- Video shows the history of KERO news, former anchors and stars, and a look at how the newsroom has changed over 70 years.
- 23ABC is celebrating 70 years of delivering news to Kern County.
It was 70 years ago to this day KERO began delivering news and entertainment live and straight into your homes, at least for those lucky enough to own a television back in those days. Since then, a lot has changed.
The news model you know today of an anchor sitting in a brightly lit studio surrounded by monitors looked a little different when KERO began broadcasting in 1953 Back then it was from the lobby of the El Tejon Hotel on Truxton and Chester Avenue.
A few years later KERO moved to our current location on 21st Street where legendary anchors and talent shared the studio.
The father of television news in Bakersfield, Burleigh Smith delivered headlines each and every day during his 37-year career in Kern County. He carried the news becoming a trusted household name.
Along with the news, a major consideration was entertainment. Ann Gutcher stepped in to fill the time as the first woman of local television hosting the original "Romper Room" on Ch. 10 in 1955.
Sunny Scofield also graced the airwaves with big name interviews and events. She talked to Joan Crawford and Nancy Reagan. She was even invited to the wedding of Richard Nixon’s daughter Trisha at the White House.
Then you had household names like Cousin Herb, Don Rodewald, and Tom Irwin known to his listeners as "Shotgun Tom Kelly".
As the faces of broadcast news changed, so did the ways we deliver news. From all over town, under all three major networks, for 70 years KERO News has made the jump from broadcast to digital and streaming, bringing you the latest news anytime and anywhere.
Through these changes it’s been an exciting ride for those of us here at 23ABC as we dedicate ourselves to bringing you stories from all over Kern County, just as we’ve done for the last 70 years.
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