Warren Wilson, whose pioneering career saw him work as a broadcast journalist in Los Angeles for more than 40 years, has died. He was 90 years old.
“Our beloved father Warren Wilson 'Papa' passed away on Friday, September 27, 2024 in Oxnard, California,” his son, Stanley Wilson, told KTLA, where his father spent 21 years as a reporter. “His on-air demeanor as an iconic broadcast journalist was as authentic as that of a father, unsensational, sincere, a calming and eloquent voice.”
Over the course of his decades-long career, he has covered some of Los Angeles' biggest news stories, such as the Charles Manson murders, the 1968 assassination of Robert F. Kennedy, the 1992 Los Angeles riots, and the OJ Simpson trial, among many others. He won numerous awards, including an Emmy Award for investigative journalism in 1979 and a Peabody Award for his coverage of the riots that followed the Rodney King trial.
Early in his pioneering career as one of the first black broadcasters in Los Angeles, Wilson became known for being someone who people accused of crimes felt safe when they approached to turn themselves in. Los Angeles Timesordered the surrender of 22 people wanted by the police for various crimes.
“Warren was a trusted reporter and members of minority communities who were afraid to turn themselves in to police would often contact Warren and set up a meeting with him, and he would help them safely turn themselves in,” KTLA reporter Eric Spillman told the network. .
Wilson was the son of North Carolina sharecroppers. The journalist had previously told the THERE Times that he inherited his strong moral compass and sense of equality from his father, who was once attacked by Ku Klux Klan members in his home state.
The award-winning journalist began his career in the 1950s when he worked in the U.S. Navy's press office. From there, he went on to work at City News Service and United Press International's Los Angeles bureau. Before joining KTLA in 1984, Wilson worked for 15 years for KNBC and NBC Network News.
Survivors include six children: Pamela, Melissa, Elizabeth, Ronald, Stanley and stepdaughter Debra Hansen. His second eldest daughter, Kim T. Wilson, died in 2003