New management execs are already in town and have made some ominous intentions known to the rank and file at Channel 2's Jack London Studios. As usual, the Foxies want to chop, chop, chop, cut, cut, cut...strategy
Among the lowlights:
*Fox wants to make cuts to sick leave, 401K contributions to reporters and anchors.
*Fox wants to make cuts to sick leave, 401K contributions to reporters and anchors.
*Major takeaways from photographers.
*KTVU has 22 news vans. Fox wants to eliminate that number down to about 15--how can they do it? By delaying maintenance to the vans so if a vehicle needs work and tanks out, bingo. Most of the vans are needed for live shots in cities --good luck on those "Team Coverage" openers.
What do you expect from a right wing organization that mirrors the philosophy of today's cut-throat, profits first, workers last philosophy. Fox, like many of the other companies in broadcasting today, is run by a bunch of jackals who are intent on destroying fair and and balanced journalism. That's why their creed is so phony and hypocritical. They make old time broadcasters want to up chuck with their hypocrisy.
ReplyDeleteI'm not sure how many times this needs to be said but Fox Television Stations, Inc. and Fox Television Network have NOTHING to do with Fox News Channel. Yes they are all owned by 21st Century Fox but managed separately. Make no mistake about it, if Rupert Murdoch thought he could make more money by switching Fox News Channel to a liberal outlet he would do so immediately.
DeleteBarry
Don't forget those left wing liberal software companies and all the lies about needing more and more H1B visas because they "can't find enough American skilled workers" while at the same time college study after college study says we graduate more than enough capable tech workers in the US. Left wing, profits first organizations.
Delete11:29, thank you for the proper perspective on that one. Well said.
DeleteAnother lowlight from the nice people at FOX......for the technicians no more night differential and upgrade when doing duties that take on shift supervisor responsibilities. These people will be losing 200-300, but they are not on air talent, so who cares.
ReplyDeleteKTVU has 22 news vans? I'm amazed! Is that more news vans then reporters? Just driving around SF on weekends passing by the stations, when I'm sure most vans are idle, I've always thought the KGO and KPIX have had less then 6 - 8 each and poor KRON maybe only had 4, if that. Maybe there is some fat to cut over there.
ReplyDeleteAmazing how much difference one letter can make -- from Cox to Fox! That said, what's about to happen to the station has little to do with the right-wingness of Fox News. Fox News is just one piece of the overall Fox empire.
ReplyDeleteFox is all about what will beef up the bottom line. If it means chopping the news operations at the local stations, so be it. If it means Sons of Anarchy on the Fx cable channel, complete with very "un-conservative" raunchy sex scenes between a biker and a transvestite, so be it. If it means investing vast resources in Fox Sports, so be it. If it means perverting journalistic standards on Fox "News" to attract a loyal ultra-conservative fan base , so be it.
In all reality, god bless those losing their jobs, but do we really need 5-7 local newscasts every night? I think a region would get by fine with say 3 channels having local news.
ReplyDeleteAnd replace it with what? Sitcoms, murder mysteries and reality TV shows?
DeleteHow these things usually work is if it isn't in writing, then get rid of it. That's how companies save money. I am sure Fox looked over every little contract and deal KTVU has. As far as union contracts go that is going to be an ugly fight. Fox will argue the deals were worth the previous company, not the station itself and those contracts are not binding. So any extra pay for managerial duties, shift differential or daily bonus that may rolled in for doing something you don't normally do will be gone. They'll pay everyone their base salary until there is some sort of agreement. That's how the game is played.
ReplyDeleteI am sure that lovely helicopter will be going away too unless it was included in the deal and Fox owns it outright.
KTVU doesn't own the helicopter. It's leased from a vendor.
DeleteRich - Can you publicly name and shame these "Fox Television Stations Group" idiots who are making the KTVU cuts and rebranding decisions? As a viewer, I'd like to know who to directly a sharply worded letter.
ReplyDeleteRupert Murdoch - Founder/Chairman/CEO - 21st Century Fox
DeleteLachlan Murdoch - Co Chairman - 21st Century Fox
Chase Carey - President and COO - 21st Century Fox
James Murdoch - COO - 21st Century Fox
Jack Abernathy - CEO, Fox Television Stations, Inc.
Rodger Ailes - Chairman, Fox Television Stations, Inc.
Gregg Kelley - General Manager, KTVU Fox 2
Dana Hahn - News Director, KTVU Fox 2
Hope this helps :)
FYI if anyone actually cares: KTVU.com will soon be myfoxbayarea.com. The domain is already owned.
ReplyDeleteKTVU now ends its newscast with a cheerful "May you have a 1,000 year Reich". Ah,so warm and so FOX.
ReplyDeleteDude that made me LAUGH.
Delete(Hopefully it *was* a joke, right?)
Perhaps someone can shed some light on this ... how is it that Bay Area TV stations can still generate a profit? Their audiences are shrinking and although they've cut staffs, those who remain are still getting high salaries. Are car dealers still forking out the cash for TV ads? If so, why?
ReplyDeleteI look at KTVU and other stations as part of a business. They are not nonprofit entities but have to generate revenue to pay for expenses (labor, supplies, etc). And generally that comes from advertising and possibly retransmission fees. So if they want to cut back on expenses, that it is their call. Sometimes they overdo it and kill the very goose that lays the golden egg (think Cumulus and Dickeys). The market has a correction when station owners go totally absurd with cost cutting: less revenue from viewers and advertisers.
ReplyDeleteWell, first of all, when I worked there they were making around 40% GP AFTER TAXES. Although that was a while ago and they surely aren't anywhere near that margin now, most businesses don't get anything close to that. So don't cry too much for them. There's nothign wrong with making money, but when that becomes your focus to the extent that you gut quality, you destroy the business you spent (or in this case Fred Zehner spent) thirty years building. As for how disastrous that can be, ask GM. Or Ford. Or Chrysler. If it weren't for numerous generous taxpayer bailouts over the last 40 years you wouldn't be able to ask them. And government don't bail out TV stations.
DeleteTheir salaries are nowhere near where they were ten years ago. They've slashed even the top people, though they don't broadcast this. It's still nice work compared to what most people do, but the days of the insane million dollar salaries--and the spillover trickling down to the other workers in the field--are long long long gone.
Delete