Ken Wayne Was Ken Wayne on KRON Debut; Former KTVU Anchor Seems at Home With New Surroundings; Thursday Review

Ken Wayne

THIS MUCH WE CAN CONFIRM: Ken Wayne anchored the KRON4 News last night as...Ken Wayne. It was not that unusual actually. Wayne looked and sounded like the Ken Wayne of KTVU only there appeared to be a bounce in his step, figuratively speaking, and the enthusiasm was probably more beneficial to KRON than to Wayne himself but hey, when kudos is deserved, you give it.

Wayne (who actually started the night before) looked and sounded crisp and just right. He wasn't trying to be something that he isn't and read his copy off the teleprompter without any gaffes and seemed to have instant rapport  with co-anchor, Pam Moore. Not that the two were going to begin screaming obscenities at each other but hey, transition is transition and Moore looked comfortable with Wayne and Wayne was smart enough to defer to Moore and later on, others on the set.

He handled tosses well, particularly to weather guy, Lawrence Karnow, himself a veteran, (last of KPIX); even more welcome, he wasn't bombarded by Gary Radnich, who made him feel at home if that's possible at the new KRON, which can be a challenge.

Wayne worked the 6 PM newscast and 8 PM show. I didn't watch 10 but I'll assume he didn't rock the boat and did just fine. He's there because opportunity and real world circumstance --a TV News divine intervention created the opening and Wayne was interested and KRON was too.

Steve Aveson

One, Wayne isn't Steve Aveson, a disaster by all parties concerned and actually has a pulse. Aveson, who began two years ago was simply awful from the start and had ZERO connection with viewers and a Q rating worse than rotten eggs. Mind you, KRON, in its new post NBC iteration, isn't exactly ripe with tradition; more savvy with furniture ads and infomercials, still Aveson turned off viewers and was a jerk off the air and not particularly liked inside the building.

Wayne's presence gives Channel 4 a shot in the arm and some credibility. He's not really exciting, more muted and soft-pedaled but he has a wry sense of humor and Bay Area hometown connection which looks good on camera and poised for success even though he's making half of what he was making at KTVU only Fox had no interest in giving him a new contract at six-figure numbers. (About $300K annually)

Enter KRON and a deal was struck. Wayne is from Petaluma and had no interest in applying for a new gig in, say, Des Moines or Austin--he didn't need to be famous and really wanted to stay in town and not have to absorb a new location. God forbid, he told a industry staffer, "I don't want to be in Toledo!" And for sure there were plenty of Toledos he could have worked in (and made more money) but the Bay Area was home and he didn't want anywhere else.

Wayne will help KRON more than KRON will help him but so what for now.  KRON needs a jolt and they got one. Wayne isn't a male Sylvia Chase but that didn't work out so well either and furthermore, cost the old KRON a bundle of money and bad pub.

Chemistry is important and Chase didn't help the old KRON because there was none. Wayne is modest and can read a teleprompter and has genuine charm and personality --more subdued than exciting but that's got KRON brand, circa 2018 written all over it.