I'm just going to keep doing what I'm doing, God willing, and those of you that understand and appreciate my work and reporting, then stick around and I'm here to provide an outpost that is 100% genuine and real.
That doesn't mean in any way I'm perfect and do my best not to get it first but to get it right, first.
I do take this position seriously --I don't like writing about people who are about to lose their job and just wantonly throwing out some gossip that affect people's livelihoods --every item involving pink slips and who's leaving and who's not are always double and triple-sourced.
I got word on the Carolyn Johnson story early in the day and tried very hard to get a comment from Carolyn knowing that the information I received was valid. Before pressing the send button, I reached out to friends of hers, other sources, to ask if the story were true even when I knew it was solid but I wanted to be ABSOLUTELY right.
The story was right and not only that, the story that Carolyn Johnson was bolting for KNBC in LA, (reported by me, first, too), was indeed accelerated by a paycut put forth by KGO and ABC/Disney.
Early in the week I was privy to Diane Dwyer from KNTV, (NBC Bay Area), deciding to leave the station because she and her bosses were unable to reach an agreement involving scheduling and it was this blog that had it exclusively.
And better yet, the next day Dwyer acknowledged the story's legitimacy and spoke on the record. Before that post went public I reached out to Diane late into the night to at least give her a chance to comment. I do that with every individual because it's not only fair but the right thing to do.
**Late last week I received a tip that both Cheryl Jennings and Spencer Christian were not going to be renewed when their contracts were up in December. I immediately called a KGO source and asked if they knew something about this rumor. The person said they had not heard that but that, given the financial climate inside the ABC/Disney TV O and O division, it sounded genuine.
Still, I needed more. I called some other people in and around the business who have intricate knowledge and was informed that they heard the same. I sent an e-mail to both Christian and Jennings for comment. I did not receive a response. I tried to call too but was unable to communicate with them. Jennings I know doesn't like me because I had written negative things and so I wasn't surprised; Spencer Christian, I don't know him very well other than he did a radio show I hosted a few years back.
In any event, I made an attempt to contact these people. They, for whatever reason, made no attempt to comment which is their right. The News Director? I did not seek her comment because there's no use contacting her when I know she will not talk--what's she going to say anyway? "You're right Rich, you're spot on" or something to that effect. Truth is, I didn't need any of 'em to talk because the story is accurate. What happens in December will validate that unless someone at KGO wants to keep them to disparage me and my work, fine go ahead, make my day.
I don't pretend that as much as the case that I'm right I'm no different than others who are right too but are human and will get it wrong too every now and then. I will repeat again that I take the time and ask and e-mail people before throwing it out onto the domain. A far cry from some "respectable" Internet sites like TMZ.com which essentially ran a thoroughly false report about Colin Kaepernick. Where's the outrage? And contrary to what some of you think, be I a "blogger", "reporter", "journalist", I do the best I can in gathering information and making sure it is valid. Of course my critics will always throw bricks at me no matter what I could be Woodward and Bernstein 30 times over and they'd find fault and frankly I don't care about them, it's you guys and gals that are here regularly and depend on my reporting and seek Bay Area media news you never get in the mainstream arena.
My record speaks for itself. Those of you that get it will understand and continue to come here and read my work. Those of you that come here that are hellbent on bitching and moaning, God love ya, welcome to the show. You want to aggravate yourself, you're that hard up for being a glutton for punishment, then be my guest and torture yourself. Old habits are hard to break, believe me, I've been there, it's a guilty pleasure.
The fact is, finally, I'm comfortable with my reporting and I'll continue to report--even the hard stuff and no one, no company will step in my way to get you all the news you expect from reading Rich Lieberman 415 Media--news and information, opinion, raw, real, and ALL of it with MY NAME on it not HIDDEN and HIDING behind a computer.
As it should be.
Amen.
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415 MEDIA
Rich Lieberman
Tips-Contact: Rich.Lieberman@Gmail.com
This outburst displays Rich Lieberman as a pompous man, however under all that arrogance his blog is at times informational and always entertaining.
ReplyDeleteLots of rationalization from a blogger who pretends to be a real journalist.
ReplyDeleteIn other words, Rich Lieberman publishes things he believes are true but not by traditional journalism standards.
ReplyDeleteSadly he thinks by saying that he tries hard, that is sufficient justification for printing rumors AS FACTS when they aren't.true.
People who try hard and nonetheless create a defective product are still responsible for the harm those products cause. Just trying hard is not a sufficient defense if the work performed is not up to normal standards.
Pretty sad to aspire to the standards of TMZ. Sadly, Lieberman's record does speak for itself.
TMZ gets it right every time dude...
DeleteBecause the people involved didn't respond to an email, Lieberman took that as confirmation of the rumor?
ReplyDeleteThat's not confirmation, that's nothing.
Instead of focusing on "being first", then gloating about it later if turns out to be true, don't rush your stories.
ReplyDeleteI know "being first' is a big deal to you, you think it adds to your credibility. You constantly criticize local sports reporters whenever a national reporter is first with something you feel is important.
Going 1 for 3 is only good in baseball.
Does it ever dawn on you, Rich --- does it even invade your consciousness for a second --- that KGO may have wanted to sandbag someone they suspected of being your mole, and discredit you in the process, by leaking exactly this kind of damaging though untrue rumor to just that one person and seeing where it travels?
ReplyDeleteBecause you hear the same rumor from multiple sources doesn't mean it couldn't have come from that same one suspect, and you're hearing echoes from other secondary sources s/he ran to whisper it to. But still the same originating rumormonger.
Journalists know the difference. You sure don't seem to. (I'm not a journalist, but even I know the difference.)
And journalists don't censor comments they don't agree with, or commenters who've pricked their thin skin in the past. If anything, real journalists either grow a thicker skin or learn how to hide that weakness. But I expect this comment to again get swept under the rug, because while you can dish it out, you have a really hard time taking any yourself.
All the legitimate scoops you do publish don't make up for all the sludge that comes along with them. If you want to really clean up your act, learn to say this short sentence: "sorry, I was wrong". Then lather, rinse, repeat.
Your "best", Rich is frequently not good enough. You are way too speculative and your "sources" incorrect or, as you proved in this post, having an axe to grind. You haven't the courage to go to people with the facts before printing lots of stuff. That's been proven.
ReplyDeleteNo, some will not and should not speak with you -- but your approach, attitude and credibility has pretty much spoken for itself too often. The "look, I'm not perfect" is not good enough. You talk down to people not directly to them. You make mistakes and are at times correct, yes. However, you expect your readers to forgive wrong information as just another "mistake." You've been doing this blog long enough to know better.
You are not a journalist or a reporter -- and never have purported to be. That's fact. However, when you land on something you think may be "an item" even six months away, you react like you've won the Pulitzer Prize. You need to take more time in cultivating real sources, then print it.
The TV Spy story was way more "factual" than what you reported and did not rely merely on "press reelase" reload as you try not to do. However, that publication, for printing, at least got information you had no idea about and confirmed it. You didn't.
Finally, Rich, don't take credit for what's not yours. You didn't "break" the story about Carolyn Johnson and where she was going. One of your posters did -- right down to stating she was going to KNBC. Two days before you got wind of the story.
I know, Rich. I know very well.
Less being defensive on this speculation in "trying to be right before getting it first." That train has already passed the station. Sorry, but true. If you want to be taken as the "King of All Bay Area Media", then please quit being a junior grade blogger of a decade and run the blog based on attribution, credibility, facts and reliability. Not speculation and innuendo. If you can't be professional, at least be close to correct.
Quit looking in to send the story out. Be on the inside and send it out, Rich. Yes, the NYTimes fired reporters for making stuff up ... and should have. This is about you and your credibility and lack of it will bite you in the ass everytime.
Thanks and good luck.
The fact is that everyone reads this blog, every time (no such word as "everytime") they are curious about the buzz and gossip re; broadcast haps. The mainstream media , claiming to be journalism, is also driven by the same forces to get it first, often before getting it right, or precisely so. Yes?
DeleteTake everything you read with a healthy dose of skepticism, then you won't be disappointed as often.
The NYT also doesn't focus on the hotness or lack of hotness of various prominent mammary glands, either.
Christine, you are correct. However ...
Delete"Everytime is a common error, it should be every time. However, most people write it as a singular word and it probably won't be long before it's acceptable."
If you were "less perfect" than picking on blog posters, maybe you'd be a "regular" on radio again, known for doing real homework and salient opinion.(I spelled it correctly, Christine.)
You are, however, past your prime and your leanings on talk radio are not as popular as once were. You are now barely a utility player. Your "side" is les and less effective on-air and that's why your ISDN set up in Sacramento is more an expense than a "connection" to the masses anymore. Good day!
3:10, I"m neither a "progressive" nor a democrat. I'm a decline to state voter who leans left on many things, but who is also a staunch supporter of 2nd a guarantees,opposed to untrammelled immigration, and supportive of the members of the US military. You can try to pigeonhole me until you are blue in the face(and I wish you would). You won't succeed,as I am utterly unpredictable. You are one of those simple-minded types who thinks everything is either left or right. They're not. There are usually many sides to every issue and the interesting stuff is always the nuance.
DeleteFeel free to hope that your new word is real, or that it will soon be acceptable. If you want to be a dunce, I certainly won't stop you.
In any event, not that it's your business,but my home studio costs are happily well-covered by a portion of just one three hour radio show. If they weren't, I wouldn't do them. Perhaps you have difficulties with math as well as basic language. Please don't change a thing, promise?
Agreed 110 percent...Christine's general likability began eroding shortly before she finished law school--though that's not uncommon for many lawyers.
Delete> (no such word as "everytime")
DeleteYes there is, eg: "Breaking news is an everytime occurrence on KTVU News."
However, it is often misused. Most of the time "every time" is correct. Just as people always say "he and I" even when it's the OJECT of the sentence and "he and me" would be correct, but we're taught from grade school on to say "I" instead of "me." "Me" is actually right 50 percent of the time. The trick is knowing what part of speech it is so you know which 50 percent. But people just say "I" to sound erudite--and wind up sounding precisely the opposite.
> You are way too speculative and your "sources" incorrect
DeleteCould you list some concrete examples? Thanks.
Dear Christine, I stopped taking your post seriously when you couldn't differentiate between I"m (which you posted) and I'm (which you should've posted). I for one I'm extremely happy you're busy with a so called law practice job instead of having a regular forum on radio.
DeleteLet's not fool ourselves here. Every reader comes here with the intent of hearing about gossip or finding out the truth or lies about said gossip. Anyone who visits this blog hoping to read factual news from a traditional journalistic standpoint will be sorely disappointed.
ReplyDeleteI'm glad that Rich aspires to be accurate and can be transparent when challenged, but I'm not disappointed if he doesn't get the story right. As @1:32 said, "Take everything you read with a healthy dose of skepticism, then you won't be disappointed as often."
In fact, I think the only people that are aggravated by his inaccuracies are the very people that have an incentive to keep these inaccuracies at a reader's top of mind, the PR flacks from local media outlets.
Nicely expressed.
DeleteYou generated several hits this month picked up in other venues. Of course Cheryl and Christian are targets. Too old too expensive. They might deny it for awhile until the dust settles, but those two are toast. Its just the Disney way...always has been. They also have the perfect hit woman in ND Tracey Watkowski. She's a power hungry nut-case who actually enjoys firing people. The good news is Disney wlll dump her after the dirty work is done.
ReplyDeleteI'm not a Lieberman fan but like this site, unfortunately he's right here --Disney is evil.
Delete> The good news is Disney wlll dump her after the dirty work is done.
DeleteI don't know why you keep saying that. Most hatchet men and women go straight to the top. You think Michael Eisner was a nice guy?
When companies are privately-held, the incentive of the people in charge is to do good and turn out a good product, for that fills the coffers--it's the money from the product, from customers. When companies are publicly-held, the incentive is to cut costs as much as possible so institutional investors reading the annual and quarterly reports see lots of output (margin) for little input (capital). The actual product is almost irrelevant. Thus Tracey and Stephanie fit right in--the former is Hitler in drag and the latter a materialistic empty vessel. When companies transition from private to public, their quality--with very few exceptions--usually goes to pot. That's why so many of the best companies are privately-held. The one major exception is when a company has a cache about it that will induce people to pay more when they could get the same thing for less because of some perceived advantage or status--Apple, for example. The rest are just clawing each other for margin on the way down.
You are 101% right. Consulted in many Multi Nationals where the Manager who does the dirty work of laying/firing of employees is subsequently let go, and thus the image of the company does not take a massive dive or hit. This is the Standard Operating Procedure (SOP). So ND Tracey Watkowski use to Disney is to fire people (management provides the list) and wlll dump her after the dirty work of firing is done. So those who believe she won't be fired are incorrect in their thinking.
DeleteKeep plugging Rich!
ReplyDeleteHey 7:27: If people keep posting items like "Hitler in drag" then Disney will run for the hills. They hate bad publicity even in a locals website. Those who prefer not working for the Third Reich keep posting! It will eventually get back to Burbank. In the meantime Bravo Rich! You're spot on and they are nervous!
ReplyDeleteHey Rich, I believe the rumors about Cheryl and Christian are true. I had the misfortune of seeing one her broadcasts recently and smiled and mugged her way through several seriously depressing stories as if she were MCing a gardening show.
ReplyDeleteThere is nothing wrong in passing along the word of rumors as long as you are frank these are rumors/insider unnamed-sources information. And good on you for having your own "private blog" as if that is something unusual these days.
Tiki
If you guys have a good memory KGO 7 took a big chance on Spencer. Let's say he liked to gamble a bit more than he should.
ReplyDeleteLook the media is in flux right now, the Bay Area media is changing. They want younger, cheaper less qualified people reading you the news. All businesses change from time to time.
I like Rich's blog because he tries hard to get the facts down. Anyone else who was a glory hound blogger would have just ran with the story. Can he be wrong now and then sure.
I like his blog cause he doesn't have a problem telling most of you homers out there to go get fucked when need be.
There are many media types who, like we all are in the work world, are constantly looking over their shoulders. They don't want to see the truth nor can they handle the truth.
ReplyDeleteSometimes Dick is going to swing and miss...like you're perfect?
But the point is he's going to take on things that mainstream media won't touch because they're too scared. Like Benjamin Fong in The Chronicle. You think he's going to write something controversial for his fluffy, it's all about me, column? Hell no. He has too many babies to kiss up to.
The fact is this: Bay Area media has dropped down many notches. Credibility and experience is being replaced by incompetence. It's all about cheap labor, keep them fearful of their jobs and screw accuracy. You'll see tons of misspellings in those annoying screen crawls, reporters not knowing their local geography and just an "I don't care as long as I save money, suck up to the right people and save my ass" kind of attitude. It's in every job and now it's even more prevalent in the media.
You don't have to watch. You don't have to listen. I've stopped. It all sucks. Like KTVU running these senseless stories about fan reaction while watching the Warriors last night. THAT'S NOT THE STORY. The game was the story. Who cares if Juan Valdez in San Jose is upset with the game? Everyone wants their 15 minutes thanks to YouTube postings, Facebook and other tech-created attention getters.
But as long as idiots run the ships, that's what we'll get. Sad.
Keep on Dickie Lieberman. Maybe someone will get it someday.
I hear the 'younger cheaper' complaint a lot on here, with the insinuation that it means lesser quality.
ReplyDeleteBut is that really a change? How old were some of the big names when they started on air in the Bay Area?
Kate Kelly, Dennis Richmond, Wendy Tokuda, Gary Radnich, Leslie Griffith, Mark Thompson.
All in their 20s when they came on the scene here.
The difference perhaps is the quality of talent isn't what it used to be. Bright young people are more likely to go into online and other ventures rather than TV news because it's not the growth story it was 30 years ago.
Correct. AM radio is dead. Corporate know-nothing except at CBS Radio (Dan Mason, Pres.) there are way too many stations cluttering the dial. There are those who think they could play babboon farts and it would make a buck. Not so. The audience doesn't want to be treated as dummies and those businesses who pay the bills now have many more options to gain customers, not just radio and TV.
DeleteThe social mores have changed, as well with the times. People now 20 years old were born with cellphones and on the cusp of the Internet -- not AM radio. There weren't 500 channels of cable then, either, but todays "young people" were born into that as well within the last 20 years. Computers, 1984 was the turning point year, just a decade after AM radio gave way to FM. Today, most "young adults" under 35 wouldn't be caught dead listening to AM radio and those under 30 have never heard of it.
There used to be an "education" in being in radio through the last 40 or 45 years. or sligtly more. Unfortunately, that ship has sailed.
Let me tell you how I stumbled upon Rich's blog. I was curious as to what happened when Jon Kessler was no longer on the 'PIX. First place Google sent me was the Rich Liberman 415 Media blog. Guess what? Rich had the info. Since then I regularly visit the blog to see what's trending. I watch the news at various times of the day, I see what they report and when they come up with something I question I check out what Rich has to say on it. Would I write a thesis based on the blog contents? No, but then I recognize what Rich is trying to do: give the blog readers his PERSPECTIVE on events. Will he be 100% accurate very time? Unlikely. Will he 'fess up if he makes an error? Based on what I've seen, yes. Rich has a different angle on things because he's not beholden to the purse strings of corporate bigwigs who control so many different aspects of the local media. I like reading Rich's blog because I see how things are portrayed in the media, and having a bit of "insiders' knowledge" makes it even more fun to watch.
ReplyDeleteNo, I'm not a fake poster giving an insincere review. Yes, I have donated to Rich in the past because I like his work and would like to see it continue. You don't have to. If you don't like what Rich is cookin', go find a different place to troll.
Leeberman only posts the comments that are on his side.
ReplyDeleteIf you disagree with him, the turd won't post the comment.
True story!
Well, 3:44, you might start by at least spelling the man's name correctly. (Lieberman) A little respect, maybe, over issues and topics, with some knowledge, not just ranting about not getting published might help. Also, "turd" is positively not the word to use in describing that which you wish would comply with your wants, you hack. Why not just go racist, you goofball?
Delete