FRIDAY BUMPERS*Caltrans plays footsy with Bay Area Media muttons; excuse me why I hold back the belly laughs.
*Part of my gargantuan skepticism about this whole SF media-in-bed/bridge fiasco has to do with all the boondoggle of freeway and bridge construction.
Little, if any real investigative reporting has taken place--way too much cheerleading and yelping has lead the way. That's to be expected by the TV and radio lemmings. Too bad the last few newspapers remaining have tried, but at the end, punted; give the Chronicle credit for at least trying.
*I hate to beat a dead horse but they make it easy: Shame, shame, shame on KPIX for its rampant whoring on all this Bay Bridge non-story. The station has been nothing more than a 24/7 infomercial for Caltrans and PIX's band of reporters, including Ken Bastida, (who should really know better), have been nothing less than an embarrassment. It's one thing to do reports and bring forth a story, (even if there is NO story after endless "updates"); it's another when the visuals coming from the live shots amounts to nothing more than glorified promos and banal chit-chat.
*Dread in the newsroom at KGO-TV today and tonight. The purge is the least of worries --two more major staffers are rumored to be goners.
*A major reporter at KTVU has contacted their attorney just in case.
*Unintentional comedy act on the KGOne "Morning News": the morning gigglers.
*Stan Bunger: I didn't know you became a Caltrans spokesman.
BAY AREA MEDIA: You should all be embarrassed for your shameless repertoire regarding the over-reporting of the Caltrans Bay Bridge affair. Moreover, your endless, drawn-out 24/7 bridge orgasm speaks volumes on your utter lack of creativity and over-reliance and dependability with a public agency that had you in their bed nonstop. Your participation and capitulation in a story that wasn't worthy of all the attention it received only further muddied up your reckless reputation with the public, all to skeptical of your MO and measly offerings.
WORST OFFENDERS: KPIX, KCBS, KTVU, hands down.
WELL-REPORTED, UNDERSTATED, and JUST THE FACTS: Props to KNTV, (NBC Bay Area) and KRON. KQED Radio.
*Bravo to Ted Robinson for having the courage to repeatedly denounce the absurdity of the last, (4th), fake practice game involving the 49ers-SD Chargers game last night. That's what separates Robinson from the amateurs.
*Follow me on Twitter
You have zero credibility. Thin skinned bum. You sure like to dish out but can't take it. You're very trigger happy with your censor button you schmucko!
ReplyDeleteI see the interns are out and about.
DeleteHa Looks like a KPIX Crybaby at work. Where will you and your crappy station be, when the thing fails during a 7.6?
DeleteThe Bay Area media are big homers.
DeleteHow do you spell front runners? Bay Area media . . .
Want a soft sell on any topic? Look no further than your Bay Area Media.
Rich, you are making a lot of wild accusations without a scintilla of evidence to back you up.
ReplyDeleteYou are making vague suggestions about financial impropriety based on nothing but your own "skepticism."
You angrily lash out at the rest of the media for somehow being in cahoots with Caltrans but never explain what evil conspiracy they are perpetrating.
Basically, it just sounds like you are angry that the new Bay Bridge is opening up and annoyed that your complaints about whatever it is that you are complaining about are being ignored.
You're the one who used the "conspiracy" word---but have a nice day.
Delete"Ken Bastida, (who should really know better)".
ReplyDeleteYour implying 2 things 1)he's an idiot and can't figure out what's going on, and 2) he's the problem, not the industry. He knows, and he also knows the mortgage has to get covered and kid's college cost $$$ too. He may not be sitting on the FU money King had.
He quits or says no to the antics and gets canned, then what? Go find a job for a different corporation doing what he just left doing? That's all that's available these days. He could make a big stink about how the stories erode his journalistic credibility, etc, only to get black balled and get the "he's difficult to work with" label...Pete Wilson was the last one who could pull that off. Anybody seen the very capable Kessler lately?
Ken gets the big bucks to play ball the corporation's way...from "the top down" decisions. Rich on the other hand, has complete latitude of his blog content, for better or worse, and probably earns much less. Bottom line, Ken could do Rich's job, but Rich couldn't do Ken's.
Before you judge one media source against another, it's important for you to know this fact Rich: EVERY SINGLE Bay Area TV station bid for the bridge sponsorship deal with CalTrans. Every one. KPIX just happened to get it.
ReplyDeleteWhich only confirms my assertion that KPIX did, in fact, have a sponsorship deal with Caltrans.
DeleteThanks.
Uh... This was common knowledge, Rich. Interstitial spots have run regularly on KPIX saying "The official New Bay Bridge Sponsor" (or words to that effect.) ...with the licensed Bay Bridge logo. (AT+T is also a "communications partner," I believe.)
DeleteAnd, again, EVERY station bid for that deal.
Rich... PIX, and every station, have sponsorship deals vis-a-vis their "community outreach" departments and sales departments.
Is there supposed to be a "firewall" between those departments and the editorial / news departments. Yes. Has that firewall been breached in this? That's up for debate.
But PIX never "hid" the fact they have a sponsorship deal with CalTrans. And Rich--please take this criticism, as it doesn't cross your line of getting "too personal"--if you were as good a journalist as you ask others to be... you would have known this from day one. (My qualm with you, Rich, is you seem to be a gossip columnist on the one hand, but, yet, hold up the torch of unbiased journalism with the other. Which is it?)
Might I also address you to this article: http://sanfrancisco.cbslocal.com/2013/06/22/the-new-bay-bridge-is-it-safe-2/
It was published by KPIX.
Now to answer a question that is gnawing at a piece of your brain: Nope. I don't work for KPIX-TV.
Funny, the PR woman had KPIX e-mailed me and stated that KPIX had NO affiliation to the Bay Bridge/Caltrans affair, go figure.
Delete> Has that firewall been breached in this? That's up
Delete> for debate.
Is it?
There's something fishy with this Bay Bridge business. The governing bodies in charge have the media under their sheets. Why? Now we're finding out that CalTrans didn't approve of the S curve. Someone lost their life thanks to that boondoggle.
ReplyDeleteJust how safe are those bolts? What about the steel from China? Is it like everything else America imports from that country? Full of crap?
New slogan for the Bay Bridge: Enter At Own Risk.
The new Oakland Bay Bridge,Great if you want to pay $6 to experience death.
DeleteAlmost all the steel and rubber in almost every car on the road today is made of "crap" from China. Has been for at least a decade. Just thought you'd like to know.
Delete"Enter At Own Risk" That sums up the new Bay Bridge.
DeleteGood post at 10:26
The Bay Bridge story NEEDS to be beaten to death and then beaten some more. I was riding BART the other day and people really had no clue. NONE. They were like, "oh, the Bay Bridge is closing, really?" And then the conversations turned into the usual how do we get around it. Step outside the news bubble and you will realize how much or how little people pay attention to things. Usually it is the latter.
ReplyDeleteIf you need someone to beat this dead horse or ANY dead horse, Rich is your guy. That's his specialty.
DeleteThe get the hell off Mars and pay attention. Dork.
Delete1113 probably works for CalTrans or is the marketing jacknut who's responsible for "selling" the Bay Bridge to media outlets for sponsorships.
DeleteTruth is truth. If you can't see it, you're as blind as the proverbial bat. Someone needs to say something about the crap that's being fed to the zombie public. It is pure crap. And the spin quacks (not doctors) expect us to take it and like it. What utter nonsense.
We don't have anymore watchdogs. Someone has to do it. Mainstream media won't do it as much because all of the experienced journalists are being replaced by those who think they can report because they own a laptop and can get the Internet for free at Starbucks.
Get your head out of the sand.
Yes, of course the new Bay Bridge is a hazardous death trap and Rich Lieberman in the only person who figured it out because he's such an engineering genius.
ReplyDeleteLOL!
All these straw men that Lieberman is creating are ridiculous! Lieberman would have you believe that all the local media is covering up the real hazards of the new bridge WHY? Because they receive a couple of bucks of advertising money?
Lieberman has one disgruntled expert who is angry at Caltrans and together they unsuccessfully promoted this unsupported story.
The Bay Bridge is going to open. Rich if you are concerned about its safety, please feel free to stay off of it. Or do you have some secret information about hazards of the San Mateo bridge as well?
You mean, Dr. Astanneh and the 15 other independent engineers who have NO axe to grind; no connection to either side who insist, backed up with hard evidence and documented assertions that the bridge is vastly unsafe.
DeleteI'm delighted you are exposed as the ultimate buffoon you are.
11:08 is just another liberal sheep. Followers rather than leaders.
DeleteWhy exactly are you calling me a buffoon?
DeleteAre you suggesting that the majority of the scientific community agrees with you and Dr. Astanneh that "the bridge is vastly unsafe"?
Let me guess, the majority of the scientific community is also being bought off to keep quiet about the unsafe bridge just like the local media. The entire media and scientific establishment, aside from Rich Lieberman and his disgruntled expert are in cahoots to foist this perilous bridge upon the public?
LOL
I'm glad to see that the Caltrans PR Dept. are out in full force on a holiday weekend.
DeleteWe know that the old eastern span failed during the Loma Prieta earthquake causing loss of life.
ReplyDeleteWe know of at least one failed eyebar on the the eastern span. The failure was not due to a quake, but rather normal daily load stress and the aging of the eyebar material. The first repair of this eyebar also failed.
I will feel much safer crossing the new eastern span.
What disturbs me is that political wrangling from both sides, Willie Brown not wanting the bridge to pass over the Nimitz Mansion and Arnold Schwarzenegger who rejected the suspension design for a simple causeway design, delayed the completion of this bridge for almost of a quarter century.
So Rich... is the Bay Bridge story under or over reported? One minute you're blasting Bay Area media for not uncovering whatever nefarious plot it is you see to make us all think everything's hunky dory. The next you're attacking them for getting on their collective knees for CalTrans and broadcasting Bay Bridge stories. So which is it?
ReplyDeleteWhile we're at it, what bridge story do you see being under-reported? What would you like to see investigated? You say there needs to be more investigative coverage. Of what, exactly?
And while I don't listen to your radio show, I wonder... are you bringing up these hard hitting topics on your show? If nor, why not? Why not lead by example instead of ranting like some bitter old man eternally condemned to outsider status? Be the reporting you seek, that kind of thing, ya know?
Ken Bastida can do no wrong!
ReplyDeleteAs you all know of the business, being thoughtful usually means taking more time. And when low on resources or pinching every penny, enterprise reporting first to get the ax. Why not just run out a stream of Caltrans soundbites, animal stories and crime reporting with no context? It's a business and you don't get much of a reward for being good or breaking from the herd.
ReplyDeleteAgree with Rich that the news media have become cheerleaders for certain projects or aid in the cover-up of questionable dealings. What's wrong with digging deeper and finding out what's really going on? Why is the company getting the several million dollar bonus for a project way overdue? Why haven't more heads rolled within Caltrans for all the missteps?
ReplyDeletePeople like to compare government workers with private industry, trying to make the point that private industry gives out all the perks and government workers are not rewarded as generously. However, in private industry, if the job doesn't get done right and the projects are over budget, people get FIRED. Incompetence affects the bottom line. Not so with Caltrans and other agencies. Excuses are made and they just raise tolls or taxes to cover the losses. Raises and bonuses are given and lots of local media attention is given to the accomplishment of ... what? Building half a bridge taking 10 years or more????
Our public workers lie to us on a regular basis; that's why we need some journalists to dig for the truth. One great article in the Chron 2 months ago is the only comprehensive story I've seen so far uncovering the missteps in the bridge design and building from the beginning. Why aren't the TV reporters talking more about what is revealed in this article? I just don't see it as that big of a celebration that they finally got this bridge finished.
http://www.sfgate.com/bayarea/article/Bay-Bridge-troubles-began-with-design-4616774.php
Read the Sacramento Bee everyday - they are the ones doing the REAL investigative reporting.
Delete> What's wrong with digging deeper and finding out what's
Delete> really going on?
What's "wrong" is somebody has to pay for it, and for the past decade, since the "embedded journalists" of two phony wars only press release journalism is being done by the TV stations, or haven't you noticed?
> Why is the company getting the several million dollar
> bonus for a project way overdue?
Because when the bonus was offered, it was for them to open the bridge by the end of Labor Day, that's why. The bonus schedule wasn't set thirteen years ago and by the reckoning of the bonus schedule the bridge is not "overdue." You want more "investigation" and you haven't even read what's out there.
> Why haven't more heads rolled within Caltrans for all the
> missteps?
Because competency is rarely an issue with state taxpayer-funded jobs, same reason heads didn't roll after PG&E blew up a whole neighborhood in San Bruno.
> People like to compare government workers with private
> industry, trying to make the point that private industry
> gives out all the perks and government workers are not
> rewarded as generously.
Really? Who's done this comparison? Could you post me a cite or ten? Never heard it myself.
> However, in private industry, if the job doesn't get done > right and the projects are over budget, people get FIRED.
Really? Has someone told John Chambers of Cisco this? Or Tim Cook of Apple? Or any of the financial institution CEOs and CFOs, who make trillion dollar blunders, go to the government to beg for bailouts, and get them? Has anyone until recently told Steve Ballmer, who's sunk Microsoft and only got booted out last week, after fiasco after fiasco after fiasco.
They'd be right at home with CalTrans. Why do people think private businesses are run so brilliantly? They're as wssteful as "big government," you just don't have the Fox gang in their tail so you don't know about it. When Republicans say they "want to run America like a business," I always say aren't we already doing that?
Any American that approves of the course the bureaucrats have us on must be an insider. I smell a rat.
Delete244 assumes private industry means large corporation, it's not and that applies to the context of Molly's remark on accountability. Non gov't workers get canned for mistakes, poor decisions, or laziness while gov't workers go to rehab.
The GM for the SFPUC was on the PBS news hour a few nights ago discussing the Rim fire and how it's impacting the water source in case you missed it. Unless he'd been up for 5 or 6 days without sleep, his employment should be in question based on his inability to engage the media for some fairly simple questions. Dreadful. An embarrassment in front of a national audience.
Thank you. You got it right. I wasn't talking about the largest U.S. corporations. Even in the large corporations,though, if a WORKER screwed up, they;d probably be fired. THe CEO's might hit up the govt for bailouts and eventually get bought out,but lowly workers would be fired.
DeleteAnd the point about the bonus was that the bridge opening was going to be postponed until later in the fall when all the repairs (to a brand new bridge) were completed, but all of a sudden we hear it will be open Labor Day weekend. They didn't necessarily do their job adequately; they convinced someone to open regardless of the circumstances so they could get the bonus.
Rich, you keep reporting that no one is doing INVESTIGATIVE REPORTING of the Bay Bridge fiasco. (And yes, 13 years and billions overrun is a fiasco, no matter how much CalTrans tries to smile about it. At least they had the good sense to cancel the opening ceremony BS.) But in case you haven't noticed, the media, local *and* national, is no longer doing investigative reporting PERIOD. Even when I was a student, 20 years ago, it was lame: I entered a radio piece in the RTNDA Investigative Reporting competition--a lame work I wasn't even tremendously proud of then--and it won *second* prize. Not second for student reporting, second PERIOD. Today it'd probably be first, because there'd be nothing else.
ReplyDeleteWhen was the last time you saw real investigative reporting? Can you imagine what a real investigative reporter, with support from his station, could do with Oakland Mayor Jean Quan? Or SF's Ed Lee? Nobody wants to pay for this stuff and nobody wants to be involved in anything controversial. Today crap like Stanley Roberts' "People Behaving Badly"--an idiot with a camera chasing after people who make an illegal right turn on a red light or hoard shopping cards stolen from strip mall parking lots--passes for "investigative journalism."
It's not just the Bay Bridge, Rich, and it's not a "conspiracy" with CalTrans. It's just lazy station owners and managers in fear for the continued existence of the careers they've bet their livelihoods and mortgages on, thanks to this thing called the Internet. I know you'll try to make it a big silent conspiracy, the exact same way UFO nuts think NASA's silence about flying saucers is just "proof" they really exist ("Why won't they talk about it if there's nothing to hide?"), but that's the truth. You're so myopic (and poorly-educated) you can't see the bigger picture. Fortunately, as is almost always true with any mass media, the readers are smarter than the publisher, and most people who post here get what I'm saying.
I get what you're saying but well over 1/2 the folks here usually think I don't, so...
DeleteAll great points but I need take aways. Where do we find valuable news with no/limited agenda? Politics, business, environmental, they all have a bias and would rather use the eager media to misdirect our attention. The media is no longer about journalism, it's about being a PR tool.
Example: How much traction will the high speed rail get before sunk costs prohibit turning back/abandonment? Nobody is going to ride that and at best, it's a social engineering project to import unskilled immigrant workers, period. The nazi's used trains too, for a different/more evil outcome. Did the reporters look at the big picture and ask "whats really going on here"?
I believe it was the Sac Bee that broke many of the big stories about the bridge construction problems, not the local media. I too, am tired of live views of commute traffic from news vans. Maybe traffic would go a little faster if all the news vans and cars were off the roads showing us how slow traffic is. We know what it looks like to be stuck in traffic.
ReplyDeleteEveryone should read the Sac Bee online .....
DeleteSo engineering genius Rich Lieberman has concluded the new Bay Bridge is dangerous.
DeleteCan't imagine why no one else is paying any attention to him!
Local news coverage . . . all the cheer leading fit to print.
ReplyDeleteI have been in tv for 41 years. It has never been so stupid as it is now. Except for the penis on the railroad tracks.... or the news team on horses or skis......
ReplyDeleteWait.... it's always been stupid.
Lieberman automatically complains about anything the main stream local media does. He starting to sound like Sarah Palin.
ReplyDeleteDAMN. It is too bad channel 7 (KGO) needs to make cuts. I was fully expecting them to snatch up some of the Fab Four that were unceremoniously booted from KTVU last month. An opportunity to throw another jab, turn the knife and rub their nose in it goes awry. Oh, and I am sure KGO would have loved to have sent out a press release announcing the hires.
ReplyDeleteGive credit to Michael Savage. He stayed live for the third hour. Lieberman hopefully you listened to him today. Your stance on attacking Syria sounds sophomoric.
ReplyDeleteHere's another example of today's state of "investigative" reporting, which is about being first and most sensational rather than being thorough. This sort of BS is hardly confined to bridges and airline pilot names.
ReplyDeletehttp://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2300024/Osama-Bin-Laden-death-Third-Navy-SEAL-raid-unit-comes-forward-tell-story-terror-chiefs-death.html
The end justifies ANY means and the details don't matter in this case.
DeleteNew Bay Bridge video! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j-zczJXSxnw
ReplyDelete