About Lou

Lou Desmond, the host of the IE NewsHour caught the broadcasting bug early; by age 12 he was a regular caller to a local radio program calling in with jokes.  While he studied for his communications degree at St. Mary’s College, he was the news department director for his campus radio station, the “Morning Show” host, and later the general manager. Before he had left college he was the morning news producer and on-air personality at a small a.m. radio station in the Bay Area.  Lou then moved on to television broadcasting and was a field reporter and producer for several stations in Northern California. After a stint as a producer for KRON TV in San Francisco, Lou decided to leave broadcasting for a career change and caught on with a politically active public relations firm in Sacramento. But he was drawn back into broadcasting when he was asked to co-anchor a weekly entertainment related television program that focused on the local arts, dining, and general activities in and around Sacramento. The relationship with that program ended when he was promoted and transferred to the Irvine office of the large international public relations firm, Porter-Novelli. 

Lou’s knowledge of the Inland Empire increased dramatically when he came on board Jim Previti’s Empire Companies as communications director. While working for Jim, Lou met and became a familiar face to many high-ranking political players and elected officials in the Inland Empire. His reputation as a consummate communications professional grew, and his advice was sought after (and still is) by a number of elected officials and political organizations.

Lou founded his own public relations firm with a partner in 2003, and in these scant five years, the firm and its growth has been acknowledged in the pages of the Business Press, Sacramento and Orange County Business Journals. Desmond Mcleish was honored by the Orange County Business Journal in 2007 as one of the 100 fastest growing companies, ranking 17th.

Lou is looking forward to continuing his broadcasting career by hosting the IE NewsHour. His understanding of the business climate and political scene in the region, and his relationships with key regional players as well, makes him an ideal choice to host this new program.