I have had at these stations. I am also grateful to all of you who have watched and been so supportive all these years whether I’m sharing information on television, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, LinkedIn or here on HalEisner.com. Thank you!

It’s now 2016, but I was looking over some old postings and found this one. It takes me back to the turn of 2011 into 2012. Here ya go:

One of my Facebook friends asked me what I considered to be the biggest story of 2011. It’s interesting how difficult that question is to answer. Just think of the sheer number of things that happened in this past year. Remember these? They are presented in no particular order.

The slaying of Osama Bin Laden, Japans devastating earthquake, tsunami & nuclear crisis, William and Kate’s Royal wedding, the revolutionary awakening that became known as the Arab Spring, Occupy Wall Street, LA and anything demonstrators could occupy. There was the Penn State sex scandal, the S & P downgrade, 9-11’s 10th anniversary, Pearl Harbor’s 70th anniversary, the trials and tribulations of Lindsay Lohan, Charlie Sheen, Anthony Weiner’s uh .. weiner, Rick Perry’s senior moment, Herman Cain and his skyrocketing (and then nosediving) campaign. The tornadoes in Alabama and Missouri. The trial & conviction of Michael Jackson’s Dr. — Conrad Murray. Casey Anthony’s trial and release.

Other stories… Arnold’s love child and his divorce. J-Lo and Mark Anthony split. Demi and Ashton called it a day. Out of “fireworks” Russell Brand and Katy Perry ended the year with Brand filing for divorce. Don’t want to leave out Kobe Bryant and Kim Kardashian’s marital messes.

2011 was the year we lost Steve Jobs, Elizabeth Taylor, Kim Jong Il, Harry Morgan, Heavy D, Andy Rooney, Gil Cates, Cliff Robertson, Delores Hope, Amy Winehouse, Sherwood Schwartz, Peter Falk, Ryan Dunn, James Arness, Jeff Conaway, Jackie Cooper, Phoebe Snow, Jane Russell, Betty Garrett, Jack LaLanne, Anne Francis — the list goes on and on. A quick google will show you the complete list.

“Rapture” came and went! Troops left Iraq.

LA County detectives decided to reopen their investigation into the death of Natalie Wood. Two Fullerton police officers were charged in connection with the death of Kelly Thomas.

There were lots of sports stories. Chris Paul joined the Clippers. The Lakers got a new coach. The NBA lockout. Plans were released for a football stadium for Downtown Los Angeles. Farmers Field became the second stadium project announced, but the year ended with LA still teamless after almost two decades.

2011 ends on an ominous note for fire officials with an arsonist on the loose. Some 3 dozen in the last two days of the year. And, with fears of more ahead, firefighters are bracing.

These are just reminders of a year gone by. There were many more stories that kept us all pre-OCCUPIED like, dare I say “Carmageddon” 🙂

What do you think some of the big stories of 2015 and 2016 have been?