KTLA Reporter Among Your OWN Show Contestants

Billboards for Oprah Winfrey‘s new TV network are all over LA and now, the city is returning the favor. Of the ten finalists culled from 15,000 online and offline applicants for Your OWN Show, exactly half are from the LA area.

Leading the local pack is KTLA reporter Elizabeth Espinosa (pictured). As older sister to a brother with a learning disability, she wants to put together a program that can help other families dealing with similar household dynamics.

The other LA finalists are: prospective talk show host Leigh Koechner, husband of actor and Largo regular David (The Office, FunnyorDie.com); Eric Warren, who has managed to cook his way to a 62-pound personal weight loss; West Hollywood performer Ryan O’Connor; and Kristina Kuzmic-Crocco, who emigrated from Croatia to Alhambra and runs the website StickyCook.com.

Hosted by Nancy O’Dell and Carson Kressley, Your OWN Show: Oprah’s Search for the Next TV Star debuts Friday, January 7th. The panel of judges opining on the performance of contestants in various TV host challenges includes Dr. Phil and Gayle King.

Update – 02/26/11: On Friday, February 25th, Your OWN Show selected two winners – Kuzmic-Crocco and Austin, TX based Zach Anner. Each will get their own program on Oprah’s network. Congrats to both.

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