Los Angeles television icon Susan Hirasuna opens up about stories, struggles

By Alana Cho – AAJA-LA Intern

KTTV Fox11 weekend anchor Susan Hirasuna has covered stories such as the death of Princess Diana, the banishment of Exploding Kittens’ creator and the 2017 Las Vegas shooting — while knowing her close friend was on the scene.

Hirasuna has been at KTTV Fox 11 for 25 years, an exceptional achievement in television journalism and especially in Los Angeles, one of the top five media markets in the nation.

Recognized by numerous organizations for her work, Hirasuna has turned hurdles into stepping stones throughout her career.

Hirasuna, a committed member of AAJA and longtime and AAJA-LA board member, shared some highlights of her career.

What has been your greatest achievement?

“Surviving the ups and downs of the business of television news and coming out the other side still greatly enjoying my job.”

Why do you enjoy your job and what keeps you motivated?

“I have a love of the story. Chasing the story, finding the story, executing the story, and when that all comes together well, it is a great satisfaction…I love the fact that I get to go to so many places in the greater Los Angeles area that I would never have gone to had I not done this for a living and so, it’s just amazing the type of people you can meet and the places you go, and I’m just very fortunate.”

What is the hardest part about your job?

“The hardest part was probably when my children were young and then you have that life-work balance that you have to be concerned about because everybody knows your children are number one except everybody knows your job is number one. So, there can’t be two number ones, and of course somewhere in there is the husband and he didn’t like being number three. That’s the other thing about this business is it takes a toll on your personal life. Fortunately, my children are grown and survived having a working mother. They don’t know any different. But the marriage did not survive, and that is very common in the news world. There are a lot of personal sacrifices when you decide you want to be a broadcaster for your life’s work.”

What was your favorite story in the past?

“I don’t know that I have a favorite. There’s just too many. I can tell you that I was anchoring when the word came down that Princess Diana was in that ultimately fatal car accident. But for that night, we didn’t know whether she was alive or dead or dying. I also did close to five hours of nonstop coverage when the Las Vegas shooting happened — the Route 91 shooting — so that was quite remarkable. One of my very good friends was there, and I was fully aware that she was there, so I had been reaching out to her, worried about her and then unbeknownst to me, my [second] cousin was there…I saw on Facebook that they were looking for her. But I misunderstood it. So, I was reading these posts on the air, you know, I was saying people are looking for her…I didn’t know that it would take a couple days for us to find out that she was among the dead. So that was tough. That was probably the most personal story.”

“With the Jan. 6 insurrection, my assignment was to do something with how social media stirred the pot or fanned the flames…So, I was able to find someone who was able to explain how that happened and that came together very well very easily. So, I was pleased with that story, too. It tends to be that my favorite story will be somewhat recent because then you just move on to the next story and the next story after that…I’ve covered way too many mass shootings. When I was working nightside, as a reporter for the 10 p.m. news, I covered a lot of candlelight vigils. Because, you find out that a teenager was killed, so then the assignment is to go to the high school they’re having a candlelight vigil or they’re having a memorial. So, when you work those hours you tend to do a lot of those. And it got to be too much. Where I just couldn’t do it anymore. Those were very difficult for me, to lose a young person, anyone.”

What are three words you would use to describe your time at KTTV and Fox LA?

“Challenging, satisfying, and family. So many of those people are like family.”

What advice would you give to young aspiring journalists? Also, in particular what would you say to young Asian American women who want to pursue a similar career?

“Read, read, read. Create your own content. Ask a lot of questions wherever you go. Back when I was starting, it was very hard. I had to hire a person to videotape me so that I had some content to show people. You don’t have to do that anymore. Everybody’s got a camera in their hand with the phone. And the TikTok videos and Instagram videos — everybody’s created content these days. But if you did a TikTok video that was all about some story and you were able to encapsulate it in the time that will show on TikTok, I mean that would be brilliant because half of the challenge of what you do when you’re still learning how to put together a story is that you have to listen to the producer. So, the producer says, ‘You get a minute forty-five to tell that story’ so it’s great practice to be able to encapsulate a story in the time of a TikTok video. That would be pretty impressive. And everybody can have their own YouTube channel, and everybody can do Instagram Live, Facebook Live. I’m not saying that that then becomes your resume link; it’s probably too informal. But it certainly gives you practice. I didn’t have practice. Back when I was getting started, people that were already in the business and they were my advisors, said, ‘Look in the mirror and pretend you’re doing a live shot.’”

How has AAJA impacted you?

“When I first worked in Los Angeles, I remember talking with one of the founding members and Tritia Toyota came to me and said, ‘We’re starting this group and we’d really like you to be a part of it,’ and I thought to myself, ‘I’m not really a joiner.’ That’s what I thought to myself initially, but after the formation of the group, I realized the value of the support and the comradery and the exchange of ideas and having people who can offer you different ways of doing things. Over the years, it’s just been one of those ‘They helped me when I was a younger journalist.’ It was nice to be a part of a group that was then giving back to other younger journalists. There was a time when I worried that the organization wasn’t keeping up with the times, so to speak, and I’m so proud of what AAJA has done since I was a board member, how relevant they are and how they are staying relevant for younger journalists. Thank goodness for AAJA.”

What is a favorite AAJA -LA memory?

“I have developed a lot of relationships with AAJA members from across the country because of the conventions. I love that. I love the fact that I have friends in New York, Philadelphia, Washington DC, Texas and Boston, and it’s in part because of AAJA and the conventions. The fact that we enjoyed seeing each other whenever there was a convention was always so great. As my career went on, the focus was not the same. In the early days, you got together and talked about, ‘So did you hear so-and-so moved here? Did you hear this news director is now in Denver?’ or what have you and that was all good information as you were plotting your next move… Frankly, we talked not so much about our careers; it was very much about being friends personally. So, I loved that.”

Who were your role models?

“Both as a reporter and as an anchor, I’m not sure that I had any per se. I think I admired many. When I was younger, as in college, my joke was always that maybe I would not have had the imagination to go into broadcast news if not for the fact that there was a Connie Chung and a Tritia Toyota. They gave me a visual that made me say to myself, ‘Well, maybe I can do that.’ So, I appreciate them greatly. Now, I am much more discerning or appreciative of really good anchors or reporters. And a lot of those reporters are on our team at Fox 11. I think we have a tremendous team of reporters and anchors. I watch our anchors and am very impressed with how they handle the breaking news or whatever. And, of course when you watch the networks, I really appreciate the way Andrew Cuomo handles his live interviews and Anderson Cooper. They are kind of what you would expect but there are a lot more people and personalities to watch now as opposed to when I was growing up. So, when I was in high school and college, there were just the five. No, not even, there were the three – NBC, CBS, ABC. So, way back then, I’m not sure that I really had enough appreciation for what an anchor does to tell you that I had a favorite, one over the other.”

What have you learned from working at KTTV/Fox LA as a Weekend anchor?

“I have learned that on a good day, I am just talking to you through the lens of that camera. On a bad day, I’m just reading the copy. Hopefully, I have more good days than bad. When I’m really good, when I know that I’m spot on, it’s those days when I feel like my understanding of the story that I’m reading as an anchor is now your understanding of the story.”

If you were not an anchor, what is another profession that you would be interested in pursuing?
“I would love to be the founder of some groundbreaking company that created something that would help the world. That is a high aspiration indeed. If I could create something in my brain, invent something, that would bring clean water to the masses, to feed the world, to bring world peace, that’s what I would want to do. Possible? Maybe not. So, for my next chapter I have to think a little more realistically. So, the next chapter is something definitely in the charity or nonprofit world.”

What is your next career goal?

“It would be nice to start a nonprofit. It would be specific to a disease that my father is suffering and that is sort of on the back burner. It’s something that I came up with last fall and how I move forward on that is a little unknown at this point.”

“It’s an interesting place to be because I love my job and I love my life. As difficult as this year is – when people ask me how I am, my current quip is, ‘I’m as good as I can be in 2020, the extended version — and that’s how I feel. I’m happy, I’m healthy, I’m grateful for my life. I get to tell people stories. I get to help people. I’ve helped a number of people with their [Employment Development Department] issues. So, I just want to keep doing what I’m doing.”