The Official Disintegration of KTVU

I REMEMER KTVU when it had a soul. A pulse. A beat. An incredible part of the community.

Not any longer.

KTVU has become a benign, soulless, less-than-ordinary TV News station with very little direction and institutional incompetence; a once-proud news operation that has slithered beyond hope and inspiration. You can see it in the eyes of its staff; there's a very vivid malign of people who used to care and give a shit which is now been turned into a home for chaos and no sense of direction. And that's the good news.

KTVU has lost its grip. And I'm not even mentioning the Asiana debacle in 2013 or the equally pathetic and embarrassing Nia Wilson picture of 2018. Of course those stand out and they should. It's pretty difficult to have one clusterfuck --KTVU managed to have two in five years.

No, I'm talking about the people on the air and the people behind the scenes; the bulk of these folks are miserable. They don't like going to work. They frown when entering the premises wondering what's next on the horizon. KTVU is about to debut a new set (which is why you see a lot of anchors reporting from the newsroom) but a new set can't create spark and energy for a staff saddled with morale issues and intensification of action by "The Firm." The Firm is the industry code of present day FOX and its management of its owned and operated (O and O) TV stations. They are run by fear and intimidation. They loathe human interaction and abhor employees who aren't thrilled with working conditions that harbor deep resentment but dare not say anything negative or you're likely to be liquidated (figuratively speaking) to the outskirts of hell. I'm being extreme but I'm right.

Used to be KTVU (under its old corporate owner, Cox Media) was a gold-standard station with a heralded news reputation with solid anchors and reporters in the field that knew their territory and had tremendous vision. They were smart and solid and not only great at their gig but invigorating to watch and learn quite a bit. This was evident most solidly on "The 10' O'clock News", which used to be the most respected and admired, singular newscast in not only the Bay Area but around the nation.

Now the 10 PM news is a load of spam and lemon jello. It no longer has any relevance nor supreme being. It's just an ordinary newscast with insipid anchors and vanilla reporters with about a hundred thousand weather teases and anchors asking fake questions and looking and sounding the quislings they've become.

Frank Somerville is out front and passionate but Frank seems to be sort of driven by artificial emotion. It's not a knock on him it's just the facts. Take a look at him. He's sort of just plain out there. If his real passion were sincere and genuine he'd be more than just a guy in a great suit and look and ask real, legitimate questions and not the Ron Burgundy variety presently on screen.

Julie Haener used to be a dedicated, friendly, smart, news reader who seemed confident and relaxed. She's no longer warm and fuzzy on the air which would be OK if she weren't too a conniving, gossip monger who likes to stir up shit off the air. How do I know? Trust me, I do.

Bill Martin was once clever and original and made his weather reports interesting and informative. His ad-libbing was point perfect and forecasts usually on the spot. No longer. Martin seems to mumble now, quite a bit in fact. If this sounds harsh it is and I'm trying to be diplomatic but watching Martin now is the equivalent of a double root canal. If Martin were to emit one, tangible thought on the 300, 000 weather reports he does nightly on KTVU's news platforms, call me, I'd be enlightened because I haven't seen anything close. Bill seems lost in the fog.

I used to love Mark Ibanez on sports. The best writer in the market and a sports anchor that could make even non-sports fans interested in sports. But that great enthusiasm has been tempered with flat-out arrogance and self-importance. There's no passion anymore and less sincerity. What once was a genuinely interesting man who cared and was your best friend has turned into an insufferable lout with all the heart and soul of month-old rye bread.

Reporters come and go. The good ones, mostly, have either retired or just took off; there's hardly any veterans left. Tom Vacar is old and boring, uninspired too. Rob Roth used to be decisive and effective in his understated manner but seems to be just hanging on until they tell him to leave. Amber Lee is so much of a lightweight I can't imagine how she's lasted this long.

I'm not going to drone on about the morning on KTVU because you already know if you read me how much of a disaster its become. If you like superficiality and vanity disguised as news presentation then watch Channel 2 in the morning and gyrate to the human windbag known as Gasia Mikaelian and brute force banality named Dave Clark. Gravitate to a once charming Sal Castaneda who's ego and smarminess is self evident. Observe the warmth and creativity of Claudine Wong who last giggled in the latter years of the Clinton administration. Yeah, I'm generalizing but you get my drift. Oh, did I leave out my biggest fan, the ego maniac Broom Hilda with about as much inspiration as a rotten kumquat, Countess Pam Cook? I should know better.

KTVU will tell you they still rule the ratings. They do, in certain time slots including morning and late evening. Fine.

They won't tell you how many diminishing viewers they have. Nobody watches TV News anymore anyway except media bloggers and retired bridge players but so what, someone still has to make a living.

It would be nice if KTVU were to go back in time and produce a half-decent newscast with people that were excited and dedicated to their craft.

I won't hold my breath on that last one.

Neither should you.