For nearly two decades, Mark Kono has soared over the freeways of Los Angeles to make sure we’re avoiding traffic and getting to work on time.
Now, he’s taking off for the next chapter.
“It’s just time for a little bit of a change,” explained the Sky 5 reporter and pilot. “We’ve had a good, good run. It’s just time for a change of scenery. It’s been an amazing experience.”
Mark and his wife, KTLA traffic reporter Ginger Chan, have been the ultimate dream team when it came to monitoring the roadways. Ginger in the studio watching conditions from the ground and Mark watching from above via Sky 5. The dynamic duo always kept things professional, but they did sneak in an inside joke here and there, which we enjoyed.
“I’m going to really miss saying ‘looking at the I-5 freeway, Mark Kono in Sky 5,'” explained Ginger. “So in a lot of ways it’s sad and bittersweet, but KTLA is deep in our blood and it’s definitely family.”
“He’s just the best at what he does,” said KTLA reporter Eric Spillman. “He’s a pilot and reporter. There’s not a whole lot of people in the country who do that. Those jobs are difficult up there in the sky. Los Angeles is really going to miss hearing his voice.”
“Thank you to the viewers,” Mark said in his on-air goodbye this morning. “We’re looking forward to what’s next.”
Prior to working at KTLA, Mark has flown for several major media outlets including KSAZ-TV in Phoenix and KGO-TV in San Francisco, as well as KCBS-TV, KNBC-TV, KABC-TV and KTTV-TV in Los Angeles.
Mark is a native Angeleno. He and Ginger have a son and twin girls.