Steve Edwards is celebrating 20 years as host of Good Day LA at FOX owned Los Angeles station KTTV.
As the kingpin of local morning TV, Edwards told us he’s done about “three thousand wonderful interviews and at least 385 bad ones,” and has worked with roughly thirteen or so co-hosts.
“Wow….let’s see: Sandy Freeman, Cristina Ferrare, Tawny Little, Melody Rogers, Cindy Garvey, of course Jillian Barberie and Dorothy Lucey,” Edwards told TVSpy. ” Now Maria Sansone, Araksya Karapetyan, Lisa Breckenridge, Marla Tellez, Maria Quiban, Julie Chang….I know I’m leaving somebody out…”
We also asked Edwards five questions about his time at the station and what
TVSpy: 20 years is a long time at one station. What do you owe your longevity to?
Edwards: Luck!
TVSpy: What keeps you going in the mornings?
Edwards: Coffee and loving the dynamic nature of the news, and of course the madness! There’s an unpredictability that keeps it fresh every day, and it doesn’t hurt that I get to hang out with my friends.
TVSpy: What advice would you give someone just starting out who wants to do what you do?
Edwards: Keep your mind open, learn, digest, know the world around you and DON’T GIVE UP. Too many people take rejection too personally – and give up too soon in the process. It’s a business and if you’re good enough and keep at it, good things can happen. And most of all be your best self…people can smell phony!
TVSpy: Which guest/news story stands out to you and why?
Edwards: Certainly 9-11 sticks out-it was a watershed time in America. It was a horrible tragedy and memorable time to be on the air. We were reporting live, hour by hour, as we gained more facts about what was happening to our country. As for other memorable moments on the air, I would say there were about three thousand wonderful interviews and at least 385 bad ones.
TVSpy: How did you get your very first break in the TV business?
Edwards: I was actually in graduate school studying for a PH.D in clinical psychology, when it hit me that I didn’t want to be a shrink, so I went into the mentally stable business of broadcasting. I got my first job by calling every radio station in and around Houston, Texas. One station outside of Houston was impressed that with my education, I still wanted to work at their little station. So, if people ever ask did your education help, the answer is immediately “Yes!” That too, was just another occasion of good luck. There’s an old phrase – “Funny, the harder I work, the luckier I get.”
As part of the 20th anniversary festivities, the station plans on taking a look back at Edwards’ memorable moments, his fashion and his hairdos.
They’ll use a twitter hashtag #SteveGDLA20.
There’s a promised “surprise” celebrity along with Paula Abdul, Jada Pinkett Smith, Jane Lynch, George Lopez and Steve Harvey giving him congratulations.