Awkward, unpleasant, and uncomfortable as it is, when a former #1/lead news anchor makes the news as his life unravels, you have to REPORT IT. Acknowledge it. It's, uh, news!
Not reporting it makes it look as if KTVU is in hush mode which only makes them look worse than they already are.
PIX wasn't gleeful, nor was KRON or NBC Bay Area, they merely were doing their jobs. KTVU seems oblivious to the entire deal but what else is new.
It's a bad look and only reinforces KTVU's dubious news judgement.
"Not reporting it makes it look as if KTVU is in hush mode which only makes them look worse than they already are."
ReplyDeleteNailed it!
Yup, they look unserious and amateurish
DeleteKTVU did the right thing to fire him. They have no obligation to continue to report on his self-destruction. He doesn't work there anymore.
Delete3:23, I agree completely.
DeleteSomething tells me the lawyers said “do not put this on air” as they negotiate a final settlement with Frank. Every time Frank gets popped, his chance of getting a decent settlement drops like a rock.
DeleteThe lawyers likely saw this coming all along, and dragged it out so they’d get ca$h and Frank would end up with dudilly squat.
If this isn’t the case, why are there so many commercials encouraging folks to use their legal services? š¤·š¼♂️šµš«
In the early 80s, I worked in Denver where our anchor was popped for DUI. Next day he showed up to work, told the ND about it. They came out of the ND's office and told everyone in the newsroom. The ND then sent out a photog to get video of the anchor's car, where it had been parked after his arrest. At the top of the news, the anchor read the DUI as a straight story. Then the anchor announced he was the person who had been arrested. He apologized to the viewers in a very sincere fashion. He remained at that station for a decade, went on to other stations, and just recently retired, well respected in the market. Frank had that opportunity to apologize, stop drinking and move on.
ReplyDeleteIt's a shame MSM and local news just about everywhere isn't what it's used to be; now it's apolitical and pick and choose which events and news fit their narratives and ideology, in other words bias and sometimes not truthful reporting, Rich is popular because he leaves no stone unturned and tells it like it is
DeleteFrank can’t hold a candle to the aforementioned anchor…he, Sardella, Stormy and Cruz/Nolan were probably the best anchors in the history of Denver tv, with the exception of Bob Palmer…
DeleteKRON and KPIX are reporting he was sent back to Berkeley, while SFGate is reporting he's at/was at Santa Rita jail.... facts are elusive in the Bay Area
ReplyDeleteWell, I wouldn't believe SFGate if they told me they had just had an interview with Jesus Christ.
DeleteLooks like he wasn't in Santa Rita for long, he's already been bailed out
ReplyDeleteNo hard-hitting exposĆ© by Bailey O’Carroll about the rise and fall of Frank Somerville?
ReplyDeleteJoking aside, the dumbasses at KTVU have no time in their programming to cover Frank, as they’re too busy replaying fluff stories they’ve been running since last Wednesday. That and excessively over-hyping their “zip trip” to Santa Rosa.
Mr Sommerville hasn't worked there for sometime. He was fired for being a drunken disgrace who endangered the public. That he is still breaking the law is of no consequence.They disconnected from him quite a while ago. They aren't required to document his continuing descent., all self-imposed.
DeleteHas Julie Haener issued a statement or is she preoccupied with planning her new life with Mark IbaƱez?
ReplyDeleteHave Julie and Mark set a date yet?
DeleteConsidering Mark and his beautiful wife were pretty visible at Bottle Rock I don't think that's happeneing.
DeleteOf course Marky IbaƱez was enjoying the Sporting Life at Bottle-Crock. He has to support the local music scene, and get the adoration of his fawning public. Did the sky darken and rain erupt at his behest? Did the Ghost of the Iron Sheik accompany him as he walked among the proletariat? Did Queen Haener chuck KTVU footballs out to the unwashed masses?
DeleteInquiring minds want to know
If you go to KTVU webpage and type in Frank Somerville in the search section, just real old good random stories that he reported on etc.
ReplyDeleteNo mention of Frank Somerville on their website but they DO have a full-length article about ‘unicorn world,’ featuring animatronic unicorns, enchanted forests and unicorn-themed activities.
ReplyDeleteYou can’t make this shit up if you tried.
There's Only One 2. Thank goodness...
ReplyDeleteKTVU can do what they want. They’re still the gold standard.
ReplyDeleteOk, Amber. Keep telling yourself that as ktvu settles in quite comfortably as the cellar-dwelling laughingstock of “news.”
DeleteWhat about Kgo and NBC Bay area?
ReplyDeleteThey don't have to report it at all. He's a has been. Aren't you the one who castigated the news director for firing him?
ReplyDeleteHe’s a public figure. The way they’d report if a pro athlete or well-known business leader did the same. Hell, for three days they ran stories about the Sonoma County sheriff’s wife who crashed her car while DUI.
DeleteHe was a public figure.
Delete"Was?"
DeleteWrong. Just because he's fired by his employer, that doesn't mean his name and memory are zapped from the collective consciousness of the entire Bay Area.
Waddah ya expect? It's a FOX affiliate.
ReplyDeleteThat it totally irrelevant to this you idiot.
DeleteSommerville is a stuntman, a Houdini, and an Idiot. Geez, a guy who had it all throws it all away for love of drink. Maybe he will be able to get his Sh.t together. Career-wise, he is toast.
ReplyDeleteMaybe he can volunteer at Berkeley Humane Society to make new friends and get his life back on track.
No shame in asking for help and forgiveness.
It is also a DISEASE.
DeleteThe fall from grace… I understand it’s interesting gossip wise because Frank is a known person but honestly I don’t know why it should be a news story. It’s kind of like reporting an officers wife got arrested for drunk driving or a firefighter or cop unless you’re going to report all DUIs maybe DUI reporting shouldn’t be cherry picked.
ReplyDeleteThen don't report any news. Every murder, rape, car chase, indictment, death, weather event, or economic event is not reported. That's why there are these things called gate-keepers: editors, reporters, writers, researchers.
Delete8:53: Yup.
DeleteIf he ever stops making newsroom jokes about "gooch grease," I'd like to see Sal "Cronkite" Castaneda interview Frank.
ReplyDeleteGROSS!
DeleteThe media just needs to ignore him. He's a has-been and a drunk. If he would have gone out on top and been a positive contributor to society, then, sure, cover him on the news. But he's an arrogant drunk who refuses to get help. Stop giving him the publicity he so desperately craves.
ReplyDeleteShame on Frank, glad KTVU never interview his excuses and shame on KRON interviewing him
ReplyDeleteBut you watched it - didn't you? THAT'S why KRON did the fluff piece.
Delete"But you watched it - didn't you?"
DeleteNo, I didn't. Why do you assume I did?
The fact that Frank, a Bay Area public figure, was arrested TWICE in one night (including for DUI) is newsworthy in and of itself.
ReplyDeleteEspecially someone as sanctimonious as him, always worried about the well-being of brown people while freely driving with intoxicated, putting everyone—brown, white, purple and green—at risk.
DeleteHell, If I was the ND....I sure as hell wouldn't have mentioned it, either. No one was hurt or killed. I'm not about to call any more negative attention to my station.
ReplyDeleteWhy doesn't Frank's old TV news station do some reporting about his Monday night arrests? Maybe they are somewhat nervous that Frank will get upset about such stories, then decide to 'Pop Up' for an impromptu meeting with the News Director.
ReplyDeleteIsn't it mostly women working there in management now?
Nuttier things have happened these days. Sad but true.
He's popped up before when was on infinite suspension and couldn't get past the front door. They have good security there.
DeleteI think they're just ignoring Frank because he's a part of their history they want to forget now. He's been wiped away from all their promotional materials. When you fell out of favor in the Soviet Union you just became a non person, erased from history, deleted from all their documents. It's the same thing with Frank. (Now in Russia you just fall out of a 14th floor window or get sudden food poisoning.)
What's surprising to me is that Frank was either still drunk from his 1st arrest or he had an Uber drop him off at a bar before his 2nd arrest to top off the old liver.
ReplyDeleteThe second time they brought him his cell bunk was still warm. They hadn't even laundered his orange jumpsuit yet.
DeleteIMHO, if KTVU had done a story on Somerville's arrest, it would have been seen as piling on. The only reason it was a story is that Frank had worked for KTVU -- the only DUIs that make the news is if someone gets killed. They fired him for a reason -- his life after that is not their concern.
ReplyDeleteFrank even made the New York Post today. https://nypost.com/2023/06/07/disgraced-ex-news-anchor-frank-somerville-arrested-twice-in-one-night-in-california/
ReplyDeletePam Moore was terrific. Classy, credible and hard working. A true pro. Those who didn’t like her? I guess they’d prefer some fat-assed, middle aged white guy who is vanilla on the air. I get a kick out of the Dim-wit, pea brained Trumpers who complain about the media being “too liberal,” or populated with” too many “woke anchors,” or minorities. BTW, Better to be asleep than woke, right? They want to get rid of women on the air, or worse yet, they want to fire purveyors of “socialist propaganda!” . Do they actually even know who owns FOX? Do they know who owns Cumulus? Who owns I-Heart? Who now owns CBS radio? Who owns Comcast? Do they know that 90 percent of the talk shows currently on the air are mostly right wing, white males who sound like bloviating, dysfunctional carnival barkers? That obnoxious, lying, drug addled pig, the late Rush Limbaugh or the angry mental case Michael Savage are just 2 examples of what I’m taking about. Most of those who would criticize “ liberals,” or “ Woke” anchors or his forbid, women on the are are pathetic, sad Lurie cretins. Most are slovenly, mindless sheep who would rather sit in their echo chambers and listen to the repetitive tripe they consume like junk food for the mind virtually every day.
ReplyDeleteWell Guess what? Most young Americans, women, poor and middle class Americans and those who skins are NOT white, as well as many who are white, ( I’m a Caucasian male,) are sick of theur angry, frightened braying. The Dems are gonna kick the GOP’s collective butts by voting out a lot of these traitor-wanna be’s in 2024. Those who mindlessly agree with today’s, ( NOT yesterday’s) GOP are like the “ good Germans” who supported Hitler before he started WWII. “ Oh geez, I didn’t know he would be this bad!” they said when things started going downhill for Germany.
One day, most republicans who support truly laughable conspiracy theories and a lying, scheming former “ president,” ( if you want to call him that,) might actually see these revoltingly obnoxious charlatans are only interested in self promotion. Most of Those “ leaders” from The GOP could care less about our country and the majority of our people in this still-great nation. Wouldn’t it be nice if we could send them all to Russia , Iran or North Korea? After all, they’d prefer a Vladimir Putin or a fanatically religious cleric, or that psychopath in North Korea, woundn’t they? That’s basically what they want, right! A rubber stamp for dysfunctional idiots such as Trump. And of course, 90 percent of the probably are offended by a strong,, African American woman Anchor who actually behaved for 30 years like a true pro.
"I guess they’d prefer some fat-assed, middle aged white guy who is vanilla on the air."
DeleteRacists always have to make it about color, don't they?
I’m sorry but you’re being racist at this point. And predictably, you’ll call me racist for saying that. But in the history of the world almost every group (color, religion, sex has been persecuted). The bs double standard of shitting on white males is growing tiresome. We’re not the root cause of all the world’s evils, and perhaps that’s why wokeism is facing some pushback. Do we have assholes among us. Sure. Plenty of them, as do other groups. But grow up and take some ownership over your own failures.
DeleteWell put - the controlling interests of all the major networks are extremely rich right wing nut jobs who have bought the Republican party, the Supreme Court, and several so-called Democrats. If you don’t see the Ultra Rich controlling every thing, you are either blind, or drunk. Damn near every media outlet in the USA is controlled by the far right. Try to objectively listen to CBS radio news on the hour - that crap has a bias so far right that even a plasma cutter could not chop it.
DeleteOnly the truly uninformed would parrot “the left leaning” media baloney. Those poor bastards are suffering so much because of those wacky leftists!
Frank is such a big disgrace for the station. He should apologize to KTVU, KTVU staffs for backing him up, his friends and especially his ex-wife and daughter. His action is no excuse just blame himself for what happened. And he is also a good liar appearing innocent on KRON 4 when indeed he is an alcoholic and problematic person. The day on KRON interview and that funny looking beard prove his condition is getting worse. He will never find a job as an anchor, who wants to hire him, just move on and enjoy his retirement with whatever is left after the nasty divorce and other issues.
ReplyDeleteNot only has he NOT apologized to his wife and adopted daughter, he trotted her out in his interview with Pam. He also virtue-signaled all the funerals of brown people he attended that led up to his emotional "breakdown." Addicts typically cite everything and everyone but themselves for their actions and he's no exception. That's why I don't "wish him well." He hasn't admitted what he's done and what he's reponsible for; in his own mind he's still the victim of everything. Boo-hoo.
DeleteKRON published a timeline of Frank's fiascos today.
ReplyDeletehttps://www.kron4.com/news/bay-area/what-happened-to-frank-somerville-a-timeline-of-events/