Wednesday, August 8, 2012

KPIX Makes it official: Deanno to become 'Chief Meteorologist' during Weeknight; Gonzales to move to Weekends and Field Reporting

KPIX made it official on Tuesday.

What's been in the works for months was finally announced: Paul Deanno will become the chief meteorologist Monday-Friday, working the 5, 6, and 11 PM news blocks. The Seattle-based weather guy begins in late August and will replace Roberta Gonzales.

Gonzales will move to the weekends and do weather-related reporting in the field. From a PIX press release:

“I am very excited both to welcome Paul and to have Roberta in a dynamic new role,” said Dan Rosenheim, Vice President and News Director. “With Paul, Roberta, and morning weather anchor Lawrence Karnow, we have three exceptionally talented weathercasters, and we will now be the only station in the Bay Area with three full time staff weather anchors

Behind the scenes: CBS network affiliate stations brass have been eyeing a lot of "high-compensation" air talent and Gonzales was on that list, (as are others). There's more to life than money, and although Gonzales will take a pay cut, she remains in the Bay Area and still gets a decent salary.

That said, Rosenheim's behind-the-scenes move, (combined with NY's involvement) puts new pressure on the PIX News Director. This is a decision that ultimately aims to placate viewers loyal to the enormously popular Gonzales. Her move to the weekend may or may not work and that's squarely on Rosenheim's watch.

Deanno comes to the Bay Area with a basket full of experience. He's the first broadcast meteorologist to have filled in on both The Today Show and Good Morning America, and he has also provided severe weather coverage for MSNBC, CNN, The Weather Channel and NBC Nightly News.

But whether that translates to a smooth transition and no Channel 5 viewer backlash will be the utmost test. Rosenheim better hope this works or he could soon be updating his resume.


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20 comments:

  1. If you work or worked in TV.. and didn't have your resume on the ready.. you never really worked in TV...

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  2. On weekends, I'd choose to watch Rosemary Orosco over RoGo in that faceoff between MILFs. Anyone else notice the irony of hiring an extra weather anchor as a cost cutting move? Why is having THREE weather anchors special? Will other stations up the ante and hire FOUR weather anchors?

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  3. KPIX will be the only station in the Bay Area with three full time staff weather anchors? What about Spencer Christian, Sandya Patel, and Leigh Glaser at KGO? They're not "full-time"? Rosenheim seems a total idiot!

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  4. Couldn't Rosenheim kept Kim Coyle to be the "third wheel"? I know she filled in a couple of times a couple weeks ago, and it was so professional of her to take the lesser role after getting the boot.

    And IMO, she's equally as good (maybe even sharper) as a sportscaster as Vern Glenn.

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    1. Koyle will continue on as a freelancer. Look for her extensively during Pre-Season football.

      Vern can't walk and ask questions at the same time, so he is pretty much useless on the sideline...

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  5. So, what happens to Brian Hackney?

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  6. Rosenheim is out of town and, of course, 'unavailable for comment' on RoGo.

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  7. It really doesn’t matter who at PIX does the weather these days, because they’re given so little time.

    I was watching Hackney recently and he had a full TWO MINUTES for the main evening weathercast. I couldn’t tell whether he was any good or not, ‘cause it was so short. I blinked and his weathercast was over.

    Three weather anchors? It’s just window dressing. If PIX REALLY cared about weather, they’d give their current people more time, instead of getting another person to act as KPIX weather accountant -- throwing out a bunch of(nearly meaningless)numbers in under two minutes

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  8. Sandya Patel, Spencer Christian, Mike Nicco?

    Jacqueline Bennett, James Fletcher, Erica Kato?

    I'm pretty sure Chs. 7 and 4 have three Mon-Fri weather people.

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  9. Rich, when it comes to the HOT weather gal, it's Sandya Patel! Have you seen her of late? Off the hock Hottttt

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  10. KTVU has three weather anchors too...

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  11. While I like Gonzales a lot, I do recall that Gonzales edged out Samantha Mohr in similar manner as chief weather person @ KPIX. Mohr then departed for The Weather Channel.

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    1. Actually they tried to pull the same crap with her, but she had already lind up a gig with the weather channel. So when they said take it or leave it, she said later losers...... And that was because roberta had been working dan over hard to move her to nights, even though she wasn't then and still isn't a "credentialed" weather forcaster by any recognized agancy...

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  12. will no longer watch your news program good bye

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  13. Yeah, Pix had high hopes for Beantown's Frank Mallicoat and Sydney Kohara pairing. We all know how that turned out. Time will tell if Deanno has staying power or not.

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  14. I am in the minority but I find Gonzales annoying and cloying. I will not miss her.

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  15. Booooooooooooooooooo0000000000000oooooooooooooooo....KPIX!

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  16. The decisions being made By Rosenheim at KPIX are bad ones.

    The weak managers he thought he could control have been bumbeling there way through the company and have destroyed the well organized, talent filled departments in their wake.

    The numbers continue to drop. They have fired everyone that they thought were the problem. Went super cheep on all new equipment, most of which doesn't work.

    Worst of all they continue to make the same mistakes, put factual errors on the air, and then repeat those mistakes in the next 3 shows...

    The only hope for KPIX is if NY finally realizes that the reason for the failures at KPIX rest squarly on the shoulders of one man. Dan Rosemheim.

    It's time to go back to newspapers Dan, TV is out of your league!

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  17. Rich,
    I have called and emailed KGO about the traffic people they had in the morning that seemed to have disappeared. Any idea what happened to all those folks? When I called the station the person said OH YEA they haven't been on for a while but I don't know why. I sent an email to Stan Burford asking and he never had the courtsey to reply. I figure you'd know the scoop.
    Thanks

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  18. Deanno has an ego on/off air that is insufferable. Good luck KPIX

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