Katie Marzullo was thought to be a rising star at KGO-TV (ABC7); she's been the primary weekend anchor and also reports in the field. In addition, Marzullo has been doing fill-in anchoring during the week.Not anymore.
Marzullo, who is universally loved at 900 Front, is both miffed and "supremely pissed off" at being replaced by San Diego newcomer, Natasha Zouves. My KGO Insider tells me Marzullo isn't going to rock the boat but privately she's seething and has told friends she feels as if the station has disrespected her.
"Katie is a professional and will continue to do her job but she's very discouraged about her situation and the direction of the station," offered my spy. "She was told she'd be the main weekend anchor and that management felt she was KGO's up and comer."
Not so fast.
Marzullo's status has become the centerpiece in what might be called a baby power struggle between News Director, Tracey Watkowski, and GM and President of KGO, Bill Burton, who was instrumental in the recent hires of Zouves and just last week, Portland and CNN anchor, Reggie Aqui. These "Hottest" new KGO anchors has touched off quite a division in the KGO newsroom, particularly senior staffers.
The staffers have great respect and possess near-universal admiration for Marzullo. Furthermore, almost everyone in the building is turned off by the direction of Burton, who seems to have taken some word from Disney to a "move to a more LA/KTLA style." Plain Speak: Lots of glitz, lots of 'flash and emphasis on "Social Media", read by "pretty people" from LA. Your basic KTLA look, but does that formula work in the Bay Area?
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oh boo fucking hoo.
ReplyDeleteAdd her to the fucking list of people who are taken for granted and disrespected at work.
Grow the fuck up and loose the fake smile. You look like your constipated.
753: What's your point? On the surface, you fail to see the picture -- and the screen says ABC7 News is going to shit. San Francisco isn't Los Angeles. What works there doesn't work here. Life is more than 140 characters and hash tags and trends.
Delete7:53 learn some grammar you asshat
DeleteWhat's that smell? Oh, Katie's here.
DeleteI'd never pay attention to anyone who doesn't know "you're" from "your."
Delete@9:59 No...that's your upper lip.
Delete9:34 blow a goat
DeleteI've thought, for some time, that Marzullo has the qualities that put her in line to be picked up by the network. She should have replaced Carolyn Johnson, as she has far more maturity and "gravitas" than the toothy nubile Daetz.
ReplyDeleteI don't know Mr. Burton, but I wonder if he is really taking his cues from Disney, or if he's another "hottie" oriented male, with a passion for form over substance.
Daetz is FAR AND AWAY more talented than Marzullo and it really is just a matter of natural disposition. Daetz is upbeat, more casual without trying to be, and seems to do everything rather easily.
DeleteMarzullo is robotic and rigid. I don't think she's necessarily bad at what she does, but she's not a 1A personality in San Francisco. If she wants a M-F job she is in the wrong market. Too much competition for someone who doesn't have an obviously relaxed personality.
Almost seems like is the product of college training, and that's all.
Speaking of KGO-TV they have a very well kept secret in the likes of Chris Nguyen, the early weekend morning man. Looks like a kid reads like a pro. Fluid transitions, no mispronunciations. He and Lisa Argen make a great team. Just straightforward news and weather no gimmicks.
ReplyDeleteAre you serious? Nguyen is fine on the field, but the worst anchor ever. He mispronounces words more than ANY anchor I have ever seen.
Delete@11:47 worst anchor ever? I don't think so. Chris Nguyen is talented and deserves more facetime on-air at KGO. The evening weekend hires there were a mistake.
DeleteOkay, perhaps not the worst EVER, but bad nevertheless. One newscast he even said he had to ask his producer how to pronounce words and the that were not "uncommon" to the average person. And he still pronounced them wrong. I do like him on the field, seems like a nice guy. I can take or leave Katie, but at lest she can read words correctly.
DeleteDang straight, what works in LA won't work here-- because nobody here watches the news! Have you seen the analytics? Downward spiral for years now. You could have Tom Brady and Joe Montana doing news and it would not boost ratings in this millennial playground. Not gomna happen no matter who is on the screen. That said, I do watch, and Ms Marzullo may be nice and all, but her lisp and lack of self confidence are anything but her ticket to stardom. My guess is she got lucky doing weekends because this blog continually wrote about how she was so great and the ND caved. Next, please.
ReplyDeleteLove her! She is so easy and sweet. Very professional, too.
ReplyDeleteSounds like a Yelp review for your favorite bordello staffer.
DeleteBasically Rich, I have agreed with everything you have ever said now and in the past, about Katie Marzullo. She is a good reporter and she reads the news well, grammatically. However, as you yourself have also previously noted, she rarely smiles and when she does smile, it seems fake. Her not having any lips to speak of, doesn't help either. Although I hate the way the news bidness has gone for the past few years, on the other hand, there have been some bright spots, such as the current weekday noon anchor, Maria Medina, and Betty Yu of KPIX, as well as Janet O of KGO. Each of these three are totally hot babes but who also do a good job reporting the news. And oddly enough, Betty Yu has the opposite problem that Katie Marzullo does, in that while Katie has no lips, Betty Yu has what I refer to as "duck lips". I would really like to see Betty Yu verbalize the phrase, "quack quack", just one time... ;-)
ReplyDeleteAs much as I enjoy watching Katie Marzullo she's joining the "over-the-hill" gang with Carol Jennings, the kind of frumpy older ladies of KGO. As Jennings demonstrates it's possible to hang on for a long time. Katie is just too serious to compete with the likes of Tze and Daetz who get their hair and fashion spot on. She needs to focus on what matters these days.
ReplyDeleteWow Rich, you have a good source. Katie is LOVED. I will take exception with the notion of the "angry staffers." Everyone wants these two to succeed and they will be given a fair shake. This is how the business works. The funny thing is that Burton and Trixie cry poor, then throw money at all this talent. Screw both those phonies.
ReplyDeleteKatie Marzullo is a good field reporter - but she is not anchor material. She just doesn't have the personality for it - and when she tries, that's exactly what it looks like - trying. Why can't people just accept that we're not all things -- no one is on any job.
ReplyDeleteMore of a Linda Ellerbee type, I daresay. I can see her on PBS. As an anchor, I thought her wry wit was a welcome astringent for all the excess, and I thought she did well with the new weather guy. But I'm not the target market.
DeleteGood for Katie! She should be pissed.
ReplyDelete@9:36
ReplyDelete"Katie is just too serious to compete with the likes of Tze and Daetz who get their hair and fashion spot on."
If you're looking for beauty pageant contestants instead of solid news, go watch FOX.
From LA, I can tell you that the vacuous, self-absorbed presentation of KTLA fits perfectly with the vacuous, self-absorbed nature of much of the market - it is NOT, however, credible (unless you measure your reporting by how blow-dried your anchor/reporter's hair is.) KABC is the gold standard here for news (the anti-KTLA) and with the former successful ND now as GM, will continue for some time. KGO should take note.
ReplyDeleteNo Stan Chambers, no KTLA credibility.
DeleteMore proof that the really good people get shafted and the scum rise to the top. I have worked in a number of industries through the years, and nowhere is the managerial atmosphere so toxic as it is in television news.
ReplyDeleteThe funny thing is, those rare periods when things were well-run at a particular station coincided with that station doing well in the ratings in general: KTVU in the Zehnder years, KGO between Watkowski tenures, etc. It seems like the senior suits like to shake things up and watch them crumble. If they'd just leave everything alone things would be fine. Of course, after things crash, *they* get golden parachutes and the rank-and-file staffers get laid off.
She unfortunately did not have star potential. Much better in the field. Frankly, most of the news readers are severely lacking. In looks, intelligence, local knowledge, and a down to earth attitude. All gone. It's like news directors eradicate potential and those who would do well at this job go into other industries that respect them more and pay better.
ReplyDeleteOne of the things I appreciate about local news is that it ISN'T like LA news.
ReplyDeleteI really don't need local news, I can get my news on an app. I will watch Norah O'Donnell every morning however.
DeleteI'd still hit it.
ReplyDeleteIt doesn't matter how good we think we are at our job, there is always someone else out there who is better and is just waiting to take our job. Katie needs to get over herself and just do her job. When her contract is up, move on. It's the nature of the news business.
ReplyDeleteIt always will piss someone off when they are doing their job well, and someone with lesser skills gets hired/promoted above them merely due to their being more demographically PC to the HR dept.
DeleteThe really good ones like Cecilia Vega always get away.
ReplyDeleteKatie is better than this new girl Natasha. We miss Katie's banter with the men!
ReplyDeleteI want to see Katie and Natasha at the anchor desk at the same time. Somebody make it happen.
ReplyDelete