FOX LA celebrates Armenian History Month with a TV Special on Sunday, April 30

LOS ANGELES - FOX 11 will broadcast a news special chronicling the Armenian-American experience as part of its month-long celebration of Armenian History. The special will air on Sunday, April 30, at 9:30 a.m. PDT, and will be streamed on FOXLA.com/live. 

Good Day LA anchor Araksya Karapetyan became the first broadcast journalist in 2012 to break into the extremely competitive and second-largest U.S. media market, which serves more than 18-million viewers in several Southern California counties. In addition to covering breaking news, local, regional and national politics, Araksya’s serious yet charming personality helps millions of Angelenos start their day with the latest news, weather and traffic reports during the five-hour "Good Day LA" broadcasts.

While Araksya had occasionally reported about the Armenian-American community in Southern California, her focus on her people and her homeland intensified during the 44-day Karabakh War in 2020. After performing her daily assignments in the field and on the anchor desk, Araskya would continue working during her off-hours to interview newsmakers and find stories to keep viewers updated about the war on a daily basis. She not only summarized the headlines out of Armenia and Artsakh, but featured the local community’s involvement in humanitarian relief efforts and interviewed SoCal residents who journeyed to their ancestral homeland to help in hospital emergency rooms, in soup kitchens and on the frontlines.

Prior to Araksya’s regular reports and specials about Armenia, the only Los Angeles TV station that used an entire newscast to report about Armenia and the Armenian experience was more than 30 years ago when Channel 2 sent journalist Bree Walker to report about the 1988 Spitak Earthquake -- which Araksya experienced as a 6-year-old and remembers vividly. A few years later, her family would leave Gyumri as the Soviet Union collapsed and Armenia went to war with Azerbaijan over the autonomy of the Republic of Artsakh.

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"As an American-Armenian, born in Gyumri and who grew up in Palos Verdes, I’m humbled to have the opportunity to serve the Armenian-American community, to represent my people on the airwaves of Southern California," said Araskya. "Not only is it a blessing, but I’m inspired by the people from our community we profile on a regular basis, beit innovators bringing state-of-the-art medicine to heal the world or rock stars and influencers promoting justice from their platforms.

Araskya has been a prominent figure in the Southern California Armenian community, regularly hosting special events including the Armenia Fund International Thanksgiving Day Telethon and fundraisers for the Children of Armenia Fund. This week her work was recognized with a special honor from Los Angeles City Council President Paul Krekorian. Araksya was the mistress of ceremonies at several Genocide commemorations events this past week and has also appeared and online community forums and panels to talk about her accomplishments and encourage young Armenians to pursue their dreams and never give up.

Before getting married and becoming a mother, Araksya began her first paying job in Idaho Falls, a TV market so small that she had to shoot and edit her own stories -- even set up her own lights and live shots. Her hard work in the sleet and snow of Idaho paid off when she was offered work in the 25th largest TV market in the U.S. - Portland, Oregon. When colleagues and supervisors would suggest she change her name, she would courageously decline the advice.

When the opportunity came for her to decide whether she would move to New York and work in international news or return home to be with her immediate and extended family, Araksya chose home.

"Having my grandparents be able to turn on the TV set in the mornings and watch me is what inspired me to return home," she said.

Araksya’s reports are online and shared regularly on all social media platforms. She has fans from Armenia, viewers from all parts of the U.S. and says she’s committed to telling her people’s most important stories as long as she can.