MCA and the Mob

Above all, Los Angeles is known as a company town. The company, of course, is the entertainment industry: the glittery world of movies, music and video. In the view of the Peabody Board it was especially courageous for KCBS-TV to develop and present this series, reporting on relationships between one of the major entertainment conglomerates and powerful figures in organized crime. In a series of reports broadcast from May to December 1988, producer, writer and reporter Chris Blatchford with the editorial direction of managing editor Michal Singer uncovered and followed a trail leading from a number of underworld figures to the highest offices at MCA. Despite pressure on its parent company to stop the coverage, KCBS-TV’s perseverance contributed to federal investigations and internal restructuring at MCA. For an enterprising investigative report in exceptionally difficult circumstances, a Peabody Award to KCBS-TV for MCA and the Mob.