After Four Decades on Air, TV Reporter Rich Ibarra has Signed Off

By Rhashad Pittman

STOCKTON -- Early in his career, television reporter Rich Ibarra would use a pay phone to call in breaking news stories like reporters did in classic, black and white movies.  

Nowadays reporters unclip mobile phones from their hips to cover breaking stories, capturing photos and video footage while on the scene. The quality of the footage is so good the reporters upload it online to complement their traditional television news stories.

Yes, times have changed since Ibarra first stepped in front of the camera nearly four decades ago. After a career of covering some of the biggest stories in the Central Valley, it was time for the 64-year-old to make a change himself. Having enjoyed a long, exciting career, the most prominent Latino television reporter in the region has signed off for good.

On Dec. 15, Ibarra reported on his last story before retiring from KCRA Channel 3, where he served as a general assignment reporter and the station’s Stockton bureau chief. Upon retirement, Ibarra was the longest serving reporter in the area with a career that started in the late 1970s.

“I had a good career,” Ibarra said. “It was kind of a roller coaster ride. It had its thrills …but at some point you have to get off the ride. That’s where I am now.”

Ibarra’s departure leaves a legacy of longevity in local television news that will perhaps never be matched. It is already rare for reporters to stay in a small television market for more than a few years. But with the cutbacks and changing faces of television news, it is even more unlikely current and future local reporters will serve anywhere near as long a tenure as Ibarra did.  

Born in Stockton and raised in Sacramento, Ibarra started covering the news as a part-time television reporter in 1977 for KXTV Channel 10, becoming the first Latino reporter to appear on local television. He later moved to KOVR Channel 13.

In 1980 he joined the staff at KCRA and has covered Stockton ever since, earning the nickname the “unofficial Mayor of Stockton” from colleagues. Recently, he said, the City of Stockton presented him with a commendation for his long service to the community.

Throughout his career covering San Joaquin County and beyond, Ibarra covered some of the most prominent news stories in the region, including the Laci Peterson trial, Sandra Cantu murder case, the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake and the 1997 floods.

Over the years Ibarra has covered a number of stories that involve leaders, events and issues prominent in the Latino community as well, including the first Our Lady of Guadalupe procession, the local farm workers strike, and former NASA astronaut Jose Hernandez’s recent trip to space on Space Shuttle Discovery in 2009. In addition to his regular news reports, Ibarra contributed stories to KCRA’s “De Colores,” a television news magazine program geared toward the Latino community.

Ibarra said he tried to cover “everything that might be of interest to the people in our community and beyond as well.”  
Ibarra did not set out to pursue a career in journalism. After graduating from Hiram Johnson High School in Sacramento, Ibarra attended Sacramento City College and California State University, Sacramento, where he studied history and government. He also served in the Navy from 1967 to 1969 and went overseas to Vietnam.

While in college he started doing camera work for Channel 10 behind the scenes. Drawn to the adrenaline rush of televison news, he soon started reporting on air one or two days a week before taking a full-time reporting position in Stockton, where he has worked for 34 years.

“I could have worked longer,” he said. “But I think it’s about time.”

Due to today’s demand for news to be delivered instantly, reporters are doing two and three times the work at twice the pace than when Ibarra was just starting out, he said. The increase in pace leaves little room to spend more time on compelling stories, he said.

Since television news outlets continue to struggle financially – like newspapers - as more and more people flock to the Internet for news, stations have cut back on the number of reporters and other staffing, and have asked reporters to do more with less.

Reporters produce more stories, participate in more broadcasts throughout the day, and add social media to their daily tasks to connect with the audience. “Things have changed a lot in the newsroom,” Ibarra said. “You definitely have to be a lot quicker than you used to be.”

Now that he’s retired, Ibarra said he’s planning to spend more time playing tennis and golf, two longtime pleasures. In the future, he may also do some part time work writing for local magazines and other publications.

But he’s in no rush to work again.  

“I’m 64 ½,” Ibarra said. “I’m going to take it easy.”