Local 'Most Wanted' Proves Successful

Since the mid 1980s, KTTV Los Angeles reporter Tony Valdez has been helping city authorities chase down suspects and fugitives. He profiles crime cases every Saturday night on the Fox-owned station's 10 p.m. news. Viewers call in with tips that often lead to arrests.

Crime stories are bread-and-butter for local-news operations, particularly in large markets like Los Angeles. But in KTTV's case, L.A.'s Most Wanted is also a display of corporate synergy. The reports air in late news on Saturdays, following Fox's long-running and popular crime series America's Most Wanted.

KTTV is one of 10 Fox O&Os with local Most Wanted franchises. The stations get cases from authorities, ranging from the local police department to the FBI, and work with them on the story. Suspects are usually wanted for serious crimes, like robbery, assault, sexual offenses and murder. After segments air, volunteers man phone banks and wait for potential leads. Both America's Most Wanted and the local shows share a common goal, explains KTVI St. Louis reporter Len Turner, who has worked on St. Louis' Most Wanted since 2000. “The idea is to give law enforcement a helping hand,” he says.

The Fox network series was actually born out of KTTV's efforts. In 1984, the station initiated an ongoing series called Crime Stop 11, giving viewers tips to prevent crime. Eventually, the stories morphed into reports on wanted criminals.

When then-KTTV News Director Joe Saitta moved to WTTG, Fox's Washington station, he brought the idea with him. And the network took notice. Now in its 18th season, America's Most Wanted is the fifth-longest-running show in prime. Since its 1988 premiere, the show says, 834 fugitives have been apprehended and 41 missing children found as a result of its stories.

Local stories are also effective. In St. Louis, 150 fugitives have been profiled, and all but a handful are in custody. Over the past five years, WHBQ Memphis' Mid-South's Most Wanted has resulted in 244 felony arrests in Tennessee and Mississippi for 25 different law-enforcement agencies.

WFXT Boston is the latest station to adopt the series. After five weeks, its Massachusetts' Most Wanted has led to one arrest and helped with leads on several others.

WJBK Detroit has created two half-hour specials and aired both in recent sweeps. One of the specials, called Detroit's Most Wanted, was created in February after the Detroit Police Department called for help with murder fugitives. The assistance works both ways.

Fox stations say their Most Wanted relationships with authorities are valuable when reporters are working on other stories.

Out of 484 cases KTTV's Valdez has reported, 127 have led to arrests. He recalls a few cases in vivid detail. The LAPD had an unidentified teenage girl in the morgue who sported a tattoo of a Greek word, which Valdez thought might help with identification.

In his report on Jane Doe, he showed a picture of it. Within 10 minutes, her family called. When a key witness in a drug case disappeared, authorities called KTTV. The witness was a street prostitute. Valdez shared the story on-air, omitting her line of work. Soon after, two men called with her whereabouts. These days, Valdez is working on a story about cross-dressing bank robbers who dress as French maids.

But no matter how sensational the crime, he says, the goal is the same. “I try to humanize every single case. We are here to tell people's stories.”

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