Veteran GSA reporter, John Sasaki, is OUT at KTVU (Fox2), according to one of my spies.Don't know all the details just that Fox has been in the process of trimming staff at its various O and O's (owned and operated stations) and Sasaki has always been on the hit list; he's not alone-- this smells, initially, like an economic move. They always are.
Remember --it was here that I reported that I sort of saw this coming.
Sasaki had a nearly 20-year run at KTVU.
No more.
Stay tuned.
UPDATE: Saturday - 6: 57 AM: Source: Sasaki submitted his resignation as a news tip on a email account designated for enterprising stories.
After getting the heave- ho from management, he (Sasaki) went on Facebook to spin a story. We appreciate his loyalty to KTVU but we stand behind our original story.
When one gets the boot after nearly 20 years, it's good to have something new to try.
*415 MEDIA EXCLU
*Follow me on Twitter
The demise of Bay Area media continues.
ReplyDeleteUnfortunate, a local guy from Berkeley High and a true professional.
ReplyDeleteFOX = FUX
ReplyDeleteKTV-SUE
I don't like to see anybody laid off, but when you are talking about people earning $200,000, $300,000, $400,000, $500,000, $600,000 or more a year, and they have been earning that kind of money for many years; you would think they would have easily put aside enough money for a rainy decade or two.
ReplyDeleteYeah, but some of them don't have that much wisdom. They blow their future income on Bentleys, for example.
DeleteOr marry women (or men) that are in it for the money.
DeleteVery true. I know a sportscaster in San Diego who had four ex-wives to whom he owed alimony. He was triple-dipping with three jobs, one at an AM radio station as morning sports guy, as main sports anchor for their TV station, and as the main announcer for the San Diego Padres. All together, that grossed him $700,000 each year, and this was in the 1980s. BUT, after his ex-wives were paid off, he was left with a fraction of that.
DeleteThose days of big money ended about 15 years ago. The anchors are the only ones who rake it in, if they are lucky. Reporters, the good ones, will be "lucky" if they are making $200,000. Most are making half of that and some even less. The producers, writers and behind-the-scenes folks are usually in the $75,000 range. Management types get 6-figures, but not much more. TV isn't the glamorous business the bright lights would lead you to believe. A lot of companies like to use freelancers. These are people who they can hire at a lesser pay rate than a full-time employee AND no have to worry about picking up their full-time benefits. If they work for one of the SF stations, the freelancer can take advantage of Healthy SF.
DeleteWhen will they take notice of the African Americans?
ReplyDelete"When will they take notice of the African Americans?"
ReplyDeleteDon't worry. African Americans are getting fired, too, as are Asians. The only criterion is how much money you make. If you don't make much, you're safe.
The dumbing down of the media is in direct proportion to the dumbing down of America. Look at KGO. From John Rothman to Chip and Drek.
ReplyDeleteAnon at 10:02..that's the plan.. Disney and Fox and the other media outlets..if you have an ignorant uneducated ill informed populace, it's easier to run your game. Happy chat and celebrity news is now what tv "news" is comprised of.
ReplyDeleteOr they run around chanting, "Hope and Change!" or this election cycle, "Feel the Bern!"
DeleteFrabk Sommerville needs to go next!
DeleteMessing up stories and making rude comments!
Sal you are next.
ReplyDeleteGood point. Who the hell would pay four hundred large to a four-eyed dork giving traffic reports?
DeleteJohn Sasaki is a journalist, and IMHO Fox's problem is that management is not interested in journalists like Mr. Sasaki, but personalities Sal. Sal does not add value to broadcast.
DeleteBay Area media keeps going into the shitter. The inmates are controlling the asylum. It's going to get worse and worse. Why bother watching?
ReplyDeleteI don't know about it getting worse and worse, at least on the radio front: With Cumulus, the insider buying is almost zero. For a stock to be down 97% with zero insider buying means that they must know the dire straits the company is in. Cumulus is probably at the fiery gates, but I wonder who will be picking up the carcasses of the radio properties to pay off the creditors? Entercom? Cox? Bonneville? Hubbard? Townsquare? Alpha? Most of the companies that have the resources to get these stations (also most likely at fire sale prices) know how to do good radio, so maybe there is a god.
DeletePeople in other industries get fired all the time. Are broadcasters supposed to be immune? What's the big deal
ReplyDeleteSince early 2015 KTVU has let go of 5 excellent veteran news reporters, John Fowler, Ken Pritchett, Eric Rasmussen, David Stevenson & now John Sasaki. Is Rob Roth or Tom Vacar next? Such a low-down dirty shame-a pox on KTVU news.
ReplyDeleteImagine if they'd all been black instead of all being white. We'd be hearing cries of racism from here to Mars.
DeleteFirst of all I don't think there are five blacks at KTVU. Second if they made as much money as the five above; they'd be fired as well. Bean counters are color blind.
DeleteAdvice to my black brothers and sisters: Want to improve your kid's lot in life? Encourage them to become bean counters.
Deleteso Sasaki is out and the likes of that Keba thing is in???
ReplyDelete"Thing"?? Wow.
DeleteHer squeaky "valley girl" nasal delivery is just terrible!
DeleteYou can probably buy five Kebas for one Sasaki. That's why she's in.
Delete...and the women of the newsroom, control room and 2 Jack London Square breathe a sigh of relief.
ReplyDeleteDon't forget the interns!!!
DeleteReporters don't make much money....starving artists.
ReplyDeleteAnchors make more, but still pittance
Pitance? I would love to make the pitance that Julie Haener makes...
DeleteThere is no defending KTVU for the changes in their newscasts, but let's be honest about some of the people. Fowler and Pritchett were excellent reporters who took their jobs responsibly. Sasaki is a very nice guy, truly warm, but not the hardest working reporter in town. Vacar is brilliant and shows up literally every day willing to nail a bad guy, but the station has put him on the back bench and refuses to use his talents. Rob Roth? You've got to be kidding. Not only does he have the worst delivery, the worst presentation, the worst... everything... of all major market reporters and most of the smallest ones, his reporting consistently champions the mainstream, always with a scrunched-faced stand-up that leaves him satisfied with the status quo. The pits. The well-known pits. Now, if only the station was replacing the fired reporters, good and bad, with promising youngsters, even if they were staring at a fraction of their predecessors, we wouldn't be so concerned about the future of journalism and what is says about our democracy. The easy criticism is that Fox is only concerned about profits, but they're not.
ReplyDeleteNailed it 12:36
Delete