Wednesday, January 25, 2012

Veteran Reporter Kraig Debro Out at KTVU; Mystery in Jack London Square

So, interesting personnel development at KTVU.

Interesting that Kraig Debro has "mysteriously disappeared" from the airwaves over at TV-2.....wonder what happened...and why he was fired? And how he hung on so long as a newsroom trouble maker, (says a prominent ex-staffer).


I called KTVU to confirm that Debro, a six-year veteran reporter, was indeed gone and he is. No one wants to talk, naturally, which only adds to the mystery and confusion.


OK, this much is clear: Debro is out at Channel 2. He also, according to a station source, liked to make waves. The kind that make people antsy. Draw your own conclusion.


And there you have ...the rest of the story. Somewhat.


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Kraig Debro

44 comments:

  1. perhaps because he failed to deliver the alleged "third woman" which KTVU heralded...in the Sheriff case?

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  2. You'd make waves too if you were passed over for a pice of crap anchor named: Dave Clark

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    1. You are so right. Dave Clark started with this stupid sing song voice. A few complaints they worked with him and now he reads like he reading to children. I met Kraig Debro downtown Berkeley and in San Francisco wonderful reporter.
      I am so sick of hearing Dave Clark's. He must be a low life Prince Hall Mason. Dirtiest, evil men on planet earth.

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    2. AHA!!! Glad to see I'm not the only one who feels this same way!

      As an Oaklander myself, I prefer watching my local SF Bay Area tv news on Oakland's KTVU channel. But its Dave Clark has, imho, always come across as a condescending pompous blowhard. (And by now, I find his elocution is only very slightly less grating than when first he began here.)

      I'm a tv news junkie. But I actually boycott KTVU channel in the morning news hours, because of Dave Clark!

      Meanwhile, I've always had nothing but respect for Kraig Debro and his personable, no-nonsense, unpretentious delivery of news. If only KTVU had swapped Debro in for Clark's spot, then I'd still be loyal to their morning news show like I was in the decades before Clark replaced Frank Sommerville.

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    3. What a bunch of haters here! Dave Clark has a much clearer voice or more audible than Brian Flores. I like Dave Clark so stop your whining.

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    4. How dare you talk about Dave Clark like that. The man is pillar of this community and beyond reproach. Kraig Debro wishes he was half the man as Dave Clark

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  3. Sorry to learn this. I watch the morning news while I get ready for work.

    I always enjoyed Debro's stories. And Dave Clark is wonderfuL

    @7:06: "piece of crap anchor?" Really? I feel bad for you--you seem to have some grudge against Clark, plus you seem very limited on classy language, let alone English (PICE?)

    Bless your heart--may you learn how to play nice!

    Thanks again, Rich!

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  4. Debro wasn't a very good reporter--He could never deliver his dialog without stumbling over the words, and he was worse as an anchor. He won't be missed.

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  5. Mornings on 2 has been in the shitter since Dave Clark came on board. I quit watching after the 100'th "Look At This" comment. Poor Tori Campbell must think her career is over with that doofus sitting next to her.

    Good Luck Kraig, You knew how to handle business here in the Bay Area, sorry to see you go..

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  6. Hmmm...I have noticed that a Newbie has appeared on Mornings on 2 lately instead of Kraig Debro, I believe her name is Lisa Washington. My bet is that Lisa came cheaper

    I will Miss Kraig Debro, I had always hoped he would take over for Dave Clark when his contract was up. This is the 2nd African American Reporter Ch. 2 has let go of that was Excellent at their job.! What Up with that???

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  7. i'm thrilled to hear he's gone. Seemed to have a problem with the facts getting in the way of his story, and wasn't a real nice guy in the newsroom. Best of luck to whomever replaces him.

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  8. Dave Clark is perhaps one of the worst on air anchors in the Bay Area. I don't know what KTVU saw in him that they had to have at the station. Horrible tosses to Sal among other uncomfortable small talk. Debro was a great reporter and fill in anchor. Too bad he's gone.

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  9. Lisa Washington is new on KPIX as the the number 2 or 3 evening reporter. Debro was the # 1 morning reporter. Alli Rasmus is now the # 1 morning reporter

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  10. Debro seemed very professional and clearly over qualified. Love Dave "we'll smile and say,good morning to you" at 6:30 is great. Sal, has to be the biggest douche with a regular gig on 2. Never understood the use of traffic reporters...on television. WTF do I have a flat screen in my car?

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  11. I don't know what was going on in the newsroom, but Debro came off better onscreen than Dave Clark, for sure.

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    1. How do you get Dave to stop following a noun with a pronoun - "The neighbors, they had a party". The Mayor, he....

      The neighbors had a party and if Dave didn't add words to his reporting, he could probably add another story

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  12. Again, Frank Summerville is the worst anchor on local news. Dave Clark is a close second. Summerville has NEVER delivered a single story without stumbling all over his script. He is awful. Kraig Debro was a good reporter, I don't care if he was unpleasant at work. I see that Jesse Gary is in LA after wondering what happened to him.

    I have stopped listening to KTVU for the evening news. If I hear one them say "thanks for trusting KTVU" one more time I will scream. So, I just stopped watching them. KPIX reports on a wider spectrum of news, and not just the two tragedies of the day, or the most spectacular murder or fire. KPIX is my choice for 10pm. And I watch Bill do the weather on KTVU at 10:48pm. I just can't stand Channel 2 anymore. I watch KGO news in the afternoon because it follows 7 Live, which follows General Hospital. When GH goes off the air, I will not be watching KGO in the afternoon and will leave the TV on HGTV when I'm home.

    Remember when KTVU used to interview people in the morning? Now they flog the same half dozen stories from 4:30am until 9:00am. KTVU is run by a bunch of badly trained monkeys. There are many technical errors during the course of a broadcast. Once they showed the same picture for the murder victim and the suspect. I called them to tell them Piedmont Ave. is in Oakland, not Piedmont, and the buffoon who answered the phone wanted to argue with me about it. A bunch of idiots. They ruined a great news organization.

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  13. Anyone who reads this- Please correct me if I am wrong. . . but I had heard a few years back that KTVU was grooming Debro to take Dennis Richmond's spot. . but there was some sort of internal shake up at the station where Kraig was lost in the shuffle. Any truth to this?

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  14. Ha !! Piedmont Avenue is in Oakland and Oakland Ave runs through Piedmont (and Oakland)... Natives know that. New folks from where ever don't know Oakland "Streets" from "Aves"

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  15. Actually Frank Sommersville was being groomed to take Richmond's spot for a while. The mess up is in the morning. (The following is speculation based on bits and pieces. I think Richmond wanted to ensure a black anchor continue to be represented at KTVU (he had the capital to make that kind of request on his way out I guess). So Debro (or Jesse Gary) was probably being groomed for the MORNING spot. Problem is, Mark Curtis used to fill in the morning and became pretty popular. So perhaps they brought Clark up from LA to fulfill Richmond's request and not upset viewers (FURTHER) when they didn't give Curtis the job. I'm a black guy and have to admit Curtis got the shaft (if indeed the scenario above is close to true). Curtis SHOULD have been the heir apparent to Somemrsville as Sommersville was the heir apparent to Richmond.

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  16. @ Anonymous 04:17 pm. Thanks for the info.. And truth be told, I like Dave Clark. I think he is solid and gives a no-nonsense, no-b.s. approach to the news. I don't know why people are hating on him. I think Clark is a refreshing change to the ego-laden talking heads who invade the airwaves each morning at the other bay area stations. And I really liked Sara Sidner- her work at CNN is impressive. I am surprised KTVU let her go.

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  17. @9:27AM Jan. 26, 2012....

    Ooops! And yep, ur Right! I chalk it up to being half awake in the mornings... ;)

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  18. I really liked Mark Curtis. He would have been a worthy replacement to Richmond. Summerville is just awful and I don't know what people are seeing when they sing his praises. Has he ever done any reporting or has he always been a talking head? The other guy I like a lot is Mike Mibach. Very relaxed, straight forward delivery and he rarely stumbles. Hope Debro ends up somewhere local. He was really good. I saw the new topic about the new KTVU set. They are going to have to do something more than decorate to get me back as a regular evening/nighttime viewer. I can only stand to watch the weather in the morning. Their whole approach to broadcast news now is weak. I used to love this station.

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  19. Does Dave Clark still live in LA? When he first got the job at KTVU, he said he would keep his family down there and commute to Oakland.

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  20. I like Somersville as he's a local guy from Berkeley and fits in here in the Bay. He doesn't take himself to seriously. I can imagine him hanging out at Berkeley High back in the day. He's a news reader... he doesn't have to be that intelligent. Just look the part and read the prompter. No... He'll never be confused with Mac, Wilson or Richmond but he's cool. Mark Curtis was good and while I didn't like Clark at first, he works in the morning. Not spectacular, not bad. Simply OK. Lost in the shuffle is Ken Wayne who is actually really good. We haven't had a disaster around here in a while (knock on wood) that really puts anchors to the test where they have to display calmness, ability to shift through all the info AND talk ad nauseum while trying to keep the audience interested (it shouldn't be that way but it is as news goes non-stop wall to wall)

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  21. Kraig, like his brother, may have been afflicted with the societal disease infecting many competent, well educated male decedents of former slaves, Racism

    Kraig’s Brother Karl, an educator, taught honors English at San Leandro High School. Karl was almost fired. He was saved by a public system that required due process. Karl is a well educated competent decedent of former slaves. He was able to defend himself in a court of law. He won $1.3 million dollars and retained his job, in spite of his bosses opinion that he was a trouble maker.

    Kraig, the holder of a masters degree in Journalism from the University of California at Berkeley and arguable the best morning reporter in the Bay Area had no such protection. Both of these men were described as trouble makers. Karl had union protection. Kraig was subject to the subjectivity of those who rule. As their father, I have been subjected to the same charges. I hold both an undergraduate and graduate degree from the university of California at Berkeley. I am a scientist and an engineer. I too have been fired for being a trouble maker.

    Our family originated in Mississippi. My father was fired many time for being a trouble maker.

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    1. I remember Kraig as a young girl. My father coached the baseball team that he & my brother played on together for several years in Castro Valley. Not only was Kraig talented in baseball, I recall him being a polite & respectful young boy. As a frequent viewer of KTVU I can honestly say Kraig was a brilliant reporter, not to mention good looking. I was a pleasure to see someone on national TV that I & my family knew growing up. I don't know where he will surface, but I hope it's local & soon. Best wishes to Kraig.

      CHAMBERS

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    2. "I remember Kraig as a young girl." I don't mean to refute what you remember but I sincerely doubt Kriag was ever a young girl. :-) Sorry I couldn't let that one go.

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    3. I recently asked about Kraig on KTVU facebook and received no response. I really like Kraig and I wish him well. Also, I often wondered if Kraig was related to a landlord we had in the 60's by the name of Debro on 57th street in Oakland.

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    4. Please, here we go with race race card. Kraig flubbed his lines so much and mispronounced names and words all the time. It was painful to watch and not very enjoyable as a viewer. Education level and achievement don't always translate into being at the top of your vocation.

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  22. Kraig is an awesome reporter and was always easy to work with. There were rumors about personal problems for a while, but he always kept his head up - although a few of us thought he should have taken some time off to sort it out at one point.

    Kraig, like the rest of the staff at 2, is part of a daily grind of nonstop news regurgitation with tidbits of new info thrown it. It's too much for normal people to handle - especially when you look at the stories that he was often thrown into.

    The consultants that Cox hires to keep KTVU at the number 1 spot have achieved what they are supposed to, but a dramatic cost of product quality and the mental health of many KTVU employees.

    It's only going to be more of the same at KTVU with no real change other than staff - there is too much at stake to do so otherwise. The station is having to hire more and more inexperienced staff in all departments because the grind is becoming increasingly sketchy to deal with as a "career."

    Moving on to bigger, smaller.... or "other" markets makes sense once you know what the hell you are doing in the business. Those that tend to stick around (other than some of the old-schoolers) are either batshit crazy, dependent on the paycheck, dreary old nags or middle managers that are able to game the system and blame everyone else for the station's problems.

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  23. Mr. Debro:

    If you are so sure it was racism, then file a lawsuit! Kraig was also a union member, so maybe they'd help. I would think with Karl's $1.3 million dollar settlement, you could hire a good lawyer. Cox is a multi-billion dollar corporation - one of America's wealthiest families. It also has a history of racism, i.e., the owner, Ambassador Anne Cox Chambers used to belong to a "white's only" country club in Atlanta (until Jimmy Carter nominated her to be Ambassador to Belgium).

    You level the accusation of racism. Now, have the backbone and guts to prove it in court! The Oakland community is counting on you! Otherwise you are just shouting "fire" in a crowded theater!

    I look forward to your response.

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  24. I use ktvu as my morning news program; however, I realized that Kraig Debro was no longer reporting. Initially I thought he was on vacation, but then realized that no one was talking about him. Hmmmm, I thought, something must be up!!! Please KTVU tell us what's up with Kraig Debro. I really enjoyed his reporting and will miss him tremendously!!

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  25. Cocaine is a he'll of a drug

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  26. Wow, still no racism lawsuit filed yet. The silence speaks volumes!

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  27. Kraig Debro was one of my favorite ktvu 2 reporters. He seemed real and had a sense of humor. I was wondering where he was sad that he no longer works for 2. Now Sal Castaneda is a jerk I saw him one time by Bart he was out reporting not on camera and I just wanted to speak I said ah look theirs Sal Castaneda & he acted like I was nothing Hey Sal you think your the shit but your not with your half pint self

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  28. Omg Dave Clark sucks ass big time. He is hella dramatic and never gets the story right. I love Kraig D and in my opinion he should've been in Dave's spot replacing Dennis

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  29. Dave Clark is the best morning anchor in the Bay Area (although, I always liked John Kessler)

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  30. Dave Clark rocks! He is by far the best ancher ktvu ever had! I dont no why some people dis Dave Clark. Maybe their just gealous cause Dave is successful inteligent and talented and your not.

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    1. anchor know they're jealous intelligent you're - How intelligent are you? Perhaps that's why you find Dave so appealing

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  31. I enjoyed Tori and Frank as morning anchors and regret the choice to bring in Dave Clark. Clark's voice and poor segues makes the morning show almost unbearable to watch. Kraig Debro would of also been a poor choice for anchor. He just seemed like he didn't have a clue what he was talking about. I often found myself laughing at Kraig because of his reporting style,but I didn't stop watching. I did stop watching because of Dave Clark and strongly wish the powers that be would replace him.

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  32. I work in the public sector and was interviewed by Mr. Debro numerous times. I must say, he was always abrasive and condescending, not only to me, but also his coworkers and counterparts. On one occasion, I was literally in the middle of an interview with one of his dayshift co-workers when he arrived to cover the story for the evening newscast. I was shocked at how he rudely interrupted and asked to cut in...he was trying to scoop his evenings competitor reporters, as they had not yet arrived. His coworker looked equally as shocked as me. She was cordial and ceded her spot to him, and reinterviewed me afterwards. How unprofessional and inconsiderate of him! Debro was a joke. I was so glad to hear he had been let go from KTVU. Good riddance!

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