Paul Cicala
Paul Cicala is excited to return to his Southwest border roots after nearly three years at KVIA’s sister station in the Palm Springs, Calif., area.
The native of Tucson most recently served as sports director at KESQ-TV and also filed reports in Spanish for the area’s Telemundo affiliate. Before that, Cicala spent two years as a sports anchor/reporter in Las Vegas, where he had the chance to cover some of the biggest pro boxing matches in recent history. He’s excited about the opportunity to report on the recent flow of talented boxers coming out of the El Paso/Las Cruces area.
Before Las Vegas, Cicala reported at KOLD-TV, the CBS affiliate in Tucson, where he covered news and sports for three years. Cicala’s first TV job was at FOX Sports in Los Angeles, while attending the University of Southern California (USC), where he graduated magna cum laude. He then produced for NBC Network News in Burbank for a year, where he had the chance to travel and cover stories all throughout the U.S. and Mexico.
While in Arizona, Cicala won numerous 1st-place AP awards for stories he did along the U.S.-Mexico border. However, he says his “true love” is athletics and is happy to be focusing on sports along the border.
Cicala was recently nominated for a 2009 Regional Emmy for his Sports Anchoring/Reporting in Southern California. In addition, he won two 2009 1st-place AP Awards in the categories of “Best Sportscast” and “Best Sports Reporting.” Cicala’s sports reporting also brought him one of the highest honors a TV journalist can achieve: a 2009 Regional Edward R. Murrow Award.
Paul Cicala’s endeavors in news have also landed him on national TV shows. In 2004, Cicala had the honor of being a guest on the Oprah Winfrey, show providing perspective as an objective journalist after covering a story about a high school guidance counselor who posed nude in an adult magazine. Cicala has had an equally active life outside of news, with experience as an ESL teacher and as an Ambassador of Goodwill in Mexico.
When Paul’s not reporting live for ABC-7, he can be found at local gyms working out or playing basketball. He also enjoys cultural activities, taking the quick drive south of the border and volunteering with the community whenever possible. Feel free to e-mail any sports story ideas to Paul at pcicala@kvia.com.
E-mail:
