Bill Smith KTLA5 Staff member RIP 1943-2017

[Y2kTheNewOldies]

http://ktla.com/2017/07/10/longtime-ktla-5-news-reporter-bill-smith-dead-at-74/

http://www.adweek.com/tvspy/longtime-ktla-reporter-bill-smith-has-died/192026

Bill Smith, who reported for KTLA for the last 13 years, has died.

Smith, 74, joined KTLA . Smith was among those cut in a round of layoffs in 2008.

He was remembered on last night’s 6 p.m. news and this morning.

During this morning’s tribute, KTLA anchor and Smith’s former colleague, Sam Rubin, paid tribute to the late reporter. During the seven minute segment, he told a story about how Smith got laid off.

In 2007, a dopey billionaire purchased the company and hired a group of pirates and bandits to run it, including a news consultant who was the devil himself. This consultant would fly from TV station to TV station with crazy directives including ‘hit lists’ — people at each station he didn’t know, who he decided just to get rid of for basically no reason. To our great shame and detriment, Bill Smith was on that hit list.
Smith is survived by his wife and son.

Also mentioned in the article that Bill Smith previously worked for KTTV prior to going to KTLA.