THERE IS A STATE OF DISGUST IN THE KGO-TV NEWSROOM; all on account of THIS.And THIS too.
Senior staffer:
"It's about as low as it gets here, right now. Frankly, it's beyond embarrassing --it's really disgusting."
The staffer really wanted to go on the record but was fearful of retribution from the KGO management --after all, it is KGO management under the rule of Social Media-Happy, Top Gun, William (Bill) Burton and mercurial ND, Tracey Watkowski-Silva.
A source close to the station told 415 Media that ABC Senior Affiliate Relations people (those that are paid to monitor the O and O's (Owned and Operated Stations) saw the Reggie Aqui tweet and were not impressed. Presumably, they will contact either Burton and/or Watkowski if they have not already.
It is well established that the current KGO regime both encourages and expects its reporters and anchors to go heavy on Social Media, especially Twitter. Except, perhaps, in this case. KGO and ABC want to capture the so-called younger demo.
"They {KGO} and ABC really want the 18-35 women and gay men more than they want a broad, sustainable audience. The people they want live in Twitteraphere and don't want real news," said another station source, familiar with the goings-on at 900 Front.
Really now? And at what expense? The rank and file producers and reporters, plus a few notable anchors are aghast at the current atmosphere. They don't trust Watkowski-Silva anymore and they regard Burton as the buffoon responsible for the unpopular Aqui and Natasha Zouves hires.
Further muddying the situation is that the new morning program's ratings aren't exactly registering with viewers; moreover, many station vets feel mightily disgusted by the two's wanton disregard for KGO's News Department, which, up until now, has been home to some of the region's best reporters and anchor people.
One observer sent me an e-mail with this question: "Would Dan Ashley and Carolyn Johnson tweeted out something like Aqui did? " I don't think so.
*Follow me on Twitter
Would there be this much brouhaha if he had tweeted those EXACT (seemingly innocuous) words about a female hockey goalie ? No. Mickey Mouse might want to step carefully around that
ReplyDeleteI guess its really not about the news then,is it??
ReplyDeleteWhat a traffic cone!!!
If thats what it takes to get you to a hockey game........you're going for the wrong reason.
ReplyDeleteI'm sure those pinheads wearing the suits at KGO/ABC have more important things to worry about than this petty stuff.
ReplyDeleteI'll use jargon millennials will understand....
ReplyDeleteMexicans, smh.
Disgust in the KGO newsroom. You ain't seen nothing yet. The "transgender bathrooms" are right around the corner. I'm laughing already!
ReplyDeleteMan child. Woman child.
ReplyDeleteSum Ting Wong
ReplyDeleteHo Lee Fuk
As was noted in the first thread about this, someone said.
ReplyDelete"If a hetero male anchor posted something about a Warriors cheerleader in the same way Aqui posted about the Sharks signee, they'd be called into the office. "
So true. This POS Aqui should be dropped immediately.
Roger that!!
DeleteThis whole obsession with Twitter and other social media is exactly why older reporters are having such a difficult time keeping and finding work. They don't understand why they have to post intimate details about their lives every 30 minutes. To them it seems juvenile, intrusive and a waste of time.
ReplyDelete"To them it seems juvenile, intrusive and a waste of time."
DeleteBecause it IS all of those.
"...every 30 minutes?" The mandate is 15 Tweets every shift. If you follow either on social media - they far exceed their quota and score major points with the folks who hired them.
DeleteA woman named Rebecca Campbell is the head of the ABC O&Os. She loves Slick Willy Burton, hand-picked him for his current gig. They're close so he's teflon on this and pretty much everything else.
ReplyDeleteTrixie, on the other hand, is probably on notice. She built this. My guess is that she doesn't last another year. Few people wanted her back in the first place.
And Rich, keep on hammering her. Make her rue the day she referred to you as "just a blogger."
It doesn't matter if he's gay or straight or who the comment was directed to. It was unprofessional. The homophobic comments are even more disgusting.
ReplyDeleteI stopped watching KGO morning news and am back to KTVU but just for top stories, weather then I'm gone. It's hard to believe KGO morning news is worse than KTVU. I stopped watching KTVU on the weekend completely, just awful. KTVU night time news is terrible with insipid superfluous commentary.
It's the old farts who still watch the news but media people are so disgusted by anyone over 50 they can't stand the idea of our old eyes watching their newscasts. When we die off these effers are done because there will be zero viewers. They've destroyed journalism because it isn't fun, hip and now. What a shallow dumb assed culture we have become.
I'm with you... No longer watch the KGO morning show and turned back to KTVU for 6AM. I turn off completely by 7, unless there's some MAJOR story going on. I want news in my Twitter feed from KGO, not Disney GIFs, Hello Kitty, who has the more colorful socks, or any of the other GARBAGE being retweeted out.
DeleteI'm 10:31pk and must clarify that I don't watch KTVU weekend morning news at all and have stopped watching weekday evening and nightly news except for Bill Martin. Ken Wayne on the weekend or any time is still the best thing on KTVU. Total professional. I'm sure he will not last much longer.
DeleteI got rid of cable and watch the news online. KCRA has a high definition live stream that makes Bay Area feeds look 1950s TV. Plus they are all better looking than anything Bay Area and the weather guy is the best in the nation.
DeleteIf a woman anchor Tweeted this out, would there be any controversy? I don't think so.
ReplyDelete