TOP DOG: One thing's for sure: I'd be highly surprised if Kato wasn't picked up to do morning traffic or something like that (pssst, KNTV)
COSTCO DOG: Pero, you're meal ticket in the morning? Her best assets just became overvalued. Just reading the room, as they say.
HEBREW NATIONAL: Yes, I've heard rumors about Media General buying KGO-TV but it makes no sense and I don't think Disney, as frugal as they are even in a sea of cash and having little regard for TV stations, could let go of their 900 Front property --it makes a lot of money for them.
NATHAN'S: I'll say it again and again: I'm not a hockey guy but if I'm watching Randy Hahn I'll get sucked into the action. One of the BEST broadcasters in the business and one of the most underrated too for that matter.
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I wonder if KRON has realized how much they messed up. Everyone internally is pissed off over this, and viewers have been writing and calling in nonstop to complain. It is my guess that most of the viewers don't even know yet and assume Erica is on vacation. When the word really gets out, heads will roll
ReplyDeleteHeads will roll? You can't be serious.
DeleteErica was beyond lucky to have worked 5 years at kron-- perhaps the ONLY station in America willing to hire a desk assistant to do traffic and weather without a day of experience. She was in over her head. The amount of people writing to this board are her friends and family. She won't be magically reappearing on kron no matter how many fake notices are sent to the station or this message board.
Pretty unlikely. I just checked her Facebook page and there are over 100 viewers writing her, and they're pissed. I doubt her "family" is creating fake profiles, with fake pictures, then friending thousands of people to write on her wall.
DeleteThis is exactly what did her in. Jealousy from others.
@ 6:43 pm LMFAO. Stacy Baier was a PR whore. No newsroom experience before KRON. Aaron Pero worked at only KRON, just one station, before the ND promotion. Forget about the part he cheated on his wife and banged Folsom. Dude wasn't even a decent producer when I worked with him. And where should I even begin about the VJ's at KRON. Half of them don't even know how to write a sentence, let alone a story. Some of them were photogs, and others never had on-air experience before being thrown on TV as VJ's. Erica Kato was the least of KRON's problem. For a current KRON manager/employee to write the 6:43 pm comment is beyond laughable. Working at KRON will make you be out of touch with reality. That's why I left long ago. Best decision ever.
DeleteWhy doesn't MZ just give you banner revenue.... must be worth millions...lol
ReplyDeleteI have followed the NHL since the late '60s, and Hahn is the best play-by-play announcer I have ever heard. He should be classified with the other legendary hockey and Bay Area sports announcers from the last half century.
ReplyDeleteYou are right, Rich. The guy is that good!
Randy has no excuse but to be the best, considering he had to call MLS soccer 30 years ago. The guy could call play by play golf and make it shine.
DeletePero only cares about jumping ship to KGO. God forbid MG sends him off to one of many choice TV stations across the USA.
DeleteAgree with you regarding Randy Hahn. He is so smooth and never seems to trip over his words describing the fast-paced game of hockey. So many changes and he doesn't miss a beat. He is superb.
ReplyDeleteNo one is "pissed off" about Erica's departure except her friends who have bombarded your website.
ReplyDeleteIf Erica has friends who are upset about her departure, then that says a lot. I don't think anyone would be upset if a certain anchor team or news director was shown the door
DeleteI would pay $8.99 to NOT have "a personal lunch" with Rich Lieberman.
ReplyDeleteWienerschnitzel: Great post today, Rich.
ReplyDeleteNo one really cares about Erica. She was lucky to have worked at KRON.
ReplyDeleteWorking with her was very mixed. Some people liked her. Others thought she was nice but just wasn't good nor professional. She lacked maturity and caused problems with HR and management. And her on air work was mediocre at best. She will be forgotten soon.
@ Anonymous 1:48 pm. First time posting. Tired of reading jerks beating on a dead horse and spreading lies. Erica probably had the cleanest personnel file out of all of us working here. She worked hard and treated everyone with respect. I can't remember one single problem she's caused in my years here. Not one. She even cut her own VO's for her on-air feature segments. No freaking way I can ask Folsom, Danon, or Hong to cut footage for their segments. I know from experience that girl was a hard worker. She was professional and easy to deal with. I'm sure Pero doesn't, but most of the morning people are angry about this firing and we miss her a lot. We're just worried who's next on the chopping block since they could fire her.
DeleteI'm not sure how you ended up in the dark about Kato's newsroom-wide top line that insulted a co-worker's race and gender in the same sentence. How did you miss her childish, petty backstabbing that created massive rifts with colleagues? It's no surprise that the Kato-ites don't understand her firing. Much like Erika, you don't know what you're talking about, yet you keep talking about it.
DeleteKato is a bimbo who had lots of personnel issues. And she just needs to go to a small market. She is small market talent that should have never been hired in SF.
ReplyDeletePeople calling into KRON to complain about Erica Kato's firing? Pul-leeze. Rejoice is more like it. She was an embarrassment not just to KRON but to Bay Area news.
ReplyDeleteErica Kato's niceness always seemed to come through the screen. The news anchor- ehh, not so much. Other things of hers seemed to bust through the screen...
ReplyDeleteBack in my high school days, I had a friend who had more $$ than the rest of us (his family had a leather/sheepskin coat business). After doing a bit of smoking, the four of us who partied together would load up in his car, and we'd drive to Berkeley and go to Top Dog. Nothing better to this day. That is all.
ReplyDeleteErica was a joy to watch. I really hope she pops up somewhere else.
ReplyDeletemost of Erica's followers are male. Doesn't take much to point at a green screen and spit out temps
ReplyDeleteSomething else popped up from joy when I watched Erica too!
ReplyDeleteUh, yeah...I was thinking the same thing.
DeleteI'm going to miss her. She really was lovely to watch on KRON
ReplyDeleteI like Vanessa but given KRON's history she won't stick around long.
DeleteI like Michelle but given KRON's history she won't stick around long.
DeleteI don't like either of the new girls. Both are a downgrade from Jackie and Erica
DeleteI'm listening to 'On The Go' this morning wishing that the host John Hamilton had stayed home today. He admitted that he had laryngitis and is still recovering. He sounds horrible, as though he had been gargling with Drano. Is John that worried that a guest host might snatch his job away? He shouldn't be. Stay home the next time John.
ReplyDeleteDoesn't he pay to have that show?
DeleteErica Kato was liked for all the reasons a serious journalist or meteorologist would NOT want to be liked for. A station prides itself for having experienced, competent and professional talent. Her fans "liked" her for none of that. They liked her for her sex appeal. For the porn industry, that's great. For news? Sexy but sophisticated is a better combination which Erica lacked.
ReplyDeleteAnd because Darya Folsom was a serious journalist who in no way shoves her paid for chest in front of audiences every morning?
DeleteThe morning anchor is classless and crass
@ 10:02 am. You blew your KRON management cover when you wrote the second sentence. KRON "prides itself for having experienced, competent and professional talent." Are you KIDDING me? Biggest joke ever. No one outside of KRON management would EVER describe KRON with those words. Back in the 90's, yes. Now, hell no. Hey KRON manager, while you're at it, you wanna just tell us why you fired her? We'd love to know. You can stay anonymous like you did.
DeleteWhat's with all of these bimbos that keep getting hired by Comcast sports net? What, they can't find qualified guys who talk sports in front of the camera? Some of these gals looks like they just came out of college. Most have annoying voices. I thought the Bay Area was a place where you had to had at least a few years experience before you got a chance to work on the air. Some of these gals who do the updates or in the field reporting, like Erin Coscerelli are an absolute joke! Not a shred of credibility. Who is doing the hiring over there?
ReplyDeleteCoscarelli has a degree in journalism from USC, worked in sports in the LA area for a few years before her brief stint at CSNBA before being hired away by the NFL Network where she hosts a very popular morning show with Eric Davis.
DeleteBad example.
I had a feeling that KRON operated like this, I won't be watching anymore. Erica was my favorite, and no, I'm not a man.
ReplyDeleteYelp is not anonymous. These are real people who write dozens of reviews on their own personal experiences with their own names. Check out the KRON Yelp:
ReplyDeletehttp://www.yelp.com/biz/kron-4-san-francisco
All signs point to DARYA being the problem and general programming at the station
Darya and Erica got along fine. No issues there. It was her attitude and immaturity. Dig deeper. Her file started a couple years ago. She dug her grave. Rich- don't you know anything about that?
ReplyDeleteErica Kato lacked presence. Her only fans are dudes- low hanging fruit. Coveted morning show viewers are women. Her boobs show is over. Time to hit the road and take that show somewhere else.
ReplyDeleteI just know Erica Kato from watching the morning news. If you compare her to her predecessor, Evelyn Taft, you can tell why Taft is in LA now besides Taft's stereotypical good looks. Looks aside on Kato - it was always hard for me to get past her lisp. I always figured she did the morning weather because she was reasonably attractive and would get up at 4 am in the morning every day to do that gig. Nothing more, nothing less.
ReplyDeleteAll you naysayers writing thatt being "liked" by viewers is a NEGATIVE??
ReplyDeleteDUH! This is freakin' TV news. We're driven by ratings. You know..."ratings" (i.e. the measurement of people who LIKE to watch your newscasts???
She was not and will NEVER be a "journalist." She's a freakin' WEATHER ANCHOR! Not even a meterologist...but who CARES? It's just the damn weather.
She was great. Her friendliness came across on air.
Erica reported what's trending in social media. So that makes her a journalist in my book.
DeleteThe news director and his minions are bullies, and they can try and shift blame all they want but at the end of the day, tv news is about ratings, and erica had the viewers. No one at KRON was pulling the same amount of eyeballs. So for them to let her go was about the biggest mistake they could have made.
ReplyDeleteKNBR/Comcast are in no hurry to get Radnich back on TV. He did say that it's taking longer then they thought. I even see that all this week is no show either.
ReplyDeleteTrue to my word,I've pretty much skipped the radio show. Without all the body language you see on TV,I feel blinded-lol. Also,as I have said,when those commercials kick in? I lower the volume and so far just don't come back. I ferget.
I have this feeling he might not come back to Comcast. Just my guess.
I'm glad to see someone is taking Comcast sportsnet to task. They have been a joke since day one. They run through announcers like potato chips, and no one watches any of their sports programs, outside of the games. Their anchors, especially "Feldy and Fareed' do their smarmy, stupid, little inside jokes that aren't funny. They hire underqualified kids straight out of college, because they pay crappy wages, and then they work these people to death, burning them out. They have zero cred among the rest of the media locally, because with the exception of Mindy Bach and Greg Papa, none of their announcers have been there very long, and none stay very long. They're just stopping through on their way to a job somewhere else as they bounce around the country. What sort of fool is running that place anyway?
ReplyDelete