Meetings

Itica Milanes was a TV news anchor and reporter for 24 years. She is a 3-time Emmy Award winner and her stories have been on CNN, 20/20, and the Oxygen Channel. Itica was the evening anchor at the ABC station in San Diego when she decided to leave the business and became the Communications Director for a San Diego County Supervisor. 

Now, Itica is President of Milanes Media where she uses her experience in front of the camera to help others with their public speaking skills and media coaching. Whether it's an interview, a Zoom meeting, or a TV/radio/podcast segment, Itica guides writers, executives, attorneys, and others through the entire process of what to expect, what to avoid, and most importantly, how to effectively present your key message points.

During her time at KGTV in San Diego, Itica investigated some of the biggest stories of the past 15 years. In 2009, she covered a story that still haunts her—the murder of 17 year old Chelsea King. The manhunt for Chelsea's killer was extensive and went on for days. Itica had already developed valuable sources who gave her tips throughout the investigation and also tipped her off about the arrest of John Gardner. It turns out Gardner was the same man who killed 14 year old Amber Dubois a year before killing Chelsea.

In July 2011, Itica extensively covered another double tragedy that rocked the San Diego region. Six year old Max Shacknai fell from the staircase of his father's mansion in Coronado and was placed on life support. Max passed away a few days later. Two days after his accident, his father's girlfriend Rebecca Zahau, was found hanging from the balcony of the same home. Not only was she nude, her hands were tied behind her back, her legs were bound, she had a t-shirt wrapped around her neck and the San Diego County Sheriff’s Department called it a suicide. In 2018, Zahau’s boyfriend’s brother was found liable for her death in a wrongful death civil lawsuit but the Sheriff’s Department refused to reopen the investigation. 

Itica had a cameo in the blockbuster documentary Blackfish about the conditions of orcas at SeaWorld. She recently rescued a dog at The Pet Adoption Center of Orange County, named her Piper, and she now volunteers her time there helping other pups find their furever homes.