Monday, December 30, 2013

Boob-Tube War at KRON; Allen Martin, KPIX; The Blather Man at KSFO; KTVU Hires PR Powerhouse Poitras To Re-Brand; Legacy Stations Reduced To Mush; Monday Starter

 KRON, which is actually a decent go-to place for real breaking news in the Bay Area has a crisis of sorts at 1001 Van Ness; a real "boob-tube" frenzy between two of its biggest heavy hitters, so to speak. Who do you like?

*In spite of a spate of rumors, it appears that Allen Martin is staying at KPIX. For now.

*That nauseating bowl of audio fill-in shredded wheat, Spencer, "Jose", Hughes is being groomed as a possible full-time host at KSFO, the alleged radio station that lost all legitimacy when the late Lee Rodgers was let go.  Hughes is so bad, so mind-numbingly jack full of mumbo-jumbo splatter, producers have been known to take extra-long breaks inside the lunch room to vacate Mr. Potato head.

*KTVU just hired a new PR guy named Steve Poitras. Offered one broadcast exec in town: "This is HUGE! When you hire a guy that's as powerhouse as Poitras, you are definitely looking to re-brand your badly tarnished image."

*San Francisco, the city that possessed some of the most renowned legacy stations like KGO, KSFO, and KNBR: all three outlets now reduced to a sliver of their once-great status. And who was responsible for that?

*Those of you with a full frontal lobe and a tad sense of humor, thanks for the e-mails on some of the last posts yours truly penned. The others apparently don't like an occasional detour from the mindless bs that permeates the local industry.

*Which is greater? The Spare-the-Air days or repeated KCBS news stories? Inquiring minds want to know.

*OK, so now that its been about a thousand days since it's rained around here, the onslaught of drought stories will commence en fuego next week. Until 2 storms in late January flood every shop in Mill Valley, enter "TEAM COVERAGE!" Get the blue parkas ready, troops.

*Scene at Tadich last week: A rookie male reporter from KTVU trying to close the deal on a KPIX hottie, (she's married): "Look, I can really get you to the network!" Memo to el-hunko. She'd rather sleep with Henry Tannenbaum than hear your sorry ass.

*We can all sleep now: Robin Roberts came out.

*Those casino ads that reek of too much John Legend make Kars-for-Kids sound like Irving Berlin. And I'm so, so happy they play literally every five minutes.

*Doesn't Duck Dynasty guy look sort of resemble the Unabomber?

*Follow me on Twitter

41 comments:

  1. Not sure KTVU needs more PR, a better news writing staff would work wonders.

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    1. It's hard to be good at your job when you have dummies in suits standing over you, being stupid.

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  2. You still haven't learned how to be a critic, have you Rich?

    You may hate Spencer Hughes and that's ok. You may not like him being "groomed" for KSFO. That's ok, too. However, get real. He should be groomed to allow the door to open and creepy Karel be kicked firmly in ass out of it.

    Producers keep doors LOCKED when that creep-o is around. Hughes is at least tolerated, if not barely. Karel's "cast" thinking is far from what it will take to save him. His pandering for a new contract when his is up in March isn't helping. He needs to be gone, quickly. He/she just keeps getting worse.

    With left-wing talk on the outs coast-to-coast, not to mention this Karel-O-Circus of the Absurd, Hughes could be a refeshing, if not much more popular change. As long as Sussman is on KSFO, one can forget it -- though KSFO did beat KGO in the December PPM ratings, at least in share, if not in cume. That says a lot.

    Long New Year just ahead for the Big 810.

    Again, Hughes may not be your cup-o-tea, but he sure beats Karel and will keep the tubes glowing with Hannity's bye-bye which was sorely needed.

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    1. Howdy 9;29 AM. Why do you keep linking Hughes possible installment at ksfo with Karel down the 'street' at kgo, they are two different stations, though I believe they share the same rats nest of ownership. One oozes sugar, while the other drips vemom. Both men can be good on the radio, but both can become happily lost in introspection. One good for Hallmark, the other best on a tombstone, but both believe in what they say. On another topic, I will just forget I heard Rich say that Phil R. reminded him of The Unabomber. There! I just "unheard" it.

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    2. I'm sick of Ayn Rand references from Glenn Back, Spencer Nobody, or whomever. As a person of a more conservative nature, I'd rather listen to Karel than an Ayn Rand devotee. We're talking about a bottom in each of two barrels.

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  3. Definitely Darya. That is her trademark pose in that picture. I remember one morning the camera came back to her in front of the board like that and she wasn't expecting it. She was bent over reading a teleprompter. She instantly sprang upright and her arm went right to that pose. Arched back and everything. Like her practiced pose. Of the two I would pick Darya any day of the week.

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  4. FINALLY! A Henry Tannenbaum reference! Life is good!

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  5. Completely agree on the Graton casino ads.

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  6. Never watched Duck Dynasty before the controversy. Never really watch any reality television. I was flipping channels and came across the marathon of repeats A&E has been playing. I have to say the show is not that bad. Definitely scripted but it's more a redneck comedy tour type of show doing skits all the while having a real multi-million dollar company in the background. The family seems legit, and while I personally say let gays and lesbians marry and do what they want, I really enjoy the fact the show seems to have Christian overtones and the family prayer at the dinner table at the end of each episode.

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  7. You could say the Duck Dynasty guy looks like the common depictions of Moses rather than the unabomber, but that wouldn't get you to where you're trying to go with this. Bottom line, the guy has enough FU money that he can say what he likes without worrying about ruffled feathers.

    Things backfired when folks supported the individual with convictions, not the pc corporation. A&E turned out to be greasy little whores. It was a Christmas miracle.

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    1. I covered the unabomber proceedings in federal court for KGO. I sat right behind him for over a month. He does not look like the leader of the American Taliban, Mr. Robertson, nor was he interested in 15 year old female virgins.

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    2. Normal Person writes, "I've seen this man close up. They don't look alike."

      Christine writes, "Me! Me! Me! Me!"

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    3. "Individual with convictions"??
      So as long as someone has 'convictions" they can say and get away with anything they want?
      You OK with his views on pedophilia?

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    4. This is not a site for "normal" people in the sense that you mean it. It's a site for folks in the broadcasting industry. One of the benefits of a career in broadcasting is that you get to do many things that "normal" average folks don't get to do. In case you are unaware, the unabomber was a hermit who was seen by virtually no one. No one in the general public saw Ted Kaczynski during this trial. In federal court, unlike state court, jury selection is considered a part of the trial. It never proceeded beyond jury selection. Do you know why?
      The courtrooms in the old federal courthouse(since replaced) are quite large, but the seating area for media was relatively small. The federal marshalls issue credentials and control that access very tightly, especially considering the support from anarchist groups for Ted Kaczynski( I wrote a piece on that angle for the Sacramento News and Review). He's a very slight fellow and that's even with a thick cable knit sweater worn each day. Did you know he tried to hang himself in his jail cell with his underpants? Did you know that he fought his own lawyers whose goal was to save him from the dp?(death penalty). Did you know what his tics were when sitting for hours during a month of jury selection? Oh, I'm sorry, you'd rather ask a "normal" person about the details,rather than one of the reporters who was there. I'm not in the least surprised. You have yet to learn that the devil is always in the details.

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    5. I'm OK with freedom of speech, whether I happen to agree with it or not.

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    6. Christine, You were outstanding last Saturday!
      Your Interview with Lynne Spalding's twin brother was brilliant and very thought-provoking! Great Show, you're terrific. Thanks!

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    7. Some context to the pedophile claim. Robertson was giving advice to a 16 y/o boy about 16 y/o girls, not adult men. A fact "conveniently" left out by 11:56.

      Marrying and settling down very early in life may not be the best advice but is it worse for the girl to become another pregnant unwed statistic or 1 of the 3 million annual abortions in the US?

      I'd prefer to take a rain check, but would have a beer with Robertson way before one of the folks he's critical of .

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    8. Christine, did you ever see the Unabomber without his chains, or was he always in shackles for both wrists and ankles? Did his brother who (thankfully) turned him in sit in the court room? Had you gone in expecting to speak to him? Did he react with any semblance of empathy for the lives he ruined, or was he seemingly incapable of any show of emotion? Thanks, if you happen to see this page again.

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    9. Christine, you are so full of yourself. Must kill you having to post a rant and not be able to talk over, debase and cut us off.

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    10. If you want to dish on the guy, dish on him for what he actually says. He is telling young men that they should marry high-school age women (like he did) because women in their 20's are all (apparently) heartless gold-diggers. It's a variation on the 'barefoot and pregnant' ideal. If you allow women to escape the confines of family and community before marrying them off, they will learn a bit about the world and start to have ideas and expectations of their own. If a guy wants a wife who will cook and clean and care for the children, he has to get one who hasn't yet learned that she could do something else with her life.

      I'm bothered more by his belief that blacks were happier during Jim Crow.
      As someone on SNL said last week "Phil Roberston proves that sometimes you CAN judge a book by its cover".
      The homophobic stuff, lots of bigots use the bible to justify their beliefs--nothing new there.

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    11. 11:58...Are you sure you don't want to ask a "normal" person? He wasn't in shackles. His brother and mother were there, which very much agitated the defendant. There was an order from Judge Burrell which barred media interviews. I interviewed the anarchists from Oregon who did visit with him , who wanted to relay his desire to fire his own lawyers. He never expressed any outward acknowledgements of his actions. A plea deal, sparing his life was reached and he was sent to Supermax. He did show emotion, however at certain points, including tossing his pen across the desk and to the floor,particularly when annoyed about what was to be his lack of a chance to testify and spread his philsosophy. I remember that John Lobertini, now at KGO, but then a local sacramento t.v. reporter was also there. He'll tell you much of the same.

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    12. Folks in Iraq were happier before the U.S."liberated" them from brutal tyranny and oppression. They're either stupid or maybe their new government hasn't yet gotten around to legislating welfare crutches for "those people" to depend on.

      If you're against the invasion, are human rights issues really at the top of your priorities or is it just a hobby horse for you to kick around on the internet when convenient? You can't have it both ways.

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  8. replace red eye radio with Spencer Hughes lol

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    1. That will definitely cure my insomnia. Spencer Ayn Rand Hughes: new sleeping treatment of the masses.

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  9. Poitras has never been able to keep a job anywhere within the last decade. The damage has already been done at KTVU.

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  10. Elizabeth Cook and Henry Tannenbaum??? Sounds like a pay-per-view event.

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  11. Thanks, Rich, for the KSFO summary of an Ayn Rand devotee.

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  12. Rich, I forgot to add the hysterical "paranormal investigator." I wonder if he has consulted his cult leader, Ayn Rand. I mean, after all, if you believe..... Thanks, again. Full-time host? I might start my own anti-Ayn Rand Spencer Hughes blog

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  13. Picture Rich Lieberman walk into a downtown San Francisco night club with a Borsalino Hat & Coat , & All the beautiful Young women (Latina, African, Asian etc ) that flock to him for a hug & kiss like he was a Rock Star on a typical SF Nite. Rich doesnt need to come Online and Throw his personal Thirsty Perverted thoughts @ Any of the RESPECTED WOMEN in the San Francisco Bay Area Media Industry. Of Course not,
    Rich is way to classy, he can Have Lunch with any of His Snitches from the Various SFBay Media outlets. i picture Rich Lieberman & Stanley Roberts @ Harry Dentons StarLight Lounge sitting @ a Table with young sexy Models all Shaped to his Liking, Curvy. ...xxx

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  14. I would follow Erica Kato to the ends of the earth.

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  15. They're hiring BACK Steve Poitras. He worked there when I was there.

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  16. It's not just radio that has gone to hell in SF but also print. We used to have two great daily papers now there's one that barely passes as a newspaper. The competition between the SF Weekly and Bay Guardian was entertaining but after the lawsuit Bruce took his ball and went home and the Larkin Mafia sold the whole chain keeping only the prostitution segment. The new Village Voice owners in turn sold the SF Weekly to the new owners of the Guardian and Examiner. Who's controlling the ad rates now? And I don't hear anyone complaining. Yeah, I know it's all about the 'net and blogs like this one have replaced traditional news sources with ala carte reporting and people don't need to get their news at the same places where they shop for cars or hookers. It's too bad but the upside is that I can now listen- via the web- to radio all across the USA. I've grown fond of KFI in LA and KFBX out of Fairbanks AK. It's not local but it's much better than what we have here.

    BTW - I'll vote for Darya.

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  17. Christine
    its a good thing we have you to tell us what think, and clarify who the American Taliban is. your tolerant as a rattlesnake, my sweet little lady

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  18. I'm neither little, nor a lady. This duck fellow bears an uncanny resemblance to Osama bin Laden. I know you can't tolerate that any more than you can tolerate learning the difference between "your" and "you're".

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  19. Christine, I can certainly agree with you that you're not a lady. Why did you omit commenting on sweet. Oh, wait - we already know you aren't sweet.

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  20. My wife can't stand Erica Kato, but me and my buddies like her because all we can see is her chest. But if there is real weather to be concerned about, then we flip the channel. The kid doesn't know what she's talking about. Darya ain't bad in my book either.

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  21. Jacqueline Bennet is the one that sticks her chest out while pointomg st numbers. Do you think thay chick has ever even been to Richmond or Oakland to tell me what the weather is going to be like there??

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    1. Proof read or spell check your comment you dumb mother fucker.

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    2. Hey Jacqueline, didnt know you looked up the blog while on vacation!

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  22. No contest. Erica in a landslide over tired, fake looking Darya.

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  23. Erica reminds me of the weather girls from LA. Sassy but not classy with a large dose of air head.

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