Jim Avila, retired White House correspondent for ABC News, is making a comeback. He has joined San Diego ABC affiliate KGTV-TV ABC10 as a senior investigative reporter.
“Retirement was boring,” the 68-year-old Avila told Times of San Diego. His job at 10News will include mentoring younger reporters and “big-picture, real investigations,” he said.
With a storied, four-decade career of reporting and anchoring experience, Avila was a member of the White House press corps for ABC News during President Obama’s second term in office from 2012 to 2016. Also at ABC, Avila worked as a senior national correspondent and correspondent on 20/20, with a focus on law and justice and investigations.
Before ABC News, he was a national correspondent at the NBC Nightly News. His work at local stations included KNBC Los Angeles, WBBM in Chicago and KPIX in San Francisco. He started his career at KCBS radio in San Francisco in 1973.
“I didn’t want to go back to local news just to cover the latest murder and fire,” Avila said. “I’ve been to every state in the country and every continent except Antarctica. I’ve covered the White House, wars, mass shootings. I still want to make an impact in news and San Diego is a good place to do it.”
A native Californian, Avila joined KGTV-TV in mid-December. However, his first on-air reporting appearance is scheduled for Monday with the first of a three-part series on marijuana usage. He said part one will focus on how toddlers under 5 are eating marijuana that looks like candy. The second report is on brain damage suffered by teenagers who are smoking a stronger weed. The third report is on recent advertising campaigns by the marijuana industry that are similar to past ads for cigarettes.
“I checked-out the station before accepting the job,” said Avila. “The station claimed to cover news that matters, which is rare in local markets. I found their claim to be true. It’s a great station doing serious work in a perfect place. Checks every box.”
He left ABC News in 2021, following a kidney transplant in 2020. Last year, he stayed active writing opinion columns for Barrett News Media.
“When I was covering the White House, the President was called `No Drama Obama,’” Avila said. “On some days, it was even difficult to even get on the air. So, I asked the network to send me back to Los Angeles, which they graciously did.
“We all thought Hillary was going to win the (2016) election. When Trump won, I immediately regretted my decision to leave the White House. The White House press corps needs strong reporters who are not afraid to ask the tough questions. My colleagues at the White House do good work, but it’s very challenging work.”
In late November, Avila wrote a column for Barrett that said KGTV represents the “final phase of my nearly 50-year career in broadcasting, spanning both radio and TV.
“I have roamed the streets of San Francisco looking for breaking news as the late news reporter at KPIX-TV. I picked garlic in the fields of Gilroy to expose the terrible working conditions of California farmworkers for KCBS Radio.
“In Chicago, I helped topple the democratic machine by exposing the dead voters registered in the Mayor’s race that tried to prevent Harold Washington, the city’s first black mayor, from winning an election.
“Next stop? Los Angeles, where I covered the O.J. Simpson trial for KNBC, coverage that earned the station an Emmy and Golden Mic awards. It also earned me a ticket to NBC network news where I became a national correspondent for Tom Brokaw’s Nightly News. Our team picked up an Emmy for the flood and fire that destroyed Grand Forks, ND, and led to assignments in New York for 9/11 and then off to the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq.
“Next up were 18 intense years at ABC, where I served as 20/20 correspondent, Primetime correspondent, senior law and justice correspondent, senior national correspondent, and finally White House correspondent.
“But now it is time to return to actual journalism. I have been offered the privilege of reporting again. I have started a new adventure at KGTV ABC 10 in San Diego. The location is ideal and the job as senior investigative reporter will be a welcome challenge and a break from the retired life.
“It also comes at a time when journalism is under attack by those who feel their opinions trump facts.
“So I want to join the fight for light that disinfects from the front lines. And there is no more advanced position than local news. I will be holding authorities and politicians to account. Keeping big business honest by protecting the little guy. I take pride in my career in journalism and I want young reporters to be proud as well.”
Former U-T Photographer Sam Hodgson Opens Studio
Photographer Sam Hodgson, most recently with The San Diego Union-Tribune as director of photography and video, has opened his own consultancy called Uptown 11 Studios.
A resident of San Diego’s Normal Heights community, Hodgson named his company after the No. 11 trolley line that connected Downtown San Diego to Adams Avenue and operated between 1915 and 1949.
“In the spirit of the trolley line, we’re proud to connect San Diegans by helping local businesses and brands tell their own authentic stories,” Hodgson told Times of San Diego.
At age 3, Hodgson arrived in San Diego from New Zealand in 1988. He served as city editor of the Daily Aztec, San Diego State University’s student-run newspaper (2005-2006), and graduated from SDSU in 2006 with a bachelor’s degree in journalism and political science.
After a stint at Voice of San Diego (2005-2011), Hodgson freelanced in San Diego (2011-2014) for national news organizations, including The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, Reuters and Bloomberg. He then spent four years (2014-2018) traveling the country as a freelancer for The New York Times.
He joined the U-T in late 2018 and was named director of photography and video in late 2021. In July of last year, he accepted the newspaper’s buyout offer.
“The mission of Uptown 11 Studios is to help businesses and brands understand and define what makes them special and then share that story with the public,” Hodgson said.
InnoVision Tapped to Introduce the San Diego Mojo Team
San Diego-based InnoVision Marketing Group reports it has been selected as the agency of record for the San Diego Mojo, a new professional women’s indoor volleyball team.
InnoVision said it will introduce the team to the San Diego community through media buying, traditional advertising, design, marketing and collateral development for games and events.
“We believe InnoVision Marketing Group’s strategic approach and creative vision align perfectly with our goals for San Diego Mojo,” Billy Johnson, president of the team, said in a statement. “We’re confident that this partnership will not only elevate our brand but also contribute to the growth and popularity of women’s volleyball in San Diego and beyond.”
A statement said InnoVision will focus on crafting compelling marketing strategies that resonate with the diverse San Diego community and attract a broad audience to support San Diego Mojo.
“We’re honored to be chosen as the agency of record for San Diego Mojo,” said Alanna Markey, senior VP and GM. “Our team is buzzing with excitement to leverage our experience and creativity to elevate the brand of San Diego Mojo and contribute to the success of women’s volleyball in the region. This will also add a dynamic new sports team to our growing diverse client roster.”
InnoVision clients include Valley View Casino & Hotel, Palomar Health, Krak Boba and Penske Automotive.
Led by head coach and three-time Olympian Tayyiba Haneef-Park, the Mojo will open their inaugural home season on Friday, Feb. 23. Home matches will be played at Viejas Arena on the campus of San Diego State University. The ownership group includes five-time Olympian Kerri Walsh Jennings. The team is a member of the Pro Volleyball Federation, a women’s professional volleyball league in North America.
Taco Bell at Super Bowl in Vegas with Live Más Event
Taco Bell, the quick-service restaurant chain based in Irvine, is hoping to score on the Friday heading into Super Bowl LVIII in Las Vegas with Live Más Live, a live-stream show featuring musical performances, celeb cameo appearances, fan recognition and unveiling a year’s worth of innovations and product launches from the masterminds behind the brand. The live stream on www.livemaslive.com is scheduled to begin airing at 1 p.m., Pacific time, on Friday, Feb. 9.
The company said the in-person event will let everyone in on “its biggest plans for 2024, taking a page and a stage, out of playbooks typically reserved for top tech and entertainment companies with epic announcements in innovation.
“In addition to getting unrestricted access to the top-secret news of what will be rolling out in 2024, brand enthusiasts can expect exclusive fan experiences, never-before-seen access to the culinary experts and creative minds behind the Taco Bell Test Kitchen and first-look at food innovations to come, with attendees being the first to taste before anyone else.”
The company said Taco Bell Rewards members will be notified on the app for the chance to sign-up and qualify for access to the show with hotel accommodations and a voucher towards travel and expenses starting Tuesday, Jan. 16.
“Live Más Live is about showing up in a way this brand has never shown up before. It’s about transparency, access and celebration for who we are as a brand and who we do it for, our biggest fans,” said Sean Tresvant, who became Taco Bell CEO on Jan. 1 after a stint as global chief brand officer. “2024 marks a new beginning for Taco Bell and we can’t wait to show everyone what we have in store for this year and beyond.”
Super Bowl LVIII will be played at Allegiant Stadium in Vegas on Sunday, Feb. 11, marking the first time the city has hosted the NFL championship.
Rick Griffin is a San Diego-based public relations and marketing consultant. His MarketInk column appears weekly on Mondays in Times of San Diego.
