Lloyd LaCuesta was on the tarmac at the San Jose airport when Tommie Smith and John Carlos returned from the 1968 Olympics. Click on the image to view the video.
Veteran KTVU reporter Lloyd LaCuesta ends his distinguished career
Posted by KTVU April 24, 2012.
OAKLAND, Calif. — KTVU’s South Bay Bureau Chief Lloyd LaCuesta retired Friday after 35 years of reporting for KTVU Channel 2 News.
“I have spent half of my life at KTVU which makes it all the more difficult to say goodbye. But it is time. I am retiring from Channel 2, effective June 15, 2012,” said LaCuesta, “I need to slow down and truly enjoy life.”
LaCuesta is considered the dean of reporters in the Bay Area with a total of 43 years in journalism. He is the longest tenured reporter at KTVU and has held the title of South Bay Bureau Chief for decades.
The award-winning journalist has reported on some of the biggest stories in the history of the Bay Area and California including the Loma Prieta Earthquake and the Oakland Hills Fire.
He also covered big national stories including the eruption of Mt. Saint Helens, the L.A. Riots in 1992, the Columbine high school shooting and live reporting from the GOP convention in 1980. LaCuesta travelled internationally for KTVU covering Hurricane Mitch in Honduras, the Kobe, Japan Earthquake and produced multi-part series in Vietnam about Amerasian children and to the Philippines to cover the Marcos vs. Aquino Presidential campaign.
“Lloyd’s reporting has been so strong and so consistent for KTVU for years. He’s been the iron man of our South Bay coverage,” said Tom Raponi, KTVU/KICU Vice President & General Manager. “While we are excited for Lloyd in his decision to make this move, his presence on KTVU — in particular the Ten O’Clock News — will be greatly missed.”
LaCuesta has been honored with some of the most prestigious awards in journalism.
He has won six Emmy Awards from NATAS — one for Bay Area Breaking News, several Associated Press “Best of the West” awards and many honors from the Peninsula Press Club. LaCuesta’s live reporting was integral to The Ten O’Clock News on KTVU Channel 2 winning a national Edward R. Murrow Award for Newscast Excellence in 2004 from RTNDA.
LaCuesta was the first elected national president of the Asian American Journalists Association (AAJA) and the first president of Unity Journalists of Color. He is on AAJA’s prestigious list of pioneer Asian American journalists and is a recipient of AAJA’s Lifetime Achievement Award. LaCuesta was inducted into the NATAS Silver Circle in 2004 for his many years of outstanding Bay Area reporting.
“As I end my career, I hope I have helped those who have watched me over the years become better informed and involved citizens,” said LaCuesta. “KTVU allowed me to cover events which viewers experienced through my eyes.”
“Lloyd has such great contacts in the community. He has always been able to break stories and get interviews that other reporters can’t get. People trust him,” said Ed Chapuis, KTVU News Director. “It has been an honor to pencil ‘Lloyd LaCuesta’ into the line-up each night. He made KTVU better just by stepping onto the field each day.”
Besides his reporting, LaCuesta has also been teaching journalism for years. He has taught hundreds of journalism students at San Jose State and Menlo College.
Before coming to KTVU in August of 1976, LaCuesta worked for the Los Angeles Herald Examiner, KMPC Radio, KNX-CBS Newsradio, American Forces Korea Network, KABC Radio, KABC TV and KGO TV. He has a B.A. in Journalism and Political Science from San Jose State and a Masters in Journalism from UCLA.