Frank Somerville has been SUSPENDED by KTVU management but not for any reasons you may expect.
The KTVU veteran anchor was brought into the office (via phone) by ND, Amber Eikel and HR boss, Chris Nohr, and confronted over Somerville's want to comment on the Gabby Petito homicide. Somerville was to have offered an opinion on media coverage of the case and told by management not to broadcast. He obeyed orders from KTVU brass, but was subsequently suspended.
I REACHED OUT TO SOMERVILLE via text and a phone conversation Friday afternoon. Somerville declined comment but did not deny my reporting. He also said he did not know if he will be back on Sunday night at KTVU for his scheduled newscasts.
KTVU /FOX2 did not respond to a request for comment.
*EXCLUSIVE
This is interesting. So it sounds like he did what he was told by not offering his personal opinion about the Petito case (presumably on Freakbook), but was suspended nevertheless simply because he initially wanted to?
ReplyDeleteI'm not a practicing lawyer anymore but I used to be. Pretty sure what KTVU did IF that's the whole story is straight up illegal. They've suspended him for having a private opinion. AGAIN, *if* that's the whole story.
Deletethere is a huge difference between having a personal opinion and putting that opinion on the air. TV anchors aren't supposed to be doing opinion, in the first place. They are supposed to be doing news, unbiased, unvarnished. Perhaps Frank would be a good radio talk host and then his opinions would be front and center. I don't think you should do both at the same time.
DeleteAgreed.
DeleteRich, today Kgo radio went to rerun on Pat Thurston show
ReplyDeletewith BILL MARE @ 1:30 p.m.?
Why is Frank still employed? The teleprompter-reading Ron Burgundy of the Bay Area is a detriment to the station, honestly.
ReplyDeleteAgree. Frank "Ron Burgundy" Somerville is must watch for media classes on how NOT to do your job. I look forward to watching him fumble the easiest words. Is KTVU trying to win an emmy for a comedy show?
ReplyDeleteThis must make a jerk like you VERY happy.
ReplyDeleteI do not appreciate all the derogatory comments about Ron Burgundy.
ReplyDeleteGood for Frank, glad he had the guts to speak out on the disproportionate coverage given to missing white women compared to women of color
ReplyDeleteThe forces driving the Gabby/Brian story are multiple. She was childlike as well as white, which is apparently evil to you.They were crisscrossing the country in a van and keeping and posting videos from that trip. That gives media outlets video to run and rerun, including the important video from the cop bodycams near Moab. Viewers get to observe them being both happy together and at times of personal turmoil, separately. Witnesses give vivid descriptions of them and of him at various points. Everyone thinks they know what happened and none of us do. Not every story of a missing person, ultimately found decomposing has those elements. We still don't know what killed her.Most such stories don't have elements like this one.
DeleteWay to jump the shark Christine Craft. Nothing evil about being white, sounds like you are dealing with a lot of guilt though. The point is missing woman of color with similar circumstances are not covered by news media the way white women are, not just this one. Take a lap Christine
DeleteWell, white folks are 68% of the U.S. population so it should be no surprise white women are often featured in missing persons reports as they make up the highest percentage if missing persons. This is a perfect example of a story fitting the current narrative, white people bad, everybody else good.
DeleteDear 4:36, Ms. Petito is not a missing person. She is dead . Her body parts are in a refrigerator. Her fiance is a federal fugitive. An international search is in play. As for your idea that I don't appreciate what happens when neither the police or media pay much attention to missing or dead people without high social status or a certain skin color, see my documentary, "Everyone Counts", available on youtube during the pendency of the pandemic. I covered lots of missing person and murder cases in my years as a reporter. I've never seen any story with the eminently televisable elements as this one. Can you name one, with "people of color", anywhere, ever?
DeleteI'm sure there's more to the story. I'll bet the ND took into account Frank Burgundy's recent on-air misfires and, taken together with his unhinged behavior, decided the best course of action was some tough discipline. Now they will be able to build a file on him in case he later attempts a lawsuit after he is (eventually, inevitably) dismissed.
ReplyDeleteFor those concerned about the media's disproportionate coverage of missing women, it's not about that.they could care less! The reason it gets coverage is because the perpetrator is an evil white, blue eyed devil
ReplyDeleteKTVU needs to cut the Sommerville cord. The sooner, the better.
ReplyDeleteI’m thrilled he’s suspended! He’s such a disappointment! So Biased, the Hate he’s got for Trump
ReplyDeleteIs way out there. He’s good to go to Fake News MSNBC and do news with Joy Reid
Thanks free thinker
DeleteThat sentence makes absolutely no sense. He was to offer an opinion and then told not to broadcast?? What the hell does that even mean?!
ReplyDeleteIt seems like his opinion is correct. Rather then suspending him they should find a way to cover the story
ReplyDeleteAnd instead of suspending Frank, KTVU should allow him to broadcast every night and let him do what he wants. He can show us why he is the highest paid news anchor in bay area. After all this publicity, viewers will want to see what they have been missing.
ReplyDelete