Dean Danos has been fired by KCBS--Danos just sent me this e-mail; I asked the veteran newsman to respond to the KCBS move.
Hi Rich:
Well, it was a total surprise. The other day I got a call from Ed, (Cavagnaro), (NewsDirector), saying that they would have to let me go. After recovering from the shock, I asked why. He said that they need to make a change so that they could have an outside reporter in the anchor position in the case of something like the quake might happen. He said that they could send that person out to cover it. I asked how they would do without an anchor. He said that they had done that before. Still no explanation how. Then he went on to say that my last day would be Oct11, and I would get a nine day severance, and that was it. A person at the union talked to Ed, and told me, from what he said, she couldn't fathom why I was dropped. There are other part-time anchors that are not reporters. I found it interesting that, during the quake, as others came in to cover it, they gave me a thumbs-up, and said that I did a good job. I don't know what is going on, because, during my 14 years at KCBS, I was always available when needed, and was proud to be a member of the news team.
Dean Danos
He actually asked how, instead of saying "BULLSHIT!"? "We are firing you today in case we have the big quake in 2049". Talk about far ahead planning!- lol.
ReplyDeleteIt had nothing to do with ratings or money? Since when?
They just screw you randomly. There's no reason. And quality is being destroyed because of it, obviously. What makes me laugh is they will then bring in consultants to the tune of hundreds of thousands of dollars who will tell them the same common sense things their own people have been trying to tell them--and in some cases getting fired over--for years.
ReplyDeleteAs I said in another post, the people running ALL media are just stupid. The field seems to attract the stupid types, the types who couldn't get a job in any other field, and the outright narcissists.
Ambiguous or evasive language and lack of explanation speak to termination without cause. Danos did not have to do anything, egregious or otherwise. In California, employer does not have to state any reason for legal dismissal.
ReplyDeleteUnless the employee has an actual or implied contract with the employer that allows for termination only for cause or other specified reasons, the employer may dismiss an "at will" employee as long as the reasons are not illegal. It may require a skilled attorney, of course, to determine whether there is a factual basis for wrongful termination ensuing from illegal reasons (e.g., age discrimination?).
Revise last line above to read ". . . wrongful termination allegation . . . "
DeleteThanks, Rich.
'Consultants,' that is a total joke. These guy (and gals), are usually failed programmers or on-air types who have no clue, but have somehow hornswaggled the powers that be into thinking that they know how to solve programming problems. They are like useless, overpaid and should not be listened to. But the idiots who run radio, (especially these days!), revere to these dumb bells as if they're some kind of oracles. What a joke! I feel sorry for the hard working veterans who are in their 40s and 50s today working in SF radio. They're constantly looking over their shoulders and wondering when the hammer will drop on them because these cretins who are employed and paid big bucks and know NOTHING about radio have the influence and power to ruin their careers.
ReplyDeleteThe quake probably had nothing to do with it. It was just a convenient excuse. This change had probably been planned for quite some time, as it's unusual for stations to have an overnight live presence, although I don't know about other CBS news stations. It would seem to that there would be reasons for a live overnight presence in cases like those. Anyway, it was all about money...how to squeeze another dime out of lowered operating costs.
ReplyDeleteUsing the quake as an excuse makes them look bad, however, because the quake would be a reason for them NOT to let you go.
Best wishes for success. I hope you find another gig, maybe a daytime one where there might be just a tincture more job security.
So why shouldn't KCBS be allowed to fire this guy if they decided they wanted to get rid of him? This happens to other people in all lines of work ALL THE TIME.
DeleteWho said they shouldn't? I'm just saying that it was a bad decision, and the manager who fired him made a poor judgment as to the reason for the dismissal. It was a bonehead excuse.
Delete@2:54, You know absolutely nothing about KCBS's reason for firing this gentleman. Perhaps they had a good reason. You are certainly in no position to judge.
DeleteReally?
DeleteI think 2:54 was just judging the excuse the manager gave, not the fact that he was let go.
DeleteI love it when these front office types call you into their office and fire your ass. The excuse they give for letting you go is usually: "We wanted to make a change," but they never explain why. You're just supposed to suck it up, shake their hand, be happy if they give you any kind of severance check and move on.
ReplyDeleteI heard a story one time about a DJ who was canned at a radio station in a major market and it was obviously because he and the PD hated each others guts. When the faithful meeting took place and the PD said: "We're letting you go," the DJ didn't just sit there and take it but picked up a chair, called the PD several choice words I can't repeat here, (use your imagination!) and then threw the chair through the window of the guy's office and scared the you-know-what out of him! He then unzipped his pants and peed all over the PD's desk while the PD squealed like a little angry pig for someone to come help him. No surprise that no one did.
The police were subsequently called, but by the time they showed up, the DJ had long since left the premises. Needless to say, everyone else in the station who worked on the air, hated this particular PD and were thrilled that the DJ had decided to take action. The PD's two favorite expressions were: "Take if to the bank!" and "Carve it in granite!" which were obviously total BS.
At the very least, these spineless PDs could give you a reason for the cashiering. It wouldn't salve the hurt, but at least you'd know why. But for some reason, I guess because being dishonest is a job requirement, and they wouldn't have the guts to do so anyway. Lovely profession isn't it Richie!
That's incredible. Where is this guy today? Where is his former boss today?
DeleteJust wondering why media companies should not be allowed to dismiss employees just like any other business.
ReplyDeleteCould anyone please answer that question.
Thank you.
Anna, of course they can. That's the not the question. The question is better framed in several ways. Should they fire a person who is about to retire?What message does that send to other employees who are expected to be loyal to the company and represent it? Will the audience care or notice?
DeleteCan they fire someone because the company or its managers are discriminating on the basis of age(protected class between 40-70), gender, sexual preference, race, national origin, or other such immutable characteristic? The answer is no. On the other hand, it can be very difficult for someone to prove that motivation, mostly because other employees who may have heard or observed such discrimnation against the fired individual are not willing to be truthful about it. Some people allege such discrimination when it's not true. In any event, big corps. like CBS have legal departments who are typically consulted before a job action is taken. Not all or even most fired employees, even if they have a good case to make for the above, chooses to do so. Does that help? Unfortunately there is no tenure in the broadcasting profession. Other professions, especially ones requiring courses of study and exams and mandating subsequent state licensure, are different(lawyers, doctors, teachers).
Sounds like age discrimination to me! Only nine days severance?? He should get one week per year of service, 14 weeks of pay!!
ReplyDeleteVery sorry to hear about Dean Danos--when is Karel finally going to get fired!!
ReplyDeleteI don't understand how Danos' coverage of the Napa quake is a pretext for termination. He was WONDERFUL. I live in Sonoma, and as soon as the shaking stopped, I looked for news on my little bedside transistor radio. KCBS was the ONLY station doing live and local coverage. As I got dressed and made a pot of coffee, there was Danos, giving me information, and more importantly, taking calls from nervous residents and reports from people on the scene (KGO used to excel at this. Used to). Danos was calm, composed and professional, and performed a great public service that shaky morning.
ReplyDeleteYes, KCBS is no different than any other company these days. What utter bullshit about the excuse the "Hall of Famer" gave to Mr. Danos. HOFer has been at CBS for a long time, too. Maybe it's time to give his ass the boot too.
ReplyDeleteOne other thing: California is a state that's always people-conscious -- especially with the laws regarding gas emissions and other environmental stuff. Except for worker's rights. Employers should be forced to give a reason why someone is being let go. Not this "change of direction" bullshit excuses.
Also,he did say he's at 14 years. Maybe the company ran the sabermetrics and decided he was coming up one some kind of extra benefit at some time in the future.
ReplyDeleteFunny,I was reading that the Lucy Show "fired" her kids in the TV show because at 100 episodes they would get some kind of large payment in residuals...letting them go in the third season meant Desilu kept all the profits.
So,if Lucy was cutthroat 40 years ago..imagine how bad big business is now.
I think its ageism. Dean is around 80 but is sharp as a tack. Ed sucks and karma is a bitch.
ReplyDeleteIt's not about cutting costs. They replaced him with another anchor. It's that he's just not very good on the air. Bottom line: quality.
ReplyDeleteAgree
DeleteI for one was happy to see him go. His delivery was totally 70's radio and I found his singsong approach to the news very annoying.
ReplyDelete