Bay Area TV Anchors; Hot and Cold; Don't Assume Who I Like (And Not Like); Liz Cook Opinion Elicits Reaction; Monday Opener

ONE BIG ITEM elicited a lot of e-mail: "How could you possibly like KPIX anchor, Elizabeth Cook?" Or words to that effect.

Don't assume everything.

First off, in my early days of writing this blog, I ripped Liz Cook quite a bit. I know many people dislike her because her dad happens to hold a prominent job in the industry--which may have landed her a gig, OK, that happens but has ZERO to do with her anchor style.

I said she's not "great" but very few are here and elsewhere. It's the state of the business in this always-changing news environment. Every second counts now.

Cook is pleasant; is very good at reading her copy; has a nice demeanor and crisp delivery. She's not Cecilia Vega but those are rarities --Dion Lim over at KGO still drives me crazy but she's trying to lighten up and look original. Might be better to sound original but that's another story.

Another thing about Cook I like it that she does steady tosses. She doesn't pretend to be someone she isn't; in other words, she knows she's not Diane Sawyer but she's also not Darya Folsom either.

The other night I was watching Ken Wayne and shouting (again) "C'mon Ken, show a little emotion!" I forgot the story but it was not a 20-second throwaway; it demanded some sort of reaction. Not a phony look of sadness just maybe a simple nod --I got neither. This didn't alter my opinion of Wayne; I used to think he was always pretty good, underrated. Now I'm hot and cold with Wayne --more cold lately but overall he's still capable.

I'm pretty consistent with people I like but I change my mind. I've been all over the place with Frank Somerville --his anchoring is solid but I DESPISED his social media postings because I thought they were fake and self-serving --he knows it; I told him so directly but this is a new environment in the news business --most stations, including FOX, demand their on-air people to establish a social media presence --Somerville still annoys me with his Facebook shtick but it's part of his gig, they (management) demand it. Furthermore, on the air, he reads well and in a two-way camera shot asks legitimate questions for the most part. Plus, he's got multi-decade work at one station on his resume so he's doing some right.

Raj Mathai used to drive me crazy. I never, ever thought of him as a newsman let alone ordinary sports anchor but having watched him now for a good length of time, not only like him more, but respect him more. He's bright, focused, intelligent, asks cogent questions and reads his copy well which is 99% of the job. It isn't Mathai's fault that he has pretty boy looks and the females love him. Gees, I wonder why? (wink, wink)

I never warmed to Kristen Sze until very recently when she's been working with Dan Ashley. I watched more and saw, clearly, there was more to Sze than I had earlier figured. She's hard-working, you hear around---she's very legit reading the teleprompter and she's got a real, genuine personality contrary to some at 900 Front who think she's a stiff and a difficult one at that. I used "stiff"; her enemies used "bitch. Wrong on both fronts, Sze just does her gig and moves forward. In any event I actually like her quite a bit now which was not the case not so long ago.

YOU ASSUME I love Pam Moore. You assume wrong. Moore is better than average but not that great. I never thought she was awesome; I always knew she was legit and good, very good in fact but something changed. Maybe as KRON tanked and slithered into the abyss, it affected Moore. Maybe not, either way Moore is above average and that's about it.

I love Carolyn Tyler and the beautiful simplicity of her anchoring on Sunday Morning on KGO. She is not spectacular, she's just good and profoundly sincere and professional. It's a rare sight to watch someone deliver the news without a bunch of noise and faux cackles --go figure.

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