Claudine Wong is part of KTVU's Weekend Mornings on Two --and possibly, soon to be one of the most highest-paid air talent at the station.
Forget the fact that KTVU is now owned by budget-minded FOX and has told everyone in JLS that the days of high, six-figure salaries are gone.
Wong has undeniable local TV News presence and knows it. She gets more recognition than Frank Somerville and Heather Holmes, combined! Plus, add to the fact that Wong has been heavily pursued by at least one local station, (probably, KGO-TV), and before she got her MO2 anchor gig, MSNBC wanted her very badly. How much so? That high-powered execs from NY made it clear that the popular Wong was on their radar list. That accelerated her negotiations with KTVU and she was rewarded with a nice raise.
I suspect Wong is happy now and settled into a comfortable Bay Area home. But I also know that behind the scenes she is hellbent on becoming the highest-paid personality at Channel 2. That would mean her income would top Somerville's roughly $500K a-year gig. Might Wong be a little audacious to command that type of money? Perhaps, we'll know soon enough. She's definitely holding all the cards.
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If you look at her LinkedIn page, it says she lasted about five years in South Bend. Given what you say above, that's not a surprise. You don't go to the Rust Belt with your Berkeley degree, act like a tiger mom and expect to last. They don't put up with it.
ReplyDeleteWhat a feeble mind constantly pits American vs American in his head? Are we that Balkanized? No wonder this jerk goes around produce markets yelling at clerks. In his head everyone except rednecks are the enemy.
DeleteAgreed. I see nothing special. Just another teleprompter reader. Asian teleprompter readers are a dime a dozen in the Bay Area.
DeletePretty sure she grew up in the Bay Area then went to UCLA, why wouldn't she jump at the opportunity to return here as opposed to staying in Indiana?
DeleteThanks to Obama, the age of the TelePrompTer has made people famous and rich.
DeleteI don't understand why she went there in the first place.
DeleteYes, we are that Balkanized and you're not gonna change it.
Yup, nobody rich and famous ever used a TelePrompTer before Obama.
Deleterootvg, your ignorance would be endearing if it wasn't so annoying. People go to the rust belt or other hell holes as a stepping stone, not a final destination, unless their career has bottomed out. The fact that Wong was there for five years might make other suitors think twice that she is worth what RL suggests is happening from MSNBC and others.
Deletedear anon at 7:55. The year was 1970. I lived at Sunset Beach, and worked at Kuilima. When Richard Nixon came through Hawaii on his way to summitry in Japan, he traveled with a fourteen foort crushed velvet curtain(for use as a backdrop)a lectern, and a teleprompter, The SS agent I spent some time with let me stand at the presidential podium and read from that prompter,placed 14 inches from the Nixon ski jump nose, his focal distance. It was quite the thrill and it was my first look at a teleprompter. President Obama is not unique in using a prompter. That practice is of long standing.
DeleteSum Ting Wong with her salary?
ReplyDeleteEs Tu Low
DeleteHo Li Fuk
DeleteBANG DIG OW!
DeleteBe careful with these comments, fellas.
DeleteShe has a pretty powerful Tort lawyer--Ai Su Yu--who could drag you into court on defamation charges.
She's worth half a mil? Gotta be kidding!!
ReplyDeleteHere's an idea...why don't they spend the money on more reporters and more in depth stories, and less on prompter readers.
For the times when everything Wong is right.
ReplyDeleteI'm wondering if they give her a nice BIG spot for parking her minivan.
DeleteIs Angie Coiro the new weekend host at KGO? She seemed to imply it. Why are they bringing in more liberal dribble? Do they not remember the ratings at the station when it was Democratic bs all day every day before the all news shift?
ReplyDeleteOh you mean when they were number 1 for thirty years in a row and then were top 5? Now where are day? 22 last time I checked.
DeleteWhere ya been, 1:09? Yep - Coiro has the 10:00 - 1:00 pm gig. So far when I've listened, she been engaged in a monotonous monologue on a string of topics. Not sure if no one's calling / listening, or if she hasn't figured out yet how to answer the phone. Whatever. I truly believe that we're getting what Cumulus can afford to pay for (except in Karel's case: he could be getting ZIP and still not be worth it).
Delete1:48 you mean those great ratings they were receiving that started the change? The station was dull at best.
Delete4:03 you mean in your head number 22 is better than 4? Go to KSFO to hear your trash
Delete1:48, 4:42 when in the last decade was KGO relevant?
Delete@8:30 Let me know if you find out. I would like to know as well.
Delete8:30 they're still relevant enough that at 8:30 on a Sunday night you're commenting about them instead of listening to bill wattenburg reruns...
Delete1:09...Liberal dribble?
DeleteDo you prefer KKKonservative drecKKK?
So much anger Copie
DeleteRight out of the Democratic playbook. You don't agree with us? You're racist. I read something this past weekend in regards to that. That "play" is losing its powers people are tiring of it. What will you use next? You'll need the shepherds to tell you as the sheep can't think for themselves. Hurry up, turn on MSLSD or open the Huffington Post you need new arguments.
DeleteIf it ain't Wong don't fix it
ReplyDelete> That high-powered execs from NY made it clear that the popular Wong was on
ReplyDelete> their radar list. That accelerated her negotiations with KTVU and she was
> rewarded with a nice raise.
This is like those mindless bidding wars on eBay and elsewhere where some routine item that started out with barely any interest is bid to the skies just because someone wants it, so someone else has to snatch it away from them, so the first person escalates... etc.
I had a friend who wrote a novel that no agent would touch. Until one said they were interested. Turns out the key agent at another agency is arch enemies with the agent who said she wanted it. Thus a bidding war was sparked. Good news for him--he eventually got 385K for a novel that he initially was offered $3,000 for. Same novel. Same level of interest from publishers. Barely sold 50,000 copies worldwide. But two women wanted it, so a catfight happened.
And that's how men and women in suits with pedigreed degrees handle money, folks. They do thinks any ten-year-old who ever managed a lemonade stand would know are stupid.
Now management can send Mike Mibach packing. Everything he reads sounds like a sports report.
ReplyDeleteHey Rich, I know you've shared a few criticisms of Wong. Where are you at now, opinion-wise? Better or worse? Because if it's the latter, then it sounds like a huge mistake is being made, even by FOX, now that they own KTVU. Somerville, Haener, Wayne, even Holmes should be held in higher regard, if there are legitimate concerns about her efforts to work with her colleagues.
ReplyDeleteSo often you hear women don't make as much as men, yada yada, and sometimes it's true. Sometimes it's because they aren't as far along in their careers, even if they have the same jobs, and thus even a man would make less, but seniority is something that is never investigated in these Women-Earn-Less stories. But I never hear about TV stations chasing after and throwing gobs of money at make anchors. Could you imagine them treating a male anchor like Veronica De La GameOn? She's just a rum-of-the-mill ethnic--Diablo Valley College has dozens of them in their "communications" department--but they act like she's the Second Coming. This too is a form of sexism, one that works in favor of women. Thus you never hear them complain one bit about it.
ReplyDeleteIf loving you is Wong then I don't want to be right.
ReplyDeleteShe's following the carrot hook, line and sinker. One think about FOX stations nationwide is they have the strongest morning shows in their markets, If any of the MO2 staff think that the format will not change in the next 12 months they've got another thing coming. Along with new sets will come a new direction and most likely new personnel. Maybe Wong makes the cut, maybe not.
ReplyDeleteBTW - Don't be surprised if to see Ailes' underlings meeting with real estate folks in SF - FOX doesn't operate out of Hoboken in NY.
Maybe because Hoboken is in New Jersey?
DeleteMaybe I should have said FOX does not run it's NY operations out of Hoboken i.e.: Look for FOX to consider moving KTVU to SF - that's where the money will go, not salaries. I hope that clears things up for our public school friends.
DeleteWong still doesn't look right when she smiles and banters with her co-anchor.
ReplyDeleteThat's because those antic's are forced.
DeleteIt doesn't look right because I get the sense that they just want to get under a desk somewhere and do it.
DeleteI love Claudine, she seems so genuine
DeleteNo raises for the brain dead anchors.
ReplyDeleteSavings should be earmarked for talent that can bring thought to the idiot box. Discussions and reports covering the corrupt local, state, and federal systems will provide a reasonable return on the time invested watching. Eastern span, high speed rail, amnesty for illegals at what cost, sports stadiums at tax payers expense while kids go uneducated, municipal workers striking, nanny state regulations, a state AG with her head up her ass, etc, etc, etc.
Trust 2? Why...the content sucks.
She looks 'High Maintenance". real high!
ReplyDeleteDon't judge a book by its cover.
DeleteRan into her, once, in a downtown SF elevator. She is H-O-T in person, and was very nice...
ReplyDeleteThe few times I've watched her newscast I didn't think she was anything special - competent but not charismatic.
ReplyDeleteAnd how about KRON4, who debuted their new news set this AM. Can't believe they couldn't do news all weekend. Just goes to show how cheap they are. Good thing for them the sky wasn't falling. I'm sure Darya couldn't lift any boxes because of that floatation device on her chest. Fatnich probably would've had a heart attack bending over. And how funny that they lost power during the storm. Just goes to show buying cheap surge protectors from KMart just wasn't enough.
ReplyDeleteWhat ever happened to Kim Yonenaka ?
ReplyDeleteAnon at 1:37....Married a super rich guy....raising kids in the east bay
DeleteLove Claudine Wong. Great reporter, fast on her feet. Really grew into anchor slot nicely. She and Mike Mibach have great chemistry. I've always liked her and glad a woman is getting big time attention down there.
ReplyDeleteI am very happy for Claudine. It seems as if she isn't seen as much as she once was on channel two. I would like to see more of her.
ReplyDeleteWhat ever happened to Craig Debrow? Not sure if I am spelling his name correctly.
ReplyDelete