Fred Zehnder

Who is Fred Zehnder?

Fred Zehnder was the longtime news director of KTVU Channel Two in the San Francisco Bay Area, which identified its lead newscast, The Original Ten O'Clock News, as the number one prime time newscast in the country. [1]

While he led this newsroom, it was honored with a number of awards. Zehnder was considered a respected journalist who insisted on fairness and accuracy. For example, he insisted on a change in the way journalists generally refer to "pro-life" or "pro-choice" advocates. Instead, KTVU news reporters referred to them as "supporters of abortion rights" and "opponents of abortion rights", considering these terms to be less self-serving. [2]

Zehnder earned his bachelor's degree at Humboldt State University. He served as the broadcast director in the Army's information office at Fort Bliss, Texas, where his immediate superior was Sam Donaldson, who would go on to become an anchor and reporter at ABC News. [3]

His career began at KVIQ in Eureka. He moved to San Francisco in 1962, and worked as a news cameraman and later assistant news director for KPIX. In 1976, he joined KTVU as an assignment editor, but left a year later to become assistant news director at KGO-TV.