Paradise Fire Coverage; TV News on Spot; KPIX and KGO In Particular; KCBS on Radio Exemplary Work

THE BIG STORY is the Paradise Fire; (the irony) it's getting worse by the hour and the death and destruction is quite vivid and apparent --the smell of the smoke here --150 miles away--is enough to make one sick. I saw many people in the city today with face masks on and literally coughing and hacking. I can only imagine what's it's like up in the fire zone.

The TV News coverage has been extraordinary. The little I have watched has mostly been KPIX and KGO. Both stations have done great work. I've been on KCBS virtually round the clock and they have been terrific. I want to single out Jeffrey Schaub and John Evans in particular for great on-the-spot interviews of those that lost their house, their despair quite telling. Schaub talked to an elderly lady who said her home was gone; Schaub was wise enough to end it there and back off. Props. Evans, who had friends in the fire zone and lost everything, nonetheless conducted thorough interviews with firefighters and CAL FIRE folks. It was both informative and professional given what had to be on Evans' mind. Sure, they're all paid to do this but they're also human.

THIS is KCBS' specialty and while I have ripped their style of late they should deserve credit too for their exemplary coverage of an on-going, natural disaster like this; tragic and depressing as it is, the story needs to be told and 740 AM has been giving us the latest news and information to our homes.