J.R. Stone
People often ask why I decided to get into news and to be honest, I actually always had this idea of becoming a baseball player. It was my first sport, the one I loved above all else, and I thought that if the guys on TV could do it, who's to say I couldn't? I played baseball when I started college but at one point I, like so many others, realized it wasn't going to happen. Michael Jordan once said, "I can accept failure, everyone fails at something, but I can't accept not trying." I live by those words. I was a solid player yes, but I wasn't a Major League Baseball player.
As I grew older, I noticed that telling stories to groups of people felt natural and fun. I wanted to do that, and I initially just wanted to cover sports. Soon I was covering news, sports, and just about any type of activity that you can imagine. Here I am 19 years later and I'm still doing it.
I don't think there's a better team in the business than ABC7 News. What I love most about being part of this Disney team is that everyone is striving to do their best. Not just the on-air folks, but the behind-the-scenes crews, too. There's a passion to make sure the best possible product is shown and those I work with go above and beyond. It's been hectic at times: extreme weather, bad fires, and tragic mass shootings like the one we saw in Half Moon Bay, but it's those behind-the-scenes crews that make sure everything goes smoothly.
Before joining ABC7, I spent nine years as a weekend news and sports anchor at KRON4 News. While there, I won an Emmy for my news anchoring. But what I enjoyed most was really getting to know the community. It was during this time that I met my Godson Jordan, who has changed my life and continues to change my life to this day. He's the little guy in many of my pictures on Facebook and Instagram.
While at KRON I anchored our breaking news coverage of the Ghost Ship warehouse fire, the mass shooting at the Gilroy Garlic Festival, and the Asiana Airlines crash at SFO. Every Sunday night I anchored an hour-long sports program called Sports Night Live. We'd show highlights and then we'd go back and forth with opinions. I still remember losing a friendly bet to a viewer and having to wear a Notre Dame jersey on air. Not fun for a Michigan fan whose family bleeds maize and blue, but a bet is a bet.
Before coming to the Bay Area, I was a journalist in Florida, Oklahoma, and Arkansas. I could go on for another six paragraphs about those amazing opportunities but let me sum it up in a few thoughts. Florida was where I covered the Casey Anthony case and I've never seen anything crazier. Oklahoma had the most extreme weather I've ever seen. It's where I covered tornadoes, flooding, heat waves, and ice storms. Arkansas is where I saw how amazing people can be. I covered many big stories in my two years there, but I'll remember the hospitality of The Natural State first and foremost.
If you have any questions, concerns, or you just want to call me out on a sports prediction, you can contact me via email at jr.stone@abc.com or on my social media pages on Facebook, TikTok, and Instagram.
J.R.'s Stories
Santa Rosa school board approves plan to again allow resource officers on campus
This comes five years after the board voted to take them off campus and in light of recent violent incidents at high schools across Santa Rosa. The City Council will now have the power to approve a plan going forward.
MMA fighters defend Cain Velasquez after his sentencing, calling on Newsom and Trump to step in
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VTA strike entering 3rd week as both sides still in disagreement after Sunday contract proposal
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NTSB identifies several Bay Area bridges in need of evaluation for vulnerabilities
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SF speed cameras now in use; warnings to be given out for 2 months before citations
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New 1st-in-the-nation CA legislation aims at phasing out ultra-processed foods in school meals
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Gusty winds hit North Bay as it recovers from previous storms, braces for next one
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Santa Rosa father who lost son to accidental fentanyl overdose making it his 'goal' to warn others
Karl Kachigan of Santa Rosa lost his 19-year-old son Peter, who he says had taken counterfeit oxycodone laced with fentanyl. Now, he's sharing the story as a dire warning to other teens and families.
SFPD looking for suspect after man suffers 'skull fractures' from attack in Castro
A screenshot of the video taken by a bystander shows an attacker outside Castro Theatre beating the victim's head over and over again with his fist.