Wednesday, January 21, 2015

There's Already Talk Of A SSA Between KGO-TV And KRON; Word On The Street Wednesday

 They share a building, (separate offices notwithstanding)--they share a news helicopter, (it's KGO's). Now comes word from a few of my spies at 900 FRONT that there's talk of a Shared-Services Agreement in the offing.

Between KRON and ABC7 which has been rumored for months and now, and according to a source, has already been discussed with the union, (SAG-AFTRA). So, yes, your KRON reporters could soon be seen on Circle7 and some KGO reporters on KRON. Without elaborating on how much this potentially sucks, it unfortunately makes too much sense.

Nobody is talking on the record of course because this has just surfaced.  More ominous is what happens if it delves from merely air talent to producers, engineers and writers, (NABET), which it most assuredly would.

It's all about saving money you know --even in times when business is good and every one is happy. That's the numbing thing others at 900 Front are most worried about but we're a long way from that occurring.
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20 comments:

  1. Well, that's fucked up.

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    1. So who do we think will come out on "top"? I'd bet my money on KGO since KRON is basically homeless now and being a roommate to KGO, KGO owns the house as far as I can tell.

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  2. Why send 2 TV trucks and 4 persons out when you can send out half that for the same story at the same location. Economies of scale. Reduce unnecessary expenses. Anybody who's met a payroll and paid the bills can appreciate the increased efficiency.

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    1. And while we're at it why bother with even 1 truck or 1 reporter. Stations can just wait for some person who was in the area to send in some iphone video or maybe do a "live report". That whole thing to send your video to stations is just to cut down the number of reporters needed. You can' t beat free.

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    2. Get rid of all the reporters and use "Citizen Journalists" with iphones. Everyone can follow the example of KRON's Yoli Aceves, the reports from her during her early years at KRON were just voice-over video.

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    3. A corporate manager had tickets to the symphony--Schubert's Symphony No. 8 in B minor--but he couldn't make it so he gave them to his efficiency expert. The expert attended the concert and the next morning gave the following report:


      For a considerable period, the oboe players had nothing to play. Their number should be reduced, and their work spread over the whole orchestra, thus avoiding peaks of inactivity.

      All 24 violins were playing identical notes. This seems unnecessary duplication, and the staff in this section should be drastically cut. If a large volume of sound is needed, this could be obtained by the use of an amplifier.

      Much effort was involved in playing the 16th notes. This seems an excessive refinement, and it is recommended that all notes should be rounded off to the nearest eighth note. If this were done, it would be possible to use paraprofessionals instead of experienced musicians.

      No useful purpose is served by repeating with horns the passage that has already been played by the strings. If all such passages were eliminated, the concert could be reduced from two hours to 20 minutes.

      The symphony is in two movements. If Schubert did not achieve his musical goals by the end of the first movement, then he should have stopped there.
      The second movement is unnecessary and should be cut.

      In the light of the above, one can only conclude that if Schubert had paid attention to such matters, his symphony would probably have been finished by now.

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    4. That is a great analogy to the sign of our times. Cost cutting is the gist of the efficient economy.

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  3. I thought these stations were supposed to be competitive, or is that an obsolete concept? This kind of arrangement sounds somewhat like sleeping with the enemy, maybe that's okay but I have a feeling everyone will feel like they're being screwed.

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    1. It's an obsolete concept. Seriously. They share writers, producers, and sometimes reporters when they're freelancers. They do not have non-compete clauses. Photogs run from station to station selling the same video--ever notice how the video on one station often looks exactly the same as another? This is not journalism and hasn't been since the late 80s--it's infotainment.

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  4. Ohhhhh, man. Get ready for mass layoffs--especially on the KGO side. Everyone at KGO makes more than their counterparts at KRON. KRON has a bunch of one-man-banders. KRON producers and writers know how to edit video...so bye-bye, KGO producers and writers.

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    1. KGO writers and producers also know how to edit. In fact, they do it at all stations today in all markets.

      However, you're right that KRON hires are cheaper.

      Boy, they didn't even wait long before getting to the REAL reason for this move-in. I thought they're pretend for at least one year.

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  5. Don't we need to be a little concerned about lack of choice / point of view in our news sources?? Kind of like Comcast being the only cable company....(sort of). True - they are supposed to report the "facts" - but, someone chooses which stories make it to the airwaves and which might - conveniently - not be aired. Troubling.

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    1. > Don't we need to be a little concerned about lack of choice / point of view in
      > our news sources??

      No.

      We needed to be concerned 25 years ago. Being concerned about that now is a little like being concerned about competition from Japan when it comes to building cars.

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  6. Shu and Gary sharing sports desk???

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  7. I would not be surprised if KGO's owners bought KRON outright and do a duopoly like KPIX/KBCW.

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    1. It is very doubtful. ABC would like to sell of the stations group, as it is. Further, they do not own any duopolies, now.

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  8. How many newscasts can this market support? Viewing levels are already low. Expenses are high. The world has changed and the economics of television are different.

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  9. KRON folks are f**ked. KGO will eventually take over all news coverage. They will get some sort of fee and extra promotional value out of the deal. KRON will have rights to sell adverting in "their" newscasts, which is solely what Media General management cares about. They need news programming for news advertisers, and it does not matter if they produce it or not. A win / win for both stations.

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  10. If/when it happens, management will just go down the line and see who fills each slot at each company who is currently working the cheapest. That puts the favor in current KRON folks' court, since they've been nickel-and-dimed down to nothing over the past few years and are just happy to walk out the door for $20 an hour and not getting screamed at that day by Aaron Pero.

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