KTLA news tip: how to contact KTLA and get your story on air

By Zach Schleien

KTLA's contact page doesn't list a news tip email. Here are the routes the station does list, how to find the right producer, and how to pitch the KTLA 5 Morning News.

To send KTLA a news tip, use the "Submit news tips and story ideas" form linked from the station's contact page, or call KTLA's main line at 323-460-5500. If you want to be a guest or get your business on the KTLA 5 Morning News, a short pitch to the producer or reporter who covers your kind of story will usually do better than the general form.

KTLA's contact page doesn't list a newsroom email. Below are the routes the station does list, what each one is for, and how to write a pitch a producer can say yes to fast. I've earned 200+ media placements, including 18 TV appearances, without ever hiring a PR agency. My method has three parts: start with the angle, find the people who cover that kind of story, and pitch enough of them.

Rather skip the pitching? I can get you on KTLA, guaranteed. Book a press call.

Quick answer: how to contact KTLA

• News tips and story ideas: use the "Submit news tips and story ideas" form, linked from KTLA's contact page.
• Phone: KTLA's main line is 323-460-5500.
• Mail: KTLA-TV, 5800 Sunset Blvd., Los Angeles, CA 90028.
• Photos and video: use KTLA's "Submit Your Photos or Video" form, or post with #ktla.
• Guest spots: pitch the producer or reporter who covers your topic. KTLA doesn't list a booking email on its contact page.

What KTLA covers, and where you fit

KTLA is channel 5 in Los Angeles. On its own site, it calls itself the first commercial TV station licensed west of the Mississippi.

Here's the newscast schedule KTLA lists on its live streaming page:

• KTLA 5 Morning News: weekdays from 4 to 11 in the morning.
• KTLA 5 Weekend Morning News: Saturday and Sunday from 6 to 11 in the morning.
• Evening news: weeknights at 6, 7, 10 and 11, and weekends at 5, 6, 10 and 11, plus a 7 o'clock newscast on Sundays.

That's seven hours of morning TV every weekday. The morning news section on KTLA's site is full of guest interviews with experts, nonprofit leaders and local businesses, plus pet, home, style and shopping tips. If you're a founder or an expert with something useful to say, the morning show is where you fit.

If something is happening right now, like an event or a problem in your neighborhood, that's a news tip, and it goes to the newsroom.

Two other spots on KTLA's site are worth knowing:

• Who's hiring: KTLA has a separate form for local businesses with open jobs that want to be considered for a feature. It asks for your company, city, website, how many positions are open and which ones.
• California Cooking: KTLA's food section has a California Cooking series with restaurant visits and recipes. If you run a restaurant, watch a few before you pitch.

KTLA contact routes, and what each one is for

These are the routes on KTLA's contact page and its submission pages, checked in November 2026:

1. Submit news tips and story ideas. This is the station's form for tips and story ideas. Use it for real news: something that happened, or is about to happen, where KTLA's viewers live. Put the most important fact in your first sentence.
2. The main line: 323-460-5500. This is the station's general number. If you're calling about something happening right now, say what happened, where and when before anything else.
3. KTLA 5 Morning News feedback form. The morning show has its own form. It asks for your name, email, and city and state, with an optional phone number and a message box. It's labeled as feedback, so use it as a backup and keep your note to two or three sentences.
4. Submit Your Photos or Video. If you shot video of something newsworthy, KTLA has a form for it, and you can also post it with #ktla. KTLA asks you to include your full name, phone number, city and state, a description of what's in the photo or video, and how you want to be credited.
5. Fax and mail. The contact page lists a news fax, 323-460-5333, a KTLA 5 Morning News fax, 323-460-5404, and the mailing address above. Both are slow for anything that needs to run soon.

What I'd skip: any "KTLA news tip email" or "KTLA booking email" you find on a random site. KTLA's contact page doesn't list one. The only email on that page is for licensing KTLA footage, and it says it's not for viewer requests.

How to find the right KTLA producer or reporter

A form is a fine start. A pitch to the person who produces or reports your kind of story is better, because that person decides what to put on air.

KTLA's "Meet the KTLA 5 Team" page lists the news team, but it doesn't list producers or any emails. So you'll have to do some digging:

• Bylines: stories on ktla.com show who wrote them, and each author page lists what that person has covered.
• LinkedIn: search for people who list KTLA and "producer" in their title. If you want a guest spot, the morning news producers are the ones to find.
• The show itself: watch the morning news for a few days and write down who does the kind of segment you're pitching.

Don't stop at one name. At a single outlet, there can be up to about 20 people who fit your story. List everyone whose recent work looks like yours. If your story is big, offer it to the best-fit person first as an exclusive, then pitch the rest after it airs.

People change jobs a lot in TV news. Check that each person is still at KTLA before you send anything.

What KTLA producers look for

Local TV producers tend to want four things:

1. A local tie. KTLA's viewers live in Los Angeles and Southern California, so your story needs to matter to them.
2. A reason to run it now. A holiday, a deadline, the weather, a new law or a story that's already in the news.
3. Something to show. TV needs pictures. A demo, a product, a place or a person doing something works better than someone just sitting and talking.
4. An easy yes. You're available on short notice, you answer your phone, and you can explain your point in a minute.

You also don't need to be big. My first real press win was the Washington Post covering my mental health community when it had about 150 members. Filteroff had around 500 users and a team of two when the BBC featured it. Journalists cover stories, not company size.

Here are some example angles written for KTLA's viewers. They're made-up examples to show the shape, not real pitches:

• The local version of a national story. When COVID hit, I pitched one angle to as many reporters as I could: singles stuck at home were video dating on Filteroff. I sent it to basically every journalist covering the pandemic, not just dating and tech reporters. For KTLA, an example: a heat wave is coming, and a Riverside air conditioning company owner shows three ways to keep a house cooler without running the AC all day.
• An expert before a deadline. A Long Beach accountant explains the two things to do the week before taxes are due.
• A morning show demo. A Pasadena chef makes one holiday side dish live, or a trainer shows a five-minute workout you can do at your desk.
• A weird true story. At Filteroff, we built an AI system that spotted scammers and bots and quietly moved them into a fake dating pool full of other scammers and bots. TechCrunch and Gizmodo both covered it. Reporters like a strange true story.

How to write the pitch

Keep it under 150 words. The subject line should say who you are, the news hook, and when you're available.

Here's a made-up example you can copy:

Subject: Pasadena chef on a five-minute holiday side dish, available this week

Hi [first name],

I saw your segment on [their recent story]. [One sentence on why this matters to LA viewers right now.] I'm a chef in Pasadena, and I can make [the dish] live in under five minutes so viewers can follow along. I can come to the studio or join by video any morning this week.

Would you like to have me on?

[Your name, phone number, and one line on past press or your business]

End with a plain question. One sentence that got me booked on live TV was "Would you like to interview the founder?" It's easy to say yes to. There are six more pitches you can copy in Media pitch examples: 6 pitches you can copy and why they work.

If you've had any press, put it in. After my dad's New York Times op-ed ran, his story went on to Fox News, Good Morning America, CNN, CBS and WABC. I told the Good Morning America part of that story in Good Morning America contact email: how to reach GMA and get on the show.

Do-it-yourself checklist

• Watch the KTLA 5 Morning News for three mornings and write down the segments that look like yours.
• Write your angle in one sentence: who you are, what's new, and why LA viewers should care this week.
• Find 5 to 20 producers and reporters who cover your kind of story.
• Check that each one is still at KTLA.
• Write one short pitch, then change the name and the line about their recent story for each person.
• If it's real news, also send it through the news tips form.
• Have a headshot, a one-line bio and a clear idea of what you'll show on camera.
• Follow up once, a few days later, with something new to add.
• When a producer replies, answer fast and say yes first.

Mistakes that get pitches ignored

• Sending a press release to a contact form. In my Top Romp days, I sent roughly 20 to 40 generic press releases to company contact pages. Each one took hours, and I got zero replies. The turning point was watching my friend Michael pitch press, asking him a ton of questions, and then doing it myself.
• No local tie. A story with nothing to do with Southern California is a hard sell for an LA station.
• A pitch that reads like a commercial. Producers want a story, advice or a demo. Your business comes along as the reason you're the right guest.
• Too long. If the hook isn't in your first two sentences, a busy producer won't find it.
• Not being available. TV moves fast. If a producer asks about tomorrow morning and you can't do it, they'll find someone who can.
• Pitching once and quitting. For my dad's op-ed, I sent roughly 70 pitches to every New York Times writer covering that beat. One of them forwarded it to the op-ed editor, and it ran.