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| Juliette Goodrich |
On
KPIX I watched a smooth newscast over the weekend with anchors
Juliette Goodrich and
Brian Hackney. It was nothing outrageous and star-heavy --it was a compact, precise and mostly nifty half-hour of news and information with heavy emphasis on
compact.
Goodrich was her usual steady self with reasonable calm and presence --she works well with multi-faceted Hackney, (he did the weather too) who is making me reevaluate him as he's acting less holier-than-thou and more candid and simple. That's cool.
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| Brian Hackney |
This is
KPIX's best news combo; it's ironic that this duo is featured on the weekend and not on the weekday evening news, say the 5 PM, but PIX still thinks highly for
Allen Martin, I don't have a clue as to why.
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| Ken Wayne and Julie Haener |
Meanwhile, over at paranoia-central,
KTVU,
Julie Haener was once again working the weekend 5 and 10 with old-reliable,
Ken Wayne. This too was a quality newscast with less theatrics and more substance --something, ironically, KTVU
minus Fox, was acclaimed for; Haener and Wayne provided a welcome respite from the phony and mostly disingenuous talk-back to reporters doing a live shot. If it's legit news and there's ample reason to ask some questions, fine, make my day, but when it's just "
asking questions" for the sake of supporting format, you lose me.
*
Eric Thomas is one of my favorite news anchors;
KGO is lucky to have this intelligent, no-nonsense news journalist deliver the day's developments. Thomas, who is finally able to work without the breathless and silly Kristen Zse, is straight-forward gusto and informative. He doesn't need any sidekick nitwit to make for false theatre; he simply reads the news and lends himself secondary to the story, again, a welcome respite from the usual cackling
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| Eric Thomas |
I always make sure to watch the Saturday and Sunday KPIX newscasts, and their straightforward quality is a pleasure to see. I think maybe the weekend shows are often more enjoyable everywhere because these are not the main "news teams" and don't have to be cool or relevant or hip and probably not so up-tight about ratings -- or their own standing. They can simply read the news. Allen Martin always seems to wish he were doing something else.
ReplyDeleteYour comments are right on point-are you sure you’re on the right blog?
DeleteKTVU needs to step it up. This morning at 7:07 AM they asked the typical silly "view question" and put up a placeholder graphic with a phrase similar to "Viewer question goes here..." repeated three times. This obvious error stayed up on screen for several seconds before someone figured out the error. Pretty basic stuff isn't it? Minor in the bigger scheme of things but still makes KTVU look amateurish.
ReplyDeleteGoodrich is solid. Hackney is still odd at times, to the point where he seems like he can be a real pain in the ass. They were closing one newscast this weekend, and he suddenly pulls out his cell phone and announces that he was looking up "Julie Andrews." He commented on her life/death status, which was awkward as hell. Put in a clearly uncomfortable situation, Goodrich quickly directed the focus to the closing shot of The City's night lights and ended the newscast.
ReplyDeleteKGO would be best served if they made morning newsroom reporter, Jessica Castro, to evenings in place of Sze and have Sze do mornings. Of course, she'd hate that, as the former anchor.
ReplyDeleteHackney's best feature - AND worst feature - is that he comes off as a Pete Wilson-lite, and to me always has. Most of the time that's a good thing, since I miss PW and have always liked Hackney way back from his days doing weekend weather at KGO. Thing is, that's a mighty fine line to walk. Overdo it just a teensy bit and you come across like a smug holier-than-thou Cal Poly grad whose claim to fame before Eye On The Bay was being Weird Al's roommate in college. Do it right, though, in that way PW would always do the circular file at the end of every KRON newscast, and it's gold...
ReplyDeleteAre Hackney and Catherine Heenan still a couple? Always thought that would be like eating mayonnaise on a slice of white bread.
ReplyDeleteI recall Hackney from KCPR (Cal Poly radio) days....great voice, great delivery, hard worker...but a bit stiff, a little shy and a little awkward away from the microphone. Real good at putting on a facade for a broadcast, but not necessarily the most genuine guy.
ReplyDeleteHe has his awkward moments behind the microphone, too. Especially during live newscasts.
DeleteEric Thomas or Kristen with Ama both deliver good newscast and should be a consideration for 4PM, 5PM replacing Larry Biel. Brian Hackney, he should be the morning anchor with Michelle. Don't know whats up with KTVU anchor switching back and forth at times, I rely on Gasia for the good news.
ReplyDeleteNever ever liked Hackney. Love Eric Thomas. He is great with Ama Daetz.
ReplyDeleteI agree about Eric Thomas...If KTVU insists on having an African American in the morning they should let ol' Dave Clark go and hire Mr. Thomas. What a dream improvement that would be!
ReplyDeleteWTF? "Insists" on having an African American? What does that mean because it sounds suspiciously like Black people are inherently not good enough to read the news but if we HAVE to have one this one might be okay. Take a seat.
DeleteHackney's no different now than he's ever been, whether was at KPIX or KRON. Always professional, always prepared (one of the few I've worked with who didn't need a writer or producer, though I've done both for him on occasion).
ReplyDeleteAnd yes, Eric Thomas is KGO's gem, though management isn't wild about him for some reason, and put a lot of pressure on him. I can't understand why.