Arnold J. Kleiner, the president and general manager of KABC-TV, announced Thursday that he will retire at the end of January 2015. He has spent more than 45 years in the television business, including the last 19 at the helm of the ABC-owned TV station in Los Angeles.
“I’ve been so lucky to have had such a long and rewarding career in the television business,” Kleiner said. “I’ve had the great privilege of working with an amazing group of people and I’m very glad to have helped build KABC-TV into the great station it is today. I leave the station in good hands, and they can count on me to be their most loyal viewer.”
Kleiner, who took on the role at KABC-TV in February 1996, helped it become the top-rated station in the L.A. market as well as one of the top stations in the country.
“We are extremely appreciative of his many years of commitment and dedication to our Owned Station Group, and the great passion that Arnie has brought to KABC,” said Rebecca Campbell, president of the ABC Owned Television Station Group.
Before joining KABC-TV, Kleiner led KFMB-TV-AM/FM in San Diego as president and general manager. The New York native started his career in 1968 as an account executive for Westinghouse Broadcasting’s KDKA Radio in Pittsburgh. The next year, he moved to its television group in Baltimore and bounced around stations in Chicago, Boston, New York and Philadelphia before heading to the West Coast.
A prominent member of the philanthropic community in Los Angeles, Kleiner received the 2002 NCCJ Humanitarian Award and the SALEF (Salvadoran American Leadership and Education Fund) Corporate Service Award in 2004. He also serves on the Board of Trustees of Children’s Hospital Los Angeles and the Los Angeles Chapter Board of Autism Speaks. A lifetime member of the NAACP, Kleiner received the President’s Award in 2005 from its Beverly Hills Hollywood Chapter.
