Lisa White is the interim ND at KPIX, emphasis on interim. There's NO WAY she'll get the permanent gig; based on her rep, especially from her KRON days, I know why.
*A few Mondays back, Damon Bruce had a hissy fit--on air--when he discovered that partner, grouch, Ray Ratto, wasn't in studio and began ranting and raving about the situation; Bruce was his usual asshole with a capital A, it was unprofessional at best. Worse, it had folks in the biz shaking their head and wondering how such a freak attack could take place. Good thing Bruce's hysterical rant was on 95.7 FM, The Game, a sports station that nobody listens to.
*I didn't say KRON was euphoric, far from it. I said it was mellow compared to the other outlets. Read the post. It helps.
*Another thing about Mr. Bruce: he who has super ego and very little listenrs should be humble but asking Damon to be humble would be like asking Mel Gibson to emcee a bar-mitzvah.
*Raj Mathai used to be a charming, interesting, funny, provocutive guy with an enlightening past and stories about a real American dream. He could also anchor and built up a solid news prowess at NBC Bay Area; so good in fact, he considered network interest from 30 Rock itself and a NY gig. In the interim, Raj has developed a HUGE EGO and turned many off in San Jose, some of whom work under him. They aren't trouble-makers; they don't wanna rock the boat; they haven't made a pitch to bosses; they go to work and just wannna make a living. Too bad Raj hasn't figured out a great, cheap way to ward off hostility is to get out a hundred bucks and buy some deli for his friends in San Jose.
*Apparently, White made life miserable, says a former KRONvict--which I guess is why she landed at PIX.
*Weather alerts, purple houses, real estate ads, burrito reviews, --that's your news on SFGate--no wonder the Chron is LOSING a MILLION every week Next thing you know they'll be stealing from bloggers. Wait a minute.
*Amanda Starrantino has about as much Bay Area accumen as a giraffe at the SF Zoo, with appologies to the giraffe. It's funny to think she was hired for her journalism skills but yeah, she's pleasant to observe reading the teleprompter. Between her and Ryan Yamamoto, I smell Peabodys at PIX.
*Dear Countess Amber Eikel: if you continue to secretly go after, hunt down, really, staffers at KTVU who dare communicate with me, there's this deal called LOYAHS, who could come out of the closet and make your life harder than it is now and it's not me who's spouting LOYAHS, trust me.
*Frank Somerville has quietly moved up north to a rehab facility to treat his addiction; if Frank is serious and here's hoping he is, then the TV News biz is secondary to his life in general.
*Remember, KTVU's "core 4" at 10 PM used to DOMINATE Bay Area ratings, and still do with just a whole lot less viewers. This phenomena was way before the Somerville drama and ensuing mess.
*ANOTHER WORD TO EIKEL you can't steal the heritage that was once KTVU. It thrived and made waves before and it had a LEGACY. You and your brand of crap will not ever, ever destory the vintage KTVU that I remember. The faces, the images, the very real part of a news-institution treasure that was the envy of the industry. You will never blunt that history no matter how hard you try to. You will never blemish the old Channel 2 with your brand of BS and authoritarian rule. You would never have got such hyjinks. Richmond, Gary Park, Marcia Brandwynne, Rita Williams, Elaine Corral would have kicked your ass, literally and figuratively. You're a small bit of nothing. Lucky you even have a gig.
Dear Amber Eikel,
ReplyDeleteSchmooze > Stasi Tactics
It's just FOX being FOX. Eikel is too stupid to know that once she's stripped the place for all it was once worth as per her Murdoch overlords instructions, they'll kick her ass to the curb. It would REALLY surprise me if after all of this bad publicity they didn't already have plans to send her packing but are just waiting for all the noise to quiet down. FOX is sneaky like that.
DeleteI've completely stopped watching KGO7 news specifically because of the "Building a Better Bay Area" embarrassment. It makes me cringe every time I hear it. They were my local news station of choice before they started that ridiculousness. I can't bear to turn them on anymore.
ReplyDeleteAgreed. I turn the channel every time.
DeleteStarrantino was hired for he looks not her news acumen. You cant drop Indianapolis into the bay area and hit a home run over night. The bar for Bay Area morning news is so low that she probably has a chance of being ok. when you only have to be better than the Gaas, Darya and Garcia if you have any talent you can do better than them.
ReplyDeleteAmanda dump the spray tan, learn the area you'll be fine.
Yeah, it probably wouldn't hurt if she visited some on-line map and dictionary sites.
DeleteHer insipidness aside, Amanda is not a bad looking woman. Evidently, she won some state beauty title when she was younger. That makes her grotesque tanning and makeup failures all the more perplexing.
The sad part is, she's supposed to be from Bay Area! This is a "homecoming" for her. How can she not know the geography?!
DeleteEver since Damon suffered his stroke he's not been the same. They say a stroke doesn't affect your brain but I beg to differ
ReplyDeleteI wondered the same. He does have instances where he forgets things, but who doesn't? Not good (or professional) to throw your broadcast partner under the bus on air.
DeleteDamon hasn't been the same since his rant on 1050 about women in sports went viral. He's been playing it boring and safe ever since.
DeletePapa didn't realize that the 49ers had won the game yesterday when they intercepted the pass in overtime. He was saying that the Rams still had Timeouts when his partner Jughead said the game had ended with the pick. It was only then that Papa went into his theatrics. Funny, embarrassing stuff.
ReplyDeleteCaught that replay on the Niners postgame show...couldn't believe Papa blew the call like that. Not sure what he was thinking...probably forgot that OT was not sudden death (it used to not be). Papa gets so caught up in minutia and histrionics he forgets the basics, you know the important stuff.
DeleteLove todays post Rich!
ReplyDeleteWow. Papa was out of control at times during play-by-play yesterday. Quite a miscue to not realize the game was OVER.
ReplyDeleteYou're spot on about SFGate. To call them a news website is a slap in the face to real journalists. SFGate 'editors' are nothing but a bunch of entitled millennials who steal content, dream of being social media 'influencers,' and treat their job like it's a popularity contest. Don't believe me? Go to LinkedIn and search for editors currently employed at SFGate. I haven't visited their website in over a year and I'm better off because of it.
ReplyDeleteHave you seen the tabloid looking slash banner promos KTVU is now running? They are going FULL TILT into the FOX NEWS look sound and feel. It's tasteless and has NOTHING to do with what KTVU USED to be. Makes me sad. Also makes me change the channel. I'm over them and their Fox News Channel correspondents. I have no interest in Rupert Murdoch's news nightmare. Buh-Bye.
ReplyDeleteI've consistently found women far harder to work with than men. They're more egotistical, fragile, suspicious and insecure. And that says a lot for a business full of insecure men. But women are additionally catty, backstabbing and vindictive...and they can get away with it because they know all they have to do is play the sexism card. When I entered the business I expected the opposite to be true, because all I'd heard is how wonderful women were to work for--ie, progressive, sympathetic, empathetic, didn't play favorites. SO not true it's simply mind-blowing!
ReplyDeleteSpot on.
DeleteStacy Owen was the best ND KRON ever had. Smart, tough and kind. It's been a long time, but I remember Lisa White as an even-keeled boss when she was Assistant News Director at KRON. CBS should give her a shot in the big chair.
DeleteRyan Yamamoto is supposed to replace Ken Bastida? He lacks presence; his voice lacks news anchor timbre. He would be fine for Council Bluffs, IA but not here.
ReplyDeleteLet’s hope frank gets the help he needs to address his addictions. He will find people willing to help him. All he has to do is ask.
ReplyDeleteFrank's already been down this road. It's not a matter of addressing or finding. It's a matter if you can do it.
DeleteI don't dislike Mark Thompson like you do, Rich, but I've finally had it with John Rothmann, who was good in his old time slot. And I'm sure he's a very nice man. But my nerves simply cannot stand all those idiotic calls from what you've accurately labeled "tired pro-Trump cultists." Why does Rothmann keep soliciting their calls? If I wanted to listen to right-wing drivel, I'd listen to Beck or Hannity.
ReplyDeleteHe's a nice man who loves sucking up to everyone
DeleteJust looking at your photo montage about Bay Area News Heritage.
ReplyDeleteThere is a lot of talent in the line up. In the lower left hand
Hollywood Square..is that our Boy Frank? He deserves some praise for what was it? 13 long years of professional service. Yes. 13 of the best years of his adult life, that's what. He's having some personal problems now. SHOCK!! That means he is human like all the rest of us here. I wish him and his family good luck.
Meanwhile...Sara Donchey is still working at KCAL9 tonight in LA
ReplyDeleteJudges look more kindly on you if you tell them you're seeking treatment and acknowledge a problem, and I'm sure Frank's lawyer——Ahn Phoong or whoever——told him that. Whether he's serious *this* time....Well, what's changed? Anything?
ReplyDeleteAre you sure Damon wasn't joking? Sometimes he says things or has rants, but when it comes to Ray, he's just joking around. I must've missed it. I don't remember. I'll try to check out the Youtube stream of said show.
ReplyDeleteI have noticed that 95.7 is having their hosts go back to doing shows from home since the Omicron variant outbreak. Hopefully it's temporary, but maybe Ray was supposed to come in the studio when he didn't? Ray doesn't like being on the show half the time anyway.
That thought crossed my mind as well. Damon might have been ragging on Ratto for laughs.
Delete@9:12- I checked out the Youtube stream and I think I came across what Rich was talking about. It wasn't really that bad when you watch the stream. I think Damon was joking, but I think he might've felt some type of way when he came into the studio that day, but Ray and I guess the other people that work on their show, were at home. It was a rainy day that day, and Damon was coming off of being under the weather a couple of weeks prior to that.
DeleteI guess maybe Damon didn't get the memo that they may be going back to doing their shows from home again for now, and he might've been a little ticked that he came into the studio when he could've did the show from home that day.
On a side note, I wouldn't mind if they just had one host at home and the other host in the studio if possible. The shows sound more crisp when everyone is in studio, even though I understand why they're having the hosts do their shows from home again, with the threat of the Omicron variant around. It will be interesting to see if they look into that later on, or once the Omicron variant passes through and is done.
The highest paid anchor in the bay area is off the air, arrested... let's take a look at the ratings. I would bet they haven't changed. We fuss and critique them all the time but are they really worth it? Sure, you can't have some amateur in there but let's face it, they are interchangable. Frank Sommerville, Ken Bastida....both faces of their respective stations no more. TV news is a commodity and not personality driven. It used to be. But with everybody being an influencer and having their own platform, being on TV carries no significance and viewers will take whatever.
ReplyDeleteWith that god awful voice, how did Papa get a job in radio??
ReplyDeleteWillard and Dibs, your show stinks (in the annoying Dibs inflection). Please pack it up. You have zero insight, no guests of ANY note, and only boring personal stories to share. And about 100 listeners, if that.
ReplyDeleteIt might sound trite but I think the main reason Somerville has gone into rehab is to avoid/push back the legal ramifications of what he has done. Celebs do it all the time. It’s the “go to” move. If you have already voluntarily checked yourself into rehab it looks good to the court – that you are really serious about treating your illness - and gives a legitimate reason to not make court appearances. It’s a stall tactic. **If** Somerville truly is serious about getting help, getting well, great. But, more often than not that’s not the real motive behind going to rehab. In addition, I am assuming the guy who owns the Audi Somerville jacked up has retained a good lawyer (they were probably calling him before he could call them) and will be suing Somerville up the wazzoo – AND HE SHOULD! Forget about for a moment how much this DUI is going to cost him financially and in terms of his career, Somerville is lucky he did not kill someone. With it being early in the evening and the park-lets and outside dining spots, he could have just as easily pushed that car into a group of people instead of a pole. Replacing that guy’s car with a brand new, top of the line, flag ship Audi – about $180,000.00 with all the cookies – is the least he can do.
ReplyDeleteisn't this why we have car insurance?? Frank is covered.
Delete