Much like legendary newsman Ron Burgundy, Channel 5 CBS San Francisco anchor Ken Bastida will read anything you put on the teleprompter. In fact, Ken appears to be under the impression that he was the original inspiration for the fictional character portrayed by Will Farrell.
Ken Bastida is no amateur either. Ken, known affectionately as “Ken” by his friends and co-workers, has been a California news anchor for many years.
According to a Wikipedia bio of Ken Bastida, penned by anonymous contributor Ken Bastida with additional contributions by Ken Bastida, Ken Bastida has been a reporter with Channel 5 since 1990.
Bastida began his career as a Bay Area radio host in 1978. Here’s a throwback photo of Ken from his glory days as broadcast journalism’s first bonafide sex symbol.
Ken, a giver by nature, has blessed KFRC, KGO, KMEL, K101, KFYI and KCBS radio with his exquisite talents and rugged good looks over the years. Yes, Ken Bastida has paid his dues and climbed his way to the sweaty top of the Bay Area news industry.
The impact of Ken Bastida’s storied 42-years in professional broadcasting is undeniable. The fact is, when people think of San Francisco, they think of feces in the streets, Rice-A-Roni, and lots of same-sex couples. And on rare occasions, people think of Ken Bastida as well. But mostly, people think of the feces thing.
Today, we celebrate the crowning achievement in Ken Bastida’s career: The 2010 “Newsman Murdered and Set on Fire for His Birthday” incident.
It all began when Ken Bastida was summoned to the Channel 5 studios to anchor the evening news in place of regular anchor, Dana, who was absent that night.
Ken Bastida put a Windsor knot in his lucky tie, applied a heavy amount of pancake makeup to his face, and plopped himself down in Dana’s regular spot behind the anchor desk.
The teleprompter rolled… Ken Bastida drew a deep breath from his diaphragm… It was SHOWTIME!
The text as it was entered in the teleprompter:
“Good evening, I’m Ken Bastida; Dana is off tonight.
“He was murdered and set on fire while celebrating his birthday. The body of Jimmy Frezshi was found by firefighters on Monroe Street…”
The text as it was delivered by Ken Bastida:
“Good evening, I’m Ken Bastida. Dana is off tonight; he was murdered and set on fire while celebrating his birthday.”
Fun Fact: Dana came into work the next night after being killed and set on fire, so you folks who are hunkering down in your homes over Coronavirus fears are a bunch of weiners.
A Moment In Fairness: Ken Bastida is a two-time Emmy winner, so this little moment of blooper infamy was hardly a career killer.
