Chak's Editorial: Reflection on KSBW President and General Manager, Joseph W. Heston

Although I was born in San Jose, I have lived in San Martin all of my life so far, watching from an antenna that is only 24.9 miles in radius from the KSBW transmitter at Fremont Peak. (I eventually went on a field trip close to that location where the transmitter is, but unrelated.) KSBW-TV 8, which is located just 1/2 mile from Highway 101 on John Street at Abbott Street in Salinas, has been around since September 1953 and was originally affiliated with all major television networks (ABC, CBS, NBC, and DuMont) until 1960, then NBC and CBS until 1969 when KSBW remained as an NBC affiliate to this day and has led the way to where KSBW had remained the leader - even today. But as a long time viewer of local news on TV as a kid, I'd sit around and watch current events unfold as it happens. 

KSBW president and general manager Joseph W. Heston announced in an editorial on June 12, 2020 that he plans to retire after more than 20 years at the station that spans more than 30 years at Hearst Television. Heston has been top notch overall in his role in creating a local ABC subchannel while maintaining KSBW's primary NBC affiliation on it's primary subchannel, but sadly had some unfortunate downsides on my end in regards to his countless amount of editorials heard on KSBW. 

Before KSBW was owned by Hearst, there was news coverage each night but only at 5 (since the late-1980's), 6, and 11, and initially between 30 and 90 minutes in the mornings (since the late 1980's) and an 11:30am newscast later on, something that to me was unusual at the time of a midday newscast. When Heston took over as president and general manager of KSBW, his first editorial I can recall indicated that while "editorials are not part of the news", the issues he raised may also be among any viewers who watch him each Friday night and over the weekend. This was long before social media came into play, and the Internet was only in it's early stages of high speed. KSBW over the years have gradually evolved from just morning/evening newscasts each weekday and evening newscasts on the weekends to both morning and evening newscasts, 7 days a week under Heston's leadership. That accomplishment of a weekend morning newscast was successful with that launch in 2006, a first for the Monterey Bay market covering the northern part of the Central Coast. 

The biggest accomplishment under Heston was the launch of Central Coast ABC on April 18, 2011 - that was the 240th market to be affiliated with ABC, just a couple of months before NBC affiliate WALB in Albany, Georgia launched an ABC on their digital subchannel. The ABC subchannel launched at 3:03am that morning, and I did record on my DVR the moment that KSBW welcomed ABC during it's morning newscast now running from 5 to 7am. I recall then-morning meteorologist Lee Solomon having too much fun not only doing the weather forecast, but also stoked that KSBW is welcoming ABC for the first time in about 5 decades. The same can be said for Dan Green and Erin Clark as well during the evening newscasts. 

Not all of KSBW's editorials by Joseph W. Heston were everything that is accomplished. My personal pick for the worst editorial under his leadership was back in Feburary 2009, when KSBW produced an editorial that then-Salinas police chief Daniel Ortega called out Heston for his bias targeting the Salinas Police Department, in which then-reporter Brittany Nielsen (now a weekday morning news anchor) says that Daniel Ortega accused evening news anchor Dan Green of "theatrics." I hope that in a future editorial, KSBW will replay that editorial that I believed was biased against the Salinas Police Department before Heston retires from KSBW. 

I hope that before Joesph W. Heston retires from KSBW, he would see this message and read this message from me. I can't wait to see and react to KSBW's next President & General manager, who will continue on the quest of keeping the traditions that KSBW had, including telethon events like "Share Your Holiday."

E-mail: chak595301@gmail.com

On Twitter or Instagram: @KyleSChak