KGO will spin the departure of longtime, respected anchor Carolyn Johnson as finding a new opportunity. Too bad it isn't true.
In fact, Johnson, who is leaving 900 Front to go to an unknown market left because of money, or in KGO's case, an across-the-board pay cutback that accelerated her decision weeks ago to pursue other outlets.
"KGO told all their talent they would need to take a cut in pay. So she, (Johnson, who's been at the station since 1998), walked on them and is taking another job with bigger pay out of the market", said a source familiar with the move.
Make no mistake--this is a major setback for KGO. Johnson, along with Dan Ashley, provided a star-power duo of local anchor status and her leaving is another blow in a news operation beset with morale issues.
Moreover, it's especially damaging to mercurial News Director, Tracey Watkowski who announced Johnson's decision to the newsroom on Friday. A gasp erupted after staffers heard the news.
This was not Carolyn seeking to look for new opportunities. She's a Stanford grad, loves the Bay Area and turned down many job offers in the past. Her business-like, no-nonsense delivery was so good she was almost robotic. Johnson and Ashley provided KGO with a dynamic that made for a compelling news team.
That's now out the door. And in this case, it was ALL about the money. The news that management is about to embark on pay cuts comes right before an important sweeps period. I'm sure that will fire up the troops.
*Follow me on Twitter
Sounds like Wendy Tokuda....left for LA for better pay during some lean times in the early 90s.
ReplyDeleteCarolyn has network potential.
Would seem to be a good fit in LA, not unlike Colleen Williams (another solid veteran anchor/reporter who happens to be attractive). I think that Johnson grew up in Orange County, and started her career in LA.
ReplyDeleteSuch a loss... and now the market is left with people like Liz Cook who don't have the experience, style or class. Such a shame. (tired of her childish giggles and inability to read) I think I will move to wherever Carolyn is going.
ReplyDelete(tired of her childish giggles and inability to read)……
DeleteNice…. :/
kgo TV is trying to catch up with kgo radio on who can be the biggest screw-up and best ruin a great station. Radio was way ahead, but now TV is trying to catch them.
DeleteGood job KGO. Good job greedy management. Why don't you hire FRESHMEN broadcasting majors from SF State to be the talent? Bush league move.
ReplyDeleteExactly what they are doing, Carolyn Johnson, is passing her expiration and is leaving, fielding the field before taking too much of a cut. KGO is hiring new at cheaper rate and more appealing to a future audience and KGO's bottom line. Good Luck to all involved.
DeleteHappily, thanks to social change, American women can now have careers in television past the first crow's foot. In 1980,as part of a federal lawsuit, we found in discovery, that there were no American women anchoring newscasts in the entire country, who were over the age of forty. Now we have so many, including the number one anchor in the nation, Diane Sawyer at ABC, World News Tonight. That Carolyn has options elsewhere makes me extremely content. Good luck!
ReplyDeleteWhat are you talking about? In 1980, I can think of four women over 40 who were anchoring local news. Ann Bishop solo anchored at WPLG 10 in Miami (ABC). Dorothy Fuldheim was an anchor (and a force of nature) at Cleveland's WEWS 5 (ABC) from the 1950s-80s. She didn't just anchor newscasts, Dorothy was the first woman to have a news analysis program on TV. In New York at WPIX 11, Pat Harper became the first woman to anchor a newscast in that city in 1975. She turned 40 that year. She would later anchor at WNEW 5 (now Fox 5 WNYW) and WCBS 2. In LA, Kelly Lange was in her late 30s when she became a co-anchor on KNBC in 1974 and continued there well into her 50s. She was over 40 in 1980. (She was also the first local newscaster -- man or woman -- to be paid $1 million a year, according to TV Guide.) So Christine, don't throw out this canard about how there were no women anchoring newscasts in 1980 over the age of 40. It ain't true.
DeleteI knew Dorothy Fuldheim, did several events with Dorothy Fuldheim, and was the happy subject of a commentary by Dorothy Fuldheim which ironically stated the same thing I posted above. Dorothy Fuldheim was a commentator and worked into her nineties. Apparently you think that's the norm. Dorothy would tell you otherwise, if she could.
DeleteYou are right about Ann Bishop. Kelly Lange was the cutesy traffic chopper girl in her flight suit, never a journalist of any kind.
You think that is equity. It isn't. Everyone with any sense of American broadcast history knows that in 1980, as soon as the first crow's foot appeared on a female anchorette, it was "adios, senorita". The archetype was and in many places still is that of the avuncular , balding, pudgy baggy male anchor and the much younger, wide-eyed counterpart. She'd look over to him adoringly as if he were the font of all wisdom, even if he was dumb as a brick. She was coached by consultants on how to do that."Oh Bill, what a big head you have".
Real social change occurs not just solely because of internationally publicized lawsuits, but because people talk about these things. Thousands of women generally and hundreds from the broadcast world have thanked me many times for taking that first difficult step.
Today, the equities are a little closer, though all too often the male anchor has to have his facelift and his female counterpart has to have two
1:49 likes a world where hundreds of t.v. stations effectively ban women over forty. He thinks that's perfectly equitable. Imagine the circumstances reversed. He'd be boo hoo hooing more loudly than a woman giving birth. That's the twuth..See the exhibit at the Newseum to help you understand the issue.
Oh, thank you @149. I'm so glad you have the knowledge to call out Christine on her nonsense. Such a know it all rightly deserves to have her nose rubbed in it when appropriate. She certainly does more than her fair share to other posters - much of it inappropriate.
DeleteChristine, how has it escaped me that you are such a saint?
DeleteHow would I know what has and hasn't "escaped" you. You are anonymous, yes? You are too much of a coward to put your name to your postings. That said, I'm the last person in the world to describe myself as in any way "saintly."
DeleteSo, based on Christine's hysterical comment @3:53, apparently she knew Dorothy Fuldheim.
DeleteThanks for that Christine. I'm sure we were all dying to hear about you and Dorothy Fuldheim. Fascinating stuff. Can't imagine why you are barely on the air anymore.
Christine lacks the ability to communicate normally with other human beings and demonstrates the social impairment and communication difficulties typically associated with autism spectrum disorders. Very likely an Asperger syndrome involvement.
DeleteChristine: "Thousands of women generally and hundreds from the broadcast world have thanked me many times for taking that first difficult step"
DeleteChristine, I'm guessing millions more would thank you for taking the next difficult step, off a short pier.
Christine is 100% correct in her recounting of history. She lived it and she knows. The juvenile personal attacks on her are devoid of any substance and, frankly, unworthy of publication. If you are still reading this thread, Christine, please know that there are many who admire and thank you.
DeleteAs for the others: buzz off!
I lectured at over a hundred colleges, universities and law schools on the issue of sexism in the broadcast television news biz. and title VII litigation in federal court(use your google) I wrote a book about it. I did tons of media about it including Letterman, Nightline, Today show, GMA, CBS Morning News etc. I was named as one of the top collegiate speakers in the United States. Those things put you in touch with a lot of people who are struggling in their own situations and take heart from someone challenging the paradigm. You are free to not comprehend that.
DeleteI understand that you will never have that experience, or anything like it.As for your cute little pier threats, wanna race? Don't be afraid, I only swim a half mile to a mile, every day.
So, it was you doing Stupid Pet Tricks on a segment of Late Night with Letterman, Christine. Thanks. I will sleep better now. Doing an interview on the CBS Morning News doesn't count. Back then, like now, had no viewers. In fact, you were just one reason why it failed so many time. Congratulations!
Delete11:12..Actually it was three segments and we kicked it off with a joke about pet tricks. At the time, Dave lived at Pt. Dume with his dogs. I lived up the beach a tad with my surfing labrador. You really must take some time and learn what syntax means.
Delete"The archetype was and in many places still is that of the avuncular , balding, pudgy baggy male anchor and the much younger, wide-eyed counterpart."
DeleteWhy was this? Was this "trust profile" the work of a brilliant broadcast executive who deduced from the vast diversity of working anchor teams that this profile was the most appealing to viewers? No, because there'd never been such diversity among anchor teams. Well, then was it the result of prejudices of the kind that, in the case of high-tech, Jesse Jackson insists business executives value over profit? Again, the answer seems to be no, judging by the huge dollars at stake and the intense competition for them.
So what was it? Perhaps it was due to a phenomenon, a form of common sense, that feminists are incapable of considering when critiquing gender roles, despite their acceptance of it elsewhere? A common sense based on evolved human perceptions. Why do frightened children run to adults for safety? Why are young women drawn to powerful men? Why do wounded warriors find comfort in a female nurse's voice?
Avuncular men are viewed as possessing the wisdom of the powerful adult male without the power-related intimidation (which is why George Patton types don't occupy anchor chairs). The avuncular anchor is the voice of the tribal elder trusted by young and old, strong and weak. He tells instead of compels. Having a young, wide-eyed counterpart parked next to him was a great way to reinforce the seed nature had planted: this old guy is safe -- a voice to be trusted.
Of course, in cases where dysfunction and instability dominate, the voice of credibility will likely be claimed by witches.
HOW MANY TIMES has Christine reminded us that she once was somebody, that she was on the Letterman show? What was that, 30 years ago?
DeleteIt's pathetic, like that delusional, old, has-been, actress in the movie Sunset Boulevard.
Decades ago Christine was an almost-famous person who lost her big lawsuit and never got over it.
Now she's a humorless scold who habitually comes here to lecture, correct grammar, and pathetically argue about what an important person she should have been.
Christine, the reason why I brought up those four examples is to refute your claim that no women over 40 were working as anchors in 1980.
DeleteAnd please don't diminish Fuldheim's role at WEWS as merely doing commentary. She also was a co-anchor with Ted Henry on the 6 and 11 in 1980, and was in the anchor chair for many years before that.
I left two women off my list:
Melba Tolliver, who was co-anchoring at WABC in the late 70s and early 80s. Melba was as smart as a whip, not some token management put in there to look pretty or to simply attract the black audience. She will probably be best remembered for refusing to wear a wig or a scarf to cover up her Afro when she covered the White House wedding of Tricia NIxon in 1971.
And how did I forget Barbara Walters, who Roone Arledge hired in 1976 to co-anchor the "ABC Evening News" with co-anchor Harry Reasoner. Barbara was 47 at the time. (Her DOB is 9-25-29)
And please don't assume you know what I think. I realize there was a glass ceiling for women in broadcasting back then. It was painfully obvious. But you shouldn't portray yourself as a pioneer when there were women before you who broke these barriers.
Why are you all trembly, fantasizing that I care about what you think, or even think about what you might think? I don't. There, feel all better? Whether you like it or not, mine was the first litigation to challenge the sexist practices in tv.news. Barbara Walters would tell you that Harry Reasoner did everything he could to make her life miserable at ABC. You should read her bio. BTW, my case wasn't an age discrimination case. Do you know what age group is protected by federal age discrimination statutes? I was too young, actually. The consultants involved in the Kansas City situation asked focus groups of middle aged men which female anchor, of the three of us in town, they wanted to f**k. Those tapes were played in front of the first federal jury. The judge turned purple. It was quite funny, actually. The men in the focus group did not choose which anchor they wanted to f**k, and so KMBC decided that they didn't want to f**k me enough. Two weeks after I was demoted from anchor, the ratings came out. KMBC was number one for the first time in three years, the precise result I had been hired to produce. It was too late for KMBC. It was, in fact, delicious irony.
Delete@9:02, The attacks on Christine ARE NOT devoid of any substance. They are a reaction to both the content and tone of each and one of her verbose, insufferable, comments.
DeleteChristine is unfailingly the ultimate authority ON EVERYTHING. She lectures to the rest of us, brags incessantly about her own ancient accomplishments and does so in spasms of angry, bitter verbosity.
We respect people who earn our respect, not those WHO TELL US how great they are.
Arse Nardmann, congratulations on being a consummate windbag. Just curious, is there a point to all those words?
Delete6:17 I remain perpetually amused by your need to read something you find "insufferable". Are you masochistic in other parts of your life, as well? I use my name, unlike you. If you see my name,just take a big breath, hug yourself,and bypass the comment. Then, you won't continue such self-abuse.
DeleteCapitalization, as done here, is not writing.
I have informed opinions on lots of things, but certainly not everything( capitalized or not).
The use of the collective "we" is pretty presumptious. Do you and the "others" sit in a little circle jerk and decide what you collectively "respect"?
What you respect, is no business of mine.
Christine ducks and dodges and obfuscates after knowingly telling a bald faced lie and getting caught. As an officer of the court she would be admonished or sanctioned. But here she can spin her BS without accontability
DeleteChristine is insufferable.
DeleteChristine,
DeleteI believe the collective "we" above is based on the apparent consensus that you and your comments are obnoxious and disagreeable.
I'm sure you aren't totally unappreciated. Perhaps your dog is a fan.
For the record, Pat Harper, if alive, would be shocked to learn that she was anchoring the news at a network-affiliated television station in 1980. She was at WPIX(not an affiliate). So too, would Barbara Walters be surprised. She had anchored at ABC network, not at an affliated station. Harry Reasoner was furious, because he did not believe women should be allowed to anchor the news. He's now dead. She's still alive and attracting millions of viewers. Dorothy Fuldheim was not anchoring the news in 1980. She was doing commentary. That's a job that requires brains, guts, opinions, and the ability to write. You are right about Ann Bishop who was working at a network affiliated station in Florida and didn't hide her age. She had great sources and broke golden stories. Kelly Lange, the perpetual ingenue wasn't anchoring the news in 1974, when you claim she was. In any event, she had a lively personality, but never admitted her age.
DeleteOur federal discovery was about American women anchoring the news at network affiliated t.v. stations...Did you wish to refute this?
Definition of "CHRISTORY"
DeleteThe final word on whatever happened in the past as imagined by Christine Craft, a legend in her own mind.
In other words, you were profoundly wrong and don't have the balls to admit it,or to apologize for getting it wrong.
DeleteRegarding Pat Harper not counting because she wasn't at a network station ... here's what you wrote Christine: "In 1980, as part of a federal lawsuit, we found in discovery, that there were no American women anchoring newscasts in the entire country, who were over the age of forty."
DeleteYou never made a distinction about working at a network station or not.
For what it's worth, WPIX while not a network O&O is in the No. 1 market and probably had more in revenue and a larger audience than that station you litigated in Kansas City.
Oh, and regarding Kelly Lange not being an anchor at KNBC in 1974. You're right. I missed it by one year. She became an anchor in 1975 and continued through 1998. See the 10th graf of this Dec. 18, 1998, LA Times story on her departure from KNBC: http://articles.latimes.com/1998/dec/18/entertainment/ca-55118
DeleteChristine, obviously your belief in CHRISTORY is absolute and unshakeable. You are the star in your own movie. Maybe you haven't noticed, the theater is empty.
DeleteChristine, one more thing about your statement "In 1980,as part of a federal lawsuit, we found in discovery, that there were no American women anchoring newscasts in the entire country, who were over the age of forty."
DeleteYou learned this falsehood in "discovery"? Really?
As a lawyer, I'm sure you know that discovery is the process where you obtain evidence from the other side of the case.
You sued KMBC in Kansas City, then owned by the now defunct Metromedia Inc. At the time, Metromedia only owned five or six TV stations around the country.
How could you have obtained through discovery from Metromedia knowledge about who was employed as an anchor at roughly 1,400 TV stations across the country that were doing local news in 1980?
Are you suggesting that Metromedia had data about who was anchoring at every TV station, including their ages?
How did you get that information through "discovery"?
Why would Metromedia keep records on all the other TV stations' hiring practices?
My guess is that you're misusing the word "discovery" and what you're trying to say is that your legal team did some sort of research to arrive at this bogus conclusion.
Maybe your legal team just made up the fact and hoped that none of the jurors had ever turned on a TV in Los Angeles to see Kelly Lange sitting at the anchor desk of KNBC, or Melba Tolliver on the set of "Eyewitness News" at WABC in New York?
But really, how did you obtain through "discovery" information on all of the anchors working at local TV stations in the U.S.? Answer the question.
Gee, do you think maybe KMBC and Metromedia had an agency relationship with a business involved in consulting all over the country.Could it have been a business involved in recruiting talent for hundreds of stations?(even if they didn't want to be recruited?) Could it have been a business which had an office in Dallas, lined with tapes of tv. talent, broken up into caregories by age, race, and sex? Could it have been a business which had to change its name before the trial? Could it be a business that wanted the female anchors to defer to the males? Could it have been a business that coached the anchor talent to read Edgar Allen Poe's "The Raven" with different moods, like happy, mad, and concerned? Could it have been a business that told women anchors they couldn't repeat the same outfit in a six week period , but the men could wear the same suits all the time? Ever hear of ARD?? use your google, look up "agency"
DeleteWell, then, how did they get it so wrong?
DeleteCome on now, 1:37, you felt you had the right to demand that I "answer the question" didn't you? I've given you the answer..Now, I'll ask you as the self-proclaimed expert on federal civil procedure you thought you were, did you never see a lawsuit entitled thusly: Joe Blow vs. Company X, its agents and assignees? Did you miss the agency part of Civil Procedure? Will you be strong enough to admit your error and your lack of knowledge and more importantly, your bs?
DeleteChristine, who attended of McGeorge School of Law, ranked 146th, LAST PLACE in the latest U.S. News & World Report law school rankings - that's 146th out of 146 laws schools - is now pretending she's some great legal scholar? Funny if it wasn't pathetic.
DeleteBTW, you still haven't given any answers, unless you think your torrent of questions @5:04 constitutes an answer. Maybe students from McGeorge School of Law never learned the difference between an answer and a question. We're #146.
Wherever you got your information from, it was wrong. You said there were no women anchors over 40 in 1980. In fact, I've named five. Your discovery was in error. You missed anchors in the No. 1 and No. 2 markets, which makes me doubt your claim that you got this from KMBC's consultant. What consultant is ignorant of the talent in the top two markets? Doesn't add up.
Deletedear 12:28...You say you've "named five" women anchors in 1980. You named Dorothy Fuldheim, but she was not anchoring a newscast anywhere in 1980. She was doing commentary. You've named Barbara Walters, but she was not anchoring a newscast either at a network affiliate or an independent television station in 1980. . I've said that Ann Bishop was anchoring in Florida in 1980. Kelly Lange was always coy about her age, so that one easily could be missed. Remember this is the era pre-internet. I wrote about Pat Harper in my book. In 1980, she was not anchoring at a network-affiliated station. Our inquiry involved anchoring at a network affiliated station..because that's what I was doing..thus the relevance. So given the passage of time, there were two such women, not five. In any event, feel free to read any number of excellent books on the subject of sex and age discrimination against American women in broadcasting. Jane Pauley, Marlene Sanders, Connie Chung and a prominent host of others have made extensive public statements about this era. At the same time in 1980, there were literally hundreds of male anchors over forty. Did you want to dispute that? Do you understand simple facts about basic equity?
DeleteAs I posted originally about Carolyn Johnson, I'm very glad to see that in 2014, American newswomen can actually, realistically expect to find work in the t.v. news biz past 40. That's a good thing, and I'm delighted to have been part of that cultural sea change.
As for 8:30, the law school wannabe who wants to imput law school rankings in 2014 to me. Check your facts and your math. I graduated from law school, two decades ago.
Oh Christine, you said there were no women over 40 anchoring local newscasts in 1980. The existence of even one such woman disputes your claim and puts to rest this canard you've been throwing around for years.
DeleteYou’re not disputing Ann Bishop at WPLG 10 in Miami was in that age category in 1980.
Kelly Lange was born Dec. 14, 1937, which would have made her 43 in 1980 when she was co-anchor of KNBC’s 6 and 11 p.m. newscasts. Here’s three sources on her age: http://www.spokeo.com/Kelly+Lange+1 … http://www.celebritynetworth.com/view/en/kelly_lange/ … http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kelly_Lange
Pat Harper of WPIX New York was 45 that year. You have amended your claim to say you’re only counting network affiliates, but I’d argue that anchoring at the Tribune-owned Indy in New York was more prominent and paid better than wherever you worked in the Midwest.
You haven’t disputed Melva Tolliver was over 40 when she co-anchored the 6 and 11 casts at WABC New York in 1980.
And you say that Dorothy Fuldheim doesn’t count because you think she wasn’t an anchor at WEWS in Cleveland. She started as an anchor there in 1947! (See “Women Pioneers in Television,” by Cary O’Dell, page 108). I quote, “When Dorothy Fuldheim began her career with WEWS, she was already 54 years old. Though she was at an age when many would start thinking about retiring, Dorothy Fuldheim was just beginning.” (Page 109) Here's here New York Times obit that says she was an anchor there starting in 1947. http://www.nytimes.com/1989/11/04/obituaries/dorothy-fuldheim-96-a-news-commentator.html
Here’s a shot of her and the rest of the WEWS “Eyewitness News” team in 1980. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:DororthywithTV5NewsTeam.png ... interesting how she's front and center. I don't know why you were trying to diminsh her role.
Of course none of this supports your claim that there were no women anchors over 40 in 1980.
I appreciate that you assume that the internet was always there, and that Kelly Lange's age was readily discoverable by anyone other than her relatives in 1980. You'd be wrong.
DeleteI knew and did several events with Dorothy Fuldheim. I am aware of her history. However, the fact is that she was not anchoring the news in 1980. Were she alive today, she would whack you for your stupidity.You assume incorrectly that I think it is some sort of bad thing to do commentary. You are wrong in that assumption. Doing commentary is not anchoring, commentary requires more brains,not less. That said, once again, she was not anchoring the news in 1980, the subject of the discovery in my case, which had to do with women anchors in 1980.
Your phrase"amended my claim" is nonsense. This isn't a legal filing, it's a blog. Our inquiry was always limited to relevant matters.(surprise!).
Once more, without feeling, it was about American women anchoring the news at network affiliated television stations.
I think you should spend several days figuring out how many men over forty were anchoring the news at network-affiliated television stations in 1980. Hop to it. I should tell you in advance, that the shelves of talent tapes at Media Associates(which changed its name nervously to Audience Research and Development) when they were deposed and forced to testify at two federal trials, those shelves had hundreds of tapes of male anchors over forty, and no similar tapes of any women over forty, not even one. Good luck with your research.
I'll just have to yield to the superior intellect of 1:12,above. Who knew that NYC was bigger than Kansas City? Gosh, you'd think I would have known that, since I was conceived at the Waldorf Astoria(mother worked at Rockefeller Center,lived in Greenwich Village as well as the Waldorf with my aunt, Rose Langenbach), spent many summers as a child iin Wainscott(Bridgehampton, L.I.) and Darien , Conneticut. Was New York that big city we adored so? Later, when I worked at W. 57th street, I guess I thought it was Kansas City.
DeleteOnce again, the specific inquiry had to do with how many American women were anchoring the news in 1980, all across the country, at network affiliated television stations. It was not an inquiry into what salaries were paid in differing markets, or which market was larger. That would have been a different inquiry.You'd last about twenty minutes, as a real researcher.
It's fun to see Christine caught in a lie like this. When somebody tries to confront her on her show, she talks over them and eventually hangs up. But here her excuses, attempts to change the subject & deceptive spinning are all there to see. She can't hang up on the caller!!
DeleteChristine, I'm 13 years your junior. I had a crush on you when you were doing the weather locally here. I still have a crush on you today. You always had this presence that I can't quite describe but after reading your book I determined you have more stones than all of the men here put together who are taking shots at you. Enjoy the attention. You have far more admirers out here than you can imagine. You passed the bar when you were over 50 if I'm not mistaken. You not only have physical attractiveness but a smart brain to go with it, something that intimidates a lot of men. From an admirer with the utmost respect for your accomplishments in life. Keep it up.
DeleteCarolyn Johnson is in a league of her own. She's not a "news reader" by any means and an absolute talent. Watching her reports shows me how extremely smart she is. KGO is dropping a big one letting her walk.
ReplyDeleteYawn!!! so?? they'll find someone else to read the teleprompter!!!
ReplyDeleteHands down the most capable, classy and beautiful female anchor in the entire Bay Area. Such a shame we lost her.
ReplyDeleteThank-you Carolyn for your nice words about yourself.
DeleteI am not Carolyn but can tell how jealous you must be of her. She is more beautiful and capable and classy than you are. She can go down to LA for a better gig, yet you can't. Sorry for you indeed.
DeleteWithout a doubt the most beautiful woman in local news. So easy on the eyes. Shame.
ReplyDeleteWhat are the odds they will replace her with another woman, most likely Asian?
ReplyDeleteOr Latina. I'd put my money on Latina.
DeleteI'd replace her with Sofia Vergara. Rich would go crazy blogging about her rack and she'd be a hoot doing the news: "Today 'dere wass a crash between a buus and a caaar. It was aaawful, reeeeally aaawful! ¡Diiiios miiio! Where is Al Buundiee? Al Buuundiee!"
LOL. They do pander don't they?
DeleteChannel 7 was usually my goto station but I cannot fathom watching Cheryl Jennings get the gig. I expect she will take the pay cut.
ReplyDeleteCheryl has been fired effective Dec 31, 2014. Same with Spenser Christian. Carolyn was offered a new five year contract but with a 20% paycut. Ama D most likely will sit beside Mr Wonderful.
DeleteCheryl and Spenser are gone effective Dec 31... Leigh was not offered anything either and told not to come to work. Carolyn was offered a five year contract with a 20% cut in pay. Most likely Ama will replace her.
DeleteFirst Leigh,now Carolyn? But Dan and Spencer are happy with the pay cuts? I get the feeling those cuts don't actually go across everybody's boards. Hmm?
ReplyDeleteInnuendo is for weasels. Offer some proof or stick with the raddy rants.
DeleteThough Johnson is talented, my opinion of her diminished when I saw her scarfing like stoner at Taco Bell. I know, she has a busy schedule and sometimes a person just needs some calories, but I want my news from someone better than me. Trust me, that's not asking for a lot.
Getting hungry and having a meal at Taco Bell. That is so disgraceful! Thank goodness you are better than that ne'er-do-well Johnson!
Delete3:12, when the booze wears off your reading comprehension will improve.
Delete"trust me, that's not asking for a lot" implies the author is setting the low water mark.
9:38 AM,
DeleteIn 8 PM's post, what do the pejorative remarks about Johnson infer (relative to "the author's" desire to get his/her news from "someone better than me")? Enlighten me, reading comprehension guru!
I'm sure the Bay Area will somehow survive. Get out and enjoy the day.
ReplyDeleteGoing to bet her new job is at KNBC in Los Angeles. Gotta remember who she worked for at KGO and where they went after they left the building.
ReplyDeleteTracey and Stephanie...the Scream Team.
ReplyDeleteThis is what happens when you put kids in charge.
The Scream Team may get some comeuppance when the Heather Ishimura case starts to boil...did TW and SA's actions, motivated solely by anger and malice, lead to HI's medical issues and possibly permanent disability?
DeleteThey may have to raise ticket prices at Disneyland if so!
I had the pleasure of working with Carolyn during my 22 year career at KGO. Her departure is not surprising at all. Others will soon follow. When Disney bought the ABC
ReplyDeleteNetwork journalism went out the door. Disney is anti-union, anti-labor and certainly NOT the "happiest place on earth". The loss such professionals like Carolyn speaks to the hostile work environment Disney creates. TRACEY WATKOWSKI as ND is KGO's
hatchet man. Her management style is so abusive she currently has 5 lawsuits pending against her and Disney/ABC filed by current and former staff members.
KGO is referred to by insiders as stalag 7 for good reason.
> KGO is referred to by insiders as stalag 7 for good reason.
DeleteAnd Disney is referred to as "Mousechwitz."
The biggest (current ) problem at ABC 7 is Tracey Watkowski. Too bad Burbank or New York doesn't get it.
DeleteWill be easily replaced by Ama Daetz or Kristen Sze and KGO will keep right on going. Johnson is overrated by many here. She wasn't Jessica Aguirre. She wasn't Pam Moore. She wasn't even Julie Haener. Yes, she's better than Liz Cook but that's not saying much. She came across as totally disinterested on the air. Let's face it, Dan Ashley owns KGO in the evening. It doesn't matter who you pair him with...it will always be "Dan Ashley and..." until KGO finds someone with the same kind of wattage he's got. Unfortunately that wouldn't be anyone on KGO's roster who is currently being evaluated to replace Carolyn.
ReplyDeleteI bet they will replace her with Kristen Sze.
DeleteUm, have you ever worked with any of the people you name? How do you know how "good" they are?
Delete11:22 sounds like the management scream team who screwed the pooch. Who will replace? Cheryl too old, Anna too young, Kristen too dumb. Instead of cutting Ashley's pay ( who can't afford to leave ) they lost 15-20 years of potential service by say....Carolyn and Larry. Lets face it, Carolyn wasn't a dynamo but she had brains, nice to look, with a great rack. The ND Tracey has x amount of pennies and F-ed up again. Lawsuits, Carolyn, Heather...the hits just keep coming! Who will save this sinking ship?
DeleteIs there a rumor/idea of what the pay cut was going to be? 5 percent? Or we talking 25 percent?
ReplyDeleteNo idea but once at KRON they cut on-air talent's comp by 50 percent.
Delete20%
DeleteA question for Rich. Do you now have multiple people chosing which of our comments end up being posted, or is it only you making the selection? Just wondered, because two or three of my recent comments have never been posted. One was a little off topic, but the second one was a full answer to your question on do we like the music videos that you post. I'm trying to learn what is acceptable on your site at this time. Thanks.
ReplyDeleteIt's called a blog, and Rich, however much he may try to make it seem different, is not a corporation. He's one guy in his boxer shorts sitting at the kitchen table typing this stuff while last night's leftovers from Tommy's Joynt heat up in the microwave.
DeleteDoesn't say much for management. I am not sure how much credence to give Rich, but it sounds like the only stations where people are content are 11 and 5. Every other place sounds like a 3 ring circus with Bozo the Clown in charge. Or things have become so top down that the people running the stations are viewed as nothing more than interchangeable gears that can be replaced at anytime. Thus you don't to pay top dollar for quality manager. Just hire some under qualified rube that will do whatever they are told. Even if it means ticking off your best and most dedicated employees.
ReplyDeleteWhat's annoying is fortunes change so quickly. Right now 5 and 11 are competent. A year ago it was someone else, and a year before that someone else. There's no consistency, no constancy. Just chaos.
DeleteCarolyn did not want to go. Management told her if she didn't take a 20-25% pay cut. They would fire her. They thought she would feel so lucky to stay. She would take the cut-instead she found a better job. Now they're scrambling. Ima ditz or Kristin zero. That's it.
ReplyDeleteI call BS.
DeleteSo management gave her a range of a 20-25% pay cut. Management didn't yet have a firm number. Doesn't sound like any management I've ever experienced.
It's unfortunately a sign of the times. I work in local radio and you wouldn't believe the rampant paranoia that these maga-media companies have created among the people who work for their radio 'properties.'
ReplyDeleteLocal TV stations are no different. They are all run these days by cold-blooded, unimaginative corporate types who are only interested in the bottom line. Public domain? What's that? This is our 'brand' to do with it what we want! The 'Brand' is what sells after all, not the people who are interchangeable and can be bought and sold at will, right? What really galls me is how the government handed big business the right to basically ruin an industry that is an essential part of our Democracy. This happened when the Communications Act of 1995 was signed into law.
The public's right to know what's going on around them, and the public service that used to be required of these stations seems have taken a back seat to downsizing and getting 'lean and mean.' And these green, inexperienced youngsters who are increasingly finding employment in broadcasting, who are overworked and underpaid and are taking the jobs of qualified, experienced broadcasters? They don't know any better because this is the only world they know!
Wow. As one who only (for many many years) has "watched" Channel 7 News, but did not know much "inside baseball" behind the scenes - I am shocked at this news. All I could think of when I first read this was great job, Carolyn, getting your knee surgery and recovery time in, on Disney! So many of us will miss her understated style and class - and she and Dan really did make a good, witty pair. Sadly, EVERY move made lately seems to be ALL about money. I am not a Cheryl Jennings fan at all - my guess would be she will retire in the face of this pay cut - and they'll be replacing her also. Her plastic face hides her age well - but she is definitely ready for retirement.
ReplyDeleteWhat I want to know is why is the News Director making the announcement? This was clearly upper management's decision (probably on orders from corporate) and the News Director ends up looking like the orchestrator of all this. Perhaps she was anyways. But I somehow doubt that.
ReplyDeleteWho do you expect to make the announcement, the janitor?
DeleteIn retrospect, we might have seen this coming. Carolyn was not anchoring during portions of the May ratings period. That is not the time when a principal anchor is allowed to take a vacation or put on "special assignment."
ReplyDeleteAbout Pat Harper, she was first at WPIX, where she anchored with her husband, later ex-hub Joe Harper. The newscast was called Harper News. He left and she was joined by Steve Bosh and Bill Jorgensen. She later went to anchor with Scarborough at WNBC. She was never at WNYW or WCBS. And she was great.
ReplyDeleteGood luck, Carolyn! You'll be missed!
ReplyDeleteI came back in the house after a quick look at the meteor shower (too cloudy) only to see Carolyn's farewell. How disappointing to lose an intelligent, articulate, gracious, and charming anchor. Please radio gods, don't let her replacement be from the Robin Meade School of Journalism, dramatically acting out the stories, singing, and speaking in that weird new way where every sentence ends as a question. Well, time for me to start looking at the other stations.
ReplyDeleteCongratulations and good luck to Carolyn! Our loss is Southern California's gain.
Well, I missed Carolyn's goodbye and will really miss her. But wait a minute! I was missing her already due to her disappointingly poor attendance record. She was already gone 20-25% of the time anyway. I did enjoy her beauty, brains, great sense of humor and bright smile whenever she made it into work but I don't think she ever really understood what being an "anchor" really means.
ReplyDeleteShe spent too much time giggling and making googly eyes at that other puppet, Dan Ashley. Won't miss her.
ReplyDeleteThe only reason I watched Channel 7 news was because of her. I have now switched over to the NBC broadcasts. That decision is going to end up costing the station more than the 20% pay cut she was asked to give up.
ReplyDeleteSo much for MY dedication to your TV station. I tried for 2 weeks with your new radio station. STOPPED. I really miss the old format. I will be going now to the other TV News station. Too bad since I have watched your station since "HI I'M ROGER GRIMSBY & HERE NOW THE NEWS." So long, farewell, "SAY GOODNIGHT GRACIE".
ReplyDelete