Trouble Brewing at KQED ...Media Notes Thursday
KQED, SF's acclaimed and highly profitable PBS outlet, has some egg on their face and some veteran workforce rank and file are none-too-pleased.
Seems the station posted six positions for work behind the scenes in master control and all the hires were white--no minorities were chosen despite the fact that at least two candidates, one of whom has been a 20-year veteran, were not picked. The 20-year vet was Hispanic.
The shop steward at KQED-- upon seeing the three hires wondered why not one was of color. No plausible reason was given and a great case of hush-hush has ensued. I actually called KQED to inquire and couldn't get a call back to comment.
Another level to the brewing storm is that a few people who freelance there, (at KQED), are full timers at KTVU which is in direct violation of Channel 2's competitor clause. Not sure if that's what started it, but another twist to ponder.
And here I thought our lovely local PBS outlet was the personification of "diversified."
*It bears repeating: KPIX has made a monumental blunder in its dissing of popular weather woman, Roberta Gonzales. New weatherman, the bland and insatiably wonderbread torso named Paul Deanno --he may be a nice guy but his mayonnaise style has staffers perplexed and Gonzales' fans in a constant stupor. It goes to show the buttheads in upper management at 855 Battery still haven't got a clue. Except they do posses the craft of hiring more mangers with less and less reporters.
*The frat boys in the morning over at KNBR made an impromptu visit in the Giants clubhouse and were startled to learn, firsthand, that one of the team's star players told them directly that he's never heard of them and that he doesn't listen to sports-talk radio. Dude!
*A big powwow of a meeting took place over at KGO Radio Wednesday. My mole says a few people are worried because, in addition to the fact that nobody knows what the hell is going on and that the station is rudderless, everything else is fine. Except that Lew Dickey isn't happy and that is not good.
*"Celebrity" chef, Ryan Scott: maybe a couple cups of coffee--too much Red Bull. Maybe there's something in the water at Hawthorne St.
*Eric Byrnes is a colossal joke at Knibber, so much so that even the interns are laughing. One intern at least has the distinct pleasure of working with the frat boys which is cause enough to inflict pain and suffering. It could be worse: they could be locked in a room for an hour and forced to listen to "Paulie", the guy with the fake Jersey accent compose and sing his lovely song parodies.
*The "Who cares" dept: Betting fool, Larry Kruegar and traffic yenta, Kate Scott hate one another. In the meantime, the main circus performer continues his insecurity act with mail-it-ins every day. Maybe the used Bentley needs a tune-up.
*One person who absolutely can't stand the Radu: 1050 AM's Damon Bruce. Then again Bruce is a team player who while he detests the bloated one, also understands that it's best not to confront him. Speaking of which, I lauded Bruce's new gig at CBS Sports Radio only to be informed that the money isn't great and that the CBS folks simply needed a West Coast guy really fast.
*It bears mentioning at the good old KTVU Sports dept. that one of the assembled three anchors has been schmoozing just a tad too much and at least one of the three is none too pleased. Especially when the gossip has nothing to do with sports.
*Lovely market we have here: A group of relatively young to middle-aged posers just hoping they make it through the pecking order and not be subjected to a bunch of narcissistic assholes in the back offices. It could also explain why all of them have been turned into the 2013 version of Invasion of the Body Snatchers.
*Worse than waterboarding: A. The weekend line-up at KGO Radio. B. Chef Ryan Scott. C. Eric Byrnes. D. Ann Killion. E. "The Saloon with Peacon." F. "Live from the Conklin Brothers studios in the 'Sleeptrain mattress chair with the Gadget man at the microphone...
*How bad is "Paulie" and his sound tracks? An ex-Knibber worker told me: "I'd rather stare at a Byrnes bowel movement."
*How bad is "Paulie" and his sound tracks? An ex-Knibber worker told me: "I'd rather stare at a Byrnes bowel movement."
*The beer boys at PIX should know that the beers flow better when the ratings are better. Now? Not so good. (And try to tip a little better at the Old Ship--they tend to notice.)
*Dear Stan Bunger: I like you on the air but really, you're not God. Try to inject a bit of levity. And ditto Steve Bitker who acts as if he's entered into the Bryant Gumbel school of purity. Jesus Christ, you're on radio!
Deanno is a real pro. Your cheer-leading for Gonzalez is over the top.
ReplyDeleteThanks Paul.
DeleteSo six Caucasians get hired, but none of them are the right "color"... Maybe next time KQED posts six positions for hire they should specify which race they are seeking. Then these kinds of problems won't arise in the future. Makes sense, doesn't it?
ReplyDeleteDon't listen to many KNBR shows these days, but I do like Kate Scott a lot, mostly because she sticks it (YES) to the bloated one. But sometimes its a bit too much and she comes across like a colossal b!t@#. In another life she would have been a feared catholic school nun, wrapping students on their knuckles with a ruler.
Why does the bloated one criticize members of the media who get paid for doing radio interviews? Its blatant hypocrisy. He gets paid for his time on the air. And if others do the same then somehow that makes them a fraud? I hope the next time the bloated one mentions that to one of his guests, they challenge him on it.
KQED just filled all their master control room personnel with "white males". What's new?
DeleteThis has been and will continue to be the Bay Area's dirty little secret.
We are also wondering why Channel 14 will not report on this.
By hiring Paul Deanno, KPIX is hoping to attract more gay male viewers, which is what San Francisco media have been doing for years now. How else do you explain why anything remotely gay is considered, even if it isn't local, a top story on the local news?
ReplyDeleteThank you for calling out ”celebrity chef” Ryan Scott. His over the top energy and perkiness is just too much. Although the show has been a disaster from the start, at least when Rich Walcoff was on air with the chef it gave an air of legitimacy. This chef Scott character conducts the show as if he truly believes a bunch of hip folks in their 20s and 30s are huddled by the radio listening to his dribble. If the Dickeys are getting ready to make programming changes Ryan Scott should be the first to go. AWFUL! Even worse than Mo Langston from NY.
ReplyDeleteAgree on Ryan Scott. The whole thing is an ad for him and a suck up to his friends. And his voice drives me crazy. He and Monty sound so much alike. I'd vote for Monty to be first to go.
DeleteLove or hate Monty he, Ryan Scott is by far the worst radio host I've ever heard in a major market. Monty is at least a radio professional. Monty should be doing sports because he has no depth on issues but he can at least conduct a program. Ryan Scott is a joke. Whomever hired him should be fired. Oh, wait, he was.
DeleteI think Rich bumped his head and lost his mind but I'll play along...
ReplyDeleteHiring Deanno is turning out to be the right decision though I had some doubts initially. I maintain that Karnow is better, might be the best the market has, but Deanno is very good.
Roberta? Soooo gross. I change the channel EVERY TIME she appears and therefore, is adding undue wear and tear on my remote. She should be selling real estate or making infomercials.
Regarding diversity, that probably resonates well with the typical pbs viewer. They want to feel warm and fuzzy while they make their contributions. A Hispanic producers view of a Hispanic issue for example, biased but perhaps relevant. Would a Hispanic camera woman (mundane job) do a better job then a white male, not necessarily so. I don't see color or gender as being a unique quality that necessarily makes one candidate better suited to perform ANY job better. At some point, ability, ambition, work habits has to matter...or whats the point of trying.
I was never a fan of Roberta Gonzalez, nothing personally against her - I just don't like it when the "weather person" is the bigger personality of all the news anchors. Much in the same way Pete Giddings was getting annoying. Down in the monterey bay every time the anchors greet Norm Hoffmann, I cringe - this ain't the bar at "Cheers"
ReplyDeleteThe problem in Monterey Bay is the weatherMEN are all dinosaurs in their 70s, Norm Hoffman, Jim Vanderzwaan and Carl Thormeyer on weekends (combined age 224). I want the Bay Area weather problems, I'd trade any of these old farts for some Roberta Gonzalez, Janu Arasu, Jackie Bennett or Erica Kato. I bet if these types of girls appeared on tv in the Central Coast, the demand for Viagra for the old retirees would plummet.
DeleteIf Radnich is "mailing it in" as Lieberman claims, Rich should do the same with his own radio program.
ReplyDeleteAt least Radnich has something to talk about, knows how to interview guests, and has fun with callers.
Great, did Gary buy you and the other interns orange sodas? Swell.
DeleteKNBR is number one.
ReplyDeleteWhy does it feel like Lieberman's hostile comments are fueled by jealousy?
Thanks, KNBR interns.
DeleteWho cares that KNBR is #1? Can you really say the programming is great? Have you lived in other cities? Have you heard sports radio elsewhere? There's not a single person, maybe Tom, who you want to hear every day. You hear it because it's on and you like sports. And men like sports. But in no way does someone feel like they MUST listen to KNBR. There's nothing can't miss about the station, and that's the problem.
DeleteThe postoffice i go to has zero white guys. Where can i go to complain??
ReplyDeleteA Country Club!
DeleteRoberta Gonzalez, yuck. The Tammy Faye Baker of Bay Area TV.
ReplyDeleteKate Scott- excellent
Byrnes- agree w Rich L
Our so-called radio and tv critic needs to expand his repertoire outside of looking for something to criticize at KGO and KNBR and kissing up to Weiner/Savage.
Well said 11:49!
DeleteThe demotion of Roberta Gonzales is a travesty. KPIX is truly clueless.
ReplyDeleteDamon Bruce just ripped you a new one. Wow. Now, THAT was amusing...
ReplyDeleteYeah, a 10-minute free commercial on Knibber. I'm now on the Sweetjack list, dude!
DeleteBruce admitted it was a free commercial, but flamed your a$$ anyway. Looks like you're admitting you're a Dbag, like he said you were. The laugh's on you, "dude"...
DeleteSo I guess you won't have dinner with me and Rachel Maddow?
DeleteLost respect for the guy on 1050 a long time ago. Moron.
DeleteCouldn't disagree more with your assessments of Eric Byrnes and Damon Bruce. Along with Tolbert these are the three most interesting and talented sports broadcasters in the area. Do you have anything to offer, or do you just try to drag down everyone to your level? I've never understood "critics" like you - no talent, so you throw stones at others hoping to get noticed, which seems to have worked this time. Never heard of you until Damon destroyed you on his show today, but I'll make a point to avoid anything you put out there if I see it accidentally
ReplyDeleteWell, we simply disagree--
DeleteEric Byrnes is a former jock who is terrible, my opinion and every time he talks, I TURN the dial.
Damon is talented who doesn't know how to handle criticism, especially tongue-n-cheek variety.
Byrnes is awful. He makes me switch to satellite radio every time. Ratto and Tolbert much better.
DeleteJAH
Delete"Eric Byrnes is the most interesting and talented sports broadcaster in the area"
Are you serious?
We have enough cool cats on the morning show.
Please no more Ohhhhhh Duuuuude.
How many real fist fight fights do you think Bruce was ever in his life? On the radio, he's a real tough guy though. "You mess with me, you're gonna leave with a bloody nose" - Bruce
ReplyDeleteI'd like a link to the D Bruce diatribe against Dick Lieberman...
ReplyDeleteHurry, everyone! Find the podcast for this guy. His Google must be broken.
DeleteYou can hear the above mentioned Damon Bruce monologue on BASG's website. He has a direct link to the program.
DeleteGood stuff.
WELCOME, RICH LIEBERMAN, TO "THE PATRIOT," 840 AM, IN MODESTO!
ReplyDeleteYOU'RE MOVING THE NEEDLE IN THE CENTRAL VALLEY.
Listening to you on 840 from Visalia (south of Fresno). Love your show! Thanks patriot!
ReplyDeleteBoy, someone's really grumpy today . . .
ReplyDeleteOn behalf of all frat boys, would you please stop referring to the hosts of "Murph & more Murph" as one of our own? Do you really think any house would accept either of these effeminate (sp?) nerds? Brian and Pauley, come over here to the couch and sit next to Jugdish...
ReplyDeleteFeldman and Fareed suck!! Write about that.
ReplyDeleteWhat people don't understand about affirmative action is that...you hire who is best suited for the job.
ReplyDeleteIF and ONLY IF it comes down to two candidates who are equal in terms of experience, qualifications, etc., THEN and only THEN the scale tips to the "person of color."
It would be egregious if KQED gave people jobs out of "white guilt," which seems to be the suggestion here.
Please talk about something valid over at KQED, not this made up garbage. Thanks!
Agreed. Qualified minority applicants are not looking for any handouts. Hire me because I'm the best person for the job, not because you need another black chick in master control.
Delete"IF and ONLY IF it comes down to two candidates who are equal in terms of experience, qualifications, etc., THEN and only THEN the scale tips to the "person of color."
DeleteThat is the exemplification of raced based discrimination. Two entirely equal candidates, and one is chosen on the basis of race. That's the definition of racism. Ethnic characteristics as a criterion for preference or lack of preference.
The lesson here is that while your intentions might be good, you can not achieve good ends by bad means.
Gosh Auntie- it turned out the best qualified were ALL WHITE. If not Latino,then I guess in San Francisco there isn't even a single Asian with a college degree. Or the new from India triple phd...
DeleteAunties never get it..
I'm not surprised that while males comments are all along the lines of "people of color aren't hired? so what? means nothing to me". lol..yeah,I know it doesn't. Its turn back the clock so that white males have 100% of the best jobs instead of the 97.8% best jobs they hold down right now.
ReplyDeleteIf they are smarter- I haven't noticed.
KQED is getting more irreverent by the day. They had a special 3 hour history of the SF Bay..everybody in the pledge breaks was white and in awe of what they were learning! No American Indian,no descendents of the Ohlone,and no Mexican American's to educate about what was once Mexico Norte.
KQED does a minimal effort to have programs produced by Latin or Asian country's. Why when you can show BBC programs from the 70's?..and they always have their Antiques shows.
I have met all the KQED types..liberal on the outside...feelings of superiority on the inside.
I particularly enjoy KQED when they are "irreverent"!
DeleteYeah Christine, you caught me, I trusted the auto spell that said I made no mistakes. Guilty I plead to the spelling and grammar police. They have an arrest warrant out for me I hear...
Deletebut "irreverent" is neither a spelling,not a grammatical mistake. Did you mean to use another word? If so, what?
DeleteIrrelevant.
DeleteI used to watch KQED when it had real public education shows. Now? Only when I get a bad case of insomnia do I get to see all the great shows PBS has at midnight to 6 am. Pre commute I catch what they have at 6am..great programs of history, arts, and sciences. 6:30am? cartoons and that's the ends of KQED being relevant.
Christine where is your outrage at KQED?
DeleteThey passed up qualified minority applicants and not a single word of righteous indignation from you.
What gives?
Let's see you give us a sermon on the hypocrisy at KQED.
By the way, how many posters did you correct in their spelling today?
I have no specific knowledge of KQED's current analysis of job applicants,nor do you. I love KQED TV and radio. I did many shows for KQED(This week in NOrthern California, Face to Face..with Debra Saunders) etc. I always had a marvelous time and met so many people of all races and categories in that building, more than any place I've ever worked. They all had great spelling,grammar and syntax.
DeleteYou need to learn the differences between spelling, grammar, and syntax. clue: they are different. Correct spelling grammar and syntax indicates that one is educated, well-read, and takes the time not to be a mental slob. It's a good thing, not a bad thing. What's this "hypocrisy" you speak of?
Educated and great spelling don't mean your smart or correct. Twain to Hemingway needed copy editors- multiple I read. Hitler might have been a great speller,and so are the Rupert Murdoch Ivy league educated editorial writers. And to them,Evolution to Global warming aren't scientific facts.
Deletebtw I'm not the 929 guy. I'm the 407 and 1130 guy. But, I guess perfect grammar,syntax and spelling are are a bonus,I give you that Christine. Worth a gold star or two, in school.
S
I could use a copy editor and reading glasses too I suppose..
DeleteS
or when posting an opinion making an argument about good writing skills only being worth a "gold star or two in school".....perhaps knowing that the contraction for "You are" is you're....not "your". makes your argument more successful.
DeleteAn employer, for example might conclude that a job applicant who doesn't know that basic construction,is probably more likely to be sloppy or ill-informed about other things in life, as well.
Well if I were an employer and you submitted a resume which demonstrated your inability to understand the differences between "you are","you're" and "your", I might think that you are a sloppy thinker. If you used "don't" where you should have used "doesn't", I'd be less likely to hire you for any job that required you to be educated and not sloppy. Is that how you train your children? do you tell them they don't need to speak and write english correctly because it doesn't mean anything more than a gold star in school?
DeleteThis a BLOG Christine. I get that- don't you?. My resume is done top -notch. Who pays me for this? And most of lazy is bad typing. eh, so what? I would think you would understand since plenty of times you've corrected my spelling while failing to capitalize the first letter of your sentences. Lazy writing I guess you would call it.
DeleteBtw, Christine, I also don't wear a suit or tie when I post. I hope you have your heels and best low cut when you correct me. Its sooo important.
And as proof...your 331 post Christine."or" to start a sentence? "or" isn't capitalized either you lazy daisy.
DeleteAnd its a good thing you're not an employer Cristine. You sure make huge mistakes about people.
Delete"They all had great spelling,etc"..you tested them all,or that's just bullshit?"
Mean nasty Christine. Your angry liberal.
DeleteDamon Bruce was ripping you? I wish I had heard it. Your blog is too truthful? To close to the nerve? Too honest?.
ReplyDeleteOooooh. Stop that!
The Ratings for 1050 have sank to half of THEGAME. Damon is simply venting on a easy target. He needs to blame Cumulus..but he cant do that can he?
I quite simply cannot stomach Roberta. At the end of each broadcast you could watch her wheels turning as she posed herself while waiting to jump in to contribute her personal tidbit. I wondered if she was abusing something cause she seemed so erratic. Also could do without the hissing of word endings. I'm so delighted that I no longer have to make a mad dash for my remote except for the weekends and the occational weather remote.
ReplyDeleteQuite a post today, Rich; don't have much to add seeing, agree with some things and not others, but...you usually don't come right out and speak to individuals 'hating' each other ala Kate and Larry. You usually couch it like the gossip it is. Sometimes, against my better judgement I listen Murph and Mac but I've always been a Radnich fan. Kate is the best thing to happen to the morning in a while...at least you deliver information informed by passion - not the Barbieri kind - so, thanks
ReplyDeleteAgreed about Kate, she is great doing Cal sports but unfortunately you can see she has to lower her professionalism to appear on the bloated one's show. Btw what happened with Dibley aka Daffy Duck? Is he still on the Game morning show?
DeleteAlright, classic Rich is back!
ReplyDeletePrepare to be egreged. Safe to assume that kqed uses the same PC play book that fills civil service jobs. There's two hiring lists and two firing lists, the list(s) to be on is the "non-white/ male" list. Thats the unpleasant truth that the PC folks won't admit to. Does it work? The public sector would adopt the AA strategy in a heartbeat if it actually worked...but it doesn't.
ReplyDeleteAA is one of those fun little ideologies, it's like santa claus for adults.
I agree with JAH 100% Rich you're a d-bag. Damon Bruce, Eric Byrnes, and Tom Tolbert >>>>>> you
ReplyDeleteI can tell you Gary Radnich's exact problems. He tries to hide all the inner anger in him -and insecurity- with his show bizz persona. Loveable,family man,Everykid needs a father..and yet Raddy has his history..Divorced,after 40 years on air he still hides his left hand under every desk and piece of paper. My feeling is Gary took a lot of abuse from other kids growing up over that, and those Jag and Tenderloin rumors....that's a whole lot creating your own world there. And I left out plenty more no doubt.
ReplyDeleteHe's conflicted,cant seem to make peace with some things no matter how old he gets. Like many people.
Auntie L, Sunset Boy and Anonymous @ 7:31. Seems the operations manager says it was an HR hiring decision, and HR says 'No, this was an operations decision". How quaint. More info to come, but two qualified candidates who applied as early as February both have extensive experience with the on air automation system being run at KQED, while two who were hired have never worked on it, and are being trained now. Qualified indeed. In fact, two of the qualified people were never even given the courtesy of an email notifying them that they were no longer in the mix, were on the team when that automation company used the station they worked at as a BETA test site. That can't be said for the other two, you know, the "qualified " ones who were hired.
ReplyDeleteIn my experience, most people want to be judged on their merits, and nothing else, and don't even want to think that this sort of mind set exists. When I read some of the asumptions from the above comments i.e. assuming a minority has low ambition, or bad work habits, tells me all I need to know about someone like that, and does in fact prove, unfortunately, that that mindset does indeed still exist.
Who cares what color they are... This is 2013.
ReplyDeleteMichael, read the post right above yours.
ReplyDeleteThank you post at 12:34pm.
DeleteI don't find Paul Deano boring. He's a good weatherman. And Roberta does a lot of location stuff that Deano does a nice lead in for. Both are solid and think the in studio/on location piggyback works quite nicely..
ReplyDeleteBitker is very straight forward and matter of fact, but his obsession with stats and numbers really gets excessive at times. I counted 16 references with regard to numbers during one of his sports updates. How about humanizing your updates just a bit Steve?
ReplyDeleteMy feeling exactly. Numbers are not interesting. He also has a strange tendency to cover obscure college or overseas competitions and bury the Giants. What's that about? Trying to be PC or just not a Giants fan?
DeletePeople over the age of 60 should get out of the profession of broadcasting while they still have their sanity, UNLESS they are playing out a big contract (like Ronn Owens). This hasn't been, never was, and never will be a profession for 'older people.'
ReplyDeleteThe reason for that is that there is no security, (especially today with corporate American having ruined much of the media), the hours are crazy, and the people who run it are for the most part, dysfunctional or out of their minds.
Other than that, it's not a bad way to make a living!
You'd better tell diane Sawyer that she should quit the most watched network prime time newscast(ABC World News Tonight)...because you said she shouldn't be allowed. good luck.
DeleteIn ref. to E Byrnes....I just cannot understand why Lee Hamilton has brought him back as a side w/ Tolbert. Ratto is so much better. Lee for some reason thinks Byrnes is good radio and knowlegable.....All he is is loud and talks over Tolbert all the time. I can't listen to him period. Eric must have pictures of Lee or something....or maybe Lee just does not get it. Lee better get it...or there won't be anybody listening anymore to KNBR...if it were not for the Giants we wouldn't be tuning in anyway.
ReplyDeleteWell he has rod brooks on air for ages his use of english is horriable calling people dudes,man etc like he is on the streets or something.
DeleteClearly, race was a factor when KQED hired new people. A white person with little experience was hired over people of color with more experience. What does that tell you?
ReplyDeleteUm, that unjust/unfair hiring practices travel in many directions and often, accomplishments don't much matter. If you get a job these days, dont pat your own back too much, you're probably someone's favorable demographic. Thats the world we live in, accept it, and manage your expectations.
DeleteTo Anonymous May 11, 9:44 AM: Yes, that favorable demographic, in this case, is being white.
DeleteApparently so.
DeleteNot that obama got every black vote, but the record number of black voters this past fall had nothing to do with obama being half white or his short list of accomplishments/abilities, so what's good for the goose...
You may not know the whole story. Experience or the lack there of is not the only criterion used in hiring decisions. You have no proof that this was a race based decision.
DeleteAT BORG: They were ALL WHITE, and before them, THEY WERE ALL WHITE. You can't get it or don't want to?
DeleteDamon Bruce and Tolbert are only sports gabbers I can take for more than 20 minutes.
ReplyDeleteKCBS is just an archaic format, great for breaking news but that's it. Who's the sports guy on KCBS who rams meaningless soccer news into his updates? He must coach his daughter's soccer team or something.. KCBS too in bed with officials to do a better job of reporting.