Changes

KSLA began broadcasting local news from the basement of the former Washington Youree Hotel in downtown Shreveport, now the site of Capital One Bank. For a few weeks, Owen presented weather information but soon switched to news. Colleague [[Al Bolton|Albert Martin "Al" Bolton, Sr.]], a member of a prominent banking family from [[Alexandria, Louisiana|Alexandria]], then assumed long-term duties as the weather forecaster. [[Bob Griffin (journalist)|Bob Griffin]] was the station's long-term sportscaster and the host of several local programs. In a 1964 interview with the since defunct ''[[Shreveport Journal]]'', which under the president and publisher [[Douglas F. Attaway, Jr.|Douglas Fisher Attaway]], who owned KSLA during the 1960s, Owen explained that because he had always been interested in the news, he chose broadcasting as his career at an early age. Originally, Owen announced eleven half-hour programs per week, including the commercial minutes: "There was no [[Teleprompter]], there were no videotapes to give you a second chance, you went on the air and you did it, either well or badly, but it went out."<ref name=ksla/>  

KSLA began broadcasting local news from the basement of the former Washington Youree Hotel in downtown Shreveport, now the site of Capital One Bank. For a few weeks, Owen presented weather information but soon switched to news. Colleague [[Al Bolton|Albert Martin "Al" Bolton, Sr.]], a member of a prominent banking family from [[Alexandria, Louisiana|Alexandria]], then assumed long-term duties as the weather forecaster. [[Bob Griffin (journalist)|Bob Griffin]] was the station's long-term sportscaster and the host of several local programs. In a 1964 interview with the since defunct ''[[Shreveport Journal]]'', which under the president and publisher [[Douglas F. Attaway, Jr.|Douglas Fisher Attaway]], who owned KSLA during the 1960s, Owen explained that because he had always been interested in the news, he chose broadcasting as his career at an early age. Originally, Owen announced eleven half-hour programs per week, including the commercial minutes: "There was no [[Teleprompter]], there were no videotapes to give you a second chance, you went on the air and you did it, either well or badly, but it went out."<ref name=ksla/>  

   

   

As KSLA's only news director for three decades, Owen set the standard in Shreveport television news. "He was Channel 12. He was the pioneer. He blazed the trail," recalls long-term KSLA photographer Semmie Buffin.<ref name=ksla/> In October 1967, the demanding Owen hired Nita Fran Hutcheson, later a chamber of commerce official in her native Texarkana, Texas,<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.texarkanagazette.com/news/2012/05/02/hutcheson-retiring-from-main-street-texa-717577.php|title="Hutcheson retiring from Main Street Texarkana post effective May 31," May 2, 2012|publisher=''Texarkana Gazette''|accessdtae=July 2, 2012}}</ref> as the first female reporter in Shreveport television: "Every time I would get to the level of the bar that he would put up for me, he'd raise it and do it again." Hutcheson recalled Owen as having been most protective of the trust that he developed over the decades from his viewing public.<ref name=ksla/> Owen was also responsible for hiring Roseanne Colletti, who went on to report for WNBC, Margaret Pelley of NBC's ''Dateline,'' as well as local figures Wray Post, Carl Pendley, Tony Taglavore,<ref name=ksla/> [[Tom Erwin]] (1924-2020), and Barry Erwin, Jr., Tom's son who became the president of the "good government" group, the Council for a Better Louisiana.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://obits.theadvocate.com/obituaries/theadvocate/obituary.aspx?n=tom-erwin&pid=196312648|title=Tom Erwin obituary|publisher=''The Baton Rouge Advocate''|date=June 8, 2020|accessdate=June 9, 2020}}</ref>  

As KSLA's only news director for three decades, Owen set the standard in Shreveport television news. "He was Channel 12. He was the pioneer. He blazed the trail," recalls long-term KSLA photographer Semmie Buffin.<ref name=ksla/> In October 1967, the demanding Owen hired Nita Fran Hutcheson, later a chamber of commerce official in her native Texarkana, Texas,<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.texarkanagazette.com/news/2012/05/02/hutcheson-retiring-from-main-street-texa-717577.php|title="Hutcheson retiring from Main Street Texarkana post effective May 31," May 2, 2012|publisher=''Texarkana Gazette''|accessdtae=July 2, 2012}}</ref> as the first female reporter in Shreveport television: "Every time I would get to the level of the bar that he would put up for me, he'd raise it and do it again." Hutcheson recalled Owen as having been most protective of the trust that he developed over the decades from his viewing public.<ref name=ksla/> Owen was also responsible for hiring Roseanne Colletti, who went on to report for WNBC, Margaret Pelley Larson of NBC's ''Dateline,'' as well as local figures Wray Post, Carl Pendley, Tony Taglavore,<ref name=ksla/> [[Tom Erwin]] (1924-2020), and Barry Erwin, Jr., Tom's son who became the president of the "good government" group, the Council for a Better Louisiana.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://obits.theadvocate.com/obituaries/theadvocate/obituary.aspx?n=tom-erwin&pid=196312648|title=Tom Erwin obituary|publisher=''The Baton Rouge Advocate''|date=June 8, 2020|accessdate=June 9, 2020}}</ref>  

   

   

In 1963, 1964, and 1965, Owen was named "Broadcaster of the Year" by the [[Associated Press]]. He was a past president of the Louisiana and Mississippi AP Broadcasters and the Louisiana and Mississippi [[United Press International]]. Some of his articles were published in ''Shreveport Magazine.'' He also had great interest in hunting, fishing, and flight.<ref name=stimes/>

In 1963, 1964, and 1965, Owen was named "Broadcaster of the Year" by the [[Associated Press]]. He was a past president of the Louisiana and Mississippi AP Broadcasters and the Louisiana and Mississippi [[United Press International]]. Some of his articles were published in ''Shreveport Magazine.'' He also had great interest in hunting, fishing, and flight.<ref name=stimes/>