KCRA morning show gets John Oliver shout-out for Taco Day segue amid breaking news
KCRA is “Where The News Comes First” ... but there’s always time for Taco Tuesday.
The news moves fast in local TV. That was especially true during a week buffeted by Hurricane Helene carrying destruction and catastrophic storms across the Southeast; and the increasing threat of wide-scale war in the Middle East.
After Channel 3’s anchors cut into its morning show Oct. 1 — National Taco Day — with the breaking news of an Iranian rocket attack on Israel, they were left with a head-turning pivot cheekily lampooned Sunday by comedian John Oliver on HBO’s “Last Week Tonight with John Oliver.”
“It has been a busy week,” Oliver said in the show’s opening segment, ticking off the Southeast U.S.’s recovery in Helene’s wake, a port workers’ strike that would have shut down the Eastern seaboard, and the escalating events in the Middle East. “Something one local station tried to fold into its broadcast with mixed results,” Oliver said.
“Switching gears,” anchor Brandi Cummings said after the breaking news bulletin, the universal TV news tagline alerting viewers of the abrupt segue to come.
Cue KCRA meteorologist Tamara Berg, a taco-shaped hat perched atop her head, in a live shot with Erik Freeman, CEO of local favorite Jimboy’s Tacos, marking Oct. 1 as National Taco Day.
Jimboy, oh boy.
“You guys know, and especially if you follow me on social media, my passion runs deep for tacos,” Berg said, throwing it back to the anchors’ desk. Berg, The Bee’s own food writer Benjy Egel and other local media recently squared off against Freeman for bragging rights in the Jimboy’s Taco Eating Contest in Folsom.
“That is exactly what I want from local news,” Oliver said. “Save the globally significant events for later. I want to see a journalism major with a giant taco on her head look directly into the camera and say, and I quote, ‘My passion runs deep for tacos.’”
Stand in line. Sacramento — and the rest of America — shares Berg’s taco passion. Some 4.5 billion tacos — 4.5 billion — are eaten each year in the U.S., say market researchers.
That’s a lot of hard shells and proof positive that, even when news breaks, there’s always time for tacos.
Oliver’s show, now in its 11th season, is broadcast Sunday nights on HBO.
This story was originally published October 7, 2024 at 12:20 PM.
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