Saturday, March 24, 2012

Out-of-Town Reporters who don't know -hit and the Fatal Accident on Doyle Drive that invited gossip; Saturday Sermon



They come from market#62, many of them wide-eyed and gleeful often working for peanuts. They don't care because they made it to the big city.

You would think they'd make an attempt to know their new geography. It's fairly easy.

Not.

I'm not a misogynist, but many are women. They might do weather or traffic on the radio. Some are local TV news reporters who should know better. Their bosses forgot to tell them that it's Grant Avenue, not Grant Street.

My favorite is the ubiquitous, Doyle Ave. The natives know it's actually Doyle Drive. This may seem trivial and petty but it's an integral part of the job. Listeners and viewers alike want to know that the reporter knows their city and town. Wouldn't you?

Off topic: Speaking of Doyle Drive, a well-known local media story that was never made public, but I've got a big mouth.

Several years ago, a fatal accident took place on the approach to the GG Bridge. The victim's identity was withheld, partly because the body was in very bad condition due to the collision. A story made the rounds that the victim was in fact a local KGO-TV weather woman. Or was it? I bring this up only to let you be aware that the victim's ID was a hot topic of SF TV gossip for decades. Turns out the ID made for gossipy subject matter at local saloons. I'll leave it at that.

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27 comments:

  1. If you have a story to tell us the fucking tell us. Don't act like a godamn seventh grader. Say what the hell it is that you know we want to know. I like this blog ,but your silly antics are a pain in the ass.

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  2. A sure sign of someone not from Oakland reporting on Oakland issues. If you can't get the street name right, how can we trust you get the facts of the story right ? If you are in east Oakland, the numbered avenues end in "Avenue" ie; 35th AVE. unless they are designated with a direction, usually "E", then it ends in "STREET" as in 25th AVE and E. 12th STREET. Numbered avenues WEST and North of Lake Merritt all in end in STREET as in 27th STREET and San Pablo. Know that and never get lost or confuse your readers again.

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    1. Actually it's rather simple East-West is Avenue, North-South is street or Boulevard. I grew up on 41st ave so I know.

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    2. Not quite... the Street/Avenue equation ONLY works for the numbered streets. Bancroft runs N-S and is an Avenue. International was of course E. 14th St. (Still call it that- never International). International is just called Blvd on a whim. Grew up on 41st Ave... must not have been paying much attention :) j/k. Borm and raised in the 'Town and have lived from Elmhurst to Hilller and many points in between.

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  3. Blewis is right on. Either tell the story or shut the hell up. You pull this juvenile crap much too often. I was planning to donate $20 today but your silly cryptic bullshit entry cost you pal!

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  4. Gosh....blewis needs some morning coffee or an attitude transplant.
    How about using civil language...not the 'f' word bud? Use a little imagination, if you have any!

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  5. It has to do with Beverly

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  6. Whatever! I realize that posts on blogs are not exactly the places sometimes for civil or well mannered discourse, but why do people have to be so intolerant and rude and use foul language all of time?
    (I know, it's a rhetorical question!)

    Rich doesn't always 'hit a home run' with his posts, but I agree with what he said about the 'newbies' not making an effort to learn
    some of the names of streets and so on. It may seem like a small deal to some viewers, but it shoots a lot of their credibility down the drain.

    As far as that story from the past about the KGO TV weather lady getting killed on Doyle Drive back in the late 80s or early 90s, I can't remember her name, but it was a weird story at the time. Apparently she was driving over 100 miles an hour and lost control of her car. Strange situation with tragic results.

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  7. Rumor was this KGO weather woman was actually a man. There. So now you know.

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  8. Wow, touchy bunch today.

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  9. Here's my contribution to 415 Media


    Rich, learn to write and find a good therapist!

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  10. The strange thing is "she" turned out to be a "he" and no one knew until after the crash.

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  11. knowing ALL your DRIVES from AVENUES before taking to the air is absolutely essential. It's just one more reason why Rich has enjoyed such a long and illustrious career in Bay Area media.

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  12. Beverly Johnson?..she was in a her new Mazda RX7. Decapitated.

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  13. I remember her, bright smile very cute! well if she was a men this straight white boy (I was 17 then) from Walnut Creek would have still enjoyed some of that dark chocolate!

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  14. Dick Chaney 71, wizard of evil, was given a heart transplant..the usual cut off age is 64. So Dick-the ideal Republican,cut in line and stole a sick kids last hope, by waving influence and wads of cash.
    God, I hate the rotten Republican party and its ideals of greed..

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  15. Are you sure? What was this person's name and when did it happen?

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  16. I'm born and raised in SF, Cleveland School kindergarten, Epiphany grammar, and Riordan high, and I
    Could not give 2 shits whether people call it Frisco, Doyle ave, van ness street, Geary drive, or Lombard road. Rich, you need to up the meds or get a life. If you had something good in your life, you would not spend so much time worrying about TV and radio personalities. My guess is that you are unmarried with no children. Sad.

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    1. TV and radio ARE the focus of Rich's blog here! Don't read it if it bores you so much!

      And, as a Bay Area native, if you save FRISCO around me--you'll get a very dirty look. These things DO matter, very much! Geography and proper places names are often crucial to good reporting.

      As someone else noticed, there appear to be a number of cranky pants here this weekend. Hopefully the rain will let up and you can all go run around the block and let off some of your venom!

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  17. I remember her, she had a big smile! what was her name?

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  18. Yeah, I always laugh when some newbie in from Boise says "Los GATE-os." Someone should have a consulting service bringing them up to speed.

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  19. Let me refute the crazy rumor about Beverly Johnson being a man. I actually met her once and talked to her on the phone many times. She was a woman. Here's the story as I remember it: Ms. Johnson succeeded Lloyd Linsay Young as Channel 7 weekend weathercaster in late 1983. She was killed in an automobile accident on Doyle Drive at about 4AM on a Saturday in August 1985 (either 10 August or 17 August--I don't remember which). According to the brief press accounts she had left her boyfriend's place in SF, heading to her place in Sausalito. She was drunk and collided with a Chronicle truck on DD. KGO-TV initially said she was missing after not showing up for work later that Saturday.
    They later said she had been the victim in the DD accident. The story disappeared after maybe two days, and she was forgotten.
    I was the weather observer in Vallejo for many years then, until I moved to Oregon in 1992. I gave my data to all the TV stations, including Channel 7. I talked to Ms. Johnson briefly almost every Saturday and Sunday. I remember the unanswered phone on the fatal day. One day in May 1985 I was in SF with some extra time so I went by the old KGO-TV building on Golden Gate to visit the weather producer. While I was in the office Ms. Johnson came in. I introduced myself and talked to her for a few minutes. All I can say is that was no man! I may have been a schlub from Vallejo but I was 34 then and had spent six years in Berkeley getting two degrees from Cal.
    Rich, I've worked with Mike Pechner for 30 years. He can vouch for me. RogerC.

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    1. I worked with Beverly on several weather remotes and helped her put her microphone on. There is no doubt in my mind that she was 100% female. I am not sure about her leaving her boy friend's place. I heard that she had attended a party put on by some KGO employees. I also believe that there was a fatal accident involving another person on the same night that may have been a cross dresser and the information got mixed up by people listening to scanners.

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  20. I grew up in the Bay Area and I recall this accident and the news surrounding it, pre Internet era. I was looking for info related to the accident and was surprised to find not much at all so thanks for keeping her memory alive. I will likely never pass through this blog again so let me just say, as I recall, at the time it was reported she was discovered to be a man. But the most striking interview I saw was with her mother - she went on the record saying she had all sons - no daughter. Then it was apparently swept under the rug. Beverly was ahead of her time.

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  21. What is the real story here on Beverly Johnson? I can't find anything on the internet?

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  22. Oh please. I remember it well, including all the dumb rumors. But I knew Beverly and worked with her. She was definitely female. The rumors began because tragically, her body was so badly mangled that at first it was unclear to police whether the victim was male or female. So when dental records identified her as Beverly Johnson, people wondered why the early reports could not determine that she was female. Was she male? Each time the story passed from one person to the next, things got fuzzier. Police never suggested she was male. Maybe it's the culture of the city. Maybe there were those in SF at the time who wanted to believe that sort of thing, and found it fascinating. In this case, it's totally wrong. Beverly was female. She was lovely and kind. And it's so sad that her memory carries this strange story with it.

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    1. Beverly Johnson was a Kgo news Anchor who covered the weather. I wonder why it is not much well really nothing on the Internet no wiki no photos nothing but it is info and photos of other news Anchors even those that came before her time. I was able to see her on YouTube was not very clear and only for few seconds if that, someone posted some old kgo clippings. It would be nice to see photos of her and her memory to be kept alive like other bayarea news Anchors and not forgotten about. I bet photos of here will refute the crazy rumor of her being a man, RIP Beverly Johnson!

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