Tuesday, December 27, 2016

Bay Area Media Vets Take a Lot of Time Off During Holiday Week; KTVU Excelled on Oakland Ghostship Fire; Kafton/Martinez Emmy Worthy; KCBS' Sovern Nails Chronicle Food Critic Bauer on Conflict of Interest; Tuesday Open

Image result for tv radio microphones at news conference The in-between week --many of your favorites are off the air deciding to begin anew in 2017--we thank them for their participation and welcome them back in unity next week. As one media wonk told me, "they pulled an Anderson Cooper."

*Speaking of which, Stan Bunger: how many days off do you get? Now that's seniority!

Image result for oakland warehouse fire*The biggest story of 2016 was, of course, the Oakland Ghostship Warehouse calamity --it was also that tragedy that brought forth some of the very best reporting in the local TV/Radio ranks. Much of that reporting was ad-lib direct from the scene. High scores to KTVU and in particular, Christien Kafton and Leigh Martinez. Kafton was first on the scene for 2 and elicited strong comments from the Oakland Fire chief on just how bad the fire was and that there would be, tragically, more fatalities to report. More amazing, Kafton stayed a good four hours at the scene even as the situation became more dire and drastic.

Image result for Leigh Martinez KTVU Warehouse fire OaklandMartinez deserves an Emmy for her outstanding, unrelenting, live reporting from the Alameda County Sheriff's outpost where many of the victim's families waited and had to endure hours of waiting on the status of their loved ones. Martinez was able to set the scene; describe the horror; the futility of waiting for good news that didn't happen; all the while, Martinez used some common sense and didn't force her way, with camera, into the faces of the families.

Image result for KTVU Fox 2But it was Martinez's on-air breakdown--she was doing another live shot and the tragedy of the day had taken its toll--that brought forth some riveting local TV News emotion, and provided a much-needed respite from the day's awfulness. The fire and its aftermath brought back memories of the death of Martinez's brother, a PTSD victim and Iraq veteran.

*I have ripped KTVU News quite a bit here but their reporting from the scene in Oakland; virtually cutting off ALL outside network programming and utilizing KTVU Plus demonstrated a total commitment to what was taking place in Oakland; the devastation, the totality of it all; its sheer destruction and catastrophic images from the burnt-out warehouse where 36 people lost their life.

KTVU News and its management and staff are to be commended for their coverage; both during and the aftermath of one of the worst fires in US history and the Bay Area alone.

Image result for Doug Sovern KCBS*KCBS' Doug Sovern wondered aloud why the Chronicle's respected food critic, Michael Bauer, would highlight some SF restaurants as top notch; even restaurants that had a direct financial connection to Bauer's partner.

Sovern interviewed the NY Times food critic, Pete Wells, who said the Times wouldn't stand for that.
Sovern said both Bauer and his editor refused to comment for the story. I wonder why.

Bauer is a credible writer and fine food critic for the most part. There are some city restaurant owners that hate his guts for obvious reasons.

This story only gives the naysayers plenty of ammo that Bauer is unethical.

We'll see.

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16 comments:

  1. What's with the kvetching about Stan Bunger's time off? On the other hand, why not praise his (or his agent's) negotiating skills? I say, more power to him! If you are going to be throwing stones, I believe Rebecca Corral was off for a couple of days, too. as were Jeff Bell and Patti Reising. They are good at what they do, they have a following, and are miles ahead of anybody else in the Bay Area. I can think of two alumni who have gone on to National from KCBS - Jim Taylor and Mike Sugerman.

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  2. Ba-Ba Bye-Bye, Big Guy!December 27, 2016 at 10:43 AM

    I am saddened to report that we lost High-pitched Eric of The Howard Stern Show over the long weekend.

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    1. Him too? I thought it was just Joey Boots? Stern has killed more people who were regulars then any other show in media history. Hank the Dwarf,Celestine the paraplegic- and I'm sure plenty of semi regulars felt used and abused..like Underdog Lady..nobody got rich but stern along the way.

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    2. You mean Joey Boots.

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  3. I'm thrilled Wolf Blitzer is taking off. His halting delivery is so annoying. And, you mean you don't love all those Lock Up re-runs on MSNBC. Speaking of MSNBC, someone farts and Chris Matthews takes time off!

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    1. Does he have emphysema or something? I can't listen .... to his delivery, it's so disjointed, with breathing pauses ... being taken in completely wrong places.

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    2. Thank you!!! Thought it was just me. I think it's called arrogance, he thinks it's his trademark. Wish they'd dump him

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    3. Chris Matthews had a "thrill running up his leg" when Obama was elected. It was probably just gas.

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  4. I heard the food critic story. Oof,made the Chronicle seem like yellow journalism again.
    Then again,whats the competition? A few sheets of paper make up the EastBay Times that used to the OakTrib and Daily review.
    Look for things to get worse as "deregulation" under Chump means no penalty's if your a business trying to make money. I mean to him, its cheating for a good reason.

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  5. While KTVU excelled on the tragic Oakland Ghost Ship warehouse fire KPIX was nowhere to be found that morning & afternoon instead running college football games & infomercials. Shame on Bruno & Dan.

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  6. I agree, KTVU did an outstanding job on the Ghost Ship warehouse fire. Even Tom Vacar did a great job on the legal side of the story.

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  7. I was happy to see Kenny Wayne and Heather Holmes back on KTVU plus tonight. KTVU News is not right without these 2. Especially Heather.

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  8. Hi "Kenny" & Heather.

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  9. Bauer should be fired, period...

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  10. Pamela Moore too 2 weeks off,came back for a week,then gone again.
    Using up all the days off before January's big crunch?

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  11. Why is it that on ABC 7 AM weekends the show goes like clockwork super smooth, whereas the week days are unwatchable with all of the miscues. Rocqui was actually good subbing this weekend so why cant the show be organized during the week?

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