Good Day L.A.
Good Day L.A. is an American morning television news and entertainment program airing on KTTV, a Fox owned-and-operated television station in Los Angeles, California, owned by the Fox Television Stations subsidiary of Fox Corporation. The program broadcasts each weekday morning from 4 a.m. to 11 a.m. Pacific Time. The program features news, traffic, weather, and entertainment segments. The program also features weekly segments on finance, tech, wellness, and food.
History
Good Day L.A. debuted on June 18, 1993. At its inception, it was a two-hour newscast utilizing the then-traditional "overnight headlines and traffic/weather" morning news format, originally anchored by Antonio Mora and Susan Lichtman. Mark Thompson moved from the station's 10 p.m. newscast to serve as its weather anchor; Dagny Hultgreen served as the entertainment anchor; and Suzanne Dunn was the traffic reporter, reporting from the station's news helicopter Sky 11. A weekend public affairs show with the same name aired during the 1980s.The format was unsuccessful, and the show had suffered from frequent anchor turnover. Mora left for ABC News and was replaced by Thompson and later Tony McEwing. Hultgreen was replaced by Lonnie Lardner, and Dunn was replaced by Will Kohlschreiber.
The show was retooled in March 1995 when Steve Edwards was brought in as anchor alongside Jillian Barberie as weather anchor, and Dorothy Lucey handling the entertainment reports; Rod Bernsen took over the traffic reports from the helicopter, and McEwing reported headlines from the newsroom.
In mid-2012, the show saw its first major lineup change in nearly two decades with the departure of Lucey, whose contract was not renewed after 17 years in May. Around the same time, Reynolds was offered to work on a freelance basis and began appearing less frequently on the program. Unsatisfied with the demotion, Reynolds chose to leave completely in September of that year. At the same time of Reynolds' departure, frequent guest host Maria Sansone was made a full-time co-host of the program, alongside Edwards. The two were later joined by Araksya Karapetyan as a third host/anchor with regular contributions from Lisa Breckenridge, Marla Tellez, and Tony McEwing.
Breckenridge and Sansone were unceremoniously let go in January 2017. For a short period, the broadcast was hosted by Edwards and Karapetyan before the latter was moved to the station's early morning newscast. Liz Habib then joined as the show's new co-anchor. On December 4, 2017, Megan Colarossi joined the show, replacing Habib as the new co-anchor alongside Edwards, who returned as a sports anchor. The teaming lasted just one week, as Edwards was let go by KTTV.
''Good Day Live''
In 2001, Good Day L.A. spun off a nationally syndicated program called Good Day Live, an hour-long version of the local show with the same hosts; the program, which featured the same format as Good Day L.A., was distributed by 20th Television and was originally launched on the Fox Television Stations, the parent of KTTV which operates Fox's owned-and-operated stations. Jillian Barberie was fired and Dorothy Lucey left the syndicated version in 2004, yet both continued to host the L.A.-based version. They were replaced by Arthel Neville and Debbie Matenopoulos. Good Day Live was canceled a year later due to low ratings.Expansion to three hours
Following the cancelation of Good Day Live, KTTV expanded Good Day L.A. to three hours, running until 10 a.m. local time. Also in 2005, Good Day L.A. added a Sunday edition that was hosted by Robb Weller, Nischelle Turner and Elizabeth Espinosa.Expansion to five and a half hours
KTTV expanded Good Day L.A. to five and a half hours on December 10, 2018, incorporating the early morning newscast that began at 4:30 a.m. into the show. The 4:30 a.m. to 7:30 a.m. portion is anchored by Araksya Karapetyan & Tony McEwing. The 7:30 a.m.-10a.m. portion is hosted by Elex Michaelson, Megan Colarossi, Rita Garcia, Vanessa Borge, weather anchor Maria Quiban, entertainment reporter Julie Chang, and traffic reporters Rick Dickert and Soumada Khan.On March 4, 2019, Good Day L.A. changed its anchor lineup. The 4:30 a.m. to 6 a.m. portion is hosted by Dan Cohen and Rita Garcia; the 6 a.m. to 9 a.m. portion is hosted by Araksya Karapetyan and Tony McEwing; and the 9 a.m. to 10 a.m. portion is hosted by Megan Colarossi and Vanessa Borge.
Expansion to six hours
KTTV expanded Good Day L.A. to six hours on April 1, 2019.Expansion to seven hours
KTTV expanded Good Day L.A. to seven hours in September 2022.Notable personalities
Current on-air staff
Anchors
- Araksya Karapetyan: 9 a.m.–12 p.m. host/reporter
- Soumada Khan: 4 a.m.–7 a.m. weather anchor/4 a.m.–10 a.m. traffic anchor
- Jennifer Lahmers: 6 a.m.–9 a.m. host/reporter
- Stu Mundel: SkyFox reporter & Photographer
- Maria Quiban: 7 a.m.–12 p.m. weather/social media anchor
- Amanda Salas: entertainment anchor
- Brooke Thomas: 4 a.m.–6 a.m. host/reporter
- Bob DeCastro: 4 a.m.–9 a.m. host/reporter
- Sandra Endo: 9 a.m.–12 p.m. host/reporter
Reporters
- Gigi Graciette : field reporter
- Mario Ramirez: reporter
- Christina González: reporter
Former on-air staff
- Dan Cohen: host
- Steve Edwards: host and news/opinion anchor
- Dorothy Lucey : co-host/entertainment reporter
- Lisa McRee : fill-in anchor
- Jillian Barberie : co-host/weather anchor
- Lauren Sánchez : entertainment reporter
- Maria Sansone : co-host and news anchor
- Mark Thompson : weather reporter
- Elex Michaelson: co-host and news anchor
- Megan Colarossi: co-host/reporter
- Julie Chang: entertainment anchor
- Rick Dickert: weather/traffic anchor
- Tony McEwing: host/reporter
- Rita Garcia: host/reporter
- Vanessa Borge: host/reporter
- Michaela Pereira: host/reporter
- Melvin Robert: host/reporter
KTTV morning newscasts
On July 14, 2008, KTTV debuted a half-hour late morning newscast that immediately follows Good Day L.A. at 10:00 a.m. The program is currently anchored by McEwing and Araksya Karapetyan. In December of that year, a half-hour noon broadcast debuted on the station, which was reformatted in September 2011 from a traditional midday newscast to a mix of news and features with Good Day anchors Edwards and Sansone brought in to anchor the broadcast.
In December 2018, Good Day L.A expanded from a three-hour show starting at 7 a.m. to a five-and-a-half-hour show starting at 4:30 a.m.
On April 1, 2019, Good Day L.A. expanded to a six-hour show starting at 4 a.m.
In September 2022, Good Day L.A. expanded to a seven-hour show, running from 4 a.m. to 11 a.m.