I REMEMBER when KRON was the local powerhouse news operation; a time when it was KTVU News before KTVU established itself with the "10 o'clock News" --when KRON was the standard bearer in the market with some of the best people, real news people, worked there.I remember people like Catherine Heenan, Evan White, Bob Jimenez, Susan Blake and the like.
I remember evidence of KRON's initial demise when stupidity trumped common sense and ultimately a terrific news domain went south in a furry.
And how little people with no sense of professionalism and a lack of respect for the legacy of the station are driving it through the ground now.
I don't relish KRON's imminent demise. Oh sure, it's not the same KRON, not at all, nevertheless it's sad to see such a proud heritage station meet its maker. *I watched KTVU's Noon newscast in detail the other day; It dawned on me as much as I detest Gasia Mikaelian on "Mornings on Two", I actually like her as a straight anchor reading the news which she does well.
Dear Gasia: nothing personal, it's the uber-smiling and laughs that drive me crazy.
You're so much better. I know management has Foxified you and you have to earn a living but please...show some levity every now and then. You don't have to audition anymore, you got the gig.*I wonder if NBC regrets not buying KRON and therefore, maintaining its presence in the Bay Area with a strong signal --sorry, but KNTV has never worked.
Too many egos, too many people not admitting to a mistake thereby ensuring mass corrosion of product and, well, you get the picture.
*I wonder if KGO Radio's insufferable Chip Franklin ever listens to his shows --or are the giggling blondes in the background too much a distraction. Chippie on a recent show insulted most of the Bay Area's African-American community and when some callers tried to shake him down, he promptly cut them off. Chip is to talk-show host is melba toast is to fine cuisine. Pass the liverwurst. 
*What little star power KNTV possesses --and it's little, Jessica Aguirre has still got it. Aguirre has managed to maintain grace, news savvy, and eloquent teleprompter duty under some challenging obstacles.
*It's the holiday season --time for the gruesome live shots and MOS interviews in front of the infamous Walnut Creek fountain...where reporters line up to talk to the demo-rich A25-54 white people with perfect teeth and Gucci bags.
*Greg Papa is not holding out at his 95.7 FM radio sports gig, trust me.
In fact, Papa returned to the airwaves on Wednesday.
*December: time for airport live shots; holiday cooking segments on 4 PM news shows; and inevitable Union Square ice rink background. What a Grinch I am, I know.
*Cristina Rendon --still one of the most underrated anchor/reporters at KTVU. More Cristina, less Heather Holmes, but what the hell do I know. *A news industry observer in this town with a keen observation worth noting.
"Every newscast looks the same; the stations may be different, the people too, but overall, it's all pretty much the same and blasé too--nothing stands out, same old thing."
*Hey Chip, you're due for that 2345th show about what millennials want.
Real riveting radio, was that in the latest handbook given out by management?
We get hit by a major terrorist act and Chipster will be talking to some anal wart, pimply-faced, 30 year-old techie name Brad in Marin explaining what hipsters are buying for Christmas gifts.
Terrific radio, Chip.
*Follow me on Facebook
No, Rich...NBC doesn't regret not buying KRON. NBC Bay Area may not seem like it's "working" to you, but it's doing about as well as anybody does these days. And it (new building, new transmitter site and all) cost the Peacock one helluva lot less than KRON would have.
ReplyDeletePlus KNTV had none of the standing labor issues that would have come with KRON.
DeletePlus you don't inherit Radnich, Pero and Darya.
DeleteSusan Blake was hot!
ReplyDeleteI think she still is, there is just something about her. :)
DeleteA little accurate journalism here......
ReplyDelete1) KRON's News Ratings in November actually doubled since last year at the expense of the so called power house stations in the market. There is still an audience for all Local News Stations!
2) The 'Hiring Freeze" effects ALL Media General Stations in the USA not just KRON ...This is not unusual in a Takeover.
3) Cost Cutting may occur with new ownership but not to the Station's demise. Nexstar want the presence in a Top 10 Market.
4) KRON is simply to valuable a money machine to shut it down -
For sure Nexstar will auction off a portion of the Spectrum, Repackage the Rest and keep collecting about $50 million in Sales Revenue and Retrans from a viable KRON.
Stop the Funeral March for KRON...It is going no where.....
Gary may no longer be around you to scream about but KRON will thrive
Look for KOFY. PBS, etc to shut of the switch...They are the real targets in the Auction.
Everyone Calm Down about KRON...and get the Story straight...
Agree with all EXCEPT #1. There is NO WAY its ratings doubled. If that was true it would have been in the trades because that is BIG news. Simply not the case.
DeleteI wonder about some of the PBS/public stations and the FCC spectrum auction. If a community based station (like KQED) sells out and shuts down who gets to keep the money? It would be nice if they paid back everyone who had been their subscribers over the years but I don't think that's going to happen.
DeleteOn the Ratings...Dont Check Out The Trades...Check Out the Nov NSI Overnights -KRON News is Up +50% EM, Up +100% 5-7P, Up +50% LN.......
DeleteAll Adults 25-54Rtg at the expense of the Big Boys!!!!
Public radio and television stations are not the property in any sense of their nonprofit owners and are therefore not for sale, unlike the commercial signals which are. All the FCC says is that those properties must "serve the public interest" and abide by various technical requirements.
Delete1:56pm Yeah, you are right, going from a 0.1 to a 0.2 is a 50% jump in ratings.
DeleteLOL... KRON News is right there with GMA, Today and CBS Morning...Please go take a math class, - 6:35Am .2 is NOT .4
Delete6-7A .4 A25-54R
7-8A .5 A25-54R
8-9A .4 A25-54R
9-10A.4 A25-54R
All you KRON Bashes stop with the Fake News!!!!
Since deviations of around 0.5 are due to statistical wobble, those low numbers are basically meaningless. In that sense, 0.2 is actually 0.4 which is actually 0.5....that is, too small to really measure accurately.
DeleteTake a look at the numbers on KRON's O&O competitors they are in the same low number range....if these ratings are meaningless how come KRON generates $50 million dollars in Ad Revenue? Obviously you do not have access to any of this NSI information..please stop talking.
DeleteKRON was once a good station for news. Maybe, it is KRON 4 and VCR back in the old days are set to Channel 3 or Channel 4 and to use VCR, we must set the TV to KRON 4. Without NBC, it just went downhill with lousy reporters or good reporters like the weather girl who went down to San Diego (forgot her name) who left the station. I am surprised the current 3 female reporters is still with KRON, Vicki, Catherine and the evening reporter. I hope this station will not get shut down, but sharing a building with KGO 7, not so good news to me or viewers who watches KRON 4. These days, I depend on KTVU for morning news even if there is a shouting reporter trying to take over other reporters steal the show. Evening, still KTVU and KGO.
ReplyDeleteThe quality of their news has declined even in the past year. It has an amateurish look and feel to it, more than usual...more than in the recent past. I've seen local cable access that was better.
DeleteDecember
ReplyDeleteLet us not forget Wall To Wall Homeless feel good segments from San Jose on KCBS!
When Greg and his posse do animal abuse jokes? I guess I tend not to believe a word he says about family issues.
ReplyDeleteRe. KNTV, given the increased significance of Silicon Valley in the Bay Area, it only makes sense that one of the news operations is based there (although, it's interesting how unlike KTVU, which is unafraid to indicate they're based in Oakland, KNTV is reluctant to show their San Jose base). San Jose and the South Bay have much more going on with what's driving the Bay Area than Oakland and the East Bay. However, from a news standpoint, maybe not, as the nightly crime activity is still coming out of Oakland-Richmond-Antioch areas.
ReplyDeleteI wonder if Pam Moore will even return to the station from vacation? Why if they close up in January lose vacation time,sick days and whatnot?
ReplyDeleteIts not like I see the present staff feeling nostalgic for KRON. Losing paycheck and job around the holidays takes care of that.
It's true, "NBC Bay Area" has never fit. It got off to a horrible start (it was in a different market, it hired Terilyn Joe, its old transmitter didn't even send a signal to SF, it hired Terilyn Joe, it was first called "NBC 3 " (instead of 11), and it hired Terilyn Joe. It still doesn't fit right. I have no doubt there are viewers who consider it a small time operation because it is located in San Jose.
ReplyDeletePlus they fired Susan Siravo in favor of...well, you know...horrid move...SS was hot AND competent...
DeleteYes - KRON actually did make inroads in Viewership Growth in November at the expense of the Big Four...just check out the NSI Numbers - Kron had Growth in News Demos in all key News Dayparts...Political News Junkies sampled the station. liked what they saw, and stayed. Sorry Rich...Someone in the Bay Area likes KRON.
ReplyDeleteNot nearly enough. It's amateur hour. That seems to be common here although I see it the least at KPIX. Their corporate would never tolerate what I see elsewhere. We lived in Dallas for almost a decade and every major outlet there was buttoned down as hell. Troy Dungan (weather guy at WFAA for ages) used to wear gorgeous suits and bowties! Tracy Rowlett (news anchor at KTVT) reminded me of Lou Dobbs.
Deletethose late nite sports radio people are just weird.
ReplyDeleteJessica Aguirre...Two things come to mind every time I see her. Biggest mistake ABC7 ever made letting this beautiful talented woman slip away and sexy at any age!
ReplyDeleteRich I 110% agree with you, KNTV has never worked, & never will...This NBC Affiliate is located at the Outpost Region of the Bay Area. KNTV, very much so like the Santa Clara 49ers, "has just not worked, & never will.
ReplyDeleteI know a lot folks will Scream, "Oh but the San Jose/Santa Clara County is the Largest Population, in Northern California?!" I say Big Whoop...I been around these parts for 6 Decades, and even I know that the South Bay is totally not the Epicenter the Bay Area! Its called Suburban Sprawl, & it does not equate to having a Major Media Outlet, or an NFL team, Imvho.
I never realized Mark Thompson was a midget.
ReplyDeleteMidgets have feelings too.....
DeleteLOL to Nick about T Joe....Chronicle never wanted to sell KRON to NBC, and it went downhill right after that....strangely enough, I don't remember Susan Blake, but I do remember the other 3....Used to be a news junkie, but I can't even watch local news because those stations sometimes have to report national news, and we all know what that means....Hairpiece! News junkies can quit cold turkey, and they don't have to be on the run (oops, just started my 9 days of John Lennon music)
ReplyDeleteEarlier this week on 95.7 The Game Greg Papa echoed Rich's quote about dealing with "family issues" but didn't elaborate (which is his right).
ReplyDelete6:37--
ReplyDeleteWhy the hell does it matter that a TV station is based in San Francisco? I don't see KRON, KPIX, or KGO doing a lot of San Francisco-bases stories. When is the last time "the big three" have done a story from Noe Valley...the Outer Richmond...Ingleside...or West Portal? The stations may be based in SF, but they're all over the Bay Area. Other than AT&T Park or City Hall, they NEVER do any SF-based stories. They don't even do crime stories in Hunter's Point or Sunnyside anymore because these neighborhoods are all now Yuppiefied.
Besides, most of the residents of "The City" don't even watch local TV news. Most of the people living here are young hipsters too busy looking for the next foodie hotspot...or are Chinese folks too busy studying (the young ones) or working overtime to make more money. Or they're Gay/Lesbian/Transgender folks too busy enjoying their freedom living in tolerant SF.
Point is, it really doesn't matter where a station is based in the Bay Area. They cover news pretty much everywhere except in good ol' San Francisco.
@7:54, I don't agree with local news not doing stuff besides two locations. Also, it's very helpful having a professional ethnographer who seems to break all of San Francisco into some helpful stereotypes for the rest of us to follow. Nice job.
ReplyDeleteIf you listen to socal radio, you may have noticed that the same voiceover guy who plays "bubba" the donut chopping plumber in the Mike Diamond ads is the same guy who is doing the Shreve & Co. spots here. On one side of the state he's playing an ignorant old white guy and here he's trying to tell you how classy this overpriced jewelry store's new showroom is.
ReplyDeleteIf I owned KRON, I'd take the hundreds of millions from the spectrum auction and shut down the station. KRON is never going to make the kind of money they can get from this auction, and I doubt many people would miss it (if you look at the ratings).
ReplyDelete12:38pm ...Read the Trades and Educate Yourself...There is no way anyone will get hundreds of millions of dollars for KRON. Its a "Reverse" spectrum auction, the PBS stations and KOFY will go for a much lower auction price tag. It will be at a price that the wireless companies will be willing the pay. That fact will substantially drive down KRON's auction worth to the point where it will not pay for Nexstar to auction off KRON and shut it down. KRON is currently generating about $50 Million in Revenue! What media company is going to shut that down!
DeleteNexstar will sell a portion of KRON's Spectrum, Repackage its signal, keeping it viable and keep making $50 million a year.
In fact, KRON's ratings are actually very competitive in a viewer hungry market. This November book was their best in years.
I just had a chilling nightmare. I dreamed it was January 2nd and on KRON I heard " I'm Gary Radnich,and I will be the sole news anchor,sports and weather man for KRON. They just tripled my salary and told me I could do all shtick all day If I want,lol.." it was ringing in my ears..Its like the worst hangover ever.
ReplyDelete$50 million in annual revenue for KRON? That's a joke. They're having a hard time getting to $10 million.
ReplyDeleteAt Dec 2, 2016 ~ 7:54 AM
ReplyDeleteYou're entitled to your Opinion/Comment, but I Stand by my Comment...
My stab at "Name the KRON photo" (L to R):
ReplyDeleteEvan White, ???, Mike Cerre?, Bob Jimenez, Mark Thompson, Woman #1, Woman #2, "Fast" Freddy Bushardt, Tom Nettles?
Linda Yee reporter,and the blond in blue is probably a producer.
DeleteWTF does anyone see in Jessica Aguirre? Whether it's genetics or botched botox, she looks like Heath Ledger's Joker character in Batman. Her forced cackling laugh works my last nerve. Her teleprompter reading is OK, but surely more likable people could do the same. Did KNTV not secretly hope that she'd somehow disappear into Brazilian jungle territory when they sent her there over the summer? Jess and the rest of the NBC Bay Area crew need to rethink the giggly comedy at the end of each newscast and get semi-serious at the very least.
ReplyDelete