Are you ready for some Rupert Murdoch? News Corp/FNC eyeing the 415? You betcha

San Francisco, are you ready for a Murdoch? yes, THAT Murdoch. As in Rupert Murdoch.

Two independent sources, deep in the bowels of the Fox News headquarters in midtown Manhattan, have told me that the global media sultan that created the likes of Sean Hannity, Bill O'Reilly, and gobbled up the Wall Street Journal, has his eyes set on the City by the Bay.

Murdoch has his brand all over the globe, including offices in NY, London, Sydney, LA; you name it, there's a place, but SF? Nope. According to the sources, News Corporation, (the parent company of Murdoch's empire) wants to set up shop in the Bay Area. Maybe its proximity to Silicon Valley? The fact that Murdoch has always regarded the Pacific rim as a vital conduit to his media fortress doesn't surprise me that he's looking at SF, but when?

"Don't know yet,", said the source, but "they view this as a natural step in broadening their presence and SF and the West coast fit that business model."

I can see it now: "Hi, I'm 'Glenn Beck and tonight, we're live from Coit Tower. Attention, tea-baggers, it's time to rock the 415!"

Stay tuned.

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Re-thinking the concept of Facebook; 'Obama poll' puts pall over social site

I'm feeling rather sordid and sick today as I read about that sordid, disturbing anonymous "poll" on Facebook the other day. It asked a question about our president; I'm not going to repeat it because it is bereft of much common sense, as if common sense can be included in this discussion.

Full disclosure: I'm on FB. Twitter too for that matter, but only because, professionally speaking, I almost have to be. It's sort of social taboo NOT to have a FB page, but I'm beginning to wonder.

For starters, FB execs should be ashamed that any post regarding the well-being of Barack Obama, particularly in this current heated, political climate, managed to make it on the site. Freedom-of-speech my ass! And the fact that FB brass eventually removed the item is no excuse. We're talking about the POTUS. This is serious business, and had it involved George W. Bush, it would have been just as egregious and serious a matter.

This isn't intended to be a bash-FB posting, but given its extraordinary placement in the lexicon and its undeniable presence in the social arena, there has to be some sort of oversight here; I'm not kidding. This is serious business.

Facebook needs to re-think its ethics. It has to root out the lunatics that have suddenly taken to its public apparatus. I'm not suggesting censorship; I am suggesting that there needs to be in place a check-system that prevents ugly "polls" about Barack Obama that littered the site over the weekend.

I acknowledge the rigidity and difficulty of policing a 200 million-plus network of people, most of whom are responsible and are capable of knowing what's right and wrong; we all have political leanings to some degree--its not about that; a healthy political dialogue is fine and FB is a terrific forum, but the Obama item crossed the line 10-fold.

If Facebook is to revel in its hugely popular social gathering place, fine, but with that comes responsibility and accountability. Common sense. One would hope this sort of incident gets to the desk of the FB CEO and its top brass. Immediately.

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Top 10 Bay Area places to break the Yom Kippur Fast

We're in the home stretch of Yom Kippur 2009; a time for all Jewish mavens like me and others to atone for our sins, and more importantly, contemplate where we all will converge come sundown to break the fast.

Here's a quick laundry list of Top 10 Bay Area places where you can do some serious fast-breaking:

**Tommys Joynt, SF: serious turkey sandwiches and the meatloaf is orgasmic. Sip the grub down with a Sierra Nevada to boot!

**Top Dog, Berkeley: my favorite is the one on Durant and Telegraph and right about now, 3 well-done brats and two tops deserve consideration. Atone me with seltzer later.

**Blondies Pizza: Berkeley: Just one FAT peperoni slice and a diet coke. That'll do...for starters.

**Lefty O'Douls, SF: if you don't like the meatloaf at Tommys Joynt, there's always the pastrami at this Union Square hof brau, but brace for the homeless guy outside later on singing "Don' worry, be happy."

**Tadich Grill, SF: the best seafood in the Bay Area. Period. End of story. If you get a full loaf of bread with the swordfish, I'll trade you that for a night on the town with Beyonce, (maybe)

**Balboa Cafe, SF: so, you need to get food and eat a great burger, (my fav) and in addition, it's "cougar night" at the Balboa. And we all know that Cougars love single Jewish men like me, right?

**La Cucina, SF: an excellent breakfast place, but I like an early dinner too.

**North Beach Pizza, SF, (Union and Green) there's got to a law that says that pizza this good can't be consumed so quickly after 24 hours of fasting. Call the lawyers.

**House of Prime Rib, SF: Oh, you had to go there, right? Hell yes! Go to your ATM and withdraw 40 bucks, rush inside the Van Ness eatery, (go to the bar, it's quicker) and immediately order the King Arthur cut and save me the creamed spinach for later.

**Shanghai 1930, SF: High-end Chinese food with the most delicious pot stickers and jazz to boot. If you're lucky, say you know Willie Brown and they might comp you on the fried rice.

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KRON shelves Sat/5 PM Newscast; KTVU wins September; KNBR morning man mystery

KRON4 has dumped its Saturday 5PM newscast, (more infomercials) but has added a 9PM show.

I talked to a KRON on-air staffer who confirmed that indeed, 5Pm was shelved, (has to be cost-cutting move) but what else is new at 1001 Van Ness, where more ominous financial conditions continue to plague the SF independent, in addition to newsroom turmoil and unrelenting industry gossip regarding upper newsroom management activity. Stay tuned on that one.

BAY MEDIA NOTES:

***KTVU wins September; SF zoo bear story pulls pool query; KNBR morning mystery

KTVU won the Sept. '09 ratings wars across the board in Bay Area local TV. Both morning news and "Mornings on 2" dominated across the board...The Bay Area local TV news got another reminder of economic downsizing. As news of the man who made his way into the bear den at SF zoo, a widely-used actuality of a SFPD officer and eyewitness of the account were simultaneously played on several local newscasts, including ABC7 and KTVU. The "pool" actuality saves money and expect to see a lot of this shared content as financial resources are scant...KNBR mystery: KNBR morning man Brian Murphy was absent this morning on the stations a.m. show. Was he sick? On vacation? We don't know because his sidekick, "Paulie" didn't say anything about why "Murph" was mysteriously absent from the broadcast. Only thing that was uttered, "Murph is out today; we 'hope to have him back, maybe tomorrow." Geez, thanks for the clear-up.

*********

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Giants offering '09 post-season tix for sale; huh?

THIS JUST IN...

In the "are we missing something? dept", the SF Giants are offering fans the chance to purchase 2009 "post-season" tickets. Huh?

I mean, granted, they're ONLY 4 games out with 9 to play, but by golly, management thinks fans still give the Gigantes hope. Really? That would have to be some incredible rally to catch the Rockies, but we're talking moolah here and moolah rules the world, right?

Maybe the Giants could use it to begin stocking the Lincecum contract bank vault.

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SFGate, Mercury News Suffering in Time Spent Per User

Jason Turbow from BayNewser.com has a complete and comprehensive breakdown on the Nielsen Online most popular news sites...It has released its latest numbers, showing how much time people spend per month at top-30 newspaper sites.

The Chronicle's SFGate.com, however, managed only seven minutes, one second per user. That's down from more than 16 minutes in August '08.

Only four papers in Nielsen's top-30 ranked lower. One of them, the San Jose Mercury News, came in dead last -- by a longshot -- with only four minutes, 42 seconds per user (which is actually up by two seconds from a year ago). This tells us either that the Star Tribune's Web site is more than four times better than that of the Mercury News, or that people in Silicon Valley have more than four times as many things to do other than read online newspapers as their counterparts in Minnesota.

Nielsen's Top 30
Site -- Aug. '09 (hour:minute:second) -- Aug. '08

NYTimes.com -- 0:13:58 -- 0:29:48
washingtonpost.com -- 0:10:22 -- 0:10:49
Wall Street Journal Online -- 0:14:01 -- 0:13:57
USATODAY.com -- 0:13:32 -- 0:16:20
LA Times -- 0:09:28 -- 0:06:48

Daily News Online Edition -- 0:07:11 -- 0:05:16
Boston.com -- 0:17:26 -- 0:09:09
New York Post -- 0:09:47 -- 0:14:50
SFGate.com/San Francisco Chronicle -- 0:07:01 -- 0:16:37
Chicago Tribune -- 0:11:52 -- 0:07:33

Politico -- 0:07:27 -- 0:10:29
NJ.com -- 0:10:26 -- 0:07:51
The Houston Chronicle -- 0:11:27 -- 0:31:11
Chicago Sun-Times -- 0:08:31 -- 0:08:22
MercuryNews.com -- 0:04:42 -- 0:04:40

Newsday -- 0:08:32 -- 0:04:48
MiamiHerald.com -- 0:10:02 -- 0:03:29
Atlanta Journal-Constitution -- 0:17:31 -- 0:14:08
DallasNews.com - The Dallas Morning News -- 0:10:34 -- 0:04:04
Philly.com -- 0:08:16 -- 0:03:02

Orlando Sentinel -- 0:07:33 -- 0:07:59
Detroit Free Press -- 0:13:35 -- 0:13:33
The Washington Times -- 0:07:05 -- 0:03:05
tampabay.com -- 0:06:47 -- 0:09:08
Star Tribune -- 0:20:47 -- 0:24:47

DenverPost.com -- 0:06:49 -- 0:04:21
The News & Observer -- 0:06:57 -- 0:08:37
Azcentral.com -- 0:15:24 -- 0:12:40
Seattle Times -- 0:15:07 -- 0:07:26
Sun-Sentinel -- 0:09:40 -- 0:06:25

KCSM on brink of shutting down; station needs $800,000 or kaput.

KCSM-FM; the last jazz station, (91.1 FM), in the Bay Area may well be off the air for good by the end of next month if it does not raise at least $800,000 before then.

The station is funded by the College of San Mateo, but because of state cutbacks, all funding-- about $1 million a year, has been cut.

They say the station will have to raise 82% of its budget on its own. If they do not raise the necessary funds by the end of next month, the college will turn it off for good.

KCSM-TV, like KQED, is independent of its sister radio outlet, and for the time being is not affected by the radio budget crisis.

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Raiders get it done no matter how ugly; 'Just win Baby'

Was it pretty? NO. Did JaMarcus Russell look like a #1 QB? No. Did the Raiders win? Yes, and give Russell credit: when the chips were down and he had to make a play(s), Russell orchestrated a monumentally outstanding drive, hitting three key passes and leading the Raiders to a 13-10 victory over the Chiefs in KC.

A huge win. A stellar, gut-check performance by the Raiders defense. Game ball to Michael Huff, who had two key interceptions and fittingly enough, broke up the last play of the game, cementing the victory in hostile Arrowhead.

Again, it wasn't pretty; the Raiders offense looked thoroughly out of sinc all day long. Part of that can be attributed to the conditions in KC--it was very humid and the temps got into the high 70's, but these types of games are precisely the contests in years past the Raiders would find a way to lose. In this instance, they got the W. It's not a 'sexy victory, but coming off the intensely frustrating Monday night loss to the Chargers, winning in KC, (a division game no less) is straight out of the old adage: "Just win baby."

KEYS TO WIN:

1. Raiders defense--(played remarkably well, other than last KC drive when Matt Cassel hit Dwayne Bowe for TD reception)

2. Tom Cable game plan: considering opponent, one would think that Cable would have drawn up a more creative game plan, but in the end, it worked.

3. Russell: Another errant, erratic performance, but give some credit to Chiefs defense. Nonetheless, Russell needs to pick up his game. He consistently missed and overthrew his receivers, but at the end, again, did what was needed to win.

4. Sebastian Janokowski: Tremendous game. Two long field goals and three kick-offs into the end zone. Ditto, Shane Lechler, whose booming punts kept Chiefs on their side of the field throughout the day.

OVERALL: Any win is big, but a road victory in one of the toughest, loudest stadiums in the NFL is big. Raiders needed this one badly.

INJURY: Raiders lose lineman Robert Gallery for a minimum six weeks with a broken fibula.

NEXT WEEK: Denver (Sept. 27, 1: 15 PST, Oakland Coliseum)

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Bay Area's LL Young secret to scoring on the first date; 'Hellllllo Burlingame'

So, its a Friday--you just scored another six-figure account and the boss has already left the office and it's time for a cold one at Perry's. You've been dying to meet Gretchen for a drink and after four dates, you feel ready to conquer. She's given you that, "what the hell; are you gonna make a move or not-- kind of look lately?"
According to Stella Dora, a certified cougar, (she's 47, professional, and seeing many qualified men), forget the stiff martini and red roses. Try Lloyd Lindsay Young. Yes THAT LL Young, KGO radio's yodelling weatherman. Uh, she tells me its the voice. Huh?

"He's just king of cute too!" Really? Like, I was thinking maybe Mike Mibach, but Lloyd Lindsay Young? "Hellllllllllo Brisbane!"

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Time puts Beck on cover; 'madman' gets more pub

Glenn Beck adorns the new cover of Time magazine. How lovely. Like Beck needs more publicity. Sort of like those pictures of Lindsey Lohan in the National Enquirer. Why bother?

Beck is a sordid, twisted, highly-paid purveyor of sensational hate and fear. Maybe borderline nuts to boot. We all sort of know that, don't we? What's Time's point? And isn't it just convenient and sweet that Time is owned by AOL/Time Warner, which owns CNN, which could only mean the right-wing echo machine will no doubt spin this Becks'-capade into another "them versus us" vendetta, right? Beck is a Fox News hound and CNN is utilizing one of its media tenets to go after Beck You just know that's how Beck's going to spin it, but hell, I bet he's also having a huge orgasm: I frickin' made the cover of Time!

Newsrooms using Facebook and Twitter to build audience

From InsideRadio.com

Young-targeting morning shows aren’t the only ones using Twitter and Facebook to interact with listeners. While cutbacks have reduced the size of newsroom staffs, citizen journalists are helping pick up some of the slack. More than half (56%) of radio newsrooms rely on listeners for story leads.

Nearly half of newsrooms (45%) now use social media to build audience loyalty and keep listeners tuned-in, according to a survey of 50 radio newsrooms in the top 50 markets conducted by PR firm News Generation.


And while cutbacks have reduced the size of newsroom staffs, citizen journalists are helping pick up some of the slack. More than one-third (34%) of newsroom employees say they also serve as possible information sources for news stories. However all of the producers surveyed said the words, pictures or video provided by amateur news gatherers must be carefully vetted against reliable sources before hitting the air.

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Cable News ratings

CABLE NEWS RACE
Tuesday, Sept. 15, 2010

FOXNEWS O'REILLY 4,039,000
FOXNEWS HANNITY 3,451,000
FOXNEWS BECK 3,421,000
FOXNEWS GRETA 2,785,000
FOXNEWS BAIER 2,273,000
FOXNEWS SHEP SMITH 2,201,000
MSNBC OLBERMANN 1,395,000
MSNBC MADDOW 1,369,000
CNN KINF 1,355,000
CNN COOPER 1,086,000

Why the Raiders call was even more galling

What was NEVER mentioned that further makes the TD call/take-away even more infuriating and you, Raiders fans, your anger/disgust last night even more justified....

To wit: Whether or not the ruling was right, (and it CLEARLY wasn't or even if there's some gray there) the ruling was bogus because of the following:

The Replay rule: The play ALREADY on the field was called a touchdown. The ONLY way a play can be over-ruled is if there is CLEAR, CONCLUSIVE evidence that the ORIGINAL CALL was wrong. Just on that basis alone, the play should NOT have been over-ruled b/c there was NO CONCLUSIVE EVIDENCE that he didn't score.

End of story.

Had the ORIGINAL call been an in completion , then the ensuing reversal could have been plausibly received.

The Raiders lost 4 points and the TD take-a-way not only was WRONG, but changed the entire MOMENTUM of the game.

Oh, and those four points? Final score, SD: 24, Oakland: 20.

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Patrick Swayze dies

Patrick Swayzee has died due to cancer.

Developing Story.

ESPN's 'Mike and Mike' anti-Raiders bias; crew to work MNF game tonight

As the Oakland Raiders take the field tonight in the second 'Monday Night Football' opener, (New England-Buffalo precede at 4 PM PST) the ESPN crew working the game has a notorious history of anti-Raiders ridicule and mockery of the Silver and Black. Fine. Everyone has a right to their opinion, but can Mike Greenberg and ex-NFL player, Mike Golic, transform their Raiders vitriol and turn in an unbiased broadcast for tonight's opener?

The duo, who work the "Mike and Mike" morning program on ESPN Radio weekdays, from 6-10 AM, (locally, KNBR 680 and 1050) have been frequent Raiders critics and have made numerous attacks at the Oakland football operation, including a plethora of personal shots at managing partner/owner Al Davis. Not a problem with that; again, the Bristol-based duo do a radio show and have never been ashamed to rip the Raiders, but how can ESPN and its brass expect Oakland fans watching the game on TV, to see any credible analysis when the two broadcasters are such overt Raiders haters?

Presumably, ESPN will point out that the third man in the booth working the game, Steve Young, will diffuse the legitimate question of why Golic and Greenberg were chosen to work the game in the first place? I mean, sure, the second contest will be aired at 10: 15 PM in the east coast, so most fans watching will be asleep by the time the game is over, but that's not the point.

Golic and Greenberg have ripped the Raiders for years; even going so far as to mock the team's players and question the legitimacy of the Raiders football operation. These attacks have been a constant going as far back to the 2001, '02 and '03 seasons when the Raiders delivered winning seasons and went to the Super Bowl in the '02 season. Again, no one's denying 'Mike and Mike' have a right to conduct bits and anti-Raiders content on their show, but how could ESPN place them on the opening game of a franchise they so openly have ridiculed?

This is not new for the so-called "World-wide leader". Just a couple years ago on a Monday night opener, Golic and Greenberg worked the Raiders home opener; also on a Monday night, and the third man in the booth was Mike Ditka. The same Ditka this reporter asked in a NY bar seven years ago what he thought of the Raiders. Ditka's response? "-UCK the Raiders." Good judgement, ESPN.

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Why Savage was axed at KNEW: It's all about the money

The immediate reaction on Michael Savage's sudden firing from KNEW was swift and to the point. His fans flooded the SF Clear Channel switchboard with disgust and anger; message boards on-line were riddled with threats of listener boycotts, and many of his core fans said they will erase 910 AM from their dial patronage.

Many people insinuated that Savage, (real name: Michael Weiner,) was somehow shown the door because of his ultra-rightist feelings on immigration, the Middle East, Barack Obama, to name a few, but in fact, politics had the least to do with Savage's axing in the nation's #4 market.

As in everything in life these days, Savage was let go because of one thing: MONEY.

There is no doubt that Savage has a very loyal audience and his unpredictable rants make for occasional appointment radio listening, (full disclosure: I was a guest on his show twice in the past few months) While he may have milked his personal UK ban-list story, (where Savage was placed on a list preventing him from entering Britain) and his frequent habit of taping bits and playing them as if they were live, his mix of humor, off ball rants involving what to order for dinner and tales about his dog, "Teddy", provided some of the most hilarious accounts on radio.

And Savage was paid an enormous amount of money befitting the third-most-listened-to host on syndicated radio. Industry analysis estimated his yearly income was around the $10 million range. In the big markets like NY and San Francisco, Savage's deal was paid directly by the local market station. His deal with Talk Radio network, the syndicate that distributed his show to other stations around the country, did not play a part of what transpired in SF at KNEW.

Savage's KNEW income hovered around the north of a million-dollar range. That's a lot of coin in a depressed economy with sagging advertising revenue. Combine that with a station that is owned by Clear Channel, which like many in the broadcasting business, is reeling under the worst economic climate in over a generation. This isn't intended to defend "Cheap Channel", as some industry people call them, but it does point to the reality that is major-market radio these days.

Savage indeed has a very loyal, core listener base, but with declining ad revenue and limited financial resources, no one, even Savage, is immune from getting a pink slip. And Savage isn't the first "name" air talent to get the axe and won't be the last. There are a lot of prominent local big-name talk-show hosts and FM personalities who are paid significant coin by the likes of Citadel and Cumulus who will get their taste of the Savage treatment sooner or later. And ratings have nothing to do with it. Savage's numbers were not that great in SF, but his national audience was huge and his show on KNEW was the most popular.

But in the end, KNEW simply lacked the financial resources to continue to pay Savage. That's all it in a nutshell and pretty much nothing else. And for those who are speculating about the prospect of another station in SF picking up Savage's show, good luck. KSFO? The station that unceremoniously dumped Savage ten years ago? Nada, besides, they're owned by Citadel, which could go BK any day now. The only other station? KGO? Right, dream on and I have a bridge to sell you if you believe that's going to happen.

Michael Savage out at KNEW

Michael Savage is OUT at KNEW.

The controversial, SF-based radio host, who according to Talkers magazine is the third most-listened-to personality, did his last show yesterday. The program was dropped this morning.

John Scott, program director of the station said in a e-mail that the station was "headed in a new direction and a new mind set at this station. Savage does not fit in any longer."

BOTTOM LINE: The real story, like everything else at Clear Channel is money. In Savage's case, his million-dollar salary was the main reason he was let go. Clear Channel is in fiscal purgatory, like may other broadcast companies and anyone who makes that kind of coin is subject to getting axed. Savage was in that category.

Another small matter too: I'm told beyond money, (and that's about 98% of it here) was major Clear Channel mgt. brass' irritation at Savage's frequent taped shows of late. Developing story.

Watch this site for more updated information.

Cablers cover AeroMexico Hijacking en masse

From MediaBistro.com

This is kind of rare. As the cable news channels cover the hijacking of an AeroMexico flight in Mexico City, they are all taking the same video feed from Mexican broadcaster TV Azteca. CNN's Cuban-born Rick Sanchez, who anchors the 3pmET hour for CNN/U.S, is translating the live coverage from TV Azteca. NBC producer Maria Alcon is providing translation for MSNBC.

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SF Bay Area Top 20 Media Salaries (Update)

BAY AREA TOP 20 MEDIA SALARIES

UPDATED: September, 2009

1. Ronn Owens, (KGO Radio) $1,250,000
2. Gary Radnich,(KNBR/KRON-TV) $900,000
3. Dana King, (KPIX/CBS/INFINITY) $500,000
4. Michael Luckoff, (KGO RADIO-VP/GM) $500,000
5. Dan Ashley, (KGO/ABC7) $475,500
6. Ken Bastida, (KPIX/CBS/INFINITY) $400,000
7. Frank Somerville, (KTVU/FOX2) $400,000
8. Mark Ibanez, (KTVU/FOX2) $325,000
9. Julie Haener, (KTVU/FOX2) $300,000
10. Cheryl Jennings, (KGO/ABC7) $300,000
11. Joe Fonzi, (KTVU--FOX2) $255,000
12. Ralph Barbieri, (KNBR) $250,000
13. Tom Tolbert, (KNBR) $250,000
14. Ed Baxter, (KGO RADIO) $225,555
15. Dennis O'Donnell, (KPIX, CBS5) $220,000
16. Rita Williams, (KTVU/FOX2) $200,000
17. Mike Mibach, (KTVU/FOX2) $200,000
18. Stan Bunger, (KCBS Radio), $200,000
19. Wayne Freedman, (KGO/ABC7), $200,000
20. Larry Biel, (KGO/ABC7) $200,000

NOTES: Radnich' contract at KRON4 expires at the end of the year and industry insiders tell me the Young Broadcasting outlet, in dire economic straits, will not have the financial resources available to offer Radnich anything close to his current deal. Which might explain why Radnich has been touting his future 49ers Comcast Sportsnet post-game show with Willie Brown....KTVU's Mark Ibanez re-upped for a new three-year deal at the Fox affiliate in June...

"Chronicle Live Tonight" on Comcast Sportsnet and Assorted notes

I will guest tonight on Comcast Sportsnet's excellent talk show, "Chronicle Live"; talking about the NFL, Raiders and Niners, and the Giants playoff chances. We also might delve into the college football season.

Chronicle Live is hosted by Greg Papa, fresh off, thank god, by the last Raiders NFL pre-season game in Seattle last night. What to make of the Raiders? I have always told people that I don't like to dwell on meaningless practice games that are nothing more than glorified images. The Raiders have serious issues; they look confused on defense and have some spark on the offensive part of the field. And about 100 great running backs. I say you give the ball to Darren McFadden and Michael Bush and try to work out a trade with Justin Fargas for a linebacker.

MADDEN LINE: John Madden had a funny line during his morning schmooze fest on KCBS. Responding to anchor, Stan Bunger's lament about the "shoddy" ESPN game production of last night's Boise State-Oregon contest, Madden agreed, and said further that indeed the production was "shoddy and 'there's another 'sh-word' I could use." Here, here, coach.

WEEKEND SPORTS--

Tonight: Giants--Brewers 5: 05 ComcastSportsnet
Tonight: NFL pre-season: 49ers--Chargers CBS5 7: 05
Saturday night: CAL--Maryland 7: 05 ESPN2

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A possible new KRON anchor?

You never know. I mean, Henry Tannenbaum is sort of busy with his gardening show.

Ross McGowan Signing Off “Mornings on Two"

Ross McGowan, Host of “Mornings on Two” on KTVU Channel 2 News, announced today that he will be signing off from KTVU for the last time on Friday October 2, 2009. McGowan joined “Mornings on Two” in 1993; two years after the program debuted, and has always provided a steady presence to the often freewheeling two-hour format.

“I’ve had a great run at KTVU, and getting up at two o’clock in the morning for the past 17 years hasn’t been as difficult as you might think, although I’m looking forward to tossing out the alarm clock,” said McGowan. “Every morning, Bay Area viewers have allowed me into their homes. That’s an invite I’ve never taken for granted.”

“Ross McGowan is the master of the live TV interview. He’s the best I’ve ever seen.
His easy-going style puts people at ease, but he always asks tough questions,” said Tim McVay, Vice President and General Manager of KTVU. McVay added “Ross is very intuitive. He knows the questions the audience wants him to ask. He’s quick to follow-up and he knows when to just let people talk.”

McGowan has conducted more than 10,000 live interviews on KTVU’s “Mornings on Two,” going one-on-one with the likes of legendary newsman Walter Cronkite, then Presidential candidate Barack Obama, and Senators Orrin Hatch and Dianne Feinstein. He has covered political conventions and news events of the day that touched everyone’s lives; from the disappearance of Polly Klaas, to the famous O.J. Simpson trial, to the aftermath of September 11, 2001, to the current economic crisis.

Ronn Owens; KRON and Comcast SportsNet; SF media notes

Ah, it's good to be free.

This site will now be my main media component as I've left SF Gate. Why? Let's just say it was time to move on, both for me and the Chron people. I'm not being vague when I say that I enjoyed my work there; broke many stories and wrote some hits and misses. Kind of like life.

This space is MY space and I'm beholden to no one. I can write and post whenever I want and give you, my readers, the type of information you deserve and crave. By the way, I'm always looking for tips, so do send me your info and I will check back with you. OK, enough housework. Let's go.

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I'll be a guest this morning on the Ronn Owens KGO radio program at 9: 50 to discuss the media aspect, (some media outlets are paying for info in the Jaycee Lee Dugard story) KGO radio is at 810 on the dial in case you're from another planet.

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I have written extensively about the KRON moral and how putrid it is and now, with this freedom space, (my space--I love it!) I can now be more specific and fill you in without some editor screwing with my story. That doesn't mean I'm going to write rumor and innuendo; quite the contrary.

But I will tell you more than you can ever imagine because my sources are 100% legit and the stories I've written about KRON have legs. (Bad word at KRON particularly for a few of its upper mtg. news suits who like to, based on reports to me, mix it up every now and then)

I have a KRON story coming that will knock your socks off and I will back this piece up to all those of you who have asked what's really taking place at the old joint on 1001 Van Ness. Stay tuned.
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Watch for my fourth appearance tomorrow night on Comcast SportsNet "Chronicle Live" around 8: 30 PM. I'll be one of the guest panelists talking NFL football. Raiders/Niners and Giants too. Comcast SportsNet is on, locally, Channel 40 and Direct TV Channel 698. The show is hosted by Greg Papa.

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Check back to this site for frequent updates and new, fresh, exciting media chatter.

Listen to my sports commentary every Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday on XTRA Sports 860 AM and follow me on Twitter and Facebook.

Swine flu media coverage: hysteria over information?

Swine flu media coverge is taking on an electronic/print pandemic.

It began in April; with a much publicized outbreak of several cases in Mexico; subsided in spring and has now spread fast over the last part of summer. Next to the health-care debate and town hall meetings, its become a major topic in the day's news cycles.

While most of the coverage has been relatively informative and useful, other aspects have been nothing short of well-coordinated hysteria and misinformation put out by careless media outlets.

Margaret Chan, the World Health Organization's director-general, declared a "public health emergency of international concern" under the rules of the WHO's new International Health Regulations in April. As cases subsided overseas and here in the states, the H1N1 coverage soon took a back seat to other concerns and disappeared off the media map.

Now that summer is ending in three weeks and fall is beckoning, the media onslaught of the story has begun again in earnest. Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano said Wednesday that people should expect "a big influx" of swine flu cases this fall and prepare as best they can.

Reasonable enough, but could not the administration coordinate an information process via media oulets to inform the public on when they can expect the vaccine shots to be available? Where people can go if they have limited or no health care insurance? Just how dire is this flu strain perceived? We're not getting a whole lot of information on this matter. We've heard a lot of "what ifs", "what might happens", and overall many people are outright confused.

It shouldn't have to be this way. For what seemed like an eternity, both electronic media and government worked for months prepping people on the conversion from analogue to high-definition TV broadcasting. The government and broadcast officials laid out a specific plan for citizens to adapt to the new system. Too bad they couldn't handle the Swine flu information with the tenacity and accuracy they did in the HD switch-over.

Right now, many of us don't have a real, pardon the expression, 'pulse, on this subject. It's in the back of our minds and we don't know whether to be fully alarmed or push it aside as just a normal case of medical jitters. And that's just the problem. Our media isn't helping. Almost every other day, we get conflicting accounts of the potential lethalness to this particular influenza.

We deserve better. Basic information would be welcome. Hysteria, we don't need.



Read me daily on SFGate; follow me on Twitter, and listen to my sports commentary every Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday on XTRA Sports 860 AM.

Checkbook journalism in the Jaycee Lee Dugard story; Media paying for info in Antioch tragedy

The infamous house on Walnut street in Antioch where Jaycee Lee Dugard was held captive for almost two decades, has become a media fortress. Scores of TV satellite trucks and reporters from around the world have descended into the neighborhood. Amid the lurid and unseemly details that have emerged from the case, comes a more disheartening sidebar: some media outlets are paying for information in the kidnapping case.

When the story initially broke early last week, one of the very first neighbors to speak, Damon Robinson, spoke to reporters across a chain-link fence. Other reporters, including those from CNN and Fox News, waited to talk to him. One correspondent, from a London tabloid, offered Robinson $2000 for an "exclu." He accepted.

In the days since, local residents who knew Phillip Garrido, Dugard's alleged kidnapper, said they have been approached by reporters -- American and foreign, print,TV, and internet blogs -- who have offered thousands of dollars for information and pictures of the Garridos, Dugard, now 29, and the two daughters, fathered by Garrido.

Garrido's father, Manuel, who lives in Brentwood, said he received $2,000 from a media outlet. He added he would no longer speak to media outlets unless he were paid.

He told the L.A. Times: "From now on, it's going to be more than $2,000," he said. "You're making big stories, and you are getting paid for it. Here I am suffering, so I should get some money out of it."

***I will be a guest this Friday evening on Comcast Sportsnet "Chronicle Live" around 8: 30 PM following the SF Giants postgame show. The show is on Comcast Channel 40 and Direct TV, (channel 698)

***Read me daily on SFGate; follow me on Twitter, and listen to my sports commentary every Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday on XTRA Sports 860 AM.