A TOUR OF ABC7 STUDIO IN SAN FRANCISCO

A VISIT TO ABC7 STUDIO

BY Gerrye Wong September  14, 2025

When Silicon Valley Community Media presented its second annual gala fundraiser, titled Asian American Stories in May, a major component of the fundraising portion of the program was the Live Auction  run by California Assemblyman Patrick Ahrens  and Newswoman Dion Lim, MC.  One popular package eagerly fought over was  one prize which included A PERSONAL TOUR OF ABC7 STUDIOS IN SAN FRANCISCO FOR 12 PERSONS FOLLOWED BY  A SUMPTUOUS BANQUET HOSTED BY  DION LIM and Silicon Valley Community Media.  This popular celebrity prize was eagerly sought after by generous donors of the evening, but outbidding them all was enthusiastic Eva Jones.

caption:  VP Community Engagement Mimi Kwan welcomes group to tour of ABC7 studios.

Eva gathered a group of friends from her Palo Alto Vi residence as well as San Francisco friends, and was welcomed eagerly by Vice President of Community Engagement Mimi Kwan.  Mimi, who leads many school tours of the ABC7 station, led this  group from room to room, letting all view the inner workings that go behind the scenes of the daily news shows.  All said they were amazed at all of the individuals who contribute to make the news programs run so seamlessly every hour. It was gratifying to see so many Asians working at ABC7 as well.

Caption:  During studio tour, group meets Anchor Kristen Sze and Weatherman Spencer Christian

When on the tour,  we came upon Anchor Kristen Sze just completing her 4 o’clock  news program accompanied by the Weather Anchor Spencer Christian who also welcomed the group and paused to take photos with the group.  The first part of the tour was spent in the producers  room where we watched the 5 o’clock news being broadcast and heard all the background instructions and coordination done by the producer and director. We tiptoed for the second part to go into the studio itself where the anchors were actually on air .  Excitement reigned within the group as they were watching their favorite news anchors actually at work on their  desks reporting on the latest news events.

Caption:  Tour leads group to Producers Room to see inner workings between producer and staff

Reporting the five o’clock  news that day were Sports Director & Anchor Larry Bell, Anchor Dan Ashley and Investigative Reporter Stephanie Sierra.  During commercial break, Dan came off the stage to talk to the group.  He admitted their was a teleprompter for them to read the news, but  said he does adlib much of the time to give it a more personal touch.

Caption:  Group sees news anchors Dan Ashley, Stephanie Sierra and Larry Bell during their live broadcast

Stephanie was fill-in anchor for the day and welcomed us to come up for a quick photo during their 5 minute commercial break.  On the sidelines preparing her weather report was Sandhya Patel, the meteorologist.  It was fascinating to watch her before the “green screen” which is actually blank but on tv, shows maps of  weather around the region.  By looking at her monitor, she can point to the areas she is talking about, although in actuality, she is pointing to the blank green screen.    Someone commented on how efficient she was in coordinating talking about the different weather in separate regions and pointing at the same time.

Caption:  Giving weather report was Sandhya Patel in front of green screen.

As we were leaving the broadcast room, ABC7 streaming anchor Karina Nova was  preparing a story to be broadcast later that day. Everyone in the group agreed this was an eye opening experience to actually see the workings of a TV station in preparation for giving us the latest news reports and thanked Mimi Kwan for such an extensive and informative tour of the station.

Caption: ABC Streaming Anchor Karina Nova screens story for next news program.   Thanking Mimi Kwan for a wonderful tour for the AAS Auction prize.

As per the prize, the group then embarked for the Harborview Restaurant in the Embarcadero 4 Center.  There, a head waiter assigned to the group led us to a table in the popular Bar area and facing the ceiling to floor windows to the inner court of the building. There  Eva and her guests, Steve and Paula Smith, Tom and Maile Tamura, Dr. James Ostroff, Rose Tsai, Dr. Lorry and Karen Krankel, and Bruce and Lily Carp were treated to a nine course banquet meal of Harborview cuisine that was offered in the SVCM auction prize.

Caption:  Enjoying a banquet dining experience at Harborview were Tom Tamuras, Dr. Jim Ostroff and hostess Eva Jones

Former ABC7 Anchor reporter Dion Lim came to meet and host the dinner with her usual friendly spirit.   It was a busy day visiting and touring a Television studio followed by a special dining adventure, courtesy of the Asian American Stories auction, and its generous bidder, philanthropist Eva jones.

Caption: Happy group bids farewell to Celebrity host Dion Lim  and  Auction winner Eva Jones.