I am still shocked and saddened by the passing of Sam Rubin. As Frank Buckley said, Sam was KTLA.
He had a genuine quality every time he was on air. I admired how he would call as he saw it, even at the risk of getting in trouble. If anything, I thought he gave the best insider perspective of the television news business by reporting on the comings and goings at rival stations.
I remembered this particular story that he shared on his Facebook page about the time KABC's GM squashed his live interview with Regis and Kelly on KTLA's air. Nobody did more to lift up the curtain on the news business, and it seemed that he genuinely felt that the viewers deserved transparency when it comes to the people they invited into their homes regularly.
https://www.facebook.com/samrubinktla/posts/pfbid0BfA7XYxxkwqTFx6bacpcaz6tBaxuCH7WZXFF5f8kwnWraY6oZGjBH3NwgadkmaAil
On a personal note, I had the honor to meet him briefly at the LA Festival of Books at the KTLA booth and get a personalized autograph that I will cherish forever. I'm thankful I got to shake his hand and thank him for brightening up my mornings.
RIP Sam.