Tuesday was declared “Gayle Anderson Day” in Los Angeles during a City Hall event that came as a surprise to the longtime KTLA reporter.
City Councilman Joe Buscaino presented a proclamation declaring the day in her honor as Anderson, surrounded by KTLA management, cried next to him at the podium.
“A true Los Angeles icon,” Buscaino said. “When we see news trucks come to our respective districts, immediately we think of hard news, negative news … the crime issues that face our city.
“But when Gayle Anderson emerges out of the KTLA news van, we know something good is happening in our districts,” the councilman continued.
Anderson has been reporting for KTLA since 1993 and is known for her enthusiastic — and often participatory — appearances every day on the KTLA Morning News.
“Gayle, during her morning segments, has made us laugh, made us cry, and sometimes made us cringe,” Buscaino said. “Television in Los Angeles would not be the same without Gayle Anderson and KTLA Morning News.”
Council President Herb Wesson told Anderson she was a “treasure.”
“She is just real,” Wesson said.
KTLA Vice President of News Jason Ball told Anderson he’d never met anyone like her during his quarter-century in the television news business.
During her turn at the podium, Anderson was initially and uncharacteristically at a loss for words.
“I don’t deserve this,” Anderson said. “To quote country-western singer Brad Paisley, ‘I’m a turtle on a fence.’ You see me on the fence, you gotta wonder, ‘How’d that happen?’
“There are lots of people who hold me up on that fence every day,” she continued. “There are so many people to thank.”
During Anderson’s 8 a.m. live shot, when she was covering World Spay Day, Buscaino appeared out of nowhere and surprised her with a framed proclamation. She immediately teared up.
“I hate KTLA. They love to make me cry on television,” she said.
The proclamation cited Anderson’s work for World Spay Day, which highlights animal shelters’ and rescue programs’ spay/neuter efforts, and her advocacy against animal cruelty.
